nownovels Chapter 21: Big Shots from All Sides Step In to Inspect the Water Meter! The Grand Master Xuandu, di
Chapter 21: Big Shots from All Sides Step In to Inspect the Water Meter! The Grand Master Xuandu, di
"Who should we send?"
"The nine-tailed fox of the Paihu clan. She is eloquent, skilled in illusion, and able to probe things."
"Okay, let her go."
This marks the first time the demon race has officially dispatched a high-ranking demon cultivator to intervene in this matter.
The Dragon Palace of the Four Seas.
Ao Guang sat on the main seat of the East Sea Crystal Palace, playing with a luminous pearl in his hand.
The sea patrol yaksha from the East China Sea hurriedly swam in.
"Dragon King, about that matter on land..."
"I understand," Ao Guang interrupted him.
"Dragon King, are you really going to send someone? Our East Sea has nothing to do with this matter..."
"If you don't send anyone, everyone else will." Ao Guang put down the luminous pearl. "When the time comes, people from the other three seas, the Heavenly Court, the Daoist sect, and the demon race will all go, and only our East Sea won't be there. Wouldn't that be embarrassing?"
"Send Ao Run".
"Have him disguise himself as a mortal and go keep watch near the pilgrimage route."
"Don't let anyone tell you you're from the dragon race."
"Yes."
The underworld also made a move.
Di Ting twitched its tail slightly in front of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.
"Go?" Ksitigarbha asked it.
Di Ting lowered its head and made an affirmative gesture.
"Then let's go."
"Remember, don't attack, just listen. Listen to what sounds he makes."
A glint flashed in Di Ting's eyes.
It transformed into a golden ray of light and flew out of the underworld.
In a short time.
All the highest-level forces in the Three Realms focused their attention on that dilapidated valley.
That valley was full of potholes, with bare trees all around and a crooked thatched hut in the center.
The personnel sent by each faction are several levels higher than before.
Previously, they were informants observing from afar.
Now it's time for the main character to personally observe.
The stance of all parties has quietly shifted from "watching the show" to "understanding the situation."
Grand Master Xuandu was already on his way.
He transformed into the appearance of a wandering Taoist priest, his blue robe faded from washing, and he leaned on an ordinary pine cane. His hair and beard were both white, making him look like an old Taoist who had traveled throughout the three realms and seen a little bit of everything.
He walked along, pondering to himself.
The teacher asked him to look at three things.
How much does Lu Chen know?
What is the purpose of this land subsidence?
How exactly did Lu Chen know these secrets?
But in the mind of Grand Master Xuandu, there was a fourth question.
No one asked him to investigate this issue.
But he himself wanted to know.
He walked along the mountain path leading to the pilgrimage route, his gaze fixed on the distant mountains, muttering to himself.
"This Lu Chen..."
"Who is it?"
---
valley.
Lu Chen recently learned a new skill.
Dry fish.
He caught a few fish from the stream beside the valley, scaled them, salted them, skewered them on a thin stick, and hung them outside the thatched hut to dry.
The dried fish glistened slightly in the sunlight, looking quite appetizing.
The upgrade project for the thatched sheds is still ongoing.
A new layer of thatch was added to the roof, much thicker than before. A simple wooden rack was also added next to it for hanging pots and pans.
Outside the valley, a small vegetable garden has been cultivated from the land that was once submerged.
A few cabbage seedlings stood there crookedly, with a few radish seeds planted beside them. A wooden fence surrounded the vegetable garden, keeping out the rabbits from the mountains.
A wild rabbit was squatting outside the fence, tilting its head to look at the few green vegetables.
Lu Chen poked his head out of the thatched hut and waved at it:
"Get out of the way, this is my family's food."
The hare glanced at him and lazily hopped away.
The scene could be described as peaceful, but the ground within a ten-mile radius was riddled with potholes of all sizes, and large sections of trees were bare.
It was an ominous sight, with a young man in simple clothes drying fish, growing vegetables, and chasing rabbits.
It looks like a farmhouse courtyard no matter how you look at it.
Just as Lu Chen was about to bend down to go back to the shed, he heard footsteps.
Taniguchi.
A wandering Taoist priest stood there.
A blue Taoist robe. Gray hair. Gray beard. Leaning on an ordinary pine cane. He looked travel-worn.
The Taoist priest put his palms together and bowed.
"This humble Taoist priest has wandered here and wishes to ask for a bowl of water. Is it convenient for me?"
Lu Chen straightened up and patted the dirt off his hands.
He glanced at the Taoist priest.
Laughed.
"Grand Master Xuandu, you've come from afar, you must be tired."
The kind smile on the wandering Taoist's face froze at that moment.
His grip on the pine cane tightened slightly.
He had been using this disguise as a wandering Taoist priest for almost three hundred years. When Laozi occasionally sent him down the mountain on errands, he would use this appearance. Even his own fellow disciples sometimes couldn't recognize him.
How could an ordinary person see through it at a glance?
He took a deep breath.
His kind smile returned to his face.
"Fellow Daoist, you have mistaken me for someone else." Grand Master Xuandu's tone was very steady. "I am just an ordinary wandering Daoist. I have been traveling all day and am a little thirsty. I just want to ask for a bowl of water."
"Alright." Lu Chen nodded. "You are just an ordinary wandering Taoist."
He turned and went back into the thatched hut, where he picked up an earthenware pot.
"The water is here. Please help yourself."
Grand Master Xuandu was taken aback.
He thought Lu Chen would continue to expose him or argue with him. Unexpectedly, Lu Chen readily agreed to what he said.
"Thank you, fellow Daoist."
He walked to the earthenware pot, bent down, and poured a bowl of water.
I took a sip.
Just as he was about to speak again to try and get more information out of her, she continued.
Lu Chen added casually from the side.
"Then you don't need to go back to Taiqing Palace to report to Laozi this time, right?"
The Grand Master Xuandu stopped moving.
"After all, you're not the Grand Master Xuandu," Lu Chen said with a smile. "What could an ordinary wandering Taoist possibly report to Laozi?"
"If you go back, your master might find it strange—how did a wandering Taoist priest asking for water end up here?"
"Why don't you just not reply?"
"Why don't you just admit that you are the Grand Master Xuandu?"
"You have to choose one of the two options."
Grand Master Xuandu remained silent.
He slowly finished drinking the water in the bowl.
Put down the bowl.
He stroked his beard.
"I admit it."
His tone was no longer that of a wandering Taoist priest.
It has been replaced by a composure that only a person with self-control possesses.
"This humble Taoist is indeed the Grand Master Xuandu."
In that instant, his aura changed.
He didn't unleash his cultivation; he still suppressed it to be about the same level as an ordinary person.
But that aura, that posture, that rhythm of speech, instantly transformed him from a "passing-by Taoist priest" into "the chief disciple of Laozi."
That's the essence that's been refined over thousands of years of cultivation. It can't be faked.
How did you know?
Lu Chen sat back down on the rock.
He picked up the rough earthenware bowl again, poured himself a bowl of water, and slowly took a sip.
"Just an ordinary person," he said. "No background, no connections, no cultivation."
"You've checked too, right?"