The Hanging Temple's Trick

"Whoosh whoosh…"

Countless white paper money fell from the sky, chilling and eerie. Pale white prayer flags fluttered, flames igniting the words on the banners. On the desolate land, graves and tombstones stretched into the distance…

A bonfire rose in the black mist, accompanied by extremely faint weeping.

The Small Underworld descended!

"Four died…"

The Mystic Cat Goddess's golden pupils lit up. She leaped down from the wall, the small jade pendant tied with a red string around her neck gently swaying. With elegant and composed steps, she began to clear the battlefield after the fight.

She was drawn by the aura of death and came to this Small River Village, then secretly observed the entire process of the Qi Refiners' deaths.

Chen Xuan followed like a shadow.

Mind Fast activated, and the scene of the Small Underworld came into view.

"This Mystic Cat… is a 'Mèi'."

Mèi are one of the Twenty-Four Ghosts and Monsters.

They usually refer to old spirits transformed from mountain and marsh beasts that have gained sentience. The Four-Eyed Divine Being and Bronze Horse Chen Xuan encountered earlier, strictly speaking, also belonged to a type of Mèi, but they were born from ancient artifacts and were numerous, so Qi Refiners listed them separately as Ancient Mèi.

As for the latter two of the Mèi, Wǎngliǎng, they refer to mountain and marsh wood and stone spirits.

"These three streams of Immortal Qi are too rotten to look at… The young man was too heavy-handed."

The Mystic Cat Goddess stepped over the gruesome corpses on the ground, her expression slightly displeased, feeling her food had been ruined. She walked towards the ruins of the collapsed houses in the distance.

"This stream of Immortal Qi from the great monk is quite interesting. He came from the Hanging Temple and once practiced tricks, tainted with a trace of mountain and sea luck…"

Hanging Temple?

Chen Xuan, attached to the Mystic Cat Goddess's eyes, heard her thoughts and his heart sank immediately… Did I kill a Qi Refiner with a significant background?

The Hanging Temple was a reclusive sect in the Ancient Chu Kingdom, not in the Red Crow City region. It was said that the people on the mountain were a group of ascetic monks who ate wind and drank dew, studied Buddhist scriptures, and did not concern themselves with worldly disputes.

This was a Qi Refiner force no less inferior to Green Deer Mountain!

"Whoosh!"

Just then.

The Mystic Cat Goddess opened her mouth and inhaled. A white light of Immortal Qi rose from the great monk's body in the ruins, accompanied by a dim light film segment that flickered rapidly in mid-air like a revolving lantern.

"Little White Ape Trick… Qi flows through the Purple Palace, passes through the Spirit Ruin Point, Heavenly Palace Point, to…"

In the silhouette, a great monk wearing a kasaya was in a temple in a deep mountain. Ancient trees towered over him. He secretly overheard some profound trick…

So he fled down the mountain in a panic, his heart excited, trying to practice it. His talent was too poor, and he couldn't get started for several years.

"Can't practice it… Haha, the masters of the Hanging Temple were right, my bone structure is too poor, I'll never be able to cultivate Metal Virtue White Qi in my life!"

In the pouring rain, the great monk looked up and laughed angrily, his heart ashen.

Greed led to a great mistake, and he couldn't return to the mountain gate. The great monk drifted through the world, still using the name of the mountain gate. Later, he wandered to the remote Red Crow City area and became a prominent figure in the martial world.

"So the great monk was a traitor. Am I helping the Hanging Temple clean house?"

Chen Xuan couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. He wasn't afraid of making enemies, but it was obviously better if they could coexist peacefully.

Then, he saw a wisp of Immortal Qi suddenly fly out from the light film segment, moving in a special trajectory in the air, gradually outlining a picture that resembled a human body outline.

"This is the Qi circulation diagram of the Hanging Temple's [Little White Ape Trick]!"

Chen Xuan's heart trembled. He immediately focused and memorized this Qi circulation diagram in his mind.

"Roar!"

The pure white Immortal Qi circled and moved in the air, seemingly connecting with some strange power. Suddenly, a huge white ape, entirely snow-white and like a small mountain, appeared. It propped itself up with its fists on the ground and roared towards the sky with a ferocious face.

White Ape!

"There's something to this."

Chen Xuan watched in a daze, feeling that he had already grasped some understanding of this trick that the great monk couldn't get started with for several years, just from this scene.

It doesn't seem that difficult to learn?

"After a Qi Refiner dies, the tricks they practiced in life, tainted with luck, will evolve in the Small Underworld."

Chen Xuan muttered to himself, as if seeing a bright path right before his eyes… Doesn't that mean that if I fancy a trick in the future, as long as I kill the owner, the trick will belong to me?

Killing one person makes you a thief, killing ten makes you a demon, killing ten thousand makes you an immortal?

Evil thoughts arise in an instant, and the world suddenly feels vast.

"This is clearly the method for a great demon to rise."

Chen Xuan was startled, feeling that this thought that suddenly popped into his mind was too extreme and not the right path.

"I am not a bloodthirsty person… But if some people commit many evil deeds and seek their own death, then they cannot blame me."

Chen Xuan's character was firm. He quickly cast aside distracting thoughts. His talent was already excellent, so he didn't need to deliberately seek shortcuts. From now on, he would just let things happen naturally.

