False God

There was no change in Yunxiu's expression as he walked forward calmly.

Someone must be watching her secretly - in this artificial illusion.

Yunxiu had heard Master and Yan Xiu talk about this kind of illusion of large environments and large groups of people at Yaoxi Mountain. In principle, the construction of illusions and barriers is similar: both enclose a part of reality or personal consciousness and use it for personal gain.

Being on someone else's territory, with unknown identities, unknown intentions, and unknown danger, Yunxiu's every move was clearly observed, except for her thoughts. She instinctively maintained a facade of normalcy.

Yunxiu strolled leisurely on the street, looking left and right at the stalls.

This illusion was likely based on the creator's memories. Some areas were extremely blurry because the creator hadn't looked closely enough; some people and objects only repeated certain movements because the creator had only briefly interacted with them. Even masters of illusions like Yan Xiu and Master were unable to make the dummies in the illusion interact freely and move independently; the mental effort was too great.

In particular, the people in the illusion lacked hand lines, and their hair couldn't be detailed enough to distinguish each strand. Yunxiu looked at each stall owner and the people in front of them, then quietly withdrew.

Just as the barrier of Yaoxi Mountain has a core, so too must the illusion have a solution. It could be an object, a place, or even a person. But it must be a point of overlap with reality—it must be real.

Yunxiu was still chewing peanuts.

If nothing else, the peanuts in this fantasy world are real. And they're really delicious.

Yunxiu stopped at the end of the street, his eyes fixed on the temple that suddenly came into view.

At the end of the street, there is a temple. From a distance, you can see the thin smoke rising from it. People come in and out to worship, and the incense is very popular.

The blue-gray eaves are slightly upturned, like the corners of clothes blown by the wind, but the copper bells hanging under the eaves are not shaking, only a faint scent of incense condenses in the air.

Instead, it carried the crisp, cool scent of pine needles and cypress, mixed with a hint of burning ash. It was so distinct that Yunxiu involuntarily quickened his pace.

The main entrance of the temple consists of two vermilion wooden doors with intricate cloud patterns carved on them. A thin layer of dust has accumulated in the patterns, and if you touch them with your fingertips, you can probably pick up tiny particles.

Above the door lintel hung a plaque with gold characters on a black background. The four large characters "Yao Xi Xian Temple" were written in sharp strokes, which were surprisingly similar to the handwriting that Master had used to write on the mountain gate.

No. How could this be possible? Yunxiu subconsciously took a step back.

The people of Yaoxi Sect were all immortals, not gods, and were essentially no different from mortals. As far as Yunxiu knew, there were few temples on earth, and most of them were dedicated to ancient gods. Even on Yaoxi Mountain, there were only temples dedicated to ancient gods.

Yunxiu's heart sank slightly as she stepped over the threshold. The scene inside the hall made her fingers holding the peanut shells suddenly tighten.

On the altar in the middle of the hall, in the center sat a little old man wearing a gray Taoist robe, with the wrinkles between his eyebrows clearly visible - that was her master, even the frayed edges of the robe's cuffs were exactly the same as she remembered.

The first statue on the left, dressed in black, with a sword strapped to his waist, his profile handsome and upright, is none other than Yan Xiu. The statue next to him, wearing a green outfit and holding a sycamore branch, is Senior Brother Wu Yi. Further down, wearing a moon-white dress and holding a jade flute, is Senior Sister Ying Tang.

The statue on the far right had a simple bun and wore a dress that was almost the same style as the one Yunxiu was wearing at the moment. Even the small white velvet flower on her temples had fine lines on the petals that could be clearly seen.

Fresh fruits and pastries were placed on the altar in front of each statue. The apples on the plates still had water droplets on them, and even tiny spots on the skin could be seen.

Yunxiu walked past them one by one, carefully sketching each statue.

The human depiction of the gods has captured their spirit very well, and Yunxiu can see the expressions of each person in them, which are lifelike.

Yunxiu looked at himself on the statue. Smiling, as if ignorant of worldly affairs, he looked at his fellow seniors.

Three burning incense sticks sat on the candlestick stand. Yunxiu walked around behind the statue and gently touched the wooden edge of the stand with his fingertips, feeling a cool sensation spread up along his fingertips.

But in such a real temple, the crowd was as chaotic as a pot of boiling porridge.

Near the altar, several people wearing gray cloth clothes and cloth hats were squatting in the corner. In front of them was a wooden box filled with copper coins donated by believers.

One of them dipped his finger in saliva and counted the banknotes one by one. After counting, he poured the copper coins into his cloth pocket with a satisfied smile on his face.

The people sitting below never looked up at the statue.

Yunxiu didn't know who they were, but they took the copper coins they offered and didn't even bother to wipe the dust off the altar. When believers came to inquire about the worship process, they just waved their hands impatiently and turned back to counting the money.

