Gu Zhao’s words left the grandfather and grandson completely dumbfounded. However, they quickly reacted, looking at Gu Zhao and the two old Daoists with surprise and joy.
"Is it really that fast?" Zhang Mingcheng asked subconsciously.
Gu Zhao smiled. "You think it’s fast?"
Zhang Mingcheng glanced at Zhang Chengguang and said honestly, "I thought we’d at least be placed behind Taoist Fa Ben."
"Taoist Fa Ben from Cyan Cloud Temple belongs to the Quanzhen Dragon Gate Sect lineage." Gu Zhao nodded with a smile. "We’ll be bringing him along this time too. Do you have time this afternoon, sir? Let’s go to Cyan Cloud Temple together."
"Yes, yes, of course!" Zhang Chengguang couldn’t be bothered with modesty anymore. He hastily confirmed and then cupped his hands in greeting. "May I ask how I should address the three of you?"
The fact that the other party knew about Taoist Fa Ben meant they clearly knew their background. However, the grandfather and grandson only knew that Gu Zhao and the other two were Extraordinary Beings, yet didn’t know their names.
"Gu Zhao of Daluo Palace."
"Fang De of Wen Shi Sect."
"Wu Zhi of Shaoyang Sect."
"I am Zhang Chengguang of Taiping Dao, and this is my grandson, Zhang Mingcheng," Zhang Chengguang formally introduced himself.
Right at this moment, the shop owner brought over the freshly made donkey burgers and donkey offal soup.
"Let’s eat the burgers first, and head out together afterward," Gu Zhao said.
"Great, great, great!"
Gu Zhao took a bite of the burger and a sip of the soup, praising, "This is really good!"
"Right?" Zhang Mingcheng said enthusiastically. "Our donkey burgers are the best!"
Gu Zhao chuckled. "I have a friend who firmly believes that West Capital’s roujiamo is the ultimate carb and meat combo. I’ll introduce you guys when the time comes."
"Is he someone like you?"
"Yunyang of West Capital Eight Immortals Palace. Have you heard of him?"
An image surfaced in Zhang Mingcheng’s mind—eight monumental Dharma Aspects charging into a typhoon and scattering it. Then, a young Daoist possessing such immense Magical Power smiling and asking him, "Which is better, the donkey burger or the roujiamo?" He couldn’t help but swallow hard, taking a sip of the donkey offal soup to hide his nervousness.
Gu Zhao and the other two finished their meal. Together with Zhang Chengguang and his grandson, they returned to Ji’an Hall to notify the on-duty nurse and another Chinese medicine practitioner before leaving once again.
Standing at the entrance, Zhang Mingcheng pointed to the Fang Chengbao parked by the road. "My dad bought me this car. Should we drive there?"
Gu Zhao answered with a question instead, "Do you want to fly?"
Zhang Mingcheng’s eyes lit up. "Yes!"
The next moment, he felt himself lifting off the ground.
"Whoa!" Zhang Mingcheng gasped in amazement. He saw his grandfather flying mid-air right beside him, but when he looked around, he noticed that the pedestrians below acted as if they couldn’t see them at all.
"Invisibility Skill?" Zhang Mingcheng instantly understood.
"It’s just a very simple application of Magic," Gu Zhao explained. "You’ll probably... be able to learn it by tomorrow."
"Huh?" Zhang Mingcheng was dumbfounded.
Then, they arrived at Cyan Cloud Temple in the far suburbs of Cang City, almost bordering Jinggang.
"That fast?" Zhang Mingcheng exclaimed in surprise. Ji’an Hall was located in the downtown area of Cang City, nearly sixty kilometers away from Cyan Cloud Temple. Even driving would take over an hour, yet it felt as if they had arrived after just a few sentences.
Gu Zhao thought, "It’s not fast. I haven’t even accelerated yet." He didn’t say this out loud. He hadn’t yet bestowed the Thunder Seed upon Zhang Chengguang and his grandson, so they had no idea just how fast they would grow in the future.
