Exorcism Points: 300, gained for slaying one Vampire Viscount.
Seeing the points displayed on the Exorcism Panel, Zhong Bai rolled his eyes.
This fellow wasted a Viscount's strength.
It seemed that not drinking fresh blood for decades had a huge impact on his strength; after all, in movies and TV shows, ordinary Taoist magic generally had no effect on them after feeding on fresh blood.
A Viscount was equivalent to a Hopping Zombie among corpses. An ordinary Hopping Zombie could yield 400 exorcism points even at the very initial stage, 600 points for the middle stage, and a late-stage Hopping Zombie could yield up to 800 exorcism points.
A Bronze Armored Corpse was a full 900 points, though Zhong Bai could understand it. The rougher the seas, the more precious the fish; it was obvious that this vampire was just an all-bark-and-no-bite sort of character.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have lacked even the power to resist in his hands.
Shaking his head, Zhong Bai casually used a Blazing Flame Talisman to ignite his body...
Mount Mao, Pill Hall.
Hua Ling stood inside the Pill Hall, looking at the three-colored flames emanating from the cauldron in the center, and could not help drawing a sharp breath. Needless to say, this was definitely a supreme treasure!
"Little girl, do you know why the old Daoist wants to take you into the Pill Hall?"
Just as Hua Ling was filled with doubt, True Immortal Liuguang walked over slowly from behind. With a head of completely white hair and leaning on a dragon-headed crutch, the gaze he cast toward Hua Ling was filled with fervent heat.
Hua Ling turned her head, a shock running through her heart.
"Immortal, Hua Ling does not know..."
"Tsk tsk, I suppose that's true. To tell you the truth, the old Daoist taking you as a disciple is, besides seeing that you have some talent in alchemy, more importantly because you have something the old Daoist needs on your body!"
Hm?
Hua Ling was utterly bewildered. What could possibly be on her body that this Mount Mao true immortal needed?
"The Ghost Cave Tribe curse!"
At the mention of this, a sharp light instantly flashed through the eyes of True Immortal Liuguang, who had still been somewhat calm a moment ago.
"You come from a background of Grave Robbers, and by rights the old Daoist would not take you as a disciple, but you actually possess the Ghost Cave Tribe curse on your body!
The old Daoist has searched for the Ghost Cave Tribe for decades, and though I thought I would never be able to unearth their hiding place in this lifetime, your arrival has allowed the old Daoist to see hope."
"Hua Ling does not understand, and dares to ask the True Immortal, do you have a grudge against them when searching for the Ghost Cave Tribe?"
Hua Ling was puzzled, and only after the words left her mouth did she belatedly cover her mouth tightly.
How could these words possibly be something for her to ask...
"Heh heh, the little girl is curious?
It doesn't hurt to tell you. The old Daoist has been stuck at Foundation Establishment Consummation for fifty years.
If I want to advance further, both my own talent and this realm of heaven and earth will hardly allow it.
Therefore, I can only take a different path!
The Ghost Cave Tribe has a supreme treasure called the Ghost Emperor Divine Flower. It bestows blessings when it blooms, and brings disasters when it closes.
The Ghost Cave Tribe curse on your body was caused by the disaster brought down by the Ghost Emperor Divine Flower.
What the old Daoist wants is precisely this Ghost Emperor Divine Flower!"
At this moment, True Immortal Liuguang made no effort to conceal his greed and yearning.
He was a Mount Mao true immortal, but he was also a normal cultivator; who did not yearn to advance further?
Everyone up and down Mount Mao, including the elders of various halls, was almost entirely clear on the desires of True Immortal Liuguang.
Yet no one would blame True Immortal Liuguang.
True Immortal Liuguang only sought the Ghost Emperor Divine Flower.
He could spare the lives of the Ghost Cave Tribe people, which could already be considered mercy.
An ordinary man is innocent, but a treasure becomes his crime.
It was not just True Immortal Liuguang of Mount Mao who pursued the people of the Ghost Cave Tribe; other Taoist sects and even Buddhist Sects were searching for it, all plotting for the Ghost Emperor Divine Flower.
Seeing that True Immortal Liuguang before her was so candid, Hua Ling truly could not breed any thoughts of contempt.
"So, Immortal, what do you need Hua Ling to do..."
Realizing that she was now meat upon the chopping board, Hua Ling simply stopped agonizing over it.
"Hahahaha, little girl, do not be afraid!
If the old Daoist had any thought of harming you, that old fellow Qian Yuan would not have let you come to my Pill Hall.
Actually, what the old Daoist needs is very simple.
It is just to have you begin cultivation, without requiring you to possess any high level of cultivation.
As long as your soul and spirit can endure it so that the old Daoist can cast the Soul-Chasing Great Spell to track down the Ghost Emperor Divine Flower based on the curse upon your body, that will do.
For both you and me, this is a win-win situation, yo!"
With that said, True Immortal Liuguang looked at Hua Ling. Without hesitation, Hua Ling went directly through the master-disciple prostration ritual.
"Disciple Hua Ling pays respects to Master!"
