The Temple God's True Face

Without any warning, Miao Youfang was forcibly deprived of his life force, and his breath rapidly declined.

Within moments, he was on the verge of death.

What happened?

Even the well-informed Li Lingsu was shocked by what she saw. She quickly walked over and squatted down to examine it.

The first thing that came to Xu Qi'an's mind was the three words "curse killing technique".

Based on his experience, he couldn't recall many methods that could kill silently, but the "Dream Witchcraft" and "Curse Killing Technique" of the Witch God Cult, as well as the "Soul-Hooking Technique" of the Daoist School, could do it.

However, both the Dream Witch and the Soul Reaper have one prerequisite: the target must be in a sleeping state.

Miao Youfang does not meet this condition.

That leaves only curse-based killing techniques.

The problem is that curse killing techniques require flesh and blood as a medium, or at the very least, personal items. Miao Youfang has been with us the whole time and hasn't "lost" any similar items. Xu Qi'an frowned.

"His internal organs are failing, and he is missing a part of his Primordial Spirit."

Li Lingsu's expression changed slightly as she explained the situation, and at the same time, she took out a pill from her storage pouch and fed it to Miao Youfang.

"A part of your Primordial Spirit is missing?!"

Xu Qi'an pressed for confirmation.

Li Lingsu nodded, understanding his meaning, and said in a deep voice:

"It's not a curse."

Curse-killing techniques do not cause situations like "a part of the Primordial Spirit being missing". If Miao Youfang was afflicted by a curse-killing technique, then his current state should be that both his Primordial Spirit and physical body are failing.

Until death.

Li Lingsu added, "His celestial soul is gone, seemingly forcibly extracted. Strangely, I didn't notice it at all."

To be able to extract Primordial Spirit from a fourth-grade Nascent Soul Nascent Soul without being detected is even more bizarre than a curse-killing technique. Xu Qi'an pulled himself out of his thoughts, pulled Mu Nanzhi to his side, and bent down to check on Miao Youfang's condition.

He was like a candle flickering in the wind, his life hanging by a thread.

"What methods can forcibly separate a part of the Primordial Spirit and bring the physical body to the brink of death?" Xu Qi'an asked in a very fast voice.

"The method of forcibly separating a part of the Primordial Spirit is quite common, and I can do it too, but if it can deceive my senses, the other party is either in the transcendent realm or has a special method."

"As for bringing the physical body to the brink of death, theoretically speaking, without the Heavenly Soul, a person will fall into a coma; without the Earthly Soul, they will become an idiot; without the Human Soul, they will die directly."

Li Lingsu replied very quickly, then said with a serious expression:

"Damn it, the medicine isn't working. He'll die in the time it takes to brew a cup of tea."

Without the Heavenly Soul, one becomes a vegetable; without the Earthly Soul, one becomes an idiot; without the Human Soul, one is directly reincarnated. Xu Qi'an pondered:

"In other words, Miao Youfang's physical condition is unrelated to the absence of his Heavenly Soul."

After thinking for a moment, Li Lingsu, from the professional perspective of the Holy Son of the Heavenly Sect, concluded. "It should be said that there is no direct relationship."

Xu Qi'an's thoughts raced:

"Using the Heavenly Soul as a medium? A method similar to a curse-based killing technique? Except the former relies on flesh and blood, while the latter relies on the Heavenly Soul. Hmm, I know what to do."

Under Li Lingsu's thoughtful gaze, Xu Qi'an reached out and gently patted Miao Youfang on the head.

No unusual phenomena occurred, but Miao Youfang's internal organ failure stopped instantly, and the medicine he had taken began to take effect, nourishing his organs.

Shifting stars and changing constellations!

Xu Qi'an used this high-level ability of the Heavenly Gu to "hide" Miao Youfang, severing the connection between the Heavenly Soul and the main body.

It worked! Xu Qi'an breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright!"

Li Lingsu was overjoyed, as the person behind the scenes could no longer use the Heavenly Soul to persecute Miao Youfang.

