Chapter 223 Replacement

Tianan Village, Yong County.

The night is like water. The deep night is like a black silk thread, spreading to the end of the sky, covering the earth in a deep dark blue. Under the high-hanging crescent moon, a middle-aged couple walks shoulder to shoulder on a narrow path, their steps hurried and anxious.

On both sides of the paths, thousands of acres of fertile fields have long been asleep, with only the occasional chirping of insects breaking the silence of the night and adding a bit of tranquility.

An unknown amount of time had passed before the two finally arrived at a small farmyard in the middle of fertile fields. They gently pulled the doorbell, and soon a faint mysterious light lit up in the house.

"Squeak!"

Then a young man was seen holding the mysterious light technique in his hands, illuminating the courtyard and walking out.

"Dad, Mom, why are you here?"

Zhao Cunyuan looked at his parents outside the yard with surprise, and quickly removed the magic circle and respectfully invited his parents into the house.

"Come into the room and say it, come into the room and say it."

Zhao Tongsheng responded repeatedly and subconsciously looked back at his surroundings.

I saw that the surroundings were flat and there was not even an old tree. There was no place to hide anyone. I breathed a sigh of relief.

After entering the house, Zhao's mother spoke impatiently: "Cunyuan, mother asks you, are you still using the Internet?"

Zhao Cunyuan smiled and said, "No, what's wrong, mother?"

Mother Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and quickly patted her chest and said, "Oh, it's okay, it's okay. Do you know about the incident in Solo Village?"

"I know, what's wrong?"

A complex look flashed across Zhao Cunyuan's eyes. Thanks to the development of the Internet, although he lived in the deep mountains and forests, he was not unfamiliar with what was happening in the outside world, especially what was happening in the surrounding area.

In just a matter of seconds, you can learn a lot about it in the local forum.

Mother Zhao looked worried: "Oh, you don't know, since the old man died, so many people have reported him. I heard that the Yong County jail is full."

Zhao Cunyuan was surprised: "There is such a thing?"

Mother Zhao said with a worried look on her face, "Of course not. Your second uncle heard people say yesterday when he went to the city that there are so many people who report others for using the Internet when they don't like them. You have opened up thousands of acres of fertile land, and a big tree attracts the wind. There are so many people in the village who are talking about you in private. I'm really worried..."

Without waiting for Zhao's mother to finish, Zhao Tongsheng, who had been silent the whole time, said seriously, "Cunyuan, what do you think? Why don't we sell the land? It will save people from worrying about it. As the old saying goes, a man is innocent but he is guilty of possessing a treasure."

Looking at his parents who echoed the same tune, Zhao Cunyuan did not know whether to laugh or cry.

He knew that what happened to the old man in Solo Village had frightened his parents.

However, this is not the parents' fault. The reports that followed suit are likely to develop into a tool for personal grudges and fights.

If this continues, the world will really be on the verge of collapse!
"Dad, Mom, I think the more this is the case, the more we can't sell it!"

"why?"

"Think about it, if I sell the land, what will I do in the future? If I stay at home doing nothing all day, wouldn't it seem even more suspicious? Now I have these thousand acres of fertile land, which proves that I don't have time to go on the Internet!"

"what?"

Zhao's mother and father looked at each other in bewilderment.

"It's not a question of whether it's suspicious or not. I'm just afraid of being reported!"

"Dad, you are joking. Who dares to report me? Who dares to arrest me?"

Zhao Cunyuan raised his hand slightly, and lightning emerged from his palm, flickering unsteadily, which was quite terrifying.

Mother Zhao was anxious and said quickly, "You, don't you know that the immortals from heaven have come to the county town? They have also built a Taoist temple. The child of Wang Er's family in the next village has joined the Taoist temple. I heard that he has learned a lot of skills. Don't forget your last name after practicing Taoism for a few years."

Father Zhao said meaningfully: "Cunyuan, do you want to try to enroll in the Taoist academy? I heard that there is no threshold for the Taoist academy. Anyone can audit the academy. Those with good grades can even stay in the academy to study!"

Zhao Cunyuan was speechless for a while, then said, "Dad and Mom, let me think about it."

Zhao's mother and father looked at each other and couldn't help but give a few more words of advice. Seeing that Zhao Cunyuan remained silent, they knew that the child was stubborn and could only give up and left in great helplessness.

Zhao Cunyuan sent his parents to the door and watched them slowly walk down the mountain along the narrow path in the moonlight, with complicated eyes.

"Ding dong!"

Suddenly, a message made his heart skip a beat.

"My child, if someone really reports it, you should run away immediately and don't look back."

The message was actually sent by my father, using... the Internet.

Zhao Cunyuan looked up in surprise. The night could not block his vision. He could vaguely see his father looking back.

Damn the Immortal Court!

