"I never expected Master to be so generous, giving me such a powerful protective treasure."
Hong Ze knew his own cultivation better than anyone, so he subconsciously assumed that the Water Fire Daoist Robe Master Tongtian had bestowed upon him was what had caused Pi Lu Xian to suffer such a huge loss.
After all, none of the Great Dao Saint Positions he had attained had anything to do with cultivation or combat strength.
But Hong Ze had overlooked one point: even if he was a Great Dao Saint of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, he was still a Great Dao Saint.
The Great Dao fruit position of a Great Dao Saint was no fake. How could a Taiyi Golden Immortal possibly offend one?
This outcome had indeed exceeded Hong Ze's expectations, leaving his original plan uncarried out.
Hong Ze had known from the start that his strength was lacking, so naturally, he could not directly clash with Duobao Daoren and the others.
Therefore, Hong Ze had planned to rely on his knowledge from later generations and defeat Duobao Daoren through a contest of words.
In short, as long as they did not fight and merely argued, even ten Duobao Daorens would not be his match.
Even if Duobao Daoren would become Buddhism's future leading figure, he still would not stand the slightest chance of winning.
Now, that trouble had been spared, leaving Hong Ze relaxed and at ease instead.
Just as Hong Ze was feeling greatly relieved, the cry of a hen after laying an egg came from outside the Thatched Cottage.
Hong Ze could not help but reveal a delighted expression, thinking that the Hens he had raised for several hundred years had finally laid eggs today.
He immediately headed outside the Thatched Cottage and hurried over to the Chicken Coop.
Seeing the five or six old Hens laying eggs before him, Hong Ze could not help but smile.
As he walked, he muttered to himself, "You finally laid eggs. Otherwise, I was getting ready to stew you into soup. This is great—I can finally have fried eggs."
As Hong Ze carried the eggs back into the house, the Hens actually shook their heads toward the Thatched Cottage.
"For the sake of our little lives, we can only lay eggs to please him. Otherwise, the few of us will surely end up being stewed."
Meanwhile, Zhao Gongming had already rushed anxiously to the outside of Hong Ze's residence.
Zhao Gongming did not head straight for the Thatched Cottage. Instead, he stood outside Hong Ze's small courtyard and called out.
"Eldest Senior Brother, your junior brother Zhao Gongming requests an audience."
"Zhao Gongming is here? If he has nothing to do, why isn't he staying at Mount Emei, Luofu Cave? Why did he come all the way to Golden Turtle Island?"
If Zhao Gongming had heard those words, no one knew how heartbroken he would have been.
After all, he had just taken Hong Ze's side, only to discover that Hong Ze had not even noticed him.
Though Hong Ze said that, he still set down the eggs in his hands and walked toward the outside of the Thatched Cottage.
Then he smiled at Zhao Gongming and said, "Junior Brother Gongming, what brings you here today? How do you have the leisure to visit your senior brother?"
Standing outside the courtyard, Zhao Gongming once again respectfully performed a Daoist salute toward Hong Ze.
"Eldest Senior Brother, have you forgotten what happened just now? You made a wager with Senior Brother Duo Bao. You are to spend five hundred years instructing our fellow disciples in cultivation."
Only then did Hong Ze remember the wager Golden Spirit Mother and Duobao Daoren had made.
He immediately sighed and shook his head, muttering to himself as he walked.
"Jin Ling is always making trouble for me. How can a mere Heavenly Immortal like me possibly instruct junior brothers and sisters whose cultivation is higher than mine?"
As he spoke, Hong Ze arrived beside the courtyard gate made of woven fencing and opened it directly.
At the same time, he made a welcoming gesture to Zhao Gongming and politely invited him into his small courtyard.
Zhao Gongming naturally heard every word Hong Ze had just said, and he could not help shaking his head inwardly.
It seems Eldest Senior Brother deliberately suppressed his cultivation at the Heavenly Immortal realm for peace and quiet. I never expected him to have fooled so many disciples of the Jie Sect.
As Zhao Gongming spoke inwardly, he began looking around the courtyard where Hong Ze lived.
Hong Ze's courtyard was not large, only around one or two mu in size.
In front of the Thatched Cottage grew all kinds of plants Zhao Gongming did not recognize.
This puzzled Zhao Gongming. Others planted spiritual roots of heaven and earth, rare flowers, and exotic herbs, yet this Eldest Senior Brother had planted such strange things.
This piqued Zhao Gongming's interest, and he could not help carefully examining the plants he did not recognize.
One look was enough to stir up a huge storm in Zhao Gongming's heart.
That red, round thing actually possesses such immense Innate Spiritual Energy. More importantly, it contains a trace of Dao essence.
That long, green thing is the same, and so is that purple one. Everything here possesses powerful Innate Spiritual Energy and Dao essence.
Heavens! Not a single thing Eldest Senior Brother has planted is anything less than an Innate Spiritual Root. They may even be top-grade Innate Spiritual Roots.
How ridiculous. Those fellow disciples who have lived on Golden Turtle Island for tens of thousands of years never discovered these top-grade Innate Spiritual Roots. They even suspected Eldest Senior Brother was a worthless fool.
As Zhao Gongming ridiculed them inwardly, he followed Hong Ze into the Thatched Cottage.
"Junior Brother Gongming, since this is your first visit, your senior brother has nothing much to offer you. I can only treat you to a cup of clear tea."
With that, Hong Ze placed the tea set before Zhao Gongming and began brewing tea for him.
Zhao Gongming saw Hong Ze's every movement clearly, and the sight shocked him so deeply that he could barely close his mouth.
The moment Hong Ze set the teacup before Zhao Gongming, Zhao Gongming actually entered a state of enlightenment.
Seeing Zhao Gongming suddenly close his eyes, Hong Ze could not help feeling puzzled.
"I say, Junior Brother Gongming, could it be that you do not like your senior brother's tea?"
Zhao Gongming did not answer Hong Ze. His eyes remained tightly shut.
"He actually fell asleep. How exhausted must he be to fall asleep just sitting here..."
Hong Ze withdrew the hand he had been waving before Zhao Gongming's eyes and said helplessly.
No matter how much Hong Ze complained, Zhao Gongming, sitting there, remained completely unaware.
At this moment, Zhao Gongming had already entered a special space.
Tea trees grew all around him, every one of them radiating Great Dao Essence. Every tea leaf upon those trees contained supreme wondrous principles.
For a time, Zhao Gongming's soul completely merged with those tea trees.
Gradually, Zhao Gongming comprehended from the tea trees: one principle, two awakenings, three friendships, four airs, five natures, six flavors, seven emotions, eight hardships, nine fragrances, and ten virtues.
At the same time, Zhao Gongming came to understand what it meant to take up, and what it meant to let go.
Zhao Gongming had always possessed an extremely fiery temper. Otherwise, merely because his name might appear on the Investiture of the Gods, he would not have prepared to descend the mountain and burn it, ultimately stirring up unwarranted rage and becoming one of those named upon the Investiture of the Gods.
But now, Zhao Gongming had comprehended the Law of Tranquility from tea.
This was destined to change his impetuous and easily angered nature. His life, too, had effectively been completely rewritten at this very moment.
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