The Divine Heart Borrows a Path, a Feast for the Eyes

A thick fog rolled in over Beijing that night.

When Cao Ying set off and mounted his horse, he was accompanied by hundreds of people. In addition to kerosene lamps and large lanterns, they also carried torches.

Even so, it could only illuminate half a street.

The capital city is located in the north, with a dry climate, and is only about 400 miles away from the desert.

Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, historical records have frequently documented the occurrence of smog, miasma, and dust storms in this area.

Fortunately, we haven't yet reached the point where winter's dust storms obscure the sun.

Although the smog is thick tonight, it's still just white and not enough to make you cough; it only causes slight discomfort.

Before Cao Ying left the mansion, he had already given orders that everyone would be ready when he arrived at the square in front of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests at the Temple of Temple of Heaven.

Since Cao Ying and his group entered the capital and became acquainted with Yuanzai and Yuanli, they often saw members of the Five Rampancies Dharma Sect performing rituals on stage.

Instead of using the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests for Good Harvests or other places where the Former Qing imperial family originally performed sacrifices, a separate altar was built in the square in front of the hall.

This platform is nine feet tall and has three levels, requiring 120 people to stand guard on the outer steps.

Each person carried a large flag, which fluttered and sang loudly in the fierce night wind.

The third platform, nearly ten zhang in diameter, had four large oil cauldrons burning fiercely inside, their flames blazing intensely.

A rectangular offering table is located on the platform, slightly to the south.

The Yuanzai ascended the altar, stood before the offering table, and faced south.

In such foggy weather, one cannot see the stars or moon when looking up, nor can one see the mountains and rivers when gazing into the distance.

Everywhere was a vast expanse of white, yet Yuanzai revealed a slight smile.

"It seems the heavens are truly on our side; with weather like tonight, the ritual will proceed smoothly and conveniently."

Yuanzai smoothed the whisk in his hand and respectfully placed it on the offering table.

Previously, there were only two items on the offering table: one was a mask of a malevolent god with a black face and gold patterns, and eyebrows like crimson flames, which was the symbol of the Five Rampancies Dharma Lord.

The other thing was a lush, green pear tree branch, still adorned with white pear blossoms.

In the mist, at first glance, the branches almost looked like they were about to condense dew.

It took a second look to realize that the pear tree branches were actually carved from beautiful jade.

It's such a coincidence that the branches are a deep, almost black, green, the leaves are a tender green, and the jade around the pear blossoms is white, smooth, and clean.

Even if this branch has no other use, it is already an exquisite and priceless jade carving.

"Patriarch Jiaoli is here to protect me."

Yuanzai looked solemn, bowed three times, and then placed the branch diagonally with its roots facing northeast and its tip facing southwest.

Then, the Five Rampancies mask was placed carefully on the branch.

"Five Rampancies Dharma Lord, Divine Heart Borrows the Way!"

After Yuanzai finished speaking the sixteen words, he began to recite a prayer that was indistinct and difficult for the living to understand.

Cao Ying also stepped onto the altar and ordered his subordinates to hold twelve different ritual implements, including a command flag, armor, a precious mirror, and a hair ornament, in their hands, arranged in a crescent shape, and distributed on the northern part of the altar.

He himself, holding a large, heavy, black Great Saber, stood right behind Yuanzai.

With thirteen ritual implements and the presence of military officers, they bolstered the prestige of the ritual platform.

The Five Rampancies Ghost God are inherently associated with war and calamity, so they were naturally pleased to receive the prayers of the contemporary Five Rampancies Sect and the imposing presence of such officers and soldiers, and responded even more quickly.

The mask on the offering table floated into the air, flew into the thick fog, and disappeared.

Less than half a quarter of an hour later, a huge figure emerged from the mist.

The figure was shrouded in mist, making it difficult to see clearly, but its height was undeniable. To onlookers, it seemed that even a nine-foot-high platform would only reach its waist.

The giant's face was as large as an archway, and its features were still vaguely discernible. It was clearly the same as the Five Rampancies Mask from before, magnified hundreds of times.

A gilded forehead, fiery red eyebrows, a black face with fangs.

Those eyes, mostly white with little black, gleamed with a fierce light, surveying everyone on the execution platform.

Not far from the Temple of Heaven lives a former Beiyang general who escaped from Bashu a year ago.

This man had short hair, sunken eyes, and a sorrowful face. His beard was half black and half white. He suddenly woke up from his dream, wearing only a white undergarment, and pushed open the door to go out, gazing in the direction of the Temple of Heaven.

