Chapter 246: Cloud Affairs Arise

The story of the emperor executing an immortal and then searching the entire city for him quickly spread by word of mouth. Even ordinary people understood that since the immortal had been killed by the emperor in a fit of rage, he was unlikely to return.

Emperor Yuande entrusted this matter to Yan Chang, who merely informed the various constables and officials of the old beggar's detailed appearance, instructing them to search thoroughly in areas with many beggars throughout the city.

Even when constables went out to inquire, Yan Chang demanded that everyone be pleasant and not act menacingly. It was unthinkable to post pictures of a beggar everywhere. After all, they were looking for an extraordinary person, and Yan Chang truly dared not proceed as if searching for a wanted criminal.

By that evening, many reports had come in. Some heard the old beggar had appeared on a certain street, others that he was in a tea house. Some even claimed to have "found" the old beggar, but when Yan Chang went to investigate, it was just an ordinary old man begging. He was simply given a sack of rice and sent away.

After dealing with the day's affairs, all princes, dukes, and ministers began heading towards the imperial palace, as the Grand Longevity Festival Banquet was about to begin.

Although Emperor Yuande had suffered a great shock that morning, by evening, he had reverted to his majestic and stern persona as the supreme ruler. It was as if the frustration from earlier in the day had not affected him at all.

Before the banquet began, Yan Chang was secretly summoned to the Imperial Study for questioning. He was asked only for the result, not the process, which left Yan Chang, who had prepared a long explanation, unable to utter a second sentence. He could only nervously reply, "No results."

Fortunately, this time he was not punished out of anger. Emperor Yuande actually understood some things himself; he merely encouraged Yan Chang with a few words before accompanying him to the banquet, which greatly flattered the Grand Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, who had been on tenterhooks.

The entire Grand Longevity Festival Banquet was very grand. And because it was the Emperor's seventieth birthday, it was on a larger scale than in previous years.

The Emperor even directly conferred the title of "Celestial Master" during the banquet. The remaining fourteen masters each received the title of "Celestial Master" and were awarded a thousand taels of gold.

Indeed, there were fourteen people left. One monk claimed to be suffering from "water and soil incompatibility" before the banquet and was confined to his bed in the post station.

Yan Chang even specifically requested an imperial physician to examine him, who confirmed he had severe vomiting and diarrhea and was very weak.

Emperor Yuande himself didn't hold much hope for the remaining individuals. A person who was nearly dying of illness was even less likely to impress him, so he directly excluded the monk from the conferment, also saving a thousand pieces of gold.

Of course, most of these fourteen remaining individuals were actually only interested in the "Celestial Master" title and had no intention of serving the old emperor.

While cups were clinked, and songs and dances filled the air in the hall where officials were being entertained, in a post station near a certain ritual platform, a handsome monk, who had been confined to bed with a pale face, stealthily pulled back his quilt.

Because it was the Longevity Festival, those in the post station had also been granted wine and food by the authorities. Many were drinking and eating meat, but the monk's room was completely dark.

The monk quietly got out of bed, put on his clothes and kasaya, tied the straps on his shoes, then went to the corner to pick up his staff and put on his conical hat.

"Alas, Great Bright Buddha... I'd better just slip away!"

He tiptoed to the door and opened it with a creak.

"Whoa...!"

As soon as he opened the door, he saw an ill-tempered old man standing outside. The man's aura intimidated the monk so much that he scrambled back over ten feet.

"Hmph hmph hmph... Monk, where are you going?"

The monk's face remained calm and showed no outward signs of distress, but fine beads of sweat appeared on his bald scalp beneath his conical hat.

"Alas, Great Bright Buddha... This humble monk is preparing to leave the post station. And you, benefactor, are?"

The ill-tempered person outside the post station was none other than Old Dragon Ying Hong. Seeing the monk's appearance made him even angrier.

"You... You're not attending the perfectly grand Longevity Banquet? You faked an illness and then tried to sneak away?"

"Uh... Benefactor, are you from the Great Zhen court?"

The monk's heart was filled with trepidation. If the Great Zhen court had such a person, would the old emperor still need to search everywhere for immortals?

'Alas, Great Bright Buddha, this is preposterous!'

"Heh heh... Me? From the Great Zhen court? Heh heh..."

Old Dragon laughed in anger and reached out to grab the monk. He was clearly standing at the doorway; his arm didn't extend, nor did he use any capturing technique, yet the entire room seemed to compress. The monk, pressed against the wall, had nowhere to hide and was directly grabbed by the collar by Old Dragon.

Then, like an eagle snatching a chick, Old Dragon, holding the monk, stepped out of the post station and flew directly into the air.

"Hey, hey, hey... Benefactor! Immortal! Let's talk, let's talk! This humble monk doesn't know how to fly!"

The monk, in mid-air, dared not flail his limbs. Instead, he clutched tightly to Old Dragon's arm, terrified of falling. A fall from such a hundred-zhang height would either shatter his bones or leave him paralyzed.

There had been no prior sign of this calamity; it was impossible to have predicted it. The monk had no idea when he had offended a person of such cultivation.

Old Dragon carried the monk, soaring through the air for a while, and finally flew above the imperial palace. Pointing at the singing and dancing revelry below, he said.

"Where is this?"

