Chapter 65#

Chapter Sixty-Five#

Xue Jingci quickly came back to his senses, looked at Lin Su and asked: “What on earth is going on?”

Lin Su sighed and said: “At first, no one thought that there would be other people’s statues hidden inside the divine statue. It was the continuous rainfall that triggered mountain floods and accidentally destroyed a temple with flourishing incense that someone reported it to the imperial court.”

“I recognized at a glance that it was you inside, but I was afraid this matter would stain your reputation, so I never mentioned it to others. That’s why Lingyun was so surprised when he saw your face that day.”

Pei Huang originally did not want to participate in this matter further, but now that it concerned Xue Jingci, he no longer had a reason to stand by. He asked in a deep voice: “Tell me in detail, when did this Goddess Tianlu rise to prominence? And the matter of the prince’s disappearance.”

An expression of surprise flashed across Lin Su’s face; he didn’t expect Pei Huang to even know about the prince’s disappearance.

He bit his lip and finally revealed everything.

This matter started five years ago.

At that time, there were many people in the Nanzhou area who believed in gods and Buddhas. Many wealthy merchants donated money to build temples, as many as over four hundred.

However, for some reason, the Buddha statues enshrined in those temples with flourishing incense were actually removed and replaced with an unheard-of “wild god.”

The previous dynasty had incidents of witchcraft and sorcery disturbing the people’s hearts, so the imperial court immediately sent people to investigate, but they were repeatedly blocked.

This Goddess Tianlu, unlike other wild gods, actually manifested miracles!

Many sick people went to worship her, and their illnesses were cured that very night.

Hearing that the court intended to destroy the divine statues, the common people almost broke down the government’s threshold. For a time, popular indignation surged like boiling water, and the court officials had no choice but to leave helplessly.

Who knew that after a few months, the atmosphere of worshipping the wild god in Nanzhou would become even worse, with many people emerging claiming to be able to communicate with spirits.

Anyone who did not trust Goddess Tianlu would be denounced by these spirit-mediums as disrespectful to the gods, and would subsequently die of a serious illness.

Now no one dared to question Goddess Tianlu. Many people even invited her statue into their homes, burning incense and worshipping day and night.

…

Lin Su looked at Xue Jingci and said: “The so-called miracles were Xiao Xun playing tricks behind the scenes, deliberately making people poisoned by Gu, and then removing the Gu in the name of Goddess Tianlu. In this way, he can enjoy countless incense…”

A complex look flashed in Pei Huang’s eyes. He turned his head to look at Xue Jingci and said: “I once learned about a secret technique. If a person dies from a sudden disaster, then as long as he receives incense and borrows luck from someone with great fortune, it is possible to bring that person back to life.”

He paused and said bluntly: “Xiao Xun is good at Gu techniques, and his subordinates are not small. For him to act so crazily, he must want to resurrect you.”

This point was actually vaguely guessed by Lin Su, but he didn’t know how to speak up.

Back then, Xiao Xun publicly betrayed Xue Jingci at the master-disciple ceremony, yet after his death, he fought fiercely with Xie Zheng. His actions were truly unpredictable.

Xue Jingci thought for a while, looked at Lin Su and asked: “Does the Lingxu Sect not care about this matter?”

In his memory, if a major change occurred in the mortal realm, the upper realm would definitely send elders down to solve it. But five years have passed, and only Lin Su, a disciple, is running around in the lower realm, even mixing with the people from the local government. It’s truly a bit strange.

Lin Su stared at Xue Jingci, choosing his words carefully: “The Sect Leader has signs of a breakthrough in his cultivation. He has been in closed-door cultivation since six years ago and does not see outsiders. Before going into seclusion, he handed over all sect affairs to Xie Zheng.”

“The upper realm is not peaceful now. After repelling the Demon Race, the rogue cultivator forces even tried to break the Heaven Gate Array. Xie Zheng would never allow anyone to touch the Heaven Gate Array. His methods are extremely ruthless; he killed many rogue cultivators and has no time to care about the affairs of the mortal realm.”

Hearing the names of two disciples in one day, both acting crazily, Xue Jingci didn’t know what to say.

In the end, it was his failure to teach them well.

Thinking of this, Xue Jingci turned his head to look at Pei Huang. This person has good aptitude and upright character. The more he looks, the more satisfied he becomes.

Lin Su followed his gaze and also looked at Pei Huang. Suddenly remembering something, he asked urgently: “By the way, I wonder if the method for removing the Gu can be shared…”

Pei Huang didn’t mind helping, but the Little Strawberry Berry’s appetite was limited; it couldn’t eat too many Gu worms in a day. And now, there were hundreds of poisoned commoners in Hangzhou alone, and the number was still increasing every day.

He shook his head: “It’s not that my medical skills are superb, but that I have a strange treasure on hand that happens to be able to remove Gu. But the number of times it can be used each day is limited. To completely cure those poisoned commoners, I’m afraid we’ll have to find another way.”

