No, no, no. This demon was still some cultivation short of Jiazi, though it did not look far off.
After cultivating for three to five years, he would be able to condense a physical form and become a fierce ghost running rampant in one corner.
"Fu Luan Temple Master, though this child is a fierce ghost, his nature is kind. Alas, he is still too young to shoulder great responsibilities. Keep him by your side and teach him well. Do not let him stray onto crooked paths. If your teaching bears fruit, he may one day become a Fu Luan Ghost Immortal!"
Fu Luan's old Daoist priest's heart trembled at those words.
Having him teach a Jiazi great demon? If the other party was displeased, he might simply swallow him whole.
But just as the Patriarch had said, if he succeeded in teaching him, Fu Luan would gain another Jiazi Ghost Immortal to stand guard over it. Why should its Daoist lineage fear failing to flourish?
He knew this was an opportunity the Patriarch had bestowed upon Fu Luan!
"This disciple respectfully obeys the Patriarch's decree!"
Fu Luan's old Daoist priest hurriedly bowed and clasped his hands as he accepted the command.
He gritted his teeth inwardly. This old Daoist had only a few years left to live in the first place. Being able to teach Xuan Yun alone had already been a blessing fallen from the heavens!
If he could teach another Jiazi Ghost Immortal, then this life of his would have been worth it.
Should he one day cast off his mortal shell and become a Ghost Immortal, he might even need to rely on this Ghost Immortal's protection.
"This is the Law of Escaping Two Sceneries. It can refine the sun soul and nourish the moon spirit. Consider it carefully in your cultivation. A hundred years from now, you may yet become a Fu Luan Ghost Immortal!"
As Mo Chuan spoke, he took out a scroll of Daoist scripture and handed it over.
This was the Sun and Moon Dao from the Three Scenery Daoist Magic, and it happened to suit Fu Luan's old Daoist priest's current condition.
Fu Luan's old Daoist priest shuddered all over. He hurriedly patted his sleeves and robes to brush away the dust, then kowtowed and accepted it with both hands.
"This disciple, Chang Qing, kowtows in thanks for the Patriarch's gift of this method!"
Mo Chuan nodded and looked toward the utterly bewildered Qian family child.
"Today's lesson should be enough to make you remember! From this day forth, follow the Fu Luan Temple Master in cultivation. Treat him as you would treat me. If I learn that you are still incorrigibly naughty, then I will not merely cut away your Jiazi cultivation. Take care of yourself!"
Having learned about cultivation from Lampwick Monk, the Qian family child was terrified. He hurriedly replied, "I understand, Mister Mo."
The Fu Luan Temple Master standing nearby listened to the words "cut away your Jiazi cultivation." His face remained calm, but stormy waves rose within his heart!
So this little child had originally been a Jiazi great demon, and the Patriarch had cut down his cultivation?
"May I ask, Patriarch, does the immortal child have a Daoist name?"
Seeing that the Patriarch wished to leave, Fu Luan's old Daoist priest hurriedly asked.
"Hmm, I have never given him one."
After pondering briefly, Mo Chuan said, "Ponds raised to breed fish are never fished; deer fed in deep mountains are wished long life. You shall be called Wang Sheng!"
Wang Sheng—passing into life, perishing from life!
Fu Luan's old Daoist priest did not understand Mo Chuan's deeper meaning. He only felt that the Patriarch's verse contained boundless compassion. Moved by it, the way he looked at Wang Sheng softened. He no longer saw the terrifying Jiazi great demon.
"Wang Sheng, cultivate properly here. Do not make trouble or pester people into playing with you. When this Daoist has time, I will come see you!"
"Yes, Mister Mo!"
The Qian family child, Wang Sheng, hurriedly replied.
"Xuan Yun the Daoist Boy" nodded. His whole body trembled, and his deep eyes seemed to part the clouds and reveal the sun, returning to clear innocence.
With a face full of surprise, he looked at Wang Sheng standing before him. "Master, he is a Jiazi grea—"
Fu Luan's old Daoist priest frowned. "Ahem! Mind your words! From now on, he is your junior grand-uncle. Treat him with proper respect and do not neglect him!"
Xuan Yun the Daoist Boy stared blankly at the equally bewildered Wang Sheng. One was tall and one short, both half-grown boys. They immediately stared at each other, big eyes meeting big eyes.
"Phew... At last, one little trouble has been dealt with!"
Using incense offerings as a mirror, Mo Chuan watched Wang Sheng interacting with the Fu Luan master and disciple, and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
Wang Sheng was different from Lampwick Monk.
