The wedding was livestreamed by the sister, revealing his identity as a Taoist priest.

Longhu Mountain, Qingwei School.

When the door to the back hall was pushed open, Qin Shouyi read the letter over and over again.

"Sect Leader?"

The young disciple who delivered the letter asked cautiously.

"Are you alright?"

Qin Shouyi placed the letter on the table and weighed it down with a paperweight.

"Go and invite all the elders here."

"Now?"

"Now!"

Fifteen minutes later.

Seven people were crammed into the rear hall of the Qingwei Sect.

The three elders, the two chief disciples, the sect leader Qin Shouyi, and the young disciple who lost his shoe.

Elder Zhang arrived the slowest; his trousers were still wet, he was wearing wooden clogs, and his complexion was not good.

"Shouyi, what is it? I've been soaking in a medicinal bath for half an hour, and you're calling me over to be exposed to the cold wind?"

Qin Shouyi didn't say anything, but pushed the letter to the middle of the table.

Elder Zhang picked it up and glanced at it.

Then one of his clogs fell off.

"Taiqing Palace? A handwritten letter from the Celestial Master?"

The other two elders came over, their six eyes fixed on the three lines of text.

"He wants the Taiyi Starry Sky Paper?!"

"And there's the Qiuhao Leizhu brush!"

"Writing a marriage certificate? The Celestial Master is getting married?"

Elder Zhang slammed the letter on the table, raising his voice.

"No! Absolutely not!"

He turned to Qin Shouyi, his beard bristling.

"Shouyi, you know better than I what the Taiyi Star Chart is!"

"The sect's most prized treasure left behind by the Celestial Master! Three hundred years have passed, and not a single piece has been touched!"

"yes!"

Elder Li, who was standing nearby, slammed his fist on the table.

"The Celestial Master's wedding is a joyous occasion; we'll just send a congratulatory gift. Golden talismans, magical artifacts, or elixirs—take your pick! There's no need to give away our sect's most prized possession!"

The third elder, Elder Zhao, didn't slam his fist on the table, but he frowned and spoke in a heavy tone.

"Sect Leader, it's not that we're stingy, but in this world, evil spirits are becoming more and more rampant every year. Do you remember what happened in that town at the foot of Longhu Mountain last autumn?"

"If it weren't for the Taiyi Star Paper suppressing our mountain-protecting formation, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

"This thing is for saving your life."

The three elders all looked at Qin Shouyi, their attitudes very clear.

Qin Shouyi sat in the main seat and remained silent.

After listening to the three elders, he picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"Are you finished talking?"

"Then I'll say a few words."

Qin Shouyi stood up and walked to the center of the hall.

He put his hands behind his back and glanced at the three elders.

"deliver."

"It must be delivered."

Elder Zhang's face darkened.

"Shouichi!"

"Let me finish what I have to say."

Qin Shouyi raised his hand to stop him.

"The Taiyi Star Paper is the sect's most treasured item, that's true. Evil spirits are stirring, that's also true. But have you ever considered what the Celestial Master's wedding truly means?"

He held up one finger.

"The Zhengyi sect has existed for 1,800 years and has had 18 Celestial Masters. The last time a Celestial Master got married was 300 years ago."

"It takes three hundred years to wait for this once in a lifetime."

"This is not just one person's marriage; it's a major event for the entire Taoist sect. The Celestial Master is holding an altar to announce the marriage to Heaven, with the Three Realms as witnesses and the sun and moon as witnesses. You're going to use ordinary paper to write a marriage certificate for such a grand ceremony?"

He looked at Elder Zhang.

"Uncle Zhang, do you use straw paper to write talismans?"

Elder Zhang's lips twitched.

"How can that be the same...?"

"The same principle applies."

Elder Zhao still wouldn't budge.

"That being said, the problem of evil spirits..."

Qin Shouyi suddenly smiled.

That smile was subtle, as if he had remembered something that still frightened him to this day.

"Uncle Zhao, I have a question for you."

"Go ahead and ask."

"Do you know what I did at Taiqing Palace last month?"

Elder Zhao was taken aback.

"Weren't you going to deliver the pill formula?"

"The prescription was just something I came up with."

Qin Shouyi's smile vanished.

"I'm going, I want to see this new Celestial Master with my own eyes."

The hall fell silent.

The three elders were all looking at him.

