Immortal Aura, Bestial Heart, Demonic Deeds

"Let's go." Since it wasn't far from the Purple Micro Daoist Temple, True Master Qingxu, who appeared advanced in years but had a gaunt face and moved with surprising agility, didn't get back into the sedan chair. Instead, he took out an ancient black-sheathed longsword from inside it. This seemed to serve as proof of True Master Qingxu's immense divine powers, and the mountain folk watching let out another round of admiring murmurs when they saw the turquoise and red gemstones inlaid on the sword's scabbard.

Luo Bei followed behind him. As they passed the bluestone archway flanked by qilin statues that he'd seen before, two young Daoist boys slightly older than Luo Bei came out from the temple to greet them. They had their hair tied up in topknots, wore flat hunyuan hats, and were dressed in blue Daoist robes.

Although this temple only had a dozen or so halls—far smaller than the Medicine King Sect had been—it was still very orderly. When the Daoists inside saw a bloodstained youth following True Master Qingxu, they all showed surprise, but after bowing to Qingxu, they went about their own business without asking any questions.

"It seems this Purple Micro Daoist Temple is no ordinary temple."

Luo Bei noticed that after he and True Master Qingxu entered the temple, the two Daoist boys closed the main gate behind them, clearly indicating that they didn't normally accept incense offerings. The two black gates were several feet thick and looked very heavy, but the two boys, only slightly older than Luo Bei, closed them without any visible effort.

"But I wonder why it's built in this mountain town."

After Yuan Tianyi had forcibly altered his bones and meridians with such aggressive methods, Luo Bei had lost all the strength he'd gained from eating the Zhanxikezha Grass, and he hadn't become as tough as diamond like the Miao legends said. However, Yuan Tianyi had indeed seen, in the grand hall of the Luofu where scriptures were passed down, the true function of this heaven-defying secret medicine recorded by the previous patriarchs in flickering light: Rebirth and Metamorphosis. This unknown secret medicine, passed down among the ancient Miao tribes, could actually change a person's aptitude for cultivation. Who had passed down this medicine? The records of the Luofu patriarchs didn't say, and Yuan Tianyi didn't know either. Previously, the Luofu hadn't faced any major upheavals, and their cultivation path emphasized facing difficulties head-on, so none of the generations had wanted to use this thing. Now, after his rebirth and metamorphosis, Luo Bei could clearly sense that this Purple Micro Daoist Temple wasn't located in a place with much spiritual energy—it wasn't a good place for cultivation.

But aside from the single technique imparted to him through the crown transmission, Luo Bei's understanding of the cultivation world was still incredibly pale. For example, the Outer Elixir Dao Method that True Master Qingxu practiced was something beyond his knowledge.

In fact, the crudest form of the Outer Elixir Dao Method involved using medicinal herbs imbued with Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy to refine pills for consumption, thereby increasing one's cultivation.

The Outer Elixir Dao Method had a history as long as the Golden Core Great Method for cultivating inner elixirs. This method had many practitioners because it was simple and fast—if you had the right spiritual herbs, pills refined in a few days could match years of bitter cultivation with other methods. Moreover, most spiritual veins rich in spiritual energy were already occupied, and even if you knew of them, you might not be able to cultivate there. While heaven-and-earth-grade spiritual herbs like those in the Luofu Abyss of Death were rare and hard to come by for ordinary cultivators, common spiritual herbs could even be bought with money and weren't hard to find. For those practicing the Outer Elixir Dao Method, whether the location had abundant spiritual energy was secondary; what mattered was having enough power and influence to acquire more spiritual herbs.

Thus, most sects that practiced the Outer Elixir Dao Method, except for a few reclusive ones that cultivated or sought their own herbs, chose to enter the world, build power, and use vast human and financial resources to collect spiritual herbs. The Medicine King Sect, for instance, had extremely wealthy merchant houses that monopolized the medicinal herb trade in the Nanmin region, taking any useful herbs for themselves first.

The Medicine King Sect, which hadn't dared to refuse under the intimidation of Yuan Tianyi's Six Paths Purgatory Karmic Fire Red Lotus, was already one of the world's top sects in Outer Elixir Dao Methods. This Purple Micro Daoist Temple, however, was merely a third-rate among third-rate minor sects, subordinate to the Shushan Sect.

But anyone who entered the threshold of cultivation wouldn't be as ignorant as those mountain folk; they would surely have some ambition.

Even a third-rate among third-rate minor sects might have its own pursuits and aspirations!

***

"Strange, I don't know what possessed Master to bring back a blood-soaked, beggar-like youth and have me stick close to him at all times, taking care of him."

Chang Feng, True Master Qingxu's most capable disciple, led Luo Bei to bathe and change clothes while sizing him up, thinking to himself.

What he didn't know was that at that very moment, True Master Qingxu, with his Immortal Bone Daoist Aura, was standing before a portrait. The portrait depicted an old Daoist dressed almost identically to him, but with a completely different appearance—black hair and a childlike face.

The painter's skill was exquisite, with every stroke penetrating the paper, not only capturing the old Daoist's appearance vividly but also conveying his spirit.

"Master!"

Looking at this portrait, True Master Qingxu's eyes actually grew moist.

He slowly closed his eyes and bowed once more to the figure in the painting.

When he opened his eyes again, it was as if a glorious door had opened for him in this world.

