43: Dark clouds loom over the city

The three-day deadline arrived in a blink of an eye.

On the morning of the fourth day, before dawn, the roar of engines already echoed on the dirt roads of Zhaojiaao Village.

Six police cars led the way, followed by four fire trucks, two ambulances, three engineering vehicles, and seven or eight Iveco vans packed with personnel. The convoy was mighty, kicking up dust into the sky and startling the village's chickens and dogs.

Villagers crowded at their doorways, their faces pale as they watched this massive, unprecedented procession.

"My heavens... is there going to be a war?"

"It's over, Daoist Master Li is finished..."

"Quiet, don't let anyone hear you!"

The convoy stopped at the village entrance, and car doors opened in unison.

First out were the police—over thirty of them, all in uniform, with police gear at their waists and solemn expressions. Then came firefighters, urban management officers, housing and urban-rural development bureau enforcement personnel, Religious Affairs Bureau cadres... and more than a dozen reporters carrying cameras and microphones.

The total number exceeded one hundred.

Leading the team was Deputy Secretary Yan of the County Political and Legal Affairs Committee, a man in his fifties with a square face, exuding authority without anger. He stood at the village entrance, taking the megaphone handed to him by his secretary:

"Fellow villagers, we are the Yuntai Mountain Development Joint Enforcement Team. Today, we are conducting a safety hazard rectification inspection of Qingfeng Temple according to the law. To ensure safety, please do not go up the mountain to observe, and do not obstruct law enforcement."

His voice, amplified by the megaphone, echoed through the valley.

There was no room for discussion, only a cold announcement.

Deputy Secretary Yan waved his hand: "Up the mountain!"

The team began to move up the mountain path. Police cleared the way, firefighters were in the middle, other departments brought up the rear, and reporters ran back and forth, filming. Footsteps, the clanking of equipment, the static of walkie-talkies, all merged into a suffocating torrent.

Zhao Desheng stood at his courtyard gate, watching the team pass by him.

He saw Deputy Secretary Yan's stern face, the gleaming handcuffs on the police officers' waists, the demolition tools in the firefighters' hands, and the small excavator on the engineering vehicle... The old man trembled all over, wanting to rush out, but his son held him back tightly.

"Dad! Don't go!" His son was sweating anxiously. "So many people, what can you do if you go?"

"But Daoist Master Li, he..."

"He brought it on himself!" His son lowered his voice. "At a time like this, are you still worrying about him? Don't we want our family's compensation money anymore?"

Zhao Desheng froze, looking at his son's face, which was both familiar and strange.

The team moved further and further away, their footsteps gradually disappearing into the morning mist.

The old man suddenly squatted on the ground, burying his face in his hands, letting out a suppressed sob.

On the mountain, the temple gate of the Daoist temple remained open.

Li Muchen stood inside the gate, his blue Daoist robe gently fluttering in the morning breeze. He watched the winding procession ascend the mountain, saw the dense mass of people, and the police badges and equipment glinting in the sunlight.

His Spiritual Sense spread out like flowing mercury,

One hundred and twenty-three people.

Among them, thirty-seven police officers.

Twenty-four firefighters.

Sixty-two other law enforcement personnel.

Their heartbeats, breathing, and even the thoughts in each person's mind—nervousness, excitement, unease, schadenfreude—all clearly emerged within his Spiritual Sense.

He slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Inside his Dantian, the liquid gold True Essence began to circulate slowly. In his Purple Mansion, the core of his Spiritual Sense emitted a faint clear light. The earth vein suppression talisman, acquired through his sign-in, grew warm in his sleeve, resonating with the Spiritual Vein in the mountain.

Around the Daoist temple, the Formation patterns, usually hidden, began to light up inch by inch.

Not an attack, but... preparation.

When the team reached halfway up the mountain, they encountered their first "obstacle."

It wasn't man-made, but the mountain path itself—after several days of spring rain, a twenty-meter-long dirt slope had experienced a minor landslide, with rocks and mud piled up, allowing only one person to pass at a time.

"Clear it!" Deputy Secretary Yan ordered.

The engineering team stepped forward, shoveling with spades and moving with their hands. But the soil was loose, collapsing as they cleared it, making progress slow.

Just then, someone exclaimed, "Look! What's that?"

Everyone looked up.

They saw a dense cloud gathering above the Daoist temple on the mountaintop. The cloud layer was very low, almost pressing down on the temple, its color gray-black, slowly rotating to form a giant vortex.

The sunlight was blocked, and the sky suddenly darkened.

"Is it going to rain?" someone mumbled.

Deputy Secretary Yan glanced up, unconcerned: "Speed it up!"

The team continued to advance, but a shadow had fallen over everyone's hearts.

That cloud was too strange.

At 9:40 AM, the enforcement team finally arrived at the temple gate.

Over a hundred people spread out, completely surrounding the small Daoist temple. Police set up a cordon around the perimeter, firefighters prepared their demolition tools, and reporters' cameras focused on the temple gate, and also on the figure in the blue Daoist robe inside the gate.

Deputy Secretary Yan walked to the front, looking at Li Muchen, then at the two seals on the gate—still perfectly intact.

"Li Muchen," he said loudly, using the full name, "We are the Yuntai County Joint Enforcement Team. Today, we are conducting a safety hazard rectification inspection of Qingfeng Temple according to the law. Please cooperate."

Li Muchen stood three feet inside the gate, nodding slightly: "May boundless blessings be. Please enter, everyone."

