Chapter 62: Gathering Together

  Although the master didn't continue, I also understood what he meant. It was a sect that had already disappeared, and the Three Thousand Great Ways might only be left with what Master said. Even if it remained, it was just an empty shell. For a moment, I fell silent too. It seemed that the Quanzhen Sect wasn't just a simple phrase, but rather a very difficult path to take. But then, someone suddenly asked from behind me: "Is it true that someone really became immortal?"

  It was Huang Kai again, and at this time he didn't call out in pain anymore. His eyes just shone brightly. I really wanted to kick him out with one foot, but Shifu was smiling: "Of course there are people who have become immortals, otherwise our generation's cultivation would be without a goal. Like Ge Hong, Chen Chuzi, Lü Chunyang, Zhang Ziyang, Bai Yujian, Peng Zu, and our ancestor Wang Chongyang, all of whom attained the Dao and became immortals, ascending to the realm of the gods. Later generations still often spoke of the legends of the Eight Immortals, but unfortunately after the Ming dynasty, there were hardly any more traces of immortals."

  "Is the legend of the Eight Immortals true too?" Not only was Huang Kai's mouth agape, but I was also somewhat astonished. I thought it was just a myth, but unexpectedly Master Shibo was so certain.

  The master looked at me with a smile and suddenly asked: "Then why did you follow your master to cultivate?"

  "Huh?" I was taken aback for a moment, but then I couldn't help but laugh. Unlike others, I scratched my head and said, "To be honest, I never thought about becoming an immortal. Before this, I didn't even believe in gods or ghosts. As for following Master to cultivate the Tao, ha! What I was doing was just catching ghosts. That Golden Elixir Great Tao, I only flipped through it once, and there were many places I couldn't understand. To be honest, at first, it was all about preserving my own life. Some things are better left unexplored, why bother seeking the truth?"

  The look on Shibo's face wasn't good, so I hastily stopped talking and didn't dare to say another word. But since the words were already out, I couldn't take them back, so I hung my head and waited for a scolding. To be honest, I really hadn't thought about becoming an immortal. If it weren't for that little demon trying to kill me, why would I have gone to learn magic from Master? Now it seems like I didn't learn any magic at all, but rather some techniques. I don't think just holding onto the Taoist scriptures every day can make you an immortal. Let's not talk about becoming an immortal; isn't it still necessary to accumulate good deeds?

  "Never mind, don't make it difficult for the kid. Actually, Little Hai is right, Taoism is about following one's nature. The Taoist scriptures say that even our ancestors had to cultivate themselves in the mundane world and accumulate merits before they could become immortals. Some things are more useful when done than said. The Golden Elixir Great Way is just a means, not the true form of spirit. Method and technique are interdependent, if one's method is strong then their technique will naturally flourish, and if their technique is strong it also represents that their method has advanced. Master Shu Zu didn't let Master Shi Gu continue speaking, otherwise Master would have definitely joined in to criticize me as well. But what Master Shu Zu said seems to make a lot of sense."

  I didn't dare say anything more and hastily changed the subject: "Master Shu, what should we do now?"

  Shifu's uncle looked back at Shifu and his wife, only to sigh: "Look at your Shifu now, they need to take good care of themselves for the time being. Let's go back to where you live first."

  So I led the Shifu and others out of the hospital, and Huang Kai even hailed a taxi to take us back to the hotel. The boss asked me to bring back several Taoist priests, so I didn't dare to slack off and quickly tidied up the room. Fortunately, Shifu and the others didn't need to sleep, as they usually meditated, and five people squeezed into one room wasn't a problem for them. On the other hand, I had my own room, which was fortunate, otherwise I really wouldn't have been able to afford it. However, a problem arose - no matter what, I couldn't get rid of Huang Kai, who stuck around like glue and refused to leave. In the end, I gave up and let him stay, but I wasn't going to share a bed with him. Huang Kai didn't mind and set up a makeshift bed on the floor, which actually worked out well since we now had an extra person to run errands for us, at least it wouldn't feel too cramped.

  The master and his men would often go into seclusion for two days, neither eating nor drinking, locking the door to avoid disturbance. It turned out that they were indeed able to abstain from food, but with Huang Kai around, I wasn't worried at all. Every day, we ate delicious food and drank spicy soup. As Huang Kai said, even if one became a god, it was still necessary to eat well and live well; otherwise, what's the point of becoming a god? I think this makes sense. I also believe that the ultimate goal of cultivating the Tao is to make oneself more comfortable, and on this point, I agree.

  When the masters left the customs, although they had not eaten or drunk for two days, they were still in high spirits. The master was no longer so listless, it seemed that the master had also suffered from hunger before. However, after Master Shu and the others came out, the first thing they did was to have a good meal. Although they practiced the art of fasting, they could only go without food or drink for at most ten days or eight days. If it went on any longer, they would not be able to hold out. However, Master Shu and the three masters did not eat meat. I originally wanted to ask the master about this, but as a result, I saw the master constantly winking at me, so I didn't dare ask. Later, when Huang Kai and I were eating roast chicken and drinking beer, I really wanted to see the master drooling. I still don't understand why many Taoist practitioners do not eat meat?

