The aftermath was complicated and tedious, but fortunately Wuzheng stepped forward, which helped resolve the troubles with the government.
With the assistance of the experienced and well-connected Yang Shuling, these matters were handled properly.
Zhou Wuji figured he wouldn't be of much help if he stayed, and he didn't like dealing with these kinds of chores anyway. He informed Wuzheng and Yang Shuling Wuzheng, and then went back to Hidden Dragon Temple alone before dawn.
After taking a nap at Hidden Dragon Temple until noon, Zhou Wuji asked Shangxin to boil a bucket of hot water and took a refreshing bath.
In this world where resources are scarce, even fuel is a very important resource. Ordinary families use it for cooking, and are reluctant to use it for heating or boiling water.
The Hidden Dragon Temple has been bustling with worshippers lately, so burning incense is nothing special.
Zhou Wuji killed quite a few people last night and searched for things in the garbage dump, so he's not exactly clean.
After taking a shower and changing into clean clothes, Zhou Wuji felt refreshed and invigorated.
I had lunch at the Daoist temple at noon. It was just cabbage, tofu, and pickled vegetable pancakes, but it was simple, delicious, and very satisfying.
Zhou Wuji took a short nap at noon, then changed into a suitable inner robe and leather boots for mountain activities, put on the raincoat and straw hat left by his master, told Shangxin, and went into the mountains.
While the Ironclad Guard were still in disarray, he wanted to go to the cave abode on Lingming Peak to check on the situation.
Zhou Wuji had been to Lingming Peak several times. The last time, he killed two Yin Yang Dao Devil Cultivator here and took advantage of the situation to wipe out a group of red-haired long-armed monkey demons.
It was with this group of red-haired gibbons, from whom he shared the same roots, that he refined the Five Yin Pouch.
This time, I felt much more familiar with the place.
Zhou Wuji walked very slowly last time he came, but this time he walked with unusual ease.
Climbing Yue Ridge was truly as easy as walking on flat ground.
The main reason is that his body is now extremely powerful; his physical attributes alone have reached 500.
The last time he went into the mountains, his physical fitness level was only 150, more than three times higher than before.
The threefold difference is not simply a difference in strength or speed.
It's like a three-meter giant and a one-meter child; there's a huge difference between them on every level of their physical development.
With such a powerful body, even without circulating his True Qi, Zhou Wuji could easily handle rugged mountain paths and various complex situations in the forest.
That evening, Zhou Wuji had already arrived at Lingming Peak.
With Jin Chuan providing the exact location, Zhou Wuji found the cave on the north slope without much effort.
The cave entrance is quite spacious, surrounded by scattered rocks and withered grass.
A cold night wind came from the north, sweeping the withered grass into a frenzy, and howling and wailing deep within the cave.
Zhou Wuji didn't rush in. He took a Grain Avoidance Pill pill outside the cave to regulate his breathing. Only after his body and mind had recovered to their peak did he activate the Six Yang Dharma Eye.
The deep night became clear and bright, and the dark cave became even more clearly visible to him.
Zhou Wuji walked more than ten zhang along the cave and saw traces of residual charcoal fire on the ground. After walking another ten zhang, he saw broken flesh and bones on the ground.
Judging from the appearance, several people must have been devoured by wild beasts, with blood and flesh scattered all over the ground, already emitting a putrid stench.
Further ahead is a pile of collapsed rocks; we don't know what's inside.
Jin Chuan had also mentioned that, for some unknown reason, a cave deep within the mountain suddenly collapsed, killing many people.
The remaining villagers were all killed.
The rocks were piled up in layers, and no one knew how deep they were; digging them out would not be easy.
Zhou Wuji and activated the Heavenly Puppet on his arm. Under the Thread-Pulling Method, the cyan Heavenly Puppet transformed into a long snake and slithered into the crack in the rock.
The Heavenly Puppet can transform into various forms; how it transforms depends entirely on the controller's Thread-Pulling Method manipulation, as well as their level of Divine Sense and True Qi.
Zhou Wuji has already reached the level of mastery in the Heavenly Puppet Technique. With his current level of Divine Sense, he can make the Heavenly Puppet change its appearance easily.
For example, snakes and rats, of course, are just imitations of their appearance.
The changing appearance also has many limitations, and Zhou Wuji is not yet able to control it as he pleases. He also dares not use this move against cultivators.
