By the time Emperor Wanli realized Qi Zhang was not a true Immortal Master, his illness had already reached an incurable stage.

He had repeatedly sought the help of Shi Feiyang and Zhu Zaiyu at Yuan Yang Palace but received no response.

This world's Emperor Wanli, who was cured by Shi Feiyang, not only failed to live a long life but even died a year earlier!

After his death, his son Zhu Changluo ascended the throne, marking the era as Taichang, and prepared to do great things. However, his stepmother, Noble Princess Consort Zheng, started creating trouble.

Noble Princess Consort Zheng, favored by Emperor Wanli and mother to his son Zhu Changxun, had often whispered in the emperor's ear, persuading him to appoint Zhu Changxun as Crown Prince. Emperor Wanli had agreed, but the ministers objected, leading to a dispute over the nation's foundation.

Eventually, the Emperor failed to overcome the ministers and appointed Zhu Changluo instead, making Zhu Changxun the Prince of Blessing and ordering him to go into exile. He was later captured by Li Zicheng and reputedly cooked into "Blessing Deer Soup."

Noble Princess Consort Zheng's son was not made Crown Prince, deepening her resentment toward Zhu Changluo. She had already secretly sent many beautiful women to Qi Zhang, asking him to kill Zhu Changluo through sorcery. However, Qi Zhang had refused.

Once Zhu Changluo ascended the throne, he issued a general pardon, rewarding his ministers, but notably excluded Qi Zhang, causing great dissatisfaction. Qi Zhang then secretly used Evil Skill, attempting to curse Zhu Changluo from afar.

It seemed Zhu Changluo was not fated to die. After Emperor Wanli died and the new emperor was enthroned, Zhu Zaiyu, considering that he was ultimately from the Zhu family, decided to calculate the new emperor's fortunes. He foresaw such a calamity, so he descended from the mountains with his grandson Zhu Changyuan to the Forbidden City.

By then, Emperor Taichang was in a drowsy state, unable to get out of bed. Hearing that the Imperial Uncle he had sought for many years without success had arrived, he immediately sat up in bed, revitalized.

Upon meeting the new emperor, Zhu Zaiyu warned him that Qi Zhang was a follower of the Demon Path and was casting spells to harm him.

The Emperor asked him to eliminate the evil sorcerer.

Zhu Zaiyu told him, "That demon has a master who is extremely powerful. I am not his match, so I need to make some preparations first."

He manipulated the magical formulas, confused Yin and Yang, making Qi Zhang believe that the Emperor had already been killed. He then set up the Nine Dragons Water Control formation in the palace, luring Qi Zhang into it. Zhu Changyuan waited inside and used two Pure Yang Immortal Swords to slay him. Zhu Zaiyu then altered the magical formulas to create the impression that Qi Zhang had died from excessive indulgence, lying on a woman's belly. The Emperor then posthumously honored him, choosing a propitious burial site for him.

Thus, they deceived everyone. Qi Zhang was silently eliminated. Zhu Zaiyu's mastery of magical formulas was extremely profound, second only to Shi Feiyang. According to anyone's calculation, Qi Zhang's death seemed as sudden as a wind.

Before his death, Emperor Wanli had statues made, placing them inside the main hall of Yuan Yang Palace to accompany Shi Feiyang.

After Zhu Zaiyu left, Emperor Taichang also had a statue of him made, placing it to the right of Shi Feiyang.

Thus, this somewhat humorous scene came into existence today.

In his lifetime, Emperor Wanli had conferred titles on Shi Feiyang three times, each time longer than the last, adding many terms: "All-Encompassing Protector of the Nine Heavens, Peacemaker, Subduer of a Thousand Demons, Purveyor of the Purple Qi, Master of Eternal Wisdom, Supreme Lord of the Thunderous Void, Great Heavenly Venerate of the Dao!"

Shi Feiyang's titles began as Heavenly General, then Marshal, and finally, Great Venerable.

Emperor Wanli wanted to bestow upon himself the title of Emperor, setting up a chief position in the Six Layers courtyard. Initially, he had planned it this way, but as his health deteriorated, he felt that any title he gave himself would be a joke. He decided against it, content to serve by Shi Feiyang's side.

