Eternal Life Begins with Taking a Wife

Butler Wang hurriedly took out the incense money he had prepared.

Shen Ping took a look. There were a thousand taels of silver notes. As expected of a wealthy family, they were generous. When he followed Martial Uncle Ling Wu to deal with the ghosts, he had only obtained fifty taels of incense money from the government office.

Constable Song’s eyes widened. However, no matter how tempted he was, he did not dare to do anything inappropriate. Priest Lin appeared out of nowhere. “Has the ghost really been eliminated? Could it be that he¹ s lying to cheat us of our incense money?”

Shen Ping said casually, “I’ll stay in the residence for the next few days. If that evil spirit appears again, I’ll return the incense money.”

Old Master Liu hurriedly said, “What are you talking about? It’s just some incense money. It’s nothing.”

After saying that, he glared at Daoist Lin.

For the next five to six days, the evil ghosts did not attack the Liu residence again. Old Master Liu was finally relieved. Shen Ping also took advantage of this period of time to briefly investigate the situation in Shanyang County. Other than the dancer ghost, the other ghosts were very ordinary. The strongest was an evil ghost with twenty years of cultivation.

Of course, in the eyes of Ling Wu and Temple Master Chang Ling, an evil spirit with twenty years of cultivation was not something Shen Ping could deal with. “Although there are many ghosts, with the strength of the City God’s Nether Division, it can definitely be dealt with. Why didn’t the City God make a move?” This made him puzzled. The more prosperous the county was and the more incense offerings there were, the stronger the City God’s Nether Division would be. Logically speaking, it was impossible for the Shanyang City God to sit back and watch the county be destroyed by ghosts.

He thought about what the dancer ghost had said.

Shen Ping guessed that it was very likely that the City God’s Nether Division had also participated in the battle in the royal court. Even if not, he was probably involved.

“Under the general trend, no one can escape. Unfortunately, the commoners are the ones suffering.” Standing on the city wall, looking at the desolate streets, he could not help but shake his head and sigh.

The two junior sisters and junior brothers walked over. “Senior Brother, the fire and lightning incantations, as well as the array flags, have been set up in key locations in the city according to your instructions.”

“Very well. You guys did well. Go and rest. When night comes, just go to the place where the spell is set up and guard it. Remember what I said before. Every time you accept a ghost, you have to go to the county office to collect incense money. Do you understand?”

“Understood.”

Against ordinary ghosts, Shen Ping did not need to make a move at all. Even evil ghosts with twenty years of cultivation would not be able to resist the spell he made.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye. He and his junior brothers and sisters continued to stay in Shanyang County. Every few days, they would deal with a ghost. This made the originally enthusiastic county magistrate and constable’s attitude become cold and even disgusted.

“Priest Ling Zhen, the county’s finances are difficult, and the people’s livelihood is declining. You saw it yourself. We really can’t fork out the incense money. As for ghosts, I hope Daoist Ling Zhen will prioritize the people of the world.” The county magistrate said expressionlessly.

Over the past two months, the incense money had exceeded a thousand taels. Although there was still a surplus in the finances, he had long seen that something was wrong. Coupled with the news from the prefecture, he immediately understood and refused to give the incense money anymore. Shen Ping already had an excuse. “County Lord, dealing with ghosts consumes a lot of energy. Without the supply of incense money, I can’t do anything.” The magistrate picked up his tea and took a sip. “There’s nothing I can do.” Shen Ping sighed and said, “In that case, I can only return to Changling Temple. In the future, if ghosts appear in the Liu Manor again, County Lord, you should find someone else.”

The county magistrate’s expression turned a little ugly. He could ignore the lives of the people in the county, but the rich and powerful were completely different from the squires. If he did not do anything, they could go to the prefecture capital to snitch or not cooperate in other aspects.

“Priest Ling Zhen, the ghosts in the county are wreaking havoc. I believe you know what’s going on. Changling Temple enjoys the incense offerings of the common people all year round. Do you really not care about the common people of Shanyang?”

He could not help but scold angrily.

Shen Ping was silent for a moment. In two months, he had long found out the reason why ghosts kept appearing. The source was that the City God’s Nether Division had opened the gates of hell in Shanyang County, causing yin qi to spread, causing the ghosts to be endless.

Even if he made a move, it would be useless without the help of the Nether Division’s ghost constables. All he could do was maintain the number of ghosts in an extremely small range.