"When I saw him at Taiqing Palace, he was wearing a faded, plain-colored Taoist robe and sitting on the Dharma seat."

"There was no external release of magic power, and no deliberate pressure was exerted."

"Just sit there."

He paused.

"I have cultivated in Taoism for forty-three years and experienced three heavenly tribulations. I believe my mind is as firm as a rock."

But he glanced at me.

Qin Shouyi raised his right hand, which was trembling slightly.

"Just one glance and my back was soaked with sweat."

The hall was deathly silent.

Elder Zhang's wooden clogs fell off again, this time it was another one.

"It's not that he's deliberately trying to suppress me; it's just that his level of skill has reached such a level that standing in front of him is like standing at the foot of a mountain whose top you can't see."

Qin Shouyi looked at the three elders.

"At twenty-four, you attained the rank of Celestial Master. Gentlemen, what were you doing at twenty-four?"

Elder Zhang: "...chopping wood."

Elder Li: "...reciting scriptures."

Elder Zhao remained silent for a while.

"I was punished by my master to copy the Tao Te Ching, and I copied it three hundred times."

Qin Shouyi nodded.

"So, what do you think? Should we give this to someone who's just asked for it, or not?"

The three elders looked at each other in bewilderment.

Elder Zhang opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, finally managing to utter a single sentence.

"Um... does the Celestial Master accept disciples?"

Qin Shouyi almost spat out his tea.

Elder Li instantly perked up, his eyes shining.

"That's right! We'll deliver it ourselves, to the Taiqing Palace, and pay our respects to the Celestial Master while we're at it! My 'Purple Heaven Thunder Seal' has been stuck at the seventh level for eleven years. If the Celestial Master could offer some guidance..."

Elder Zhang shoved him away.

"The 'Five Thunder Heavenly Heart Technique' I cultivate shares the same origin as the Celestial Master's lineage; in terms of closeness, I rank higher!"

Elder Zhao snorted coldly.

"In terms of seniority, I am superior to all of you, and I should be the one to see the Celestial Master first."

Qin Shouyi looked at the three of them, and his lips twitched.

"Alright!"

Qin Shouyi slammed his hand on the table, and the three elders finally stopped.

"Take three of the nine sheets of Taiyi Star Paper and put them together with the Qiuhao Leizhu Brush in a box."

He glanced at the three of them.

"I'll decide who goes."

Elder Zhang grew anxious.

"Why should you decide?!"

"Because I am the sect leader."

Elder Zhang choked.

Qin Shouyi picked up the letter from the table, folded it, and put it into his sleeve.

"Uncle Zhang, go ahead. Your Five Thunder Technique is closest to Taiqing Palace, making communication convenient. Elder Li, stay behind; the mountain-protecting formation can't be left unattended. Uncle Zhao..."

"How should I put it?"

Elder Zhao nervously rubbed his hands together.

"Your legs aren't good, so don't bother."

"By the way, when we set off, bring along the most talented disciple under the age of thirty from our sect. If the Celestial Master is in a good mood, he might actually be able to give us some pointers."

Elder Zhang's eyes shone like two searchlights.

"Shouyi! You're so thoughtful!"

He ran outside barefoot, shouting as he ran.

"Quick! Bring the Taiyi Star Letter out of the underground palace! Pack it in a sandalwood box! No, a golden nanmu box! Lined with nine layers of silk velvet!"

Elder Li chased after them.

"I'll go help too!"

Elder Zhao, leaning on his cane, followed with a limp.

"Wait for me! My legs aren't good, but my hands are!"

The young disciple who had lost his shoe huddled in the corner.

"Sect Leader, have we... given away everything?"

Qin Shouyi patted him on the shoulder.

"Remember this sentence."

"Where the Celestial Master resides is the ancestral home of Taoism."

"The Taiyi Star Paper is kept in our underground palace; it is a treasure of our sect."

"Only when it is placed in the hands of the Celestial Master will it be returned to its rightful owner."

The young disciple nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Qin Shouyi looked up at the night sky.

The moon over Longhu Mountain was round and bright, illuminating the pine trees covering the mountainside like a silver sea.

He suddenly recalled the scene when he met Chen Shidu at Taiqing Palace.

Such a strong person, yet he wore an old, worn-out red string on his wrist.

The girl the Celestial Master is going to marry must be very lucky.