This Taoist Master is too Frivolous

Min Province.

At the center of the Min River, atop Lu Shan Sect.

Previously, Xu Yang’s “Flooding of Lu Shan” caused great damage to the Lu Shan Sect, with many Daoist palaces and buildings destroyed overnight.

Up until today, the reconstruction of many buildings on Lu Shan is still underway.

For example, the main hall of Lu Shan Sect.

Now, from the outside, it looks no different from before, still majestic and solemn. However, the inside is cluttered with debris, decorating materials, and tools used by workers, with scaffolding everywhere.

Nevertheless, the interior of the main hall is brightly lit.

Master Qingyang of the Lu Shan Sect, wearing his Daoist robe, sits in the corner with a calm expression on his face. In stark contrast to the anger and gloom on the faces of the other senior Lu Shan Sect members!

No, that’s not quite right.

It should be called the “Former Sect Leader.”

After the day Xu Yang “Flooded Lu Shan” and forced out two elders of the Lu Shan Sect, Master Qingyang resigned from the position of Sect Leader.

Several Divine Transcendence Realm cultivators emerged from the Lu Shan Sect’s “Cavern of Mystery” to oversee its affairs.

The successor to the Sect Leader is now surnamed Li, a descendant of the Chen, Lin, and Li lineages of Lu Shan Sect, with the Daoist title “Supreme Sage Ziyang.” He is older and more senior than Master Qingyang, and now 160 years old.

There are also three Divine Transcendence Realm cultivators, all roughly the same age and seniority as Supreme Sage Ziyang.

Sitting atop the high seat is the second elder who was forced out of the Cavern of Mystery by Xu Yang, with the Daoist title “Wuwei” and known as “Lord Wuwei.”

Lord Wuwei has a middle-aged appearance.

He wears a red Daoist robe.

This red Daoist robe is the third-highest rank, second only to yellow and purple. Only advanced practitioners can wear it. As a Daoist True Monarch and elder of the Lu Shan Sect, he is indeed qualified.

As for the purple robe?

Grandmaster Chengming can wear a purple robe because he is an elder of the Zongsheng Palace. Lord Wuwei is not qualified for it yet.

His gaze sweeps across everyone and speaks gravely, “Lashe Lingxiao has been captured, as you all should now know… If you have any opinions, speak up.”

“Grandmaster Wuwei!”

Supreme Sage Ziyang, the current Sect Leader of Lu Shan Sect, is the first to stand up and speak, “Daoist True Monarch Lingxiao went to assassinate Xu Yang, with a high probability of success… Even if he fails, who in this world can hold him back if the Old Ancestor wants to leave?”

“I absolutely don’t believe Lingxiao Old Ancestor was captured!”

“Sage Ziyang is right!”

Another person stands up and says, “Nowadays, True Monarch is invincible in the martial world! Even if Xu Yang has a Ghost Immortal protecting him, even if Wang Hou intervenes, it is still absolutely impossible to capture Daoist True Monarch Lingxiao alive!”

Lord Wuwei closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

Frankly speaking.

He thinks so too.

However, it has been so long since the incident, and Lingxiao hasn’t returned to Lu Shan. They can’t contact him either. Lord Wuwei has calculated the divination as well, and the omen shows “great misfortune,” which means Lingxiao has indeed encountered a “crisis.”

“If Fang Wei had posted on the Martial World Forum, then this matter… I’m afraid; it’s true!”

At this point, the silent Master Qingyang stands up and says, “Fang Wei is a mysterious person. He claims to be the successor of Baixiao Sheng from the martial world, and he is called the top paparazzo in the martial world by others. Since the Martial World Forum was established, he has exposed hundreds of martial world secrets, and all of them are true.”

Lord Wuwei raises his eyebrows.

He ponders for a few seconds, “This Baixiao Sheng from the martial world… who is it? There is no such person in ancient martial world circles.”

Master Qingyang: “…”

The old Daoist who was hit hard by Xu Yang, feeling overwhelmed by the reality, opens his mouth but is speechless for a moment.

In ancient martial world…

Wasn’t there such a person as Baixiao Sheng?

So, Fang Wei claimed himself as “Baixiao Sheng,” isn’t it just a fabrication?

Why did he do that?

