With Wang Yue’s help, the group’s trip to Wuhe County went very smoothly.

A Painted Skin Ghost had been roaming the county town and had already killed over a dozen newlywed couples. In the end, Zhuo Qingyan skinned it alive.

A Ghost-faced Owl that came to Wuhe County every two months to snatch and devour a young boy happened to run into the group during their crackdown. Taoist Yan Song cleaved it in two with a single strike of Sword Qi.

Then there were two Water Monkeys. After forming a Harmony pact with humans, they required human blood for their Cultivation. When the group discovered them, they fled into the water, only for Gu Zhao to blast them to death with a few bolts of Palm Thunder.

After visiting a few more towns around Wuhe County, five days passed, and just like that, their pleasant seven-day summer vacation was over.

...

While still some distance from Cui Mountain Village, Gu Zhao could see plumes of smoke and hear a commotion from the mountainside behind the village.

"They started construction so quickly?" Gu Zhao couldn’t help but ask.

"We gave Elder He the design plans before we left and also provided enough stone and blue bricks," Taoist Yan Song said. "Elder He told me he was planning to start right away."

Gu Zhao’s gaze shifted to the lumber mill behind the village. "I recall we gathered a lot of wood, too."

"It’s all Small-leafed Purple Sandalwood. Not even the palace in Yandu is as luxurious as ours," Taoist Yan Song clicked his tongue. "Daluo Palace... you’re certainly not shy with your naming."

"This is our home base, so of course the name has to be grand. Later, when we open branch temples in places like Changping Prefecture or Jiangyang Prefecture, we can use names like Purple Cloud Palace or Jade Void Palace."

Taoist Yan Song gave a strange laugh and said meaningfully, "I’m just afraid our fellow Taoists who come later won’t dare to use such names."

"That’s not necessarily true," Gu Zhao smiled, then asked expectantly, "I wonder how long it will take to build this Daluo Palace?"

"Don’t get your hopes up too high. After all, the efficiency here can’t compare to modern times," Taoist Yan Song sent via voice transmission. "It’s not like you can call a construction crew over from the modern world."

"But there are advantages, too," Taoist Yan Song continued. "You’ve seen our small courtyard. They’re all skilled artisans, and with the tools you brought over, the results are sure to be excellent."

This world was actually quite developed. The level of craftsmanship was on par with Blue Star’s ancient Song Dynasty. In both Xiuyue County and Wuhe County, they had seen exquisite pavilions and mansions, as well as beautiful vases and bronze censers in the shops.

Building a Taoist Palace with classical charm would definitely result in a rare work of art.

When the group returned to Cui Mountain Village, they found it bustling with new people—workers and their families who had come to help build the Taoist Palace. Elder He rushed back to greet them, not even stopping to eat, eager to drag them up the rear mountain to see the progress.

By the time they reached the mountainside behind the village, they discovered that the Mountain Gate had already been erected. They had even built a stone-paved mountain path behind the gateway arch.

Gu Zhao looked up and saw the thirty-foot-tall gateway arch, constructed entirely of stone. It had four pillars and three gates, with ornately carved and painted eaves. Azure Dragons coiled around the stone pillars, and the plaque on the front was carved with the three large words: [Daluo Saint Realm].

"How magnificent!" Taoist Yan Song praised. He walked through the Mountain Gate and looked back out. The plaque on this side read: [Natural Daoist Law].

"The Mountain Gate faces east, with Azure Dragons coiling the pillars. Along both sides of the stone path into the mountain, there are also stone shrines for the Cyan Dragon Seven Stars," Gu Zhao explained.

Taoist Yan Song looked at the bluestone path starting from the mountain entrance, which led up the mountain. He also spotted the first stone shrine nearby, shaped like a creature that was part dragon, part serpent. "The Jiaomu Flood Dragon!"

Gu Zhao nodded. "The designer used the terrain of Cuiluo Mountain to create landmarks for the Four Symbols based on their respective cardinal directions. In the east, we have the Azure Dragon Mountain Gate. In the west, there’s a sheer cliff called White Tiger Cliff. In the south, an area has been reserved for the Vermilion Bird Forest, and in the north, Half-Mountain Lake will serve as the Xuanwu Pool."

