A Real Eye-Opener

The Hanging Temple's encampment had been built right against the Southern Wilderness Mountains.

"Clang, clang!"

More than twenty young Ascetic Monks, travel-worn and dusty, with thick legs and square heads, were using White Qi to chop down trees. Sweat poured from their brows as they worked to build a temporary camp.

Chen Xuan's gaze swept in every direction as he cautiously studied the camp's surroundings and its people.

The camp is completely empty... These monks from the Hanging Temple must have only arrived today.

Not far away sat more than a dozen Qi Refiners in all sorts of attire—Daoists, martial artists, swordsmen... They were probably, like Chen Xuan, unlucky souls who had encountered Yan Yushu and been "invited" here.

What puzzled Chen Xuan was that these people sat around the camp in groups of two or three, chatting about everything under the sun with beaming smiles. They acted as though they had found paradise and forgotten to return.

They did not do a lick of work, putting on the airs of pampered young masters.

A young Ascetic Monk, drenched in sweat, walked over with a gloomy expression and demanded that they also contribute to building the camp.

The moment those words fell, the crowd erupted, like a keg of explosives had been lit.

A burly man flew into a rage. He charged forward, seized the monk by the throat, glared with bulging eyes, and showered him with curses.

"What? Your old man came to the Southern Wilderness to fight for a future, only to be captured halfway by outsiders like you baldies! And now you want your old man to work as a carpenter? Do I look that easy to bully?"

A middle-aged Daoist with an immortal air was unwilling to fall behind. He rolled up his sleeves, grabbed one of the monk's arms, twisted it behind his back, and pinned him down.

"I have cultivated my mind and nurtured my nature for more than thirty years. How could I be deceived by a mere young woman? My Dao heart is as true as iron!"

Even more people rushed over and surrounded the young Ascetic Monk, beating and cursing him.

Chen Xuan stood dumbfounded, feeling as though he were watching a badly acted stage play.

The young monk's kasaya was torn to shreds, yet he did not strike back. He merely stuck out his neck and argued.

"Fellow Daoists, this camp is being built for you to live in! Don't you feel the slightest shame?"

What did their Ascetic Monks need a camp for? They were used to dining on wind and drinking dew, and could even sleep in the snow.

"You little bald donkey, you still dare talk back? You were the ones sobbing and begging your old man to stay in this damned place, and now you want your old man to sleep on the ground tonight? Do you really think your old man's fists are made of dough?"

The burly man was beside himself with rage. He pounded the monk's gleaming bald head twice, the sound ringing out like iron being forged.

"Where's today's Treasure Tea Soup? Hurry up and brew it! You stingy baldies—do you have no work in your eyes? Get lost!"

The middle-aged Daoist's tongue was just as sharp, giving no ground at all. After a few punches and kicks, he beat the monk until his head was covered in blood, sending him fleeing in panic.

The other Qi Refiners cursed up a storm as well. Whenever a monk passed by, he was bound to suffer their wanton abuse, and sometimes even a savage beating.

"..."

Chen Xuan was rooted to the spot. The scene was completely different from what he had imagined.

The Hanging Temple clearly held the dominant position, while these Qi Refiners were the ones under guard. Yet reality was the exact opposite: these Qi Refiners were berating, ordering around, and humiliating those taciturn Ascetic Monks.

"Hm? Another fellow Daoist who struck it lucky?"

The crowd spotted Chen Xuan and immediately burst into laughter. The camp filled with a lively, carefree air.

"Fellow Daoist, you encountered that young woman too? Hahaha! You just arrived in the Southern Wilderness and fortune descended from heaven. Monks waiting on you every day, plus free Treasure Tea Soup to drink—you certainly haven't come in vain!"

"..."

Chen Xuan tugged at the corner of his mouth. What, this doesn't count as great luck?

They were all Qi Refiners from the territory of Red Crow City, gathered together because of Yan Yushu. After chatting with them for a while, Chen Xuan quickly learned what was going on.

That Yan Yushu had a truly wicked mind. Starting from the place where the Hanging Temple was located, she had crossed the territories of several enormous cities, fleeing all the way to the Southern Wilderness of Red Crow City while deliberately choosing routes where Qi Refiners gathered.

"I heard that the young woman even went into Red Crow City and took a stroll, deliberately passing through the territory of some major Qi Refining Aristocratic Clan, where she happened to encounter a few scions of prominent families..."

The middle-aged Daoist told Chen Xuan that the Hanging Temple was currently being roasted over a fire.

If they ignored the matter, they feared that some Qi Refiners might truly be bewitched and cause trouble behind their backs. But if they intervened, the scope would be far too broad, and some of the people involved had deep backgrounds. It would cost an enormous amount of time and resources.

It was said that the Hanging Temple had once resorted to bloody means and slaughtered its own territory until it was left barren. But after entering the territory of other powers, they could only spend money to avert disaster and did not dare act too excessively. Otherwise, every single one of these Qi Refiners would end up dead.

Only then did Chen Xuan realize that his encounter with Yan Yushu had probably not been accidental.

She must have seen him in the river, then deliberately passed by him while pretending to be innocent and pitiful... Everyone was a fish she had raised!

"How has the Hanging Temple let her escape for so long? Haven't any great cultivators made a move?"

Chen Xuan asked doubtfully. He knew some of the Hanging Temple's secrets; this reclusive sect was far from ordinary.

