Unintended Immortality

Chapter 189: The Transformation of Heavenly Dao

“thank you for your assistance, sir.”

“don’t mention it.”

“then i shall take my leave.” general chen carefully tucked away a triangular talisman and walked out the front door.

the street was bustling at this time, with several vendors occupying the area in front of the shops. general chen cautiously made his way through the vendors, stepping over a pile of dry leaves on the ground. he glanced back at the leaves, sensing something, but didn’t pay it any mind and continued to stride away.

behind him, one person stayed back to lead the horse, while the others hurriedly followed.

after a moment, there was some movement in the pile of leaves.

“swish...”

the leaves scattered, and a calico cat emerged. it shook its body before stretching lazily, glancing around before gracefully returning to the house.

with a nimble leap, it jumped onto the table.

outside was noisy as the calico cat spoke softly, “daoist master...”

“hmm?”

“why did you bury me with leaves?”

“it was clearly the wind that blew the leaves to you; i didn’t bury you.”

“you blew them.”

“how could you sully my reputation for no reason?”

“it was you who blew them.”

“well, it’s autumn now. since you were sleeping on the street, i was afraid you would catch a chill, so i covered you with leaves to keep you warm.”

“...?” the calico cat tilted her head, staring at him with suspicion.

it was unclear whether she chose to believe him or simply didn’t want to argue, but she shook her head before she jumped down from the table and leisurely made her way upstairs.

the daoist watched her figure, continuing to ponder.

at this time, general chen ziyi was at the height of his power and influence. it was no exaggeration to say that many common folk had his portrait posted on their doors, turning him into a door god.

whether the portraits resembled him or not, or how effective they were, didn’t matter. the people truly believed in his divine might, convinced that even his image could ward off demons and scare away evil spirits. especially in the north, he had already been elevated to a god-like figure.

even the people of the northern frontier would feel anxious just seeing his banner, sometimes even fleeing in fear.

in even more distant regions, where people had yet to meet him, his stories had already spread among them. this was undoubtedly the highest praise one can receive.

one could say he was just two steps away from becoming a deity—death on the battlefield and the court's official decree.

though he was a mortal, he could no longer be compared to ordinary people. for someone like him, it would be tantamount to self-destruction if ordinary demons and evil spirits attempted to harm him.

if demons or wicked cultivators tried to invade his dreams, the chances of success would be slim.

how could so many different soldiers, renowned figures from the jianghu, and talented eccentrics know the identities and appearances of so many people?

the most likely explanation was a mysterious connection in the ether.

but this raised another question.

the central plains and the northern barbarians had fought for many years, committing many brutal acts against each other—beheading, piling corpses into mounds, and impaling bodies. but if the opposing side had practitioners of dark arts, it wouldn’t be surprising for them to take the soldiers' souls for some purpose or simply to torment them for amusement.

however, during the years general chen ziyi has led his troops, the central plains had largely been the dominant force. the northern side had struggled even to retrieve their fallen comrades' bodies, let alone come back after a battle specifically to reclaim the souls of the fallen soldiers from the great yan.

and if the souls were not collected within a few days, most would return to the heavens and disperse naturally, with only a few becoming ghosts under rare circumstances.

such actions would be quite difficult to accomplish.

“unless...”

just as this thought crossed his mind, someone else arrived outside. it was a middle-aged daoist with a limp.

“the will of the people and the desires of all living beings are converging, and the forces of the underworld are nearly fully gathered.”

“how do you know this?”

“have you noticed any changes in the heavenly dao?”

“i’ve been mostly in the city lately, going out little, so i haven’t seen or heard much. i’m not aware of the changes you speak of,” song you said, sipping his tea.

“the changes are still quite subtle now, making them hard to perceive in the city. however, in the border regions, where death is more common, the signs are apparent,” the state preceptor explained.

“previously, when a person died, becoming a ghost was a rare occurrence, but now it has become much more frequent. those who harbor grievances or are unwilling to accept their fate, or even those with great skills in life, are likely to have their souls linger after death instead of dissipating.”

“is that really the case?”

“reports have already come from the borders.”

“i see.” upon hearing this, song you could only sigh inwardly; it was indeed as the state preceptor said.

“i anticipate that in a few years, at most in ten to twenty years, the underworld will likely form,” the state preceptor said, also sipping his tea.

“you must’ve calculated that timeframe, right?”

“you know that both the emperor and i have our agendas, and i won’t hide it from you,” the state preceptor said after a moment of silence. “however, my knowledge is ultimately limited, and the evolution of the heavenly dao has genuinely caught me off guard. the underworld hasn’t formed yet, but the increase in people becoming ghosts after death has become quite troublesome.”

“i imagine you must have a countermeasure,” song you said this while observing the state preceptor’s expression calmly.

“i do have some preparations. i’ve already sent someone to the border regions to guide the restless souls back to places where there are many dead, to prevent chaos and frighten the living,” the state preceptor said.

“originally, i had discussed with the emperor about establishing a ghost city in fengzhou, which i intended to use for future dealings between the underworld and the living. it’s just the right time to bring the ghosts there and temporarily store them.”

“truly impressive foresight, state preceptor.” the daoist smiled in admiration and raised his cup to drink tea.

“it seems you’re not surprised...” the state preceptor remarked. “how did you come to know?”

“to be honest, i had heard before that someone claimed to have witnessed a hundred ghosts roaming at night in fengzhou. i thought it was odd and suspected that some chaos might be brewing, so i intended to investigate,” song you replied with a smile.

“since it’s you who established the ghost city there, i need not rush to go; i can wait until i pass by in the future to see your handiwork.”

“what a remarkable coincidence!” the state preceptor chuckled. “the affairs of the world truly are fascinating.”

“fascinating indeed.”

“i would like to invite you to take a look,” the state preceptor said to him. “i wouldn’t want to delay your travels across the world, but if you leave the capital and pass through fengzhou, you must inform me. if i have overlooked anything, it would be good for you to point it out; otherwise, i can’t bear the burden of tens of thousands of vengeful spirits.”

“certainly!”

“perhaps i might really need your assistance...”

“how so?” song you looked at him, and he returned the gaze.

“to put it plainly, many of the souls returning from the borders are quite fierce; some carry deep malice, and others are burdened with grave sins. it’s not just about having slain many enemies on the battlefield.

“after they become ghosts, they are brought to fengzhou by my people and spirits, but they often resist discipline and even create chaos, which gives me quite a headache. if they become uncontrollable in the future, i would have no choice but to seek your help.”

upon hearing this, song you remained silent, neither rejecting nor agreeing, and simply smiled as he asked, “what about the more distant possibilities?”

“if too many ghosts accumulate in fengzhou, and it can’t contain them, i would have to consider using secret methods to isolate a section of space while the underworld hasn’t formed yet,” the state preceptor replied respectfully.

he added, “i’m not very talented, but after becoming the state preceptor, i’ve collected many ancient texts and actually found some remarkable techniques. one of them can create a space separation, but i’m not skilled in this field, and it’s not something i can accomplish alone.”

“if it comes to that, feel free to come find me.”

“thank you, my friend.”

“no need to thank me.”

the two sat there and chatted for the entire morning.

the state preceptor was indeed talkative and knowledgeable; perhaps he could engage in enjoyable conversations with anyone, and naturally, he and song you hit it off. by noon, song you had even ordered dishes from the restaurant across the street to share a meal with him before departing in the afternoon.