Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 178 Incense Becomes God
Jiang Mingzhe looked up and saw Ding Chunqiu, dressed in a brocade robe and jade belt, looking like a wealthy landowner. He was looking at him with a half-smile, half-smile.

"Oh!" Jiang Mingzhe exclaimed joyfully and immediately knelt down, "Master! I've missed you so much! I wish you eternal happiness and longevity!"

Ding Chunqiu snorted coldly, put his hands behind his back and looked up at the sky, saying in a sarcastic tone, "Hmph, live as long as the heavens? I don't have that kind of luck. I'll be lucky if I don't die from your anger. Jiang boy, you've got some nerve, daring to abduct Azi and run away?"

"I'm innocent, Master!"

Jiang Mingzhe shouted loudly, his face full of innocence: "It is the greatest blessing in the world for a disciple to be able to enter the immortal sect. Even if Master kicks me out, I will not do it, let alone run away!"

He then looked at Li Qingluo with deep affection and said sincerely, "Besides, if I had such a heart, how would I dare to come to Sister Qingluo's house? It was only when I met Granny Ping and Granny Rui under Sister Qingluo's command in Dali Kingdom that I heard them say that Master would soon arrive in Jiangnan, so I hurriedly came to pay my respects to Master."

Li Qingluo laughed and said, "Father, you always say that your disciples are all cunning, and it's rare to find such an honest one. Why do you need to scare him? He wanted to catch a poisonous monkey for you, so he ran to Wuliang Mountain and almost got poisoned to death by the Manggu Toad. He is really loyal and should be rewarded properly."

Ding Chunqiu glared at her and said, "You dare interrupt your father's reprimand of his disciple! Hmph, this kid is quite lucky. I searched for the Manggu Toad several times in Wuliang Mountain but couldn't find it, yet he's come across it."

Jiang Mingzhe's heart skipped a beat. He thought to himself, "I thought he went to Wuliang Mountain because he missed Li Qiushui, but it turns out it was for the King of Ten Thousand Poisons."

He then laughed and said, "If Master wants that thing, I will go to Dali and get it for you as soon as I have been to Shaolin Temple."

Ding Chunqiu chuckled, "With your meager skills, you think you're qualified to catch the Manggu Toad? Humph, besides, if you were truly loyal, you should have gone to catch it right away. Why go to some Shaolin Temple instead?"

Just as Jiang Mingzhe was about to ask this question, he immediately put on an excited expression and said, "Master, you may not know this, but this Brother Murong is a descendant of the former Yan Kingdom. He has been determined to restore his country all his life. I have come up with a plan for him: first, become the leader of the martial arts alliance, then lead the heroes of the Central Plains to Tibet, borrow the name of the former Tuyuhun, conquer a territory there, and then unify the snowy region!"

Ding Chunqiu laughed loudly: "Ridiculous, ridiculous! If Murong Bo were alive, it would be one thing, but this Murong brat can become the leader of the martial arts alliance?"

Jiang Mingzhe immediately said, "That's why we're going to Shaolin. The purpose of this trip is twofold: first, to make Brother Murong famous, and second, to help Xiao Feng—ah, Xiao Feng is none other than Qiao Feng, the former leader of the Beggars' Sect. His Khitan identity has been exposed, and he's on his way to Shaolin to seek revenge. Let's do him a favor, join forces to deal with Shaolin, and take this opportunity to forge an alliance with the Liao Kingdom."

His few words contained an astonishing amount of information. Even with Ding Chunqiu's intelligence, he was stunned for a long time before he could make sense of it and exclaimed in surprise, "Qiao Feng is actually a Khitan, and his real name is Xiao Feng?"

Jiang Mingzhe said, "That's right, it's a long story..."

Li Qingluo smiled and said, "Since it's a long story, stand up and tell me slowly."

After saying that, she ignored Ding Chunqiu's glare, stretched out her delicate hand, pulled Jiang Mingzhe up, and said, "Father, he has a long story to tell. You should sit down and listen to him slowly while you drink some tea."

Ding Chunqiu smiled and said, "Qingluo is the one who knows how to care for people."

The group then went to a nearby small building, but it was not the Yunjin Building that Jiang Mingzhe had visited before. Instead, it was called Caiyun Building, which was filled with colorful camellias inside and out, making it seem as if they were floating in a sea of ​​colorful clouds.

