Traveling through countless heavens, an immortal being

"Is this the city governed by the capital of Ji Province?"

Lear, riding on the back of the blue ox, looked at the city gate in front of him, which had a few scattered braziers on the city wall, a moat about ten feet wide around it, and a drawbridge that had been raised. He asked the blue ox, who was sitting on it, "What are you doing here?"

The blue ox shook its head and said, "Reporting to my master, I've only ever heard of this prefectural city when my old master was studying. I really don't know what it's like inside."

As the man and the ox were talking, some noises came from the city wall. Lear pretended not to see it, but actually released his divine sense to cover the area. He turned his head to look around, but in reality he was listening to the guards on the city wall talking.

……

Several soldiers on the city wall were gathered together, watching Lear outside the city and talking quietly...

"Captain, a young Taoist priest carrying a cane and riding an ox has arrived outside the city. Should we inform the magistrate?"

"No rush, let's see if he'll camp outside the city or knock on the door later."

"What if he just lights a fire and takes a break?"

"That's a spy from the Northern Barbarians, we'll wipe him out with a hail of arrows!"

"Then he should knock on the door..."

"Then he must have something to rely on. Don't you know that the Imperial Preceptor is also a Taoist? If he knocks on the door later, we can't offend him. If he knocks on the door, I'll go and talk to the Prefect before deciding whether to let him in or not."

……

Lear, with his divine sense projected outwards, heard everything clearly. He sighed inwardly at how dramatic these soldiers were, but it was good that he knew what they were thinking; he should be able to enter the city to rest tonight.

He maintained his spiritual projection, looked up at the city wall, and shouted loudly, "You soldiers, why aren't you opening the gate for this Taoist priest?!"

As Lear spoke, he raised the dragon-headed cane in his hand, his magic power surging forth. At the opportune moment, a soft golden light shone from the Investiture of the Gods sub-list, which was tied through the silken ribbons of the dragon's whiskers, and as the lamp swayed, it scattered specks of gold dust.

This bizarre scene stunned the soldiers who were secretly watching from the city wall. After a moment, the only soldier who was still clear-headed shook his equally dumbfounded superior officer beside him.

"Team leader? Team leader?!"

"Ah!?" The captain looked around at his men, then glanced at the golden cane that Lear was holding through the crenellations of the city wall. He swallowed hard before he came to his senses.

"Please wait a moment, Immortal Master. I am not in charge of this city! It is the Prefectural Magistrate! Whether you can enter the city depends on his decision! Please forgive me, please forgive me!"

After standing up, bowing, and shouting towards the outside of the city, the soldier ordered the other soldiers on night watch on the city wall to intensify their patrols. He then hurriedly went down the city wall to find the prefect who could take charge...

……

After waiting for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Lear, sitting on the back of the blue ox and holding his dragon-headed cane, had already dozed off. Only then did the city gate across the moat become lively.

Lear was still projecting his divine sense outwards, while inside the city gates, there was a commotion of shouts calling for the drawbridge to be lowered and the city gates opened to welcome the immortal.

……

Lear felt very uneasy listening to their incessant arguing, because the noise inside the city gates was too chaotic and had been going on for too long.

As if guided by his own will, Li Erfu raised his dragon-headed cane, poured it into it, and tossed it into the sky. A black fishing net, hidden in the darkness, was knocked aside by the dragon's head and landed on the ground, radiating an ominous aura that even the blue ox sensed was amiss.

The green ox, seeing the sizzling, corroding rammed earth covered by the fishing net, was so frightened that it took a few steps back.

"Master! Master! What kind of evil thing is this?!" Green Ox cried out in disbelief, his eyes wide.

Lear sat atop the blue ox without swaying, staring coldly at the black fishing net. "What a vicious method! What a despicable trap! To use the blood of a child who died a violent death to create this 'Child Demon'!"

He suddenly looked up towards the city gate, where there was now complete silence, as if the previous commotion had been Lear's hallucination.

He stared at that spot, raised the dragon-headed staff he was holding at an angle in his right hand, infused it with magic, and threw it like a javelin at the city gate behind the raised drawbridge.

