When the Lesser Yin Sect was mentioned, Yigeng's expression became somewhat complicated.
When the seven sects of Daoism assisted Emperor Taizu in establishing the country and ascending the throne, Chu Province was designated as the Northern Pole Sect.
At the height of the Northern Pole Sect's influence, the Jingyang Upper Court was built, requiring countless manpower and resources to construct such a magnificent Daoist palace complex.
In recent decades, the Northern Pole Sect has declined in influence, and other sects of Daoism have also settled in Jingyang.
Among them, the Greater Yin and Lesser Yin factions were the most powerful. They built Daoist temples on famous mountains around Jingyang Lake and actively promoted themselves throughout Jingyang Commandery, attracting a large number of believers.
In places like White Sand Bay, where six or seven out of Lesser Yin school, it is generally accepted as Lesser Yin territory.
If anything happens, Lesser Yin will take the initiative to send people to handle it.
This time, some believers came to the Upper Court for help, so the Upper Court thought of going to see what was going on. If there was an opportunity, of course they would get rid of the evil spirits. Firstly, to slay the demons and eliminate the harm to the people, and secondly, to save face for the Lesser Yin.
This is actually a job that can offend a lot of people; if not done well, it could lead to conflict with the Lesser Yin Sect cultivators.
Yigeng was also in a dilemma when he received this task. After thinking for a long time, he realized that Zhou Wuji was the only one in Ding Group with high cultivation and seemed to be highly regarded by the Palace Master.
If Zhou Wuji really causes trouble, the Palace Master won't blame him.
However, he couldn't say this to Zhou Wuji, yet he couldn't leave it unsaid either.
The rough-looking Daoist priest with a full beard could only try to remind Zhou Wuji as tactfully as possible, and also specifically mentioned some information about the Lesser Yin Sect.
Zhou Wuji had already understood that it was no big deal for the Northern Pole Sect to go to Lesser Yin's territory.
He didn't care about that. He could easily manipulate anything below the Fourth Rank rank, whether it was Lesser Yin or Greater Yin, or any cultivator or martial artist.
As for the Fourth Rank, we'll only know who's stronger after a fight.
Third Rank, Lesser Yin is one of the seven major sects of Daoism. There is no way Third Rank expert would dare to attack him.
It's easy to break the rules; conversely, it's difficult to follow them.
A third-rank expert from the Lesser Yin Sect Third Rank Sect doesn't follow the rules; not only the Northern Pole Sect can't tolerate it, but even the Heavenly Master's Manor can't stand it.
Even Third Rank Devil Cultivator should think carefully before indulging in wanton destruction.
Once his whereabouts are exposed, he will be hunted down by both Daoist and Buddhist sects, leaving him no chance of escape.
Seeing Zhou Wuji readily agree, Yi Yigeng breathed a sigh of relief and even felt a pang of guilt towards Zhou Wuji. This young Daoist was truly a good person...
Zhou Wuji had just mastered the two Secret Method and was looking for a place to test them out.
He didn't bring Yang Tie Ying with him this time. Riding the Wind Chaser was impressive, but it was also quite troublesome.
White Sand Bay is Lesser Yin place, and there's no one to help. There's nowhere to put two horses.
Zhou Wuji set off at noon that day, found a cargo ship at the dock, and sailed downstream. By dusk, the ship had arrived at White Sand Bay.
The water in White Sand Bay is very clear, and the river bend is covered with large areas of white sand washed up by the current. From a distance, the white sand looks as clean as if it has been washed, and the surrounding area is filled with green trees and yellow flowers, making for a very beautiful scene.
The cargo ship dropped Zhou Wuji off and left. According to the boatman, White Sand Bay White Sand Bay had been quite unsettled lately, and they preferred to sail through the night rather than stop there.
After passing the beautiful white sand beach, Zhou Wuji saw a village on the hillside ahead, with a large number of wooden houses lined up on the hillside, which looked to be at least one or two hundred households.
As dusk fell, a few wisps of red glow remained, and wisps of smoke rose from the village chimneys, but few people were in sight, and no children were playing.
As soon as Zhou Wuji entered the village, an old man came up to him, bowing and scraping, and said, "Daoist priest, you've come to kill ghosts, haven't you?"
The old man had dark skin, a wrinkled face, wore coarse linen shorts, and was barefoot. Apart from the whites of his eyes, only the soles of his feet were white.
The old man spoke with a very heavy accent, so Zhou Wuji only caught the gist of what he meant. He nodded slightly, "Exactly."
"Great! That ghost has been acting up even more these past few days..."
The old man's face lit up with joy, but as he examined Zhou Wuji's magnificent golden cloud brocade Daoist robe, he couldn't help but hesitate.
He didn't quite understand the differences between the robes of the seven major Daoist sects; he just felt that this robe was very different from the ones he usually saw.
