The misty rain gradually subsided, and the chirping of birds could be heard from the treetops, delicate and soft. The thin fog evaporated in the early morning sunlight, forming a thick layer of spring melancholy.

Chen Weichen gazed at Ye Jiuya's unchanging expression, as if enchanted, tracing his features with his eyes.

He thought to himself, with such looks, if he could smile, how heart-stirring and beautiful it would be. Even if all the spring colors in the world were gathered together, they would not compare.

But - this man would not smile. His seven emotions and six desires were all frozen, and he knew nothing of the joys and sorrows of the world.

In the morning, they left home and passed by the teahouse where the storyteller was. They heard the sound of the storytelling block being struck, and a loud voice came from afar: "This General Zhao was a god-like strategist, planning and strategizing for more than thirty years without a single defeat. People all said that he had the help of gods and demons, otherwise how could he be so extraordinary at every step, even the most cunning enemies could not fathom his moves. He was truly a ghostly hand in the army - before the King of Dachan committed suicide, he sighed to the heavens: 'Our two countries' military strength is evenly matched, I wanted to do my best and leave it to the will of heaven, but who knew I would encounter such a monster. The battlefield is like a chessboard, until the end of the game, one cannot know what General Zhao's opening move was when he started, and what his layout was!' - General Zhao's divine strategies and calculations were actually like this!"

The crowd in the seats roared with approval.

Chen Weichen fanned himself and said, "Ah Hui and I love to listen to Sir Zhou's storytelling in our spare time."

Xie Lang then asked, "Are they all about these legendary stories from your previous dynasty?"

"There are also strange tales and anecdotes from the immortal realm. The storyteller is well-informed and speaks eloquently. I suppose he has some connection with one of the disciples from your Qingjing Temple. I don't know if he paid money to buy the stories."

Xie Lang then defended his own disciples: "Our temple is all over the world, but there are few who have achieved the great Dao, and many mortal junior disciples who cannot enter the immortal cultivation sect are poor. If someone really takes stories to exchange for money in the mortal world, it is understandable, understandable."

But Ye Jiuya did not listen to the people talking in the carriage, only the sentence "until the end of the game, one does not know what his opening move was and what his layout was" entered his ears. So he unconsciously turned his gaze to Chen Weichen, who was leaning on a soft pillow and smiling carelessly.

This person appeared with a body full of fog, inscrutable, changing faces like flipping through a book, at ease in all kinds of dangerous situations, who knew what he was seeking or what he was thinking.

Ye Jiuya was not someone who had to get to the bottom of everything. He thought that this person's true thoughts and feelings would probably only be revealed when the dust settled and the game finally ended.

-- It's just half a year, a short period of time in the eyes of an immortal cultivator.

He heard someone in the teahouse seemingly dissatisfied, shouting loudly, "The former dynasty's past glories, what's the point? Who knows when another figure like General Zhao or a great general like General Wang will emerge to recover the lost lands and re-establish the Dragon Court!"

The building was silent for a moment, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

Leaving the city gate and heading south, they found the terrain winding and the mountains steep, with flying waterfalls and flowing springs that created a classic view of southern spring scenery.

There were also several other horse carriages traveling with them, which were Chen family's entourage heading to the capital. Especially Chen Weichen's eldest sister had reached marriageable age and her wedding with the Lin family's young master in the capital was approaching. The interactions between the two families became more frequent. This time, traveling with the immortal elders, they also got a bit of immortal aura. When they saw the gray-robed young Daoist priest draw a talisman and point his whisk at the horse carriage, the horses galloped like lightning, showing no signs of fatigue and completing a journey that originally took two days in less than half a day.

Xiao Dao was originally traveling in that carriage, but since her young master was here, she had to follow by his side no matter what.

The capital was located in a rare plain amidst the continuous mountainous terrain. This place was originally a prosperous capital. Even before the fall of the previous dynasty, it was known as the "heavenly paradise on earth". After the new dynasty was established, it became even more prosperous.