A look of disappointment flashed across Lin Su’s face. Wen Lingyun finally recovered from his shock at this moment, looked at him and said: “Aren’t there still Fellow Daoist Yin? She has exquisite medical skills and will definitely have a way!”

Hearing this name, Xue Jingci asked: “Is it Senior Sister Yin Xinyao?”

Lin Su’s solemn face finally broke into a smile: “It’s her. Why don’t you come with me to Suzhou? It’s just right for her to check you over too.”

By saying this, he actually intended to find an excuse to let Xue Jingci leave Hangzhou and withdraw from this storm.

After all, Xiao Xun is too paranoid and crazy, yet he appears to be a gentle gentleman on the outside. Even he hadn’t detected any clues back then in the sect.

If he knew that Xue Jingci was not dead, who knows what he would do to him.

Pei Huang was most worried about Xue Jingci’s body. Hearing that Yin Xinyao was also in the lower realm, he immediately looked at Xue Jingci and said softly: “Let’s go there.”

Xue Jingci didn’t really have the idea of seeking medical advice. The decay of his body was related to sealing the two worlds and couldn’t be solved by ordinary medical skills.

But since Pei Huang wanted to go, there was no harm in taking a trip.

Wen Lingyun had already prepared the carriage while they were talking. Under the cover of night, the group left the city unnoticed and headed straight for Suzhou.

It happened to be the hour of Mao (5-7 AM) when they arrived in Suzhou. The shops in the city opened early. Pei Huang bought a bag of buns for Xue Jingci and asked about the location of the Su Family Pharmacy.

Now Xue Jingci had resumed his previous disguise, looking like a sickly young master. This caused the bun-selling auntie to feel pity and give him two extra buns.

Lin Su couldn’t help but look at him too.

The highest level of disguise is seven parts truth and three parts falsehood. Xue Jingci’s sickly aura was hard to hide, so he took the opportunity to disguise himself like this.

Thinking about how Xue Jingci had fallen into the sea of clouds due to repairing the Heaven Gate Array, Lin Su couldn’t help but say: “Your body… wait until you see Senior Sister, let her give you a good check-up.”

After a pause, he said softly: “Over the years, everyone has missed you very much.”

Xue Jingci swallowed the bun, but didn’t understand why everyone was missing him.

Ten years had passed, and he thought the people around him had already forgotten him.

After walking out of the long street, the group soon saw the Su Family Pharmacy. They were in luck; Yin Xinyao was currently standing in the pharmacy, talking business with the shopkeeper.

Xue Jingci sized her up with some curiosity.

After ten years, Senior Sister Yin’s changes were not small. Now she was no longer wearing her former luxurious Dharma robes, but was wearing a very ordinary coarse linen garment.

Song Jue stood beside her, carefully protecting her belly. Although the clothes were loose, it could be seen that she was now pregnant.

An expression of astonishment flashed in Xue Jingci’s eyes. He didn’t have much to do with Peak Master Yin, but he knew that he dearly loved this only daughter.

Now that Yin Xinyao was pregnant, that Peak Master actually let her stay in the lower realm alone?

After thinking for a bit, Xue Jingci understood again.

Lin Su said that Xie Zheng is now in charge of the Lingxu Sect. He has always seen things in black and white and has a strong hand. Presumably, Yin Xinyao didn’t want to go and slaughter rogue cultivators, so she chose the lower realm.

Everyone walked towards the small shop. When they got closer, the surprise in Xue Jingci’s eyes was even greater.

The Yin Xinyao in his memory was originally a gentle woman, but now she was shouting and arguing with the shopkeeper: “Last time this medicine only cost three copper coins a plant, why has it become four today?”

The shopkeeper shook his head and said: “It’s just one copper coin. You are a cultivator who knows magic, why bother haggling with a small businessman like me.”

Yin Xinyao raised her eyebrows. Although she was wearing simple clothes, her features appeared even more bright and beautiful: “It’s true that we are cultivators, but this medicine is for the common people in the city. Naturally, the cheaper the better. If we can buy more medicine, won’t we be able to save more people?”

Song Jue protected her as they walked out, saying loudly: “There are several other pharmacies nearby. Why don’t we go look elsewhere.”

Seeing that these two were actually going to leave over a one-penny price difference, the shopkeeper suddenly became anxious and quickly changed his mind: “Three coins, I’ll still charge you three coins each!”

Yin Xinyao didn’t look back, as if she had made up her mind that she would rather walk a bit further and compare prices again.

She was thinking about things and didn’t notice the presence of Lin Su and his group until she was about to leave the shop and heard someone calling her.

“Senior Sister Yin, please stay.”

