Train to Another World.

Chapter 323 Banquet
The Dashun army still set out, but unlike the original plan, this time it was led by Minister Sun himself. After taking off his purple robe and putting on his armor again, Minister Sun did not look like he had been away from the battlefield for a long time.

Especially since his eyes were red and he looked like he was ready to bite someone, people would mistakenly think that he was returning to the capital after a long battle.

Along with the army, there were also Taoist priests from the Taoist temple and scholars from the academy. However, they were not like ordinary soldiers who needed to travel on foot, so these noble gentlemen were all arranged with carriages.

The carriage in the front was even more exquisite. If you looked closely, you would see that the outside of the carriage was even covered with talismans outlined with gold threads as thin as a hair.

In the carriage, Wang Jian was hugging his legs with his hands, wrapped in a cloak, leaning against the wall of the carriage in a daze. Inside the carriage, Wu Zhizun was meditating.

After a long time, Abbot Wu exhaled a breath of foul air and ended his practice. Seeing that Wang Jianzheng was still in the same state, he smiled awkwardly.

"Brother Dao, I didn't expect it to turn out like this."

Wang Jianzheng slowly turned his head and stared at him with dead fish eyes: "I am staying well in the Imperial Observatory, and I can sleep until I wake up naturally every day. What sin have you committed?"

Abbot Wu scratched his head and said, "My divination is not working. Fortunately, your astrology skills are not affected. I can only rely on you in this matter."

Wang Jianzheng turned his head away, unwilling to pay attention to him. His thoughts went back to a few days ago...

That day, he threw all the chores to Senior Brother Shen Guangzi as usual, and happily took his fishing rod and went fishing outside the city. When the sun was about to set, he estimated the time, picked up a few carps, and went to the Sun Mansion.

When they arrived at the gate of Sun's mansion, they happened to meet Master Wu, and the two of them entered the mansion together.

After handing the fish to the doorman and being led into the side hall by the butler, he saw Minister Sun sitting behind the table. He looked absent-minded and needed the butler's reminder to realize that there were guests.

When Minister Sun saw the two of them coming together, he said to the housekeeper, "Let's start the feast."

After the housekeeper bowed and left, not long after, servants came in one after another and laid out a table with various dishes, all of which were carefully prepared vegetarian dishes. Abbot Wu was enshrined in Lingxiao Palace, which required fasting. However, Wang Jianzheng's Tianxing Temple did not abstain from meat, but only prohibited beef, dog meat, mullet meat, and wild goose meat.

However, for Taoists, eating vegetarian food helps to calm the mind, so even in a sect like Tianxing Temple that does not prohibit meat, most of the disciples are vegetarians all year round.

Therefore, it is always right to invite Taoist priests to dinner and eat vegetarian food in Dashun.

Wang Jianzheng sniffed: "The vegetarian dishes in the Shangshu's house smell the same as the vegetarian dishes in Baiyun Temple outside the city. The chef in your house is really skilled."

Minister Sun forced a smile and said, "I have always liked to eat meat, and the cook at home is not good at vegetarian meals, so I invited the Taoist priest from Baiyun Temple to come to my house for this meal."

Abbot Wu nodded and smiled, "Master Shangshu is thoughtful."

The two men could clearly see that Minister Sun was worried, so after taking a few bites, before even three rounds of drinks had passed, they took the initiative to ask Minister Sun about his intentions for the day.

"Oh!" Shangshu Sun sighed and took out a letter from his arms. The letter had been opened, but the words "Yinshu" could still be seen on the envelope. This was a secret letter from the army.

Minister Sun twitched his fingers, and the secret letter flew in front of the two men. The two looked at each other, and Wang Jianzheng cupped his hands and said, "We are outsiders, and I'm afraid this secret letter from the army is..."

Minister Sun waved his hand and said, "I am the Minister of War. I am showing this to you. It is fine. Besides, this letter was sent by my good-for-nothing Fourth Brother. What is in the letter is not a secret. You two can read it."

