"The Martial Celestial Teacher who plows fields?"
Quinn Shepherd could hardly wait to meet this Celestial Teacher, but suddenly recalled something and asked, "The Woodcutter Sage is revered as a Saint—are all Celestial Teachers Saints?"
"Not at all."
The Fishing Elder shook his head and said, "Among the four Celestial Teachers, only he can be called a Saint."
Quinn was slightly taken aback. "But among the four Celestial Teachers, isn't the Woodcutter Sage the weakest in cultivation?"
The Fishing Elder smiled faintly. "If sainthood meant having the highest martial power, then the Pioneer Era would have been full of Saints. The Woodcutter Sage became a Saint not because of his cultivation, but because of his achievements and ideas. He laid the foundation for twenty thousand years of the Pioneer Era—among the four Celestial Teachers, he is the foremost. A pity it lasted only twenty thousand years."
Quinn wanted to ask more, but the Fishing Elder focused on fishing for moons, saying nothing further about the other Celestial Teachers.
"Why is the Woodcutter Sage the leader of the Four Celestial Teachers? And who is the last Celestial Teacher?"
Suppressing his doubts, Quinn performed the Soul-Guiding Art, summoning the souls of the Moon Shepherds from Youdu. By the Moonwell, countless Moon Shepherd corpses rose to their feet one after another.
Bruno the Dragon-Qilin trembled like a leaf, hurriedly burying his head in the dirt, not daring to look.
Crystal Blaze stepped forward and gently comforted him, "Don't be afraid, Big Dog. They're all dead; they won't do anything to you."
Suddenly, an Underworld Courier hurried over on a paper boat, riding a gust of chilly wind. He stopped before the Gate of Bearing Heaven, but did not cross into the living world, and called out loudly, "What trouble are you stirring up now? Can't you behave for a while?"
Quinn quickly bowed and said, "Lord Prefect, I couldn't bear to see these righteous souls left exposed in the wild, so I summoned their spirits back to their bodies to let them bury themselves. After that, I'll send them back to Youdu. My apologies!"
The Underworld Courier's expression softened. He glanced at the Fishing Elder, who was busy hooking moons, and seemed a bit wary. "Qin Fengqing, it's not that I'm unreasonable, but you can't keep coming to Youdu for souls over and over. If you keep this up, I'll have a hard time explaining to Tu Bo! When you borrow these souls, make sure to return them quickly. Still, Tu Bo will have to mark a demerit against you."
Quinn had the revived Moon Shepherds dig their own graves. From behind the Gate of Bearing Heaven, he called to the Underworld Courier, "Emperor Evan keeps a little notebook to record executions. Does Tu Bo have one too? Lord Prefect, how many tally marks do I have in his book?"
The Underworld Courier sneered, "I don't know about the others, but your record isn't a little notebook—it's a thick stack!"
He spread his arms wide to show, "All thanks to your glorious achievements!"
Quinn's face instantly darkened.
Many Moon Shepherds had already finished digging graves and carving tombstones. Each sat in their own grave, and the skeletons saluted Quinn together, "Thank you, Human Emperor!"
Quinn returned the salute, "May you all rest in peace, righteous souls."
The Moon Shepherd skeletons lay down, their heroic spirits rising and passing through the Gate of Bearing Heaven back to Youdu. Quinn performed a memorial ritual and waved his hand, closing each grave.
The Underworld Courier said, "I won't pursue today's matter further—just one demerit for you."
Quinn walked among the graves, inspecting each tombstone. Hearing this, he turned and said, "In the war at Taihuang Heaven, guests from Mingdu used the Book of Life and Death to summon countless demon and devil souls back into their bones. How big a demerit is that? Has Tu Bo recorded it?"
The Underworld Courier was momentarily stunned and said nothing.
Quinn sneered, "Tu Bo's afraid of the Black Emperor of Mingdu too, isn't he? Isn't Mingdu just part of Youdu? The Black Emperor split Mingdu off, and Tu Bo didn't even dare to fart in protest. Mingdu's visitors used the Book of Life and Death to summon demon souls, blood-sacrificed them, and destroyed Luofu Heaven and Taihuang Heaven, and Tu Bo didn't even dare to fart!"
The Underworld Courier was furious. "What do you mean, 'didn't even dare to fart'?"
The Fishing Elder's ears twitched. He gripped his fishing rod tighter, ready to intervene. He thought to himself, "This Quinn kid really doesn't know when to stop. This Underworld Courier is Saint-King Tianqi's avatar. Disrespecting him, and even Tu Bo in front of him—Saint-King Tianqi won't let this slide..."
Quinn switched to a smiling face. "I'm just saying Tu Bo's a bit too cowardly. He could at least say something."
"What do you mean, 'cowardly'?" The Underworld Courier was still furious.
Quinn fell silent, unable to reply.
The Fishing Elder tensed up, his back muscles pulled taut and nerves strung like bowstrings. He thought, "That's the second time he's insulted Tu Bo—Saint-King Tianqi definitely won't stand for it!"
After a moment, the Underworld Courier sighed, "It's not that Tu Bo won't act, but that he truly can't. Mingdu's power means nothing to Tu Bo, but the Heavenly Court's strength is simply too great."
Quinn pouted, "So you're just bullying me? My demerit record is a thick stack—how about Mingdu's? Is Tu Bo just a bully who fears the strong?"
The Underworld Courier was speechless for a moment, then burst out laughing. "I'm not going to argue with you. Tu Bo is impartial—he doesn't thin the record just because the Heavenly Court is powerful, nor does he thicken it just because you lack backing. The reason your record is so thick is because you've committed far too many offenses."