The monk swallowed, feeling the strong winds of the night sky.

"The Imperial Palace."

"Hmm, they just finished conferring the Celestial Master titles down there. Do you want to go get one? Don't worry, I'll drop you, but you won't die. And if you appear like that, the old emperor will definitely bestow a reward upon you!"

"No, no, please don't! Immortal, please stop teasing this humble monk. When did this humble monk offend you, after all? Even if I'm to die, shouldn't I at least get a clear explanation?"

Seeing the monk's absolute unwillingness, Old Dragon let out a breath to calm himself.

"If you truly didn't want to be a Celestial Master, why did you reveal your powers during the Nine Heavens and Ten Gatherings? Were you just bored? Ji Yuan and I made a bet. Originally, I thought I'd surely win, then I thought it would be a draw. Well, very well, just now in the Imperial Capital Underworld Office, I had a sudden feeling. I calculated and found I had inexplicably lost. I couldn't understand it, and it turns out you, a monk, actually faked an illness!"

The monk, in a moment of desperation, had an idea and seized the opportunity to speak quickly.

"Immortal, since you made a bet with someone, you naturally must honor the bet and accept the loss. What you are doing now is cheating; it's not right, it's not right!"

Old Dragon was merely feeling a bit frustrated. He had grabbed the monk to scare him a little; if the monk had remained calm, Old Dragon would have been very annoyed. But seeing his panicked state, Old Dragon's anger significantly subsided.

Saying nothing further, he carried the monk, rode the wind directly towards the Imperial Capital Prefecture, and then vanished into the Underworld.

The evil beings who had been captured recently were all detained in the underworld. Of course, they were all soul bodies; their true forms had likely been consumed by the Dragon Jiao.

This was the monk's first time truly entering the underworld. A strong surge of yin energy enveloped him, and he constantly chanted "Great Bright King Buddha."

Inside the Underworld City God's Temple, a massive circular mist filled the center of the hall. In the center of the mist, a scene appeared: it was precisely the deepest part of the Underworld's prison.

A large group of people were watching in the City God's Grand Hall. This included cultivators from Jade Embrace Mountain, underworld deities and the Imperial Capital Prefecture's City God, and some individuals who were clearly transformed demonic beings.

"Father, why did you suddenly go out? Uh, shouldn't this monk be in the Imperial Palace?"

Dragon Son Ying Feng unwittingly brought up an awkward topic. However, there was nothing to hide about this matter, as Old Dragon was also a dragon who accepted a loss once a bet was made.

"This monk faked an illness and didn't go to the Imperial Palace, and thus didn't receive the title of 'Celestial Master' conferred by the old emperor."

"No way, that counts?"

The Dragon Daughter beside him couldn't help but exclaim.

"You can lose even with that?"

Then, aside from a few uninformed people who were confused, the few who understood the situation all looked towards Ji Yuan.

Ji Yuan looked at the monk brought back by Old Dragon. The latter was bowing to the assembled immortals, demons, and deities. Having cultivated Buddhism until now, he had never seen such a scene, let alone imagined it. It felt like standing with the Ming King Buddha, or rather, a group of them.

"This humble monk merely came to attend the Water and Land Dharma Assembly. Now that the assembly is over, I am preparing to leave the capital. Might I be granted permission to leave?"

Ji Yuan looked at the monk's nervous expression, smiled at him, and spoke.

"Master, you don't actually think Old Mr. Ying was just angry and that's why he brought you to the Underworld, do you?"

"Isn't it?"

"Uh... Old Mr. has extraordinary bearing; naturally, that wouldn't be the case..."

The monk was surprised in his heart, but the words he spoke were still very much considering the reality of the situation.

"Master, please look!"

Ji Yuan pointed to the scene within the mist in the City God's Temple. Although there was no sound, the scene depicted the horrific sight of demonic souls and evil spirits undergoing torture. Their painful screams were conveyed through their twisted, terrifying expressions.

"These are the evil beings who infiltrated Great Zhen. Naturally, many among them were merely opportunists, but some had unusual origins. Although they couldn't endure the torment of the prison and confessed some things, their own knowledge was limited."

Old Dragon also snorted coldly and said.

"My Eastern Cloud Continent shows signs of unrest. You are a monk from Daliang Temple, north of the Tingliang Kingdom. You traveled and came to Great Zhen. How many years has it been since you returned?"

The monk frowned in thought before replying.

"This humble monk is currently forty-two years old. By my reckoning, it has been seventeen years."

Although he knew that everyone in the hall was an ancient being of unknown age, this monk's handsome appearance was too "youthful" for his apparent age, which still made Ji Yuan subconsciously glance at him again.

"Hmm, then you should go back and see. Although we don't know the full extent of the connections behind these evil creatures, a significant portion of them come from the Tianbao Kingdom, which borders the northern region of the Tingliang Kingdom."

"The Upper Kingdom of Tianbao!? How can that be?"

"Heh heh, why would there be so many evil creatures?"

Hearing Old Dragon's words, the monk subconsciously nodded. The Tianbao Kingdom was revered as an "Upper Kingdom" by the people in the northern region of the Tingliang Kingdom, so it naturally wouldn't be a bad place. But for so many well-developed evil creatures to appear here, something must have gone wrong.