Chen Jin, Xiao Qing and Gongsun Sheng returned in the clouds, and from a distance they saw the plain white figure looking up eagerly.
Bai Suzhen's originally frowning eyebrows finally relaxed when she saw Chen Jin's figure. A trace of unconcealable joy flashed across her eyes, and she quickly stepped forward to meet him.
"Mr. Chen, Xiao Qing! You are finally back!"
Her voice was light and airy with relief, but when her eyes touched the unfamiliar face of Gongsun Sheng, she couldn't help but pause slightly and looked at Chen Jin with a questioning look.
Chen Jin understood and introduced sideways, "Miss Bai, this is Daoist priest Cloud-Entering Dragon Gongsun Sheng of Jizhou Two Immortals Mountain Purple Void Temple. His Daoism is profound and will be very helpful to us in this trip. Daoist priest Gongsun, this is Miss Bai Bai Suzhen."
Gongsun Sheng bowed his head and looked calm. "Gongsun Sheng, a poor Daoist, has seen Miss Bai. The girl has a lot of aura, celestial appearance and jade quality, and she is indeed worthy of her reputation."
Bai Suzhen hurriedly returned the gift. "Daoist Master, I'm very complimentary. You have had a hard journey, please come in and have a rest."
As soon as everyone sat down, Bai Suzhen couldn't wait to speak, with a tired tone. "Mr. Chen, you came back just in time. After you left, a toad spirit poisoned Qiantang... and so on, so on and so on."
Cloud-Entering Dragon Gongsun Sheng said, "Qiantang County is so close to Lin'an Prefecture. There are more than 600 temples in Lin'an Prefecture, and there are many powerful monks there. Why not ask them for help?"
Bai Suzhen sighed, "I saw that the epidemic was becoming more and more fierce, and I felt anxious, so I went to Lin'an Prefecture myself, hoping to get help from the imperial court or ask Lin'an eminent monks to help."
She paused, and a trace of helplessness flashed in her eyes. "Who would have thought... that Lin'an City was actually completely protected by a huge golden light shield. The defenders said that this was to ensure that the officials and the central government were safe, and the officials must not take the slightest risk."
"No matter how I explained that Qiantang was in danger, they wouldn't let me go and couldn't even get close to the city gate."
Xiao Qing Hearing this, his eyebrows immediately stood up and he stood up with a slap on the table. "How unreasonable!"
"Are they going to watch the people of Qiantang die? What about those monks and Daoist priests? They receive incense and worship on weekdays, but at critical moments they become cowards?"
Bai Suzhen gently pressed Xiao Qing's arm, motioning her to calm down, and continued, "I also tried to see the eminent monks of Lingyin Temple Temple and several famous Daoist priests in the city, but they were all turned away."
"They... they sent a message through the golden light barrier. They only said that this is a disaster for Qiantang. They need to do their best to maintain the city defense formation. They can't take care of others, so we... can take care of ourselves." Her voice gradually became lower, with unspeakable disappointment.
Gongsun Sheng, who had been listening quietly, spoke slowly at this time, with a deep voice. "The golden mask Miss Bai saw should be the "Dust-Purifying Bodhi Realm" put together by Buddhism and Daoism, specifically to isolate external evil."
"What they did seems to be self-protection, but in fact they completely gave up Qiantang."
He turned his gaze to Chen Jin, "Fellow Daoist Chen, I was in the cloud just now, and I also used my spiritual sense to detect it. The poison that filled Qiantang this time is definitely not an ordinary poison."
"It not only contains the sinister demonic power of the toad spirit, but also contains the aura of Tiangang and Earthly Evil, which is mixed with Song Jiang City of Wrongful Death's unique "Ghost Plague"!"
"Ghost Plague?" Xiao Qing was stunned, "What the hell is this?"
Gongsun Sheng explained, "Ghost Plague is not the poison of living things, but a vicious curse condensed by the hostility and disease energy of the resentful souls who died in vain, plus the evil energy of Tiangang and Earth. It is invisible and qualityless, but it can corrode the yang energy of living beings and accelerate the corruption of the body. What is even more frightening is that it can attach to disease energy and ordinary toxins, making the spread far faster than ordinary toxins."
"The poison of the toad spirit was the foundation, and this Ghost Plague was like the catalyst. The combination of the two created the severe plague that is now spreading throughout the city and has almost no cure."
Xiao Qing was even more puzzled, his pretty face full of anger. "Then Song Jiang is so crazy and killing all the people in this city, what good does it do to him? Is it just to recruit more ghost soldiers?"
"Of course there are benefits, and they are not small."
Gongsun Sheng stroked his long beard. "First, as Miss Xiao Qing said, if Qiantang County becomes a dead city, most of the souls of hundreds of thousands of creatures will be absorbed by Song Jiang's City of Wrongful Death, becoming his ghost soldiers and strengthening his netherworld power."
"Secondly, and more importantly, if Pindao's prediction is correct, Song Jiang is probably "negotiating" with the Lin'an court at this moment."
"Negotiation?" Chen Jin's eyes narrowed, "What can a ghost king have to discuss with the imperial court in the underworld?"
"Recruitment."
Gongsun Sheng spat out two words with a hint of ridicule, "Song Jiang was obsessed with being recruited by the imperial court during his lifetime, but his obsession persisted after his death, and he actually wanted to follow this "righteous path"."
"He wants to threaten the lives of the people in this city and force the official Lin'an to issue an edict to make him a righteous god and enjoy the incense and sacrifices in the world."
Chen Jin frowned and asked, "Can a mortal emperor really have the ability to consecrate gods to gods?"
"Under normal circumstances, it is naturally difficult to create a true god."
Gongsun Sheng affirmed, "But Song Jiang, the thirty-six Tiangang stars, and the seventy-two Earthly Evil Stars came into the world, and their origins have a huge cause and effect with a great epidemic that swept the world a hundred years ago."
"The Ghost Plague he spread this time can be seen as the continuation and intensification of that cause and effect."
"If the emperor can be found on earth at this time, and he can be formally enthroned by the destiny of the dynasty, build a temple, and gather the incense and wishes of all people, he can use this to resolve part of the cause and effect and condense his divine personality."
"Although you may not be able to become a powerful god immediately, it is very possible to take this opportunity to cultivate into a "ghost immortal" who is limited by incense but can be regarded as transcending reincarnation."
"For him, this is an excellent opportunity to break free from the shackles of City of Wrongful Death and find a new way to reach a higher realm."
Peace Preservation Hall fell into silence for a moment.
Xiao Qing stood up and paced back and forth anxiously.
"Negotiation? Recruitment? Trading the lives of a whole city for the position of a ghost? None of us snakes are that poisonous!"
She stopped suddenly, looked at Chen Jin, who had been silent, and spoke urgently:
"Then what should we do now? The court doesn't care, Lin'an those monks and Daoists are hiding, are we just watching?"
All eyes are focused on Chen Jin.
He slowly raised his head, there was no panic in his eyes, only a calm determination.
He walked to the window and looked at the dark green miasma and gray-black resentment in the sky above Qiantang County in the distance that mortals could not see but were rolling ferociously under him [Divine Eye], and said in a firm voice:
"It's their business if they don't care. But we can't ignore it."
Xiao Qing answered, "Yes, you have spent so much money on Qiantang. If you cannot survive this crisis, your Medicine King Valley brand will be ruined and you will lose everything."
Chen Jin was noncommittal about Xiao Qing's words. He turned around and faced everyone. "I have a way to solve this problem, but I still need your help."