"That's all my brother's doing! Why pin the blame on me?"
Quinn shook his head. "If Mingdu's guests came to Everpeace, used the Book of Life and Death to awaken the dead, and then blood-sacrificed them, what could Youdu do? What could Tu Bo do? Would Tu Bo even dare to say a word?"
The Underworld Courier exploded in anger. "Still mouthing off!"
Quinn looked aggrieved and disappointed. "If Tu Bo can't uphold justice, that's truly heartless. He's harsh with me, but lenient with others. I might as well send my brother back to Youdu..."
The Underworld Courier stared at him through the gate, then suddenly laughed. "Heaven Duke has added another layer of seal—you can't release him, so don't try to trick me!"
Quinn peeled off the Golden Willow Leaf, revealing his third eye. The Underworld Courier immediately saw a second overlapping pupil appear in the eye—a different person's gaze peering out, full of curiosity.
The Fishing Elder quietly turned his head, curious about Quinn's third eye, forgetting to reel in his line.
He really wanted to see if Quinn's eye contained Tu Bo's seal, Heaven Duke's ray-avatar, the Crimson Emperor's thought, or Great Brahma King Buddha.
If not for the Underworld Courier standing nearby, he would have loved to dive into Quinn's eye and pay his respects to those legendary elders.
The Underworld Courier's face changed drastically. "Cover it up! Cover it up! I've had enough—let me think..."
Quinn pressed the Golden Willow Leaf back into place.
The Underworld Courier paced back and forth on his little boat, clearly troubled. He wanted to enter the living world to discuss things, but since it wasn't nighttime, he couldn't show himself.
Quinn waited quietly. After a while, the old Underworld Courier sighed, "Fine. Bring out your Book of Life and Death, and I'll brand a god-art on it to suppress the other Book. Will that do?"
Quinn said seriously, "Lord Prefect, teaching me to fish is better than giving me a fish. Wouldn't it be better if you taught me the god-art itself?"
The old Underworld Courier shook his head. "You rascal, just waiting for me to fall into your trap. I'd have to be a ghost to trust you! If I taught you the god-art, you'd use it against the Mingdu crowd. And knowing your nature, you'd spread it until everyone in the world knew it. Then Youdu's god-art would be worth less than cabbage."
Quinn flushed with embarrassment, handed over the Book of Life and Death, and said, "Lord Prefect, you are truly wise."
"Of course, I am wise indeed."
The old Underworld Courier turned away, cast a god-art, and branded it onto the Book of Life and Death. Then he tossed the Book back to Quinn. "Don't go summoning Youdu souls for no reason—it's terrifying! Who knows if it's you calling them or your brother trying to summon souls to eat? And you, moon-fisher, your ideas are dangerous. Drop them now, or his brother will gnaw your head like a melon!"
He sailed away.
Quinn dispersed the Gate of Bearing Heaven, let out a sigh of relief, and excitedly flipped through the Book of Life and Death to inspect the god-art left by the old Underworld Courier.
The Fishing Elder muttered, "Is Saint-King Tianqi always so blunt? Gnaw my head like a melon? Quinn, is your brother really that fierce?"
Quinn nodded vigorously. "Incredibly fierce! You must never provoke him!"
The Fishing Elder reeled in a moon, stroked it with his Primordial Spirit, and refined it down to the size of a plate. Calmly, he asked, "What do you think of my strength?"
Quinn praised, "Celestial Teacher, your power is unparalleled! You're much stronger than the Woodcutter Sage."
The Fishing Elder asked, "Could I provoke your brother?"
Quinn scratched his head. "Last time my brother threw me into my own eye and trapped me, I saw him beat both Heaven Duke's ray-avatar and the Crimson Emperor's avatar into submission."
The Fishing Elder turned ashen and said nothing more, focusing on fishing for moons. But his usually steady arms trembled slightly.
Quinn continued inspecting the Book of Life and Death. Originally, its surface was bright as a mirror, but now a cluster of seemingly chaotic runes occupied the center.
The rune marks were incredibly complex, looking like scribbles at first glance, but peering inside revealed a whole other world.
Beneath the scribbled surface was an intricate structure of runes: some patterns stretched down like pillars holding up the sky, some wove together like nets, and others shifted and flickered with color.
Quinn had never seen such a complex and beautiful god-art. He couldn't help but lean closer, trying to study its inner workings and comprehend it fully.
Crystal Blaze couldn't pull Bruno's head out of the dirt, so she walked over and said, "Cowherd brother, your big dog won't come out..."
Crystal Blaze froze, stunned to see Quinn's head suddenly vanish!
Quinn's head was now inside the Book of Life and Death. The Book was just a thin sheet of gold paper, yet his head entered without appearing on the other side, as if it had vanished into thin air!
Crystal Blaze jumped in fright and rushed over, tugging on Quinn's sleeve. Quinn pulled his head out of the Book and asked in confusion, "Crystal, what's wrong?"
Seeing he was fine, Crystal Blaze relaxed. "Big Dog won't come out."
Quinn glanced over and saw Bruno's head buried in the dirt, tail in the air, still trembling with fear.
"Bruno, time to eat," Quinn called.
Bruno quickly pulled his head out, darted over, and placed a washbasin in front of Quinn, then sat obediently, staring at the basin.
After a while, seeing no spirit pills in the basin, he looked up at Quinn in confusion and wagged his thick tail.
——Today, I want to hit a thousand likes! Brothers and sisters, if you're asking for likes, help others out too. Mutual support brings more!