The old man, unsure of Zhou Wuji's identity, lowered his voice and asked, "Where are you from, Daoist Master?"
Zhou Wuji found it somewhat amusing; the village was being invaded by ghosts, and this old man still had time to pick off people?
He said directly, " Jingyang Upper Court."
"Ah, not from Lingyun Upper Court..." The old man clearly showed disappointment, but then he realized that he didn't care where the other party was from at this moment, as long as he could subdue demons.
He hurriedly chuckled awkwardly and said, "Please come in, Daoist priest, please come in. Let me pour you some water."
There was no tea, only cool water drawn from the well, which was served to Zhou Wuji in a chipped, rough earthenware bowl.
Zhou Wuji smiled and said, "Thank you, sir. You don't need the water. Just tell me about the ghost."
"That ghost is very fierce. It's in the mountain bend ahead, where there's a big rock blocking the waterway, and below it is a very deep whirlpool. Anything thrown in will be swallowed up."
"In the past, some people jumped in because they were good swimmers, but they all disappeared without a trace. Over time, no one dared to go to that place anymore."
"Recently, for some unknown reason, a ghost emerged from the whirlpool and killed several cargo ships docked at the village entrance. The villagers are all terrified, and many relatives have gone to stay with other relatives, leaving only the elderly and children behind."
Although the old man had a heavy accent, his speech was fairly clear.
As he spoke, he suddenly remembered something and added, "The guys from the Great River Gang often come here to dump corpses. Maybe if too many people die, they'll turn into Vengeful Ghost..."
After talking for a while, the last rays of the sunset faded, and darkness fell.
Zhou Wuji felt sorry for the old man, who was all alone, and although he wasn't very good at talking, he still gave him a Golden Light Talisman.
The old man was overjoyed to see the talisman and thanked him profusely. He even mustered his courage to escort Zhou Wuji to the village entrance and pointed out the direction, saying, "It's over there. Just follow this path!"
Watching Zhou Wuji's figure slowly disappear, the old man shuddered, hurriedly ran home, locked the door, and kept chanting "May the Shao Yin Heavenly Venerable protect me..." while clutching the talisman.
Zhou Wuji hadn't walked far when he saw the big rock the old man had mentioned. Strictly speaking, it was a mountain ridge extending into the river, forming a huge protruding rock wall, more than ten zhang high.
The water flowed turbulently below the rock wall, naturally forming a whirlpool.
Even without the Six Yang Dharma Eye, Zhou Wuji could sense the intense Yin Qi within the vortex.
His Divine Sense is now incredibly powerful, even more so than the Six Yang Dharma Eye, allowing him to perceive deeper and more complex changes in energy.
There are indeed ghosts lurking beneath the vortex; the Yin Qi is heavy, as is the malevolent energy. They should be of the Sixth Rank or Fifth Rank.
The level of the ghost was too low; he could kill Fourth Rank Ghost Marshal single-handedly in the Cloud Dragon Lower Court.
With his current cultivation level and mastery of Thunder Method, he could easily kill even Third Rank ghost.
However, the ghost was hidden deep underwater, so he had to wait patiently for a while.
Today is the third day of the Lunar New Year. A crescent moon quickly rose into the sky, and under its pale moonlight, eddies churned, with large plumes of white foam constantly being flung out amidst the rumbling sound of water.
Zhou Wuji, feeling bored, found a rock, sat down, and waited silently.
The moon was high in the sky, and the stars twinkled.
Across the river lies a flat mudflat, eroded by the river, covered with reeds and wormwood, stretching as far as the eye can see.
A boat was leaning against the shore, its crooked sail billowing in the night wind, while the reeds and rushes on the mudflats swayed in the breeze.
Under the tranquil moonlight, the night grew even more vast and the great river even deeper and more turbulent.
At this moment, in this situation,
Zhou Wuji thought of that famous poem, and he recited it softly. "Fine grass and gentle breeze on the bank, a lone boat with its mast towering in the night. Stars hang low over the vast plain, the moon surges in the great river's flow."
Unfortunately, the last few sentences are not quite suitable, and it would be quite troublesome to revise them.
Just then, a woman's clear, melodious voice came from the side. "What a beautiful poem!"
Zhou Wuji knew someone was coming. The two people had been hiding behind him without revealing their presence, but their presence was fully reflected in his Mind Mirror.
This includes the physical appearance of the two individuals, their level of True Qi), and so on.
Of course, he recited the poem to lament the desolation of the world and his own loneliness, not to show off.
Zhou Wuji stepped down from the rock and turned around to see the hidden male and female Daoist priests.
The two men were about his age; the man was handsome with fair skin, dressed in a black Daoist robe with a white collar, and had a long sword at his waist.
