The Hidden Immortal

Chapter 64 The Struggle for the Righteous Gods

Stone went to pay respects to his mother, remaining silent throughout.

Perhaps in the past ten years, I never imagined that my mother would pass away.

What I never expected was that it would happen on the very day I passed away.

Many villagers originally planned to scold Shi Tou when he returned.

Now I don't know what to say.

Perhaps it was his childhood experiences that led him to come to Chu Xun's house when he was struggling with his inner turmoil.

Qi Ermao was also there, and upon seeing the stone, he immediately stood up.

"Er Mao." Shi Tou raised his hand and called out. After not seeing each other for many years, he had a lot to say.

Qi Ermao hesitated for a moment, glanced at the black iron token at Shi Tou's waist, and his awe and humility grew stronger.

"Lord Liao..."

Stone frowned as he listened: "Why are you calling me that so formally?"

Qi Ermao, with a hint of panic, bent down even further: "You're now a higher-ranking official than the county magistrate..."

Seeing Qi Ermao's inexplicable awe towards him, his hands clenched, his body bent, and his flustered and anxious appearance, he was immediately struck by Qi Ermao's expression.

Stone stared blankly, a sudden feeling of sorrow washing over him.

I went home, and my elderly mother passed away. Now, my brother, with whom I grew up, is also about to leave me.

He knew that no matter how much he said there was no need for it, he could never go back to the days when he and Qi Ermao were like brothers.

Back then, one left and one stayed.

When they met again, a barrier had formed between them, one representing an official and the other a commoner.

Even if this pathetic barrier was not what he wanted.

Everyone else in the village was the same; the only one who seemed to remain unchanged was Chu Xun.

Chu Xun brought him a stool and said, "Sit down and let's talk."

Stone sat down as instructed, but didn't know what to say.

Chu Xun asked, "Tell me about your experiences over the past ten years?"

Over the years, Chu Xun's furthest reach was only Fenggu City, and his understanding of the outside world was not extensive.

Occasionally, I would overhear passing merchants in town say that Jing Kingdom was not a very large country, and that there were many other dynasties and many extraordinary people around it.

Relatively speaking, although Songguo Village once suffered a lot, it is now more like a paradise.

Chu Xun wanted to know what was happening outside, and also wanted to use this opportunity to distract Shi Tou.

After a moment of silence, Shi Tou said, "After joining the army, I didn't go to the northern desert first, but to the Luanping camp, which is still hundreds of miles away from the northern desert..."

He slowly recounted his experiences over the past ten years, from the Luanping camp to the northern desert campaigns.

From private to squad leader, then to flag officer, and finally centurion.

He has killed enemies and also been seriously wounded.

He traveled to many places in the Jing Kingdom and met many different kinds of people.

There were high-ranking officials of the court, as well as lowly soldiers from the marketplace.

There are even more spectacular sights that are hard for ordinary people to imagine.

"It wasn't until the fifth year that I realized that this world wasn't just made up of warriors."

"When we were pursuing the Ma tribe in the northern desert, I saw a streak of blue light flash across the sky like lightning. A few days later, news came that someone hundreds of miles away had been beheaded by a blue sword that flew from the sky."

Chu Xun was taken aback. A flying sword from the sky?

Sword Immortal?

Shi Tou looked at Chu Xun and asked, "Brother Xun, do you know why His Majesty wants to rank the City Gods of the world?"

Chu Xun shook his head: "I don't know."

"I heard from the Commander that every dynasty needs the protection of a righteous god."

"When the Jing Kingdom was first established, it did not have its own righteous god, so His Majesty had no choice but to assign ranks to the City Gods."

As Stone spoke, he sighed and said, "It's such a pity about our Pine and Willow Water God. If he had come out a few years earlier, received incense offerings, and won the position of a true god, he could have truly protected this area."

"Unfortunately, the City God has now taken the place of the true gods. If there really were a Pine and Willow Water God, he would probably have been taken away and erased by the underworld."

"Throughout history, any deity or god who is not orthodox has been considered an evil worship, and this is the reason why."

"Two tigers cannot share one mountain, let alone immortals and gods."

The story of the flying sword only surprised Chu Xun.

The words behind the stone sent chills down his spine.

I always thought that the title of the Water God of Pine and Willow did not conflict with that of the City God, as both were meant to bring blessings to the region.

Now it seems like they're a thorn in the side of orthodox gods and immortals?

Qi Ermao, who was listening nearby, was also surprised and said, "But the Songliu Water God Temple has incense offerings every year, and there haven't been any strange phenomena. A few days ago, someone even saw a snake spirit under the Water God's command."

Stone curled his lip and said, "You and I are just ordinary mortals, how could we possibly see the forms of immortals and gods? As for the snake immortal, he is probably no match for us, and the underworld is too lazy to bother with him."

