Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

Chapter 172 Chang'an Power

Chang'an is a large city, and while it is prosperous, it is also home to many strange people and events. In order to make Qingyangzi less fixated on his Shenglongkou revitalization plan, which is hard to describe, Jingtao Jun pulled him into the city.

He brought up the topic of turning stones into gold with the intention of having a lighthearted conversation, such as what size stone he would choose to turn after learning how to do it, or how to turn something already formed into a stone statue, just like what ordinary people would do if they won the lottery.

Who would have thought that Qingyangzi was so dedicated that he could connect the Midas touch to the construction of Shenglongkou, and these plans... He knew that Qingyangzi did not do it on purpose, but it was no longer a mere resemblance, but a complete Frankenstein's monster.

Chang'an was indeed prosperous, so prosperous that the two of them encountered strange things before they even entered the city.

They saw a man dressed as a scholar huddled in a corner, carefully walking forward while holding onto the wall with one hand, and rubbing his eyes from time to time with the other, as if there was something wrong with his eyes.

The man looked like he was blind, but he didn't have any tools to help blind people walk; he could only walk by holding onto the wall.

Qingyangzi stopped proposing various construction plans for Shenglongkou and looked at the scholar. It was strange that a blind person would run to a sparsely populated place alone, but seeing that the scholar was having difficulty moving, he couldn't just leave him there.

"Does this young master need any help?"

Moreover, this person is different from the one who just left; he's just an invisible ordinary person. However, considering his scholarly attire and the various things that happen to scholars in this world, Jingtao-jun has reservations about whether this person truly qualifies as an ordinary person.

The scholar heard the stranger's voice and instinctively turned his head to see who it was, but after looking around, all he could see was darkness. Then he remembered that he couldn't see.

It was this action that made the two realize the problem. Their first reaction to hearing a sound was to look with their eyes. This reaction and habit indicated that the person was not born blind; he was a normal person before.

However, the other party's turn of his head made things easier for Jingtao Jun and Qingyangzi. This person's half-open eyes were grayish-white, but inside there were traces of black and white that were clearly visible, as if a white film had grown on the eyeballs. He certainly did not look simple.

"Where are you going? We can help you..."

"The two immortals need not concern themselves with him."

As they were asking the scholar if he needed help, a voice interrupted them. It was a middle-aged monk of unremarkable appearance, wearing a somewhat worn patchwork robe and walking barefoot.

From the moment the two met Zhen Sheng, they encountered three extraordinary people in a short period of time. To be honest, no matter how prosperous Chang'an is, there shouldn't be so many special events happening so frequently, right?

"Why do you say that, Master?"

Judging from the monk's words, could there be some hidden story behind this?

"This person's blindness is due to his own moral failings; it is his own karmic retribution."

Despite the two men's unusual attire, the monk remained remarkably calm, even more so than the immortal cultivator Zhen Sheng. He spoke at a normal volume, which was enough for the scholar leaning against the wall to hear him.

The monk's use of the word "immortal" caught his attention, and the scholar reached out and grabbed Qingyangzi's sleeve.

"Immortal Master, please save me!"

Because he couldn't see, the scholar didn't know what the person next to him looked like. Since he could be called "Immortal Master," he must be someone who knew immortal arts. Moreover, after grabbing his sleeve, he could tell that the person next to him was a rare and good person.

His sleeve was suddenly grabbed, and Qingyangzi immediately tried to shake it off, but he quickly realized that he couldn't. He was being pulled by a weak, ordinary person, and if he didn't control his strength, he might throw the scholar away.

On the other hand, the scholar seemed certain that he had found a master. He reached out with his other hand, which was supporting him against the wall, grabbed Qingyangzi's sleeve, and knelt down on the spot, repeatedly begging for help.

Seeing this, the monk shook his head helplessly. Jingtao Jun flashed between Qingyangzi and the scholar, grabbed the scholar's hand, and pulled him away.

When Jingtao grabbed the scholar's wrist, he noticed that the scholar had Buddhist prayer beads wrapped around one of his hands. However, he didn't believe that the scholar was a Buddhist, because although the beads looked nice, they were brand new and looked like they had only been bought a few days ago. They were the result of a last-minute attempt to seduce someone.

"This master said your blindness is retribution. What did you do?"

Since this person didn't go blind innocently, but rather suffered retribution for their own actions, there's no need to be too kind to them; after all, the other person can't see it anyway.