The last time Yin Xinyao saw Lin Su was three years ago. Hearing this, she was stunned for a moment, but quickly stopped and asked with a smile: “Junior Brother Lin, haven’t you been staying in the Imperial City? How do you have time to come to Suzhou?”

Lin Su said: “It’s a long story. Can Senior Sister find a quiet place to talk?”

Song Jue walked over, patted Lin Su’s shoulder and smiled: “Of course there is a quiet place, but there is no good wine or food to entertain you.”

With that, the two of them led the way and directly brought Lin Su and his group back to their home.

The courtyard was not large, but it was kept clean and tidy. Besides the dried herbs, several vegetable plots had been opened up, enclosed by a small fence, where several chickens were pacing, occasionally lowering their heads to catch insects.

Song Jue asked Yin Xinyao to sit down and rest, and he went to the kitchen to busy himself for a while, bringing out several plates of braised dishes.

The group sat around the round table, with faint crowing of chickens in their ears. Yin Xinyao remembered something and sighed: “The last time we sat together like this for a meal was ten years ago…”

She is currently pregnant, and her emotions are more sensitive than usual. For a moment, she thought of Xue Jingci’s small courtyard in the Lingxu Sect.

After Xue Jingci’s death, she had passed by that courtyard again, only to see Shu Mo sweeping the fallen leaves on the ground, cleaning inside and out.

The jars were used to seal the gate.

The former bustle and clamor seemed to still echo in her ears. At that time, they were high-spirited, talking about what they had seen and heard in the lower realm, thinking that when they succeeded in their cultivation in the future, they could eliminate demons and defend the way, and suppress evil.

But in the blink of an eye, it seemed like everything had vanished with the falling leaves.

Everything around them gradually changed.

After the demon cultivators were repelled, a force named “He-Guang Society” (Heguang Hui) emerged among the rogue cultivators. They believed that because of the existence of the array all these years, it was hard for even light to reach the lower realm, and the Yin energy was pervasive, making life miserable for the people.

They were secretly planning to break the Heaven Gate Array, but some rogue cultivators took the initiative to surrender and leaked the news.

The righteous sects and families naturally would not agree. The two sides fought several times, and the outcome was hard to determine.

It wasn’t until Xie Zheng took over the power to lead the sect from the Lingxu Sect Leader, with a Demon-Slaying Blade in one hand and a Judge’s Pen in the other, ruthlessly killing countless rogue cultivators who wanted to break the Heaven Gate Array and writing judgments with their blood, that this force was completely dispersed.

Many people followed him, but Yin Xinyao couldn’t stand his cruel actions and eventually chose to practice medicine in the lower realm.

Before leaving, she had an argument with Xie Zheng.

At that time, she had obtained the token to pass through to the lower realm from her father, but ran into a lone Xie Zheng outside the Heaven Gate Array.

He seemed to have just killed some rogue cultivators, and blood was still dripping from the tip of that Judge’s Pen.

However, he seemed completely unaware, just reaching out to touch the array, sensing the presence of the array stones.

Yin Xinyao couldn’t help but speak up to persuade him. Those rogue cultivators were fellow Daoists after all, and there was no need to kill them all like this. If he stayed in the midst of slaughter every day, she feared it would affect his Dao heart.

However, Xie Zheng just glanced at her, and that look made her blood and bones turn cold.

“I will protect this array. No one can break it.”

Yin Xinyao looked at the Judge’s Pen at Xie Zheng’s waist, thinking that everyone in the world praised Xie Zheng for his fairness. Even when he performed such crazy acts of slaughter, it was only for the sake of righteous cause.

She couldn’t help but say: “Do you really not have any personal motives?”

These words seemed to touch Xie Zheng’s sore spot. He leaned over slightly, his face cold, but his aura extremely dangerous. Majestic spiritual energy unfolded from behind him, even the sea of clouds was stirred up.

Yin Xinyao was almost burned by the cloud energy, but fortunately, the array seemed to have a reaction and released a gentle energy.

Feeling this energy, the fierce aura on Xie Zheng suddenly dissipated. Yin Xinyao didn’t dare to delay and directly went down to the lower realm with the token.

The longer she stayed in the lower realm, the more the scales in her heart wavered.

Perhaps the rogue cultivators of the “He-Guang Society” were right. Although the Heaven Gate Array suppressed evil, it also obscured the vitality of the lower realm.

Only, she no longer had the courage to argue with Xie Zheng about this matter.

Lin Su poured a cup of hot tea for Xue Jingci and a glass of wine for Pei Huang before slowly explaining the purpose of this trip.

The more Yin Xinyao heard, the deeper her brow furrowed. Over the years, she and Song Jue had been working as itinerant doctors in the mountains and forests around Suzhou. Although Hangzhou is not far from Suzhou, they only went there once every two or three months to buy things, so they really didn’t know that Gu poison was prevalent there now and people were living in misery.

