The Heavenly Master's Manor has several Celestial Masters, and according to the ranking, Heavenly Master Qingxu is ranked first.
The reason why Heavenly Master Qingxu was able to be the head of the Celestial Masters was firstly because he came from the Primordial Chaos Cult, which naturally gave him a half-generation higher status than the other six sects.
Secondly, the Heavenly Master Qingxu possessed profound cultivation and was known for his serene and unassuming nature. The emperor publicly praised him as having a jade-like appearance, profound Daoist virtue, and wondrous understanding of divine principles.
The commendation given to Zhou Wuji was personally issued by Heavenly Master Qingxu, which was a treatment exceeding the normal standards and demonstrated the importance that the Heavenly Master's Manor attached to Zhou Wuji.
Zhichong personally presented Zhou Wuji with the Seventh Rank Heavenly Pivot Token. This Heavenly Pivot Token was blue and gold in color, with a square hole in the middle and a circle on the outside. The front was engraved with "Tianshu Pivot Subdues Demons" and Wuji's Dharma name, while the back was "All Laws Return to the Dao".
"This token is forged from Star Metal Essence, a very high-grade material. It was specially forged by the Heavenly Master's Manor to reward your great merit, and it also bears runes personally blessed by Heavenly Master Qingxu."
Zhichong greatly admired and liked Zhou Wuji's appearance and demeanor. Zhou Wuji had also made great contributions, so he treated him with great gentleness and closeness.
Zhou Wuji received the Heavenly Pivot Token with both hands. He felt a slight coolness upon touching it, followed by a refreshing coolness throughout his body.
A crowd had gathered inside the main hall. Outside, the sun was shining brightly, and with candles and incense burning, the hall was quite hot.
The blue-gold Heavenly Pivot Token clearly possesses the wonder of calming the mind and spirit, thus easily dispelling the summer heat and dryness, making people feel refreshed and tranquil from the inside out.
"Thank you, Heavenly Master Qingxu, Zhichong. I am ashamed to have received such a generous reward for my humble contribution."
Zhou Wuji exchanged a few polite words. Zhichong and Zhihua of the Heavenly Master's Manor's Mansion were not the same. This man was an envoy of the Heavenly Master's Manor, and his temperament was obviously steady and peaceful.
When dealing with such a person, one should abide by the rules and respect hierarchy, and be as humble as possible.
Zhichong earnestly encouraged him. "From now on, you must cultivate diligently, slay demons and monsters, and safeguard our righteous path. Live up to the Heavenly Master's high expectations..."
Zhihe and Zhishan watched from the side with smiles on their faces. With their composure, no matter what they were thinking, they could not show it on their faces.
The Daoist Yiding was somewhat lacking, and being a serious man, his expression was even more stern now.
The round-faced Daoist Daoist Yigong standing beside him had a complicated expression. He had followed his master, Zhihe, to the Lower Court and taken over the position of steward.
The Grand Steward is the chief steward of the Lower Court, in charge of everything from money and provisions to elixirs and Law Artifact.
The abbot is the head of the Lower Court, but the real power of administration is actually in the hands of the temple master and the steward.
The temple master is in charge of matters related to cultivation, while the general manager is in charge of money and people, and actually has more power than the temple master.
Yigong knew that Yang Tie Ying had assaulted someone at the Bixing Hall a few days ago.
He knew that his subordinates had deliberately made things difficult for him, which was why he had been beaten.
The subordinates were used to taking advantage of others and disliked the Heavenly Pivot Lineage, which led to these troubles.
Yigong wouldn't have cared about it; it was a trivial matter. Even if his subordinates were ignorant, it was still ignorant of Zhou Wuji's disciples to hit someone.
If he doesn't pursue the matter, would Zhou Wuji dare to hold a grudge against him?
Seeing Zhou Wuji receive honors and rewards from the Heavenly Master's Manor today, I have a bad feeling about Yigong.
The rewards and honors did not change Zhou Wuji's status as Seventh Rank Daoist priest, but they did bring him into the Celestial Master's sights.
If things really get out of hand, Zhou Wuji will certainly lose face, but they will suffer even more.
Daoist Yigong sighed inwardly. What kind of mess was this? He hadn't intended to be the bad guy, but now he had to stand up for his subordinates and take responsibility.
His eyes darted around, and he had already come up with a plan. He immediately took people to apologize.
There was nothing between them originally, but it was certain that Daoist Yiding Yizhi disliked Zhou Wuji.