Ding Chunqiu took the seat of honor, and Li Qingluo sat down to his left. Jiang Mingzhe, however, refused to sit, laughing and saying, "How can I sit down when speaking to my master? Master, listen to me, the other day when I was at Sister Qingluo's house, two young ladies from the Murong family suddenly came to ask for my help..."

He then recounted everything from the day he left Mantuo Manor, to his friendship with Qiao Feng, his involvement in the Beggars' Sect's internal strife, his crushing defeat of Yipintang, and his friendship with Murong Fu, leaving Ding Chunqiu and Li Qingluo astonished.

Upon hearing this, Li Qingluo glared at Jiang Mingzhe and shouted, "Fu Guan, your family has always been fond of these unrealistic dreams. If you want to have them, go have them yourself. How did you manage to trick my Mingzhe into working for you?" She stood up angrily and pointed at Jiang Mingzhe's forehead, saying, "You idiot, you are my father's prized disciple. You can have any wealth and honor you want. How could you be tricked into serving this brat?"

Murong Fu immediately protested, "Aunt, my brother Mingzhe and I hit it off immediately. How could I be deceiving him? Besides, Aunt may not know that Mingzhe's martial arts skills are undoubtedly superb, but his wisdom is even more astonishing. It was only through his guidance that I realized that all the efforts of my ancestors over the generations had been in vain, and that restoring the kingdom was actually not difficult at all, just a few steps away—"

He immediately roused himself and roughly recounted the approach Jiang Mingzhe had given him.

Although Li Qingluo wasn't particularly clever, she had been in charge of a force for many years and possessed her own insight. At first, she sneered, but as she listened, her smile gradually disappeared. As she continued to listen, her eyes grew increasingly eager, and she exclaimed in surprise, "Mingzhe taught you all this?"

Murong Fu launched into a long and rambling speech, his throat parched. He nodded repeatedly and picked up a cup of tea to moisten his throat.

He had just discussed the strategy with his four chief retainers, which was like a rehearsal. Now, as he spoke about it again, he became even more eloquent and organized.

Jiang Mingzhe couldn't help but nod in approval, thinking to himself that if his brother Murong were born in the future, with proper training, he would be a great candidate to present a PowerPoint presentation!

Li Qingluo said happily, "Father, I must congratulate you on having such a clever disciple. If we follow these strategies, it's not impossible to restore the official position and the country!"

Ding Chunqiu sneered, "Feasible my foot! With that kid Murong, he can't even get past the first step. Does this greenhorn deserve to be the leader of the martial arts alliance? What about me then?"

Having said that, he glared at Jiang Mingzhe and shouted, "You rebellious disciple, with such a good plan, why don't you offer it to your master? Do you think I'm not even as good as that brat Murong?"

Jiang Mingzhe laughed and said, "Master, you have misunderstood your disciple. The most crucial part of the plan I made for Brother Murong is Master! Brother Murong, even if you establish your authority by stepping on Shaolin and using the name of helping Song Zhenxia, ​​do you think those heroes of the martial world will be willing to give you their full support?"

Murong Fu laughed and said, "Then naturally we should use your brilliant plan, my brother, and promise you the positions of one immortal, four dukes, eight marquises, and thirty-six generals."

Ding Chunqiu's eyes flickered: "An immortal?"

Jiang Mingzhe said, "That's right! Master, I dare to ask you to condescend to take this immortal position! When the time comes, the affairs of state and worldly matters will be managed by Brother Murong, but the people under your rule will be bathed in your divine light."

Murong Fu chimed in, "Senior Ding, my brother has already told me that the name 'Starry Constellation Sect' is not enough to reflect your nobility. It should be changed to 'Starry Constellation Religion.' As the leader of the sect, you are the dignified Starry Constellation Immortal Venerable. From now on, every city in our territory will have a Starry Constellation Immortal Temple, and every household will enshrine the image of the Immortal Venerable. From the king to the soldiers and civilians, everyone will pay homage to you every day."

"Every city has temples dedicated to my Starry Sky Immortal, and everyone from top to bottom has to worship him? This..."

Ding Chunqiu murmured to himself, his surprise gradually turning into joy.

He was ambitious and loved flattery. He was more and more addicted to it the longer he listened. But even so, he never thought that he could really become an immortal or an ancestor.

He couldn't help but laugh and said, "You two little monkeys, trying to play tricks on me, hoping to use your mere empty titles to deceive me into working for you?"

Murong Fu paused, subconsciously looking at Jiang Mingzhe, who looked mysterious and whispered, "Master, this is no empty reputation. Master, have you ever heard of... the path to godhood through incense offerings?"

(End of this chapter)