you go up and brush up on your social skills...This man is too many, Lu Cheng instantly backed down...This is way harder than a duel! Maybe I should just keep studying battle strategies...........The.........

During the reign of Emperor Zhongzong, when Di Renjie was investigating a case involving the evil dragon haunting Shendu, he caught a glimpse of a strange and indescribable sight deep beneath the Lo River.

In his later years, he regained his mental acuity and investigated many clues.

Reporting to Empress Wu, the world of the Zhou Dynasty might only be an illusion. The entire world may not exist, or it could be... a battlefield where some higher power is at war.

In the treatise, it is called "Immortals and Demons."

The Empress Wu did not cause much attention.

In the first year of the Shenlong era, Wu Zetian dreamt that she had transformed into a rotting dragon. On its immense and decaying body, countless "demons" were breeding.

They crawl from the cracks of every scale, infecting the world.

She desperately wanted to leave clues, carving messages into her own tombstone with her claws and teeth.

Creak...creak.

But no matter how hard she tries, no matter how hard she tries.

An inscription on a stone cannot remain forever, as if the words were swallowed by an intangible force.

But she was persistent, wanting to preserve the visions she had seen before her death.

She kept striving until she could no longer read.

Afterward, he died in Shangyang Palace and left behind a nameless tombstone....

After restoring government to the Tang Dynasty, the world remained as before.

Peace and tranquility.

.......

"That divine dragon......"

“I know, back then Wei Zheng dreamed of slaying the old dragon. The dragon's corpse was never dealt with and was later infected by the flesh and blood of those who went on a pilgrimage. This story hidden in the ever-changing water fermented until it finally became a distorted legend that influenced the present world. This is the truth about the evil dragon of Shendu that Master Di found back then....... As for who buried this story beneath the Luo River, that's what I'm looking for.”

In Chang'an, revelry lasted through the night. Scholars from the Imperial Academy gathered in taverns to discuss worldly affairs, compose poems, engage in literary duels, and share fascinating anecdotes.

Today, as these esteemed scholars were on their third round of drinks, they were reminiscing about the legendary Shendu Evil Dragon. A handsome young man seated beside them suddenly spoke up.

Speechless.

"This... young man, what nonsense are you spouting"

"Uh." Lu Cheng was stunned.

If I have to count, I just turned fourteen thousand eight hundred and sixty-five years old yesterday....

Age and birthdate are meaningless to the immortals...one can be eighty years old, feeble and gray, or eighteen, fresh as a young calf.

By the standards of longevity, he is definitely young, even an infant.

"I didn't make anything up..." Lu Cheng curled his lips. "If I wrote it, it would be like this. If it wasn't like this, I would have written it differently."

"Nonsense!" An old academic stood up, walked around the table, and glared, "Back then, Di Huaiying had records when investigating cases. The old man remembers it clearly."

"Records from the Hanlin Academy" Lu Cheng smiled faintly.

The dancer who brushed past him winked at Lu Cheng, but old Lu remained unmoved.

It's not that he's indifferent to women; on the contrary, his interest in them is considerable. However, in Lu Cheng's eyes, this dancer's head is located below the waist. No matter how he looks at her...

.

Sigh.

Is this what it feels like to be a fairy

From Wu Zhuang Guan, a person ginseng root fell to Chang'an City.

Busy... yet eerie, the long night of Chang'an.

For myself, this Tang Dynasty is just... one of the realms in the human world.

One of the myriad Lower Realms depicted by fragments of the Heavenly Dao from Nantian Gate.

When the demonic forces invaded, the cosmic order was thrown into complete chaos. However, this is something that ordinary people are unaware of.

In the eyes of these Hanlin scholars, these dancing girls were probably alluringly beautiful and graceful.

However, Lu Cheng did glance at the dancer's hips....... Don't misunderstand.

It's just about distinguishing whether the five senses are complete.

Two eyes......one nose.

The rule is, that she should be treated as a person...

"Of course, the Imperial Academy of my Tang Dynasty encompasses literature, philosophy, divination, medicine, Buddhism and Taoism, painting, calligraphy, and even Go. It contains all sorts of worldly wonders and records of strange happenings. I urge you, these folk tales, remember their essence." The old scholar stroked his beard proudly.

The members of the Imperial Academy nodded in agreement and paid no heed to Lu Cheng's raving.

Lu Cheng didn't mind, but drank quickly. Otherwise, with his current mortal body, the alternating hot and cold temperatures would probably cause him to fall ill.

......

......

The elder academician surnamed Liu, hails from Hebei. During the Longshou period, he passed the imperial examination and entered the Hanlin Academy as a scholar-official. Currently, he holds the position of lecturer, which is at the rank of sixth grade.