His attitude was polite, yet he didn't yield an inch—he hadn't moved aside, still standing inside the gate.

Deputy Secretary Yan frowned: "Please move aside, we need to conduct a comprehensive inspection."

"If you wish to inspect, this humble Daoist will not obstruct," Li Muchen said calmly. "Just a reminder—though the Daoist temple is small, it has its own rules. Those who enter this gate should do so with reverence."

"You..." Deputy Secretary Yan suppressed his anger. "Li Muchen, this is not the time to talk about rules! We are enforcing the law!"

"Even law enforcement must abide by the law." Li Muchen looked at him. "May I ask this Lay Practitioner, what is the basis for your enforcement?"

"Basis?" Deputy Secretary Yan took a document from his secretary. "The basis is Article 60 of the 'Fire Protection Law,' Article 44 of the 'Regulations on Religious Affairs,' and the 'Order for Rectification within a Time Limit Notice' issued by the county government!"

He shook the document: "We have given you fifteen days, and since you haven't rectified, we can only enforce it by law!"

"This humble Daoist received the rectification notice," Li Muchen nodded. "But I wonder, what is the standard for rectification?"

"The standard is to comply with fire safety regulations, building safety regulations, and religious site management regulations!" Deputy Secretary Yan grew somewhat impatient. "Li Muchen, don't stall any longer. Today, either you rectify it yourself, or we'll help you rectify it!"

As soon as his voice fell, a firefighter stepped forward with demolition tools.

The atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

Li Muchen, however, smiled.

His smile was faint, yet carried an inexpressible sense of compassion: "Do you all believe that by demolishing this Daoist temple and changing its structure, it will become 'safe'?"

He raised his hand and pointed to the sky: "Look."

Everyone instinctively looked up.

They saw that the vortex-shaped dense cloud above the Daoist temple was rotating faster and faster. Deep within the clouds, faint flashes of lightning flickered, and muffled thunder rumbled.

It wasn't spring thunder.

It was that deep, oppressive rumble, as if power was accumulating.

"A heavy storm is coming," Li Muchen said softly. "The mountain is high and the roads are slippery; you should all descend the mountain early."

Deputy Secretary Yan's face was livid: "Don't give me that! Even if it rains knives today, we will complete our mission!"

He stopped talking nonsense and waved his hand: "Fire team, prepare for demolition!"

"Yes!"

More than twenty firefighters stepped forward, their demolition tools buzzing.

Reporters' cameras followed closely.

Everyone held their breath.

Li Muchen, however, closed his eyes.

He formed hand seals in his sleeves, True Essence circulated, and the earth vein suppression talisman shone brightly.

Around the Daoist temple, the Formation patterns that had just lit up suddenly burst forth with a visible green light!

It wasn't an aggressive light, but a gentle yet incredibly resilient barrier, like an inverted bowl, enveloping the entire Daoist temple.

At the same time, the Spiritual Vein in the mountain began to vibrate.

Not a violent tremor like an earthquake, but a deep, pulsating rhythm, as if the earth itself was breathing.

The branches and leaves of the ancient cypress tree moved without wind, rustling loudly.

In the Spirit Well, the water churned, emitting misty white vapor.

The entire mountain, it seemed, had

"What... what is this?" someone cried out in alarm.

Deputy Secretary Yan was also stunned.

He looked at the green light barrier, at the churning well water, at the wildly swaying ancient cypress tree, and then at Li Muchen standing quietly with his eyes closed... A chill shot straight up his spine to the top of his head.

This was definitely not some "safety hazard."

This was simply... a supernatural phenomenon!

But the arrow was on the string; it had to be shot.

He gritted his teeth, about to order a forced assault—

"Boom!"

A clap of thunder exploded.

Not in the sky, but within the mountain.

As if the entire Yuntai Mountain was roaring.

Immediately after, the torrential rain poured down.

It wasn't ordinary rain, but a downpour, with large raindrops hitting the ground and instantly forming streams.

Even more bizarrely, this rain only fell around the Daoist temple—outside the temple gate, the rain poured; inside the temple gate, not a single drop fell.

That green light barrier actually completely separated the rainwater!

"This... this is impossible!" a reporter cried out in disbelief.

Through the camera lens, the scene was eerily suffocating: inside the Daoist temple, it was dry as usual, Li Muchen's blue Daoist robe perfectly still; outside the Daoist temple, the rain poured, and the enforcement team was instantly drenched to the bone.

Deputy Secretary Yan stood in the rain, soaked through, yet completely oblivious.

He just stared intently at Li Muchen inside the gate, his lips trembling, unable to speak.

He suddenly remembered Zhou Mingde's words: "Li Muchen is no ordinary person."

He was more than just not ordinary.

"Demon Daoist!" someone shouted. "He's a Demon Daoist!"

Li Muchen opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the bedraggled crowd in the rain, finally resting on Deputy Secretary Yan's face.

He slowly began to speak, his voice not loud, yet clearly reaching everyone's ears:

"This humble Daoist said—those who enter this gate should do so with reverence."

"Did you, then, have reverence?"

The sound of rain, thunder, and wind intertwined.

No one answered.

Only over a hundred pairs of eyes stared at him in terror.

Staring at the young Daoist standing dryly inside the gate, his blue Daoist robe fluttering without wind.

Staring at the century-old Daoist temple, unmoving in the downpour, its green light flowing.

Staring at everything that defied cognition and violated common sense.

The mountain rain had arrived.

Dark clouds pressed upon the city.

And this city, it seemed... could not be crushed.