Chende Ward, Tang Residence.
Great Immortal Kongchenzi had spent the entire morning reading. When the spring breeze blew in the afternoon, he grew a little drowsy and took a short nap on the bench beneath the pavilion in the courtyard.
A small head poked up over the wall in the corner, its eyes furtively peering downward. Upon seeing the profile on the bench, beautiful as someone from a painting, she shrank her head back in fright, as though terrified the Taoist might notice her.
Her gaze searched about until she finally spotted the donkey lying beneath the corner wall. Tang Yao's eyes immediately rolled, and she covered her mouth as she giggled.
That Great Immortal was far too aloof and difficult to approach, so Tang Yao sought another path and set her sights on the Donkey Guardian General.
After all, it had not been easy to encounter an immortal. She had to seize this chance.
If she could learn even one or two Immortal Techniques, would she not be able to swagger sideways through the martial world from then on?
Heroine Hong Yuan seemed already to see herself standing above the vault of heaven, lightning in her left hand and a Sea of Fire filling the skies in her right, while Demons bowed beneath her feet.
Would she not be able to gather material wherever she wished? The famous orthodox sects would welcome her as she pleased, and she could charge into any Demon Lair and Sea of Blood she pleased.
Could she not write storybooks about whomever she wished? What firsthand secrets and material would she be unable to find?
Before long, the donkey took the bait.
The Donkey Guardian General caught the scent of wine and meat. How could he resist such temptation? In an instant, Tang Yao had bought him over.
Tang Yao's large eyes brimmed with the delight of a successful plan. "Grandpa Donkey, come, come. Eat some more."
General Donkey ate until his mouth gleamed with grease. "Not bad, not bad. You little girl know what you're doing."
He opened his mouth, and the fine wine from the jug poured into it like a waterfall flowing in reverse.
The donkey shook his head. "This wine is still lacking in flavor. It cannot compare to Gongzhou's Drunken Immortal Brew!"
Tang Yao hurried forward. "Grandpa Donkey, please be patient. Tianxiang Tower's waiter will soon deliver Southern Wind Spring, River Court's most famous wine."
"What else do you want? Just say the word, Grandpa Donkey."
Only after the donkey had eaten three full banquet tables ordered from Tianxiang Tower and drunk enough empty bottles to cover the ground did he speak in a drunken haze.
"You're a very good little girl. This Donkey Guardian General thinks highly of you. If you have any requests in the future, feel free to raise them."
Tang Yao's eyes lit up. She had bustled about all afternoon and nearly emptied her purse of silver—was this not the moment she had been waiting for?
Tang Yao pinched her empty money pouch and pouted. "Grandpa Donkey, you and the Great Immortal are immortals from heaven. You have no idea how hard life is for us mortals!"
"How dangerous it is for young women like us to travel the martial world! Villains are watching us at every moment. Whenever I go out, I have to disguise myself, and even when walking the streets, I must tread with the utmost care."
"Grandpa Donkey, could you teach me that Immortal Technique of your divine fire? If I learned it, I would never fear those demonic fiends and evil scoundrels again."
General Donkey shook his donkey head repeatedly. "No, no. That is a divine ability. How could a mortal like you possibly learn it?"
Disappointed, Tang Yao racked her brains and made another request. "Then teach me a spell for flying? If I could fly, nobody would ever catch me again."
Tang Yao slapped her thigh, feeling that this idea was simply marvelous.
General Donkey glanced at Tang Yao and snorted twice, as if such a minor art were beneath mention. "What is so difficult about flying? I have a Cloud-Ascending Step technique here."
"As long as your left foot steps on your right foot, and your right foot steps on your left foot, if you are fast enough, you can fly."
"However, this technique demands extraordinary aptitude. Your talent is mediocre, so forget it."
Tang Yao was utterly despondent. At last, she thought of the sword strike of Flying Immortal Beyond the Heavens. If she learned that strike, becoming a sword immortal and roaming the martial world would not be bad either.
Yet she was still flatly refused by General Donkey. "That is Master's unique sword art and cannot be passed on lightly."
However, the Donkey Guardian General was not the sort of donkey to pluck not even a single hair. After eating so much, he had to show some appreciation.
"Ah! Seeing how sincere you are, I shall give you this Divine Hair."
"Sew it into a protective talisman and wear it on your body. Pray devoutly to this Donkey Guardian General day and night. So long as your heart is sincere, it can save your life should disaster strike you in the future."
"But remember well: if your heart is not sincere, this protective talisman will not work."
Silver had flowed out like water and into the donkey's belly.
Yet this donkey was watertight. He licked the sugar coating clean off this sugar-coated cannonball, then returned the cannonball intact.
Tang Yao held that strand of donkey hair, so furious that her delicate little nose nearly twisted crooked.
This time, she had seen through the true nature of that Cunning Donkey completely.
At that moment, a voice drifted from the courtyard into Tang Yao's ears from far away. It startled her so badly that her spine stiffened, and she thought her little scheme had been exposed.
For some reason, Tang Yao always felt a timid, shrinking air rise within her whenever she encountered Great Immortal Kongchenzi, as though a mouse had run into a cat.
"Someone will knock on the back door shortly. Go receive him, then bring him to see me."
Tang Yao went to the back door, opened it, and looked outside. There was not a single soul in sight.
"There's nobody? Besides, the Great Immortal never went out, and no one delivered a letter. How did he know someone would come?"
Yet just as she closed the door, a shadow sprang several times across the distant rooftops before landing before the entrance.
The figure furtively glanced left and right, afraid someone might discover his tracks, then cautiously gripped the copper ring on the door and knocked several times.