Even his master didn't say anything, so why should he be the bad guy?
Zhou Wuji is currently only a Seventh Rank, but he is favored by the Celestial Master, has talent, and is very skilled. Who knows, he might rise to prominence in the future.
There's a saying that goes, "I'd rather let down an old man with white hair than bully a young man!"
Yigong was by nature a smooth talker and didn't see anything wrong with being opportunistic...
Wuai, Wuhe, and the others watched from the sidelines, their faces filled with barely suppressed envy and jealousy.
They had heard of the Heavenly Master's commendation, but this was the first time they had actually seen it.
That blue-gold Heavenly Pivot Token was clearly a powerful magic Law Artifact, and it was the object of immense envy among a group of people.
The award ceremony was brief. Zhihe led Zhichong and Zhishan to a side hall for a chat. Originally, Zhou Wuji was not Zhou Wuji, Zhichong invited him along.
Zhou Wuji wore the Heavenly Pivot Token around his neck. Several old men sat and chatted, while he, as a junior and of low status, could only stand.
Fortunately Zhichong had a good impression of Zhou Wuji and pulled Zhou Wuji aside to ask him some details about the Five Dragons Gang.
Zhihe and Zhishan listened from the side, unaware of many of the details.
For example, Zhou Wuji persuaded Zhang Shiheng to go to Old Dragon Island to arrest people, but Zhang Shiheng did not listen, which led to the deaths of nearly 10,000 women, children, and the elderly.
Zhiyuan wrote all of this down clearly, and many people were present at the time and knew about it.
Zhichong listening to Zhou Wuji's account, Zhi Chong sighed, " Zhang Shiheng was stubborn and self-willed; this demotion and transfer is the consequence of his own actions. It's just a pity for the innocent people on Old Dragon Island..."
As he spoke, he looked at Zhihe and asked, "I heard that something happened in Yunming County as well?"
Zhihe nodded slightly. "The kiln for firing coarse pottery in Wu Household Village collapsed, and a fiery evil spirit emerged from the ground, killing dozens of people."
"I've been there. There's a deep pit dozens of feet deep underground, with crisscrossing tunnels below, and the Qi of Earth Sha is extremely intense."
"After searching for two days without finding any evil spirits, we can only have someone keep watch there for now..."
The evil spirits were hidden deep underground, and the intense Qi of Earth Sha interfered with the Law Technique. Zhihe had various methods, he was unable to dig the evil spirits out of the ground.
This was a natural disaster, not his fault. He didn't seem guilty about it.
Zhichong said solemnly, "In recent years, the earth's veins have been churning, and all sorts of demons and monsters have emerged, causing unrest in every state and prefecture."
"A thousand years ago, the founder of the Daoist school said that every five hundred years there would be a change in the earth's veins; this is a fundamental principle of nature."
Zhichong paused, because what followed concerned the rise and fall of dynasties, something that could not be discussed lightly.
He then said, " The Lower Court is stationed in Yunyang, protecting millions of people; they must be extremely cautious..."
"What you say is absolutely right, Senior Brother..." Zhihe agreed. Nowadays, demons and monsters roam the world, and chaos reigns everywhere. They bear a heavy responsibility and must remain vigilant at all times.
Didn't you see that Zhiyuan worked diligently for decades, but one wrong move forced him to return to the Upper Court to retire?
"Since I'm here, I'll go and take a look at Wu Household Village." As an envoy of the Heavenly Master's Manor's Mansion, Zhichong's trip was originally intended to inspect various regions; he was simply taking the opportunity to reward Zhou Wuji...
Just then, another incident occurred in Yunyang Prefecture, Zhichong naturally had to go and see what was going on.
Back at the Heavenly Master's Manor, he had something to say when the Celestial Master asked him about it.
"Alright, Senior Brother has come from afar and must be weary from your journey. Rest today, and I'll accompany you tomorrow..."
Zhihe didn't stop Zhichong, but since the other party had come to the Lower Court, he still had to host a banquet for him.
Zhichong nodded. "Alright, let's arrange it this way."
These people, having a drinking party, naturally wouldn't bring along Zhou Wuji, a junior.
Zhou Wuji returned to the stone house, he saw that his Uncle Yiping, Yang Tie Ying, and Shangxing were all waiting for him in the hall.
Yiping saw Zhou Wuji enter, he quickly went to greet him. Without waiting for Zhou Wuji to speak, he grabbed the Heavenly Pivot Token from Zhou Wuji's chest and examined it.
