Chapter 380: Day Trip to Gusu, Wealth and Honor Are Hard to Move
He closed the door, and his three fellow apprentices, Gong Mengbi, came forward to serve him, bringing him tea and water. Only then did Liu Ben organize his words and say, "The Five-Directional Gods have existed for a long time. Our master has never been involved in the world, so he is not aware of their power. Inside Gusu City, the world is ruled by the City God, and outside Gusu City, the world is ruled by the Five-Directional Gods."
Liu Ben hesitated and said, "Just listen to this and forget it. Don't take it to heart, and don't tell anyone else. The Five Powerful Gods possess immense powers, and the five brothers are no ordinary people. The wandering spirits, monsters, and ghosts in the mountains and wilds all obey them and follow their orders without hesitation."
"As you can see, the Five Gods under Wutong are herding spirits and stealing human essence to cultivate. As long as they don't make things too bad, the City God won't stop them. We can't afford to offend them. Moreover, the King of Wu highly respects the Five Gods, and we are still working under him, so we can't make things awkward."
"It's because Master is so advanced in Taoism that those monsters were blind and charged forward. You punished them, and the Five-Directional God didn't say anything. Otherwise, if it were someone else, they would have been surrounded and killed by the rampant soldiers by now."
Gong Mengbi said, "To have such abilities, they must be very advanced. Have you ever seen them?"
Liu Ben said, "I once accompanied the King of Wu to see him once. That time he was the Fifth of the Five Powers. I only saw a brilliant display of light, a divine aura that filled the air and illuminated the void. I couldn't even discern his true form."
Liu Ben's three brothers are all seventh-rank, so it's normal that they can't see through it.
Gong Mengbi said, "Okay, I understand. Take me to the Wutong Temple tomorrow."
Gao Hu knelt down with a thud and said, "Master, calm down and stop fighting with the Five-Power God."
Gong Mengbi kicked him and said, "Why are you howling? I just went to take a look."
Liu Ben and his three brothers breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, although their master had a bad temper, he was smart. Otherwise, the three of them would have had to run away overnight.
Although wealth and honor are good, life is more important.
Gong Mengbi drove them all out to avoid being an eyesore.
After closing the door, Gong Mengbi slowly pondered and realized that the situation in Gusu City was a balance between yin and yang, which was quite subtle.
This balance will not be easily broken, either from within or from without.
The King of Wu is undoubtedly the center line of yin and yang, and the key to checks and balances.
After dawn, Gong Mengbi woke up early and urged his three fellow disciples to go out.
Liu Ben and the other two had been busy for half the night, their minds weighing heavily on their heads, unable to sleep. They felt a wave of exhaustion. Fortunately, practitioners don't tire easily, otherwise they would have been bedridden today.
Liu Ben greeted Gong Mengbi with a smile, took Gong Mengbi to the carriage that had been prepared long ago, and took him to tour Gusu that day.
The curtains of the carriage were drawn, revealing the interior to be luxuriously furnished with a small sandalwood table on which was a censer of water lotus incense, making it look quite tranquil and elegant.
Outside the curtain is the prosperous scene of Gusu.
Liu Ben shook his head and said, "In the southeast, the wealth is most important in Gusu; in the southeast, the water conservancy is most important in Gusu; in the southeast, the people are most numerous in Gusu. Master, Xima Mountain is located in the southeast, and the richest place in the southeast is undoubtedly Gusu, and the richest person in the southeast is undoubtedly the King of Wu."
First, there was a prosperous market town, with merchants and drinkers, and the people were as numerous as combs of grass and silks, and the wealth was overwhelming.
Gong Mengbi silently looked through the curtain to see the scenery and people of Gusu, and listened to the introductions of Liu Ben and his three fellow apprentices.
All wealth and honor in the world are nothing more than this.
The three brothers tried their best to keep Gong Mengbi. In their words, Gusu had become a paradise on earth. As long as Gong Mengbi moved his fingers, countless wealth would flow in.
There was no expression on Gong Mengbi's face, and his pair of dead fish eyes were really embarrassing.
The three brothers talked until their mouths were dry, but Gong Mengbi didn't seem to be moved at all.
Wealth and honor cannot move people's hearts. Liu Ben and the other two looked at each other and drove the carriage along the river bank.
Soon, the sounds of string instruments, bamboo pipes, and warblers could be heard.
Han Cheng was a regular customer there and said, "The red-light district, the brothels, the brothels, the theaters, they are all wonderful places."
Gong Mengbi was not interested in such a place where people would seek pleasure from prostitutes.
As he got closer, he suddenly pointed to a place and asked, "What is that place?"
Han Cheng took one look and immediately said, "Master has good taste. This is Heyu Tower, the most luxurious brothel in Gusu. The most famous courtesan there, Miss Wanqiu, is so famous throughout Gusu that many dignitaries have tried to get close to her but have had no chance."
Seeing Gong Mengbi looking in that direction, Han Cheng asked, "If Master-master likes it, why don't we come and see it tonight? Madam Qiu will be performing music on the pleasure boat tonight."
Gong Mengbi shook his head and said, "Let's go."
Han Cheng secretly thought it was a pity.
After leaving the red-light district, it was obvious that beauty could no longer impress Gong Mengbi.
The three brothers were a little discouraged, and for a moment they didn't know how to convince Gong Mengbi.
Gong Mengbi spoke calmly, "Gusu is indeed prosperous, but how can one cultivate in this mortal world?"
Liu Ben immediately understood that there was a reason why this master could defeat the headmaster. He said, "Practice, of course I can practice."
"Grandmaster, it's easier to cultivate with the support of the government. The three of us have followed King Wu for decades and are his confidants. King Wu has never been stingy with any natural treasures, but unfortunately, our aptitude is limited and we have never been able to cultivate to the middle level. Now that King Wu is becoming more powerful, many practitioners have come to him, and our abilities are no longer sufficient. But Grandmaster is different. If he is willing, he will definitely be able to gain the King's use."
Gong Mengbi groaned for a moment, but didn't answer. He said, "There's no rush to decide this matter."
Gao Hu said, "Master, the Five-Power God can herd monsters and raise rampant soldiers, so he must have the approval of the King of Wu. Master, you don't have to worry about the Taoist resources of Xima Mountain."
Gong Mengbi opened his eyes, looked at him, and motioned him to continue.
Gao Hu then pulled up the carriage curtain and took out a round pill, pure black and filled with a menacing aura. "This is the Soul Refining Pearl. It refines the soul of the living and can transform its spiritual energy for your own use. I refined this treasure with the approval of King Wu."
Gao Hu looked at Liu Ben and Han Cheng. The two evil ways took out the Ghost Banner and Ghost Sword and said, "Master, the King of Wu is a man of great talent and strategy. He must have been honed with weapons. We practice with the flesh and blood of ghosts, which is a great resource."
Gong Mengbi took a breath, a look of emotion on his face, and said, "Okay, I understand."
The three brothers thought that they had persuaded Gong Mengbi, and they gradually felt happy.
Little did they know that Gong Mengbi was already planning how to send these evil creatures to the Yue Mansion to reunite with their elders.
The carriage arrived at Wutong Temple.
Liu Ben opened the curtain and said, "Master, this is the place."
Gong Mengbi had never seen such a large Wutong Temple. The Wutong Temple in Jinhua was only as small as a land temple, nothing like the one here with its tall pagodas and magnificent buildings.
If you didn't know, you might think that some high-ranking gods or Buddhas or Bodhisattvas were being worshipped there, and you would never have thought that there were five evil gods.
That's wonderful.
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