However, it is not solely the God of Protection for Life, but rather the God of Protection, Nurturing, and also presiding over love and fate.
People respectfully call her "Lady Hongluan."
Xu Qing, unable to argue, could only reluctantly accept it.
...
In the newly built Luo Tian Temple of the Jin Sect.
The newly appointed altar master of the Da Luo sect, Xie Qiongke, was walking towards the hall with a basket of freshly picked apricots.
After several years of seclusion and recovery, Xie Qiongke could move around freely, and his spirit had returned to its former state, at least outside of competitions and magic duels; no one could detect any abnormality.
Among the four altar masters present and one young Taoist, only Ascendant Fuluan understood their respective situations.
Yet neither would break that unspoken understanding.
Both were plotting against each other; Ascendant Fuluan, having suffered from hosting a grand formation, pretended to act grandly, causing Xie Qiongke to repeat the same mistake.
Now, having suffered similarly, Xie Qiongke was determined to have Wang Liang and others walk the same path.
"These apricots I picked from the back mountain are very sweet; try some, Daoist friend!"
Xie Qiongke cheerfully handed a yellow apricot from the basket to Ascendant Fuluan.
The Immortal, playing chess with Zhang Pingsheng, casually took it and bit into it without much thought.
...
When the tangy juice flooded his palate, Fuluan's hand holding the chess pieces visibly halted. He glanced sideways at Xie Qiongke, whose beard stroked with amusement, understanding that the other was deliberately teasing him with the sour apricot!
Who made him boast that managing the grand formation was as simple as eating and drinking?
"Daoist Fuluan?"
Zhang Pingsheng, playing chess across from him, looked up.
Almost instinctively, Fuluan consumed the sour apricot in two or three bites, still saying, "Master Xie's apricots are truly delicious; in my two thousand years of life, I've never tasted such delicious apricots!"
Hearing this, Zhang Pingsheng was instantly intrigued; the yellow apricots lauded by the ancient ones could be worth tasting!
Zhang Daoist extended his hand to pick a yellow apricot from the basket, even the primordial shadow from the shadows couldn't resist revealing its true form and picked a fresh apricot from the basket to taste.
As the yellow apricot entered his mouth, Zhang Daoist's face turned green instantly.
This vinegar jar-like sour apricot, is this the delicacy you haven't tasted in two thousand years?
The shadow deity close to him, upon absorbing the juice's flavor, was almost driven to perform tai chi due to the sourness.
Had their conscience been fed to the dogs?
Here, when Zhang Pingsheng was about to argue with Xie Qiongke, the wandering monk Heart Connection staggered into the side hall with a wine jug.
The monk planned to tumble onto the couch, eating while drinking.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Pingsheng abruptly stopped talking and watched Heart Connection with a face full of tranquility. Suddenly, he stood up to take a handful of fresh apricots from the basket, giving several to Xie Qiongke and Ascendant Fuluan, saying, "These apricots by Master Xie are infused with sun and moon essence, nurtured by the spirit of heaven and earth, embodying the true taste of the Way. We must carefully share them."
...
Xie Qiongke and Ascendant Fuluan remained silent for a moment, then instantly, as if agreed upon, spoke almost simultaneously, "Master Zhang is absolutely right; such good things should indeed be shared between us."
On the wooden couch, Heart Connection's ears moved as he intended to take a nap, but once he sensed the elders consuming the immortal apricots joyously, the monk couldn't stay lying down.
"Hey! How can you leave the monk behind to eat alone?"
How thick-skinned is Heart Connection? He closed in with a few quick strides, grabbed the basket, and reached in.
"It's best if the remaining apricots accompany my wine!"
Heart Connection said as he stuffed the apricots into his mouth.
"Pah, pah, pah! Is this a delicacy? You're purposely teasing the monk and deserve the Avici Hell!"
Zhang Pingsheng and the others spat out the sour apricots, then burst into laughter.
...
In Luo Tian Temple, Xu Qing, having just returned from Yaozhou, strode into the side hall.
"Sect Leader!"
The four, who had been casually chatting, rushed forward to pay their respects.
Xu Qing nodded and said, "During my three years in seclusion, has everything remained stable within the sect?"
Zhang Pingsheng replied, "There were some trivial matters, but overall it's favorable..."
They all began discussing the state of Da Luo sect over the past three years, with Zhang Pingsheng's trivial matters relating to the short-lived Emperor.
Two years ago, Zhu Yi suffered from an acute illness, and the Imperial Physicians were helpless. The elderly Duke Wang Liang personally came to Jin Sect, intending to invite Xu Qing's grandson 'Xu Xuan' to the Capital City for a diagnosis.
Unfortunately, Xu Qing wasn't in Jin Sect at that time. With no other options, Wang Liang followed the Emperor's orders to Luo Tian Temple, seeking a solution.
Recalling the Emperor's previous support for Da Luo sect, Zhang Pingsheng accompanied Wang Liang to the Capital City and prescribed a good remedy for the Emperor.
But the prescription could only alleviate the Emperor's pain, providing time to draft his final edict, while doing no good for his lifespan.
Later, Zhu Yi passed the throne to his eldest son Zhu Qian, leaving the new ruler with two words passed down through generations.
One was that the descendants of the Zhu Family must hold the funerary rites conducted by the Jin Sect Xu Family in awe. The other was that if future Emperors face a major crisis, they might go to Da Luo sect to burn incense and pray, possibly bringing a turnaround...
At the end of the fifth year of Tiande, the short-lived Emperor passed away, and the new Emperor Zhu Qian ascended the throne.
After a year of mourning, the new Emperor changed the era name to Jia Feng.
At this point, the Zhu Family's realm had spanned four generations.
After explaining the worldly changes, Zhang Pingsheng continued, "Now, in Jin Sect, three major sects stand strong; our sect ranks third, while second is occupied by the Cat Immortal Hall from the appearance stream. And the first..."
"Belongs to Bao Sheng Temple atop Purple Cloud Mountain!"
Zhang Pingsheng praised, "Cat Immortal Hall falls under the Sect Leader's jurisdiction; naturally, we have no objections. But Bao Sheng Temple remains mysterious; in all our practice till now, we have never seen the true face of the temple's master."