The dispute over the Internet is over, what does it have to do with us ordinary people?
An indescribable anger rose up in Zhao Cunyuan's heart.

He knew that his father must have heard something.

If Yong County Taoist Temple really wanted to make an example of someone, they might actually use him as a warning.

Having money and no background makes him the perfect target.

There is no movement now, most likely because they are afraid of him as a cultivator and don't know how deep his skills are. Once they find out, they might really come to kill him!
"Ugh--"

Zhao Cunyuan sighed and wondered, why not join the Taoist temple and give it a try?
Currently, Yong County Taoist Temple has opened free audit classes.

Every three days, there is a lecture and anyone can come and listen.

If one's grades are excellent, one can join the Taoist sect, become an outer disciple, and enjoy certain allowances.

Zhao Cunyuan thought about joining the Taoist sect, but he had many concerns.

It was impossible for him to give up the interconnected secret realm, but if he didn't give it up, it would be very easy for him to be discovered living in the Taoist temple.

Besides, he was somewhat well-known in the local area. Although he was known to have poor talent, he now had the cultivation level of the Sealed Furnace Realm. Even if he used the excuse of the video owner's profit, he was still afraid of being investigated by those with ulterior motives.

After all, my parents have lived in the countryside for a long time and are unaware of the cruelty of the Taoist sect.

"Ugh!"

Zhao Cunyuan couldn't help but sigh, feeling confused.

He doesn't resent the Internet.

Because even if there is no secret Internet realm, it is easy to find excuses to accuse someone of a crime.
"If it really doesn't work, I'm afraid I'll just have to sell the land and run away."

Zhao Cunyuan thought silently that he felt that with the development and growth of the Internet, the world would be in chaos sooner or later.

Escaping from the world and living in the mountains and forests is a good idea!

"Ding dong!"

As Zhao Cunyuan was thinking, an illusory sound popped up from the geophysical network.

Following the sound, I opened the geography network and found that the message was from Liu Wengong, a Taoist boy from Liuyun Temple.

"Fellow Daoist, do you know this man? Is he the old man?"

There is also a video below the message.

Old man?
Zhao Cunyuan was confused.

"I do not know him."

"Didn't the old man say he would live in your area?"

"That's Solo Village, which is quite far from Tianan Village."

"Is that so? Then take a look, is this the old man?"

"Let me see."

Zhao Cunyuan clicked on the video with some surprise. In the video, an old country man was holding a bowl of porridge and talking about something. As the camera moved, an old lady could be seen sitting next to the old man.

The moment he saw the old man, Zhao Cunyuan recognized him as Lao Cunzi.

He has watched too many videos of Lao Caizi these days and will definitely not make a mistake.

By the way, it has been a few days. Why did Liu Wengong post the video of Lao Chaizi? To prove that he was wronged? Or to test him?

Zhao Cunyuan was thinking about this when he suddenly heard the old man say in the video:
"…After I was beheaded, I saw a long colorful culvert. I walked through it in a daze and arrived at this paradise…"

What the hell?
After being beheaded?
Isn’t this a video of the old man before he died?
At this moment, Zhao Cunyuan could hardly believe his ears.

He quickly scrolled to the beginning of the video and watched it from beginning to end. The more he watched, the more frightened he became.

After a while, he replied to Liu Wengong as if jokingly.

"Is this video fake? Nowadays, people are willing to use any illusion to gain traffic!"

"maybe!"

Zhao Cunyuan waited for a while, and seeing that Liu Wengong no longer responded, he silently cast a spell, sank into the ground, away from the thatched cottage, and escaped into the underground secret room he had secretly built.

After making sure the surroundings are safe, log in to the secret forum.

Sure enough, on the first day of the forum, the video of Lao Cazi was the most popular one.

——【The body and soul are destroyed, and he appears in a secret realm. Is it an illusion, or a world of its own?】

When I clicked on the post, it introduced the poster. While doing a task, he accidentally discovered a farmyard. He was shocked to find that the owner was the old man who was beheaded a few days ago.

According to the post's description, the old man has an active mind, a complete memory, and speaks with reason and evidence. He looks like a living person, not a puppet. This shocked him! I just posted this and would like to ask you to analyze it.

Scrolling down the post, you can see that there were people discussing it seriously at the beginning, but at the end it just became a check-in post!
The check-in location is exactly the old man’s residence!

Judging from the pictures and videos, that small space is already crowded with people.

The old man had a stiff smile on his face and took photos with countless players.

I saw many players cursing and asking why they were disturbing the old man.
However, despite the scolding, the number of players who flocked to the game continued to increase, which made Zhao Cunyuan eager to try his luck. He simply logged into the Internet secret realm and went to join in the fun and take a look.

Some people were able to get a glimpse of it, while others were so anxious that they were jumping up and down.

