Ma Tianzheng's heart thumped. He hurriedly rewound everything in his head, piecing the chaos together until it finally clicked.
"So… just now, a demon descended to harm the mortal world. The heavenly generals came to capture it… A giant shrimp monster fell here and almost killed me. And you… saved me?"
Gao Yiye blinked, completely straight-faced.
"How could I have saved you?
The one who saved you was Dao Xuan Tianzun."
Ma Tianzheng froze. His mind had already been a mud soup, and now it curdled further. He immediately lifted his head to the sky and shouted with great sincerity:
"Thank you, Dao Xuan Tianzun, for saving my life!"
Gao Yiye folded her arms.
"Who are you? Where did you come from? And why are you here?"
Ma Tianzheng bowed deeply.
"This humble Daoist is of the Quanzhen Longmen Sect, disciple of Master Wang Changyue. I am Ma Tianzheng, traveling the world in search of immortals and the Dao."
"Oh? A wandering Daoist?" she said with interest.
"So you've traveled far? Seen much?"
"I dare not boast. I have journeyed for over twenty years, from north to south, east to west. I have seen some things… but unworthy to brag."
"Good." Gao Yiye nodded, smiling with mysterious authority.
"Tianzun says people like you… are useful."
Ma Tianzheng: "???"
He looked left, right.
"Tianzun spoke? Where? I didn't hear anything!"
Gao Yiye calmly said,
"Tianzun can only be seen by me."
Suspicion flickered in Ma Tianzheng's eyes.
She's lying! She must be lying! Many Daoists have tried this line before!
Before the thought even finished—
BOOM!
The invisible walls slammed down again, trapping him like a startled chicken under a grain jar.
Ma Tianzheng: "!!!"
Li Daoxuan saw even a tiny change in the man's expression and immediately dropped the glass cup again. Zero hesitation. Zero mercy.
Ma Tianzheng panicked.
I only doubted her for a second—just one tiny thought—and I'm trapped again?!
What IS this terrifying barrier?!
Gao Yiye tapped the transparent wall twice, polite as knocking on a door.
The walls whisked upward and vanished into the sky.
Ma Tianzheng's legs wobbled.
"Saintess… just now… what was that…"
Gao Yiye responded with gravity:
"Tianzun says you, Daoist, have issues."
Li Daoxuan was playing his favorite trick: vague accusation.
"You have problems."
A perfect sentence. Adaptable. Self-applicable. Guaranteed to make people blame themselves.
And of course—
Ma Tianzheng immediately applied it to himself.
Yes! I do have problems!
My Dao heart has been a mess for years!
I've doubted whether immortals exist!
My faith nearly shattered!
Tianzun has seen straight through me!
"Dao Xuan Tianzun!" he cried anxiously.
"I am but a mediocre Daoist! I have not read enough Daoist texts! That is why I foolishly failed to recognize your august title and behaved rudely! Please forgive me and allow me a chance to redeem myself!"
Gao Yiye nodded calmly.
"Tianzun says your attitude of repentance is acceptable. He will overlook your offenses."
Ma Tianzheng exhaled like he'd escaped execution.
"I have cultivated since youth. Twenty years under my master Wang Zhenren, and twenty years wandering the world seeking immortals… yet I have never met a true one.
A few days ago I heard rumors of Tianzun. I went to the Chengcheng City Temple, and through a lay believer's guidance, followed the signs here to Gaojia Village…
I never expected—never dared to imagine—that I would witness Tianzun manifest with my own eyes.
This is my blessing… the blessing of a lifetime…"
Overwhelmed, he fell to his knees with a crash.
"Disciple Ma Tianzheng pays respects to Dao Xuan Tianzun!"
He trembled with exhilaration.
He had almost thrown away his Dao heart.
And now—now it was stronger than ever.
For forty years he had preached the Dao while secretly doubting it in his heart, feeling guilty every time he spoke of immortals he had never seen.
Now the guilt dissolved.
His soul felt rinsed clean.
Gao Yiye asked,
"You came here just to find a true immortal?"
"Yes!" Ma Tianzheng nodded fervently.
"I have roamed the world for this single purpose!"
"You have now seen one." Gao Yiye's tone softened.
"What do you plan to do next?"
He blinked.
Right… what DO I do now?
Gao Yiye smiled.
"Since you don't know yet, think about it.
Tianzun commands: When you've decided, come find me again."
She turned. Li Daoxuan's colossal hand was already lowered beside her, waiting like a divine palanquin.
She climbed onto the palm, sat comfortably, and her face bloomed with a glow of pride and pure joy.
Li Daoxuan lifted his hand gently, gliding her through the valley, across the sky, toward Gaojia Fort.
Not too fast, of course—ten centimeters in his world meant twenty meters in the sky-box. One wrong flick and Yiye would be flung like a pebble.
So he moved with slow, steady grace.
Gao Yiye tilted her head, curious.
"Tianzun… why did you tease that Daoist? He doesn't seem like a bad person."
Li Daoxuan smiled faintly.
"Because he doesn't know whether he's a good person or a bad one."
"Huh? Why?"
Li Daoxuan didn't explain. He simply smiled.
A wandering Daoist who travels the world…
Now that is useful.
He had a plan—one he wouldn't trust to anyone in the village.
But a man like Ma Tianzheng?
Perfect.
He would observe him a few more days.
Then, once he was fully loyal, he'd give him a grand and perilous mission.
Li Daoxuan opened his phone.
The name he'd prepared flashed on the screen.
—Song Yingxing.
The greatest scientific mind of the late Ming Dynasty.
"Heh."
Song Yingxing lived far away. Too far.
Reaching him normally was impossible.
But a wandering Daoist?
Ideal messenger.
Footnotes
Quanzhen Longmen Wandering Daoists — Some Daoist sects historically sent disciples traveling for decades, believing life experience strengthened spiritual cultivation. These travelers often became carriers of news and culture across regions.
"You Have Issues" Technique — In many folk religious traditions, vague divine accusations were used to prompt self-reflection. The humor here plays on how easily believers internalize unspecified "faults."
Pilgrimage for True Immortals — Late imperial China had countless seekers wandering between temples, mountains, and sects searching for "real" immortals. The journey itself was considered a spiritual test.
Sacred Mounting on a Divine Palm — Many classical tales depict mortals being carried by deities on clouds or divine beasts. Reimagining it as Tianzun's literal hand creates comedic contrast between sacred imagery and toy-box physics.
Song Yingxing Reference — Author of Tiangong Kaiwu, often called the "Diderot of China." A scientific genius whose practical knowledge influenced agriculture, industry, and early science. His remote location makes the wandering Daoist an effective narrative bridge.