Fellow Daoist! That scoundrel has written a new book again.

Chapter 42 Short Story

After learning about this, Zhu Wuyao pondered it for a moment.

The Gu family business is divided into two branches. Gu Ying's branch runs a security escort agency, while Gu Lang's branch owns a bookstore. It's unknown whether they have any other successful businesses besides the bookstore.

I won't delve too deeply into his family affairs.

However, at this crucial time, Zhu Wuyao could not waste Gu Lang's talents and easily make him a messenger.

She gave Young Master Gu a serious look and decided to take advantage of him first... before sending him on errands.

The three of them huddled around the map, looking at the four cities that were arranged back-to-back in the cardinal directions.

The Easternmost Azure Cloud Gate, the Southern Li Giant Que Sect, the Western Yang Tai Bai Sect, and the Northern Xuan Star-Picking Tower.

The continent of Mozambique is vast, yet four cities are crammed together in the middle.

Perhaps to avoid being too close and causing conflict, the four central cities are more like buffer zones between sects, and are mostly inhabited by ordinary people.

Arriving in the city does not mean arriving at the sect. Depending on the specific circumstances of each sect, one must travel to different directions for varying periods of time, and the territory under their jurisdiction will radiate outwards to the east, west, south, and north, creating a somewhat top-heavy situation.

Further away from the central area, various small and medium-sized sects and cultivation families are scattered, making the journey quite long.

According to legend, the four major sects were located here to guard against calamities, but the truth remains unknown.

"With the teleportation talisman and horseback riding, we should be able to reach Beixuan in a day or two. Master Gu, you should wait a few days before setting off."

Gu Lang nodded, somewhat embarrassed.

Thinking of the Gu Family Escort Agency, he felt somewhat annoyed. He hadn't even handled such a small matter as delivering a message properly.

But then I thought about it again, and it seems that Miss Zhu and Miss Ji didn't get anything good out of going out to have their fortunes told.

I immediately felt much more at peace.

I was just about to ask myself what I needed to do these days, and before I could even open my mouth, Zhu Wuyao handed me a manuscript:

"Young Master Gu, take a look at this storybook."

Yesterday, Zhu Wuyao returned empty-handed, but she was undeterred and devised another plan when one failed.

After plotting with Ji Yuezhang for a long time, with pleasant "hehehe" laughter coming from the courtyard from time to time, they finally perfected their plan.

The short storybook in Gu Lang's hand is a new story she wrote while staying up all night.

The content is not much; if cut into a booklet, it would be less than twenty pages.

The protagonist of the story is a cultivator of mediocre talent named Zhang Xuan. One day, he travels to a town.

I've heard that a rare treasure will be born here.

Although Zhang Xuan was tempted, he knew that his strength was too weak to compete with those senior cultivators. He could only stay here and watch the excitement.

Unexpectedly, on the day the extraordinary treasure appeared, the mountains shook and the rivers flowed backward, creating a tremendous spectacle. This commotion stirred up the crowd, who all declared that this treasure was extraordinary and were eager to acquire it.

The mountains and fields were suddenly filled with cultivators—those that flew in the sky, ran on the ground, and swam in the water.

Zhang Xuan was among them.

Because of his low cultivation level, he was the one swimming in the water who saw countless mortals crying and begging to escape.

Zhang Xuan struggled to pull the old man who was about to crash into a rock and pulled the old woman who was about to sink to the bottom. The magic weapon that was supposed to be used to save lives was used by him to split mountains and divide rivers, saving one mortal after another.

He didn't even glance at the strange treasure.

Unexpectedly, the treasure possessed divine consciousness. It swept across the cultivators covering the mountains and fields, finding only greedy faces, and none of them were worthy of its attention.

The treasure was a creation of heaven and earth, pure and clear inside and out. How could it be defiled by mortals? Just as he was about to flee, his divine sense suddenly sensed something.

They saw Zhang Xuan, looking disheveled and exhausted, struggling to swim in the river. A child was on a wooden plank in front of him. A big wave crashed in, creating a protective shield for the child, but Zhang Xuan himself was exhausted of his spiritual energy and swallowed a mouthful of water.

Thus, the treasure, drawn by his good deeds, formed a bond with him.

For the next several hundred years, they accompanied each other through the cultivation world, plundering treasures, exploring secret realms, escaping battles, and helping each other in times of trouble. Zhang Xuan experienced glory, indignation, and sorrow, but as time passed, he eventually found peace.

He ultimately failed to break through his current level and his time was drawing near.

Before his death, Zhang Xuan traveled the world.

Perhaps by sheer coincidence, Zhang Xuan found himself back in the town where he had once saved people. There, he saw that every household had erected a statue of a deity, venerating him as a celestial being and offering incense in worship, a practice that had continued for hundreds of years.

Even after his passing, there will still be a statue of him in the world.

Zhang Xuan looked at the statue on the altar and suddenly burst into laughter. Little did he know—"After searching for the path to immortality for a thousand years, I turned around and found myself already an immortal."

After reciting this line, the oil lamp that had been by my side all year round, capable of discerning good from evil, was no longer covered in dust, but burned on its own without fire, illuminating my pure and immaculate heart.

Zhang Xuan saw through life and death, and finally attained the Great Dao.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

After reading the story, Gu Lang felt a chill run down his spine. He put down the manuscript and sighed deeply.

"After searching for the path to immortality for a thousand years, I turned around and found myself already an immortal..."

"What a wonderful story!"

Zhu smiled without being invited and remained silent, reminding me of a classic "job interview story" from a past life: a child who couldn't find his parents, a broom lying on the roadside needing to be helped up...

The interviewer observes from the shadows, watching your reactions to decide whether or not to hire you.

If a story can become popular in modern society, it might spread quickly in the cultivation world as well.

"By the way, let's not use the pen name 'Mr. Speechless' this time, let's use 'As the Way Is' instead. We need to spread this story throughout Nanli City as soon as possible."

Unexpectedly, the pen name I came up with in Beixuan City and the short stories I agreed to write are now coming in handy.

However, this is essentially a completed storybook, and the Ink Trace Bookstore in Beixuan City will probably receive it as well. Mr. Li should then be able to learn what a short story is.

"Alright, I'll tell them to print it out today. Every dog ​​that passes by Ink Trace Bookstore will have to take a copy home!"

Gu Lang still held considerable prestige in his own Mohen Bookstore, which was not a difficult thing for him.

Having lost face by delivering the message, he now strove to prove his abilities with great pride and arrogance.

What's more, this story is really well written!

Hehe... When the time comes, we'll have to print the title "Canglang Anthology" on the cover. Oh yes, and we'll have to add Ink Trace Bookstore too. The key is to find more talented writers like Miss Zhu, otherwise, once she returns to Beixuan City...

No, no, we need to save Nanli City first.

Gu Lang suddenly realized that if Nanli City were gone, what would be the point of talking about bookstores and storybooks!

"Miss Zhu, is this storybook enough for us?"

Leaving aside whether the cultivators who happened to have read this story could stay in Nanli City until the great calamity came, even if they did stay until then, they might be doing good deeds in order to get a reward, so why would they take action for no reason?

Zhu Wuyao had already anticipated this matter, and she calmly said:

"After the Huijinge auction, I want you to help me send a few letters that are destined to be leaked."

The letter contained a rumor circulating at the auction—that a rare treasure would appear in Nanli City.