"Building stone shrines around the Four Symbols landmarks to worship the Star Officials perfectly fits the layout of having the Four Symbols as the core, integrated with nature, and the Twenty-Eight Star Constellations as supplementary, to be venerated with Incense."

Taoist Yan Song said admiringly, "Excellent! Excellent!"

The others didn’t know about the Four Symbols or the Twenty-Eight Star Constellations, but they could tell from Gu Zhao’s words that these were all great deities. They couldn’t help but look awestruck at the Azure Dragons on the Mountain Gate’s pillars.

Bai Ke blinked. "The Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird, and Xuanwu... aren’t those the legendary Divine Beast Spirit Monarchs? They each have their own bloodlines passed down, just like my Celestial Fox bloodline. Is our Taoist Sect related to these Divine Beast Spirit Monarchs?"

Gu Zhao and Taoist Yan Song glanced at each other, each with their own suspicions, but on the surface, they just nodded and smiled. "Exactly! Exactly!"

Elder He said to the group, "The Mountain Gate is up, and the Spirit Official Hall above it is under construction but not yet finished. Old Li said we should also build a few side halls and courtyards at the same time, so if people from your sect arrive, Sir, they’ll have a place to stay."

"Good," Gu Zhao chuckled. "Perhaps people from my sect will arrive very soon."

The Five Thunders Order had condensed another Thunder Seed. Whether it was to find Taoist Yan Song’s sect members or to call for backup from Dragon Tiger Heavenly Mountain, Gu Zhao believed there would be no shortage of people on Blue Star who could cause the Five Thunders Order to react.

After touring the latest progress on the Daluo Palace, the group returned to the village.

For the past few days, Gu Zhao and Taoist Yan Song had been staying here at night. Only during breaks in the day or after dinner, when they returned to their rooms, did they find time to cross over to the modern world and reply to messages.

Now that they were back in their own small courtyard, they knew they had to return to their own time for a few days. Otherwise, people might think they’d been tricked into joining a pyramid scheme.

...

There were over twenty unread messages in their three-person group chat.

Jiang Shishi: Check out the new video Xiaoya and I filmed!

Jiang Shishi: It’s so competitive, our traffic is miserable! We need Handsome Gu to carry us! (Finger heart.jpg)

Xiao Ya: We’re back at work. There’s a performance tomorrow night. I’ll send you an e-ticket; you can come watch if you’re free.

Xiao Ya: (E-ticket QR code.jpg)

Gu Zhao scrolled through the group chat, then checked his private chats with the two women, and finally looked at the direct message from Zhang Hang.

Zhang Hang: Dude, where’d you run off to again? You didn’t actually go into seclusion for Cultivation, did you? When are we gonna buy cars and go on a road trip?

Gu Zhao ignored Zhang Hang and first replied in the group chat with Jiang Shishi and Xiao Ya: @Jiang Shishi @Xiao Ya, it looks great. I’m free for the next few days. Tomorrow’s Friday, so I’ll come see your performance, and we can hang out this weekend. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

’Life in the Otherworld is either Cultivation or monster hunting—it’s too intense. Back in the modern world, I need to relax, be a normal person, hang out with two pretty girls, de-stress, and unwind.’

Jiang Shishi: Okay! Let’s get a late-night snack together tomorrow evening!

Xiao Ya: (Selfie.jpg)

Xiao Ya: I have a solo tomorrow. I’ll wear this dress. What do you think?

Gu Zhao: A lotus emerges from clear water, naturally unadorned.

Xiao Ya: (Cute emoji.jpg)

In their rental apartment, Jiang Shishi burst through the door and pounced on Xiao Ya. "We agreed to compete fairly! Why’d you pull a low blow and send him a selfie? Quick, let me see your phone! Did you send Gu Zhao any private ’perks’?"

"No, I didn’t! This is the dress we bought when we went shopping the other day, you’ve seen it before!" Xiao Ya struggled to resist, but her heart skipped a beat. She felt a pang of regret that she hadn’t sent it privately.

But she thought about it and decided against it. For one, she was too embarrassed. For another, if she opened that door, Jiang Shishi was far more forward than she was, and her own... *assets* were exceptionally prominent.

Miles away, Gu Zhao had no idea what he was missing...