Chapter 229: 211 Solutions, Part 1

Spirit Court · Xingling Palace.

The smoke from the incense burner lingered sparse, and on the corridor outside the palace gate, two figures wearing purple ribbon Daoist robes slowly exited the gate.

One of the two was fat, the other thin. They both wore wide-sleeved Daoist robes with an apricot-yellow base color and lotus crowns of purple gold on their heads, a clear sign of the highest rank within the Daoist sects.

At this moment, a flock of wild geese happened to fly slowly across the sky, but as they were about to fly over Xingling Palace, the flock suddenly turned and naturally avoided flying over these palace complexes.

“All things have spirits, and the most holy supreme, worshipped by all spirits, resides here, yet living creatures naturally shy away from this place….”

Yue Dewen sighed softly.

His Majesty’s personality changed abruptly recently; I wonder if it is related to the sudden reckoning with the Eastern Sect.

The Eastern Sect used to be closest to His Majesty.

But now…

“Chongxuan, be cautious with your words. This place is the sacred residence of the heavenly noble and most holy, and all spirits retreat out of respect.”

The tall, thin old man beside him spoke calmly.

This elder had a long white beard hanging down to his chest. His eyes were narrow and long, occasionally flashing with brilliance.

“Qingyi, you sure know how to talk; your little mouth is truly sweet~~” Yue Dewen laughed out loud.

“How come everything turns into a good thing when it comes out of your mouth?”

The one known as Qingyi was none other than the current Sect Leader of the Zhenyi Sect, the largest and most influential sect in the Great Spirit.

Qingyi was his Dao name, his real name was Li Dao Yan.

“Brother Yue is more clever; even harsh words make His Majesty nod in agreement repeatedly. Such eloquence, I am not up to it.” Qingyi replied coldly.

“You flatter me, Dao friend,” Yue Dewen smiled with satisfaction, “Speaking of which, the Master was just talking about inviting His Majesty to participate in the Buddha Demon Suppression Grand Ceremony….”

“Those like the Western Sect, showing off amidst frivolity, the so-called demon suppression, hmph….!” Qingyi snorted dismissively, showing no attempt to hide his disdain for the Western Sect.

Now, the Sixteen Celestial Demon Dances have already spread throughout the Great Capital.

Initially, the Western Sect quietly pulled in various noble families to participate, but as the numbers grew, they simply added more groups to the Sixteen Celestial Demon Dances, turning it into thirty-two, sixty-four, even one hundred and twenty-eight…

And now they wish to invite His Majesty to partake in such a sordid ceremony, it’s simply….

Qingyi felt his temper rising but quickly suppressed it naturally.

He glanced at Yue Dewen, calculating in his mind.

“Brother Yue, we of the Daoist sects are like branches of the same tree. Now the Western Sect is causing chaos in the court, openly undermining virtues and morality, why don’t we…”

“Qingyi, be careful with your words, His Majesty has just agreed to participate in the grand ceremony,” Yue Dewen reminded.

“It seems you have decided firmly to be a spectator then.” Qingyi nodded.

“My Great Dao Teaching holds a small and humble position, inadequate for great responsibilities. How can we compare to the worldwide influence and abundance of experts in the Zhenyi Sect? Brother Li…. it’s best not to speak such words.” Yue Dewen smiled.

“Hehe.” Qingyi chuckled softly, unwilling to bother further with this nonsense.

The two had alternately collaborated and faced off in the past, understanding each other quite well by now.

“In that case, let’s discuss everything after An Nan.” Qingyi bowed and turned to leave.

The Great Spirit marching into An Nan wasn’t the first time, but due to the complex terrain there, each time involved numerous slaughters but failed to establish dominion.

Moreover, each campaign required a large number of alchemists and healers.

This personnel primarily came from the Zhenyi Sect and the Great Dao Teaching.

The Western Sect took advantage of this gap to promote their Celestial Demon Dances.