"There are so many people!" This was Zhang Mingcheng’s second realization. "There weren’t this many people the last time I came here." He glanced at Gu Zhao and the two old Daoists, clearly understanding why Cyan Cloud Temple suddenly had such a surge of visitors.
Then, he noticed Gu Zhao looking at an old Daoist sunbathing outside the temple gates. The old Daoist had brought a recliner and placed it near the wall a short distance from the entrance. He lay there basking in the sun. Despite the constant flow of people in and out of Cyan Cloud Temple, no one disturbed him.
"That’s Taoist Fa Ben!" Zhang Mingcheng said.
Gu Zhao nodded, pointing out meaningfully, "He’s the only one."
Taoist Fang De smiled. "Having even one is enough to be considered an Immortal Mountain Temple. Even Yandu White Cloud Temple only has Brother Yi Hong."
Taoist Wu Zhi couldn’t help but chuckle as well. This was fast becoming a recurring joke among the Daluo Palace members to tease Taoist Yi Hong. The grand Dragon Gate Ancestral Court only had a single Taoist Yi Hong to keep up appearances. Of course, joking aside, among all the Elders of Daluo Palace, there were indeed the most old Daoists from the Dragon Gate Sect. True to its status as the leader of the Quanzhen Taoist Sect, its representation within the Quanzhen Sect far exceeded that of the Celestial Master’s Mansion within the Zhengyi Dao. And now, Daluo Palace was about to add another Dragon Gate Sect Elder.
Gu Zhao was merely using True Qi to conceal their figures, which didn’t count as a genuine Invisibility Skill. Therefore, Taoist Fa Ben, who was sunbathing at the entrance of Cyan Cloud Temple, easily sensed the surging True Qi mid-air. He abruptly looked up and felt the aura descend a short distance from the gates, revealing five figures.
"Mr. Zhang?"
"Mr. Fa Ben!"
Taoist Fa Ben saw Zhang Chengguang and Zhang Mingcheng, as well as Taoist Fang De and Taoist Wu Zhi, who both carried the aura of hermits. Hastily rising from his recliner, Taoist Fa Ben cupped his hands in greeting. "I am Fa Ben of Cyan Cloud Temple. A pleasure to meet you all."
Gu Zhao and the other two introduced themselves, and Gu Zhao smiled. "Taoist Fa Ben must know why we are here."
"I know, I know," Taoist Fa Ben said with a smile. "I’m just lucky. Thank you all for thinking highly of me."
"It’s because of your profound Dao Practice and noble character," Gu Zhao complimented with a smile.
Taoist Fa Ben laughed it off and invited them inside for tea. As they walked, he asked, "I can understand the Invisibility Technique you used, but when you revealed yourselves just now, how did it not attract the attention of the people nearby?"
Zhang Chengguang and Zhang Mingcheng were also very curious, as they had harbored the same question ever since they took off from Cang City.
"It’s just a minor Blinding Technique," Gu Zhao answered. "To you, it seemed like we appeared out of nowhere, but to them, it’s as if we’ve been standing here the whole time."
Taoist Fa Ben and the Zhangs half-understood. Together, they made their way to the backyard of Cyan Cloud Temple.
Half an hour later, the tourists wandering and burning incense at Cyan Cloud Temple seemingly sensed something. They all looked up at the sky in unison, only to discover that the sky had suddenly turned a solid yellow, stretching endlessly into the horizon. Against the backdrop of the yellow sky, the clouds transformed into a continuous stretch of cyan.
"What’s going on?"
"A celestial phenomenon? A Spiritual Qi Revival?"
"I remember a few months ago, purple qi stretched for three thousand miles over Kongdong Mountain, and then it was said that two old Daoists on the mountain went missing."
"Missing? More like Ascension!"
"No, no, they joined the Extraordinary. Taoist Yunyang was also missing for a long time, and when he finally reappeared, he cleaved a cyber-scam compound in Lü Zon with a single sword strike."
"What?"
"Does this mean we’re getting Immortals in Ji Province too?"
"No, just in Cang City! I saw it clearly just now—the yellow sky and cyan clouds started appearing right above our heads!"