Chapter 918: Flying Up a Branch to Become a Phoenix

This dream came quickly and faded just as fast.

Then he woke up.

A wave of dizziness immediately followed.

Chen Changsheng remembered drinking plain porridge and bickering with Old Huang just a moment ago. Now, he had returned to his senses.

Right now, he was in a small town outside Quanshan.

"Hiss..."

Rubbing his temples, Chen Changsheng found a tea stall to clear his head.

He gave the stall owner two copper coins for a cup of tea. Only after finishing it did he finally feel fully awake.

Chen Changsheng let out a breath and looked into the distance.

"This feeling really isn't good..."

Chen Changsheng sighed softly. Though the dream had been pleasant, such dreams were ultimately mentally and physically exhausting.

Miss Yun should have arrived in Shangjing long ago.

After he rested for a long while, the grogginess completely faded.

Chen Changsheng stood up, thinking to himself, 'Since that's the case, I'll head up to Quanshan for a look first.'

Quanshan wasn't far from here.

He had spoken a few words with Daoist Sanyuan back then. After three years, he wondered what Quanshan had become.

It was something to look forward to.

Three years later, the number of people fetching water at the foot of Quanshan had dwindled significantly.

Rumor had it that the elders of Quanshan had personally come down the mountain to tell the commoners that the water possessed no miraculous effects and wouldn't grant immortality. After a long period of persuasion, people slowly began to believe them. A few stubborn individuals still refused to be convinced and came to fetch water every day, but their numbers were nowhere near what they used to be.

No one guarded Quanshan's mountain gate.

While the water-fetchers had decreased, the number of pilgrims had grown.

Listening to the chatter of the commoners along the road, Chen Changsheng gathered a few details.

In recent years, the Quanshan disciples had performed many good deeds. They would descend the mountain to help the commoners during the spring planting and the autumn harvest. If anything strange occurred in the surrounding towns, disciples would come down to investigate. From exorcising demons to banishing evil, they helped with everything. Even the local underworld deputies and the City God treated the Quanshan disciples with great respect.

Today, incense smoke curled around Quanshan, and the stream of pilgrims was endless.

Chen Changsheng went up the mountain and saw pilgrims already blocking the entrance. A young Daoist was maintaining order, trying to persuade some of them to head back down and return another day. However, the commoners were stubborn and insisted on waiting.

Chen Changsheng stepped forward. "Greetings, young Daoist."

The young Daoist hurriedly returned the greeting. "Greetings, layman."

Chen Changsheng asked, "I wonder if Daoist Sanyuan is in the temple?"

The young Daoist paused upon hearing this and asked, "May I ask why you are looking for the Temple Master, layman?"

Chen Changsheng said, "I must trouble you to notify him. Tell him an old acquaintance has come to visit. This Chen's name is Changsheng. I hope you can pass this on."

"You are too polite, layman."

The young Daoist then said, "I will go and notify him right away."

"Thank you for the trouble."

Only a short while passed after the young Daoist left.

A figure hurried out from the back of the temple.

It was indeed Daoist Sanyuan.

Daoist Sanyuan cupped his hands repeatedly and said respectfully, "This old Daoist greets Mister Chen!"

"You are too polite, Daoist."

Daoist Sanyuan led Chen Changsheng into the Daoist temple through the back.

This was out of necessity, as the main entrance was completely blocked by people.

As he walked, Chen Changsheng observed the present state of Quanshan.

"After just a few years apart, Quanshan has completely changed," Chen Changsheng said.

Daoist Sanyuan replied, "It is all thanks to your blessing, Mister. Otherwise, there is no telling how far Quanshan would have fallen."

Chen Changsheng said, "You must be joking, Daoist Sanyuan. Logically speaking, This Chen should be considered Quanshan's enemy."

Daoist Sanyuan waved his hands repeatedly. "A benefactor! A great benefactor!"

"Please, take the seat of honor, Mister."

After they sat down, another young Daoist served tea.

It was supposed to be a quiet room, but the multitude of pilgrims outside made the place quite noisy.

Seeing this, Daoist Sanyuan used a minor Daoist art to cut off the outside noise, making the room significantly more peaceful.

Only then did Daoist Sanyuan speak, recounting his experiences over the past few years.

Back then, he had descended the mountain to hunt down the disciples who had defected. Those who had committed good deeds were spared and allowed to return to the sect, while the evildoers were slain and personally delivered to the City God Temple. Keeping busy with all this had taken him a full year.

Daoist Sanyuan sighed softly. "Although I spent a whole year on it, many slipped through the net in the end. I continuously heard reports of wicked individuals causing trouble in the Mortal World, manipulating corpse puppets and bringing disaster to the people. I went to eradicate these evils, but it felt as though they could never be completely wiped out."

"That was never going to be an easy task to begin with," Chen Changsheng said.

Daoist Sanyuan nodded slightly. "Fortunately, the disciples in the mountain have all embarked on the righteous path now. Each generation surpasses the last. Even if this poor Daoist grows old and useless, the next generation will be there to resolve these lingering matters."

Quanshan had indeed gotten onto the right track.

Chen Changsheng asked, "But I wonder, have any strange people visited Quanshan?"

Daoist Sanyuan pondered for a moment before answering, "As for strange people, there have been quite a few..."

"For example?"

"Some were seeking immortals and tracing ruins; the way they spoke was incredibly strange. Others would just snoop around outside Quanshan. Most of them were petty thieves, and we would just catch them, give them a beating, and let them go. There have simply been too many strange people these past few years."

Chen Changsheng thought for a moment and asked, "Were there any demonic cultivators?"

Daoist Sanyuan paused, his expression immediately shifting. "To be honest with you, Mister, a demonic cultivator did come here previously."

Chen Changsheng asked, "Please elaborate."

Daoist Sanyuan promptly explained, "It was about a year and a half ago. As soon as that person came up the mountain, I sensed that their aura was highly unusual. With a single glance, I saw monstrous demonic qi surging into the sky and immediately realized something was wrong."

"At first, I assumed they harbored malicious intent, so I followed them closely."

"But who could have expected that this person would merely take a stroll around the temple before dropping the phrase, 'Truly flying up a branch to become a phoenix,' and leaving right after."

Chen Changsheng asked, "Did you not exchange a few words?"

Daoist Sanyuan shook his head. "I didn't know their background, so I didn't rashly initiate a conversation."

Chen Changsheng offered a helpless smile.

Because of what had happened back then, Daoist Sanyuan was genuinely a bit frightened.

"This Chen is to blame for that," Chen Changsheng said.

Daoist Sanyuan said, "I wouldn't dare say that! It's certainly not your fault, Mister. When facing a demonic cultivator, one must always be a little cautious."

Chen Changsheng asked, "And this person never came back?"

Daoist Sanyuan shook his head. "They haven't returned. Nowadays, those who come up the mountain are mostly mortals, alongside various fellow Daoists from the mortal realm. People from Qingxian Temple have also visited, but mostly for discourses on the Dao and nothing else."

Hearing this, Chen Changsheng nodded. "Put that way, certain things do corroborate what was said back then."

Daoist Sanyuan asked, "Do you mean to say, Mister, that in its earliest days, our Quanshan was truly built by demonic cultivators?"

Chen Changsheng replied, "You couldn't exactly put it like that. Perhaps there were just shadows of demonic cultivators involved."

Daoist Sanyuan let out a breezy laugh. "You don't need to save face for our Quanshan, Mister. Actually, the moment that demonic cultivator uttered those words, this old Daoist understood the true origins of our Quanshan."

Chen Changsheng said, "Things are different now. Why bother worrying about the past?"