The Wicked Gathered, He Had Come for Only One Thing

When the strange wind dissipated, all four had already fled.

Chen Ying and Yungu took the same route, hurrying five or six miles through the mountains.

We stopped when we reached the coast and could see the islands and hills in the sea.

This is a small cliff, which is also a tourist spot. There are cobblestone paths among the trees and bushes, and white-painted benches on the grass.

However, there are no travelers visiting here now.

Yungu plopped down on the bench, leaned the Formation-Breaking Spear against the side, and let out a long sigh.

Chen Ying, however, was wielding his sword, thrusting it diagonally towards the ground, the blade trembling.

This technique uses the sword as a guide to propel the body's energy outwards, leaving clothing undamaged while washing away any lingering scents.

Clang! Clang!

After the first tremor, she felt it wasn't enough, so she gave it two more.

Yungu pulled out a cigarette case from his pocket, tapped out a cigarette, and laughed, "We each have our own internal energy protecting us, so we can't really pick up much of the stench of garbage in the wind."

Chen Ying gave him a cold look, then sheathed his sword. "Brother, you are truly unpretentious. Thank you for your help."

Actually, you helped me first.

Yungu put the cigarette in his mouth, flicked his fingers, and the air between his skin was rubbed together to create a wisp of smoke as he lit it.

"Although we helped each other when facing evil, we are still opponents, so let's not introduce the Incense-Bearing Child to each other."

"If it's just the two of us traveling together, and we each avoid contact with the children when we do, then this will count as an alliance, how about it?"

Chen Ying considered for a few seconds, then nodded and said, "Exorcising demons comes first."

Before she left, Yuan Zhonglü discussed it with her and proposed several possibilities.

Current developments are based on one of several hypotheses.

"That child isn't focused enough on cultivation, but he's quite intelligent."

Chen Ying silently praised him in her heart, but her face remained indifferent.

She appeared in the dreams of both mother and daughter, so of course she considered herself an elder. But in reality, she had just spent a long time cooped up in the Grotto-Heaven, and in terms of experience in the underworld, she was probably a few years less than Yuan Zhonglü.

Therefore, Yuan Zhonglü instructed her to leverage her strengths.

If you want to form an alliance but don't want your allies to see how cunning you are, then just keep a cold face.

Speak less, act profound.

Yungu had seen her angry before, but now she seemed cold inside and out, her icy expression making her eyes appear even more profound, sending a chill down one's spine.

"The Daoist priest's dedication to exorcising demons is truly admirable."

Yungu, with a cigarette between his fingers, said, "However, out of our seven, four are Evil Spirit."

"That person you've never met, though not Evil Spirit, you've certainly sensed his presence. So selfish and ruthless, he's probably even more difficult to deal with than Evil Spirit."

"Now that we're allied, we finally have something to rely on, but we should still be careful."

Chen Ying thought to herself.

So there were four Evil Spirit.

She channeled her inner energy and quietly left words on a small origami umbrella in her pouch.

Inside the One-Character Spiritual Cultivation Society's villa on the hillside.

The three masters remained gathered in the hall.

The Sect Leader Yeming was listing in detail which evil sects were in Busan and discussing the division of labor with Liu Yan.

Suddenly, all three sensed something and turned to look in the same direction.

The villa on the hillside where Chu Tianshu and his group were located was actually only about ten miles away from that large garbage dump.

Under normal circumstances, people this far apart would not be able to sense each other.

However, the four Taboo figures over there came together to fight, especially Chen Ying, who went all out from the start!

This gave Chu Tianshu and the others a vague sense of unease.

Liu Yan suddenly stood up, but Chu Tianshu and the Sect Leader Yeming did not move.

"Your Majesty, they're using such deadly power in this battle. It's either a fight to the death, or they'll both retreat. If we rush over now, it will be too late."

The Sect Leader Yeming pondered, "With the four Taboo clashing, the aura on the spot must be incredibly chaotic and impossible to track."

Chu Tianshu nodded slightly.

If it were just a battle between two Taboo, he would still be confident in his ability to track them down using the Nanhua Origin Canon.

The place where the four Taboo were combined is like an overturned paint box. Even if the person has gone far away, the ripples in the spot are like colored powder, which will drift in the wind and scatter everywhere for a long time.

Even if you investigate, you won't find any clues.

However, Chu Tianshu discerned that one of the four auras seemed to originate from Chen Ying.

That direction wasn't towards the hotel; it most likely meant Chen Ying went out on her own, perhaps to do something.

"We will continue with our own plan."

Chu Tianshu said, "Send your men out on errands first. If they find a leader who is strong and you're not confident in your ability to handle them, then we'll consider having one of the three of us take action."

"For convenience, let's all stay in this villa for the time being."

The Sect Leader Yeming laughed and said, "There are plenty of empty rooms in this villa anyway; you two can choose whichever you prefer."

Chu Tianshu's lips curled into a smile, "Then I'll have to take a look around."

He got up and went upstairs to check the room, casually putting his left hand in his pocket, and silently sent a message while using his internal energy to touch the screen.

Inside the hotel.

Yuan Zhonglü had just experienced the feeling of being "borrowed" again, and was now holding a small umbrella, about half the size of his palm, browsing the text on it.

She noticed her phone vibrating, so she took it out and glanced at it.

"The Battle of the Seven Souls, seven destined souls, I should be an important character, right? How come I seem to have become someone who just relays information?"

Teacher Little Yuan muttered something to herself.

In fact, it now seems that, apart from Chen Ying is slightly lacking in strategy, the other Seven Souls individuals completely suppress their destined partners in terms of intelligence and martial prowess.