For a moment, various thoughts flashed through his mind, and Master Qingyang said, “There is a character named Baixiao Sheng in many martial arts novels, first appearing in a novel called ‘Sentimental Swordsman Ruthless Sword.’ This character knows everything about the heavens, geography, and the secrets and interesting matters of the martial world. In any case, no one knows the real identity of this successor to Baixiao Sheng, but every incident he has exposed is true!”

“Since he said it, Daoist True Monarch Lingxiao must indeed have been captured…”

“What a joke!”

Supreme Sage Ziyang sneered, “Daoist True Monarch Lingxiao is an invincible existence in this world! Who can capture him?”

As for the successor to his Sect Leader position and an even more senior Supreme Sage Ziyang, Master Qingyang is actually quite disgusted and even looks down upon him from the bottom of his heart.

That’s because he entered the “Cavern of Mystery” more than one hundred and thirty years ago. Both his mindset and knowledge are stuck in inflexible and conservative feudal thinking, and the way he manages the sect is very different from Qingyang’s methods.

After Supreme Sage Ziyang took over as Sect Leader, he made drastic changes to the Lu Shan Sect, denying many of Qingyang’s decisions.

Looking at Supreme Sage Ziyang, Master Qingyang says, “Wang Hou of the Spirits Management Bureau carries the geomantic omen of Da Xia and, despite being in the early stages of Land Immortal, can be regarded as invincible in the world. Moreover, Grandmaster Chengming of Zongsheng Palace has lived in the world for 600 years, with unfathomable cultivation. If these two take action, Daoist True Monarch Lingxiao will undoubtedly be defeated.”

Paused for a moment, Master Qingyang continues, “Besides, Xu Yang has also summoned Lord Cui, the Chief Judge of the Underworld Palace’s Department of Rewarding Good, Department of Evil Punishment, Inquisition Agency, and Underworld’s Bureau of Laws… if he could summon Lord Cui again, what difficulty would there be in dealing with Daoist True Monarch Lingxiao?”

“Haha.”

Supreme Sage Ziyang strokes his beard and laughs, “Lord Cui is a great power of the Underworld Palace, the chief judge of the four major judge systems of the Underworld Palace. He’s not some nameless deity; do you think he can be summoned and dismissed at will?”

Disregard the other aspects for now.

First, eliminate a correct answer.

After debating with Master Qingyang, Supreme Sage Ziyang bows to Lord Wuwei and says, “Old Ancestor, whether this matter is true or false, we will know soon enough. Xu Yang’s arrogance knows no bounds, and he doesn’t put our Lu Shan Sect in his eyes. We can take this opportunity to invade Wu City, annihilate Xu Yang in one fell swoop, and seize the Supreme Purification Seal, completing the unification of Lu Shan and Jingming Sects!”

“At that time, Old Ancestor, you can unify the two seals of Jingming and Master of Dharma, and then inherit the position of Heavenly Master. When the martial world recovers completely, Old Ancestor can communicate with Heavenly Palace, ascend to the heavens under broad daylight, and meet Heavenly Master Xu!”

Although Lord Wuwei initially had doubts, he is moved by these words.

“Old Ancestor!”

“That must not happen!”

Qingyang quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said, “The situation is unclear now, and if we act rashly, we might fall into a trap…”

Lord Wuwei frowned.

That was precisely what he was worried about.

If this incident really involved Wang Hou, who captured Revered Daoist Lingxiao, then he could also capture Wuwei himself!

If he exited his seclusion prematurely, severing his own foundation, staying at Lu Shan Sect might still be manageable with the help of the geomantic omen, but at Wu City…he would be no match for Wang Hou!

“Qingyang!”

Supreme Sage Ziyang angrily said, “What do you mean by that? Now that Grandmaster Lingxiao’s life is uncertain, and our sect’s dignity has been swept away, should we just stand by and watch?”

The other Supreme Sages naturally supported Ziyang.

They all spoke up, even mentioning the previous two “disasters” of the Lu Shan Sect, saying that Qingyang was incompetent, and that the people of Jingming Sect should have been eradicated back then, instead of leaving such a scourge behind!

However, Qingyang ignored them, knelt down, and said, “Ancestor, our sect’s dignity is important…but…the inheritance is even more important!”