It had rained in Yue City, but not in the capital, which was still a scene of clear skies. The outskirts were lush with green grass, willows drooped low, white butterflies flew through the flowers, and the spring scenery was in full bloom.

Following the Chen family's carriage, they passed the inspection at the city gate. The city walls were majestic, the glazed tiles shone brilliantly, the wards and markets were grand, extremely luxurious, like another splendid Shangyang City.

Xie Lang took out a black circular disk with constellations drawn on it. A thin needle slowly turned. He used some mysterious Daoist technique, closed his eyes for a while, and shook his head, "It doesn't seem to have the fortune to re-establish the great Dragon Court. It's just that our Daoist sect ultimately cannot compare to Tianyan's ability to see through the heavenly secrets. The fortune of this place, we may not necessarily be able to see."

"Your prediction is probably not wrong - the court relies on the dangerous passes and is content with this small corner, without any thought of recovering the lost lands." Chen Weichen said.

Thinking of this, he leaned closer to Ye Jiuya, "To gather the objects of human fortune, we have the Jinxiu Ashes, which goes from prosperity to decline. The other object should go from decline to prosperity, but I don't know if it can be found in the capital where the fate has run out."

Ye Jiuya said indifferently, "Let's find Chi Juntian first."

"Yes," Young Master Chen curved his brows and eyes, "Sect Leader Ye and I have a tacit understanding."

Xiao Dao was concerned about Wen Hui, "If we find Chi Juntian, will we find Ah Hui?"

Chen Weichen: "Mm."

Xie Lang watched the interaction between Ye Jiuya and Chen Weichen, somewhat puzzled. The relationship between these two had been good and bad along the way, and now for some reason it had become especially good.

He wanted to see how Lu Hongyan would react, but the girl in red, who hadn't spoken the whole way, was simply hugging her heavy sword and staring at Chen Weichen with deep, unreadable eyes.

The place they were staying was the Chen family's residence in the capital. Once they settled down, they had to gather information first.

Young Master Chen's appearance and personality were very likable, which was very useful for gathering information. It's just that the things he got were quite lackluster. Apart from His Majesty holding a peach blossom banquet to recruit talented scholars to praise the beauty of peach blossoms, which could be considered a big event, the rest were all trivial matters.

He thought about it, the information from the streets and alleys was superficial after all, and it would take some time to get news from Yue City. His eldest brother was not in the capital at the moment, and he was too lazy to deal with his father's old colleagues with graying hair. He could only go find that brother-in-law whom he had not met yet. He sent a visiting card, and the next day he took the family servants and went.

When he came back, he was very depressed, and simply wanted to throw himself into Ye Jiuya's arms.

"This young master's reputation precedes me. That brother-in-law thought I was a real madman who wanted to find him to play, and prepared a rattle drum and tanghulu!"

Xie Lang couldn't hold back and laughed out loud.

"It's not his fault," Young Master Chen recalled the past with pity and innocence, "If I saw someone being chased around by chickens and dogs every day, breaking strings while playing the zither, splattering ink while painting, and tripping while walking, I would also think he probably wasn't a normal person."

Xiao Dao let out an "oh" sound: "It's much better now, is it really thanks to cultivating immortality?"

Chen Weichen then leaned against Ye Jiuya like he had no bones: "Yes, but the old ailment still hasn't improved, and I still have to live cautiously."

After a few jokes, they started talking about the main topic.

"There haven't been any major changes in the capital, but I heard that the emperor has become obsessed with the method of longevity and is seeking immortals and the Dao. There are also rumors that the emperor has already recruited an immortal guest and plans to appoint him as the State Preceptor - it sounds hasty, but the emperor is used to being unrestrained, and the court officials can't control him, often allowing him to do as he pleases."

"State Preceptor?" Xie Lang repeated.

Chen Weichen raised his eyebrows at him: "Isn't this what your Daoist temple often does?"

