Unexpected Gains

"The spells in the Returning to Truth Scripture, a small portion could be practiced in the Qi Nourishing Stage, while the rest could only be learned upon reaching the Soul Departure realm. There were no spells requiring higher realms; as for whether other people had such spells, Shi Xuan didn't know. To increase their power, one either had to reach the Golden Core Stage to improve their rank, or their cultivation would grow, naturally increasing the spell's power, though it wasn't as effective as improving the rank.

The Governor was now barely breathing, as if he would die at any moment. He struggled to ask, "Why are you trying to harm me? Who ordered you?"

The booming sounds from the earlier fight had already alerted the guards. However, the battle ended too quickly. By the time the guards at the door rushed in, Shi Xuan, who had been waiting, had already knocked them all out with the Soul-Bewildering Banner. Only then did Shi Xuan turn to answer the Governor's question, "Since you sought the Divine Path, why were you so impatient for success? Why did you **molest virtuous women? Why did you extort all the wealth from your followers?"

The Governor gave a wry smile, "How could I not be impatient? My body is already like this, so of course I was eager to accumulate more Incense and Fire Prayer Power to advance my cultivation, hoping to cure my body through increased cultivation. Alas, it only made my illness worse.

He paused and continued, "As for the matter of **molesting virtuous women, it was also to speed up the growth of my followers. After all, the more effective the prayers for childbirth, the more people would believe in me." He paused and chuckled, "Anyway, they were asking the gods for children, and wasn't I giving them children too? And with even greater results, just in a different way. They got what they wished for, in a sense."

"Since you've done these things, don't blame this Daoist Priest for coming to your door." Shi Xuan had his own beliefs and would not be swayed by the Governor's sophistry.

"I, I understand. No one ordered you. I can only blame myself for encountering a meddlesome cultivator. Ha, cough, ha." The Governor's condition worsened. "However, please tell this humble one, Daoist Priest, what illness I have, and why it's like this? Otherwise, I cannot die in peace."

Shi Xuan also chuckled, "Your illness isn't really an illness. Has no one ever told you that both the Divine Path and the Ghost Path begin with spirits? However, this should be common knowledge, though it might not be explicitly mentioned in the cultivation methods." At least, Shi Xuan had seen the notes of his Daoist predecessors, and they only mentioned it in passing.

"What!!" The Governor was shocked. His extremely pale face flushed with an unhealthy redness.

"Therefore, typical Divine Path methods do not include ways to temper the physical body, and ordinary methods won't work. According to what I've heard from my predecessors, only the Buddhist method of Vajra Indestructibility or the Daoist method of achieving sainthood with the physical body can allow the body to resist the erosion of Incense and Fire Prayer Power," Shi Xuan stated calmly.

The Governor's eyes widened, and he asked tremblingly, "Are there any other solutions?"

Shi Xuan curved his lips, "Your 'illness' is twofold: first, your physical body is too weak to withstand such a powerful spirit, causing it to naturally collapse; second, the erosion of Incense and Fire Prayer Power on your body. To solve it, besides the two methods just mentioned, there is one more fundamental solution."

"Yes, what is it?"

"That is to abandon this physical body. Since you've chosen the Divine Path, you can live perfectly well without a body. Ha, earlier you chose to endure my Lightning Magic rather than discard this useless body, and now you've ended up like this. If you hadn't cared about your body, I definitely wouldn't have been able to subdue you so easily. Heh heh." Shi Xuan shook his head and sighed.

"Ah!!!" The Governor roared, and then his soul dissipated like a flickering candle. His eyes were wide open, and he ultimately did not die in peace.

In the main hall of Divine Lord Crimson Cloud in Kaiyang City, despite it being night, there were still many worshippers. Suddenly, a loud boom echoed, and everyone looked up. They were immediately filled with fear and unease. The statue of Divine Lord Crimson Cloud, which had been faintly glowing crimson, had lost its crimson light, and its head had broken off and tilted to one side.

"Wh-what happened?" a young woman clutched her husband's hand tightly.

Her husband looked knowledgeable, "According to my research from books, this signifies the fall of a deity. Alas, I never thought I'd witness it in person."

The frightened worshippers around them heard this conclusion. They wanted to refute it, but thinking of the statue's appearance, and recalling that no one had approached it earlier, they unconsciously spread this deduction to others. A murmur filled the Divine Lord's hall.

The incident of the broken head of the Divine Lord Crimson Cloud statue also occurred in several towns surrounding Kaiyang City, causing waves of unease among the worshippers. Such an event had no reasonable explanation for the common folk in the countryside, but it was an undeniable ominous sign.

Only in the small town Shi Xuan had passed through, where Shi Xuan had already smashed the statue, was this news unknown.

"Madam, Madam! Something terrible has happened!" the maidservant exclaimed to the First Madam, who was kneeling in prayer.

"What's the panic? The sky isn't falling. Speak slowly." The First Madam reprimanded her personal maidservant after completing her respectful kowtow.

The maidservant pointed to the divine tablet above with a look of terror, "Madam, look!"