Keeping him in the Sacrificial Dao Furnace would not only make it easy for Lampwick Monk to lead him astray, but would also make it easier for him to eat his old man into poverty.
—The appetite of a Jiazi great demon was no joke.
Yet he had nowhere to put such strength to use.
He could not just toss this little ancestor, who only ate and never produced, into a sewer, could he?
He was still a child in the end. Mo Chuan could not bear it.
After much thought, Fu Luan Temple was the only suitable place to take him in. It also aligned with Fu Luan's Daoist lineage, so they would surely take the matter seriously.
However, if Fu Luan Temple was to raise him on his behalf, his cultivation definitely had to be cut down a little.
After all, if he made a mistake and Fu Luan Temple could not restrain him for the moment, they would be completely finished.
Worse still, if Mo Chuan could not restrain him either, that would be even more awkward.
He could not possibly perform Liberation by Violence and Emerging Yin Spirit again, could he?
Therefore, only by cutting down his cultivation could this problem be solved perfectly.
"Hmm!"
Mo Chuan's mind stirred as a wisp of pure incense offerings drifted over.
Following the incense offerings, he looked over.
Inside a secluded hall, Huang Buyu, the Jiazi great demon who looked like a youth, was burning incense and praying.
Like a devout believer, he knelt on the ground with a solemn expression, holding three sticks of incense in his hands. His lips moved as he murmured without cease.
As expected of a Jiazi great demon. Even his incense offerings are pure!
Mo Chuan sighed inwardly, then used the incense offerings as a path and manifested himself there.
"This disciple, Huang Buyu, pays respects to Immortal Mo!"
Huang Buyu's brows twitched. When he raised his head, he saw Immortal Mo silently emerge from the faint blue smoke.
With the experience from last time, he instinctively focused and listened carefully for sounds from Immortal Mo's location.
Unfortunately, he heard nothing this time. Immortal Mo seemed to be in a quiet place.
"Rise. Did your investigation yield any results?" Mo Chuan asked.
"Reporting to Immortal Mo, this disciple carefully searched Steward Zhang's study in Jinghe County, as well as his entire residence, but found nothing unusual. I ask Mister Mo's forgiveness."
Huang Buyu hurriedly made his respectful report, though ripples arose in his heart.
Having investigated Steward Zhang's study, he naturally learned of Steward Zhang's ten taels' worth of immortal affinity.
If he had guessed correctly, Daoist Master Mingchen was very likely an incarnation of Immortal Mo wandering the mortal world for amusement.
Daoist Master Mingchen's willingness to ward off disaster for Steward Zhang might have been because of that opportunity.
Unfortunately, Steward Zhang had eyes yet failed to recognize Mount Tai. He had actually used ten taels of silver to buy out his immortal affinity.
Otherwise, for the sake of that affinity, Immortal Mo might well have offered compensation.
Of course, for Steward Zhang, this was perhaps already the best possible outcome.
Immortal affinity! Immortal affinity! How could the chance to become an immortal be so easily obtained?
Especially for a mortal like Steward Zhang, whose body had been hollowed out by beauty?
"There is no need to be nervous. This Daoist was merely checking for omissions and filling gaps. What crime have you committed?"
Mo Chuan shook his head, unsurprised by this result.
If more Daoist arts had been uncovered in Steward Zhang's residence, he would instead have wondered whether Steward Zhang was descended from some immortal!
As the thought crossed his mind, he was considering whether to instruct Huang Buyu to investigate the background of Lu Fengbei, the Great Five-Armored Demon.
Unexpectedly, the Sacrificial Dao Furnace, which had not intercepted any new incense offerings for quite some time, suddenly gave a faint tremble.
A wisp of incense offerings drifted over from afar.
Mo Chuan looked down along its scent.
He saw that inside a small farmhouse courtyard, three to five offerings of fruits had been placed upon a crude table.
A man wearing a blue cloth cap and a Daoist robe burned incense and prayed with a solemn face.
Beside him lay a row of... corpses, each with yellow paper pasted to its forehead.
"The Land God here is most efficacious, ascending to Heaven, reaching Earth, entering the netherworld. The dead set out upon their journey; gods from every road, uphold the coffin's spirit!"
"Rise!"
The Mountain-Opening Incantation rose!
In that fleeting glimpse, Mo Chuan saw the corpses laid upon the ground spring upright. Bathed in the lingering glow of dusk, they hopped out through the courtyard gate and headed down the mountain path.
Thanks to "Empty Mountain, Gathering Clouds, Never Flowing," "Reader 20170410190630943," and "Reader 20220712222407694" for their tips!
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