On the right side of the hall, a woman in silk clothes was kneeling on a cushion with her hands folded.

"God bless me, may my son pass the imperial examination, may my business prosper, may my husband be safe..."

Her voice was sharp and mournful. She stood up instantly, straightened her wrinkled skirt, and without even adding a stick of incense to the altar, she walked out with her head held high.

It seemed that as long as she threw the silver, the immortal would accept her wish. As for whether her son studied hard or ran his business with integrity, she never seemed to think about it.

The light on the left side of the hall was dimmer than elsewhere. There were a few worn-out cushions piled in the corner. The musty smell mixed with the aroma of incense created a turbid odor in the air.

There were about a dozen people gathered here, most of them wearing clothes that were washed white and even had several patches on them. The cuffs and trouser legs were worn to a shine, as if they had been worn for many years.

Someone was holding a cloth bag in his arms, and from time to time he would lift a corner of it to reveal half a cracked steamed bun inside, which he would carefully pinch with his fingertips; there was also a tall and thin man with his trouser legs rolled up to his knees, revealing his calves covered with frostbite, and he was holding a chipped pottery bowl in his hand. The rim of the bowl was stained with some brown stains, and it was not known whether it was rice soup or dust.

They tightly surrounded a middle-aged man, their eyes full of desire. The man was wearing a half-new blue cloth gown, with a black belt tied around his waist. The belt buckle was made of copper and shone faintly in the dim light. This outfit was particularly eye-catching among this group of ragged people.

In his left hand, he clutched a bright yellow talisman paper with crooked patterns drawn on it. His right hand rested on his waist, and his voice boomed loud enough to pierce the din of the hall: "Fellow villagers, I'm not bragging! I practiced at the foot of Yaoxi Mountain in my early years. I can communicate with ghosts and gods, even immortals and Buddhas. I can even speak to the statues in this temple!"

As he spoke, he raised the yellow paper higher, gently stroking the surface with his fingertips, and glanced at the faces of the people around him with a bit of arrogance:

"Give me all your food and money. I'll report it to the immortals for you and guarantee they'll bestow blessings upon you—that your children grow up safely, that the sick are cured, and that even those so poor they can barely afford to eat can look forward to a better life!"

There was a commotion in the crowd, some people were talking in low voices, and the desire in their eyes deepened a little.

At that moment, an old woman emerged from the crowd. She was so thin she was just a bag of bones, her back bent like a shrimp. Her gray cloth dress was patched with patches, and a hole at the collar revealed her bony collarbone. She used a dry branch as a cane, and with every step, the branch made a soft, "thump, thump" sound as it clung to the ground.

At the man's words, the old woman's cloudy eyes sparkled. She reached out her hand tremblingly, her skinny fingers like old bark, dirt still clinging to her nails. She pulled a dark blue cloth bag from her bosom. The edges were frayed, revealing the cotton wool inside. She unwrapped the bag layer by layer, her movements incredibly slow, as if each layer held a thousand-pound weight. Finally, a few dozen copper coins lay in the center of the cloth. The edges were a little frayed, but they were polished to a shine, evidently from repeated handling.

"Master," the old woman's voice was hoarse as if rubbed with sandpaper, and she paused after each word. "This is the money I've saved for six months. I sold eggs at home and helped people mend clothes. I have a cough all year round and can't sleep at night. Please, please pray to the immortal to spare me some suffering."

The man's eyes fell on the dozens of copper coins, but a kind smile immediately appeared on his face:

"Don't worry, old man. I'm here, and the immortal will definitely bless you!"

He took the cloth bag and casually put it into the inside pocket of his gown. Then, he took out a small tinderbox from his pocket, blew it up, and lit the yellow paper in his hand.

The yellow paper started burning, the orange-red flames licked the surface of the paper, and soon it burned into a pile of black ash.

The man asked the person next to him for a bowl of water, poured all the paper ashes into the bowl, and stirred it with his fingers. The water in the bowl immediately turned into a turbid gray. He handed the bowl to the old woman and said with a certainty:

"Drink this magic water, and your cough will be gone tomorrow. It's guaranteed to be more effective than taking medicine!"

The old woman looked at the bowl of turbid water, her eyes full of gratitude, tears streaming down her wrinkled cheeks and dripping onto her clothes.

She took the bowl with trembling hands, her lips moved as if to say something thank you, but due to her excitement, no sound came out for a long time. She raised her head, put the bowl to her lips, and was about to drink it.

The sound of the shattering ceramic bowl still echoed in the hall. Yunxiu lowered her eyes to glance at the broken pieces on the ground, then raised her gaze to the people gathered around the man. Their faces still wore the shock of being interrupted. Some shrank back, clutching the cloth bags in their arms, while others stared at Yunxiu's face, their eyes full of inquiry.

