Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Chapter 490: Chapter 325: Calamity Strikes, Everyone Scatters_2

Upon his arrival, Yuan Yang proactively courted the favor of the other two senior doyens and several ambitious individuals who were dissatisfied with playing second fiddle, attempting to challenge the authority of Temple Sacrificial Treasure Chen.

Apart from the main temple, the Heavenly Dao Sect’s Taoist temple hierarchy is divided into five levels: National Temple, Provincial Temple, Prefecture Temple, County Temple, and County Temple.

The positions within each Taoist temple are largely similar; the temple master presides over the temple, overseeing all matters great and small, and under the temple master are the “Three Cities and Five Masters,” with nine, thirteen, or at most, eighteen subordinate positions depending on the size of the temple.

The Three Cities refer to the Capital Court, Dou Cha, and Du Ku. These honorary positions are not always filled; they are often reserved for the comfortable retirement of esteemed and venerable predecessors.

The Five Masters consist of the Scripture Master, Jiao Master, Hall Master, Transformative Master, and Dean. Each of the five temple masters holds sway over a particular domain, with the Scripture Master overseeing scriptural and doctrinal matters, standing as the foremost among the five, second only to the temple master.

Upon hearing the elder disciple brother say this, Zou Qi finally relaxed, but then he muttered, “We only just managed to get rid of those Divine Women and Divine Han, and took control of the black market—it hasn’t been a few years, and that kid Shen Bian had to spoil all our efforts. We must settle this account properly with him.”

Zhao Sheng’s lips curled into a smile as he said lightly, “Rest assured! If Yuan Yang doesn’t investigate, all is well, but once he does, he’ll find he’s stirred up a hornet’s nest. The black market’s interests aren’t just ours; everyone in the temple gets a cut from the black market’s profits. To put it bluntly, which of the families big or small in Hufeng County hasn’t conducted business in the black market? Which hasn’t had a greasy palm? There are plenty of people more anxious than us. Why worry yourself over this, lad!”

“Haha! Elder disciple brother truly sees clearly; I am completely convinced,” said Zou Qi, his worries turning to joy, laughing like a jolly fat monk.

Although Zhao Sheng spoke as such, there were some matters he had not revealed to Zou Qi.

The investigation or even destruction of the black market wasn’t important; what mattered were the transactions that took place within it.

Some matters may seem light when not put on a scale, but once weighed, they could crush someone.

The fear was that if the Capital Court’s Yuan Yang uncovered even a trace of evidence, and followed it to its source, he would seize hold of Bao Chen’s vulnerabilities.

The deficits that the temple had accumulated over the years were by no means a small sum.

Zhao Sheng had only pilfered bits of Spirit Stones and spirit materials, but his Master Bao Chen was the true big rat.

In the past few years, for the sake of successful experiments, Bao Chen had invested spiritual resources into his work, which, if converted into Spirit Stones, would amount to at least several hundred thousand.

The territory of Hufeng County extended but thirteen hundred miles, with a population just short of ten million, scant natural resources, and poor soil fertility; by any measure, it was a small county with few inhabitants.

Every year, the Soul Comforting Temple had to submit a fixed spirit tax to the superior Prefecture Temple, in addition to dealing with the pilfering by large and small rats from within its own walls.

It would be strange if the Soul Comforting Temple weren’t in deficit!

If it were any other matter, it would be impossible to shake Bao Chen’s position, but if the amount of the deficit were to be exposed… the consequences would be unimaginable!

After eight years of reincarnation, Zhao Sheng had come to a general understanding of the situation in the Great Gu Dynasty.

Without a doubt!

The Heavenly Dao Sect was the undisputedly number one power in the world, with any spirit land within the domains of the Great Gu Dynasty falling under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Dao Sect, leaving no room for other forces to exist.

After tens of thousands of years of development, the hierarchical structure of the Heavenly Dao Sect’s Five-level Taoist Temple System had become exceedingly stable, with a clear and strict delineation of ranks.

In view of the unique circumstances of this world, Zhao Sheng gradually abandoned the idea of breaking away from the Heavenly Dao Sect, since “it’s easier to practice Dao with the backing of authority”—an unbreakable truth through the ages.

There was also another important reason for his decision.

Over the past eight years, having combed through the ancient books and Jade Scrolls in the temple, Zhao Sheng had not found a single piece of information about the Tianzhu Realm or the great war between the two worlds.

This was highly unusual!

It should be noted that a former leader of the Heavenly Dao Sect was of Alien Race origin, and this person was also an “acquaintance” of Zhao Sheng’s.

In the Netherworld, the remnants of the Ghost Chi Clan had unexpectedly changed their name to the now well-known Shura Clan.

