I have Immortality In The Cultivation World

That day,

a thin mist enveloped the air.

Zhou Yi gazed into the distance and saw the city wall, with the words “Goodness City” written above the gate.

The soldiers had just opened the city gate when they saw an old man with a white beard, carrying a medicine box, approaching.

“May the Heavenly Emperor be above.”

The soldier asked, “Old sir, where do you come from?”

“I practice at the Xuan Miao Temple on Boundless Mountain. This is my Taoist identity token,” replied the old man.

Zhou Yi took a token out of his sleeve, which, of course, was transformed by an Illusion Technique.

Ever since the Heavenly Court took control of the divine land, they unified various identity tokens and travel permits, which greatly facilitated communication.

The Imperial Court strictly controlled the movement of civilians. Without a travel permit, people could be caught and interrogated by the local County Government Office. Hence, Zhou Yi always traveled under the guise of a Taoist or Buddhist monk. With a Taoist identity token, he could legally roam about.

“So, it’s Master Xuan Yi,”

said the soldier, bowing respectfully. “Please enter the city. Our County Magistrate admires Taoism, and you won’t need to pay for meals here in the city.”

Zhou Yi asked in surprise, “Such good fortune? Aren’t you afraid of people taking advantage and eating without paying?”

“With the True Gods of the Heavenly Court above and the local land and City Gods below watching over us, those who trick their way into meals will reveal themselves,” the soldier said.

“You make a good point.”

A peculiar gleam flashed in Zhou Yi’s eyes. The common people in other regions also worshiped the Heavenly Emperor and the Heavenly Court but didn’t mention them as frequently as the residents of Goodness City.

Did they know of the Heavenly Court’s existence, or did they believe in it?

Zhou Yi entered the city, and as a matter of routine, calculated with his fingers, immediately finding a fast way to accumulate merit.

From East City to West City, from South City to North City, until dusk, he arrived at a restaurant to taste the local specialty foods.

“My karma has lightened yet again by a hair!”

Zhou Yi picked up a pastry known as plum blossom cake, carefully tasted it, and found it contained several extra ingredients, leaving a cool plum blossom fragrance in his mouth.

“Delicious.”

Having lived over 8,000 years and tasted food from two continents, he had become a gourmet. The pastry that could make Zhou Yi utter ‘delicious’ was rare, not encountered more than once in a decade.

At this time,

three more customers swaggered in.

The waiter hurried over to welcome them, “Welcome, honored guests, what would you like to order?”

The customers scanned the restaurant, didn’t sit down, but instead pulled out a sealed document from their robes, stamped with the official seal.

“I am a Government Official on secret inspection. The rule set by the County Magistrate is that you have to say ‘May the Heavenly Emperor be above’ upon entering. Did you say it?” the official asked.

“Th-that…”

The waiter looked at the document, pale-faced, “I usually say it when serving the food.”

“Then it’s too late,” said the Government Official. “According to the rules, the restaurant should be closed for three days.”

The restaurant owner came over quickly, bowing continuously, “Please forgive us, your honor! He’s new from the countryside and doesn’t know the rules of the city. I will educate him thoroughly.”

“Too late.”

The Government Official pulled out a metal ruler from his waistband, as if to clear out the customers, when suddenly he ended up with a piece of Silver in his hand.

After weighing it, the Government Official said, “Seeing as it’s his first offense, we’ll close it for two days.”

The restaurant owner showed a bitter face and helplessly took out two more pieces of Silver, placing them in the Government Official’s hand, “Please, your honor, we have prepared a banquet for you in the private room upstairs.”

“That’s more like it.”

The Government Official waved his hand and climbed the stairs with his two aides.

Zhou Yi found this quite amusing; not for the Government Official demanding Silver, as his own methods of giving and receiving Silver were far cleverer. What interested him was the reason behind the demand. Usually, excuses like inspections, unsanitary conditions, or water damage were used, but it was the first time in thousands of years he’d ever heard of invoking the Heavenly Emperor as a reason.

“Waiter, come here.”

Zhou Yi waved his hand and asked in a low voice, “Why do you always say ‘May the Heavenly Emperor be above’ here?”

“Honored guest, it is a rule set by the County Magistrate,”

replied the waiter with a downcast face. “The Magistrate ordered that every greeting and farewell must include ‘May the Heavenly Emperor be above’; otherwise, one could be taken away for punishment.”

Zhou Yi asked, “Without any reason?”

“It is said to ward off evil spirits and bring favorable weather.”

Upon reflecting, the waiter added, “It’s indeed true. I’ve heard from outsiders that they often suffer from demon harms, but not once has Goodness County faced such things, and we’ve always had good harvests.”

“These words do seem to have power.”

Zhou Yi marveled, now intrigued by the unseen County Magistrate.

The Heavenly Court requires a massive amount of Incense to sustain the cultivation of deities, so regions that offer more Incense naturally receive more care. This County Prefect clearly knew this but could not explain it to the people, thus firmly establishing this rule.

It seemed domineering and unreasonable, yet profoundly beneficial!

After the meal,

Zhou Yi walked down the street, carrying his medicine box, and as the waiter had said, before every greeting, the civilians indeed started with “May the Heavenly Emperor be above.”

It sounded incredibly awkward, as if he had returned to the Buddha continent.

At the entrance of the County Government Office,

Zhou Yi walked straight in. The guards acted as if they saw nothing. He reached the Back Office study and saw the County Magistrate.

“He’s actually a Golden Core Cultivator? Has the Cultivation World become so competitive that even a mighty Golden Core would condescend to be a seventh-rank County Magistrate?”

The County Magistrate was reviewing petitions, flipping through them rapidly, making notations at a swift pace. When he came across a case with insufficient evidence, he merely calculated with his fingers to discern the cause and added the details to the file.

A dozen petitions were settled in moments.

“Off to do some good deeds,”

the County Magistrate conjured a spell, transforming into an ordinary-looking old man, and left the County Government Office to perform good deeds in the streets, totally unaware that all his actions were being observed.

“Truly, a remarkable person!”

Zhou Yi applauded and admired him. No wonder there were few criminals in the city; this man had cleaned them out. He glanced at the signature on the documents.

Zhou Ziming.

“It turns out he’s a clan member. I’m looking for connections to get promoted and manage a whole state. The merit he accumulates will be partly mine, and that will hasten the reduction of my karma!”

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