Since Minister Sun said so, the two of them didn't hesitate to open the letter and started reading it quickly.

As they watched, both of them frowned. Today they were eating vegetarian food, and naturally they also prepared vegetarian wine. The vegetarian wine was light, and Shangshu Sun drank a whole pot of it as if it were water. Seeing that the two of them had almost finished watching, he asked, "You two are both cultivators, and you know more about the path of cultivation than I do. May I ask you two Taoists, what kind of person is the Protector of the Country?"

"A natural seed of the Tao."

"True Immortal on Earth."

Minister Sun continued, "Suddenly, a person I have never heard of appeared, claiming to be from an unheard-of sect. He seemed very young, but his strength was far beyond that of the Protector of the Nation. Is this reasonable?"

Abbot Wu said with an unpleasant expression: "There are many branches of my Dao sect, and their path of cultivation is nothing more than money, friends, Dharma, and land. Dashun is a land of outstanding people and rich resources. There are countless senior masters who have realized the true Dharma and founded their own sects. There are also countless spiritual objects that can help us practice.

However, everything has its limits, whether it is the inheritance of skills or natural treasures. Practicing Taoism is not about working behind closed doors, so there is no such thing as a high-ranking sect that does not communicate with the outside world.

As for the natural treasures, even for a genius like the Guardian of the Nation, the amount of natural treasures consumed every year is innumerable. It can be said that even if the power of Dashun is exhausted, it would be difficult to produce a second Guardian of the Nation."

Minister Sun casually slapped the empty wine jug and said with a hollow look in his eyes, "So, these 'hermit masters' who appeared from nowhere, what kind of Taoism do they practice, and what kind of elixir do they take?
"My Dashun cannot even afford to support a second Protector of the Nation, so what virtue and ability do those small countries other than my Dashun have?!"

Minister Sun raised his red eyes and looked at the two Taoist masters: "Two Taoist masters, one is proficient in divination and the other is proficient in stargazing. May I ask if you have ever calculated it?"

Abbot Wu cupped his hands, with a look of shame on his face: "I am not very knowledgeable and have not been able to figure out anything. But Brother Dao has profound Daoism and has figured out something."

Wang Jianzheng glared at Abbot Wu and admitted, "I went up to a high place to observe the stars last night and indeed saw something strange in the constellations."

Minister Sun looked at Wang Jianzheng and asked, "May I ask what's wrong?"

Wang Jianzheng gritted his teeth and said honestly, "The auspicious star is shining brightly in the sky, and the purple air is like an upside-down river in the sky, pouring down on the earth. This is an auspicious omen that has never appeared before. If we really want to explain this astrological phenomenon, we can only say that it is a celestial being who has descended to the world to help our Dashun unify the world and make us fearsome in all directions."

"Haha~" Minister Sun suddenly laughed out loud, and then asked: "May I ask where this celestial being descended to the world?"

"north."

Minister Sun nodded and said, "In a few days, the army will set out and I will be in charge. I will trouble you two to follow the army north and we will go together to meet the heavenly being who has descended to the world. I hope you two will not refuse."

The two looked at Sun Shangshu with his bloodshot eyes, looking like he was about to kill someone. They wanted to refuse but didn't know where to start. They could only bow their hands and agree.

After all, apart from the reasons of Minister Sun, whether it was really a celestial being descending to the world, or the fierce power of the demon from outside the domain was so strong that it could obscure the secrets of heaven and change the stars, they had to go and take a look out of both emotion and reason.

After the two agreed, they did not stay any longer. After a few polite words, they prepared to leave.

Finally, Minister Sun asked the two men, "Can you two guess who my son is?"

Both of them cupped their hands and said, "I don't know."

Minister Sun was in a bad mood, so the butler escorted the two out of the door. After the two left, Minister Sun slapped the table and cracked it, spilling the wine and food all over the floor.

He looked up to the sky and howled, "It hurts so much!"

(End of this chapter)