Exploring the collapsed cave was no problem; even if he didn't control it well, he could simply pull it back.
The Heavenly Puppet, mimicking a long snake, meandered downwards for more than ten zhang along the gap. Through the Heavenly Puppet Zhou Wuji could "see" the broken stones and soil, and see the twisted and rotten corpses in the broken stones and soil.
The cave suddenly collapsed, burying seven or eight villagers inside.
There are always gaps between the collapsed rocks and soil. Zhou Wuji controlled the long snake to continue downwards, and he soon "saw" a black stone tablet.
The stone tablet was mostly buried, with only a corner showing. He judged it to be a stone tablet based on his experience.
Zhou Wuji wanted to control the long snake to see what was written on the stone tablet, but before he could even get close, he felt a strong sense of unease.
Without hesitation, he immediately retrieved the Heavenly Puppet, and a wisp of azure light instantly returned to his left arm.
Zhou Wuji turned and left, quickly departing Lingming Peak in a somewhat disheveled and hurried manner.
Zhou Wuji ran all the way to Xiuming Peak, but couldn't see any sign of Lingming Peak, so he stopped.
The first thing he did was to activate the Heart-Purifying Divine Incantation, blessing himself three times in a row.
He then activated the Golden Light Incantation, blessing himself three times.
After chanting the incantation six times, Zhou Wuji did not notice anything unusual.
He then focused his Sword Intent on his inner sea of consciousness, and then focused his Heart Tiger Fist Intent. He did not notice any disharmony between his body and mind, and only then did he truly feel at ease.
Regardless of whether the cave deep within the mountain is the cave abode the Heavenly Mystery Divine Lord, it is an extremely eerie place.
The black stone tablet likely harbors an extremely powerful evil spirit, but fortunately, the evil spirit seems to be asleep, its aura deep and restrained.
That's why Heavenly Puppet sensed something was wrong when he saw the stone tablet.
Daoist Law Technique is specifically designed to subdue demons and evil spirits, just as water can extinguish fire.
However, if the power disparity between the two sides is significant, the balance of power will be reversed.
Like a drop in the ocean, it's the result of the drop of water evaporating before the ocean can be controlled.
Even in its slumber, the evil spirit within the black stone tablet possessed a profound and vast abyss-like aura that surpassed his own by a thousandfold.
If he were to disturb the evil spirits inside, his life would be in grave danger.
Let alone him, even if the abbot of the Lower Court were here Zhiyuan would probably just be throwing his life away.
The cave abode is too sinister; no matter what treasures are hidden inside, he cannot touch them.
Zhou Wuji then thought of the Qi Eye beneath the Hidden Dragon Temple; perhaps everything was connected in some mysterious way.
The eye is hidden deep underground; one must follow the underground river upstream to its source to have a chance to reach it.
He had originally planned to take some time to see his master, but his departure was too hasty, and there were many things he hadn't had time to explain.
Perhaps the Qi Eye holds some secret.
After today's events, Zhou Wuji realized that such exploration was extremely dangerous.
The risks are uncontrollable, and the returns are unknown; no mature and rational person would do such a thing.
More importantly, he possesses the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment, the number one killing Divine Artifact of the Daoist sect, and has his own steady path to improvement, so he doesn't need to take huge risks to gamble on unknown gains.
Only those who are desperate and in dire straits, or madmen and geniuses, are willing to gamble.
Zhou Wuji understood all this, he truly calmed down.
Secret treasures and fortuitous opportunity —these things are unrealistic and shouldn't be expected to be too important.
Once his cultivation is strong enough, he can come back and try his luck.
As for whether the things in the cave would be taken away by others, Zhou Wuji was not worried.
At least none of these people from Yunyang Prefecture are up to it.
If there really is a powerful being capable of subduing the stone tablet, he would have to Qi Ingestion their skill.
By noon the next day, Zhou Wuji had returned to Hidden Dragon Temple. Apart from Shangxin, no one knew he had gone out.
Wuzheng hasn't returned yet, so the cleanup is obviously going to be very complicated.
Yang Tie Ying arrived with only a few simple belongings. Upon seeing Zhou Wuji, he knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly.
Yang Tie Ying has always focused on practicing martial arts. He is a bit proud, but he is still a simple and honest young man.