“My understanding of Gu techniques is not deep, so I can only do my best. There’s no time to lose. I’ll go pack my things now and go back to Hangzhou with you.”

Seeing her big belly, she turned to go to the room to move things, Song Jue quickly pressed her shoulder. He said: “It’s not easy for you to meet Junior Brother Lin, talk more. I’ll take care of packing.”

Lin Su also said: “Senior Sister, just sit and rest. There’s one more thing I haven’t told you. This is a major matter. You must keep your composure after hearing it, and don’t disturb your fetal energy!”

Yin Xinyao raised her eyebrows and shook her head: “What big storms hasn’t your Senior Sister seen? Could this be even more shocking than the prevalence of Gu poison?”

Hearing this, Lin Su looked at Xue Jingci, signaling him to remove his disguise.

Pei Huang leaned closer to Xue Jingci and tapped his finger a few times, directly revealing his original appearance.

Yin Xinyao took a deep breath and almost knocked over the tea in front of her.

Her eyes turned red in an instant, and she turned away to wipe away the tears that were about to fall.

Yin Xinyao took a deep breath, and after waiting for a moment, she turned to look at Xue Jingci and gently called: “Junior Brother Xue.”

Xue Jingci was about to say something, but saw Yin Xinyao’s expression change suddenly, and she reached out to grab his wrist.

“Junior Brother, don’t move yet, let me check your pulse.”

Seeing her going to treat Xue Jingci, the expressions of Lin Su and Pei Huang became tense, while only Xue Jingci still had a calm expression.

Yin Xinyao took the pulse for a while, suddenly pulled out silver needles from her sleeve, and then actually reached out directly and pulled down Xue Jingci’s clothes, revealing his smooth back and shoulders.

Her bold style directly shocked everyone.

Wen Lingyun stammered: “Yin, Fellow Daoist Yin, if you need to take off your clothes to treat wounds, should we go back to the room first?”

Yin Xinyao raised her eyebrows: “It’s just treating an illness, why so many formalities…”

Only, before she finished her sentence, she suddenly saw Xue Jingci’s half-exposed appearance and was stuck for a moment.

Yin Xinyao had always known that her junior brother was beautiful. At this moment, the garment happened to slide down below his shoulders, faintly revealing his collarbone, which was really a bit…

She coughed: “You’re right, the wind is strong here.”

Yin Xinyao wanted to reach out and pull the clothes back up for Xue Jingci, but felt it was not quite appropriate. After thinking for a while, she looked at Pei Huang and said: “You do it?”

Pei Huang widened his eyes.

A gust of cold wind blew, and Xue Jingci’s shoulders trembled. Pei Huang immediately came back to his senses, feeling distressed, he reached out and draped the clothes back on him, leading him towards the house.

Yin Xinyao followed them back to the room and asked Pei Huang to help Xue Jingci onto the bed.

She took out the silver needles again, pricking them into various acupuncture points on Xue Jingci, and then checked the pulse with her hand.

After about half an hour, Yin Xinyao’s expression gradually became serious. She looked at Xue Jingci and said: “Junior Brother, your body is severely depleted. I’ll first prescribe some medicinal materials to nourish your Qi and blood…”

The medicinal materials she mentioned were similar to what Pei Huang had studied before. Pei Huang was about to breathe a sigh of relief, but then heard Yin Xinyao say: “However, although the body can be adjusted, Junior Brother, you have overdrawn your spiritual energy multiple times before, which has damaged your foundation. I’m afraid it will be very difficult for your cultivation level to make further progress.”

Lin Su was originally just silently guarding the door. Hearing this, he couldn’t help but walk into the room with big strides and said urgently: “Senior Sister, is there really no other way? If you need any medicinal materials, just tell me, and I’ll find a way even if I have to get them from the Imperial Palace.”

Yin Xinyao shook her head and couldn’t help but look at Xue Jingci, but saw his eyelashes lowered, making one feel distressed and want him to be happier.

Pei Huang’s eyes also changed. Compared to these people, he was the only one who had truly seen Xue Jingci’s wretched appearance. Even now when he dreamed at midnight, he would still occasionally see Xue Jingci’s white clothes stained with blood. When he woke up, his nose could still smell that heart-pounding scent of blood.

Although Xue Jingci was a bit slow in emotion, he also saw that everyone in the room was despondent, especially Pei Huang.

He subconsciously didn’t want Pei Huang to show this expression. He reached out and pulled Pei Huang to his side and said: “I haven’t officially introduced you yet, this is my disciple. It doesn’t matter if my cultivation stops here, I’ll have to pass my mantle to him sooner or later anyway.”

Hearing the word disciple, Lin Su’s expression changed.

He never expected that after going through the incidents with Xie Zheng and Xiao Xun, Xue Jingci would take a new disciple again.

But thinking of when they were out for experience before, and Pei Huang grabbed the Ghost Pearl alone, Lin Su felt relieved again.