"Our Red Crow City isn't made of soft clay. How could we let outsiders run wild? The City Lord of Red Crow City directly blocked the border. Qing Yazi, the sect master of Green Deer Mountain, even extorted them, demanding an astronomical toll with a lion's mouth. If they refused, he would cause trouble—and would snatch Yan Yushu away as well. He certainly wouldn't easily let the Hanging Temple's great cultivators pass through."

The middle-aged Daoist explained, then lowered his voice mysteriously.

"You arrived late, so you don't know. Last night, the Hanging Temple's great cultivator refused to be extorted and secretly tried to cross over. Hahaha! He was directly invited away by the great cultivators of Green Deer Mountain, who had been waiting right there to discuss scriptures and expound the Dao..."

"It's hard for a Qi Refiner to accomplish something, but ruining something is far too easy..."

A dragon from across the river could not suppress the local snakes, especially when shameless local snakes were everywhere. As powerful as the Hanging Temple was, if it wanted to cross the border and capture someone, it could only swallow its pride and submit...

There was a great cultivator from Green Deer Mountain in the Southern Wilderness last night!

Chen Xuan was startled when he heard that, and gooseflesh rose all over his body.

Who had come?

Had this great cultivator already learned what he had done?

He stood in the middle of the camp, feeling a little cold inside, but he quickly steadied himself.

The world was vast, and he had not exposed his trail. Even if the other party was a great cultivator, finding him would be no easier than fishing a needle from the sea. There was no need to worry too much.

That afternoon, Chen Xuan was searching the camp for someone who understood Ancient Seal Script when he suddenly saw a large wave of Qi Refiners outside, numbering several dozen.

His gaze turned startled, because he recognized nearly half of them.

"The Qi Refiners from Small River Village really do rush to join every bit of excitement."

It was not only Qi Refiners. In the distant sky, he even saw a tiny black speck hovering cautiously. It was none other than the figure of the Bronze Horse.

"Grandpa Huo Gun, these great bald monks look really strange. Could they be the legendary Hanging Temple?"

Chu Qing Ling was dazzlingly beautiful and extremely lively. With a pair of peach-blossom eyes, she looked around in every direction and chattered on without pause. Her sickly cousin carried a bamboo basket on his back, coughing once every few steps.

Half of Chu Huo Gun's head poked out from the bamboo basket, and he said, "I suppose so. A reclusive sect from beyond the borders... Hm? That Ascetic Monk got beaten up and didn't even fight back. What a good temper... Who? Qing Ling, who did you say? Brother Xiao Wang is here too? Hm! Xiao Wang, Brother Xiao Wang!"

Chen Xuan walked out of the camp when he heard his voice and greeted the three of them.

Chu Huo Gun eagerly asked, "Brother Xiao Wang, why are you here? What happened?"

Chen Xuan briefly explained the reason to him, then sighed. "A disaster from the blue. Now I'm trapped here. They say my life is rotten and that I have to prove my innocence..."

"There's such a good thing!"

Chu Huo Gun immediately brightened and shouted, "Brother Xiao Wang, wait for this old man! I'm precisely a man with a rotten life! I'll go to the Southern Wilderness to find Yan Yushu right now. I'll prove my innocence with you, and I'll drink the Treasure Tea Soup brewed from the Terrestrial Treasure Tree too!"

Chen Xuan hurriedly asked, "You're not waiting for your old friends from Red Crow City?"

Chu Huo Gun had been gravely wounded, relying entirely on Red Qi to keep his three souls and seven spirits hanging on. He had originally planned to wait for some old friends from Red Crow City to arrive, then enter the Southern Wilderness together to seek an opportunity and be reborn through nirvana.

Chu Huo Gun cast Chen Xuan a sidelong glance and said, "The natural treasures of the Southern Wilderness have long since been fenced off by ghosts, monsters, and evil spirits. Which one doesn't have an owner behind it? You have to stake your life to fight for them. Now that such a risk-free blessing has fallen from the heavens, Xiao Wang, you should know that if Heaven gives and you refuse, Heaven will punish you."

He had no mood to make small talk with Chen Xuan. The situation was urgent; if he delayed even a little, Yan Yushu might run far away, and he would never get to see the immortal maiden's face.

It was not only him.

After the other Qi Refiners from Small River Village learned what was happening, their eyes all gleamed like gold. Like hungry wolves, they charged into the Southern Wilderness Mountains.

"They're not only unafraid of falling into Yan Yushu's trap, they even want to profit from it and fleece the Hanging Temple."

Chen Xuan stood dumbfounded, feeling that his horizons had widened once again. The Hanging Temple's pursuit of the Six Desires Heaven had actually turned into such a grand event.

In the distance, some Ascetic Monks who were young and emotionally unstable, and thus had not been allowed to enter the Southern Wilderness to pursue Yan Yushu, gnashed their teeth.

"Those Qi Refiners outside the temple have rotten character. Every last one wants to extort us. I truly want to transcend them..." If they had been on the Hanging Temple's territory, these people would have died a hundred times already. But in a foreign land, some things simply could not be done.

"They're a bunch of slaves to greed. How could they withstand the might of the Six Desires Heaven? Their lives are going to rot away!"

"Stop complaining, everyone. Hurry up and work..."

In the distance, a large pot had been set up. An elderly monk with white eyebrows took out a packet of tea leaves spilling golden radiance and began brewing the precious Treasure Tea Soup.

Chen Xuan walked over and began asking him about the Ancient Seal Script.