Tear Down the Mountain Temples, Honor Qingxuan Alone

Since the news of the Immortal's appearance in the world reached the Capital...

Empress Xiao Zhaohuang's heart was never truly at peace again.

She had been waiting.

She will wait for the Immortal to come and see her again.

She thought that since Immortals were still in the mortal realm...

I will definitely come to the Capital to see her again, and I will come to see her one more time.

But she waited a whole day,

January,

More than three months have passed.

The Immortal never returned.

In the Golden Palace,

When she was reviewing memorials, she would suddenly drift off into a daze, gazing at the clouds outside the palace.

In the stillness of the night,

The candlelight flickered in the Imperial Study. She held the vermilion brush, but couldn't bring herself to write.

She couldn't help but let her mind wander.

Has the Immortal forgotten her?

Don't you think that this Empress who ruled the world was nothing more than a slightly brighter speck of dust among mortals?

Is it something that can be casually brushed aside and never worth looking back on?

She even resented it.

I resent the Immortal for being so heartless, leaving without a word of explanation.

The mighty Empress of the Liang Kingdom, possessing a vast empire, could rule the world with a mere flick of her wrist.

Yet, deep within the palace, she harbors such childlike, melancholic thoughts for an Immortal who comes and goes without a trace.

But she didn't dare to truly complain.

She feared that if her trivial grievances reached the ears of the Immortals, they would displease Immortal.

Just as this longing and resentment intertwined, causing her to be unable to eat or sleep,

The Pacification Investigation Office delivered a secret memorial.

Xiao Zhaohuang took the secret report, unfolded it, and his gaze immediately sharpened.

Liaodong, Changbai Mountain.

The secret report said,

Immortal has appeared in Liaodong.

According to the investigation report from Pacification Investigation Guard of Liaodong Town

Immortal in a green robe descended from the Nine Heavens at Changbai Mountain.

With a wave of his hand, he annihilated the hundreds of thousands of Hezhen troops who had gathered at the foot of the mountain.

There were also terrifying sights such as White Dragons circling, snowstorms extinguished, dazzling light shining brightly, and countless ghosts wailing.

All signs point to the legendary Azure Profound Immortal Venerable.

Xiao Zhaohuang gripped the secret document, his fingertips trembling slightly.

She couldn't understand why Immortal would go to that harsh, desolate place with its White Mountains and Black Waters.

Why then would they annihilate a barbaric foreign tribe that posed no threat whatsoever?

In her opinion,

These barbarians, covered in fur and horns, were nothing more than starving savages who had wandered out from the lands of White Mountains and Black Waters.

Even his armor was incomplete; he lorded it off based solely on his fierce aura.

No matter how much they gather their troops and make noise, they will never amount to anything.

If she wished, a single imperial edict could mobilize several cavalry units from Liaodong to trap and kill these hundreds of thousands of Hezhen outside the pass; there would be no need for the Immortal to personally intervene.

However, after she confirmed the Immortal's whereabouts again,

The heart that had been hanging in suspense for months finally settled down.

He is still in this world.

He didn't leave, he didn't disappear; he simply went out to travel and relax.

When you've had enough fun,

He will definitely return to the Capital and to her side.

Xiao Zhaohuang slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, put down the secret report, and a self-deceiving certainty rekindled in his eyes.

Over the past year or so,

Under her rule, the Liang Kingdom was no longer what it used to be.

Taxes were reduced or exempted, official corruption was rectified, imperial examinations were held, troops were trained and grain was stockpiled, and the world gradually became more stable, and the country's strength grew stronger day by day.

There was something she had always wanted to do.

However, the Immortal later left without saying goodbye and disappeared without a trace.

That's why this plan was never implemented.

But now the Immortals have reappeared.

Still in this world, still in this mortal realm.

So this important matter,

Then it can be officially implemented.

The next day,

An imperial edict that shocked the world was issued from the palace and spread throughout the Liang Kingdom.

From this day forward,

Throughout the Liang Kingdom, only the worship and veneration of the Azure Profound Immortal Venerable are permitted.

All other deities are not orthodox and must not be believed in or worshipped.

All ancestral halls and unofficial temples in various places were demolished.

All the statues of gods and incense in the temple were destroyed.

All those who belong to the Daoist School sect must return to secular life and become ordinary citizens; they must no longer consider themselves sorcerers.

Within the Liang Kingdom, there is only one deity Azure Profound Immortal Venerable.

Anyone who disobeys or dares to resist

The imperial court will dispatch a large army to destroy mountains and temples, killing without mercy.