They said fate was wondrous. The Ghost Cave Tribe curse was a torment when placed upon a Mountain Mover Taoist.
Yet falling upon Mount Mao, it became the turning point to pursue a supreme treasure!
A few days later, when Hua Ling informed Partridge Whistle and Old Foreigner of the news that she had successfully taken a master on Mount Mao, Partridge Whistle's mouth dropped open in sheer disbelief.
No, how did his own junior sister soar to the skies just like that?
Hua Ling did not mention the details of how she became a disciple of Mount Mao; as for the matter of the Ghost Cave Tribe curse, she could not leak even a shred of it.
She only informed Partridge Whistle and Old Foreigner very obscurely that they perhaps did not need to continue searching for the Muchen Pearl.
Yet Partridge Whistle and Old Foreigner never took Hua Ling's obscure reminder to heart.
Bidding farewell to Hua Ling, Partridge Whistle and Old Foreigner stepped out into the pugilistic world...
Jiuquan Town.
Ever since Zhong Bai slew the vampire in the church, the church had been directly assigned by the Yang Family into Zhong Bai's Taoist temple.
As for what Zhong Bai used the church for, the Yang Family would not interfere.
"Sir! Someone is looking for you!"
Just as Zhong Bai was in deep meditation inside the room, Xiahe gently knocked on the door.
Opening his eyes, Zhong Bai got up and left the room, only to see Daoist Priest FourEyes, whom he had not seen in a month, looking at him with an excited expression.
"Junior Brother Qianhe, Senior Brother has finally found you ah!"
Daoist Priest FourEyes was very excited, while Zhong Bai felt somewhat disgusted.
For no other reason than that Daoist Priest FourEyes was currently covered in filth, to the point that calling him a refugee fleeing famine would not be an exaggeration at all.
"Tsk tsk tsk, Junior Brother Qianhe, I didn't expect Junior Brother to live such an immortal's life right after coming to Jiuquan Town. Alas, your senior brother has suffered!"
The moment they met, before Zhong Bai even had time to speak, Daoist Priest FourEyes began voicing his grievances on his own.
Yet he really had it miserable. When descending from Mount Mao, Daoist Priest FourEyes had thought of everything, and whatever he lacked he had taken from the Corpse Herding Hall, but he had forgotten only one thing: the place where he stayed was an official highway.
The Taoist temple required him to establish it all by himself, and regarding this, Daoist Priest FourEyes only wanted to say the sky had fallen.
He had no money; how could the word "poor" begin to describe it?
After toiling bitterly for over half a month, Daoist Priest FourEyes completely abandoned the notion of establishing a Taoist temple by himself.
He directly locked his targets onto the other junior and senior brothers who had gone down the mountain.
Shi Jian, the direct disciple of the sect leader, did not have a good relationship with him. Although Auntie Zhe was in the county town, Daoist Priest FourEyes could not bring himself to ask Auntie Zhe for help either.
That left only Lin Fengjiao and Zhong Bai.
He had already been to Ren Family Town, where Senior Brother Lin was honestly building the Abandoned Inn. Not only did FourEyes fail to gain any support, but he was instead roped in by Lin Fengjiao to serve as cheap labor for a few days.
Helpless, FourEyes could only come and see if there was any chance for him here at Zhong Bai's place...
And at this moment, looking at FourEyes' excited expression, one could tell he had already made up his mind.
"Senior Brother FourEyes, you are..."
Zhong Bai surveyed the filth all over Daoist Priest FourEyes from head to toe, though FourEyes did not care about these minor issues at all.
"Junior Brother, Senior Brother has suffered.
There is no one at all on that official highway, and Senior Brother has no source of money to establish a Taoist temple.
Senior Brother is truly at his wit's end now, and can only come to plead with Junior Brother!"
While speaking, Daoist Priest FourEyes did not forget to try and squeeze out a few tears.
Zhong Bai found it somewhat awkward to watch, while Chunhua and Xiahe at the side could not hold back and burst into laughter.
Zhong Bai raised his head and glanced at them, causing Chunhua and Xiahe to immediately cover their mouths.
"Ahem, sir, you and your senior brother chat first, we'll go prepare the evening meal right away!"
Xiahe pulled Chunhua along and bolted away in a flash, leaving only Zhong Bai looking somewhat between laughter and tears at his own senior brother, who was still selling his misery and chattering endlessly.
"What a debt of karma!"
Sighing inwardly, Zhong Bai could only let FourEyes play out his acting skills.
They were fellow sect brothers after all, and their relationship on usual days was not bad either; he wouldn't just stand by with his arms folded.
Let's add a subplot for him involving the Ghost Cave Tribe, and then Hua Ling is definitely not the female lead. This book has no female lead, ha, it's settled just like this.
These past two days it feels like not too many people are reading, but I still have to keep updating. After all, there are still some reader bosses faithfully reading this book; no matter what, I cannot let these reader bosses down.
And then I will continue to look forward to the reader bosses' serialized reading, monthly votes, collections, tips, and comments. Thank you!
Before you continue