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Chapter 138: Antarctic Immortal
The disciples of Wuzhuang Temple were speechless after being silenced by Chen Guangrui's words.

The signboard of the Tushita Palace was heavy with meaning, and without irrefutable evidence, they ultimately had some reservations.

The ninth senior brother's face was ashen as he gritted his teeth and said, "Today, thieves have come to our Wuzhuang Temple. You must protect our two distinguished guests from the Tushita Palace."

After saying that, he suppressed his anger and led his anxious disciples to clean up the fallen ginseng fruit tree.

As the screams and commotion outside the courtyard subsided, Yuan Shoucheng patted his chest, his small eyes darting around, and whispered to Chen Guangrui, who was sitting by the window with her eyes closed, "..."
“Scholar Chen, those Taoist priests outside seem to have left. Sigh, with that commotion just now, I thought they were going to rush in and tear us apart.”

Chen Guangrui slowly opened his eyes, walked to the door, and looked out through the crack. He saw two young Taoist priests with cold and hard faces, standing like stone statues on either side of the courtyard gate.

"They didn't leave; they left someone to guard the gate," Chen Guangrui said calmly.

Yuan Shoucheng leaned closer to take a look, clicked his tongue, and said, "Hey, judging by this, they're afraid we'll run away. But..."

He rubbed his chin. "These two alone, plus those two sullen, unlucky guys next door? Probably not enough."

Before he could finish speaking, clear curses came from the next courtyard; it was the voice of Qingfeng and Mingyue.

The two men were clearly badly beaten; their voices were hoarse and filled with resentment.

"It's all that plague pig's fault, it killed us both..."

"And those thieves, ugh, my senior brothers were too ruthless..."

Listening to the endless sighs and curses against fate from next door, Yuan Shoucheng picked at his ear, looking completely indifferent.
"Listen to them, they're so half-dead. They slept like logs yesterday when the tree fell down. Expecting them to watch over us? Dream on."

Chen Guangrui frowned slightly, seemingly puzzled. "The ginseng fruit tree was knocked down last night, making quite a commotion. Why didn't anyone in Wuzhuang Temple notice?"

Yuan Shoucheng immediately replied, a knowing look on his face.
"Is there even a question? With Zhenyuan Daxian gone, the temple has lost its leader, and everyone is becoming lax. Besides, we sent Qingfeng and Mingyue to guard the fruit trees, so the others naturally became even more relaxed. Who would have thought that those two little devils would fall into a deep sleep?"

He paused, his small eyes narrowing. "Now that the tree has fallen, the sky has collapsed. They need to find someone to take the blame as soon as possible. I think this blame will definitely be placed on the two of us and that pig who disappeared without a trace. We have to wait for Zhen Yuanzi to come back and deal with it so that they can explain themselves."

"Master Yuan, please do some calculations," Chen Guangrui said, looking at Yuan Shoucheng. "Where did the disciple that Ninth Senior Brother secretly sent go, and who did he invite?"

"My calculations might not be accurate."

Upon hearing about fortune-telling, Yuan Shoucheng's face immediately fell. He steeled himself, pulled out a few greasy copper coins from his sleeve pocket, sat cross-legged, and began muttering incantations.

The copper coins clattered to the ground. He frowned, leaned closer to examine them, and moved his trembling fingers across the divination chart, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

"Water vapor, the Northeast, a noble person? It feels very close..." He muttered to himself, becoming more and more undecided as he looked at the information.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard, and a young Taoist priest called out breathlessly, "Ninth Senior Brother, Ninth Senior Brother, the Immortal of Penglai has arrived at the temple, saying he has come to visit Master!"

The news came like a thunderbolt.

Yuan Shoucheng sprang to his feet with a "whoosh," slapping his thigh in surprise, delight, and a touch of guilt.
"Hey, the God of Longevity? That matches up! The divination just now said that a noble person had arrived, but I hadn't quite grasped it yet. It turns out it's the Immortal of Penglai! No wonder the feeling was so vague yet so strong."

He seemed to have found an excuse for his miscalculation, and his wrinkles smoothed out a bit.

"The God of Longevity from Penglai?" Chen Guangrui's face showed a perfectly timed hint of surprise. "What is he doing at Wuzhuang Temple at this time?"

"The people from Wuzhuang Temple sent their disciples out to look for someone, and when they returned, they brought back the Antarctic Immortal. Could it be that the person they found was the Antarctic Immortal? But what is his relationship with Zhu Ganglie?"

Chen Guangrui felt that some things needed to be revealed to the truth, so he went out to take a look. The two pushed open the door and stepped out. The two Taoist priests at the door immediately became alert and stepped forward to stop them, saying, "Stop! By order of Ninth Senior Brother, please rest in the room."

Chen Guangrui didn't stop walking and said coldly, "Is your Wuzhuang Temple treating the people from our Doushuai Palace like criminals?"

