82: Chapter 82 Seeking Immortality

On the outskirts of Su City, in a modest mountain range.

In the deep mountains where human traces were rarely seen in the past, there was now much noise and commotion.

On a pebble beach beside a stream, tents of various colors and shapes formed a campsite, where men, women, young, and old set up stone stoves to cook.

Further out, Government Personnel in uniform kept watch.

Seeing the campsite in such good order, with every citizen cleaning up their trash into bags, they were quite surprised.

They had assumed that so many people arriving would inevitably cause damage to the environment, leaving plastic bags and other household waste everywhere, and that there would be verbal or physical altercations, but they hadn't expected this scene.

Later, they asked about it.

The citizens they asked said that this was the place where the immortal lived, so they dared not be disrespectful; if they were to anger the immortal, let alone finding a connection to immortality, they feared a calamity would befall them.

This was an unexpected delight.

The Government Personnel were glad their workload was lightened, so they stayed in their own tents with their colleagues, treating this assignment as an outing on public funds.

But not everyone who came here was seeking a connection to immortality.

An old Daoist wearing worn-out Daoist robes was sitting cross-legged on a rock by the stream, looking unhappy, gnawing on a pie he had brought with him.

The old Daoist was very depressed, and the reason had to be traced back to a few days ago.

A few days ago, he had caught a "fat sheep," and worried about being sought out afterwards, he had gone on a wandering journey as soon as the "fat sheep" left.

While scrolling through videos on the high-speed train, he saw the video of the immortal undergoing the tribulation.

It shocked him quite a bit at the time.

In the video, that immortal wore a pristine white robe that seemed untouched by worldly dust, with a full head of white hair, yet had the appearance of a young man in his twenties.

There was nothing beneath his feet to support him; he hung empty in the high sky, facing the thick lightning snakes that illuminated the pitch-black sky.

The old Daoist gripped his phone and shouted, "Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable!" thinking the Daoist sect would flourish, but then similar tribulation videos began appearing on online platforms one after another.

Except for slight differences in appearance and clothing, the content was roughly the same.

This left the old Daoist very disappointed; it turned out it was all just rumors spread by people using fake videos.

But when he saw that the mountain range where the immortal disappeared was near his own Daoist temple, and that the citizens of Su City were flocking into the mountains to seek the immortal, his disappointment instantly turned into excitement.

Just think of how many "fat sheep" there must be!

Thinking he was about to make a fortune and properly renovate the statue of god of the Three Pure Ones in his temple, he immediately transferred to a high-speed train at the next stop and returned to Su City.

After leaving the station, the old Daoist didn't even return to his temple; he trotted straight into the mountains.

Seeing the place that was usually desolate now filled with "fat," ah no, donors, all coming to seek the immortal.

Excited, he immediately took out his set of tools from the bag hanging on him and went around the tents in the campsite, peddling them.

He figured that since these people all believed an immortal had appeared, his authentic Daoist sect artifacts and talismans would surely sell like hotcakes.

But the result was far from what he had expected.

Every time he stopped a donor to ask if they needed artifacts to ward off evil, he was met with a counter-question.

"You say you are a disciple of the immortal?"

"Indeed."

"Then can you fly?"

"Huh?"

"You can't? Then you can at least withstand being struck by lightning, right?"

The old Daoist's mouth twitched. Seeing the doubt in the donor's tone, he quickly puffed out his chest: "Indeed I can!"

The sun is blazing in the sky; it's impossible for a bolt of lightning to strike me out of the blue, right?

He was smug.

However, the donor's next action made him lose his composure immediately.

The donor picked up the power strip extending from a generator, unscrewed the casing with a screwdriver, held up the live and neutral wires, and asked: "If you can withstand lightning, then my 220-volt electricity must be a piece of cake for you, right?"

"Daoist Master? What's wrong, Daoist Master? Say something, Daoist Master? Why are you running, Daoist Master?"

After the Daoist Master ran far away, the man put the power strip casing back on and snorted: "Can't even fly, yet you dare to pose as a disciple of the immortal to scam people?"

Recalling his hasty escape just now, the Daoist Master sighed deeply, bent down to scoop a handful of water from the stream to his mouth, and washed down the dry, choking pie.

Before the pie even reached his mouth, the old Daoist suddenly felt his shoulder being grabbed.

"You bastard Daoist! Spit out the money you scammed from me!"

Turning his head, the old Daoist was shocked; how did this "fat sheep" find him?

