Young master, why not become a corpse immortal?

Chapter 398 The Old Taoist Seeking Truth

Lin Jiang immediately leaned out of the carriage and saw an old Taoist priest riding a donkey slowly walking towards them from the distant Gobi Desert.

The old Taoist priest's robe was slightly worn, and he sat cross-legged on the back of a donkey with his head tilted to one side. The donkey had no saddle and was extremely thin, with its bony ribs faintly visible.

It's clearly not a good place to sit.

The old Taoist priest was visibly swaying, as if he was about to fall at any moment, but his buttocks seemed to be glued to the donkey's back. No matter how much the donkey bounced and swayed, he remained steady and did not slip off.

When the donkey saw the carriage suddenly appear ahead, it slowly stopped and began to search the almost barren Gobi Desert.

Lin Jiang glanced at the donkey, then at the old Taoist priest.

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he pulled a carrot straight out of his storage bag.

He raised his hand and handed it to the donkey.

The donkey's eyes lit up the moment it saw the carrot.

He stumbled and took a step.

The sudden jolt woke the old Taoist priest who was dozing on the donkey's back.

The old Taoist priest immediately let out a short, startled cry.

He finally managed to steady himself, turned his head, and stared at Lin Jiang.

But when he caught sight of the carrot clutched in Lin Jiang's hand, he was so angry he laughed:
"Young friend, has anyone ever told you not to feed other people's mounts indiscriminately?"

Lin Jiang looked at the donkey, who was happily chewing on a carrot, and said:

"But it looks quite hungry."

The donkey chewed the carrot a couple of times, smacked its lips, and said:

"That's right, old man, you tell me every day that I should fast here so that I can see the celestial realm soon, but I've been following you for so many years and I haven't seen the celestial realm you mentioned at all. I haven't eaten anything good all these years, and look how thin I've become!"

"Aren't you afraid of eating too much and turning into a donkey meat sandwich?!"

The old Taoist priest snorted coldly, then turned around off the donkey's back and looked at Lin Jiang:

"I just sensed a token I gave out right here. Did you use it?"

"Is this what you were talking about, Taoist priest?"

As Lin Jiang spoke, he took out a small jade token from his pocket.

The old Taoist priest stared intently at the scene:
"I gave it to that kid Daxing. How did it end up in your hands? Were you sent by that kid?"

"exactly."

The old Taoist priest looked Lin Jiang up and down, and a glint of light suddenly flashed in the depths of his eyes. Lin Jiang felt as if something had quietly slipped across his body.

After a moment's examination, a hint of surprise appeared on the old Taoist's face, which quickly turned into a chuckle:
“You are truly interesting, truly interesting. I have been wandering around this place for over a decade, and have seen countless people of all kinds, but I have never seen anyone as strange as you.”

Lin Jiang intended to continue with the pleasantries, but upon hearing the phrase "more than ten cycles of sixty years," he was slightly taken aback.
"The Taoist priest has indeed been traveling for a long time."

"Nothing in this world can pose a threat to me. I am quite carefree and live a long life."

"We've been chatting for a while, but we still haven't asked for the Taoist master's name."

"My Taoist name?" The old Taoist stroked his beard. "When I first entered this Taoist path, I did give myself a Taoist name, but I haven't used it for so long that I've almost forgotten it. Now that you've suddenly asked, I can't quite remember it either."

“We can’t be without titles. My name is Lin Jiang, this is Yu Wenyun, and the ones after him are Yi Er San and Jiang Jinyue.” Lin Jiang then pointed to the small ginseng on his shoulder: “This is a small ginseng, also known as the Divine Herb Lord.”

"Hello!" Little Ginseng waved his arms vigorously.

The old Taoist priest looked at the group of people in front of him, seemingly lost in thought.

He thought for a long time before speaking with some hesitation:

"In that case, let's call him Old Taoist Seeker of Truth for now."

"Master Xunzhen..."

Lin Jiang had a feeling that the old Taoist's self-proclaimed Taoist name must have some hidden meaning, but he didn't want to pry too much into it, so he could only ask instead:

"Has that Taoist priest ever seen celestial beings?"

“I have only glimpsed a few things,” the old Taoist said slowly. “The divine kingdom has existed for a very long time. When I first arrived, the celestial beings had already been killed by the immortals and were almost extinct. So it is rare to see them.”

"Immortals battle against Celestials..."

When Lin Jiang spoke with the little golden statue earlier, he had already largely confirmed this guess in his mind.

The fall of the celestial beings is certainly related to the immortals they created.

"What, young man? You've traveled all this way just to ask about this?"

Master Xunzhen looked Lin Jiang up and down with a smile, and Lin Jiang suddenly came to his senses.

"Of course not," Lin Jiang shook his head and said, "I came all this way mainly to ask you, Daoist Master, to take a look at her condition."

As Lin Jiang spoke, he turned to the side and spread his hands behind his back, revealing the still somewhat awkward number one, two, three to the sunlight.

Master Xunzhen dismounted from the donkey, slowly walked to the front of the three figures, and circled them twice:

"I see... When the Emperor of Daxing visited me before, he mentioned that a young lady was eager to break through her cultivation level and accidentally damaged her source, which put her life in danger. Now it seems that it is indeed... interesting."

Upon hearing the old Taoist's assessment, Yi Er San lowered his eyelids and murmured softly:

"I'm not interesting at all..."