Seeing that the two hesitated, he spoke in a gentler tone,
"Two Daoist masters, your senior brother just said to protect us, that is, to ask you two to protect our safety. Did you explicitly say that you would imprison our distinguished guests from the Tushita Palace in your Wuzhuang Temple, and not even allow them to visit the visiting immortal?"

The two Taoist priests' arms froze in mid-air, looking at each other with hesitation and difficulty on their faces.

Ninth Senior Brother's original words were indeed to emphasize that the property must be protected and nothing should happen.

If they were to forcefully prevent them from seeing such a distinguished guest as the Immortal of Penglai, it would not only be impolite but would also make Wuzhuang Temple appear to be protesting, confirming the accusation of house arrest. They could not afford the consequences.

Yuan Shoucheng stepped forward at the opportune moment, a smug smile plastered on his face, and chimed in,
“Indeed, this humble Taoist priest and Mr. Chen are also distinguished guests of the temple. How could we be impolite? The immortal has come from afar, so it is only right that we go to pay our respects. Besides,”

He then changed the subject, saying, "My servant has been chasing after that Pigsy and hasn't returned yet, and we're extremely worried. Now that the Immortal Elder has arrived, if he has any clues, it will save us from waiting here in vain, won't it? Don't worry, with you two as my personal guards, we'll be safe and sound."

The two Taoist priests exchanged a quick glance, speechless at Chen Guangrui's identity and words. Fearing the blame for obstructing communication, they could only silently withdraw their arms and step aside to make way, but immediately followed closely behind Chen Guangrui and Yuan Shoucheng.

The group passed through numerous grand halls and corridors. Entering the solemn main reception hall, they saw the Ninth Senior Brother standing respectfully at the lower level, completely unaware of Chen Guangrui's arrival.
Seated at the head of the table is none other than the God of Longevity of Penglai, the Old Man of the South Pole.

The old man held a snow-white whisk, his brows usually radiant with kindness, but now a deep worry lingered. The plum blossom deer beneath him seemed to sense the unusual atmosphere in the hall, its hooves pawing restlessly. Several young celestial children, carrying peaches and other offerings, stood behind him, holding their breath.

Although they saw Chen Guangrui, they assumed he was a disciple of Wuzhuang Temple and didn't say anything more.

"Immortal!"

Although Ninth Senior Brother's attitude was respectful, his words carried a blaming tone.
"It is truly an honor for our humble abode that you have graced Longevity Hill with your presence!"

He spoke extremely quickly, as if afraid of being interrupted.
"Just now, the villain who pushed down the ginseng tree, the spiritual root of heaven and earth in my Wuzhuang Temple, and destroyed the treasure of my temple has been identified as the lawless wild boar demon, Zhu Ganglie."

He suddenly raised his hand, his trembling fingertips pointing directly at the collapsed area in the rear garden outside the hall. Every word seemed to be spat out from between his teeth, his gaze fixed on the face of the Antarctic Immortal.
"I've heard that this pig demon has a special relationship with you. Is that true?"

He deliberately highlighted this crucial relationship.

"While my ancestor was away in the South China Sea with a Buddhist scroll from Guanyin, that Pigsy, in a fit of madness, sneaked into the forbidden area of ​​my temple and destroyed the ancient spiritual root,"

He deliberately avoided mentioning Chen Guangrui and Yuan Shoucheng, pinning all the heinous crimes on Zhu Ganglie.

“The evidence is conclusive. Last night, two of my disciples saw Zhu Ganglie stealing fruit. Later, he fled to avoid punishment. If you don’t believe me, you can call him here so we can confront him face to face.”

Ninth Senior Brother suddenly took a step forward, his eyes bloodshot.

"Penglai Immortal Island cannot remain uninvolved in this matter. This wretched beast has caused a catastrophe, tarnishing Penglai's reputation. Immortal Elder, you must give Wuzhuang Temple an explanation, and give the destroyed ginseng fruit tree an explanation. Please, in consideration of our past incense offerings and the relationship between our two prefectures, find a way to capture that escaped wretched beast! Or..."

He took a deep breath and delivered his final demand with force.
"Or perhaps you possess a miraculous method to bring the dead back to life and revive withered trees? Could you please use your supreme supernatural powers to save our fallen spiritual tree? You see, isn't this matter... something you should take care of?"

These words blatantly exposed the close relationship between Penglai Island and Zhu Ganglie, linking Zhu Ganglie's crimes to Penglai's reputation, and forcing the God of Longevity to take immediate responsibility for the matter or come up with a solution.

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence, even heavier and more oppressive than before.

The birthday celebrant remained silent for a long time before finally speaking.
"Logically speaking, that's what it means."

As soon as he said this, Chen Guangrui was stunned. The old man of the South Pole really cares about Zhu Ganglie's affairs. What is the relationship between them?
(End of this chapter)