Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 459 Fellow Sect
Meanwhile, Ren Yuan returned to Beizhong City and reported his findings to Chen Qingzhi.

“Normally, even demigods shouldn’t act recklessly. Erzhu Rong has already advanced to a true god, so how could he casually attack the two of you?” The generals were quite surprised to hear this.

"But that crimson pillar of light that descended from the sky instantly trapped us both inside, rendering us unable to move. That must be the work of the gods, right?" Ren Yuan said, spreading his hands.

“That’s right, it was Erzhu Rong who made the move.” At this moment, Chen Qingzhi gave the answer.

"How dare he break the rules?" The generals were indignant, but even more so, they were terrified. When a deity breaks the rules, the harm to mortals is immense.

"Those rules and regulations are all made by people," Gongsun Lu sneered. "Did Erzhu Rong ever abide by any rules?"

"Indeed..." The generals had no way to refute it. If Erzhu Rong had followed the rules, there would have been no Heyin Incident.

Chen Qingzhi said to his generals in a deep voice: "In the past, soldiers faced soldiers, generals faced generals, and commanders faced commanders because everyone's strength was evenly matched. It would be very difficult to break the rules."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "However, after Erzhu Rong became a god, he broke the balance. He also had Yuan Tianmu, a demigod under his command, whose strength completely overwhelmed his opponents, so he was not afraid of retaliation. His opponents were also powerless to retaliate."

"He's gotten a taste of the benefits of breaking the rules," Gongsun Lu muttered.

"That's right, it was precisely by using this unconventional fighting style that he was able to defeat Ge Rong and Xing Gao in such a short time, and pacify the entire Central Plains," Chen Qingzhi said, then instructed his generals.
"We must be extremely careful in this operation and avoid rash actions, lest we suffer heavy losses."

"Yes, sir!" the generals hurriedly responded.

"Go ahead, we'll deal with whatever comes our way, there's nothing to worry about," Chen Qingzhi waved his hand.

"Yes." The generals took their leave, but Chen Qingzhi called Ren Yuan back:
"Ah Yuan, come with me somewhere."

"Yes," Ren Yuan replied.

He only felt a blur before his eyes before he disappeared into the commander's tent with Chen Qingzhi.

~~
The next moment, Ren Yuan found himself on the Thousand Mile Ship.

He was immediately dumbfounded, his face burning with rage.

He had been keeping it a secret all along, but it turns out that Commander Chen already knew about the ship's existence.

"Have you been here before?" Chen Qingzhi asked knowingly.

"No..." Ren Yuan was about to deny it when that damned announcer's voice rang out: "Attention, the ship owner has boarded. Reporting, this is the second time this person has intruded."

"Hehe..." Chen Qingzhi smiled and looked at Ren Yuan, watching how he would lie through his teeth.

Fortunately, Ren Yuan was no pushover either, and smoothly changed his tune, saying, "I didn't expect that Commander Chen could board the ship on his own. I thought I was the only one who could."

"Don't be so surprised. You weren't even here when my senior brother gave me the boat ticket," Chen Qingzhi said with a faint smile.

Ren Yuan was even more shocked upon hearing this. He pointed to the cabin and said, "Marshal Chen's senior brother is..."

“That’s right.” Zu Chongzhi’s voice rang out from the cabin. The old man, who hadn’t been seen for a long time, pushed open the door and came out, saying, “We are fellow disciples, as are you and Junior Brother Sun.”

"So we still have to call you Sect Leader." Chen Qingzhi said, and together with Zu Chongzhi, they solemnly bowed to Ren Yuan. "Zu Chongzhi of Shangqing greets the Sect Leader!" Zu Chongzhi performed the kowtow.

"Shangqing Chen Qingzhi pays respects to Headmaster Ren Yuan!" Chen Qingzhi also performed the kowtow.

"No, you're both from the Shangqing Sect?" Ren Yuan was completely bewildered, not expecting that the Shangqing Sect had two such powerful figures. "So sudden? I wasn't prepared at all..."

"Hehe, I thought Junior Brother Sect Leader had already guessed it." Chen Qingzhi smiled.

“Indeed, isn’t it obvious?” Zu Chongzhi nodded and said, “If we weren’t from the same sect, would I have given you the Thousand-Mile Ship the moment we met? If we weren’t from the same sect, would Junior Brother Chen have been cleaning up your messes all day long and going to great lengths to cultivate and promote you? How can someone so stupid learn math well?”

“It really is…” Ren Yuan scratched his head sheepishly. “I’ve also wondered why you two are so kind to me? But when I think about the miserable situation of our sect, I feel that powerful beings like you shouldn’t have much to do with our sect.”

"What you're saying, Junior Brother Sect Leader, makes us both feel truly ashamed," Chen Qingzhi said with a wry smile. "When Senior Brother Sun led the group to escape into Peach Blossom Spring, he concealed the secrets of heaven, and I've been searching for him ever since."

"But as you saw, I was serving the emperor at the time and had no time to escape. I could only issue a reward to find his whereabouts. I also instructed Fifth and the others to keep an eye out when they went out..." He sighed as he spoke:

"But in any case, it was indeed my dereliction of duty as the junior brother."

“You weren’t a demigod back then. Going against the Buddhist sect would only lead to your death,” Zu Chongzhi explained for Chen Qingzhi. “Besides, even if I had become a demigod, wouldn’t I still have been too afraid to show my face?”

"The power of the Dream God is beyond our imagination. We can only avoid capsizing by carefully following Master's arrangements." He emphasized as he spoke:

"Master has almost reached the level of Heaven, and his arrangements cannot be judged by ordinary human feelings. You just need to know that everything is the best arrangement."

"I understand." Ren Yuan nodded and smiled, "When I took over the position of sect leader, it was because I was entrusted by Senior Brother Sun on his deathbed. In addition, there was no one else around, so I had no choice but to take on the role. At that time, I also made it clear to Senior Brother Sun that I was only acting as the leader and would take the initiative to give way to other senior brothers."

As he spoke, he cupped his hands towards the two men and said, "Senior brothers, who do you think should take over as sect leader?"

“The position of sect leader is not a child’s play. Junior brother cannot relinquish the position until he is on his deathbed.” Chen Qingzhi shook his head resolutely.

“That’s right. Choosing you as the sect leader isn’t just Junior Brother Sun’s idea, it’s also Master’s.” Zu Chongzhi also firmly stated, “Even if you are the sect leader, you cannot disobey Master’s orders!”

"I've never even met Master, I don't even know who he is!" Ren Yuan said speechlessly, "How did you become Master's chosen candidate for sect leader?"

"The Immortal Pillow is in your hands!" Zu Chongzhi and Chen Qingzhi said in unison, "The Immortal Pillow is the sect leader's token!"

“But Master passed the Immortal Pillow to Senior Sister. Strictly speaking, I am only a user,” Ren Yuan quickly shook his head and said.

“But the Immortal Pillow has been in your hands all these years, which shows that Master only used Junior Sister Yao to pass it on; the real person who wanted to give it to him was you,” Zu Chongzhi said with certainty.

"Here we go again..." Upon hearing this, Ren Yuan realized it was the same argument his senior brother Sun had made back then. He couldn't help but laugh and say, "I know you all admire Master a lot. Could it be that Master didn't actually think that much about it, and you're just overthinking it?"

“How could that be! Do you know who Master is?” The two senior brothers, however, believed it without a doubt.

"I don't know!" Ren Yuan retorted angrily. "I'm the sect leader! In the entire Shangqing Sect, I'm the only sect leader who's never seen my master!"

(End of this chapter)