In the suburbs of Star City, far away from the hustle and bustle, an ancient Taoist temple stands quietly.
The vermilion gate is very new, with green tiles stacked on top of each other and sculptures of auspicious beasts standing upright on the roof, as if it was built not long ago.
There is an ancient plaque hanging above the gate, with four characters written on it: Changsheng Taoist Temple
Sikong Zhen and Mu Lingxi stepped into the Changsheng Taoist Temple and walked on the bluestone slabs in the courtyard. A handsome Taoist priest was sitting lazily in front of a stone table playing with his mobile phone. He seemed to have seen something interesting and kept laughing in a way that only men can understand, so that no one from the Taoist temple noticed him.
Mu Lingxi stepped forward and said, "Master, may I ask if Master Xuanqing is here?"
Jun Wushang was startled, as if he was caught in bed with someone. He hurriedly locked the screen of his phone, then raised his head and was stunned.
He stared blankly at Mu Lingxi in front of him, who was wearing a black tight leather jacket and long boots, outlining her graceful figure and long legs.
Mu Lingxi's expression remained unchanged as she continued to ask, "Excuse me, is Taoist Xuanqing here?"
Jun Wushang finally came back to his senses and nodded like a chicken eating rice: "Yes, yes, Master is in the main hall."
Mu Lingxi nodded, then walked towards the main hall with Sikong Zhen.
Jun Wushang's eyes almost popped out as he kept glancing at the other person's slender and straight legs: "My God, these legs are even more upright than my character."
Sikong Zhen and the other person walked into the hall, and what they saw was an ancient and grand altar, which almost occupied one-fifth of the hall. The only strange thing was that on such a large altar there was a miniature statue less than 20 centimeters tall. The statue was in human form, made of clay, and painted with low-quality oil paint, and many places had already cracked.
Next to the altar, an old Taoist with a fairy-like appearance and white hair sat cross-legged in front of the statue with his back to the two of them, as if in a trance. Two wisps of green smoke rose in front of him, curling and spreading, making the atmosphere even more ethereal.
"Master Xuanqing, it has been five years since we last met in the imperial capital." Sikong Zhen laughed loudly, as if he had met an old friend he hadn't seen for many years.
Taoist Xuanqing, who looked like an immortal, slowly turned around, revealing a face full of age spots. "It turns out to be Monk Sikong. I, Xuanqing, am honored to meet you."
Sikong Zhen and the other two looked at Xuan Qing, who looked like an accomplished Taoist master, with strange expressions on their faces.
Taoist Xuanqing noticed the two people's gazes, and wiped the saliva from the corners of his mouth with his wide Taoist robe without any expression, as if nothing had happened, and said in a mysterious way: "I don't know why Mr. Sikong came here this time? If you want to persuade me to return to the imperial capital, I'd better not waste my breath.
I have believed in the Immortal God all my life, and I have been determined to travel around the world to expand the Taoist tradition of immortality. I cannot be a single person. "
Sikong Zhen seemed to have expected that Taoist Xuanqing would say this, and he did not care, but went straight to the point and said: "Master, you misunderstood. I came here mainly to ask you to help me with a divination. I believe you have also heard that not long ago, an organization called the Seven Deadly Sins appeared in Xingcheng, and the head of the Seven Deadly Sins, Pride, even killed an imperial noble in full view of the public.
This incident has angered the entire Red Flame Empire, so they sent me here to investigate. Now the case has reached a bottleneck, so I would like to ask the Taoist priest for help. "
Facing the request of a golden strongman, Taoist Xuanqing shook his head unexpectedly: "I stopped fortune-telling for people many years ago, so please go back."
Mu Lingxi frowned slightly and said, "Master Xuanqing, the seven deadly sins are extremely serious. The royal family has issued a death order to bring him to justice. I hope you can help me."
Not only was the crime extremely serious, but he was also a member of the royal family, so she directly used the two huge mountains of morality and imperial power to put pressure on Xuanqing.
Taoist Priest Xuanqing remained calm and asked, "Lady, how old do you think I am?"
Mu Lingxi was a little confused, but still answered: "Looking at the Taoist's face, he should be 80 years old."
Taoist Xuanqing stroked his gray beard and said with a smile, "It's high."
"70?"
Taoist Xuanqing smiled and shook his head.
Mu Lingxi raised her eyebrows: "60?" She didn't expect that Taoist Xuanqing looked so old. Just now, she said 80 was a low number. Judging from his appearance, people would believe him if he said he was 100.
Unexpectedly, Taoist Xuanqing continued to shake his head: "It's still too high."
Mu Lingxi was a little surprised: "50?"
"49." Taoist Xuanqing reported his age. Seeing the doubt on Mu Lingxi's face, he explained, "Fortune-telling is revealing the secrets of heaven, which will shorten one's life. I am the best example. I am only 49 years old, but I act like a centenarian. So it's not that I don't want to help you, but I am unable to do so."
“This…” Mu Lingxi didn’t know what to say for a moment. She couldn’t let someone risk his life for fortune-telling. Although she had never met Taoist Xuanqing, she had heard of the legend of this extraordinary man in the imperial capital. He was summoned by the royal family and sought after by countless nobles. Such a person would not be afraid of threats.
Si Kong Zhen seemed to be used to it and said directly: "Master, please name a price."
Taoist Xuanqing immediately showed agility that was not in line with his age and quickly held up a finger: "One hundred million."
Mu Lingxi: “….”
Sikong Zhen nodded calmly: "Okay."
"I haven't finished yet. One hundred million plus an extraordinary material - Eight-Leaf Sharp Orchid. Pay first and then deliver the goods. If the calculation cannot be made, the money will not be refunded." Taoist Xuanqing rattled out a series of demands like a machine gun.
Mu Lingxi: “….”
If it weren't for the certification from the golden expert Sikong Zhen, she would really suspect that the Taoist Xuanqing in front of her was a liar.
"Okay, I'll go back and prepare. I'll come here with the money and the Baye Fenglan at this time tomorrow. I'll trouble you then, Taoist Priest." Sikong Zhen said calmly, and left with Mu Lingxi.
As soon as they left the Taoist temple, Mu Lingxi couldn't help asking, "Master Sikong, isn't one hundred million too much? And the Eight-Leafed Sharp Orchid is also very rare..."
"If you hadn't said before that the royal family had issued a death order, perhaps ten million would have been enough."
Mu Lingxi was speechless again. She couldn't remember how many times she had been speechless. It turned out that this damn old Taoist priest was raising the price. The more anxious you were, the higher his price would be.
"As long as we can catch the Seven Deadly Sins, any little effort will be worth it. By the way, let the Law Enforcement Bureau reimburse this money. Just say 200 million." Sikong Zhen said lightly, as if he was talking about an insignificant matter.
Mu Lingxi: “….”
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