The young Daoist priest was quite ashamed and waved his hand: "It's an old matter from thousands of years ago. Nowadays, who among the immortal Daoists still cares about the mundane world? That heavenly State Preceptor is probably some trickster from who knows where, pretending to be a god."

In ancient times, when Daoism first emerged, everyone believed it to be miraculous. Cultivators were not as transcendent as they are now. As long as they had some cultivation, they were all respectfully enshrined. Outstanding ones were recruited by the court, and titles such as State Preceptor, Divine Official, and Immortal Master were abundant. Later, they gradually figured out the path of cultivation and many immortal masters died under heavenly thunder. Only then did they realize that there was karmic fate and heavenly tribulations to consider.

From then on, cultivators gradually detached from the mundane world. But before they could fully detach, demon cultivators appeared in the world. Slaying demons and eliminating evil was acting on behalf of heaven, not only did it not taint karma, but it also helped cultivation. The two sides became incompatible like fire and water, causing constant turmoil. At that time, everyone in the world knew that immortal cultivators and demon cultivators had the ability to summon wind and rain from heaven and earth. They prostrated and worshipped them. Immortal sects also needed wealth and land to establish their sects. As a result, the imperial dynasty declined, and the immortals and demons became powerful, using military force to establish order, each occupying a region. The titles of Lord, Marquis, and Emperor also originated from that time.

Later, the immortals and demons separated and each sought their own path. The Dao separated from the world's wealth and the flames of war, single-mindedly seeking the great Dao and longevity, gradually severing mundane thoughts and becoming more and more ethereal and transcendent. Among them, the Daoist sect was the most deeply involved in the world, but it was also limited to traveling through mountains and rivers, accepting disciples to continue the Dao, receiving some incense offerings, and expelling ghosts and slaying demons for the mortal world. As for the affairs of the mortal emperor, they avoided it like the plague.

"Chi Juntian, as a disciple of Tianyan, predicts the heavenly secrets and treads on thin ice. She must not taint her karma. That 'State Preceptor' should have nothing to do with her," Chen Weichen said, "But Old Cripple also said that she might be stirring up trouble in the capital."

For a while, they couldn't figure it out.

Unfortunately, Qingyuan, who was originally spiritually gifted and had been brought to the Daoist temple since childhood, listening to scriptures while growing up and being particularly sensitive to karmic fate, was not present. They could only let Xie Lang walk along the street and use Daoist methods to investigate the karmic fate of various places.

Xie Lang held that black round plate in front of him, walking and chanting, attracting a lot of attention.

"There's an anomaly here," Xie Lang chanted a few spells outside the high wall, "But it's not very unusual, probably some joyous event."

"There's also an anomaly here," he stopped at the street corner, "It's going to be unfortunate."

After walking and stopping like this for a long time, his expression finally turned solemn, no longer mentioning scattered "joyous events" or "misfortunes".

It was a courtyard with the words "Xie Manor" written on it. The bronze knocker was in the shape of a beast, exquisite and lifelike. Two servants stood beside the tightly closed main gate.

"Xie Manor," Chen Weichen pondered for a while, "I heard my father say that it was the residence of a top scholar many years ago when the imperial examinations had not yet been abolished. Now it seems to be a civil official with a position that is neither high nor low."

The two servants looked very fierce. Xie Lang sneakily circled to the other side where there was no one and continued to observe the karmic fate.

"I can't tell if it's good or bad," after a long time, he was a bit discouraged, "But it is indeed particularly special."

They made a note of this place.

"There's no reason to visit now, but in a few days, at the emperor's 'Peach Blossom Banquet', he should have a seat. That's when there will be an opportunity to approach him."

After going around in circles for a day, they returned as the sky was getting dark.

The twilight air was heavy, and the clamor in the city gradually quieted down. The sunset glow at the edge of the sky was like the remnant blood of a maple forest. Xiao Dao had prepared dinner and was waiting in the hall.