Although they hadn’t spent much time together, Pei Huang had strength and was a trustworthy person. Staying by Xue Jingci’s side made people feel at ease.

While several people were talking, Song Jue had already packed his things. He saw the light in the room and followed the light to find them.

As soon as he saw Xue Jingci, the package in his hand fell directly to the ground with a clang.

He stared at Xue Jingci, sizing him up, and actually showed a tearful expression just like Yin Xinyao. However, he was embarrassed to show his emotions in public, so he reached out and touched his lips and coughed a few times to cover it up.

Unexpectedly, the movement was too big, and the beard stuck to his lips was also pulled off. He had to explain awkwardly: “Dressing like this makes me look more like an old traditional doctor. More people will come when I go out for consultations.”

Xue Jingci was amused by him and showed a faint smile.

Yin Xinyao saw that Xue Jingci seemed a bit tired, pulled Song Jue’s sleeve and said: “We still have to rush to Hangzhou. Let Junior Brother have a good rest. There will be other opportunities to catch up in the future.”

Remembering Lin Su’s instructions, Yin Xinyao looked at Xue Jingci again and said: “I will solve the Gu poison in Hangzhou. Junior Brother, just stay here and rest with peace of mind. I left a lot of medicinal materials in the room, just decoct the medicine according to the prescription.”

Lin Su nodded, looked at Pei Huang and said: “After the Hangzhou matter is resolved, we’ll come back to catch up. By the way, if you want to go out, it’s better to do some disguises. It’s not peaceful now…”

Xue Jingci had just been given acupuncture and was indeed a bit sleepy at the moment, so he nodded in agreement, and fell asleep not long after.

Yin Xinyao told Pei Huang how to decoct the medicine again, but didn’t expect Pei Huang to be so skillful, not even inferior to the disciples of the Medical Peak of the Lingxu Sect.

She couldn’t help but exclaim: “I’ve stayed in the Lingxu Sect for so long and have seen many talented medical cultivators, but none are as quick-witted as you. Junior Brother Xue must be very relieved to have taken such a talented disciple.”

Pei Huang didn’t speak. What he was thinking about was that if he really wanted to be Xue Jingci’s disciple, he would eventually have to confess that he was a demon cultivator. But now the opposition between the righteous and demonic paths is becoming more and more serious, and he didn’t know how to speak up for a while.

Xue Jingci slept very peacefully this time, and didn’t wake up until noon the next day.

The two of them walked out of the alley and bought some plum blossom cakes at will. They were about to go to Hangzhou when Xue Jingci suddenly saw a vendor selling candied haws (tanghulu).

He stopped, took out silver coins from his sleeve, and said: “Two sticks.”

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, a child rushed to the vendor’s side, brandishing a money bag and saying: “I want one stick.”

The vendor was a bit troubled, but seeing that Xue Jingci was an adult after all, he asked as if discussing: “Can the young gentleman spare one stick for this child?”

Xue Jingci naturally would not fight with a child over food.

He took away one stick of candied haws and continued walking forward with Pei Huang.

Xue Jingci took a bite, only to find that today’s candied haws were exceptionally sweet, so he quickly extended the candied haws to Pei Huang: “Try it.”

Pei Huang also took a bite, but his teeth were almost soured off. He took a sharp breath of cold air.

Seeing him like this, Xue Jingci was surprised: “Does the taste of one stick of candied haws still differ?”

He decided to try it again.

Pei Huang was originally too sour to speak, but saw that the one Xue Jingci bit into was actually the one he had eaten half of just now.

He was startled and quickly reached out to grab the candied haws.

But Xue Jingci moved extremely fast and had already swallowed the remaining half into his stomach.

He frowned: “This one is really sour.”

With that, he ate another one as if he didn’t believe in the evil, but it was sweet again.

Xue Jingci quickly handed the last one to Pei Huang: “Try again, see if it’s sweet?”

Pei Huang was still stunned on the spot. He never expected that Xue Jingci would eat something he had bitten.

This was really a bit too intimate.

It wasn’t until Xue Jingci stuffed another candied haw into his mouth that Pei Huang suddenly came back to his senses. His earlobes were burning as he moved his gaze away and said softly: “Sweet, very sweet.”

Neither of them noticed that a gaze was cast from the tea house, tightly locking onto their figures.

The gaze was not slowly retracted until they boarded the carriage.

Xiao Xun’s gaze fell on the clear tea in front of him, his expression dark.

Just now, he accidentally looked into the crowd and was so startled that he immediately stood up from his seat.

There was a white figure in that crowd, as elegant as green bamboo, making him feel familiar for some reason.

Although his stature and appearance were different from those in his memory, Xiao Xun had carved every word and action of Xue Jingci into his heart and lungs. Even the way he walked was something he could remember as soon as he closed his eyes.

