The Mud Originates from Primordial Chaos, a Sacred Lotus Appears, Ushering in an Era of Prosperity

The clatter of hooves faded into the distance. The group that had entered from outside the city went straight down the street and disappeared at its far end.

"So, then...?" He Ping raised his brows and said in a low voice, "The 'earth-shattering calamity' you mentioned earlier, Senior Brother, is supposed to fall on those Ghost Bats from the Evil-Slaying Bureau?"

"Ridiculous."

The old man disguised as a calligraphy stall owner gave a cold laugh and shook the bell in his hand. "Jingle, jingle, jingle."

Suddenly, an invisible ripple spread out like waves on water, making the surrounding scenery shudder violently.

At that very moment, He Ping's brows lifted slightly. His soul was so keen that his perception exceeded the five senses, and he noticed that the bell's ringing had trapped their voices within this area, forming a strange sound-sealing barrier.

What a wondrous magical artifact! This bell can block sound, creating a private space where no one can disturb them.

He Ping realized that the area was soundproof. However, to outsiders, the strange scene before this inconspicuous calligraphy stall would likely go unnoticed.

"What are a few Ghost Bats worth? The Evil-Slaying Bureau has only one veteran Dao-entry expert, its 'Chief,' Situ Haoxing. Among his Nine Chief Envoys, only three have entered the Dao. Set those people aside, and the rest are mediocre at best—not necessarily a match for you or me. The earth-shattering calamity I mentioned just now has nothing to do with them."

Chixinzi's voice rang out, laced with a hint of menace. But unable to pass through the barrier, the sound waves struck the invisible wall and rebounded, making his voice overlap like metal scraping against stone.

"Then where will this 'earth-shattering calamity' fall?"

He Ping remained unhurried, but kept his eyes on the face of the old fortune-teller, as if trying to see through it and uncover the truth beneath.

"Ha!"

Chixinzi laughed, seizing the chance to change the subject. He turned to He Ping and asked, "Junior Brother, didn't you take something from the Wandering Soul Village? Do you know what it is?"

"Oh."

He Ping had been about to deny it, but then remembered that Cheng Zhi had already fallen into Chixinzi's hands. There was no way to hide the fact that he had taken the formation's anchor from the eye of the array.

"A strange black stone statue, used to suppress the eye of the formation. What about it?"

"Junior Brother, that item was the anchor of a ghost formation secretly laid by the Mud Sect. Of all the things you could have taken, why did you have to take something belonging to the Mud Sect?"

Chixinzi sighed and shook his head.

"The Mud Sect is the foremost of the Nine Evils of Longevity. It has spread far and wide through the countryside across several provinces in the Xiling Circuit, and it also has a broad base of followers in the Dongli Circuit. Its adherents and influence reach across more than half the realm.

"For years, the court has repeatedly ordered local governments to suppress and exterminate the Mud Sect. But it simply won't die. Like a field of rice, you cut it down only for another crop to grow. The Mud Sect can never be wiped out; it always rises from the ashes."

"The Mud Sect?"

He Ping tried to recall the intelligence he had gathered about the Xiling and Dongli Circuits. He had heard that the two circuits had suffered severe calamities in recent years. Harvests had failed year after year, droughts and floods had followed one another without pause, and the people had been driven from their homes.

Local officials had also governed poorly and squeezed the people without restraint. Amid all this disorder, various cults had seized the chance to rise up, such as the Luomen Sect, Bagua Sect, Yuantong Society, and Hongyang Sect. They used fortune-telling, prophecies, and strange arts to deceive the people, bringing all manner of calamities upon the region.

(I think I've heard something about this cult...)

He Ping's thoughts drifted as he recalled the intelligence he had gathered about these cults. Most such cults merely used religion as a banner to sway people amid the turmoil, extorting money and seducing women. Occasionally, a few grew powerful enough to gather followers and take up arms.

Of course, the fate awaiting these cults was to be crushed by the armies sent by the court.

For years, the cycle had repeated itself. Whenever disasters struck one region after another, cults sprang up like bamboo shoots after rain. After a while, their rebellions would fail; they would either be formally outlawed by the local authorities or crushed by armies sent by the Great You Dynasty, then trampled into oblivion beneath the iron hooves of its troops.