In just a few words, they solved a problem that had stumped most cultivators.

This is due to both of them being highly knowledgeable and experienced, as well as Xu Qi'an possessing a wealth of methods.

The Seven Deadly Gu is incredibly powerful. Although it hasn't reached the third-grade transcendent realm, it is more useful in certain situations compared to the martial arts system, which can only demonstrate destructive power.

However, new problems arose one after another, and Li Lingsu frowned:

Who is targeting us?

Xu Qi'an countered with a question:

"Didn't you already have a guess?"

"The one with whom we have a clear conflict is right before our eyes."

The two looked together at the collapsed temple statue, Xu Qi'an said, "It was Miao Youfang who chopped down the statue just now."

Li Lingsu hissed:

"This shouldn't be happening. How could such a small county town, with such a shady shrine, have something so terrifying? Speaking of which, what exactly is this temple god? I haven't sensed any spiritual fluctuations from him yet."

Xu Qi'an shrugged. "All I know is that one of us has terrible luck."

To encounter such a troublesome thing in a small county town is like a child trying to catch fish in a stream and ending up with a dragon.

Aside from his dark skin, there's really no more reasonable explanation.

Without the persona of "Senior Xu," Xu Qi'an speaks much more casually:

"Let's go out and consult the spirits first, see what kind of deity this temple is."

I am in the open while the enemy is in the shadows. To deal with the temple god, I must first figure out what it is.

To date, they still don't understand the details of the temple god.

Li Lingsu immediately picked up Miao Youfang and was about to leave the temple when he suddenly froze the moment he turned around. The next moment, he perfectly repeated Miao Youfang's mistake.

Bang!

The two fell to the ground at the same time.

On the other side, Mu Nanzhi and the little white fox also fell into a coma at the same time. Li Lingsu and the little white fox's life force rapidly declined, while only Mu Nanzhi was safe and sound, but could not wake up.

Before she could fall, Xu Qi'an caught the reincarnation of the Flower Goddess in his arms.

He stared solemnly at the spot where the sculpture had collapsed.

The stone mirror, which was being held by the little devil, floated up at some point, and with a "crack" sound, the stone shell on its surface split open.

This is half a bronze mirror, its outer edge wrapped in vine-like patterns. The smooth mirror surface reflects an eye without eyelashes, coldly and emotionlessly staring at the people in the temple.

It was split in half, the cut smooth, as if it had been severed by a sharp blade.

The moment he was scrutinized by that eye, Xu Qi'an's martial arts intuition immediately issued a warning, releasing a danger signal.

At the same time, Xu Qi'an finally understood what the so-called temple god was.

A Law Treasure, a flawed Law Treasure.

It undoubtedly possesses self-awareness and can be considered an alternative form of life.

A Law Treasure is being worshipped here, absorbing incense offerings. Xu Qi'an's heart stirred, and he vaguely guessed some of the inside story.

The eye in the mirror coldly looked down at Xu Qi'an, then suddenly shot out a beam of eerie green light.

This eerie light was unavoidable and directly affected the soul.

In an instant, Xu Qi'an felt an immense force pulling at his Primordial Spirit, trying to tear his soul out of his body.

"Snort!"

His Primordial Spirit was the first to pull out the Demon-Sealing Nail; it was a genuine third-grade primordial Primordial Spirit, the Primordial Spirit of a transcendent realm expert. Even a Law Treasure could not easily capture it with a magic weapon.

While stabilizing his Primordial Spirit and resisting the pulling, Xu Qi'an took out the fragment of the Earth Book and shook out the Floating Pagoda.

He intends to use a complete Law Treasure to fight against a flawed Law Treasure.

As soon as the pagoda appeared, a vast and majestic aura descended, filling every corner of the space.

The second level of the pagoda—suppression!

It was specifically used to suppress top-tier experts, such as the second-rank Rain Master Nalan Tianlu.

The bronze mirror slowly "raised its eyes," its attention shifting to the pagoda.