The Temple of Heaven covers a large area, and the smog is heavy tonight.

This person probably couldn't see what was happening over there, but his face lit up with excitement.

"The Five Rampancies Sect usually only performs rituals to the Five Rampancies Dharma Lord, but tonight they've even summoned Patriarch Jiaoli. What are they trying to do?"

The man muttered to himself, touching a black pendant on his chest that was difficult to decipher.

"It must be something big and urgent, something even the Yuanzai isn't entirely confident about. Perhaps that's where Laozi opportunity lies!"

Inside the Temple of Heaven.

As soon as the enormous figure of the Five Chang Gods appeared, all the accompanying soldiers fell silent, their legs trembling.

Yuanzai relaxed instead, removed his hairpin, messed up his long hair to prevent his crown from being obscured by his hair, and sat cross-legged with his palms facing the sky.

" With the Jiaoli Pear, the Five Rampancies manifest their power, the Divine Heart Borrows the Way, and a courtyard spans ten thousand miles!"

A phantom image floated out from Yuanzai's body, its appearance and figure exactly the same as his physical body.

But in the next moment, his body withered and shriveled, eventually becoming nothing more than skin and bones.

The phantom became much more solid, and raised its hand to strike.

Cao Ying and his twelve officers felt the magical artifacts they held suddenly become hot and cold, and then various colored lights flew out from the artifacts and wrapped around the illusory figures.

Yuanzai's illusory figure slowly drifted towards the Ghost God in the mist, his expression extremely solemn.

The Five Chang Gods opened its mouth wide, waiting for him to float into it, then closed its mouth and eyes.

The Ghost God closed their eyes, but the officers dared not; their hearts pounded even harder.

"For Yuanzai to resort to such methods to investigate, Yuanli must have suffered greatly. Who exactly attacked them?"

Cao Ying's eyes flickered as he faced the Ghost God, inwardly shouting.

"My son, my son! It doesn't matter that people like Zhang Yi died tragically, I only hope that Yuanli can protect my son."

The Five Rampancies' disciples are scattered Jiangnan, sometimes thousands of miles apart.

However, as long as they have some level of cultivation, they can also sense the responses of Ghost God when they set up altars and perform rituals.

It is evident that as long as a place allows Ghost God to sense each other from mid-air, divine power can be transmitted over long distances at extremely high speeds.

The Five Rampancies Sect's "Divine Heart Borrowed Path Great Dharma" is a wonderful method created based on this principle.

By wholeheartedly worshipping the God of the Five Rampancies, honing one's magical skills, one can send one's soul out of the body and reach the abode of Ghost God.

It then blended its own existence into the divine power perception, borrowed a path from the Five Chang Gods, and projected itself to another location.

The speed at which an ordinary soul can fly is not even as fast as the speed of a bullet.

But this Divine Heart Borrows the Way can reach even those separated by thousands of miles with a single act.

South of Luoyang City, in the Guanlin Temple.

Yuanli once held an altar here to worship the gods and stole the Origin Canon, which attracted extraordinary attention from Ghost God.

Although the ritual failed, the Ghost God connection remained.

Suddenly, a chilling wind arose from nowhere in the Lord Guan Hall, spinning rapidly.

Yuanzai appeared from the wind, wearing a purple-gold crown, his hair was unusually black, while his face was shockingly white, and his beard was blown askew by the wind.

He was no longer dressed in a Daoist robe, but instead wore black armor, a precious mirror protecting his heart, carried a long sword, and had a cloak billowing behind him.

Three out of ten are imposing and powerful, while seven out of ten are exceptionally malevolent and wicked.

"Bloodstains?"

Yuanzai sniffed the air, his nose pale. "Although my junior brother's blood is mixed in, he didn't die here."

He chose a direction and suddenly sped off, skimming close to the ground.

The weather in Luoyang is fine; there's no smog.

A crescent moon, high and small, contrasted with the bright stars that filled the sky.

Yuanzai flew to the front of Luoyang City, his body like a phantom, passing through the thick city walls without hindrance, and skimming over numerous houses.

Recently, the underground organization took over Luoyang and began to reorganize the terrifying amount of assets that Liu Xueya and others had plundered.

The first thing to do was to promote the experience of the Han Prefecture, so that all the people in the city would boil water before drinking it and would no longer drink raw water.