He witnessed Zhou Wuji annihilate the demons and kill the Cold-Blooded Twin Fiends; Zhou Wuji also saved his life.
He had long admired Zhou Wuji to the point of complete devotion.
After finishing his family business, Yang Tie Ying hurriedly went to Hidden Dragon Temple to become Zhou Wuji's disciple.
He didn't know what to say, so he called out "Master" and kowtowed forcefully, making a loud thud that cracked the blue bricks on the ground.
Putting everything else aside, their sincerity in seeking a master is undeniable.
Zhou Wuji originally did not want to take on a disciple. He was still not firmly established and had many secrets, so it would be inconvenient to take on a disciple.
This time, the Yang Household was implicated because of him, which is why they were targeted by the Five Dragons Gang.
Yang Shuling understood that tipping him off allowed him to easily resolve the crisis.
If the Five Dragons Gang issue isn't resolved, Yang Shuling will likely have no choice but to flee to another place.
Both morally and logically, he couldn't refuse to accept Yang Tie Ying as his apprentice.
Zhou Wuji flicked his long sleeves and lifted Yang Tie Ying up. "Get up. Today, I'll accept you as Registered Disciple."
After considering for a moment, he said, "You belong to the 'Shang' generation, so your Dharma name will be Shangbing."
Yang Tie Ying knelt down again and kowtowed three times. "Thank you, Master, thank you for bestowing this name upon me."
Seeing that the young man's forehead was bruised from kowtowing, Zhou Wuji helped Yang Tie Ying up again. "From now on, just speak your mind. You don't need to kowtow. Master doesn't like that."
"Oh," Yang Tie Ying replied sheepishly. After thinking for a moment, he couldn't help but ask, "Master, what does 'Shangbing' mean?"
"A superior divine weapon signifies invincibility," Zhou Wuji said with a smile. "Your martial arts are superb, which perfectly suits you."
"Oh----" Yang Tie Ying's square face showed a hint of joy. He thought the Buddhist name was quite impressive.
Seeing Yang Tie Ying's expression, Zhou Wuji swallowed back the true explanation of "the best strategy is to subdue the enemy Shangbing."
There's no point in talking to this kid. Just make him a top-tier divine weapon!
Zhou Wuji summoned Shangxin and instructed him to arrange accommodation and other miscellaneous tasks for Yang Tie Ying.
The two were about the same age and both had a somewhat simple and honest nature, yet they actually got along very well.
Zhou Wuji ignored Yang Tie Ying and let him continue practicing martial arts as usual.
He estimated that the Lower Court would send people to deal with the matter soon, as it concerned the Green Dragon Envoy of the Five Dragons Gang Azure Dragon Envoy, and was no small matter.
He still didn't know how to resolve this matter, and he didn't have the energy to teach Yang Tie Ying right now.
At dusk, Yang Shuling followed Wuzheng to Hidden Dragon Temple.
The old man privately approached Zhou Wuji, presented him with two thousand taels of silver, saying it was a gift for becoming an apprentice, and added that Yang Tie Ying was reckless and asked Zhou Wuji to be lenient with him.
Zhou Wuji did not refuse; it was only natural for a disciple to give a gift to his master.
He asked Yang Shuling about his plans, and sure enough, Yang Shuling intended to return to his hometown for a while, meaning the martial arts school in Siming County would have to close temporarily.
The Lower Court's Zhiyuan was indeed only just received the news from Wuzheng.
Zhiyuan dismissed the messenger and summoned the temple master, Yizhen, to the Heart-Questioning Hall, where he explained the situation.
Yizhen frowned as well. Zhou Wuji and his group had just killed the Five Dragons Gang's younger brother, and then they killed their Azure Dragon Envoy. This was indeed a troublesome matter.
Although the Five Dragons Gang controlled the water transport, they couldn't control the Lower Court.
However, if the Zhang Household puts pressure on the Lower Court through various means and then turns against the Five Dragons Gang, it will be too disadvantageous for the Lower Court.
The Lower Court is unlikely to bow down and admit wrongdoing to the Five Dragons Gang. How to handle this matter is indeed a difficult question.
Yizhen could only bow and say, " The Five Dragons Gang provoked us first, so it's no wonder that Wuzheng Wuji are blamed."
Wuzheng was his personally taught disciple, so naturally he would do his best to protect him. Although Zhou Wuji wasn't related to him, he was a very capable person.