"Go!"

Xu Qi'an pointed at the bronze mirror, and the Floating Pagoda pressed down on the incomplete Law Treasure.

The bronze mirror flipped over, its surface aligned with the pagoda in the sky, and the eye without eyelashes shot out a blinding, eerie green light.

Sizzle!

The eerie green beams collided with the base of the pagoda, bursting into a blinding green light, like sparks created by a welder.

The pagoda pressed down firmly, compressing the eerie green beam of light until, with a loud crash, the pagoda hit the ground, and the bronze mirror was suppressed beneath it.

Xu Qi'an, without bothering to check the Floating Pagoda, hurriedly moved closer to Bai Ji and Li Lingsu, using his "Star Shifting and Constellation Changing" ability to hide them and prevent them from dying from physical exhaustion.

Having done all this, he confidently entered the pagoda and went straight to the third floor.

The old monk Taling sat cross-legged on a futon, toying with half a bronze mirror in his hand, watching him arrive with a smile.

"Master!"

Xu Qi'an clasped his hands together in a gesture of respect, then asked:

"Master, do you know what this is?"

The old monk Taling did not answer immediately, but instead asked in return:

Where did you get it?

Xu Qi'an then briefly recounted what had happened that day.

The old monk Taling suddenly realized, "So it was lost among the common people long ago. Benefactor Xu is indeed a person of great fortune, to have found this item."

So what exactly is this thing? Just as Xu Qi'an was about to ask, the old monk of the tower shook the mirror, revealing four souls: three people and a fox.

Miao Youfang, Mu Nanzhi, and the little white fox floated aimlessly in the air.

Only Li Lingsu was vividly portrayed, fully demonstrating the uniqueness of Daoist School in the realm of the Primordial Spirit. He looked around in surprise:

"How did I end up inside the tower?"

"Your soul has been captured by this mirror," Xu Qi'an said, pointing to the bronze mirror.

"Is it this mirror? The one that ambushed us in the temple just now?" Li Lingsu clicked her tongue in amazement. "What is this thing? Law Artifact?"

"It's Law Treasure, but it seems to be incomplete," Xu Qi'an said, glancing at the old monk.

The old monk Taling showed a hint of emotion:

"This is a Law Treasure called the Hun Tian Divine Mirror. It is the dressing mirror of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox, the ruler of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons."

"It can illuminate the entire land, allowing the Demon Race king to know everything without leaving his house."

"Anyone touched by it will have their Primordial Spirit captured in the mirror, losing their physical freedom. Their life, death, and actions will be completely controlled by it. It is said that only the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox is immune and unaffected."

"Back when the Sixty-Year Demon Purge in the Jiazi year, it was cut in two by Bodhisattva Guangxian and its whereabouts became unknown. I never expected it to appear here today. Perhaps it's because Benefactor Xu has a karmic connection with the Demon Race."

The body is not free; is this the thing that controlled the corpse of Li Gui's wife?

Xu Qi'an immediately raised a question, "It should have appeared a month ago. Why is it forcing people to offer incense and sacrifices in the name of a temple god?"

The old monk Taling explained:

"Law Treasure can absorb the Incense and Fire Prayer Power, which helps them stabilize. I have been practicing at Sanhua Temple for hundreds of years, and I am also nourished by incense every day. However, I am in good condition, so incense is not necessary for me."

"And because it is incomplete, it needs to be nourished by incense."

Incense can nurture Law Treasure, which is why the National Sword has always been enshrined in the Yongzhen Mountain and River Temple in Sangbo, and why the Confucian Sage's carving knife and the Second Sage's Confucian cap are enshrined in the Second Xu Qi'an suddenly realized.

I've gained some seemingly useless bits of knowledge.

"This broken Law Treasure has been impersonating a wild god for the past five hundred years?"

Xu Qi'an voiced his doubts.