"You're quite stubborn." Master Xunzhen stroked his beard and shook his head. "To break through that illusory realm, you didn't hesitate to expend a great deal of your life essence, causing your mind and spirit to converge into it. Now, when you open that gate, you will surely lose a moment's memory."

One, two, three remained silent.

“It seems I was right.” Xunzhen stroked his beard. “Only when the Illusionary Realm opens will your life be complete. Otherwise, you are a crippled person. You are sick, very sick.”

One, two, three bowed their heads, their expressions somber.

"Does the Taoist priest have a way to cure her?"

“Such methods do exist.” Xunzhen waved his sleeve. “But why discuss them here? The Gobi Desert is desolate, with no shade on either side. A gust of wind brings a sandstorm to our faces. If we were to discuss how to carry out the rescue here, I fear I would have to endure a few more mouthfuls of this northern dust.” “Is there anywhere nearby for you to stay, Daoist?”

The Taoist priest turned and mounted his donkey, flicking up the corner of his robe:
"You may board the carriage and follow closely behind me."

The group boarded the carriage as instructed. The Taoist priest Xunzhen led the way, while Yu Wenyun followed on horseback.

Inside the carriage, Lin Jiang noticed that Yi Er San was restless. Unable to find a comfortable spot, she finally got up and paced anxiously in the cramped space, letting out deep sighs from time to time.

"Are you nervous?"

Lin Jiang asked.

"This young lady truly feels she has no illness..." Yi Er San murmured softly, "This young lady really can't understand..."

"Do you really think that way?"

One, two, three fell silent.

She clearly wanted to say something, but the words got stuck in her throat.

He remained silent for a long time.

Just as Lin Jiang was about to speak to comfort Yi Er San, he suddenly heard Yu Wen Yun in front of him gasp.

Puzzled, Lin Jiang opened the window of the car in front and looked out the doorway.

When he caught a glimpse of the scene outside, even he couldn't help but gasp.

The old Taoist priest, Xunzhen, lightly flicked his sleeve, and a wisp of mist rose from beneath his donkey's hooves.

The thin mist slowly rose upwards, and in an instant it transformed into a long, undulating sea of ​​clouds that stretched straight towards the sky.

The carriage followed closely behind, soaring into the air as if speeding along a celestial road towards the heavens, quietly bidding farewell to the mortal world.

The old Taoist priest had been so peaceful that Lin Jiang almost forgot his true cultivation level.

Nine Heavens.

According to Zhao Liulang, the old Taoist priest is one of the few powerful beings in the world at the Ninth Heaven, a true master.

The Taoist techniques he employed were naturally far beyond what ordinary people could comprehend.

"You'd better stick close to this donkey of mine."

The Taoist priest laughed heartily, reached out his hand towards the pure white clouds beside him, and gently traced a line of cloud upwards with his fingertip.

He gently shook the cloud in his hand from side to side, and a handful of dust was directly refined into something else.

He gently flicked the dust on his left and right sides, and the clouds condensed into the shapes of some women.

These women held various musical instruments in their hands, gently strumming the strings, their sounds resonating throughout the sky.

Yu Wenyun naturally dared not be negligent. He used his Taoist skills to calm the two horses in front of him, which were obviously frightened, and made the carriage follow closely behind the Taoist in the distance so as not to fall behind.

Little Ginseng brought the two demon cores to the window. She opened her mouth wide and let out a "Wow!" sound, and the two demon cores echoed her:
"My goodness! I never expected to witness such a wonderful thing after following my elder brother."

"……really."

Even Yellow Ears, who had been uninterested until now, finally perked up.

Looking out now, the mist rises into the clouds, and the Gobi Desert gradually disappears into the distance.

At the edge of the sky, the morning light pours down, reflecting a dazzling brilliance.

……

On the border of Daxing, the thief sat on the chair with extreme unease, looking around nervously as his eyes swept over the sumptuous dishes on the table in front of him, hesitating whether to pick up his chopsticks.

He spent a great deal of effort and traveled through the night to finally arrive in Daxing.

Upon entering the city, he was indeed treated with considerable "enthusiasm":

Those people somehow found three half-star level experts to guard him closely.

Of the four, two were dressed as military officers and were probably transferred from the nearby New General's Mansion; another was a governor who could use the power of the city to create illusions; and the last one was dressed as a civil official and was said to have traveled a long way from the capital.

Upon seeing these people, the thief felt neither flattered nor flattered; on the contrary, he was quite terrified.

Such a group of experts guarding this place? Tsk, this is very bad.

However, since he was already there, he might as well make the best of it; now he couldn't escape even if he wanted to.

This group of people stayed by his side for three days without leaving his side, providing him with food and drink, but when the thief asked for a woman, no one agreed.

Even today, they actually set up a table and piled it with all sorts of dishes.

The abundance was astonishing.

The important figure from the capital was not sitting in the main seat, but was quietly waiting in the secondary seat.

Seems to be……

Some important person is coming.

While waiting anxiously, the thief suddenly caught a glimpse of a blurry figure walking in through the door.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the person who entered was a dark-skinned young man.

He doesn't look very old.

Just as the thief was wondering what was going on, the dark-skinned young man calmly walked to the main seat. The civil official next to him immediately got up and pulled out a chair for him, then stood respectfully to the side.

The young man plopped down in the main seat, smiling as he looked at the thief.

Sweat began to bead on the thief's forehead.

He suddenly felt a strong sense of unease that surged through his entire body.

(End of this chapter)