A hundred years passed in a flash.
Nothing happened in Jieyang Mountain, and the scene was peaceful.
One day, Zhang Ling was sitting in the Tiger King's residence when he suddenly had an idea and his mind moved slightly.
"Are you here?"
He muttered to himself, stood up and walked out of the house. In the distance, he saw a golden light descending from the sky, filled with flamboyant handwriting.
It reads: "Zhao said: Heaven is vigorous, and no one is restricted in their talents. Ten thousand years of selection are made, and all beings are equal. By the decree of the Supreme Daoist Ancestor—Zhang Ling, the mountain god of Jieyang Mountain in Linjiang County, is transferred to temporarily serve as the Wandering God of Good and Evil, holding the rank of a non-rank immortal, the only one in heaven and earth. Immediately leave from the East, patrol the mystical realms, distinguish good from evil, and clarify right from wrong for all beings. Go here, choose integrity over yielding, and never turn back."
All of these immortal characters written in silver and iron were projected into Zhang Ling's eyes, and then the golden light transformed into a purple-green token, with the words "Heavenly Way" engraved on the front and "Good and Evil" written on the back.
Zhang Ling understood immediately that this was a token sent down by Heaven to travel through good and evil. He could not bow down to immortals, remain unyielding to gods, or be servile to saints. In a sense, it was acting on behalf of Heaven.
The position of this patrolling god of good and evil is not subject to the constraints of the Heavenly Court. The reason why he holds an unranked immortal position is because the Heavenly Dao here stands on the side of the Heavenly Court after all, so it is natural to show on the surface that the two are closely connected.
Zhang Ling reached out and grabbed the purple-blue token.
Since ancient times, purple has represented respect and blue has symbolized nobility. Now that he acts on behalf of heaven and patrols the world for good and evil, the meaning of this token is self-evident.
He kowtowed to the heavens and said, "Zhang Ling will definitely live up to his mission!"
After saying this, he put away the Good and Evil Patrol Token and walked towards the east according to the requirements of Heaven.
Zhang Ling was walking on the mountain road, lost in thought.
He never expected that the assessment given to him in this ten thousand year selection would be to become a patrolling god of good and evil, to patrol the mysterious realms.
What are the mysterious worlds? To put it simply, it is similar to what Buddhists say: "One flower, one world; one leaf, one bodhi." It is also called the "Three Thousand Worlds"!
To put it bluntly, it means going wherever you want until the Heavenly Dao is satisfied and takes back the Good and Evil Patrol Token.
It has to be said that this is an extremely difficult and challenging task.
The road ahead is bumpy and full of unknown dangers. We have to take one step at a time, just like Tang Monk's journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures.
Tang Seng also has bodyguards, but they are just for show. Zhang Ling is not naive enough to think that he has the same thing.
What does it mean to patrol for good and evil on behalf of Heaven?
Isn't it just that when you encounter monsters and demons, you just rely on your fists to beat them all?
First conquer people with force, then conquer them with virtue.
If good and evil can be clearly distinguished from demons and monsters through reasoning, what is the need for gods?
If any minor immortal official were to do this task, he would have no chance of survival.
Without a cheat code, how can you get through the journey smoothly on your own?
One day you will encounter some extraordinary monster and die on the spot.
Thinking of this, Zhang Ling felt that he might have been tricked this time because of his preconceived notions!
It turns out that person's style of doing things will also change.
After a while, Zhang Ling couldn't help but feel fortunate in his heart. Fortunately, he had the ability to slay demons to increase his cultivation and lifespan. The further he went, the stronger he would become.
Thinking about it this way, this task seemed to be tailor-made for Zhang Ling and was perfect for him.
If you think carefully about what the God of Time said earlier, you will find that the selection process varies from person to person, and there is indeed a lot of consideration involved.
But no matter what, we must be careful and cautious and never capsize in the ditch.
I chose this path myself, and I have no regrets. I will finish it even if I have to kneel.
Zhang Ling transformed into a young man in blue clothes, holding a folding fan in his hand, and walked from the top of Jieyang Mountain all the way to the mountainside. He looked at the village and town at the foot of the mountain, waved his hand, and said goodbye.
I don’t know which immortal friend will come here to take over in the future.
Hey, why think so much? It’s irrelevant after all.
Zhang Ling shook his head, no longer nostalgic, and quickened his pace to walk out of Jieyang Mountain.
After this separation, I don’t know when I will return.
——
In the past, whenever Zhang Ling went out to the mortal world, he would always wear gray clothes and not attract attention. Then he turned into a young man, fanning himself and traveling, keeping a low profile.
Now that my status is different, I naturally need to change into a blue robe to show my elegance and nobility, and my style of behavior also needs to be slightly improved in the future.
Of course, we should still be low-key and must not be complacent and lose our sense of purpose.
As for why the young man before was changed into the boy now, it was because this boy had a pure heart and was free and easy. When he came into contact with others, he would not arouse the other party's vigilance. It would be easier for him to pretend to be a pig and eat the tiger, and to understand the truth, which would be beneficial rather than harmful to his future patrols.
Several months passed.
Zhang Ling did not encounter any demons, ghosts, or strange things. Instead, he felt like he was on a business trip, following the green mountains and clear waters, with fallen petals blooming all the way, and passing through the major cities, counties, towns, villages, and suburbs of Linjiang County.
Walking and stopping, looking at flowers while riding a horse, admiring lanterns and the moon, eating osmanthus cake today and drinking mountain spring water tomorrow, I unknowingly got farther and farther away from Linjiang County.
On this day, the distant mountains and white clouds overlapped with each other, creating a poetic and picturesque scene.
Zhang Ling was walking in the mountains when he suddenly smelled a fishy and evil odor.
In a moment, a poor scholar appeared in front of him. He was wearing a patched robe, his shoes had several thumb-sized holes, his cheeks were shriveled and thin, and he was carrying a large, dirty and rag bag on his back. He was half-bent over as he hurried on his way.
"Young Master, where are you going?" Zhang Ling walked quickly forward and shouted to the scholar behind him.
Upon hearing this, the poor scholar stiffened all over, squatted down tremblingly, covered his ears, and said: "I have already met your requirements, why are you still forcing me?"
Zhang Ling was a little surprised to see the other party like this. He walked closer and asked, "Oh! What's going on?"
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