The old monk Taling looked down at the bronze mirror, as if communicating with it. After a few seconds, he looked up and said:

"It said it couldn't remember anything from its past, and after waking up, it was found by an old woman. Then it asked the old woman for incense, huh? You bald thief?"

The old monk paused, then shook his head and chuckled, "Because of its incomplete state, its mind is confused and unclear."

Xu Qi'an, Law Treasure mental state seemed off, nodded and said, "I'll trouble you to look after this item for now, senior."

After saying this, he left the Floating Pagoda with the souls of the three people and the fox.

After their souls returned to their places, they woke up one after another. Xu Qi'an briefly told Miao Youfang what had happened, leaving Miao Youfang dumbfounded. He had made all sorts of assumptions about whether the temple god was a mountain spirit, a monster, or a madman of Evil Cultivator.

The only thing I didn't expect was that it was a mirror.

"Li Lingsu, summon the spirit!"

Xu Qi'an gave the instructions.

Li Lingsu muttered incantations, and in an instant, a strong wind arose in the temple, and the temperature plummeted.

Since it died recently, it doesn't need auxiliary materials for formation.

Two souls coalesced into one: an old woman with gray hair and a burly man, both with dull eyes and wooden expressions.

A sorceress and her son.

Xu Qi'an asked, "How did you get the mirror?"

The sorceress stared blankly ahead, her voice hollow:

"The old well in my family home."

Newly deceased ghosts have no thoughts; they answer only what is asked and will not utter a single extra word.

Xu Qi'an asked a lot of questions intermittently before he finally understood the gist of the matter.

About a month ago, due to poor harvests and frequent disasters, the sorceress's son, unwilling to support his mother, pushed her into a dry well.

The sorceress found a bronze mirror in the well.

Driven by the bronze mirror, she repaired the city temple for it, and from then on lived a wealthy life, never having to go hungry again.

However, she thought the temple god was a lunatic, sometimes demanding incense offerings, sometimes wanting to kill bald monks, and sometimes shouting that the king was immortal.

Fortunately, the temple god who drives her is actually quite obedient and will generally do as she suggests, killing whoever she tells him to kill.

It is worth mentioning that Li Gui's wife was killed by a sorceress. The sorceress knew Li Gui's wife and accidentally learned that she was burning the "wooden ghost" in the City God as firewood, so she came up with a plan.

Thus, Li Gui's ordeal unfolded.

She thus obtained her first pot of gold from Li Gui and used it to make a name for herself, instilling fear in the people of the county with the power of the Hun Tian Divine Mirror.

Over the past month, her son, taking advantage of the temple god's influence, has used the pretext of praying for a child to coerce and rape several beautiful and respectable women.

"They deserved to die!" Miao Youfang sneered. "If I had known, I wouldn't have let those two beasts die so quickly."

"Miao Youfang, go and find out who those guards are. Kill them all." Xu Qi'an gave the instructions methodically.

His ability to control his temper has improved considerably; he can now conceal his emotions.

Those few men who aided and abetted the evildoer were already on his kill list, but he wasn't as hasty as before; instead, he was calm and composed, as if everything was under his control.

He was increasingly resembling Wei Yuan in his experience and wisdom.

The only thing that's unclear now is why the bronze mirror ended up in the Central Plains. Of course, that's not important, just like there's no need to figure out which came first, the chicken or the egg. Xu Qi'an waved his sleeve, scattering the spirits of the sorceress and her son into nothingness.

He then began to think about how to deal with the Celestial Mirror.

Normally, keeping this incomplete Law Treasure by one's side and using it to "atone for one's sins" would be the best option. Having more Law Treasure means having more means to rely on.

The more methods you have, the greater your ability to cope with risks.

But since this Law Treasure was the "dressing mirror" of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox back then, Xu Qi'an felt that perhaps he could maximize his profits.

Would that noble princess be interested in her mother's belongings?

"Maybe I can sell it for an even higher price," Xu Qi'an looked at Bai Ji with a kind and amiable smile.

"Sweetie, can you contact your princess?"