He almost jumped off the railing to chase that person, but suddenly saw that person tilted his head and bit the candied haws that someone else had eaten.

All the strength in Xiao Xun’s body instantly drained away, and he sat back in his chair.

With just this one action, he could conclude that this was not his Master.

How could his Master eat the same stick of candied haws with someone else?

He was probably thinking of him day and night to the point of obsession, and even mistook a stranger who appeared out of nowhere for his Master.

He laughed at himself. Was he really crazy and wanted to find a substitute?

Thinking of this, a ruthless look appeared in Xiao Xun’s eyes.

He didn’t want any substitute. No matter what method he used, he would make that person come back to life and return to his side.

The weather in the lower realm changed quickly. Soon the dark clouds rolled back, and the world went dark.

The person Xiao Xun was waiting for finally arrived.

That person was still wearing opera costumes. Seeing Xiao Xun, he immediately knelt on the ground to ask for punishment: “This subordinate is here to ask for punishment from the Head of the Family. Some time ago in the opera troupe, there were traces of cultivators. Presumably, the people from the Imperial City have already set their sights on us.”

Xiao Xun took a sip of the tea that had already turned cold. His fingers tapped lightly on the table, and a completely black scorpion crawled out of his sleeve, instantly crawling along the wooden fence to the crowd listening to storytelling under the tea house.

He said flatly: “That place was exposed, it must be because your hands and feet were not clean.”

Hearing this, the man in opera costumes kowtowed hard, so scared that he didn’t dare to speak.

Xiao Xun said: “Forget it, it’s exposed if it’s exposed. Anyway, I haven’t clashed with them much over the years. Now that the power of vows has been collected almost enough, you don’t have to stop, just continue as usual.”

“Go sell more divine statues and collect the power of incense in the lower realm as soon as possible.”

Hearing this, the man breathed a sigh of relief, looked up and said: “Head of the Family, please rest assured. We have already sent more people to poison the common people with Gu. I think the number of people who go to invite gods and worship gods will increase a lot these days… seven days at most…”

Xiao Xun stared at him and said coldly: “Seven days is too long. In addition to Hangzhou, don’t let the nearby Suzhou go either.”

A thunderclap fell, illuminating the madness and obsession in the depths of Xiao Xun’s eyes.

Seven days?

He couldn’t wait any longer.

Xue Jingci and Pei Huang stayed in Suzhou for three days, and finally noticed something was wrong.

They originally thought that with the help of Senior Sister Yin, the truth about the Gu poison could soon be pointed out, so that those common people would no longer blindly believe in Goddess Tianlu.

But now, even temples worshipping Goddess Tianlu have appeared in Suzhou.

Looking at the common people kneeling and praying to the gods with their seriously ill relatives instead of going to the clinic, Xue Jingci was silent, but an idea emerged in his heart.

It’s not hard to solve all this.

Since Xiao Xun’s goal was him, then as long as he showed up, there was no need for Xiao Xun to create gods in such a grand manner.

Pei Huang saw Xue Jingci staring at the divine statue in the temple and knew what he was thinking.

Although this person looked cold, as if he didn’t care about anything, when you got closer, you knew he had a soft heart.

Pei Huang looked at Xue Jingci and asked: “How do you want to draw Xiao Xun out?”

Xue Jingci’s mind was guessed by him, and he couldn’t help but tilt his head.

This look was a bit dazed and cute. Pei Huang couldn’t help but reach out and touch Xue Jingci’s head.

Xue Jingci only then sensed that something was wrong, and said to the system in his mind: “How do I feel that Pei Huang is less and less like a disciple.”

How could a disciple touch his master’s head!

The system gave a vague meow, thinking, Host, do you only feel something is wrong now?

You know, before Pei Huang often held Xue Jingci’s hand.

Perhaps in Xue Jingci’s view, holding hands was just because he had left Pei Huang behind many times, so this person was afraid he would disappear again.

It wasn’t until Pei Huang touched his head today that Xue Jingci finally sensed a bit of strangeness.

But there was more important work at hand, so Xue Jingci just grabbed Pei Huang’s hand and moved it away, saying flatly: “Naturally, by smashing the divine statues.”

Even if it couldn’t draw out Xiao Xun, it could at least draw out his subordinates. Following the clues step by step, he would always find him.

Pei Huang retracted his hand like an electric shock, also knowing that he had overstepped. He coughed lightly and said: “Okay.”

With that, the two walked straight to the temple in front of them.

This temple was small and the incense was not flourishing, but there were also many common people kneeling in front of the divine statue and worshipping piously.

Xue Jingci simply and neatly raised his hand, instantly releasing a sharp sword Qi, causing the divine statue to shatter on the spot.

But unexpectedly, there were no other statues inside.

It seems that only those temples with very flourishing incense hid his statues.

The common people were frightened by this sword Qi and knelt down to kowtow one after another, kowtowing until their blood flowed.