Yunxiu's gaze slowly swept across the crowd, finally landing on the old woman who almost drank the "immortal water" just now.

The old woman was still standing there in a daze, her skinny hands hanging in the air, as if she hadn't reacted to the sudden disappearance of the bowl in her hand.

Yunxiu stepped forward and said in a gentle voice, "Old man, you are not feeling well. Why don't you go see a doctor?"

The tall, thin man holding the chipped pottery bowl spoke first. He scratched his head:

"Miss, it's not that we don't want to see a doctor! The doctor in town charges two or three taels of silver for a visit, and he also has to prescribe medicine, which is incredibly expensive. How can a family like us afford that much money?"

A woman wearing patched clothes beside her also nodded:

"That's right! Last year, my child had a fever. We saw a doctor, and he prescribed medicine that took half a month to heal. We spent all our family savings. But this 'magic water' is different. I can get it by giving the 'master' some food or copper coins... and..."

"And," another gray-haired old man, leaning on a cane, added slowly,

"Many times, even if you see a doctor and take medicine, the illness can't be cured. Two years ago, there was a plague in the village. Many people sought medical help, but it was useless. In the end, it was the immortal from Yaoxi Mountain who came down from the mountain and stopped the plague. Girl, is this your first time here? You don't know... This temple now enshrines the immortal from Yaoxi Mountain. It doesn't charge money, and it will answer any prayer... Why not? There are things that the government can't solve, only the immortal can."

"Yes! The immortals of Yaoxi Mountain are the most compassionate!"

"We all believe in immortals. We will definitely wait for them to save us!"

Everyone was talking at once, their tone full of conviction.

Senior Brother Yan Xiu and Senior Sister Yu Wei often traveled down the mountain, offering assistance to those in need, healing the sick and resolving the problems of those affected by disasters. However, each time they descended the mountain, they followed their Master's instructions and rarely mentioned themselves. Instead, they would claim to be guided by the Ancient Gods—after all, their immortal powers were bestowed by the Ancient Gods, and it was their power that enabled them to help sentient beings.

Since when did the reputation of saving sentient beings become the sole preserve of Yaoxi Mountain? And the ancient gods who truly bestowed their immortal powers were forgotten?

"Why don't you... ask the Ancient God for help?"

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, saying, "What era is that god from..."

"Yeah...and it doesn't work at all!"

"It would be better to ask the immortal for help once..."

Yunxiu looked at the people in the hall and felt a little confused.

Yunxiu frowned.

With a flick of her fingertips, the old woman's cloth bag returned to its original owner's bag without anyone noticing. Yunxiu found a place to sit, took the old woman's hand, and felt her pulse.

"What do you mean? You little kid, here..." The man selling talisman water immediately stepped forward to stop him.

Yunxiu could clearly feel the old woman's pulse and his heart moved.

If this was truly an illusion, could the caster even simulate everyone's pulse? As far as she knew, not even her master and Yan Xiu could do that.

At least, the person before him wasn't an illusion, Yunxiu was so sure.

"Shut up. Or should we fight?"

Yunxiu interrupted him directly, glanced at him indifferently, and lightly placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

"You..." The man choked and turned his head to ask, "You would rather believe this doll?"

Everyone's eyes darted up and down, but Yunxiu didn't care at all:

"If you want to believe, then believe it. I won't force you. Anyway, I won't charge you. Why not give it a try? Let's give it a try."

After hearing this, everyone was half-believing and half-doubting, willing to give it a try. They even smiled at the man and said, "Let's give it a try, let's give it a try!"

The man sneered and mocked her, but Yunxiu didn't even raise her eyes. For minor ailments, she gave him prescriptions, and for more serious ones, she took pills from her own bag.

After the last person had left, Yunxiu's gaze swept to the other side of the hall.

There were a few people gathered there, wearing relatively neat long robes, holding incense in their hands, kneeling devoutly in front of the statue.

One of the young men knelt upright, muttering something, as if praying for fame and fortune.

Yunxiu walked over and waited until he finished bowing and stood up before asking, "You want to gain fame, so when is the exam?"

The man thought for a moment and said, "One month later."

"Often?"

"My home is ten miles away, but I come here every day."

He was quite proud. Yunxiu asked again:

"Do you study hard? Do you study hard and practice writing?"

The young man was stunned for a moment, as if he had not expected someone to suddenly ask him this question. He scratched his head, his eyes evasive.

"nature."

Lies with open eyes. Yunxiu thought silently.

Those who are really preparing for the imperial examinations get up before dawn and study until three in the morning. Who has the time to be an ascetic every day?