"If one were to truly attain a divine position and receive incense offerings, then one would have to die."

Strictly speaking, if the stone hadn't spoken, ordinary people would hardly know about these things, let alone have seen them.

Only in the countryside are there occasional tales of ghosts and gods, which are often parroted and ultimately dismissed as superstition.

Chu Xun grew increasingly horrified as he listened, suddenly recalling a strange feeling he had when he accompanied Huan'er to Fenggu City to take the prefectural examination many years ago, passing by the City God Temple.

I didn't take it seriously then, but now, considering what the stone said, I feel a chill run down my spine.

Could it be that at that time, the city god of Fenggu City sensed something?

It was only because he possessed Qi cultivation and was not a deity or shrine that he did not attract subsequent trouble.

Stone said that the Pine and Willow Water God may have been erased by the underworld.

But Chu Xun knew very well that this was not the case.

The Pine and Willow Water God has always existed and receives incense offerings from the people.

However, due to some special reason, the underworld could not find where the Pine Willow Water God was.

Chu Xun took a deep breath and asked, "If the Pine and Willow Water God deliberately hides, even the Underworld might not be able to find him, right?"

"We can find it." Stone said without hesitation, "People leave their names behind, geese leave their calls, let alone immortals and gods. Those who receive incense offerings will surely leave clues, and the higher their cultivation, the more obvious the traces will be."

Stone then said, "However, the title of 'legitimate' is merely bestowed by His Majesty. I've heard of other dynasties where evil gods have overpowered righteous gods and taken their place. Just like in chaotic times, who is the legitimate ruler depends on who wins in the end."

Chu Xun listened in silence. He hadn't been bothered by the underworld yet, probably because his cultivation level was too low, only at the first level of Qi Refining.

What if I advance to the Foundation Establishment stage? Will I still be able to remain undetected?

If discovered, there will likely be an unavoidable life-or-death struggle.

Improving one's cultivation level is related to how long one can live.

If you abandon your mission in order to avoid the underworld, you will still die in the end.

So... we have no choice but to give it our all!

If you lose, you will die and your spirit will perish.

We won, and we'll take their place!

Perhaps seeing that Chu Xun was very interested in this matter, or perhaps because she herself was also talking enthusiastically, she temporarily forgot the pain of her mother's passing.

Stone spilled out everything he had heard secondhand.

The righteous god of the Jing Kingdom was the City God, but other dynasties might not have been.

Rivers, lakes, seas, mountains, and vegetation may all be home to deities or immortals.

They belong to the same system, yet are relatively independent.

As for the flying sword mentioned earlier, it belongs to a cultivator, similar to immortals and gods, but does not enjoy the offerings of incense in the mortal world.

Such people either live a carefree life in the mundane world or enjoy solitude in the deep mountains, remaining largely unknown to the public.

If you happen to meet them, you might have a chance.

There are also those who establish their own sects, whose mountain gates are hidden from view and cannot be visited by ordinary people.

These are all things that I've heard people mention over the past ten years.

He didn't know whether it was true or false, right or wrong, after all, he was just a centurion.

Aside from the flying sword that could take a person's head from hundreds of miles away, proving that there are indeed cultivators in this world.

I haven't seen the others with my own eyes.

The princes, nobles, and aristocratic families who had previously intended to rebel used these superstitious beliefs to incite the displaced people to cause trouble.

If it weren't for the old emperor's superior strategy and timely suppression of the rebellion, the Jing Kingdom might already be in chaos.

After talking for a long time, Shi Tou ate dinner and drank a lot of wine.

He didn't mention his mother's death at all.

Finally, drunk, he was helped back by Qi Ermao and Qiaohua.

Standing at the gate of the courtyard, Zhang Anxiu watched the figure gradually disappear into the night and sighed, "If he hadn't come back, perhaps it would have been easier to bear."

"What will happen to Qiaohua and her daughter if he doesn't come back?" Chu Xun asked.

Zhang Anxiu was taken aback. Yes, what would happen to the mother and daughter if Shitou never came back?

Chu Xun closed the courtyard gate, took her hand and walked back, saying, "What's meant to come will come. There's no way to avoid it, and there's no need to avoid it."

Zhang Anxiu didn't understand the other meaning behind his words, but after decades of living together, she keenly noticed that her husband's tone of voice seemed somewhat different from before.

A wealthy man who never faced crises, except for a difficult childhood, and whose life has always been smooth sailing ever since.

He is indifferent to worldly affairs, and his tone is always calm and indifferent.

But now, she sensed a hint of sharpness in his voice.

……

Husbands do not fight, so the world cannot fight with them.

Now that we are determined to fight, even ghosts and gods cannot withstand our might!