The entire sect is obsessed with love, but I'm the only one who's truly insane.

"Tell me, what are the immortals like in the folk tales of the mortal world?"

On a dark and windy night, several well-dressed young men walked along a somewhat desolate path outside the city, chatting idly.

Yuan Ye didn't know why his junior uncle asked this. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "Junior uncle, if you've suppressed your bandit-like aura, don't laugh, don't wear narrow sleeves, and it's best to wear flowing robes, something like that."

Lin Du thought for a moment and realized it was a bit difficult, but not much.

She glanced at Yuan Ye beside her and said, "Then you should tidy yourself up and dress up properly."

Yuan Ye: ...

"Is it possible that I don't have your face, Junior Uncle, and that look in your eyes that treats people and dogs equally?"

Lin Du gave a cold laugh.

Yuan Ye took a step back. "Ah, change clothes, change clothes, find a dilapidated temple to change clothes."

He knew that his junior uncle couldn't pretend to be an immortal; he looked more like a living Yama, the King of Hell, who was about to throw ghosts into a vat of boiling oil.

Wei Zhi pulled down his straw hat and laughed, while Lin Du attacked indiscriminately, saying, "The straw hat can't hide your upturned lips, stop pretending."

The Buddhist monk then raised his face and laughed at her openly.

Lin Du twitched the corners of his mouth, wishing he could bare his teeth to intimidate others.

Wei Zhi laughed and pointed to a spot, "There's a dilapidated Taoist temple over there, let's go."

Upon arriving at the location, Lin Du was taken aback, "This Taoist temple..."

The Taoist temple was very large, with many courtyards in the back. Although it had only been abandoned for a few years, one could still vaguely see signs of its former prosperity. The paint on the walls was still bright, but the walls were covered with cobwebs and a thick layer of dust.

Despite it being summer, the Taoist temple was deserted, desolate, and extremely cold.

Yuan Ye and Jin Xuan were both Taoists, so they couldn't help but feel sad upon seeing this.

Lin Du quickly realized why. The imperial advisor had been purged from the court, and with each new emperor came a new set of officials; it was common for Taoist temples to be abandoned.

She silently cast a cleaning spell, "Let's go, let's rest first."

The so-called rest was just that Yuan Ye changed out of the clothes that looked like those of a prince and put on a wide-sleeved Taoist robe similar to his master's.

Ni Jinxuan hasn't grown much taller over the years, but she has a pleasing face that makes her look like a golden boy and jade girl beside a Bodhisattva in traditional perception.

Lin Du didn't insist. He changed out of his usual training clothes, grabbed one of his fifth senior brothers' whisks, and tossed it onto his left arm. "Does this look decent now?"

It looks so good! At first glance, Yuan Ye thought it was his fifth uncle from the sect who always avoided cooking, except for the beard.

After watching for a while, Wei Zhi actually joined in their pretentious act, "How about I change my robe?"

Lin Du glanced at him, too embarrassed to say that he wasn't part of her plans.

But Wei Zhi understood and reminded him, "I heard that Grand Commandant Xie is a Buddhist monk who practices with his hair intact."

Lin Du: It's because this Grand Commandant Xie has no taste!

But soon Lin Du suddenly turned to look at Yuan Ye thoughtfully, "A Buddhist temple for farming and garrisoning troops? Otherwise, why would they suddenly lead troops to surround it a year later?"

Yuan Ye was stunned for a moment, a strange look flashing in his eyes. "But that's... the upright and honest Xie Yu, how could he..."

"I am not the same person I was yesterday, let alone my old friends," Lin Du said, reminding them, "Don't dwell on yesterday."

Ni Jinxuan, unusually kind to Yuan Ye, gave him a piece of candy that was specially made for Lin Du.

"Don't make that face!"

Yuan Ye looked down and saw the orange candy in the oiled paper in his palm. It was coated with sugar powder, neither too soft nor too hard, but it had been cut into irregular squares with a kitchen knife, much rougher than the ones in the palace. However, he still put the candy in his mouth, and soon frowned because it was sticky.

Junior Uncle is such a picky person, how come he never picked this candy? He's been eating it since his first year in the sect.