After the wine, he got into a sedan chair and went home. With the help of servants, he planned to sleep until tomorrow.

"Wait, you all... bring me... to the study."

"Master.......You....... "

“I want to read about something.”

The servant had no choice but to carry the tipsy Old Liu to his study.

According to common sense, in a little while, Master will start snoring from his study......I'll have to carry him back.

However, today's master seems to have a bit of spirit.

"Xiaojiu, you... you can read. Find me the story of Di Gong's Cases.... Forty-nine times, read it to me."

"Alright, sir...."

Lao Liu was a bit tipsy, closed his eyes to rest, and was almost out of this world.

The sound of Xiao Jiu rummaging through books stopped.

"Grandpa"

"Hmm.......Thinking.......Thinking...."

"The Dragon Case, like Wei Zheng's dream of slaying the old dragon and leaving behind a curse. I suspect that the dragon corpse from back then was never dealt with properly. Later..."

"Wait!"

Lao Liu was instantly jolted awake by the wine.

"What are you reading!"

Even before Xiao Jiu could correct him, Lao Liu jumped up and scrambled to the bookshelf, crawling on hands and knees, oblivious to the fact that he had kicked the desk with his foot.

Seizing the book, he scanned it line by line...

Then, as if unwilling to let it go, he looked at it again carefully.

He sank to the ground, trembling.

"If I remember correctly... I, Liu Yizhang, couldn't possibly be wrong.... As a scholar from the Imperial Academy, I couldn't possibly be wrong!!!"

...and dashed out the door.

He is going to the Hanlin Academy to look for *The Cases of Di Gong*.

.......

Lu Cheng drank until the second half of the night.

This 《Phantom Wine》 tastes pretty good, but... it's all an illusion. It doesn't satisfy hunger or thirst at all.

In this world, it's pretty hard to find something real....

However, the third dancer from the left on stage wasn't bad. She just stretched her neck and tied it into a knot; at least she didn't twist her head under her waistband. She could manage to dance and perk up a bit.

Therefore, Lu Cheng witnessed it until now.

...but that won't last long either. I'll just pawn my sword, and that will be enough for this amount of alcohol. If I linger any longer, the "kind-faced" bartender with a creepy smile is probably going to come kick me out...

Bang!

The door to the tavern creaked open.

An old man stumbled in.

"Oh... Master Liu, what's wrong with you!" The whole tavern was in an uproar.

A sixth-rank official isn't a big shot, but if something happens here, it could be disastrous.

Lu Cheng frowned slightly.

I'm not going to dance this third number either. I hurriedly went to help up Mr. Liu, it was terribly boring.

Unexpectedly, Old Liu brushed past the crowd and walked straight to Lu Cheng's table.

"You... who are you! You dared to tamper with the Hanlin Academy's classics....! You...." His expression was agitated, unable to string a complete sentence together.

Oh!

Lu Cheng slapped his forehead.

So that's what happened...

I couldn't find a dancer with the right complexion at the party just now, so I could only listen to the conversations at the next table and see if there were any good stories. When I heard about "The Case of Di Gong," I thought it was amazing that Di Gong, an ordinary person, had managed to glimpse heaven's secrets. It wasn't easy!

But it seems the key point is still missed.

After much deliberation, he secretly summoned the Heavenly Gate with his pen and created a chapter in history, linking it to the Journey to the West....

In the process of looking for Tai Bai, it's also good to bring out this old case as a background and fight with them, adding two more episodes

He just said that.... Didn't expect Old Liu to be so thoughtful.

"I haven't altered the Hanlin Classics....... History always has gaps, and they need to be filled. A master asked me to fill them, so I did it this way....... "

"Nonsense...... Nonsense....."

Lu Cheng took a sip of wine.

Oh dear... it's over....

He glanced at Lao Liu before him. His gaze was filled with suspicion, determination, confusion, anger, and... fear....

Sighed.

Time and years are especially important to mortals, but a stroke of the pen in the fairy world's gate could be their whole life.

If energy is sufficient, as the only immortal in contemporary times, Lu Cheng can even instantly traverse myriad worlds, passing through the Heavenly Gate without touching any of them.

For example, during the Tianbao era, in Lu Cheng's eyes, it was like a playing card being played.

As a battleground solely for rules, it is established by the Spiritual Cultivators and Heavenly Gates. Both sides exert their power, freely modifying the laws of heaven and earth...

But...for those who live in the card world.

These times, these histories, these cultures....

Perhaps, it's their... life in all..If one were interested in mantis shrimp, fig wasps would be... well, hard to grasp.Treat planets as fruits, enter them to lay eggs and decompose, transforming into a source of energy.Spooky, but the...