“By the way.” Qingyi suddenly halted, turned slightly. “I heard Brother Yue has taken in another promising disciple, congratulations.”

“Not at all. Just raising them casually, just casually.” Yue Dewen bowed in return, his face full of smiles.

“Casual? Hehe, such a well-apt disciple can’t be just a casual matter, can it? Even His Majesty knows…” Qingyi responded, then turned to leave.

Watching the other leave, Yue Dewen’s smile remained, but a hint of coldness flickered in his eyes.

Half of the Buddhist sects have fallen, now the Zhenyi Sect is the true number one sect in the land…

This old Qingyi is getting a bit arrogant…. surely cooking up more plots.

I so wish to slap him to death…

No, no, I must remain tranquil, practice non-action.

He hurriedly focused his mind, leaving while contemplating how to engineer a conflict between the Western Sect and Zhenyi.

The foundation of the Great Dao Teaching is longevity, different from theirs.

Zhenyi and the Buddhist sects are actually competing for the orthodoxy of the true teaching.

Decades ago, the previous leader of Zhenyi revised numerous Daoist texts and established a Daoist canon, eliminating many false scriptures.

Later, in debates with two Buddhist sects, they faced off two against one without faltering.

Thus establishing Zhenyi’s status as the foremost sect in Daoism.

Different from his Great Dao Teaching’s pursuit of tranquility and non-action, Zhenyi emphasizes one word—struggle.

Back then, Zhenyi’s founder traveled thousands of miles with disciples to meet the founding Spirit Emperor before the unification of the country, discussing governance strategies and paths of cultivation with him.

Thus laying the foundation.

But because of this, in the eyes of many other Daoist sects, Zhenyi is not considered orthodox.

It does not conform to the Three Pristine Ones’ essence of tranquility and non-action.

Therefore, the conflict between Zhenyi and the Western Sect is inevitable.

Yue Dewen only needs to fan the flames from behind, giving a gentle push….

*

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*

Great Capital, Fude Sect.

Underneath a tall gray stone city wall, a round archway of more than a dozen meters high saw a continuous stream of people and carts flowing in and out.

On both sides of the archway, itinerant merchants pushing carts and carrying boxes were loudly peddling their goods.

Above the city gate was a large semicircular platform.

Teams of archers and crossbowmen patrolled back and forth, armed.

Zhang Rongfang, in his Celestial Treasure Palace Daoist robe, sat inside a carriage, slowly entering the city.

Outside the carriage was a cacophony of noise, along with the neighing of horses and braying of donkeys.

He touched his wallet and looked out the window.

The carriage passed through the tall, sturdy gray city walls and entered a wide, white stone street that could accommodate eight carriages side by side.

The street was divided into two sides by a green belt, one going inward, the other outward.

On the outermost sides, there were sidewalks for pedestrians to walk on.

On both sides of the street, houses with red columns and gray-tiled stone walls were lined up one after another, forming a continuous stretch.

Under the curved, sharp eaves, occasionally a swallow’s nest or a pigeon’s nest would flash by.

“Daoist, need a guide? Just one or two silver for a day!”

“Daoist, I only charge eight coins a day, choose me!”

“Daoist….”

Soon, many people were following closely beside the carriage.

It was unclear how these people could tell, but they recognized that Zhang Rongfang was a stranger here.

Zhang Rongfang ignored them and looked at the street ahead, which seemed endless.

White people, black people, blue eyes, black eyes, red eyes, all sorts of people coming and going.

Among the people holding musical instruments and singing for a living, there was even one playing the violin, stomping on a board for accompaniment.

Two Huxi people, a man and a woman, were turning circles while doing a tap dance, hands on their hips, clapping loudly now and then to produce crisp sounds.

The girl, with blue eyes and white skin, her blonde hair and short skirt swaying with her body, occasionally rising and falling.

This drew cheers and the sound of money being tossed from the surrounding audience.

Zhang Rongfang withdrew his gaze; in less than a hundred meters into the city, he had already heard shouts in no fewer than four different foreign languages.