Yizhen thought highly of Zhou Wuji Zhou Wuji was willing to stand up for him.
Zhiyuan sighed softly, " Chen Dalu is biased and protective of his own. He's probably not going to swallow this insult after suffering losses repeatedly."
Yizhen said, " Chen Dalu has been getting very close to the Zhang Household lately."
"Last time, it was Chen Dagou who tried to frame Wuji, but Wuji Wuzheng his Gu technique and he died on the spot from the backlash of the Gu worms."
He brought up the past again, reminding everyone that the Five Dragons Gang was behind it all, no wonder Wuzheng Wuji were involved.
Zhiyuan pondered for a moment and said, " Chen Dalu is, after all, Sixth Rank martial artist; he should not be underestimated."
"We are in the right, but Chen Dalu is being unreasonable. Wuji has already opened his seven orifices; go and take him back to the Lower Court to receive his ordination."
"Go and coordinate with the Upper Court, and ask the Heavenly Master's Manor to issue the ordination certificate to those Wuji as soon as possible."
Yizhen nodded. Once Zhou Wuji formally accepted the ordination and received the ordination certificate from the Heavenly Master's Manor, he would become Seventh Rank Daoist priest registered by the imperial court.
The difference between a registered Seventh-Rank Register Reception priest and an unregistered ordinary Daoist is quite significant.
Once Zhou Wuji obtains his ordination certificate, killing Zhou Wuji would be tantamount to killing an official, a serious crime.
Although Chen Dalu was arrogant, he would inevitably have some reservations.
Even if he goes crazy and attacks Zhou Wuji, once they find a handle against him, the situation will be completely different.
At that time, even the Zhang Household couldn't protect Chen Dalu!
Yizhen said, " Wuji should have already opened the seven orifices, but it will be very slow at the Heavenly Master's Manor's Mansion."
"As is customary, one must pass the Heavenly Master's Manor's examination to obtain the ordination certificate, which also takes time."
"Well----"
Zhiyuan sighed again, their Northern Pole Sect was declining in influence, and the Northern Pole Sect Heavenly Master's Manor was making things difficult for them.
Decades ago, when the sect leader had just been promoted to the rank of First Rank Celestial Master, the so-called assessment was just a formality, and there was no need to go out of your way to flatter and ingratiate yourself with the envoys of the Heavenly Master's Manor's Mansion.
The Lower Court was surrounded by enemies in Yunyang Prefecture, mainly because the decline of the Northern Pole Sect gave the Zhang Household an opportunity. Other organizations and forces also wanted to take over the Lower Court.
Zhiyuan mentally exhausted just thinking about these things. Ultimately, the Northern Pole Sect simply lacks a new generation of geniuses.
A sect without a future will be looked down upon by everyone.
This sect, which controls enormous profits, will attract countless greedy eyes.
Zhiyuan said, "Go and make the arrangements, and get Wuji the ordination certificate as soon as possible."
" Wuji's Swordsmanship is exquisite, he is quite shrewd, and he has also received the Northern Emperor's Blessing. His advancement to the Seventh Rank will surely greatly enhance the prestige of our Lower Court— "
Yizhen was also a little surprised, not expecting that Zhiyuan also valued Zhou Wuji so much.
He should be serious.
Zhiyuan sighed again and said, "I'll write another letter to Chen Dalu. If he really doesn't know what's good for him, we won't hold back. I just hope things don't escalate to that point—"
Chen Dalu is Sixth Rank martial artist with several thousand followers, so he's not so easy to deal with.
If the Lower Court cannot achieve a swift victory against such a powerful force, it will be bogged down in a quagmire and find itself in a dilemma.
This will also expose the weakness of the Lower Court to other organizations and forces, causing even more trouble.
Therefore, taking action is the last resort.
Zhiyuan placed high hopes on Zhou Wuji; while there were many skilled Law Technique priests in the Lower Court, truly capable warriors were few and far between.
In particular, Zhou Wuji's Swordsmanship is superb, and he is decisive in killing. Moreover, he is only a Seventh Rank. Having him take the lead can limit the battle to a certain level.
Whether it's the conflict with the Five Dragons Gang, the struggle with the Golden Leaf Temple, or the confrontation with the Zhang Household, it's perfectly appropriate for Zhou Wuji to handle it. Regardless of success or failure, things won't spiral out of control.