"..."
Liao Jinzhong felt his mouth and tongue dry, and by the time he came to his senses, the figure of Song Yunxing beside him had already disappeared to who knows where!
With the emperor's decree upon him, he dared not retreat easily. Helpless, he had to grab a Daoist boy and force him to enter for observation.
Upon seeing the Daoist boy emerge unharmed from the Incense Hall, Liao Jinzhong finally dared to enter.
At this moment, the statue of Lord Yuan within the Incense Hall was thoroughly shattered, and even the backing wall had collapsed more than halfway. Liao Jinzhong skirted around the mess before him and looked toward the inner hall.
There, Immortal Baiyun lay motionless on the ground, and the pill furnace before him had been struck by lightning, reduced to scrap iron, with the only unbroken chain now severed into several pieces.
Just as Liao Jinzhong was at a loss for words, the silent Immortal Baiyun lying on the ground suddenly began to cough violently.
Dust fell, and the old Daoist crawled out from the rubble, his expression shifting.
"You old beast, so unfeeling! I earned incense money to nourish you, but today you come to ruin my good deed!"
As the words of Immortal Baiyun fell, silence dominated the surroundings, with no response.
Beside him, a Taoist disciple inquired about the old Daoist's injuries, and the old Daoist replied furiously, "The old beast is but a manifestation of incense, the attracted lightning held no great power; had he truly attacked me, that would've been preferable!"
"What I hate is the old beast's incredibly malicious intent, knowing I was refining the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Pill, he directed all the lightning at the pill furnace."
"This is a pill tribulation, and also a human tribulation. It's a pity for this furnace of pills; had he not interfered, consuming this furnace would have extended one's life by a hundred years!"
The pursuit of the longevity pill by Emperor Longping ended in failure due to an accident, yet Liao Jinzhong's trip was not without gains.
To ensure Liao Jinzhong spoke favorably upon returning, Immortal Baiyun took this eunuch in as a named disciple, and passed onto him the cultivation technique of seizing one's energy and blood, the "Wishful Assimilation Technique".
"This cultivation technique is not a mere mortal skill, but was recorded in a celestial scripture obtained by my ancestor who stumbled into Baiyun Cave."
"With this technique at hand, you have the chance to enter the realm of Celestial People."
Having acquired the forbidden secret techniques imparted by Immortal Baiyun, within only a year, Liao Jinzhong entered the realm of Martial Arts Grandmaster. However, unlike other grandmasters, Liao Jinzhong's cultivation path was paved with numerous bones.
After Emperor Longping passed away and Emperor Jingxing, Zhao Rong, ascended the throne, Liao Jinzhong, having gained the emperor's favor, behaved recklessly.
In a bid to break through to the legendary Celestial People realm, Liao Jinzhong manipulated a surveillance operation across the realm, under the guise of royal inspection, orchestrating literary inquisitions. Whether in the martial world or in martial halls, anyone practicing martial arts with no substantial background could not escape the eunuch's grasp.
People in the martial hall conducting their affairs properly would be interrogated for various official documents by the examinee from the surveillance department. When finding that the martial hall indeed abided by laws, with nothing amiss, the head eunuch would deftly fold the documents and, with orchid fingers pinched, point directly to the weapon rack in the martial hall:
"Why do the tips of the swords, spears on the weapon rack point towards the heavens? Are you intending harm against the emperor?"
"This is attempted treason! Arrest them!"
For years, martial sects engaged in friendly competitions without issue, but now the eunuchs from the surveillance department arrived, pointing at the monks practicing Dragon Subduing Tiger Crushing Fist, saying, "Dragon Subduing Fist? You intend to rebel, can you truly subdue the True Dragon Son of Heaven?"
After seizing the fist practitioners, they moved to the gun handlers: "The dragon and phoenix embossed on your gun? You're disrespecting the emperor, seize them!"
Suddenly, the martial world was in panic, practitioners of Dragon Fist renamed it to Earthworm Fist overnight, and those practicing Phoenix Gun changed it to Crowgun immediately.
Think this will save you? You underestimate the capabilities of the surveillance department.
In just a few days, Master Liao entered the palace and requested a royal bestowed mirror, with four characters personally inscribed by Emperor Jingxing on the back: "Justice Mirror, Clear Reflection!"
Holding this mirror symbolized the emperor's presence; good, evil, a reflection would unveil the truth.