“County Lord, I’m only a Daoist disciple in Changling Temple. We can reduce the incense money, but we can’t do without it.”

He left behind a sentence and left with his junior brothers and sisters. Looking at the backs of Shen Ping and the other two, the county magistrate gritted his teeth in anger. “These Daoist priests will bring chaos to the imperial court sooner or later.”

Yongzhou.

Great Zhao Capital.

In the imperial study of the palace.

Emperor Rende flipped through the memorials piled up on the table and kept shaking his head and sighing. Ever since the Imperial Preceptor proposed to reduce the number of naturalized Daoist priests and Perfected Persons in the Daoist temples in the world and admonished them to compete for the letter of appointment in the arena rankings, calamities had been happening in various provinces, prefectures, counties, and villages. They were either haunted or wreaked havoc by demons. Such incidents had actually happened several times in Great Zhao.

It was nothing more than those opposing forces stirring up trouble. Knowing was one thing, but dealing with it was very troublesome.

“Your Majesty, these Daoists are too despicable. Just because they have some strength, they don’t take you and the world seriously.” The eunuch beside him said.

Emperor Rende threw the memorial on the table. “It’s not just a day or two that they’re despicable. However, back then, when the Imperial Ancestor raised the Dragon’s Vein and the weapons, these Daoists did indeed contribute a lot behind the scenes. It’s just that we can’t get rid of these tails now. It’s really giving me a headache. Call the Imperial Preceptor.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Not long after, the imperial preceptor in a Daoist robe stood in the hall. He was tall and sturdy and didn’t look like a Daoist priest. Instead, he looked like General Weiwu.

“Imperial Preceptor, I’ve asked you more than once. If all the Daoist temples in the world gather together, what should we do? Have you thought of a countermeasure?”

His voice echoed in the hall.

The Imperial Preceptor said calmly, “Although there are many Daoist temples in the world, only powerful Daoist sects like Tianshan, Kunlun, and Emei can affect the dynasty. As long as they don’t move, the others are nothing to worry about. Now, the prefectures and counties seem to be in a mess, but in fact, they are not harmful to the dynasty at all.”

The emperor frowned. “Imperial Preceptor, the people of the prefectures and counties are frequently attacked by demons and ghosts, causing financial difficulties. The people are struggling to survive, so how can there be no harm?”

The Imperial Preceptor shook his head. “This is just a temporary appearance. I already have a way to deal with it. I believe that it won’t be long before those who disregard the world for their own selfishness will suffer the consequences.”

“Oh?” The emperor’s brows relaxed. “Then I’ll wait for the good news. But let me make it clear first. If it doesn’t improve this time, I have no choice but to slow down the plan. When the time comes, the imperial preceptor will have to suffer a little.”

The Imperial Preceptor nodded. “I understand.”

What grievance? He was just making him take the blame. This was completely within his expectations.

In the blessed land of the Ancestral Hall of Changling Temple, the Temple Master of Chang Ling bowed respectfully, “I am the 20th descendant of the Changling Dao Sect. Greetings, Patriarchs.”

The six surviving patriarchs nodded one after another.

“What’s the situation outside?”

“It’s still the same. There’s no compromise from the Imperial Court.” The Temple Master of Changling replied.

“Does that mean that the Imperial Court intends to continue this stalemate?” “If this continues, I’m afraid they won’t be able to stop.”

“That’s right. When the gates of the City God’s Nether Division open, it will definitely cause Yin and Yang to clash over time. It’s easy to breed demonic creatures.”

The six patriarchs said one after another.

The Temple Master of Changling said, “Ancestral Masters, it’s still early and it’s hard to decide. Moreover, it has always lasted for at most a year. In the end, it all ended with the compromise of the Imperial Court. It will definitely be the same this time. As long as it’s controlled well, it won’t be a big deal.

“No matter what happens to the other Daoist temples, our Changling Temple will definitely patrol at all times to prevent the growth of demons. In addition, Disciple Ling Zhen has already controlled the ghosts in Shanyang County. I believe there won’t be any trouble.”

When they heard that, the six patriarchs nodded slowly.

“That Ling Zhen was ordinary when he first entered the sect. I didn’t expect him to be so talented in spells. Now that he can take charge of matters, I think we can focus on nurturing him.”

“Yes, Ancestral Master. I understand.”