Night Investigation of the Sacrificial God Hall

Within the Star Seven Dungeon of the Demon Slayer Division's Mortal Prison, Fang Mu sat cross-legged, refining the high-grade Essence Blood Pill he had just acquired.

Upon entering his abdomen, the high-grade Essence Blood Pill transformed into countless warm currents, integrating into every part of his body.

His physical body, which had already undergone marrow cleansing and muscle washing multiple times, expelled layers of impurities once more.

He could clearly sense that his physical body had been further modified and strengthened.

His original cultivation base of Martial Realm seventh-grade naturally advanced to Martial Realm sixth-grade after the further strengthening of his physical body.

Fang Mu wasn't too concerned about the advancement of his cultivation; his physical strength had long surpassed his cultivation level. His cultivation was merely a facade to avoid suspicion.

Leaving the Mortal Prison dungeon and gazing at the dark night sky, Fang Mu couldn't help but let out a wry smile.

He had spent almost the entire day hunting demons. Although he had obtained many Essence Blood Pills, he was utterly exhausted.

"It seems that from now on, I should let other Demon Slayer Envoys handle demons below five-star. That way, they won't be suspicious, and I won't be so tired."

Fang Mu muttered to himself and left the Demon Slayer Division, heading into the city streets.

Following a rough hand-drawn map, Fang Mu made his way towards the Sacrificial God Hall.

With his clone and Xixi at home, Fang Mu felt at ease. He planned to visit the Sacrificial God Hall tonight to help Qi Zhu find clues about her past.

The city streets were silent, with hardly any citizens visible at night, only occasional patrol teams passing by.

Fang Mu hid in the dark corner of a street, avoiding the patrol teams.

The patrol teams hurried past, going through the motions without any thorough inspection.

After walking along the wide street for a while, Fang Mu finally arrived at the relatively secluded Sacrificial God Hall in the western part of the city.

As the night deepened, the Sacrificial God Hall was extremely quiet. The priests responsible for managing the hall had all gone to rest.

Fang Mu lightly tapped his toes, leaping into the high walls with the agility of a nimble ape.

He had never been to the Sacrificial God Hall before. Seeing the five majestic main halls, he could only explore them one by one.

Upon reaching the eastern hall, Fang Mu discovered that the plaque above the hall was inscribed with the words "Dao Hall."

The hall housed many divine statues. At the main seat was a statue of an elder with a youthful face and white hair.

Unable to discern anything significant, Fang Mu silently moved to a Buddhist Hall on the west side.

The Buddhist Hall contained numerous Buddha statues. These statues did not resemble the Eighteen Arhats or the golden Buddha figures he knew from his previous life.

Instead, they depicted Buddhas he had never seen before, likely figures invented by the city's residents.

After exploring the other two halls, Fang Mu found no useful clues.

He then proceeded to the main hall, pushed open the heavy doors, and entered the dark hall.

This hall was named the Green Bamboo Hall. The divine statue enshrined within was that of an incredibly beautiful woman.

She was dressed in a green bamboo robe, and her appearance bore a striking resemblance to Qi Zhu, about seventy to eighty percent similar.

In her hand, she held a slender green bamboo sword, as thin as a willow leaf, pointing straight ahead as if aiming at Fang Mu below the hall.

Carefully examining the statue, Fang Mu noticed that it indeed looked very much like Qi Zhu.

"Fang Mu greets the Sacrificial God. I wonder if the Sacrificial God could manifest and grant an audience."

Closing the hall door, Fang Mu respectfully bowed to the statue.

However, the statue showed no reaction, causing him to frown in suspicion. He cautiously extended his divine sense to investigate.

Fang Mu detected a strange energy within the statue but found no signs of life.

"Strange, is the Sacrificial God not in the divine hall?"

"Could that strange energy be the legendary power of faith?"

After a moment's hesitation, Fang Mu channeled his Vital Energy into the statue, intending to gather some of the power of faith for examination.