But before the mirror was utilized, Liao Jinzhong arrived at Linjiang County.
Xu Qing saw and stopped Liao Jinzhong, asking for a reflection from the borrowed mirror by merchants Shaoyang.
But who borrows a mirror carrying a hammer in their hands?
Subsequent events were mundane; the eunuch experienced a lifetime of bad luck in Linjiang County and, upon departing, encountered the most unfortunate person from the Jin Sect.
The eunuch's life of sins concluded, the Sutra of Salvation evaluated him as middle class in Earth category.
There were two rewards: a Wishful Assimilation Technique and a Virtuous-Mirror Evil-Mirror.
Xu Qing had recently experienced the Wishful Assimilation Technique, and it wasn't much, but as for the Virtuous-Mirror Evil-Mirror...
As expected by its name, it was a mirror that could distinguish between good and evil but had a limitation that it could only be used on dead people or dead objects.
Xu Qing held the mirror, pointing it at Liao Jinzhong's corpse, and instantly the mirror exclaimed, "Take it away, don't touch me! This person's heart is too filthy, too foul!"
"???"
Xu Qing instinctively flipped the mirror, aiming it at himself.
"A great kind-hearted person, a living Buddha! Extraordinary, extraordinary! It's worth it if the mirror shatters after reflecting such a life!"
"..."
Xu Qing's eyebrows furrowed, how could this broken mirror still insult people!
Who's the great kind-hearted person, who's the living Buddha?
Clarify your words!
The mirror began to play dead.
Xu Qing spat, throwing the useless mirror into the Mountain and River Map.
Could he not discern whether a dead person was good or bad?
If it could reflect the living, Xu Qing might have regarded it higher, but as of now...
"What a lousy thing!"
Having dealt with the chatterbox mirror, Xu Qing looked at the cold bed before him with the eunuch's corpse.
Xu Qing didn't know whether he was a good person or a bad person, but now, he didn't need a mirror to see how insane his expression was!
That night, Xu Qing carried a bag wrapped in oilcloth, heading towards Shuimen Bridge.
Before leaving, Xuan Yu asked him what he was carrying, Xu Qing smiled slightly and replied: "Mutton, with a rank stink and a foul smell. I'm planning to throw it away."
After speaking, Xu Qing left the shop, but the next moment, one of his feet retreated back into the threshold.
Turning his head, Xu Qing looked at the obedient and sensible Sun Erniang by the counter, saying aloud: "Wait for me to come back; I have something to ask you—related to your life."
Walking on the path to Shuimen Bridge, Xu Qing's expression remained extraordinarily calm.
He was contemplating matters.
The disciples of the Wishful Monastery on Yunmeng Mountain once told Liao Jinzhong that the Cat Demon's moves were as erratic as ghosts, extremely difficult to capture or subdue, it was with expert advice and following the guidance of Immortal Baiyun that the demon was subdued...
If it was solely Immortal Baiyun who harmed Xuan Yu's life, Xuan Yu would certainly not be so unwilling to mention it; surely, there were reasons unknown to Xu Qing within.
Immortal Baiyun and those at Wishful Monastery clearly did not know Xuan Yu beforehand, nor were they aware of its weaknesses. The only thing drawing Xu Qing's attention was the mysterious figure guiding Immortal Baiyun.
"A mysterious figure?"
Arriving at the Shuimen Bridge Villa, Xu Qing was forcefully digging into the ground with an iron shovel.
"How mysterious?"
Beside him, the embroideress hid in the corner, secretly observing Xu Qing's fierce digging, feeling that the entire villa was chilled a few degrees.
————————————————
If it was solely Immortal Baiyun who harmed Xuan Yu's life, Xuan Yu would certainly not be so unwilling to mention it; surely, there were reasons unknown to Xu Qing within.
Immortal Baiyun and those at Wishful Monastery clearly did not know Xuan Yu beforehand, nor were they aware of its weaknesses. The only thing drawing Xu Qing's attention was the mysterious figure guiding Immortal Baiyun.
"A mysterious figure?"
Arriving at the Shuimen Bridge Villa, Xu Qing was forcefully digging into the ground with an iron shovel.
"How mysterious?"
Beside him, the embroideress hid in the corner, secretly observing Xu Qing's fierce digging, feeling that the entire villa was chilled a few degrees.
"..."