After the old monk explained everything, all the mysteries in Zhao Huaian's heart were solved.
He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
So it was merely a strange spirit with little fighting power.
The old monk was laughable, actually worshipping it as a god.
Zhao Huaian gave the old monk a pitying look, then thrust out his sword, sending him to the Western Heaven to meet the so-called Buddha.
The old monk was finally free.
At the moment of his death, the flesh on his body suddenly shriveled at an astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, he had turned into a skeleton wrapped in skin.
Frowning slightly at the sight, Zhao Huaian looked down at the ground.
He saw countless streams of flesh slowly flowing across the ground, surging toward the dark chamber.
Zhao Huaian hurried after them.
He wanted to see for himself what this strange spirit, a flower that had gained sentience, really was.
Following the flowing flesh,
Zhao Huaian soon arrived in a spacious Secret Chamber.
A brilliant red, exceedingly alluring flower was enshrined there.
The flowing flesh was continuously making its way toward its roots.
"Someone's here! Someone's here!"
"Immortal Master, save us!"
"That old monk tricked all of us into coming here!"
When they saw that the person who had entered wasn't the old monk but a handsome young man, the Boy and Girl Offerings immediately cried out excitedly.
"Quiet! If you want to live, don't make a racket!"
Zhao Huaian barked at them.
The children were all shouting over one another, making such a racket that it grated on his nerves.
At Zhao Huaian's sharp rebuke, the children quickly covered their mouths, not daring to make another sound.
Perhaps they had been frightened by Zhao Huaian's imposing presence, or perhaps the old monk's previous tyranny still weighed on them.
"Child! Submit to me. Offer me the flesh of those with spiritual roots, and I'll make you the strongest person in the world."
Just as Zhao Huaian frowned and studied the brilliant red flower, an aged voice sounded in his ear.
The voice had naturally come from the flower.
That only made him more curious. "What exactly are you?"
"Me? I'm the messenger of a god, the god's stand-in in the mortal world. As long as you worship me, you'll receive the power of a god!"
The aged voice sounded again.
As the voice faded, its Petals trembled. One drifted down and floated toward Zhao Huaian.
"Eat it and become my follower. Then the power of a god will descend upon you."
The bewitching voice went on and on.
Watching the blood-red Petal slowly approach through the air,
Zhao Huaian merely shook his head. Sword Qi flashed in his hand, slicing the incoming Petal to pieces.
The fragments fell to the ground and, in the next instant, turned into a pool of blood.
Zhao Huaian looked closely.
Countless tiny, densely packed insects writhed in the blood.
"So this is the so-called power of a god?"
Zhao Huaian sneered.
He wasn't a fool.
The moment he saw the old monk turn into a shriveled skeleton, he had already understood.
This so-called power bestowed by heaven was nothing more than a means for the flower before him, a strange creature, to control other people.
It might be able to improve one's cultivation, but what good was a high cultivation if one was controlled by it?
"Why would you dare destroy the god's gift? You deserve to die! You truly deserve to die!"
The aged voice grew furious.
Zhao Huaian warily scanned his surroundings.
But he sensed no danger at all. Only that impotently furious voice echoed through the air.
"Boring... All you do is put on a show!"
Zhao Huaian breathed a sigh of relief. Flames spread from his hand, and a massive fireball instantly engulfed the entire Secret Chamber.
"No!!! You can't do this to a god! You can't do this to the god's messenger!"
The aged voice shifted from fury to terror.
But the only answer it received was the fireball crashing down and turning into a raging inferno that blazed around it.
"A god? Heh, heh, heh... You're a god—then what am I?"
Looking at the flower burned to a heap of ashes, Zhao Huaian let out a scornful laugh.
After dealing with the strange flower, Zhao Huaian turned to look at the group of trembling Boy and Girl Offerings.
The children were about eight or nine years old.
In another couple of years, when the Greenwood Sect's Outer Sect recruited disciples, they would probably be old enough to take part in its selection trials.
"Immortal Master... can you save us and let us go?" One sallow-faced child summoned his courage and asked when he saw Zhao Huaian's gaze fall upon them.
Zhao Huaian nodded. Sword Qi swept from his hand, breaking the restraints imprisoning them.
"Go on. That old monk is dead. From now on, don't trust anyone who comes to recruit disciples, unless they're from the Greenwood Sect."
After leading the children out of Clear Wind Temple, Zhao Huaian gave them a few words of advice, figuring it would be good to earn a bit of goodwill.
If nothing unexpected happened, these children with spiritual roots would all take part in the Greenwood Sect's selection trials two years from now.
If any of them had exceptional spiritual roots, his good deed today would surely benefit him in the future.
"Thank you for your warning, Immortal Master!"
Everyone knelt respectfully and knocked their foreheads against the ground three times before Zhao Huaian.
"Go on, go on! Once you get down the mountain, find someone to help you get home. Whether you make it back safely will depend on how clever you are."
Zhao Huaian waved them away.
He had already done everything he could: he'd rescued them and given them a few words of advice.
As for personally escorting every child back to their homes, that was completely unnecessary.
Zhao Huaian wasn't their nanny.
The children nodded and helped one another as they ran down the mountain.
Watching them disappear into the distance, Zhao Huaian shook his head. But he didn't leave; instead, he returned to Clear Wind Temple.
Earlier, Zhao Huaian had searched the old monk's body, but he hadn't found a Storage Bag.
That left him somewhat unwilling to give up.
After all, the old monk had occupied this place for years. Even if he had no Storage Bag, he must have hidden other items for cultivation somewhere inside.
With that in mind, Zhao Huaian decided to search just in case.
He searched quickly and soon found a hidden compartment in the Secret Chamber from before.
A Wooden Box sat inside.
Zhao Huaian took it out and opened it.
Inside lay a yellowed book and an item wrapped in red cloth.
Zhao Huaian first took out the yellowed book. The six characters Huai'an Water Region Love History were written on its cover.
Curiously, he flipped it open.
"What filthy material!"
The moment he saw what was inside, disdain appeared on Zhao Huaian's face. He tossed the yellowed book into his Storage Bag.
Then he picked up the item wrapped in red cloth.
He lifted the red cloth, and the moment he saw what lay beneath it, delight appeared on Zhao Huaian's face.
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