Today, the Shura Clan has become a Protecting Sect Race for the Heavenly Dao Sect, guarding the main temple for a thousand years, with its members often holding the position of Guardian Warriors; despite their lowly status, their authority is significant.

The previous Ghost Chi Sect Leader has been in meditation for a thousand years, and the new Sect Leader has ruled for 1163 years, turning the pages of the Heavenly Dao Calendar to the Seventh Epoch.

This means that at least 1163 years have passed since the great war between the two worlds.

As for exactly how many years to go back, Zhao Sheng was still completely in the dark.

Of course, the countless enigmas weighing on his mind could wait to be solved later.

Now, a crisis was creeping up on Zhao Sheng unnoticed.

Three days later, the black market located forty li northwest at the foot of the unnamed mountain by Qingyang Mountain, was indeed exposed by the power-hungry Yuan Yang.

But Yuan Yang’s audacity and ruthlessness had truly exceeded Zhao Sheng and his associates’ expectations.

Yuan Yang had secretly tipped off the Prefecture Temple in advance, borrowing a group of capable Inspection Envoys through a Hall Master who backed him.

Then, he personally led the team and raided the black market, capturing a large number of traders involved and inevitably seizing a batch of ledgers.

Among those captured were not only people from the major families of Hufeng County, but also “insiders” from the Soul Comforting Temple.

Yet that day, Yuan Yang didn’t even return to the temple; heedlessly, he went straight to the location of the Prefecture Temple with the “prisoners.”

This move was extremely ruthless, completely beyond everyone’s imagination.

Zhao Sheng had miscalculated as well, not expecting the other party to be so brazen.

There must have been a mastermind guiding him in the shadows.

If Yuan Yang had such skills in his early years, he wouldn’t have been stuck at the position of a mere field head.

Because this incident happened so abruptly, most people were caught off guard. Zhao Sheng also faintly sensed that Bao Chen had intentions of killing to silence others.

But before any official action was taken, Zhao Sheng painstakingly persuaded him otherwise.

If you don’t take action, it might turn out that the Prefecture Temple won’t find out anything. But if you really did make a move, it would be as good as confessing; even fools would know there’s a serious problem here.

Over the years, due to his disciple’s numerous outstanding performances, Bao Chen had come to regard Zhao Sheng as a confidant, keeping no secrets from him, except for the most confidential matters.

“Sanbao, can you come up with a plan? Your master is a bit flustered,” Bao Chen said with an extremely gloomy expression in a secret room, asking Zhao Sheng.

Zhao Sheng took a couple of steps before him, then suddenly shook his head and said in a deep voice, “It’s better to stay put in this situation! It’s too common to secretly trade in spiritual resources. As long as they don’t investigate the yearly deficits, we have plenty of ways to prevaricate, at worst we sacrifice a few scapegoats!”

Hearing this, Bao Chen’s expression lightened slightly, but the next sentence made his face turn pale.

“But… I’m afraid Yuan Yang won’t let things rest. If he’s resorting to such taboo methods, he must have the resolve to succeed or die trying. Master, it’s time to call upon old relations. You’ve been building connections in the Prefecture Temple for decades; it’s time for those Taotie to exert some effort.”

Bao Chen gave a wry smile, spread his hands in resignation, and said, “My benefactor passed away three years ago, and none of my other old relations are as firm as that Hall Master. Otherwise, how could that damned Yuan Yang have parachuted into his position? He saw that my backer had fallen.”

“This is troublesome! Master, you must prepare a generous gift and rush to the Prefecture Temple immediately. While nothing has been discovered yet, take the initiative to fix things up to the best of your ability,” said Zhao Sheng, wringing his hands.

“Sigh, that’s a huge sum! But now, even the temple treasury is so empty it could starve a mouse, and we’ve already dived into the grain reserves three years in advance. I don’t have many valuables to offer either.

My disciple, I know you are quite wealthy. How about lending a sum of Spirit Stones? Once we’re past this tribulation, I will naturally repay you.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng’s expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he had already sentenced Bao Chen to death.

From his understanding of Bao Chen, the man was either planning to flee or to turn on him.

Still, Bao Chen would not choose to act prematurely unless the situation became irretrievable.

After all, the human experimentation had not yet truly succeeded, and the survival rate after a heart transplant was still not guaranteed.

“Where is this coming from, Master? As master and disciple, we are one and the same—there’s no need for the word ‘lend’. This Storage Space Seal contains all of my savings over the years, worth at least tens of thousands of Spirit Stones. Please take it and deal with this crisis first,” Zhao Sheng said generously, taking off the Storage Space Seal from his waist and handing it to Bao Chen.

“You have my gratitude, disciple. Your master is very comforted!” Bao Chen barely managed a smile on his face, but a flash of coldness passed in the depths of his eyes.