The First Madam followed her gaze, and her face turned ashen. The divine tablet of Divine Lord Crimson Cloud, which had been fine before the prayer, was now broken in two.

Many households that had obtained divine tablets discovered they were broken, sooner or later. Many women returned to their rooms and flipped over their pillows, only to find the small divine statues beneath also broken in two, leaving them utterly astonished.

The divine servants panicked and sought instructions from the divine envoys. The divine envoys tried to seek instructions from higher-ranking divine envoys, but discovered that the two divine envoys, Fan Shiqian and Mu Chang, had disappeared together. In their panic, more and more people gathered their belongings and fled.

Shi Xuan, of course, was unaware of all this. He was still sighing at the Governor's corpse. He had only intended to provoke him, hoping he would break down so that his interrogation would be more effective. Who knew the Governor was so short-tempered that he died of anger.

If he had known, he wouldn't have played so many tricks and just used the Soul Bewitchment technique. Although the Governor had cultivated a halo and had a powerful soul, the effect might not have been good, but it was still better than nothing. Now he couldn't even interrogate the soul, a complete destruction of spirit and soul. This was because the souls of cultivators who died due to heavenly backlash would be annihilated, unless they cultivated to the Yin Spirit Stage to resist this heavenly law.

Shi Xuan had no choice but to search the Governor's corpse. Unfortunately, the Governor was only wearing a middle garment and had nothing on him. However, considering that many people hid important items close to them, especially those with strong abilities, Shi Xuan decided to search the large bed first, then the courtyard. If nothing was found, he would go to the Governor's wife's place.

As expected, Shi Xuan found a hidden compartment by the head of the bed. He carefully used a spell to investigate it; there were no anomalies. He then cautiously opened it. Inside was a red bundle.

Shi Xuan picked up the bundle. It was heavy, but the bundle didn't look like it contained many things. How could it be so heavy? He cautiously opened the bundle, and inside were four items.

The first item was a book, with seal script characters on it that read "Incense Refining Golden Body." It was likely the Divine Path cultivation method the Governor had practiced. Shi Xuan picked it up and flipped through it. The stages of Divine Path cultivation were roughly similar to those of the Daoist path, except there was no body tempering step. Later stages involved nourishing the soul with incense. Also, since it started from spirits, there was no Soul Departure and thus no minor spiritual powers. However, the halos condensed by Incense and Fire Prayer Power had considerable power.

Since he already had his own path of cultivation, he wasn't very interested in Divine Path methods. After confirming it was genuine, he put it away, intending to give it to Madam Fang if he had the chance, as he had promised her. However, some methods involving Incense and Fire Prayer Power seemed applicable to refining Magic Tools.

The second item was a Night Pearl. Although it was priceless, it was useless to Shi Xuan, so he casually put it away.

The third item was a piece of white metal, about the size of a fingertip. Shi Xuan reached out to pick it up, but as soon as he got close, he felt a sharp aura that pricked his skin painfully. He quickly withdrew his hand. Then, he cast the Golden Dragon Armor Charm and cautiously approached again. The closer he got to the metal, the stronger the sharp aura became. Shi Xuan held the metal between his fingers but couldn't lift it; it was incredibly heavy. Only when he channeled his Internal Energy could he lift the metal.

Shi Xuan examined the metal from all angles and found it somewhat familiar. After thinking carefully, he suddenly realized, wasn't this the Geng Metal described in the Treasury Records?! His heart was filled with joy, and he had to circulate his energy to calm himself down. If he remembered correctly, the Great Yin Lung Yang Geng Metal Sword Qi was marked as a Daoist Magic in the Treasury Records! It was Daoist Magic!

Shi Xuan carefully put away the Geng Metal and looked at the fourth item. The fourth item was a token, made of neither gold nor wood. It had ancient patterns and resembled an object from the Middle Ages. However, after probing it with various methods, Shi Xuan found that it was not a Magic Tool, yet it possessed some subtle peculiarities. Unfortunately, his cultivation was not high, and his knowledge was even less. He couldn't identify it and had to put it away.

Having obtained the Geng Metal, Shi Xuan was already very satisfied. After destroying the corpse, he concealed himself and searched the Governor's mansion again. Finding no one related to Divine Lord Crimson Cloud, he cast the Minor Clear Wind Escape and left.

After leaving the Governor's mansion, he traveled several streets before stopping in a secluded spot. At the same time, he sensed the Concentric Charm he had left on Chu Wan'er, planning to find her first, as the Concentric Charm only lasted for less than six hours.

Upon sensing it, he discovered that Chu Wan'er was not far away. Although he felt a bit nervous, he was generally excited and confident. Shi Xuan followed the sense, rounded several corners, and arrived at a dilapidated alley. He found Chu Wan'er cornered by several beggars in the depths of the alley.

"You little brat! Hand over the valuables you just picked up at the Divine Lord's Temple!" a beggar roared ferociously.

"No way! You big bad guys!" she said while making faces. "Who told you to run so slow? I was the first to find the divine servants at the Divine Lord's Temple fighting over things, hee hee." Chu Wan'er said proudly in a clear, childish voice.