"Tsk tsk, this must weigh half a pound. As expected of being forged from Star Metal Essence, it's at least a Sixth Rank Law Artifact, maybe even Fifth Rank..."
Daoist Yiping was not good at identifying magical Law Artifact, but he had heard of Star Metal Essence, which was extremely precious and specially corresponding to the star power of the Northern Pole Sect.
The cultivators of the Northern Pole Sect all desire a Law Artifact forged from Star Metal Essence.
This was also the first time Daoist Yiping had seen it. He held the blue-gold Heavenly Pivot Token and marveled at it, clearly quite fond of it.
Seeing how much the old man liked it, Zhou Wuji simply took it down and let the old man look at it to his heart's content.
Daoist Yiping tried using his True Qi to activate the Heavenly Pivot Token, muttering to himself, "With this Heavenly Pivot Token, one can increase their True Qi breathing by one or two tenths. Accumulating this over time, it's even more effective than elixirs."
Although Yang Tie Ying and Shang Xing looked on with envy, they didn't dare to go forward and touch her.
Yang Tie Ying looked at the exquisite wooden box on the table and said, "Master, this box hasn't been opened yet..."
He attended the award ceremony with his master. The ceremony was very simple, but he saw a master from the Heavenly Master's Manor praising his master and bringing with him the Celestial Master's decree of commendation and gifts from the Heavenly Master's Manor.
Holding the box back, Yang Tie Ying was curious and wanted to open it to take a look, but she didn't have the courage.
Zhou Wuji understood the boy's curiosity. He went over and opened the box, inside was a dark blue Daoist robe, two woven ribbons, and two hairbands.
Zhou Wuji lifted his Daoist robe, and the garment flowed down like water, appearing very crisp and smooth, possessing both the texture of cotton and the delicate smoothness of satin.
The Daoist robe was a deep blue, like the night sky, with tiny gold star patterns scattered throughout.
Zhou Wuji had seen the robes of True Person Zhihua, and they were indeed magnificent. Although the robes before him were not as dazzling, they still possessed a certain elegance and nobility in their profoundness.
It must be said that the people of the Heavenly Master's Manor have excellent taste. Crucially, this is also a ceremonial robe, containing the Northern Dipper Heavenly Gang Divine Talisman.
He couldn't discern the rank either, but based on his True Qi, he estimated it to be at least Sixth Rank, or even Fifth Rank.
He tried it on; the Daoist robe was too big, but luckily his tall and slender figure could carry it off. The loose and flowing robe made him look even more elegant and dashing.
Even the old Daoist Yiping's eyes lit up. He came over and examined it inside and out without any hesitation, clicking his tongue in admiration. "Look at these stitches, look at these woven runes, it's clearly a nine-thread mixed weaving method, truly ingenious. Tsk tsk..."
The old Daoist priest said to Zhou Wuji, " The Heavenly Master's Manor is truly generous this time. The robe and the Heavenly Pivot Token are very suitable Law Artifact for you, at least of the Sixth Rank."
Zhou Wuji was also somewhat surprised. Although these two Law Artifact were not of very high grade, they were very special and rare.
It also perfectly matches his level of Law Power cultivation, showing that the Heavenly Master's Manor must have put a lot of thought into it.
Finally, there's the white jade whisk, an item commonly used by Daoist priests, which is also surprisingly a Law Artifact.
The handle is made of white jade, with a smooth, lustrous sheen, and is engraved with three Law Technique for dispelling dust, warding off heat, and dispelling cold.
These low-level Daoist Law Technique, whether for dispelling dust, escaping heat, or dispelling cold, all involve creating a gentle breeze, which can be categorized as hot wind, cold wind, or neither hot nor cold wind.
It was somewhat useful, but not very practical; Zhou Wuji hadn't learned it at all.
At his level of cultivation, the True Qi he exhales naturally transforms into an invisible barrier, impervious to water and fire, and untouched by any speck of dust. These minor Law Technique have negligible effect.
Zhou Wuji was quite satisfied. Carrying a whisk while traveling was very fitting for his status and it was also somewhat useful.
Daoist Yiping said, "These three magical Law Artifact would cost more than a thousand gold pieces to make."
"What's even more precious is the commendation and reward from the Heavenly Master's Manor, which is extremely prestigious."
The old Daoist priest became somewhat emotional as he spoke, "If my senior brother were alive, he would surely be pleased to see your achievements..."