This decree caused an uproar throughout the land.

In the imperial court, the officials looked at each other in bewilderment. An old minister knelt down on the spot, weeping and kowtowing.

They cried out that this action violated the Heavenly Dao and might incite resentment among sorcerers and common people throughout the land, urging Your His Majesty to reconsider.

The people were abuzz with discussion, with some saying that the Empress had gone mad, willing to defy all the gods and Buddhas for the sake of an Azure Profound Immortal Venerable.

But Xiao Zhaohuang's mind was made up, and he refused to listen to any attempts at persuasion from the court.

She had witnessed the earth-shattering power of Immortals with every gesture.

I have also seen how insignificant other so-called gods in this world are in the face of true Immortals.

Rather than having the people worship those clay and wooden puppets and those who pretend to be gods and ghosts,

It would be better to entrust the entire world to that true Immortal.

When the imperial decree was sent to the localities, local officials acted swiftly and decisively.

Countless temples, once bustling with worshippers, were shut down by government troops overnight.

The statue was dragged out of the temple and smashed on the long street.

Many reclusive sorcerers and Daoist priests were forced to return to secular life, take off their Daoist robes and shamanic garments, and become ordinary people again.

Some people knelt before the ancestral temple and wept uncontrollably.

Some people, enraged, gathered a crowd and started an uprising.

But in an instant, it was trampled flat by the iron cavalry.

In an instant, the entire Liang Kingdom was left with only empty temples and the ever-growing incense offerings of the Azure Profound Immortal Venerable.

After the court session ended,

Commander Wang Yanan of the Pacification Investigation Office had a private audience and bowed to report.

She asked,

It's a tricky problem.

What should be done about the Immortal-Worshipping Sect?

The Immortal-Worshipping Sect is different from other religions.

It is a sect founded by the Myriad Flowers Fairy for the Azure Profound Immortal Venerable.

Within the entire sect, everyone worships and venerates only one person: the Azure Profound Immortal Venerable.

According to the new decree, the Immortal-Worshipping Sect not only does not contradict the decree, but is actually the vanguard of the Azure Profound Immortal Venerable.

However, the teachings of the Myriad Flowers Fairy differed greatly from the imperial court's regulations. Wang Yanan was unsure whether to support her or suppress her.

When Xiao Zhaohuang heard the words "Myriad Flowers Fairy,"

I couldn't help but recall that scene in Heyang County.

That day,

She disguised herself and traveled incognito.

I have personally witnessed that compassionate, pure, and flawless Myriad Flowers Fairy.

But this seemingly compassionate, pure, and revered Immortal Emissary almost deceived her.

Xiao Zhaohuang was deeply impressed by this Myriad Flowers Fairy.

Therefore, ever since she left Heyang County, she has never stopped investigating the Myriad Flowers Fairy and infiltrating the Immortal-Worshipping Sect.

Unfortunately,

This Myriad Flowers Fairy, along with this Immortal-Worshipping Sect, has never revealed any wrongdoing or crossed any lines.

Honestly preach the gospel.

Yang Shan, who did his best.

The disciples of the sect do not gather crowds to cause trouble, do not incite the people to resist taxes, do not privately possess weapons, and do not secretly collude with local officials to plot treason.

The secret agents sent out by the Pacification Investigation Office department had been lurking in various branches of the Immortal-Worshipping Sect for over a year, and the messages they sent back were largely the same.

They taught people to be good and encouraged them to respect the immortals. Most of the proceeds from their offerings were used to provide relief to refugees along the way and to help the poor.

Despite being a spontaneously formed sect, it operates with strict rules and is more law-abiding than many long-established Daoist School sects.

But the more this happened, the more intense Xiao Zhaohuang's apprehension became.

She had seen the Myriad Flowers Fairy's expression when she spoke of the Azure Profound Immortal Venerable.

That wasn't the ordinary believer's reverence for God; it was wrapped in a burning, reckless love.

It is an unwavering belief that Immortal is willing to go through fire and water, and even sacrifice one's life, for the sake of immortals.

Xiao Zhaohuang was all too familiar with this sentiment.

Because deep down, she herself harbored the same thought.

Even a mountain cannot hold two tigers.

Moreover, they are two women whose hearts are both devoted to the same Immortal.

Xiao Zhaohuang remained silent for a moment.

She gazed at the secret memorial from Liaodong that had not yet been put away on the imperial desk.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger:

"Let's put the Immortal-Worshipping Sect's aside for now."

She didn't explain the reason in detail, and Wang Yanan didn't dare to ask any more questions. She could only bow and accept the order before leaving.