One person: Starting with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, his grandmaster uncle emerges from seclusion.

"Return to China?"

Qu Tong's lips curled into a self-deprecating yet sinister sneer.

"Going back now would just be serving as a snack for Zhang Tianyi."

She slowly stood up, walked to the paper door, and looked at this unfamiliar foreign courtyard.

"China's game of chess is temporarily off. But across the ocean, there are plenty of people interested in immortality and the Eight Extraordinary Techniques."

"Since those remnants of the Onmyoji faction still want to turn the tide, let them be the stepping stones."

"Schedule an audience with Abe Shigeaki for me..."

Qu Tong's eyes sank completely into darkness.

She knew that this secret cat-and-mouse game had just moved to a new location.

Zhang Tianyi, just you wait!

……

at the same time.

Longhu Mountain, thousands of miles away.

The art style is completely different from the rainy Tokyo; it's sunny and cloudless.

I have had breakfast.

Zhang Tianyi, with his hands behind his back, was leading Chen Duo on a stroll through the vast complex of the Celestial Master's Mansion.

"Girl, do you see that big incense burner over there?"

Zhang Tianyi pointed to the massive bronze cauldron in front of the Sanqing Hall, which required several people to encircle, and began his explanation:

“Back when I wasn’t even as tall as this incense burner, I would crawl into the incense ash in this burner and stay there for an entire afternoon to avoid my master’s cane.”

"When the results came out, I looked like a terracotta warrior that had just been unearthed, and my senior uncle laughed at me for a full six months."

Chen Duo followed closely behind Zhang Tianyi.

Upon hearing this rather "savory" dark history, her clear, large eyes curved into beautiful crescent moons, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn upwards.

"Master, did you get beaten up in the end?" Chen Duo asked curiously.

"Hit me? Who dares to hit me?"

Zhang Tianyi confidently flicked his sleeve.

“That’s called tactical concealment! By the time I came out of the incense burner, my master’s anger had already subsided. At most, he would just punish me by making me copy the Qingjing Jing a hundred times.”

The master and disciple chatted and laughed as they strolled from the Sanqing Hall to a bamboo grove path behind the mountain.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the bamboo leaves, illuminating Chen Duo's fair and jade-like face.

Combined with her serene and otherworldly temperament, she was simply like a fairy from a painting who had stepped out of the mountains and forests.

however.

The two of them strolled around comfortably, unaware that their peaceful scene had stirred up a storm in the eyes of a group of young Taoist priests on patrol!

Behind a moon gate less than twenty meters away from them.

Two young disciples holding brooms were sticking their butts out, peeking intently in their direction.

"Holy crap! Yexing, pinch me right now! Am I seeing things?!"

A chubby Taoist priest lowered his voice, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets:

"That person... is our legendary Second Master, who is rarely seen?!"

"Nonsense! In the entire Longhu Mountain, apart from him, who else would dare to wear a Taoist robe so flamboyantly and walk so arrogantly?"

The tall, thin Taoist priest named Yexing rubbed his hands together excitedly, his eyes shining:

"But that's not the point! The point is, look at the girl next to him."

"My God! She's so beautiful! A hundred times more attractive than those celebrities on TV!"

"And look at the way Second Master looks at her! So tender! So doting! He even tells her jokes!"

The chubby Taoist priest gasped, his gossip-loving mind racing.

“This girl isn’t wearing a Taoist robe… she’s definitely not from our mountain.”

The two young men exchanged a glance and instantly understood from each other's eyes what a shocking revelation was!

"Dude! This is big news!"

The chubby Taoist priest threw down his broom, took out his phone, and opened a WeChat group called "[Longhushan Gossip Frontline]".

Fingers frantically tapped on the screen:

[Breaking news! Second Master has returned to the mountain! And he brought back a beautiful girl from the foot of the mountain! The two were chatting and laughing in the bamboo forest, their behavior was incredibly intimate!]

The message was sent out.

The WeChat group, which was originally only used by people occasionally grabbing red envelopes, suddenly exploded!

