102: A worldly call disturbs the peace, a friend's plea for help stirs up trouble.

The morning chanting had just ceased, and the last wisps of sandalwood incense and dao rhyme still lingered among the branches of the ancient cypress tree.

Li Muchen stood quietly in the courtyard, the morning light filtering through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled, dancing spots of light on his green robe. He was about to return to his quiet room as usual to continue studying the Yellow Court Scripture and contemplate the mysteries of the inner landscape, but his heart suddenly skipped a beat without any warning.

An extremely faint yet incredibly clear warning sign, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, rippled through his clear heart-lake.

It was not the killing intent of an incoming enemy, nor a sign of a change in heaven and earth, but a more profound premonition concerning his own path...

Having cultivated to the Golden Core Realm, one's spirit and Qi are in harmony, and the soul is clear and bright. One can often develop a vague sense of the significant Karma, fortunes, and misfortunes involving oneself. The so-called "sudden impulse" was no lie.

Li Muchen's footsteps paused slightly, and his brow furrowed. He slowly raised his right hand, his thumb quickly tapping and calculating between the joints of his other four fingers, his eyelids drooping slightly as his mind sank into that mysterious state of deduction.

The secrets of heaven are vast and indistinct, and Karma is like a web.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, a flash of realization in them, along with a bit of confusion.

The results of his deduction were extremely hazy. He only vaguely sensed that this sudden impulse seemed related to some past Karma of the "original host." This body was not originally his, but a "dwelling" he had borrowed after his Rebirth into this world.

The original host was just an ordinary graduate of the Taoist University with a clean background and nothing special about him. After Li Muchen performed the Fusion with his memories, he hadn't discovered any significant grudges or entanglements. Aside from some shallow connections with classmates and teachers from the Taoist University, he had almost completely severed ties with the Mortal World.

"The original host's Karma?" Li Muchen muttered to himself. Since his Rebirth, he had focused on cultivation, settling only the new Karma he had formed after stepping onto this path. He hadn't paid much attention to the original host's past, which was as plain as water. This premonition, however, reminded him that he hadn't appeared out of thin air; the original owner of this "dwelling" might not be entirely without a story.

He tried to further deduce and calculate, wanting to see the specific direction of this Karma. However, the secrets of heaven seemed to be covered by a thick fog. No matter how he activated his Golden Core Divine Sense or used the techniques from the Yellow Court Scripture to peer into the threads of fate, what he saw was still a hazy Chaos, difficult to see through.

"Forget it." Li Muchen shook his head and dispersed his hand seal. Since the secrets of heaven were not revealing themselves, there was no use in forcing it. He would deal with whatever came his way. With his current Golden Core cultivation, backed by the ley lines of Yuntai Mountain, holding the azure heavens immortal sword, and possessing the Golden Light of Merit and various secret methods, he truly had nothing to fear from any "Karma" unless he encountered a Nascent Soul old monster or some taboo existence.

However, this sudden premonition had ultimately cast a small pebble into his peaceful cultivation life.

He turned and walked toward the quiet room, his pace a few points slower than usual.

Inside the quiet room, the furnishings remained simple: a prayer mat, a low table, sutra scrolls, and an incense burner. Only on the bookshelf in the corner was there an additional modern device that hadn't been used for a long time—an old-fashioned smartphone.

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Although Qingfeng Temple was located deep in the mountains, Zhao Desheng and the others had raised funds last year to bring in electricity and set up a network signal tower to facilitate contact with the outside world. Li Muchen had no objection to this; cultivation was in the heart, not in external objects, and there was nothing wrong with appropriately using modern conveniences. It was just that since his Rebirth, his mind had been entirely on cultivation, and he had little interest in things like smartphones. The temptation of the Great Dao of Longevity far outweighed the diverse information on a small screen.

The last time he turned it on seemed to be several months ago, just to check his bank account before setting it aside again.

Today, due to that inexplicable premonition, his heart stirred, and he walked to the bookshelf, picking up the smartphone covered in a thin layer of dust.

Pressing the power button, the screen lit up, and a familiar startup animation flashed. The signal bars jumped, showing a full 4G signal.

He unlocked the screen and directly opened that green communication software—WeChat.

The red notification dots were densely packed. The most numerous were from a class group named "Class 1 of the Metaphysics Department, Taoist University Class of '19," where the unread messages already showed "99+."

Li Muchen opened it casually, his fingertips sliding as his gaze quickly swept over the waterfall-like refresh of chat records.

The content was varied, but mostly centered around the theme of "temple life."

Some complained that their temples were in remote locations with sparse incense offerings, where they did nothing but sweep and stare at the empty main hall every day, their learned scriptures having no place to be used, and their pay was even more meager, barely enough to make ends meet.