  After eating, I suddenly remembered something. At that time, Master was injured and I didn't say much, but now I thought of it. Taking out the Seven Star Lantern, I let out a sigh: "Master Ancestor, that day I caught the ghost, do you think there's any use for it?"

  The master's uncle was stunned, and instead furrowed his brow, taking the Seven Star Hoop to examine it. He shook his head: "That day, I didn't expect it to be the Ghost King. When I went there, several Daoist friends from Qingxu Sect had already been killed by the needle. It wasn't until they were forced out that we knew it was the Ghost King, but by then we had already startled the snake. This vengeful spirit might be able to find the Ghost King, but for now, it's not needed. The awesome Master and the King of the Underworld have been in contact, planning to surround and annihilate the Ghost King. It will require mobilizing a large army of Yin soldiers or gathering the power of various sects. For now, it's not suitable to startle the snake. This vengeful spirit is safest staying with me, lest it be taken advantage of by him and escape. This Seven Star Hoop can't withstand the Ghost King's hand."

  Although we had a hard time capturing the ghost, it was easy for Master Shifu. With a few strokes of his brush in mid-air, he opened the Seven-Star Canopy and wrapped the ghost inside with talismans. With just a slight movement, the ghost was twisted into a black ball, but on the outside, there were golden talismans wrapped around it, making it look more like an egg.

  I only just found out that the ghost king we were looking for that day was actually the one who stole the grievances stone, but by the time we discovered it, they had already made their move and escaped. Now the ghost king is hiding somewhere unknown, but Master has informed the City God, and countless Yin soldiers are searching for its trail. Meanwhile, the underworld has dispatched a large army to come here. As for what happens next, it's no longer something we can control. Master's intention is that we don't need to intervene further, just wait for the underworld to handle it themselves.

  They didn't come here for the Ghost King, but for San Shi Gang Guan. Now that the Ghost King's matter has temporarily subsided, what remains is to deal with San Shi Gang Guan. However, Shifu Zu said: "San Shi Gang Guan is a notorious fierce creature, although it hasn't yet become a formidable opponent, but clearly it's not something we few can handle either. We still need to wait for other Daoist friends to arrive and gather together, then we'll discuss further."

  Then we could only wait, but Shifu's uncle had locked himself in the inn and we didn't dare to run around. Shifu and 19th Shibo were responsible for contacting various sects. As a result, people from Mao Shan Upper Clear Palace arrived the next day. However, when Shifu met them, his face was not quite right. Although the people from Upper Clear Palace were still very close, it made the three instructors and two secular disciples of Upper Clear Palace feel very depressed. But Shifu's uncle said that talking about the Bagua mirror with these disciples was useless, and they needed to go to Upper Clear Palace to find the true person in charge to get it back. So although his face was not good, nothing happened.

  However, in order to accommodate people from various sects, we had to book the entire third floor, and for how many days, I don't know. Although Zhang Jianhua repeatedly said that the boss even offered a 50% discount, it was still a significant expense for us, almost exhausting my over 10,000 yuan. Moreover, these people ate and drank without any intention of paying, I estimate that after this is all over, I will be completely bankrupt.

  On the second day, Zhang Yuanzong, the young master of Longhushan, personally led three disciples to arrive, and Chen Baohua, a loose cultivator of Lingbao Sect, also led three disciples to arrive. Speaking of which, Maoshan Sect, Longhushan, and Lingbao Sect all belong to Zhengyi Dao when tracing back to their roots, including Qingxu Sect is also Zhengyi Dao. However, as of today, they have different sects despite the same origin, and even if they meet in person, they are still from different schools, and do not necessarily respect Zhang Yuanzong, the young master.

  However, the sects' arrangements were quite grand, with one room per leader and two rooms for the remaining disciples. On the third day, Chen Yue, the elder of the Zhenkong Sect, arrived with two disciples, followed by Hai Kong, the elder of the Yuxian Sect, who also brought two disciples. In total, there were several dozen people. They just ate and lived here, but couldn't be treated too poorly. Although they didn't dare to say anything in front of them, Huang Kai and I whispered to each other behind their backs: "Damn it, these old Taoists came as if we owed them something. Suppressing demons and guarding the Dao is everyone's business, why should our Quanzhen Sect bear all the expenses? This is too unfair."

  "It's not just that, but also so many people have come. Little master, with this little money, you can't even last a few days. I think we must think of ways to make some more money, otherwise, we'll become beggars." Huang Kai also despised those people, but he himself was also a freeloader, always asking me for money when buying things, and still had the face to criticize others.

  However, this is also a way to make money and support so many people. It seems that the normal way of making money doesn't work anymore. I finally understand the difference between internal and external doors now. The internal door cultivates intuition, while the external door takes care of supporting the internal disciples. What I'm doing now is being an external disciple. But thinking about it, I won't be able to read fortune-telling or Feng Shui. The only thing I can do is catch ghosts, but where can you easily find a haunted house in such a big city like Jiangcheng? This is what's been bothering me. Asking Huang Kai was more straightforward - he just spread his hands and knew how to eat. It's really frustrating. I have no choice but to call Zhang Jianhua, Sun Chuanming, and Zhang Jianchen, and we agreed to meet at a small restaurant near the hotel tonight. As an outsider in Jiangcheng, I can only rely on them for help.