Gently turning a Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Bronze Mirror on the wall nine times to the left and nine times to the right, the wall beside the portrait silently split open, revealing the secret chamber of the Purple Micro Daoist Temple.

The spacious and deep secret passage was lit every short distance by smooth night pearls, bright as day, with no trace of gloom. But on the shelves along the walls, which should have held some of the temple's ancient collections, were rows of small jars. These jars looked no different from ordinary wine jars, but what they contained was chilling—pairs of Yin-Yang Purple River Carts, still attached to fetuses!

True Master Qingxu walked forward. There were over a hundred such jars, and even though they were all suppressed with yellow talismans, they couldn't seem to dispel the bloody and sinister aura that filled this once bright and righteous passage.

The passage descended continuously until it suddenly opened up into an underground stone chamber deep within the mountain. This chamber, about ten zhang in diameter, contained several bronze racks holding various magical artifacts like evil-repelling mirrors, swords, and dusters. Some of these items glowed with light, likely spiritual treasures imbued with energy. But the most striking feature was the alchemy furnace in the center of the chamber, several zhang tall.

The furnace appeared to be made of bronze, with a base shaped like a square ding. Its four legs were cast with patterns of four mythical beasts, and most of the legs were buried in the ground. Above the base, the furnace body was shaped like a double-layered gourd, with the lower layer having gourd-shaped air vents. The entire furnace was engraved with ancient inscriptions, and though no fuel was visible, blazing flames shone through the lower vents, illuminating most of the chamber and radiating intense heat. Clearly, this furnace was connected to the Earth Core Fire, burning day and night without pause.

The blazing light from the furnace vents cast True Master Qingxu's entire body in red, but he didn't look at the furnace. Instead, he stared at the wall directly in front of him and said softly, "Junior Brother, I've finally gathered all the materials needed for the Purple River Rebirth Great Method."

On the wall opposite True Master Qingxu hung a person!

No, this person couldn't even be called a person anymore! His entire body was withered, with no trace of flesh or blood, giving the impression of a mummy that had been dead for years! This mummy-like figure was wrapped in a tattered Daoist robe. From a distance, if you weren't paying attention, you might think it was just an old robe hanging on the wall.

But if you looked closely, you'd see that the wall behind him was carved with various runes and secret incantations, and beneath the tattered robe, five dark iron chains could be faintly seen piercing through his bones, fixing him firmly to the stone wall.

This person was True Master Qingxu's junior brother?

Was he still alive?

"You still call me junior brother?" The mummy-like figure hanging on the wall suddenly spoke, sneering. "Clearly, you're a heartless demon practicing forcible possession, yet you call it a rebirth method in front of me!"

"Junior Brother." True Master Qingxu didn't argue with him. A fanatical light shone in his eyes. "Guess what kind of person I met in town today?"

The mummy-like figure sneered and said nothing.

But True Master Qingxu, with his Immortal Bone Daoist Aura, laughed like a madman. "Junior Brother, you'd never guess. The mountain child I met today—his bones and meridians are a gift from heaven and earth. I can swear that even those so-called Golden Immortals of Kunlun, with their peerless cultivation, might not have talent surpassing his!"

"How do I know you haven't lost your mind and misjudged?"

"Misjudged? The child is in the temple right now. I could bring him before you this instant!"

"So what?" The mummy-like figure lowered his head, as if unwilling to even look at True Master Qingxu anymore.

"So what?" True Master Qingxu, who had been laughing like a madman, suddenly quieted down. He stared at the mummy-like figure on the wall and sighed. "Junior Brother, don't you understand yet? After countless hardships, I've just finished gathering the materials for the medicine, and then I encounter a vessel that hasn't been seen in a thousand years. This is heaven's will!"

"Pah!" The mummy-like figure on the wall suddenly roared in anger. "Heaven's will? If heaven hadn't gone blind, how could it favor a madman like you? You have the nerve to talk about heaven's will?!"

True Master Qingxu's voice also rose sharply. "Junior Brother, after all these years, don't you understand? I made this choice for the sake of our Purple Micro Daoist Temple, so that one day it might rise to fame! Otherwise, with our temple's strength, we'd always be attached to the Shushan Sect, having to watch others' faces and take orders! If you hadn't stubbornly opposed me back then, I wouldn't have had to trap you here."

"Nonsense!"

"To refine this medicine for forcible possession, besides the women and children who died unjustly at your hands, you also need fresh blood and living souls. Even if you hide it today, if someone discovers you're using such a vile technique, our Purple Micro Daoist Temple could be wiped out!"

"You're just serving your own selfish interests! Don't pretend it's for our sect!"

"Utter hypocrisy! Even keeping me alive is just to satisfy your twisted desires, so you have someone to witness your dirty secrets and not let them fester inside you!"

"A heartless, hypocritical little man like you doesn't deserve to call me junior brother! You don't deserve to be the temple master of the Purple Micro Daoist Temple!"

For a moment, the mummy-like figure on the wall roared in fury, chains clanging loudly!

"A general's success is built on ten thousand bones!" In the midst of the mummy-like figure's roar, True Master Qingxu's forehead bulged with veins, his temples throbbing. "We've cultivated all our lives and only reached this level—that's the limit of our talent. I've kept you alive so you'd know you were utterly wrong! I want you to see how our Purple Micro Daoist Temple will finally hold its head high!"