Lin Du didn't care at all and turned to discuss with Wei Zhi, "Xie Yu may not revere Buddha, so it won't make a difference if you go. You can come with us if you want. Yuan Ye is my junior disciple. You have your own requests, but I want to ensure that his cultivation will be unimpeded from now on."

Wei Zhi smiled and agreed, "Okay."

Lin Du then turned around and stood in front of Yuan Ye, giving him a sharp rap on the head. "Our return to the palace this time is all about a celestial being descending to earth, something high-class. We've already had the sweets, so why are you still frowning? Let's go, I've done the math, Chen Shi (7-9 AM) is just right."

Yuan Ye's face was contorted with rage. He had just been licking the candy stuck to his teeth with a bitter and resentful expression when he was unexpectedly hit on the head by his junior uncle. He bit his tongue, and tears were welling up in his eyes.

Ni Jinxuan, unusually, didn't side with Lin Du. "Junior Uncle, he's crying! Why don't you let him cry it out by himself before he leaves?"

Yuan Ye: ...I don't need this little bit of thoughtfulness.

Lin Du lowered his eyes and chuckled, "Let's fly while it's dark."

As the sun slowly rose, the entire capital city, which should have been shrouded in misty haze in March, was surprisingly sunny when the morning court session was over.

The sun pierced through the clouds, and a flock of cranes soared across the blue sky above the palace. Just as the officials at the morning court were hearing the news of the adjournment, a young eunuch scrambled to the side of the head eunuch, trembling as he whispered, "The Imperial Ancestral Temple... something's happened at the Imperial Ancestral Temple!"

"Suddenly, the Imperial Ancestral Temple burst into golden light, with auspicious clouds covering its roof. Along the way, flowers bloomed, and cranes circled overhead! They were real cranes!"

The young man standing at the very front had excellent hearing. Upon hearing this, he slightly raised his face, revealing half of his face tattooed with characters, and a thoughtful look in his deep black eyes.

The emperor, mature and composed, waited until the court session ended before coldly ordering, "Prepare the carriage for the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

Lin Du in the sky was eating melon seeds. Melon seeds are considered "heaty" in traditional Chinese medicine, so her senior brother forbade her from eating them because they were bad for her health. That's why she could sneak a few outside.

The four people hid in the clouds. Lin Du was cracking sunflower seeds in one hand while looking at the square, solemn, and majestic palace. It was different from the Forbidden City in his memory, but the red walls, colorful paintings, soaring eaves, and curved corridors were beautiful.

Wei Zhi glanced at the small handful of sunflower seeds she was holding, which were almost all shells. Just as he was about to take out another handful, he quickly stopped her, "Don't eat them."

Lin Du stared wide-eyed, his eyes clearly saying, "Why are you interfering with me?"

"Your internal organs are congenitally deficient and underdeveloped. All the spiritual food of the Supreme Sect is made from the purest spiritual objects in the spiritual realm, but these melon seeds were bought from outside. Be careful not to get sick if you eat too many."

Lin Du expressed disbelief, saying, "How could I be so fragile!"

Wei Zhi remained silent, staring intently at her, his face conveying the unspoken message, "You are it."

Lin Du didn't bring Xia Tianwu along because he didn't want to be stared at by death. Now, he has a stinky Buddhist cultivator by his side who claims to be an elder but is actually a peer!

It's beyond words to describe how tragic it was.

Lin Du rustled and knocked a few more seeds, when suddenly he saw a pair of bright yellow ceremonial guards approaching from afar in his mind. He had no choice but to suppress the rebellious spirit that had just risen within him, and casually crushed a handful of melon seed shells into powder, which then scattered down.

The large group of kneeling eunuchs below were covered in dust but remained oblivious.

Lin Du stood up, flicked his unfamiliar wide sleeves, took out a whisk and swept it over the three people, then pretended to make a hand seal to disperse the auspicious clouds. He then adopted an expression that treated people and dogs equally, and with the whisk in hand, he looked down at the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the emperor of this mortal world.

She suddenly felt like requesting a song.

There has never been a savior, nor any god or emperor.

"To create human happiness, we must rely entirely on ourselves."