Ning Chenxin followed Gu You and the other five senior brothers and sisters, ascending on the clouds and heading straight for the Righteous Qi Peak.
The closer you get to the summit, the stronger the majestic, upright, and soul-stirring aura becomes.
After passing through the last layer of clouds, a spectacular view suddenly appeared before our eyes.
The summit is not sharp and towering, but rather a wide and flat jade platform, with the Righteous Qi Pool in the center of the platform.
The pool was not large, only about ten feet in circumference. The water was not the clear or emerald green that one usually sees, but a warm, jade-like milky white with a viscous texture.
A faint white light shimmered on the surface of the pool. This light was pure and free of any impurities. Just a glance at it brought peace to the mind and dispelled all distracting thoughts.
This is an extremely strong Vast Righteous Qi!
Several unidentified ancient trees grow by the pond, their branches and leaves sparse yet vigorous, with specks of milky white shimmering on their leaves.
At this moment, Righteous Qi Pool, the old Daoist Old Daoist Qingcheng was sitting cross-legged with a solemn expression.
Before him, a whisk hovered three inches above the water, with thousands of blue threads hanging down, weaving into a fist-sized cocoon of light, which was immersed in the milky white water.
Inside the cocoon of light, a dark red mist could be vaguely seen frantically thrashing about, conjuring up the handsome man's grotesque and twisted face. However, it could not break free from the binding of the blue hair and was scorched by the white light emanating from the pool, hissing and constantly emitting black smoke, which was then purified by the white light above the pool and disappeared without a trace.
"Abbot." Lu Mingyuan and the others bowed respectfully.
The Old Daoist Qingcheng nodded slightly, his gaze never leaving the cocoon of light. His voice was deep. "Perfect. Let me show you how utterly pathetic this evil thing is in the face of true righteous energy."
Having said that, the Old Daoist Qingcheng pointed his fingers like a sword and lightly pointed at the Righteous Qi Pool.
The milky white water in the pool suddenly brightened, as if drawn by an invisible force, transforming into several gentle yet resilient streams of light that wrapped around the blue cocoon of light.
The light seeped into the gaps in the dark blue hair, and the instant it came into contact with the dark red mist within—
"Ah--!!!"
A bloodcurdling scream, so shrill it was inhuman, erupted from the cocoon of light. The dark red mist boiled and contracted violently, and the handsome man's phantom image flickered in and out of existence, his face contorted in extreme pain.
" Old Daoist Qingcheng! Kill me! If you have the guts, kill me! Throw my soul into this Righteous Qi Pool, to suffer the torment of this blazing soul day and night, what kind of righteous path are you?!" The Evil Cultivator's soul let out a venomous shriek, his voice filled with endless pain and hatred.
The Old Daoist Qingcheng remained expressionless and said coldly, "Kill you? That would be too easy on you. You've used the flesh and souls of countless living beings to cultivate Evil Method, committing boundless atrocities. Even the annihilation of your soul wouldn't be enough to atone for your sins."
As he spoke, the light in the Righteous Qi Pool intensified, and the milky white light seemed to carry a purifying power, gradually peeling away and dissolving the dark red mist.
With each strand peeled away, the Evil Cultivator's soul weakened further, and his screams grew fainter, but the pain seemed to be magnified a thousandfold.
Gu You and the others were clearly not seeing this scene for the first time; although their expressions were solemn, they were not particularly surprised.
Lu Mingyuan whispered to Ning Chenxin, " The Righteous Qi Pool is formed by the convergence of the Vast Righteous Qi of past sages and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. It is a great tonic for us who cultivate Vast Righteous Qi, but for evil spirits and yin souls, it is an inescapable Purgatory."
The abbot imprisoned this fiend here, firstly for interrogation, and secondly to use the power of the pool water to slowly eradicate the root of its evil nature, preventing its remnant soul from escaping or being used by others.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the Evil Cultivator's screams became barely audible, the dark red mist inside the cocoon of light thinned considerably, and the strength of his struggles greatly diminished.
The Old Daoist Qingcheng slowly withdrew his hand, the shimmering water in the pool receded, and his black hair loosened slightly.
He turned around and looked at Ning Chenxin five. The solemnity on his face eased slightly, but his eyes remained serious.
