Tai Er Zhenren
"Master, why isn't it moving? Did I do something wrong?" Nezha reached out and poked the Wooden Person's head, but there was no response, which made him Dim Sum.
Feng Xue swept her Spiritual Sense across the area, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.
"It's alright. He had already cultivated to the point of immortality, with the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown and the Five Energies Returning to the Origin. You scattered his energy in one fell swoop, and his Soul Body were injured. We'll go to the City God Temple outside the city later and put him there, letting him receive incense offerings from the City God for a few years."
As if afraid that Nezha wouldn't believe her, Feng Xue gathered a point of Spiritual Light at her fingertips and poked the wooden figure. The wooden figure seemed to have been poked by a red-hot stick, and it suddenly bounced up more than three feet high. However, after flapping around a couple of times, it became still again.
"See? It's alive, it just can't move."
"Oh! But I'm not familiar with the City God. Shouldn't I prepare some gifts since I'm taking his offerings for nothing?" Nezha was slightly worried. Feng Xue immediately took out a token from her bosom and handed it to Nezha.
"Your master is the City God's superior. If you take this token, they will naturally help you get things done. However, since you are asking for a favor, you will need to make a plaque and a Wooden Statue for the City God in the City God Temple as a token of your gratitude."
"Understood, Master!" Upon hearing this, Nezha immediately took the token, picked up Taiyi Zhenren with one hand, and swayed as he ran towards the city gate.
It wasn't that he was in a hurry; it was just that he had only heard of the City God Temple before, and if he wanted to make Wooden Statue, he naturally had to go and see it first.
It must be said that Nezha's efficiency was truly remarkable. In just two days, he had the memorial tablet, plaque, and Wooden Statue made. The City God of Chentang Pass was just an elderly man from a kind local family. When he saw that it was General Li's third son who had come, and when he saw the tokens from the Heavenly Court, he naturally cooperated in the best possible way. In addition, Nezha's gifts were quite appropriate, so he didn't even have any thoughts of disobeying.
However, after Nezha finished everything and left the City God Temple, the wooden statue of Taiyi Zhenren, which was placed in a side hall and worshipped with incense, suddenly came to life.
"Phew, this Nezha is so young, his carpentry skills are one thing, but how come his fist techniques are so profound? He actually shattered my Three Flowers and Five Qi with a single punch? Even an inner disciple of the Jie Sect would probably only be at this level, right?"
Thinking of this, Taiyi Zhenren couldn't help but recall the power of that punch, and immediately felt his Soul Body become unstable. He quickly regained his composure, turned to look at his plaque, and his face darkened again.
"Now that my three flowers have scattered and my five elements are incomplete, receiving some incense offerings to revive my soul is a way. However, I must change my name, otherwise, if word gets out, I, the Taiyi Zhenren, will lose face."
Thinking of this, he immediately reached out his hand tremblingly and wiped away the inscription "The Position of Taiyi Zhenren" from the memorial tablet, intending to remove all the words and rewrite it under an alias.
Just then, the little devils serving the City God and the Judge (the City God Temple Judge is responsible for the initial trial of the deceased; the difference between the Judge and the Underworld Judge is roughly similar to the relationship between a local court and a central court) heard the commotion and immediately came to investigate. Seeing the Wooden Statue manifest, they were greatly astonished and exclaimed:
"What kind of demon are you? Do you know that this City God Temple is appointed by the Heavenly Court? How dare you arbitrarily change the spirit tablets?!"
"Silence! Silence!" Taiyi Zhenren waved his arm, intending to use magic to capture the little devil, but felt his Soul Body was weak and powerless. He quickly waved his hand and begged for mercy, explaining repeatedly:
"I am the one who enshrines this memorial tablet, named Taiyi. However, I am originally an immortal of the Chan Sect, and using my real name here would easily attract trouble, so I wish to conceal it."
"Hold your hand, I'm going to find the Grandpa City God!"