"Whoosh~"

"boom!!"

With a whooshing sound, the dragon-headed cane hurtled straight towards the city gate, smashing the raised drawbridge and the city gate behind it into a shower of wood chips.

Lear's right hand loosely clenched, and the dragon-headed staff that had just opened the city gate flew out of the archway and landed back in his hand.

Li Er coldly stared at the dark city gate, gathered his magic power, and conjured a cloud that landed at the feet of the blue ox.

The blue ox naturally took off, and auspicious clouds rose slowly, crossing the half-full moat and the city wall with a few soldiers kneeling here and there. It then flew over several streets without lights and flew straight to the east of the city to stop above a grand mansion with tall gate lions and lanterns hanging at the entrance.

At this moment, there were more than twenty figures kneeling in the courtyard, all of them trembling with fear.

Lear narrowed his eyes as he looked at the pot-bellied, sweat-drenched, white-faced man kneeling at the front, confirming his target.

Looking around, this fat man seemed the most pampered, with long fingernails on both hands and a large gold and jade ring on his thick fingers.

"You kneeling at the head of the table! You're the Vice Prefect of Jizhou?"

Upon hearing Lear's question, the plump man didn't even dare to raise his head. He hurriedly crawled forward two more steps before prostrating himself and speaking in a trembling voice.

"This humble official, the Prefectural Magistrate of Jizhou, pays his respects to the Immortal! I was unaware of your arrival, Immortal. What brings you here? What brings you here?"

Lear grew increasingly disgusted by the trembling in his voice, his tone growing even colder and more stern, "Tell me the truth about everything I ask! If you conceal even the slightest thing!"

After saying this, Lear made a hand seal and chanted an incantation, summoning a bolt of lightning that struck the stone steps inside the gate, shattering them into pieces.

This sudden fright made the people kneeling in the courtyard tremble even more, and several maids and servants cried out in fear.

Those dozen or so men dressed in tight-fitting clothes were quite brave, though they were trembling.

The stone steps shattered and scattered, and one of the flying pebbles grazed the fat magistrate's forehead, leaving a bloody mark. He screamed in fright and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Enough!" Lear hurriedly called out, "You, Prefect! Answer my questions verbally! If you conceal even the slightest thing, your fate will be the same as these stone steps shattered by lightning! Do you understand?"

Hearing Lear's threatening words, the magistrate, trembling and prostrating himself, cried out, "Gods, spare me! Gods, spare me! This humble official... I... I will tell you everything I know... I will tell you everything I know... Waaah!"

Li Er patiently asked, and the prefect answered with trepidation. He learned what had happened, what factions existed in the court, the reputation of the Grand Preceptor, and whether the incidents in Heyang and Baiqi counties were carried out by the Grand Preceptor or some powerful figure in the court for some ulterior motive.

After getting all the answers, Li Erzhao unleashed a bolt of lightning that struck down the dozen or so kneeling men in tight-fitting clothes, along with the bloated, wicked prefect, before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

Now my Dao heart is clear...

……

Now only three maids and three servants remained below, all children under the age of twelve. Lear used his dragon-headed cane to circle the mansion in the air, telling the six of them that they could stay in the mansion without fear of death. He then ignored the poor children who were still kowtowing and thanking him profusely, and told the blue ox to fly to the side courtyard of the mansion before landing down to find a place to spend the night...

………………

The golden rooster crows at dawn, and the sky shines eternally...

It was another early morning, the sun was just rising and the sky was just beginning to brighten, and a purple aura stretched for miles.

After a good night's sleep, Lear came out of his room carrying a bamboo mat and spread it under the eaves to meditate and cultivate the True Technique of Longevity. Seeing this, the blue ox, which was eating grass with dew on it, quickly chewed some grass and lay down three feet away from Lear.

The immortal is clearly cultivating. If you get close now, you might be able to use this immortal energy to ascend to heaven with him in the future, just like in the story the old scholar told his grandson.

A person sits quietly, an ox lies still, both practicing their spiritual cultivation in this secluded courtyard...