Although the people in the city didn't understand why, since they didn't have to pay for it themselves, they got used to boiling water before drinking it.

Before they knew it, their habitual stomach aches had decreased significantly, and they slept much better at night.

The old woman, holding her daughter, was fast asleep, completely unaware that a ghost was passing through the house.

When the child feels inexplicably cold and has a stomachache.

Yuanzai had already flown onto the rooftop, gazing at the location of Luoyang Prison, his brow slightly furrowed.

"The Seven Turbid Poisons... Plague God, huh? It's only effective within a prison, so it's not that powerful."

Yuanzai gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and let out a cold snort.

"With the return of the Dragon Vein, all sorts of demons and monsters have started to emerge. This Plague God even dared to harm our vice leader."

"As the Five Rampancies Sect and a descendant of the Nuo Gods, if I don't nip this trend in the bud, what will become of us in the future?"

The dark shadow moved through the air like an arrow, flying silently.

Outside Luoyang Prison, a dozen sorcerers were stationed in various locations, waiting to intercept the evil spirits.

Their eyes were fixed on the prison; although they couldn't see through it, they could sense the evil and plague emanating from it.

Miss Mei and others, in particular, were more familiar with the evil poison and could clearly distinguish that the plague's aura was much stronger at this time than during the day.

The hour of Zi (11 PM - 1 AM) has arrived, which is the time when Yin energy manifests.

Chu Tianshu stood in the courtyard, closing his eyes to rest and wait for the appointed time.

The longsword hanging at his waist trembled slightly.

The remaining power of the Fire Ghost within the sheath had been extinguished by Chu Tianshu with renewed force.

"It's time."

Chu Tianshu opened his eyes, extended his left hand, and forced blood from each fingertip, which dripped onto the ground.

The blood, as pure red as crystal, had no odor when it first dripped out.

But after being buried, it is stimulated by the gloomy and dark atmosphere of the prison underground, and then it emits a fragrant aroma that only Evil Spirit can smell.

Drops of blood, like dew, remained unchanged in color upon entering the earth.

In those renovated rooms, the seventy-seven patients all emitted iridescent energy, which flowed out from the cracks in the doors and meandered along the floor.

Rainbows from all directions, like sewers, converged on Chu Tianshu's blood.

They covered the bloodstains.

Meanwhile, blood continued to drip from Chu Tianshu's left hand at a steady pace.

The rainbow gradually gathered and piled up, slowly arching upwards.

Like insects vying for dominance, they surge upwards wave after wave, rising higher and higher, like hills and pillars.

Just to get closer to Chu Tianshu's left hand.

Chu Tianshu slowly lifted his lowered eyelids.

He forced blood from between his fingers and pores. There hadn't been much damage to begin with, but now he felt a stinging pain between his fingers.

The Rainbow Half-Body, before it even actually touched his left hand, already posed a slight threat.

He raised his left hand higher, watching quietly, while his right hand slowly touched the hilt of the sword at his left waist.

After so many days of decocting and applying medicine, the connection between the Seven Turbidities of the Prison and Luoyang City was severed.

During cultivation, one becomes familiar with the feeling of fighting against the plague, and then uses one's own blood as bait...

The Plague God's half-body was finally tricked into revealing itself.

It grew thicker and thicker, piled higher and higher, five feet, six feet...

Miss Mei and the others outside the prison suddenly looked up.

No one saw the incredibly fast black shadow, but they sensed a trace of yin energy flying overhead.

The main body had already flown into the prison, yet it still trailed such a long trail of yin energy!

Who is it?!

Miss Mei cried out in surprise.

Yuanzai paid no attention to the screams of the weak sorcerers.

When he flew to the roof of the prison, he could already see the scene in the courtyard.

A greasy, iridescent pillar stands before a young man, seemingly still growing, carrying an aura of the Ghost God.

Are they making a statue of the Plague God?

The thought had just flashed through Yuanzai's mind.

Chu Tianshu had already drawn his sword.

A white line slashed across, followed by more than a dozen blurry, chaotic slashes and slanted cuts.

Whoosh! Whoosh!!!

First came the sword marks, then the sword's cry.

The sound of swords piercing the deep night.

In an instant, the Plague God's half-body was cut into forty or fifty pieces of varying sizes.

The accumulated rainbow seemed to pause for a moment before bursting forth with a captivating buzzing insect chirp.

The Plague God god's divine power was unleashed in vengeance.

Yuanzai's expression seemed to freeze for a moment.

(End of this chapter)