Why do I have so many masters?

Outside Wanling City's small Taoist Temple, no one had visited today either.

Lv Chun had long since become used to this; although Jiangnan Road was full of beautiful mountains and waters, the Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands of the Taoists had long been occupied. Those places could be called thriving with incense burning endlessly, with good men and faithful women coming and going continuously. In places like his, not starving to death was already the best outcome.

The Taoist Temple housed only two people.

He had to do all the chores by himself, including sweeping, washing clothes, and cooking.

The Master, who had seemed like an Immortal when they first met and who had pulled him back from the brink of death, had lately only been dazed all day, as if possessed by a demon. She said nothing when asked, only mentioning that she was fishing. But what fish could there be in this small pond?

To say it was a pretense to attract pilgrims didn't make sense either.

In this desolate place, where not even birds would defecate, what incense burners could possibly come by? If any, there would only be the stinking mountain bandits and robbers. By the time they finished their conversation, the robbers would have already settled the matter with a slash.

The young Taoist sighed. He needed to wash the blankets again today. Being just a young boy, his arms had become somewhat sore from rubbing clothes all morning. The smell of the soapberries wasn't pungent and was somewhat pleasant.

He stared blankly as two small, transparent fish swam by; he cupped his hands and gently scooped up some water—the two fish swimming within.

Lv Chun glanced at them and then released the fish back into the water, watching them flee in panic. He smiled faintly and then turned his head, seeing his Master sitting unseeingly on the Fishing Platform, unaware of where she was looking. He sighed again, his expression troubled.

Although he was young, he knew the small fish in the stream did not catch his Master's interest. She claimed she wanted to fish, yet never bothered with these fish. There were only these transparent fish visible to their bones here—no other carps, crucian carps, or green fish.

A thousand years ago, Jiang Shang had fished out a supreme ruler of the world, claiming vast territories. What exactly did she hope to fish out now?

It surely couldn't be that she intended to fish out an Immortal?

The thought had only just formed in his mind when the young Taoist, Lv Chun, couldn't help but laugh. As he smiled, his lips pursed slightly, revealing two dimples beside his cheeks. His eyes shone as if housing two glistening stars.

Having rested his arms enough, he gathered his inner strength and resumed scrubbing clothes.

As for his Master, who had stealthily glanced at him then quickly turned away, feigning laziness, he chose to ignore her, pretending he hadn't seen her either. At most, he would grumble in his heart—where in the world could one find such a lazy Immortal?

Indeed, if Immortals did nothing but eat, sleep, and daydream every day, that truly would be enviable.

At this thought, he couldn't help but chuckle.

Sitting on the large rock named the Fishing Platform, the female Taoist watched her breath, appearing the same as yesterday, the day before, and even earlier days, with only the occasional gleam in her eye revealing something different.

When she confirmed her disciple hadn't noticed her slight movement, she finally let out a big sigh of relief. Then, a trace of smugness rose in her heart, and her eyes sparkled, diverting attention from her otherwise ordinary facial features.

In her hand, she still held a green bamboo rod, from the tip of which a white line hung, draped deep into the water like a long serpent swaying downward.

It was just another usual day, yet the female Taoist suddenly exclaimed softly, unable to care if her disciple noticed her movement. She laughed and said,

"Found it!"

"It's been a long time, are you well?"

With a flick of her wrist, the white line suddenly became taut.

Though there were many famous mountains and great rivers, few could match the majestic atmosphere of the ancestral home of the Taoist Sect, towering with its dragon and tiger spirit. For a thousand years, the enduring spirit of the Taoist Sect pressed down upon this place—who could compare?

At sunrise every day, dragon and tiger spirits could often be seen rising from the main peak, dazzling the clouds. It would take a full quarter of an hour for it to dissipate. Some said that over a hundred years ago, when the Grand Taoist descended to earth, dragons soared and tigers roared with ceaseless purple qi, causing the officials at the Imperial Court to be uneasily suspicious.

However, there were no scriptures passed down regarding this; it was probably just the mountain Taoists glorifying their own ancestral masters. This was especially true for the visiting scholars, who sneered at it, and even looked down upon the ancestral home of the Taoist Sect a bit.

Xie Youli and three friends were traveling to study this place. They found an inn to stay in and had originally planned to hike up the mountain to witness the grand spirit rising from Dragon Lake in the said Taoist ancestral home.

However, having had wine today, they felt a bit tired and simply went to sleep. In the midst of a heavy drowsiness, they heard a commotion outside.

Barely lifting his head in a daze, Xie Youli felt his heartbeat surge, waking him up significantly as he staggered from the third floor of the inn, only to see bands of purple and red clouds rising from the eastern horizon, covering half the sky.

It seemed as if something was brewing in the sky, pressing down so heavily it was hard for people to breathe.

After an indeterminate length of time, a thunderous roar sounded.

A pure white dragon burst through the purple qi, baring its fangs and claws, circling only above the Taoist mountain. Xie Youli's legs buckled, and had it not been for the support of the door frame, he would have fallen to his knees.

Even then, his face was deathly pale, his lips quivering without speaking, overwhelmed by the inexplicable and chaotic forces.