"me……"

When asked this, the scholar who had just been wailing immediately fell silent, stammering and saying nothing. If it weren't for the white film covering his eyes, one could probably still see his eyes darting around in panic.

Judging from their expressions, they were unwilling to talk about it. Since it was their own fault that they brought this upon themselves, and there were others trying to stop them, they decided not to meddle any further. The two of them were not very free to begin with, and after their trip to Chang'an, they would have to go back to continue releasing the little monsters.

"Qingyangzi, let's go."

"Immortal Master, please don't go! I know I was wrong, I really know I was wrong! I'll do anything to heal my eyes, Immortal Master!"

“Your patronage will naturally come to an end, but not at this moment.”

Watching the wailing scholar, the monk showed no sorrow or joy, and walked away with Qingyangzi and Jingtaojun.

"What did he do?"

Seeing that the barefoot monk was someone who knew the truth, and that the scholar himself was avoiding the topic, Qingyangzi asked the monk who had stopped him from meeting Jingtao Jun.

This monk seemed like a practitioner, but a proper Buddhist practitioner wouldn't do something like "letting someone die without helping." His attitude towards the scholar suggests there must be something going on.

Have either of you heard of the Pupil People?

"The Pupil Man?"

"The Pupil Man is a monster transformed from a human's pupil. It can speak human language, fly, and love to play. It will reside in the eyes of men who like to flirt with beautiful women. This benefactor's name is Fang Dong, and this is the cause of his eye disease."

"I see."

Jingtao glanced meaningfully behind him. The scholar named Fang Dong knew they had gone far away. Because he was blind now, he had no way to chase after them and could only stand there in helpless rage.

The phrase "living in the eyes of a lecherous man" alone reveals the reason for Fang Dong's blindness.

"But in his eyes, I only saw a white film, nothing else."

“It takes time for a person with pupils to transform into a physical form. It has only been a few days since Benefactor Fang became like this. On the second day after he lost his sight, he went to the temple where I was staying and asked for blessed Buddhist beads and bought some scriptures.”

The beaded bracelet that Jingtao saw on Fang Dong's wrist must have been bought around that time, only a few days ago. No wonder it looked so believable.

"This calamity is both the result of Fang's own sins and an opportunity for him to be reborn. If he can understand the reason behind it, he will naturally regain his sight."

It was purely coincidental that Qingyangzi Jingtaojun met Fang Dong, but it wasn't that the monk met them. The monk had some dealings with the little monsters in Chang'an, and when he learned that someone had specially brought back the captured monsters, he wanted to see what kind of person it was.

According to him, there are many talented and extraordinary people in Chang'an, many of whom are on good terms with demons, and some are even hybrids of humans and demons. The White Lotus Sect inexplicably started capturing demons, not only competing with demon hunters for their livelihood, but also harming many innocent people. Some people in Chang'an wanted to save them, but when they tried to divine the location of the White Lotus Sect, they found that they could not predict anything.

Whether they were Taoist priests, Buddhist monks, or others who had gone astray, as long as they were skilled in divination, they were all forced to shut down when it came to the White Lotus Sect's capture of demons. Once the demons were captured, they could never be found again.

Today, the captured little monsters have all returned. Curious people asked them questions, and the little guys revealed the identities of the two benefactors who had sent them home. As a result, Qingyangzi and Jingtao became famous here even before they officially entered Chang'an.

The monk went out to look for people, but because not many of the little monsters could speak, and those that could speak were not very articulate, their descriptions were very abstract. In the end, the main characteristics he came up with were that one was red and the other was blue.

With such an abstract feature, the monk was afraid of looking for the wrong person when he came out. There were only two colors. Who could he find?

Then he did a quick calculation and followed the directions to find Qingyangzi and Jingtaojun. After seeing these two people, he realized that the descriptions of the little monsters were not abstract at all. One was red and the other was blue. They were so accurate that he couldn't find another one.

He didn't say this to their faces, otherwise he would have let the two people next to him hear it and let the monk see what truly fits the description, such as this "red," like the Red Crown Seven Elements.

"Now that you've met the master, what are your plans?"

The monk's words also revealed another piece of information: the number of demons and cultivators in Chang'an City was enormous, and they interacted with each other. The fact that such a large group couldn't find the place where the White Lotus Sect imprisoned the minor demons back then was likely due to interference from illegal travelers. Now that they had returned the demons, they had become the group under "special attention."

After learning all this, Jingtao suddenly didn't want to go to Chang'an anymore. He and Qingyangzi had become famous before even entering the city, which, given the current situation, wasn't a good thing.