Just moments ago, Feng Yusheng had Pledged Loyalty to Poison God Altar, swearing poisonous oaths and looking utterly loyal and devoted.
In the blink of an eye, he had arrived at Chende Ward and transformed into a faithful lackey under Great Immortal Kongchen.
"He really came?" Hearing the knock, Tang Yao opened the door and found that someone truly had arrived outside.
She was instantly astounded. Before the man had even arrived, the Great Immortal had already known?
"Could this be the legendary Divine Calculation?" Tang Yao once more felt the unfathomable depths of Great Immortal Kongchenzi. With such an art, who under heaven could possibly rival this Calculate with Fingers?
Great Immortal Kongchenzi wore loose Taoist robes and held a book in one hand. The slanting sun shone halfway over him, as though dividing yin from yang.
The moment he entered, Feng Yusheng could not wait to step forward and shout.
He looked as though he could not live under the same sky as Poison God Altar, speaking through gritted teeth.
"Great Immortal! Those people of Poison God Altar have hearts rotten to the core."
"We absolutely cannot let them go!"
Originally, Feng Yusheng had felt a trace of guilt over betraying Poison God Altar. If word spread through the martial world, he would likely be condemned by everyone.
But now, he suddenly felt as though he had turned himself around and become a righteous figure—a Peerless Hero who had painstakingly infiltrated the enemy, endured hardships like sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall, and finally overturned the Five Gods Cult that plagued the common people.
Once word spread through the martial world, who would dare not call him Hero Feng Yusheng?
For a moment, Feng Yusheng suddenly felt that becoming a renowned hero admired by all was not far away. When roaming the martial world, even without peerless martial arts that stood alone beneath heaven, possessing a reputation lofty as the clouds was still capital for stepping onto the summit.
Who would have thought that Feng Yusheng, who yesterday had been like "The wind sighs, the Yi River runs cold; once the warrior departs, he shall never return," had come today looking completely determined to follow him to the end?
The Taoist's brows lifted slightly. He grew several degrees more serious as he looked at Feng Yusheng, as though judging whether his words were true. "Tell me in detail."
Feng Yusheng then recounted everything he had seen and heard that day, especially regarding the Poison God.
More than half of his anger was genuine. Though he could not be considered an upright wanderer of the martial world, he had never committed such evil deeds. The thought of feeding living people to such a monster made Feng Yusheng's chest churn.
The Taoist closed his eyes and pondered for a moment before saying, "Tomorrow, I plan to travel the river alone to investigate Poison God Altar's Lantern Festival lanterns and the painted pleasure boats under Poison God Altar. I will be traveling alone, without my mount."
Feng Yusheng's mind turned, and he immediately understood Great Immortal Kongchenzi's meaning. "This one understands. I will make arrangements at once."
Gao Xian had already made his move. Now it depended on whether the Five Gods Cult dared to act.
Yet regardless of how they acted, since Gao Xian already knew their true circumstances, he naturally had plans in place to deal with them. The only difference was that Gao Xian had previously been uncertain whether he should thoroughly eradicate the Five Gods Cult and pull them out by the roots.
But at this moment, he had already made up his mind.
Poison God Altar Main Altar.
The Poison God Altar Master smashed the bead he had been playing with onto the table, driving it straight into the wood.
"What? He has gotten to our Poison God Lanterns for the Lantern Festival and our painted pleasure boats? Is he trying to investigate the roots of Poison God Altar?"
"What does he think he is doing? Does he think we are made of clay?"
"That ox-nosed Taoist refuses a toast only to drink a forfeit! He is determined to cling to us and never let go!"
Though Poison God Altar cursed furiously, they were somewhat panicked inside.
But on second thought, they felt the situation was different. The River God had been outside the city with no assistance at all, whereas this time, they were on their own turf and could use the prepared to calculate against the unprepared.
"On the river, it is still our territory. This time, I will make that ox-nosed Taoist die without a burial ground."
Feng Yusheng still tried to dig out clues about the Main Altar. "Should we report this to the cult leader at the Main Altar?"
The Poison God Altar Master shook his head. "Hahaha! You still do not understand the state of our Five Gods Cult. What kind of figure is the cult leader? An immortal-like existence. He has always ignored such trifling matters. Even over at Prince Jian's Estate, it is not easy for Prince Jian to obtain an audience with the cult leader."
"If not for the sake of the thing Prince Jian presented back then, he would not have so easily obtained..."
As though it involved some secret Feng Yusheng was not meant to know, the Poison God Altar Master abruptly stopped and did not continue.
There was another thing the Poison God Altar Master did not say.
Though it was called the Five Gods Cult, aside from True Lord Xuanzhu Huode, the other four gods were merely playthings the cult leader had casually enlightened.
They did not even count as dogs he kept. Dogs could see their master every day, while they could only be called tools.
Thus, in ordinary times, they could only receive orders sent down by the cult leader above. They did not even possess the qualifications to see the cult leader once.
Yet because of this, the Altar Masters of each altar normally possessed great autonomy. They basically did not need to report any matter and could handle everything themselves, so long as they completed the tasks assigned by the Main Altar on time without error or omission.
It was only that their own power depended upon monsters such as the Five Gods. There was simply no way for them to escape the control of the Main Altar's cult leader.
Thinking that the forces of Poison God Altar alone might not be safe enough, he felt they needed more.
He thought of The Fall of Silver Flower Palace and The Death of the River God.
The Poison God Altar Master decided that he should visit Mountain God Altar and have the two altars act together.
Even a lion used its full strength to hunt a rabbit. This time, they would definitely make that Taoist die without a burial ground. Did he think that merely mastering a little Unusual Skill made him Invincible Under Heaven?
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