The Mystic Cat Goddess looked up at the Qi circulation diagram for a long time, wrinkled her tender nose, and muttered to herself: "What kind of conspiracy are those crazy ascetic monks from the Hanging Temple up to behind the scenes? They're so busy that they don't even care that their own tricks are circulating in the secular world."

Chen Xuan frowned upon hearing this, feeling that he had heard a secret. He quickly pricked up his ears to listen carefully.

"Could it be that they haven't given up and are still fantasizing about awakening the Yong He? They're all long dead... Hanging Temple might as well raise a living Buddha in this era, that's more realistic!"

The Mystic Cat Goddess scoffed, a cold smile playing on her lips. "Let them stir things up, let them throw the world into chaos, let Chu Kingdom be torn apart, let all the Qi Refiners die off! The Small Underworld will have a feast!"

Chen Xuan was startled by her words. Awaken the Yong He?

The Classic of Mountains and Seas states: There is a beast, its form like an ape, with red eyes, a red beak, and a yellow body, named Yong He. When it appears, the nation will face great terror.

Those ascetic monks from the Hanging Temple were actually plotting such a shocking and outrageous scheme behind the scenes!

The Yong He giant ape was a legendary beast comparable to the Lei Bird of the Ancient Chu Kingdom. Once it appeared, war would inevitably break out, and the Metal Virtue White Qi would permeate the heavens and earth, clashing with the Fire Virtue Red Qi emitted by the Lei Bird. Great terror would ensue, and perhaps the Ancient Chu Kingdom would truly be split in two because of it.

"The Little White Ape Trick is a cultivation method created by the Hanging Temple based on their research into the Yong He..."

Chen Xuan muttered to himself, then decided that from now on, if he ever encountered monks from the Hanging Temple, he would definitely avoid them. Those ascetic monks were probably a bunch of lunatics.

Of course, he also knew in his heart that the Hanging Temple's attempt to awaken the Yong He was basically unrealistic. Moreover, the Ancient Chu Kingdom's imperial court, that colossal entity that spanned ninety thousand miles, wasn't just for show. They would never sit idly by and allow such a treasonous act to occur.

"Whoosh!"

Afterward, the Mystic Cat Goddess opened her mouth and swallowed the wisp of Immortal Qi that contained the old monk's past life and destiny.

Chen Xuan had already memorized the complete Qi Circulation Diagram for the trick. Although he hadn't gained any further benefits from the Mystic Cat during this descent of the Small Underworld, he had unexpectedly discovered another wonderful use for Mind Fast and obtained a trick for cultivating Metal Virtue White Qi from it. This trip was not in vain.

After the Mystic Cat Goddess had eaten her fill, she suddenly turned her head, a hint of solemnity flashing in her golden eyes.

Chen Xuan was startled because he saw himself in her vision. At this moment, he had just finished a fight and was sitting on the steps in the courtyard, closing his eyes to rest.

Why is she looking at me for no reason!

The Mystic Cat Goddess scrutinized Chen Xuan, even moving her four limbs to walk directly in front of him, raising her head to examine him closely.

The whiskers on her cat face gently brushed against Chen Xuan's cheek...

"I misjudged you last time, little one. You're hiding something too..."

A cold inner voice echoed in Chen Xuan's ears, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. What had she discovered?

A few days ago, during the dispute triggered by the Yellow Millet Dream in Willow Town, the Mystic Cat Goddess had seen this ill-fated young man. At that time, he had obtained a scroll of the Twelve Spiritual Qi Breathing Method, but it seemed now that he hadn't rashly practiced it.

He was now learning cat breathing...

Even though Chen Xuan had immediately adjusted his breathing rhythm the moment the Mystic Cat appeared, his body had already undergone subtle changes from the long-term breathing rhythm. At this moment, the Mystic Cat Goddess still detected a hint of it.

This was a very ancient breathing method, one she was very familiar with, circulating only in the Small Underworld and a few other places.

"Since the Yellow Millet Dream has appeared, it's not surprising to have one more anomaly like you. Someone placed a bet early and provided you with the breathing method."

A bloodthirsty arc curved at the corner of the Mystic Cat Goddess's mouth. "The Peach Blossom Garden is about to fall from the sky. You'd better not die, otherwise, your secret will be seen by me..."

Instead of being a proper human, he was learning to be a cat?

She couldn't understand it and felt an inexplicable sense of shame... The being who was secretly teaching Chen Xuan this breathing method was truly doing something inhumane, actually making someone learn this kind of breathing method.

"Hoo..."

Chen Xuan immediately breathed a sigh of relief. So the Mystic Cat had only discovered this matter. He had been mentally prepared for this. Having secretly learned her Mystic Cat Breathing Method, it was almost impossible to hide it when encountering the real owner.

He just hadn't expected the Mystic Cat to connect it to such a chaotic matter.

A master who placed a bet behind the scenes? Wasn't that her!

The things from the Small Underworld weren't as terrifying as he had imagined. After being in contact with them for a long time, Chen Xuan now looked at the Mystic Cat and felt that she suddenly lacked a bit of cold mystery and had gained a bit of familiarity.

"I'll be watching you closely..."

The Mystic Cat Goddess left a harsh threat and quickly departed from the area.

In the distance, black rain poured down like a waterfall, engulfing everything in sight.

Not long after.

Chen Xuan ended his Mind Fast and opened his eyes in the small courtyard.

"Little White Ape Trick..."

He quickly recalled it, deepening his impression, and then immediately began cultivating according to the Qi Circulation Diagram.