Among the many cults, the only truly unusual one was the Mud Sect.

The Mud Sect was a bizarre outlier among the many cults, naturally giving people the sense that it was unlike the rest.

The local authorities—or, more precisely, the officials of the Great You Dynasty—didn't see it that way. They might have tolerated people believing in the Mud Sect's doctrine; there were countless cults in the realm, and a new one emerged every year. They didn't necessarily care much about this one... What truly made it troublesome was this:

The Mud Sect not only frequently incited rebellions, but also had a particular fondness for killing officials of the court. Whenever it led a mob in an uprising and seized a county seat, its members would drag out the officials in charge and kill every last one of them.

According to the Mud Sect's own teachings, the Great You Dynasty had seized the throne illegitimately and fallen under the sway of evil. The entire court, from its civil and military officials to its high-ranking ministers, had been usurped by Man-Demons... The Mud Sect even claimed that the emperor of the Great You Dynasty and everyone in the palace were not living people at all, but Man-Demons wearing human skin. At the heart of its doctrine lay the killing of officials and the destruction of the Great You Dynasty, so it could remake the world and establish a divine kingdom on earth.

(No wonder the Great You Dynasty is so wary of the Mud Sect. They've made their intentions plain: they want to rebel and defy the throne, and they're set on opposing the Great You Dynasty. If I were the court, I'd see this cult as a thorn in my side, a splinter in my flesh too!)

"Mud stirs from chaos's dawn; when the Sacred Lotus blooms, a golden age will rise."

Chixinzi slowly recited the Mud Sect's old slogan.

"Junior Brother, on the surface, the Mud Sect is a popular cult at odds with the Great You Dynasty. In truth, it is also a great sect in the cultivation world. It possesses an orthodox Dao-entry technique called the Lotus Ascension Scroll, ranked among the foremost orthodox techniques—higher than the Immortal Puppet Sect's. The sect also has several Ghost-Person Bodhisattvas who have entered the Dao. It is no ordinary power."

"So what?" He Ping's expression remained unchanged as he replied coolly.

"What's done is done, and the item is already in my hands. The Mud Sect hasn't even made a move yet. What am I supposed to do—prostrate myself before them or go to them and confess my crime with thorny branches on my back? Would that really make the Mud Sect let the matter go on the spot? Heh..."

"Not at all, not at all."

Chixinzi stroked his long beard and smiled easily.

"No matter how powerful and overbearing the Mud Sect is, the people of the Immortal Puppet Sect don't need to bow their heads before them. I only wanted to discuss something with you, Junior Brother He. Perhaps we could divert the calamity elsewhere."

"Divert it elsewhere?"

He Ping's expression turned impassive.

"Actually, I recently ran into a spiritual envoy of the Mud Sect. His surname is Tu, and his given name is Du. More than ten years ago, he was a powerful figure in the Mud Sect, but he offended someone important among its upper ranks. They treated him coldly, and he became a marginal figure in the sect."

A foxlike gleam shone in Chixinzi's eyes.

"Tu Du is stubborn, but easy to manipulate. I have some private dealings with him, so I can put a few ideas in his head. As for the black stone anchor in your hands, we can use it as bait to draw him into the trap... Heh. On the one hand, we can divert this earth-shattering calamity onto Sheng Qingzhi and Chongyang Palace.

"On the other hand, we can use the Mud Sect to trouble Sheng Qingzhi and test his mettle. Better yet, we can stir up chaos in Suian City and seize the Life-Stealing Bowl amid the confusion."

The old fox had a bellyful of dirty tricks, and he poured them all out at once. He Ping's eyes brightened as he listened.

"That's a pretty good plan. If it succeeds, we won't just divert the calamity; we can also get rid of that corrupt official, Sheng Qingzhi, and pin the blame on the Mud Sect afterward. We'd kill several birds with one stone."

He considered it for a moment. The plan seemed workable, but he would also have to guard against Chixinzi setting him up along the way.

"This plan could work."

He Ping's lips curled in a faint, knowing smile.

"But I think there are a few details that need a little adjustment."