He tensed his body and tried to struggle secretly, but the grip was like iron, and he couldn't break free, so he forced a smile: "Donor Zhao, why do you slander me for scamming?"

"Slander?"

Zhao Qi took the copper coin sword and talismans out of his pocket and threw them onto the pebbly ground: "Immortal... these are all ordinary objects!"

"If this isn't scamming, what is it?"

"Sigh~" The old Daoist was very experienced in dealing with these "fat sheep" who actually came back to find him. "Donor says my artifacts are fake?"

"Yes!"

"How can you tell?"

Zhao Qi had signed a confidentiality agreement, so he couldn't say anything for a long time.

Seeing this, the old Daoist smiled and gently patted his hand away: "Or, perhaps you found these artifacts useless when using them to subdue a Prodigy?"

This was his usual tactic.

My artifacts are all for subduing Prodigys, but where are there any Prodigys in this world?

Come on, it's the 21st century; you have to believe in science.

So, if you want to prove the artifacts are fake, you have to use them on a Prodigy and find them useless, but since there are no Prodigys at all, it's naturally impossible to prove his artifacts are fake.

The old Daoist stroked his goatee, his tone very confident: "Or... isn't there an immortal in these mountains? You could call the immortal out to testify as well."

As for the claim that there was an immortal, he didn't believe it at all.

His ancestors for three generations had all been Daoists; if there really were immortals, how could he not know about it in the slightest?

When Zhao Qi heard this, he suddenly calmed down: "You don't believe there are immortals?"

"I am an orthodox Daoist; how could I not believe?"

That's what he said, but Zhao Qi could tell that there wasn't a hint of belief in his words.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

Zhao Qi pondered that although the authorities currently prohibited the official acknowledgment of the existence of an immortal, looking at the unconventional conduct of Immortal Xu,

this matter would sooner or later be impossible to hide.

A gentleman takes revenge, even ten years later is not too late.

The smiling Zhao Qi patted the old Daoist's shoulder: "The immortal will testify."

After saying this, he was no longer angry and walked with his hands behind his back onto a small path in the woods.

This strange attitude left the old Daoist a bit confused.

He thought about it for a long time without figuring it out, so he gave up, deciding not to think about it anymore.

He continued gnawing on his pie, his gaze scanning the small altars set up in front of those tents.

After watching the devoutly kneeling citizens for a while, he turned his head away with a dark face.

Some at least had statues of god from the Daoist school, but some were actually worshiping Bodhisattvas.

"If there really were an immortal, they would definitely strike you all down with a bolt of lightning."

Grumbling, he got up, preparing to continue finding targets; there were smart people, but there must also be fools, and he didn't want to give up.

Just as he was about to enter the campsite, he was stopped by two men and a woman holding a selfie stick.

"Daoist Master, are you also here to seek the immortal?"

His get-rich-quick plan had hit a snag, and the old Daoist was already feeling bad; now, being stopped by these few people who looked like "influencers," he felt even worse.

Despite this, he suppressed his annoyance and put on a smile: "Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable, if there really is an immortal, they would absolutely not reside in these mountain streams and shallow beaches."

It just so happened that a few citizens were passing by carrying plastic basins to fetch water.

The speaker had no intention, but the listener took it to heart.

They didn't even fetch the water anymore; they carried their basins and ran back to their own tents to whisper.

In a short while, the entire campsite became lively.

Everyone took out their phones one after another.

"Yes, that's right, mountain climbing equipment, I want the best, and also hire a few coaches for me, the best ones too!"

"Helicopters? That thing requires applying for a flight path, I've already tried, it can't be approved.

Besides, if I use a helicopter, will the immortal think I'm not sincere?"

The Government Personnel outside the campsite, hearing that they all seemed to be preparing to climb the mountain, turned pale with fright.

Camping is fine, just be a little careful, but can this mountain be climbed just like that?

They hurriedly picked up their walkie-talkies to contact their superiors.

After reporting the situation, the two Government Personnel wiped cold sweat from their foreheads.

They were also eyewitnesses to the immortal's tribulation that day and believed that there were immortals, but these citizens were making such a fuss every day...

Exchanging a glance, the two couldn't help but worry in their hearts: would the immortal be angry?

Unanimously, they looked at the clear sky, wondering when the immortal would show themselves and persuade these people who were almost going crazy to go back.

The safety issues of camping were already enough to make people nervous, and now they wanted to climb the mountain; it was fucking terrifying!