Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 63: Taiping County. (Second update!)

Zheng Que immediately looked in the direction of the voice and saw a figure peek out from above the city wall. It was a middle-aged man wearing a moon-white robe, soft armor, and carrying a long sword on his back. His aura fluctuated, indicating that he was at the fourth level of Qi training. However, perhaps due to absorbing too much Yin energy during his daily practice, this middle-aged man, in addition to his fourth-level Qi training cultivation, also lingered with a very strong black aura...

At this moment, the middle-aged monk was also looking at Zheng Que carefully.

Bang bang bang...

When the guards on the city wall heard the words of their immortal master, they immediately put away their bows and swords and stepped aside to make way.

Zheng Que nodded slightly to the middle-aged monk and then walked towards the city gate.

After passing through the thick city wall and walking out of the gate, I immediately heard a long-lost commotion of voices in front of me.

There were people setting up stalls, bargaining, soliciting business, hawking food... and a few children running around, chasing and playing around the stalls. In the distance, there were the sounds of chickens crowing, dogs barking, scolding and teasing. All kinds of the daily life mixed together to create a peaceful scene.

It was also daytime, but there were far more people walking on the streets of this county town than in Changfu Town, and there was even a sense of carefree urban life.

It is obvious that there are monks in charge of the county town, so ordinary people do not have to live in fear like in Changfu Town.

Just as he was thinking about it, the middle-aged monk on the city wall, wearing a moon-white robe and carrying a long sword, suddenly came to Zheng Que's side and said with a bow, "My name is Lin Zhiyue. May I know what this fellow Taoist's name is?"

Hearing this, Zheng Que turned around and glanced at Lin Zhiyue, then immediately returned the greeting, "I dare not. I am Zheng Que, nice to meet you, Fellow Daoist Lin."

Lin Zhiyue smiled slightly, then asked seriously, "I see that you have reached the third level of Qi training. Where did you get this from?"

Zheng Que understood that the other party was questioning his identity and background, so he immediately replied, "I am from Changfu Town, under the jurisdiction of Taiping County. I was fortunate to receive the teachings of my master, which has enabled me to achieve my current level of cultivation."

Lin Zhiyue nodded, then asked, "Do you have a pass?"

Road guide?

Zheng Que frowned. Changfu Town was just a small town that was struggling to survive under the ravages of ghosts all day long. The people in the town rarely even dared to go out. Where did the pass come from?

Of course, if Xu Houde were still alive and knew he was coming to Taiping County, he would definitely give him a pass, but now...

Thinking of this, Zheng Que immediately replied, "This happened suddenly, and I don't have a pass, but I have a land deed and a house deed in Changfu Town."

As he spoke, he took out two yellowed deeds.

These were the land deeds and house deeds that Xu Houde gave him when he went to Xu Houde to buy the dilapidated temple.

Lin Zhiyue took the two deeds and carefully examined them. Finding no problems, he nodded and returned the deeds to Zheng Que. He then asked, "Fellow Daoist Zheng, since you are a cultivator from Changfu Town, I wonder what brings you to Taiping County?"

Zheng Que calmly replied, "The restrictions in Changfu Town were damaged, and a large number of ghosts broke into the town. The entire town was killed, and I was the only one who managed to escape."

"I came to Taiping County because I had nowhere else to go."

Lin Zhiyue was stunned. Changfu Town was destroyed by ghosts?

He frowned slightly. Counting the several villages that had been affected recently, Taiping County had seen many serious ghost plagues recently...

While thinking, Lin Zhiyue asked Zheng Que a few more questions, all about the details of life in Changfu Town and what he saw and heard on the way from Changfu Town to Taiping County. Zheng Que answered all of them one by one.

After a moment, Lin Zhiyue confirmed that there was no problem with Zheng Que's identity and sighed softly, "Now that things have come to this, I beg for your condolences."

As he spoke, he glanced at the soul-nourishing bag on Zheng Que's waist and added, "Fellow Daoist Zheng seems to be practicing the art of 'controlling ghosts'."

"If you're staying in the county for a long time, please pay attention to the city's rules." "Especially, don't release your ghost servants in front of others."

"There are many mortals in the city. If the ghost servants lose control and panic occurs, they will be fined and their spirit stones will be confiscated at the very least, or even expelled from the city at the worst."

"Also, the offerings market in the south of the city is specially set up for cultivators like us. Inside, we can trade elixirs, talismans, tools and other spiritual supplies."

"There are also Jingxian Pavilion and Gongde Office in the town."

"There's a spirit gathering formation set up in Jingxian Pavilion. The spiritual energy there will be richer than in other places in the city, making it more suitable for us to practice."

"One spiritual stone can be used to live in Jingxian Pavilion for one day."

"As for the Merit Bureau, there are many tasks that can be accepted. If you have spirit stones, you can also post tasks in the Merit Bureau."

"Lin's mission today is to guard the city gate."

Zheng Cong listened attentively, then quickly bowed and said, "Thank you!"

As he spoke, he suddenly thought of something and immediately asked, "Are there many monks in Taiping County?"

Lin Zhiyue nodded and said, "Looking at the entire Taiping County, the county seat is the safest. Many cultivators like you will bring their families and clansmen to settle here."

“Even solo travelers would come into the city regularly to exchange what they had with their fellow travelers.”

"Most of the cultivators here are independent cultivators like you and me. We can look after each other and it will be convenient for us to go on missions together in the future."

"However, sometimes some important figures come to visit. They are so different from us that we only get a fleeting glimpse of them. We just treat them with respect, and that's all."

Zheng Que secretly took note of all these words, and then asked, "Excuse me, fellow Taoist, I don't have any spirit stones. I wonder if there are any other places to live in the city besides Jingxian Pavilion?"

Lin Zhiyue was about to speak when his expression suddenly turned ferocious. His originally peaceful expression became somewhat sinister. The muscles on one side of his cheek twitched unnaturally for a few times. After a long while, he replied with a somewhat disordered breath, "There are several inns in the city. As long as you have money, you can stay there!"

"If you don't even have money, then just find a place on the roadside to deal with it."

"Lin still needs to continue guarding the city gate. If you have any other questions, please go to the offering square to inquire!"

Before he finished speaking, Lin Zhiyue turned around and walked straight to the city wall.

Seeing that Lin Zhiyue was friendly and polite just now, and was very warm, but suddenly his face seemed to change, and his tone became very impolite, Zheng Que looked solemn, knowing in his heart that this was because the other party had too much yin energy and his emotions were affected.

You have to be careful when you walk around this city from now on...

Thinking of this, he immediately walked towards the city and decided to find a place to stay first.

The county town was bustling with people in the shops along the street, giving the impression of a bustling city. Zheng Que was even a little uncomfortable with the long-lost hustle and bustle.

He noticed that on the door of every shop and house, there was a talisman of the same style. The talisman was not bright in color and only occasionally flashed a faint light, as if it was some kind of small restriction.

This should be the protection that the county town provides to ordinary people, which is not available to the people in the small town.

While thinking, Zheng Que looked around. Most of the people coming and going were ordinary people. Occasionally, he would meet monks wearing red vests embroidered with the word "offering". They would patrol the streets in pairs. These monks were all surrounded by a gloomy aura. In the vision of [Spiritual Eye Technique], black and white were intertwined, and the white light seemed to be covered with a layer of gray.

A moment later, Zheng Que arrived in front of a two-story building at the end of the street. A plaque hung on the doorway, inscribed: "Fulai Inn."

(End of this chapter)