[Yecheng: Holy crap?! Really?! No picture, no proof!]

[Ye Xing: Image.jpg, top-secret candid shot! Look at that face! That figure!]

The atmosphere in the group started to spiral out of control.

After all, in this Taoist temple, which is mostly filled with men and has little to no food, this gossip is even more exciting than the Old Celestial Master striking lightning.

[Ye Ping: Holy crap! This girl looks no more than eighteen or nineteen! Our Second Master is like an old ox eating... oops! An old tree blossoming anew!]

[Ye Liang: This is nothing! I just passed by the kitchen and saw Miss Xia He stewing bird's nest; it's probably to nourish this new master.]

[Ye Guang: It's confirmed! No wonder Second Master Shi was gone for so long this time. He wasn't just going down the mountain on business; he was clearly going down to kidnap a bride!]

As the saying goes, a rumor can become a science fiction movie once it passes through three mouths.

In less than half a day.

This gossip, circulating among the young disciples of Longhu Mountain, has rapidly evolved from "Second Master brought a girl" to:

"The Second Master went down the mountain and directly abducted someone's young virgin to the mountain."

"I heard that the girl even moved her luggage into the Second Master's courtyard."

"The Celestial Master's Mansion is about to hold a happy event! We're about to have our second great-grandmother!"

……

At this time.

At a martial arts training ground in the Celestial Master's Mansion.

Rong Shan was shirtless, lifting a stone lock that weighed several hundred kilograms, and huffing and puffing as he practiced his strength.

Zhang Lingyu was sitting in meditation not far away, his eyes closed, surrounded by dark lightning, as he was working to regulate his meridians.

"Tap Tap!"

A young Taoist boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old, like Nezha riding on his Wind Fire Wheels, rushed wildly into the training ground.

I ran so much that I lost one of my shoes.

"Master Advisor! Young Master Advisor! This is terrible!!!"

The young Taoist priest, having run too fast, slid in and landed right in front of Zhang Lingyu and Rong Shan, panting heavily.

Zhang Lingyu slowly opened his eyes, withdrew his lightning magic, and frowned slightly:

"So rash and careless! What kind of behavior is this? What happened?"

Rongshan slammed the stone lock to the ground with a thud, wiped his sweat with a towel, and asked gruffly:

"What's wrong? Have those treacherous Quanxing gang come up the mountain again, still not giving up?"

"It's not Quanxing! It's...it's Second Master!"

The young Taoist priest swallowed hard, his face flushed red, and he shouted incoherently:

"My second great-grandfather... he snatched a beautiful wife from the foot of the mountain!"

"The senior brothers are all talking about it like crazy! They say the girl has already moved into the back courtyard, and the second master has even prepared the betrothal gifts. They're telling us to get ready to start the feast at any time!"

"boom!"

Rongshan had just picked up the large teacup he was about to drink from when it was crushed into pieces in his hand.

His eyes were wide open, bigger than copper bells, and his chin almost hit his feet.

"What...what did you say?!"

Rongshan felt like his brainstem had been burned dry:

"Second Uncle has snatched a wife?! And he's going to have a wedding?!"

And Zhang Lingyu is standing next to him.

Upon hearing this, he froze completely.

His face, which was usually as cold and aloof as jade, turned pale and then flushed.

As a traditional Taoist priest who has the rules and precepts ingrained in his very being.

The first thought that popped into his head made him feel utterly ashamed and indignant!

"Absurd! Utterly absurd!"

Zhang Lingyu suddenly stood up, her voice trembling with anger:

"The girl Second Uncle brought back... isn't that Chen Duo?! She's his personally acknowledged first disciple!"

"A master taking his disciple as a wife? This...this is utterly immoral! It goes against all moral principles!"

Zhang Lingyu felt dizzy and disoriented, as if the thousand-year-old reputation of Longhu Mountain was about to be ruined!

"What?! That's Chen Duo?!"

Upon hearing this, Rong Shan's mind went blank.

This simpleton was so anxious that he stamped his feet and spun around in place twice.