The Yuan Yang Palace's middle-aged Taoist Sect Leader had once been a little eunuch serving beside Emperor Wanli, known as Little Xiazi, who was dispatched to become the temple's master, personally ordained by the emperor as Master Miao Xia.

He had once seen Shi Feiyang, and now, after many years, his hair had turned white, whereas Shi Feiyang still looked the same, which excited him immensely.

Shi Feiyang had him inform the Emperor that he wanted to enter the palace to meet with him to discuss some matters and asked the Emperor to set a time.

This Master Miao Xia did not dare to delay and hurriedly went to the palace to see the Emperor.

When Emperor Taichang heard that Master Yuan Yang, who had been missing for many years, had returned, he too was excited and wished he could meet with Shi Feiyang that very day; he had also met Shi Feiyang before. He quickly had many gold and silver vessels sent to Yuan Yang Palace as gifts for Master Yuan Yang, and the meeting time was set for the next day.

On the following day, Shi Feiyang, along with everyone else, entered the palace and met Emperor Taichang, Zhu Changluo.

Zhu Changyuan was of the same generation as Emperor Taichang. When Emperor Taichang ascended to the throne, Zhu Changyuan had even come with his grandfather, helping Emperor Taichang through a crisis and also ensuring he did not die young but lived until the present. Crown Prince Zhu Youxiao, who later became Emperor Tianqi, was already not young; Zhu Youjian, the ill-fated Chong Zhen Emperor, had already been appointed to a local fief and should not reappear if nothing unexpected happens.

Emperor Taichang had kept his position as Crown Prince back then because he was supported by his ministers, so he was particularly lenient toward them. Emperor Wanli had fought with his ministers for years over control of the mining tax and others, all of which he abolished, and then took out the private treasury saved by Emperor Wanli to reward the frontier forces.

However, in recent years, he had also noticed that his ministers might be trying to control him, so he started to reclaim his powers and was currently still dueling with his court officials.

Shi Feiyang did not concern himself with how the Emperor managed the country; he solved disasters using only the methods of the Immortals.

First, he told Emperor Taichang the reason for his return, "Within the cosmos, Yin increases while Yang decreases, the future will be colder and dryer year by year."

Emperor Taichang listened and was somewhat frightened; in fact, the region around the Huai River had already begun to ice over extensively in winter, so he quickly asked for a solution.

Shi Feiyang said, "I recommend two Immortals to Your Majesty. This one is the Sect Leader of the Snow Mountain Sect, his secular name is Ling, and Master Ling has the True Sun Fire that can drive the cold from the land. This one is the Sect Leader of the Qingcheng Sect, his secular name is Jiang, and he possesses the True Water, which can bring sweet rain to relieve the drought across the land.

However, while this matter sounds simple, it is difficult to execute. We need to build Daoist temples in major cities nationwide and assign capable individuals to monitor and record local weather and ground energy changes. Should there be any anomalies, they must send word. They can then use their techniques to calculate where fire or rain should be directed, how much fire, and how much rain."

Hearing this, Emperor Taichang showed a look of difficulty. He did not think that Shi Feiyang was a fraudster seeking temple support; he had personally witnessed Shi Feiyang's abilities years ago—surrounded by purple qi and golden flowers, a true image of a Daluo Golden Immortal, who had also cured his father's chronic illness.

His difficulty stemmed from the fact that he was out of money.

Money sources that Emperor Wanli had saved for him had been willingly given away by him, the private treasury was depleted, the national treasury was empty, and the national taxes were decreasing year by year, with land area continuously shrinking.

Ensuring the daily expenses of the dynasty was proving very difficult nowadays.

Seeing his expression and hearing him inquire about the number of Daoist temples needed and the total amount of silver required, Shi Feiyang could guess the reason.

He smiled and said, "To determine which cities need Daoist temples, we must first find a map and mark those cities. Each city should build two temples, one for the Snow Mountain Sect and one for the Qingcheng Sect; the temples need not be too large, just courtyards in three sections with two adjunct yards will suffice. Each temple must have ten young Taoist priests, clever ones, responsible for daily care, sweeping, and also for completing the task of daily observation and recording; thus, they must be literate and capable in arithmetic. As for money, all expenses will be covered by us; the local governments merely need to assist in purchasing the land."

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