They simply could not understand what Senior Brother Liang Quan, always so respected and accomplished in cultivation, was thinking!
Yet in the days that followed, the old Daoist Liang Quan seemed to delight in it, frequently accepting Xingliang's invitations.
Whether it was a wedding or funeral, a restaurant opening, a shop opening, or an elder's birthday celebration, as long as they were willing to pay, he gladly went along, cheerfully making up the numbers to earn some money.
As for the temple's affairs, great and small, he stopped concerning himself with them altogether.
Occasionally, someone approached him with questions about Daoist arts, but he merely brushed them off with a few casual remarks, spouting nonsense such as, "The great Dao is simplicity itself. Eat when hungry, sleep when tired."
When no one paid him any attention, he stayed in his room, reviewing the basic scriptures and talismans commonly used in his itinerant work, preparing for his next job.
At last, proud old Daoists like Liang Chen, who considered themselves a cut above others, could no longer endure this humiliating existence.
They felt that Liang Quan was willingly sinking into degradation, disgracing the Directorate of Astronomy's reputation built over hundreds and thousands of years!
Rather than staying here with a mad old man, eating and waiting to die, they might as well take the initiative!
Thus, behind Liang Quan's back, they began secretly contacting and colluding with influential dignitaries and military commanders in and around the Capital, selling them their meticulously devised grand plan to "create another true dragon and restore the state."
After all, they bore the name of the Directorate of Astronomy. Visiting prestigious establishments daily, sitting as equals with high officials and nobles, and receiving respect everywhere, they soon grew rather full of themselves, believing they were the