"I summoned you here because of an urgent task," the Old Daoist Qingcheng said bluntly. "When I was refining this fiend's soul just now, I used the Soul Search method, combined with the traces of Evil Qi remaining in Withered Cloud Mountain, to trace its origin and discovered that this is probably not an isolated case."
He paused, then continued, "This fiend is called Blood Shadow. He is not a native Evil Cultivator of the Soaring Realm, but comes from a secret Evil Dao organization."
They act in a treacherous manner, often using small and medium-sized sects to set up evil arrays similar to the Blood Soul Sacrificial Refining Grand Array, plundering the Essence Blood, and souls of living beings for cultivation or to forge Evil Artifact. The Withered Cloud Sect is merely a pawn they have chosen, or rather, a testing ground.
However, deeper information about this organization is restricted; forcibly Soul Search would only destroy the person's soul. The only way to remove this restriction is to slowly erode it with the power of the Righteous Qi Pool.
Ning Chenxin skipped a beat, and he asked, "Is the subsequent mission related to this matter?"
The Old Daoist Qingcheng nodded.
Gu You, standing to the side, asked, "Old man, are you referring to the border of Banan?"
Old man...?
Ning Chenxin glanced at Gu You.
The Old Daoist Qingcheng seemed used to it, and said, "Recently, no fewer than fourteen small and medium-sized sects on the border of Banan have been inexplicably massacred, their entire families wiped out. It just so happens that Han Shouyi is on the border of Banan. According to his description, the traces of the extermination of these fourteen sects are similar to those of the Withered Cloud Sect."
Gu You looked helpless. "Why did Senior Brother Han go to the border of Banan again? If that's the case, why not just let him investigate?"
The Old Daoist Qingcheng flicked his finger, striking Gu You on the forehead. Gu You winced and clutched his head, exclaiming, "You're so lazy!"
Then, he looked at Ning Chenxin with a deep gaze. " Ning Ru, you have just entered Qingcheng and should be focusing on your cultivation."
But this matter is of great importance. Evil Cultivator are rampant and poisoning living beings. How can we, who cultivate the righteous path, sit idly by? Moreover, the Vast Righteous Qi you possess makes you sensitive to such evil spirits, and you may be able to discover clues that are difficult for ordinary people to detect.
Moreover, as far as I know, the Supervisory Sacred Hall has already sent people there, and coincidentally, your friends are among them."
Lu Mingyuan stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Abbot, the situation on the border of Banan is complex, and the Evil Cultivator use unpredictable methods. Although Junior Brother Ning is exceptionally talented, his cultivation is still shallow. Perhaps...?"
The Old Daoist Qingcheng waved his hand to interrupt, "It's alright. Precisely because his cultivation is still shallow and he's a new face, he's less likely to arouse the vigilance of those hiding in the shadows."
At this point, the old Gu You Old Daoist Qingcheng looked at Lu Mingyuan and Gu You, who was squatting on the ground with his forehead in his hand, and said, " Mingyuan, Gu You, you two will take Ning Ru to the border of Banan and meet up with Han Shouyi first."
Lu Mingyuan cupped his hands and said, "I understand."
Gu You curled her lip, "That old man just knows how to order us around."
The group accepted the order and were about to take their leave.
The Old Daoist Qingcheng suddenly called out to Ning Chenxin again, his tone softening. " Chenxin, before you leave, you can sit quietly by this pond for a while and feel the righteous energy of heaven and earth. It may be beneficial to stabilize your State of Mind and use your Vast Qi."
But remember, do not go deep into the pool; your current cultivation level is insufficient to withstand the direct impact of the vast righteous energy within.
Zhou Qing and Gu You, who were standing nearby, immediately said, "The old man is being biased again! Ning Ru was able to enter the Righteous Qi Pool as soon as he arrived! We had been cultivating for decades back then!"
The Old Daoist Qingcheng turned his head, his fists clenched, only to find that they had already vanished without a trace.
Ning Chenxin smiled and cupped her hands in thanks, saying, "Thank you, Abbot."
Having said that, he sat cross-legged Righteous Qi Pool at the instruction of the Old Daoist Qingcheng.