“Goddess Tianlu, forgive us, Goddess Tianlu, forgive us…”

When Wen Lingyun arrived, this was the scene he saw.

Although Fellow Daoist Yin had exquisite medical skills, she was helpless against Gu poison, and more and more people in Hangzhou were poisoned.

However, misfortunes never come singly. News also came from the government in Suzhou that Goddess Tianlu manifested miracles overnight, and many common people began to worship privately.

Lin Su was unable to get away, so Wen Lingyun volunteered to come and investigate the situation.

He first went to see Xue Jingci, but no one was there.

He didn’t expect these two to say nothing and do such outrageous things!

But for him to say, well smashed!

Wen Lingyun’s depressed heart finally became cheerful. Lin Su had the Imperial City behind him and was cautious in his actions. He had the Wen family behind him. As a family, he also had countless connections with the Xiao family.

Naturally, it was impossible for him to act like this.

Seeing Xue Jingci and the other person walking out, Wen Lingyun quickly caught up and explained his purpose.

Learning that Xue Jingci intended to smash the divine statues to draw Xiao Xun out directly, his mouth opened wide and he murmured incoherently.

“This is too dangerous!” Wen Lingyun said urgently: “I’m afraid you don’t know yet, he has long since become different from what he used to be. It only took him three years to become the Head of the Xiao Family…”

Xue Jingci naturally knew how dangerous Xiao Xun was, but he had a system to protect him after all, so he was not afraid.

He said flatly: “I have a way to escape.”

Wen Lingyun couldn’t persuade him, took out a protective spiritual tool from his bosom and handed it over: “Then you must be very careful.”

With that, he followed the two of them closely, obviously wanting to protect them personally.

He was young and lively, and once he started talking, his mouth couldn’t be closed. Soon he became familiar with the two of them.

When Xue Jingci lived in Yucheng before, he had heard of the Wen family and knew that they practiced the Red Dust Sword Path and often lived with mortals, so he couldn’t help but ask: “Since you are a member of the Wen family, why don’t you go to the upper realm, but instead stay so close to the royal family.”

Wen Lingyun said: “The royal family in the mortal realm has an ancestral teaching that no royal descendants can cultivate. Because if they move the idea of cultivation, they will not be able to resist the temptation of longevity and will search everywhere for heavenly materials and earthly treasures for cultivation, which is tiring for the people and a waste of money. Besides, if the royal descendants all ascend to the upper realm, who will manage the affairs of the mortal realm?”

“Our Wen family also set a rule because of this. Disciples practice in the red dust and guard the royal family.”

“Since the Heaven Gate Array was reinforced ten years ago, the spiritual energy in the upper realm has become more and more abundant, and the lower realm is full of turbid energy. Except for my sister and me staying in the Imperial City, most of the Wen family descendants have gone to different places.”

Xue Jingci was lost in thought, recalling the spirits he saw when he just returned to this world.

The Yin energy of the mortal realm was indeed too heavy.

During the conversation, the three arrived at the next temple. This temple was grand in scale and the incense was also exceptionally flourishing.

Xue Jingci still simply and neatly shattered the divine statue. He saw the mud and stones splashing, and there really was another male statue hidden inside.

That male statue’s eyes were slightly lowered, with a look of compassion, and at first glance, it looked ninety percent similar to Xue Jingci’s appearance.

Although he had heard about this from Wen Lingyun before, witnessing it with his own eyes, Xue Jingci was still startled.

Several commoners who were close were also stunned by this scene, standing still and unable to speak, not even noticing the incense burning to their fingertips.

Xue Jingci quickly came back to his senses, ignored the broken male statue on the ground, and signaled Pei Huang and Wen Lingyun to continue following him to smash the divine statues.

There were not many divine statues of Goddess Tianlu in Suzhou. By the time night fell, they had smashed them all, even drawing out the local government.

Fortunately, Wen Lingyun carried the Imperial City token with him, so Xue Jingci was not taken away by the government officials.

However, in the dark of night, several pairs of eyes were staring at the three of them.

“Tonight is the day the Head of the Family performs the Soul-Summoning ceremony. In case we are short of this bit of incense, our lives will be at stake…”

The three people looked at each other, a ruthless look flashed across their faces, and one of them raised his hand. He saw yellow sand rising from the ground, and it actually condensed into several monsters that looked like humans but were not.

The man raised his hand to manipulate them, and several monsters instantly surrounded the three of them.

Xue Jingci only felt the yellow sand flying in front of him, covering the sky and the sun, and subconsciously grabbed Pei Huang’s hand.

When he came back to his senses, the three of them were already placed in a cold and eerie secret room.

Countless clay figures were kneeling and sitting around, with frightened expressions carved on their faces. At first glance, they looked like real people.