The Daoist robe has a badge with two dots and a horizontal line on the chest, which represents the Yin and Yang lines of Lesser Yin.
The woman had almond-shaped eyes and peach-blossom cheeks, making her very beautiful. She was about the same height as the man and wore the same loose-fitting white-collared black Daoist robe, which made her even more graceful and charming.
Zhou Wuji smiled and cupped his hands in greeting to the two, " Zhou Wuji of Jingyang Upper Court greets you two fellow Daoists."
The man snorted and casually cupped his hands in greeting, "Young Master Yin Leng Wuming."
The woman smiled gently and said, " Lesser Yin Sun Wufei greets fellow Daoist."
After announcing his Daoist name, Leng Wuming immediately said with a cold face, " White Sand Bay is a place of our Lesser Yin, what are you doing here?"
"When believers come to the Upper Court for help, it is our responsibility to vanquish demons and relieve suffering. How can we abandon them because of sectarian prejudice?"
Zhou Wuji then said leisurely, "Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king."
"Though the Nine Provinces is vast, where is it yours, and where is it mine?"
Leng Wuming hadn't expected Zhou Wuji to be so sharp-tongued; his words were delivered with such flair that they seemed quite extraordinary.
Having cultivated Daoism since childhood, he knew nothing of such matters and was momentarily at a loss for how to respond. This only fueled his anger, and his face grew increasingly grim. Gripping his sword hilt, he considered whether to teach his opponent a lesson.
Sun Wufei gave Leng Wuming a wink, signaling him not to act impulsively.
She had heard of Zhou Wuji's reputation; after all, he was a Daoist priest who had received Northern Emperor's Blessing, which was extremely rare!
He also received an imperial title, known as Master Hongde. This was an extremely high honor.
Young cultivators from various sects all expressed their envy of this.
Furthermore, everyone said that Zhou Wuji possessed an extraordinary demeanor, almost like Celestial Person, which further fueled their curiosity.
Zhou Wuji low-key, and no outsiders have ever seen him.
Seeing Zhou Wuji in person tonight, Sun Wufei was greatly amazed. The rumors were true; this young Daoist truly possessed Celestial Person talent.
Her senior brother Leng Wuming, was famously handsome, but compared to Zhou Wuji, he paled in comparison.
His speech was exceptional, and the poems he recited had a unique flair.
Her Geng Metal Devil-Slaying Dharma Talisman, which she cultivated, was most adept at detecting qi, yet she couldn't see any changes in Zhou Wuji's True Qi, further demonstrating his formidable skill.
Besides, Lesser Yin and Northern Pole are allies after all, and they wouldn't turn against each other over something so small.
Sun Wufei smiled and said, "From the poem you recited, Senior Brother, it was both majestic and desolate, as if there was something unsaid. I wonder what the next few lines are like?"
"It's just a fragment of a sentence I read from an ancient book. I thought it was appropriate for the occasion, so I recited it. I hope my junior sister won't laugh at me."
Zhou Wuji didn't stand on ceremony; since the beautiful woman had taken the initiative to call him "Senior Brother," he naturally had to call her "Junior Sister."
Addressing me as "fellow Daoist" is too formal.
Leng Wuming was even more displeased. His sword-like eyebrows were raised high, and his face was ashen.
Sun Wufei seemed oblivious, and continued, "Senior brother has come all this way to subdue demons and monsters; it would be extremely impolite to just tell him to leave like this."
She smiled and said, "How about this? When the ghost appears, we'll each take turns attacking and see who can kill it, shall we?"
Zhou Wuji laughed and said, "Junior Sister is insightful and wise; your words are exactly what I wanted to hear."
Sun Wufei was pleased with the praise, but not wanting to appear too friendly in front of Leng Wuming, she could only softly say, "Senior brother, you flatter me. I am ashamed."
Leng Wuming couldn't help but say, "I've heard that Jingyang Upper Court is full of geniuses, but I've only heard about it; I've never actually seen one."
"Fellow Daoist Zhou, how about we have a spar? Whoever kills the ghost first wins."
"Very well, this is a good opportunity to see the Secret Method of the Lingyun Upper Court," Zhou Wuji replied.
Leng Wuming, however, refused to give up. He said, "A mere contest is meaningless. How about adding a prize?"
"How about the loser keeps their sword?"
Zhou Wuji patted the White Rainbow Sword at his waist and readily agreed, "Alright, as you say, fellow Daoist!"
Sun Wufei, however, was reluctant, as her sword was Fourth Rank magic sword, which was extremely expensive.
If I accidentally lose to an outsider here, I won't be able to explain it to my master or my parents!
She said, "There's no need for a bet."
Before Zhou Wuji could speak, Leng Wuming said directly, "What's a mere sword? It's just a small prize."
Zhou Wuji laughed heartily, "Fellow Daoist, you are truly heroic! This is how a man should be..."