Some boasted about their good luck in being assigned to a famous temple in a well-known scenic area. Although they started as errand runners, they saw more and had more opportunities. Recently, they seemed to have built a relationship with a certain Supervisor and hoped to land a position as a Guest Prefect or Scripture Master.

Some grumbled about the complex interpersonal relationships within the temples, with the old Taoists scheming against each other and it being difficult for young Disciples to choose sides, as a slight misstep could lead to being marginalized or suppressed.

Others shared the different styles of temples in various places—where the vegetarian food was delicious, where the rules were strict, or where some bizarre regulations had been issued.

Occasionally interspersed with a few photos—selfies in front of towering halls, meals in simple dining halls, or desks where they copied scriptures late at night.

Between the lines, it was full of the confusion of entering society, helplessness toward reality, anxiety about the future, and a struggle against sinking into obscurity. The young students who once talked about Daoist laws and metaphysical principles with high spirits on campus had been thrown into this temple system where the Mortal World and ancient traditions intertwined, quickly losing their innocence and becoming tainted with the smoke and dust of the secular world.

Li Muchen watched calmly, without much emotion in his heart. This was the life he might have faced, but fate had given him a completely different path.

He flipped through a few pages and found it uninteresting. These secular trifles and the fortunes of his former classmates were like passing clouds from a past life to him, difficult to stir much of a ripple in his heart-lake.

Just as he was about to exit WeChat and turn off his phone to continue his silent recitation of the Yellow Court Scripture, a video call request suddenly popped up at the top of the screen.

The caller ID showed the name: Chen Feng.

Li Muchen's memory stirred slightly. Chen Feng was the original host's roommate at the Taoist University, and they had a decent relationship. He was a cheerful, straightforward man with a bit of a Northeast accent.

In his impression, Chen Feng had good luck after graduation and was assigned to a well-known, prosperous temple in a certain province in the Northeast—Changchun Temple. It was located in a tourist city with many believers and a complete system within the temple. Logically, his development prospects should be better than the vast majority of his classmates. Why would he suddenly call him on video? And so early in the morning?

Li Muchen pondered for a moment, then swiped his finger across the screen to answer the video call.

The screen shook a few times before stabilizing, revealing a familiar yet strangely haggard face.

It was indeed Chen Feng. He was wearing an ordinary blue jacket, and the background seemed to be some interior. The light was dim, and the furnishings looked like a dormitory or a simple rental room, rather than the quaint environment of a temple as imagined. His face was somewhat yellow, his eyes were sunken, he was unshaven, and his gaze was full of exhaustion, anxiety, and even... a hint of hard-to-conceal fear.

"Muchen! Li Muchen! Is it you? You actually answered!" Chen Feng's voice came through the speaker, clearly excited and raspy. The background noise was a bit loud, and the sound of passing vehicles could be heard faintly.

"It's me, Chen Feng," Li Muchen responded calmly, his gaze looking through the screen to carefully observe this long-uncontacted old friend. "What's wrong? You don't look so good. Aren't you at Changchun Temple?"

"Changchun Temple... Heh..." Chen Feng gave a bitter smile, one that looked worse than crying. "I... I haven't been at Changchun Temple for a long time. The specific details... I can't explain them clearly over the phone in a short time. Muchen, I... I'm in big trouble now! Seriously, life-and-death trouble!"

His voice suddenly dropped, filled with urgency and pleading: "I know... I know you're at that Qingfeng Temple on Yuntai Mountain now. I heard... I heard you're doing quite well, and it seems... it seems you've got some skills. I'm really at the end of my rope, and the only person I could think of who might have a way is you! Muchen, for the sake of being old classmates and roommates, can you... can you help me? I... I might need to go to your place to take refuge for a bit, and there are some things... I want to tell you in person!"

Chen Feng's tone was full of panic and helplessness, certainly not faked.

Li Muchen's brow twitched slightly. Was the original host's premonition of Karma... tied to this?

He was silent for a moment, looking at the face full of despair and hope on the screen, and slowly spoke:

"Sure. You can come."

"Send me the address. Be careful on the way."

After hanging up the video call, Li Muchen placed the phone on the low table and looked out at the bright autumn light outside the quiet room.

The tranquility of the mountains seemed about to be broken.

Chen Feng... Northeast Changchun Temple... Big trouble... Life and death... What kind of waves were hidden behind this sudden plea for help from an old friend? And was it really just a continuation of an ordinary classmate friendship of the original host?

Li Muchen picked up the cold tea on the low table and took a light sip.

So be it.

Since he's coming, let it be.

It's also a good time to see just how much of a storm the Karma of this secular world can stir up.