It was extremely dark here, with only red candles lit at the four corners. There was clearly no wind, but the red candles were shaking violently, as if something was touching the flames.

Pei Huang raised his hand and performed a magic gesture. His right eye was faintly burning, and he said coldly: “There is an aura of resentful spirits here.”

Wen Lingyun had never seen such a strange magic technique and looked at Xue Jingci and asked softly: “Did you teach him this?”

Xue Jingci naturally hadn’t taught this, and he was also a bit puzzled, but this was not a good time to ask.

He made a gesture to let Wen Lingyun not talk, and was about to reach out and touch the clay figures on the ground when he noticed movement behind him.

The yellow sand passed by, and the people who had secretly peered at the three earlier revealed themselves, their eyes revealing a cold light.

The leader said coldly: “They do not revere God and affect the incense. They are sinners, so they must kneel here for a lifetime.”

Wen Lingyun looked up and blurted out: “Many people went missing before, could it be that they were caught by you and made into clay figures?”

Another person said resentfully: “Now you know fear? It’s too late! Tonight the Head of the Family will…”

He realized he had let it slip and quickly stopped, signaling the other two to step forward and completely capture the three.

The divine statues have been destroyed, and these three sinners must kneel here to atone for their sins.

But whether they can live or not depends entirely on whether the Head of the Family’s Soul-Summoning is smooth tonight. It is heard that the Third Prince has a body full of dragon Qi, which is to be extracted by secret techniques and used to mold the destiny of the flesh-body puppet.

Presumably, just breaking a few divine statues shouldn’t affect the Head of the Family’s grand plan.

Hearing these half-sentences, Xue Jingci’s heart skipped a beat, knowing that tonight was critical.

He no longer hesitated and urged his sword Qi to attack the three.

Pressing pressure spread out from him, causing the surrounding clay figures to faintly shatter, revealing the people sealed inside.

Seeing those people still maintaining their terrified state before death, Wen Lingyun felt his blood rush to the top of his head and also pulled out his sword to attack the three.

Pei Huang faintly protected Xue Jingci, his divine consciousness spreading out to investigate the surrounding environment, and soon discovered a secret passage.

Seeing that Xue Jingci and Wen Lingyun had already broken through the protective spiritual energy of those three, he raised his hand and released several hidden arrows, completely ending their lives.

“Go, go this way.”

Pei Huang led the way, with Xue Jingci and Wen Lingyun following closely behind. They soon followed the tunnel to a brightly lit secret room.

Unlike the darkness and horror of the previous secret room, although this secret room was airtight, it was filled with a warm and elegant atmosphere.

Layers of gauze curtains wrapped around the bed, and next to it was a desk with several cultivation manuals on it.

In the corner was a stone basin with green bamboo inserted in it. At this moment, spring water flowed down from inside, making a tinkling sound.

Someone was faintly lying on the bed.

Xue Jingci did not move, his brow slightly furrowed, feeling that this room was very familiar—it seemed to be the one he lived in when he was in the Lingxu Sect.

He pulled out his sword, picked open the soft gauze, and finally saw clearly the person lying on the bed.

To call it a person, yet there was no vitality. At this moment, the eyes were closed, and the hands were folded in front of the body.

“This… what is this thing…”

Wen Lingyun asked with a trembling voice.

The reason for calling it a thing is because this person looks exactly the same as Xue Jingci, yet Xue Jingci is right beside him, so this naturally won’t be a person.

Pei Huang stretched out his hand and gently touched the folded hands of that person.

Unlike those clay and stone statues, the touch was soft.

He said coldly: “This is a flesh-body puppet, the most advanced type of puppet in legend.”

Xue Jingci had been standing silently on the side, and only then did he slightly raise his eyes and look at the flesh-body puppet on the bed with disgust.

Although he loved to study cultivation techniques and had once studied demon cultivation spells, he instinctively hated these sinister things.

The sword in his hand buzzed, and Xue Jingci raised his hand and directly split the flesh-body puppet in half.

In the air, terrifying pressure suddenly pressed down.

Wen Lingyun almost knelt down, wanting to speak, but could no longer open his mouth.

Xiao Xun stood at the door with a frantic expression. His gaze swept over the three people and fell on the flesh-body puppet that was split in half.

Blood dripped from his lips, and his eyes faintly showed blood color.

Just one step away, he was going to call back his Master’s soul, but the only flesh-body puppet in this world was destroyed by someone…

Who is it… Who is it!

The hand Xiao Xun held the sword with trembled, but he didn’t attack in the first place.

He wanted to tear this intruder into thousands of pieces and even completely obliterate his soul.

Xue Jingci turned his head.

As early as the moment he destroyed the flesh-body puppet, he had removed his disguise.

Xue Jingci looked at Xiao Xun calmly.

Xiao Xun only felt a buzzing in his brain, everything turned blank, and even the sword in his hand fell to the ground.

“…Master?”