Having said that…

Without waiting for a response from Wuwei, Qingyang stood up and said, “Ancestor, I’m going to cultivate.”

He left the main hall and walked away.

In the hall, Supreme Sage Ziyang and others were chattering nonstop.

However, Wuwei was annoyed and said, “Shut up!”

Everyone closed their mouths and looked at Wuwei. He said, “Ziyang, go to Wu City tomorrow morning…meet with Xu Yang, and try to bring Revered Daoist Lingxiao back.”

“Furthermore, give the order.”

“From today onwards, the Lu Shan Sect will close its mountain…without my permission, none of our disciples are allowed to leave!”

Lord Wuwei wasn’t stupid.

The “Supreme Purification Seal” was indeed tempting.

But, one must be alive to possess this treasure.

As Qingyang said, the situation is unclear at the moment. If he goes to Wu City rashly, he might end up like Revered Daoist Lingxiao!

By that time, with two of the four Supreme Sages of the Lu Shan Sect eliminated, and given the strong momentum of Wang Hou and Xu Yang, they would likely attack immediately, forcing the remaining two Supreme Sages to act. At that time, the Lu Shan Sect would be finished!

…

August 29, 2023, Lunar July 11th.

Cloudy weather.

In the early morning, a misty drizzle began to fall.

As it was approaching autumn, more rain was normal.

Xu Yang stretched and put away all the Daoist talismans from the table, then went downstairs.

Liu Shishi and Yang Yin had already prepared breakfast.

After washing his face, Xu Yang sat at the table and asked, “Where are Yue Qiluo and Yue Yuluo?”

Elder sister Yue went back to the Underworld Palace with Xiao Yu.”

Yang Yin served Xu Yang some wolfberry and lotus seed porridge, “There have been more ghosts coming to Xi Xia these past two days, and the Ghost Festival is approaching. Elder sister Yue is worried, so she went back to make arrangements.”

“What about Xiao Yu and Yun Mengxi?”

“Xiao Yu went with elder sister Yue. She said there are some tough characters among the ghosts entering Xi Xia this time, so she asked Xiao Yu to help.”

Liu Shishi sat beside Xu Yang and said, “Yun Mengxi sensed that her opportunity to recover her cultivation has arrived. She is going out for a walk and should be back in about three days. She told you not to worry about her.”

As they finished their breakfast, the doorbell rang.

It was Yue Niang and Xiao Miao.

They came to Xu Yang’s house last night, and knew about Revered Daoist Lingxiao. Xu Yang specially invited Yue Niang to help mediate and negotiate with the Lu Shan Sect.

He immediately dragged out Lingxiao, who was like a dead dog from the bathroom, casually holding him in hand, and said, “Yue Niang, let’s go.”

Negotiating with the Lu Shan Sect was a major event.

Liu Shishi and Yang Yin quickly cleaned up the dishes and joined them at the funeral store.

At this moment, the rain outside was getting heavier.

There were fewer vehicles and pedestrians on the street.

Looking outside, Yang Yin couldn’t help but ask, “What if no one from Lu Shan Sect comes?”

“If no one comes, find a utility pole and hang the old dog Lingxiao there. Have Minister Wang take some photos and videos, and propagate those widely… If the Lu Shan Sect has any shame left, they won’t just stand by.”

Just as the words fell…

A taxi stopped at the funeral store’s entrance.

From the car, an old Daoist and a young Daoist stepped out one after the other.

The young Daoist helped the old Daoist, saying, “Sect leader, watch your step…there’s water.”

But the old Daoist ignored him.

He stepped into the water, splashing it everywhere, and as he entered, his eyes glinted with a cold light. He stared at Xu Yang and said coldly, “Xu Yang, where is my sect’s Lingxiao, the elder of Lu Shan Sect?”

???

Xu Yang was stunned.

This old Daoist…

Was he the new sect leader of the Lu Shan Sect?

He sneered, “Since you’ve come to ransom someone, you should have the appropriate attitude… Old man, I’m giving you another chance to rephrase your words… If you say it nicely, I’ll let you stay. If you don’t, I’ll ensure you stay here forever!”

…

PS: Recommending an excellent LSP book: “I’m not Little Blue Game”.