The little ghost, who had died young, heard his earnest words and remembered how much the Grandpa City God valued this memorial tablet, so he immediately ran off.
Taiyi Zhenren felt a tightness in his chest, but remembering that he no longer had the ability to breathe, he could only sigh and continue to scratch at the plaque.
Fortunately, although his three flowers had scattered and his five elements were incomplete, the wooden figure that Nezha made was made of genuine materials. In addition, with his immortal body integrated into it, his physical strength was quite good. By the time the City God hurriedly entered, he had already erased Ranked Match from the rank tablet, leaving only a small hook, which looked somewhat out of place.
When the City God saw that a piece was missing from the memorial tablet, he was immediately alarmed and angrily rebuked:
"How dare you alter the memorial tablets?"
"This is my own memorial tablet, why can't it be changed?" Under normal circumstances, when facing such a divine spirit, Taiyi Zhenren would certainly give it a second glance, but now that he was down on his luck, he could only suppress his anger and ask a question.
To everyone's surprise, the City God also looked furious upon hearing this and said:
"This memorial tablet was personally crafted by the Guardian God of War under the Heavenly Emperor. Even the slightest scratch would be an offense. Let alone if there were no mistakes in the engraving, even if there were, you should obediently change the name. How can you be so disrespectful?"
"I..." Upon hearing this, Taiyi Zhenren's anger intensified, but when he heard the words "Heavenly Emperor," his expression changed, and he immediately asked:
"Who is this Heavenly Emperor you're talking about?"
"The Heavenly Emperor is naturally the Lord of the Heavenly Court, the King of All Gods, who controls both the Heavenly Court and the Underworld, rewarding the good and punishing the evil, and overseeing the world!"
The City God puffed out his chest and responded with immense pride. Upon hearing this, even the wooden face of the Taiyi Zhenren turned deathly pale.
"It's the Heavenly Emperor! Nezha is actually Guardian God of War under the Heavenly Emperor! No wonder he has such great power! But when I divined the secrets of heaven back then, I only came up with the four words 'insignificant'? If only I had known this, if only I had known this... Heaven's secrets have misled me!"
Taiyi Zhenren let out a mournful cry, while the City God crossed his arms and said disdainfully:
"Even a country bumpkin like me has heard that the secrets of heaven are hard to fathom. What makes you so sure you can accurately predict the disciples of the Heavenly Emperor?"
"Yes! Why do I feel that the secrets of heaven calculated with the power of the Heavenly Court can actually be calculated against the Heavenly Court itself?"
The Taiyi Zhenren was overcome with grief, and the City God sighed as well, glancing at the rank Ranked Match with a stroke deducted, and shook his head, saying:
"Since it's already been changed, let's leave it at that for now. But if that Lord God of War comes to ask later, you must tell him the truth. Don't make this old temple and its inhabitants take the blame for you."
After speaking, he pondered for a moment before saying:
"Since you're staying in this side hall, no one will be willing to offer incense. So, I'll tell the villagers what skills you have, so they can get some work and more incense offerings, and hopefully your soul will solidify sooner."
"So be it," sighed Master Taiyi Zhenren, as if resigned to his fate.
"I am a disciple of the Chan Sect. My Soul Body currently unstable, but my Medical Arts are still decent; I can cure illnesses and exorcise evil spirits."
"That's good. Since you don't want to reveal your real name, I'll respect that. I'll tell people that you're called Tai Er Zhenren. Don't forget the Heavenly Emperor's grace, accumulate good deeds, and strive to condense your soul body as soon as possible."
After the City God finished speaking, he immediately turned and left. Taiyi Zhenren was stunned for a moment, his eyebrows suddenly twitched, and he wanted to say something, but it got stuck in his throat. He could only glance back at the spirit tablet that he had removed a stroke from, and when he saw the six big characters "The Position of Tai Er Zhenren", everything went black before his eyes.