He discovered that the power of faith was formless and intangible; his Vital Energy easily penetrated the energy.

He couldn't touch the power of faith at all, let alone bring it out of the statue.

Fang Mu was somewhat dumbfounded. Just as he was trying various methods and found them all ineffective against the power of faith, the Demon Refining Mirror in his sea of consciousness suddenly shot out a beam of golden light that enveloped the statue.

The sudden change startled Fang Mu greatly.

He was genuinely worried that the Demon Refining Mirror might act recklessly and refine the statue, which would lead to serious trouble.

This was not outside the city; it would definitely alert the high-ranking officials of the County Office to investigate.

Before Fang Mu could react, the golden light pulled countless strands of the power of faith and integrated them into his sea of consciousness.

Fang Mu watched as numerous threads of the power of faith merged into his sea of consciousness, into his dim and illusory soul form.

After absorbing the countless strands of the power of faith, the illusory soul form actually solidified slightly.

Opening his eyes, Fang Mu realized that his divine sense seemed to have strengthened considerably, and his perception of his surroundings had become much sharper.

His five senses also seemed to have been enhanced. He could see more clearly in the darkness, and his sense of smell and perception of scents had become stronger.

At this moment, he vaguely heard the sound of air being broken, seemingly heading towards the hall, which startled Fang Mu.

He didn't have time to think further. He quickly dodged behind the statue, concealing his form and turning himself into a void.

Fang Mu secretly felt lucky that the Demon Refining Mirror hadn't refined the statue. Otherwise, he would have likely attracted a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Just as Fang Mu was congratulating himself, a creaking sound echoed as someone pushed open the hall doors and entered the main hall.

Because the statue blocked his line of sight, Fang Mu couldn't see the newcomer. He didn't know the other party's purpose for visiting so late at night, so he tried his best to hide his presence.

"Heh heh... it's not easy to sneak in. The statues of the Four Great Sects have all been placed under restrictions, making it difficult to seize the faith.

"The Sacrificial God of the Sacrificial God Hall has gone missing and isn't cultivating within the hall. This is fortunate for me; I can just take the power of faith."

A strange laugh rang out. After muttering to himself, the intruder controlled a beam of light to envelop the statue.

Fang Mu, hiding behind the statue, was illuminated by the falling light. His body felt as if it were being pricked by thousands of needles.

Enduring the pain, Fang Mu dared not make a sound. He silently avoided the areas illuminated by the light and hid in the shadow of a nearby statue.

Soon, the light dissipated. The hall door creaked open, and the person seemed to have left the temple.

Fang Mu let out a silent sigh of relief and quickly flashed out of the hall.

He moved outside the hall and carefully sensed his surroundings. Confirming no one was hidden nearby, his figure, like a phantom, quickly moved away from the Sacrificial God Hall.

After leaving the Sacrificial God Hall a considerable distance, Fang Mu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn't know who the unknown powerful individual was, but Fang Mu sensed a fatal threat from them. That person's strength was likely immense.

Fang Mu didn't want to clash with that powerful individual. The other party's infiltration of the Sacrificial God Hall was likely for the purpose of obtaining the power of faith.

This made him realize that he wasn't the only one who could absorb the power of faith; others also had ways to absorb it.

From the other person's words, it seemed the statues in the other four halls belonged to the Four Great Powers.

The statues appeared to have been placed under restrictions, and the intruder was unable to steal the power of faith.

"I wonder if the Demon Refining Mirror can steal the power of faith from the Four Great Powers?"

Fang Mu muttered to himself, feeling a sense of anticipation. However, now was not the time to return to the Sacrificial God Hall.

He sped along the street ahead, leaving his original location and heading towards the slums.

The power of faith had already been seized by the Demon Refining Mirror and absorbed and refined by him.

Once the unknown powerful individual reacted and discovered that their infiltration of the Sacrificial God Hall had yielded nothing, they would surely fly into a rage and begin their investigation.

Fang Mu certainly didn't want to draw trouble upon himself, so leaving was naturally the best course of action.