While the events encountered by others in the past may have had a certain "clustering" characteristic, there were only a few people with ability and cultivation among them. It's like Cang who went directly to Laoshan and saw a large group of people who could use magic.

When they met Zhen Sheng, they thought Chang'an was in the same situation. They didn't expect there to be so many talented people in Chang'an. The city must be very complicated. Maybe they shouldn't go.

"If you want to know where we rescued the monster, the location has been handed over to the local City God. If you are curious, you can go to the City God Temple to ask."

"The City God Temple? These two immortals are truly extraordinary."

The monk paused briefly, clearly shocked by the mention of "City God" in Jingtao's words.

Having witnessed so many cases of souls being resurrected and the dead coming back to life, coupled with Liu Qingyuan's repeated trips to the underworld for various reasons, and the presence of Judge Lu, who dared to speak his mind and was willing to help with anything, the underworld seemed particularly approachable.

But this applies to Liu Qingyuan. He himself is not subject to the underworld and is truly outside the Three Realms and the Five Elements in this world, so naturally he has no taboos.

However, among the indigenous people, the underworld is the place where the dead go. The netherworld is still a terrifying and gloomy term in their minds. The City God is the righteous god of the underworld, full of majesty. The City God of Wang Liulang type is a rare species.

Who would dare to disturb someone of this caliber? Jingtao Jun shifted the blame to the City God of the Underworld, which indirectly indicated that they had powerful backers in the underworld.

No matter what kind of immortality one cultivates, as long as one doesn't ultimately join the ranks of immortals, who doesn't have to go to the underworld after death? Qingyangzi and Jingtaojun have connections to the underworld. Once this news comes out, those on the other side will have to think twice before trying to find out about the White Lotus Sect and the demons.

"Excellent."

Seeing that his words had an effect, Jingtao knew that he had guessed correctly. The talented people in Chang'an were not concerned about the fact that two people had rescued the captured little monster. What they really cared about was that someone had found the place where the White Lotus Sect was imprisoning the monster.

After all, no one in the whole city had found it. If two strangers suddenly appeared and rescued the monster, who were more skilled cultivators than anyone else in the city, wouldn't they seem useless?

They'll find out for sure whether it's a mule or a horse.

"The White Lotus sects that followed King Asura have been defeated, and King Asura has also left. Such calamities will not occur again, so you need not worry."

The implication is that we have already resolved the White Lotus Sect issue, and you no longer need to concern yourselves with it, nor in the future. Furthermore, please don't interfere with us.

"Asura King... he's left?"

For Buddhist monks, this name carries even more significance. The Asura King, who caused such a great uproar with the White Lotus Sect, has just passed away.

Jingtao's words, his uncertainty about whether he should fully believe them, his handling of the White Lotus Sect farce, his connection with the righteous gods of the underworld, and the fact that both of them have somewhat unusual appearances, all reveal one message.

This incident involving the White Lotus Sect has transcended the realm of mere secular cult rebellion. It's one thing to alarm demons, but even the City God and the Underworld are getting involved. It's not surprising that they can't predict the White Lotus Sect's actions.

"The Asura King did indeed leave. His target was never the White Lotus Sect, so afterwards..."

"what!"

A gasp interrupted Jingtao Jun's next words. The monk knew that the two looked conspicuous and that the road he was leading them on was rather secluded with no one else around. This sudden gasp seemed particularly abrupt.

On the other side of the road stood a strangely dressed woman, who was pointing at Qingyangzi in shock. Her expression was more like disbelief than horror.

"You...I recognize you..."

The woman's voice trembled; she seemed genuinely frightened.

"You're that red-haired Taoist priest who's with King Asura! He's supposedly one of King Asura's cronies!"

"Oh yeah."

Jingtao looked at Qingyangzi; they had apparently forgotten about this.

With Wan Jie gone, the most prominent figure in the White Lotus Sect, Asura King, was gone. Qing Yangzi had only been an undercover agent in the White Lotus Sect for a short time, mainly to learn the enemy's various tactics. Now that they no longer needed to infiltrate, no one paid any attention to him.

Even though it was a short time, Qingyangzi did appear in the White Lotus Sect's operations, and because of his similar color scheme to Shou Wanjie, as well as his distinctive but still very eye-catching style, he left a deep impression on people at first sight.

And sure enough, he was recognized. And judging from the other person's expressions, they seemed to regard him as an enemy.