When Zhao Cunyuan saw the video, Wu Yanshang, the local god of Solo Village, also learned about the video at the first time. Coincidentally, it was also a friend who sent the video to inquire about it.

Unlike Zhao Cunyuan who knew nothing about anything, Wu Yanshang knew the old man very well.

After watching those countless videos, he was absolutely certain that this was the old man. The cowardly and timid attitude, the smile that flattered everyone, the stuttering that could not hide his bad habits, and countless details were enough to prove that this was the old man.

However, the more he was certain it was the old man, the more unbelievable Wu Yanshang found it.

"Old Wu, can you tell clearly that this is really Lao Chouzi?"

During the voice call, I heard the voice of a close friend repeatedly confirming.

"Don't ask, I'm not sure. I can only say that he does look like an old man."

"That's impossible. He was beheaded in front of everyone that day. His soul was completely destroyed. How could he suddenly come back to life?"

"How should I know? Maybe it's an illusion!"

Wu Yanshang answered ambiguously. While he breathed a sigh of relief, he also felt a little ashamed.

Before, he thought that Gu Zhenzai was just like the other people in the world who put profit first. Unexpectedly, he actually rescued the old man.

Yes, in his opinion, the old man must have been saved by Gu Zhenzai.

Either it's a cat replacing a prince;

Or it's an escape.

After all, he is a person who practices both Taoism and Buddhism. Not to mention in Yong County, even in the Immortal Execution Platform, there is a great possibility that he can save the prisoners.

Thinking of this, Wu Yanshang suddenly became worried about Gu Zhenzai.

It’s easy to save an old man; what about the others in the future?
“The Internet has been updated.”

"what?"

Wu Yanshang was stunned. When he wanted to ask again, he found that his friend had withdrawn the message.

He had an idea and quickly logged into the geography network, but found that everything on the Internet was calm.

When I entered the local forum, someone vaguely mentioned that the old man was not dead and was now living in a secret realm of time and space. Unfortunately, such words immediately attracted a lot of ridicule.

Wu Yanshang shook his head and logged off after failing to find the information he wanted.

Afterwards, he logged into several networks in succession, but found nothing.

Finally, a look of confusion flashed across his face, and he finally gritted his teeth and logged on to the Internet.

【Internet 6.2 update: Added "Heavenly Paradise". 】

Wu Yanshang was shocked when he saw the update pop-up window.

Because the four words "Paradise" were so familiar, they were exactly the words that the old man mentioned repeatedly.

He was silent for a while, then clicked on the Paradise section.

In an instant, the interface turned black and an illusory voice sounded in my ears.

[Dear user, this is the passage to the paradise. If you sign the contract, after your death, you can go to the paradise with your phantom body and enjoy eternal bliss? ]

【Do you want to sign the contract? 】

Wu Yanshang blinked his eyes, feeling that his worldview was almost overturned.

Going to the paradise with an illusory body? Doesn't this mean that the old man is an illusory body at this moment?
He thought about it, looked at the words appearing in front of him, and clicked on the word "Huanxin".

Sure enough, a new window popped up immediately, explaining the illusion.

[People have three souls and six spirits, which are recorded by heaven and earth as the illusory body and illusory mind. The Perfect Enlightenment Sutra says: When the illusory body of those living beings is destroyed, the illusory mind is also destroyed! This is to cultivate illusion with illusion...]

Wu Yanshang frowned and looked at it for a long time, but couldn't figure out what was going on.

However, the explanation of the so-called illusory mind mostly comes from Buddhist scriptures. Since he does not practice Buddhism, he naturally cannot understand them.

However, after reading the instructions, I still understood most of it.

This illusory mind is like an illusory body, it is an illusory body.

Therefore, once you enter the paradise with your illusion, you will never be able to come out from then on and can only live in a secret realm of time and space.

In addition, there is a line of small print in the instructions that provides additional explanation.

That is, once you sign the paradise, after you enter it after death, you will be judged by the paradise. Only if your merits outweigh your faults can you enjoy paradise.

If the faults outweigh the merits, then there will be punishment to offset the sins.

When he saw this, Wu Yanshang was struck by lightning.

If what the Paradise of Heaven says is true, the so-called Internet ban by the Immortal Court will become a joke.

Because the Internet's move is equivalent to providing a death guarantee for countless users.

The greatest punishment measure used by the Immortal Court to control the people will become ineffective.

In addition, compared with the City God Temple in the Immortal Palace and the Yama Palace in Buddhism, the Paradise of Heaven is obviously closer to the people.

Because theoretically anyone can log into the secret realm of the Internet and visit their deceased relatives, it is hard to imagine what kind of scene this would be.

The Internet is going to completely replace the Immortal Palace!

(End of this chapter)