“Daoist, where to now?” the driver asked loudly.

“The largest pharmacy in Great Capital, Zhonghui Pharmacy.” Before coming, Zhang Rongfang had already clarified his destination.

Zhang Qingzhi felt somewhat guilty, so he gathered quite a bit of information for him in this regard.

Even a simple map was obtained.

“Understood!”

The driver took the order and sped up the carriage.

Turning corner after corner, passing one intersection after another.

It made Zhang Rongfang a little dizzy, and only after half an hour did the carriage finally stop in front of a bustling, prosperous store.

The store occupied nearly a hundred meters of street-facing shops, with a row of red doors wide open.

Small carts pulling medicinal herbs were constantly coming in and going out.

Some carts even had piles of medicinal bundles five to six meters high, like small mountains.

Zhang Rongfang instructed a few words for the carriage to find a parking spot, then got off and stood in front of the store.

As soon as he got off, an attendant wearing a gray hat and dressed in short gray clothes approached to greet him.

“Is this Daoist here to buy medicine? Oh my, you’re actually a Daoist of Celestial Treasure Palace, my apologies, please come inside.

Our Zhonghui Pharmacy is the largest medicinal business in Great Capital; whatever medicine you need, we have it all!”

This attendant had a good eye, recognizing Zhang Rongfang’s origin with just a few words.

Quickly, Zhang Rongfang was led inside the store.

Upon entering, it was a large hall that spanned two floors.

On both sides were spiral staircases leading to the second floor.

After inquiring, the attendant led Zhang Rongfang to a quiet room on the second floor to wait for a while.

After sitting for less than two minutes, a maid immediately brought in tea and a fruit plate.

A middle-aged man with a shiny forehead and slightly balding head, with a belt of money pouches around his waist, quickly entered the room.

Upon entering, this person immediately clasped his fists towards Zhang Rongfang.

“My name is Shen Zheyun, I am the manager of the store, I heard Daoist wants to buy a hundred-year-old Reishi?”

Zhang Rongfang sized up this person.

The man’s face was ordinary, with a shrewd and weary look in his eyes, his sleeves rolled up to reveal solid muscles.

As soon as he entered, a strong mixed aroma of medicinal herbs came along.

“Indeed, I, Qiankun, need to purchase a century-old Red Reishi, I wonder if your store….”

“A century-old Red Reishi? We do have it, but….” Shen Zheyun nodded and closed his eyes to think for a bit.

“In stock, there should be three left, but all were reserved not long ago.

If you’re not in a rush, Daoist, you might have to wait a bit. We can dispatch goods from other branches.”

As expected of the largest store, it indeed has everything one might need.

Zhang Rongfang nodded.

“So how long will it take to dispatch the goods? Please as soon as possible, I need it urgently, the price is negotiable.”

He needed the herbs to meet the standards for the first time use. After that, he could use attribute points to make up for it.

“This might require further inquiry to provide a response, but to my understanding, it might take at least two months for a round trip.” Shen Zheyun replied.

“Two months….” Zhang Rongfang furrowed his brow slightly.

The time seemed a bit long…

“You may not know, Daoist, but wild Red Reishi is always one of the primary ingredients needed by noble people.

It cures Qi and Blood deficiency and mental fatigue and has great effects on many heart conditions.

So basically, the supply is always reserved as soon as it becomes available. It’s hard to have stock.” Shen Zheyun explained.

“I see, may I ask, when exactly was your store’s stock reserved?” Zhang Rongfang suddenly asked.

“About half a month ago.” Shen Zheyun evidently had a good memory.

“Half a month ago….” Zhang Rongfang vaguely had it figured out in his mind. The smiling, chubby face of Master Chongxuan flashed in his mind.

Leaving Zhonghui Pharmacy, he went to several other major pharmacies unwillingly.

The answers he got were unexpectedly the same as here at Shen Zheyun’s.

All the century-old Red Reishi had been reserved.

Helpless, he could only return.

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