The seven modern-day Incense-Bearing Child were originally meant to serve as assistants.

However, Chen Ying's group happened to have Chu Tianshu, a modern Taboo, mixed in, which made them an anomaly.

Teacher Little Yuan muttered to herself, her hands betrayed her; she had already forwarded the information.

As Chu Tianshu went into the room to draw the curtains, he glanced at his watch.

Of the Seven Souls, there were originally four Evil Spirit, and now they have all revealed themselves.

Of the other three, two also made an appearance.

The Sect Leader Yeming and Liu Yan probably thought that all seven were present.

But Chu Tianshu knew very well that there was still one person who had not yet shown up.

Hopefully, the last one won't cause too much of a stir too soon and arouse suspicion.

Otherwise, Chu Tianshu might have no choice but to take action ahead of schedule.

The sun shines brightly outside the window, and the glass is clear and transparent.

Chu Tianshu looked out the window at the courtyard, where the Spiritual Cultivation Society's subordinates were sweeping up the broken branches and scattered flowers.

"At least..."

He thought to himself, "Let these trees rest for a couple of days."

The sunlight gradually faded, and the moonlight slowly rose.

The Divine Bat Envoy and the sinister warrior with dragon blood set out under cover of night.

Busan's busiest commercial district is filled with towering buildings and lights that never go out, with figures mingling among them. In the distance, among the mountains and villages, figures are also quietly sneaking in.

As day and night alternate, the courtyard changes every day.

The flowering tree with the broken trunk was dug up and a new flowering tree was transplanted. The tree, which only had broken branches and lost its flowers, seemed to sprout new tender leaves and new flower buds.

The intelligence delivered to the living room was continuously updated with new conclusions.

The papers on the table went from neat to messy, and then back to neat.

More than twenty days have passed just like that.

During this period, it seemed that no other unusual events occurred in Busan, and even the hype surrounding the shopping mall bombing gradually subsided.

Even among the targeted evil factions, their lower and middle-level members had no idea what was going on.

Until this day, around dusk, more than a dozen groups of people gradually gathered at the villa.

"It's the New Ocean Society, so you guys are also..."

"Ah, Professor Li, I never imagined that you were senior figures before, and you still are today, having gained favor even earlier than us!"

More than a dozen groups of people, with a total number exceeding one hundred.

The Sect Leader Yeming didn't provide them with tables and chairs at all; he simply laid out mats for them in the spacious courtyard.

These people were also very comfortable with the etiquette of kneeling and consciously arranged their seats according to their status.

The seventeen people at the front were all leaders of their respective factions, followed closely by their respective sect's administrators.

These evil sect leaders were either infected with Bat Demonic Poison or given dragon blood.

As for their subordinates, Yeming and Liu Yan didn't intend to reward them with anything. They just called them over today to get to know each other so they could cooperate in the future.

Although there were no rewards, those people knelt and sat in the sunset, all of them very obedient.

The Sect Leader Yeming surveyed the scene outside from the hall, quite pleased with himself.

"As expected of successful entrepreneurs, they have a good grasp of how to manage their subordinates."

The reason for targeting the heretical sects instead of the Busan authorities is that these heretical sect leaders are almost all-powerful and have absolute control within their own sects.

By controlling these leaders, one can control thousands upon thousands of followers.

However, if one were to target public institutions in Busan, even if one could secretly control a group of people, it would be fraught with obstacles to get them to cause significant trouble. In fact, it would be more likely to attract attention and create unnecessary complications.

With a hundred days to go, time is limited, and there's no time to waste on unnecessary personnel.

Chu Tianshu held a stack of documents in his hand, flipped through a few pages, and compared them with those of the people outside.

Those core members of the evil faction came in all shapes and sizes, from tall to short, fat to thin, and included men, women, and children of all ages—there's not much to say about them.

However, the most important dozen or so evil sect leaders, without exception, were all well-dressed, exuding the air of upper-class people and scholars or professors.

When others see this kind of person, their first impression is that they are a "mentor" who has already achieved success and is willing to share their experience and answer questions.

Chu Tianshu chuckled lightly, "Heh!"

After World War II, South Korea completed its industrialization and urbanization at an extremely rapid pace, which was hailed as a miracle that attracted worldwide attention.

However, the massive and rapid transformation has also created many social problems, leaving many people feeling disoriented in terms of their emotions, culture, and living environment.

If this rapid development momentum is slightly hampered, a massive amount of confusion will overwhelm them.

The frustrations people experience in their work and life transform into feelings of worthlessness and confusion about why they are living this way.

At this time, all sorts of evil factions take advantage of the situation and use a strong propaganda offensive to instill a one-sided and extreme answer into people's minds, making them believe that this is the ultimate answer to life.

Propaganda has enormous power.

Just like buying a house.

Buying a house in the city is often seen as a standard for starting a family and a career, a stage of success, for which people are willing to take on huge loans.

Real estate advertising has permeated every aspect of life, making people see "buying a house in the city" as a stage in their lives.

Why endure work setbacks and force yourself to stay awake when you're exhausted? It's all for the sake of buying a house in the city!

Why are families unhappy and romantic relationships unfulfilling? Because they haven't bought a house in the city yet!

This is an invisible, all-encompassing answer.

Once you buy a house, the new challenge becomes making mortgage payments.

The term "mortgage slave" may have originated as a self-deprecating term, but the word "slave" truly encapsulates countless hardships and bitterness.

There are no answers, which is confusing, but distorted answers only distort one's life, making it impossible to express one's true feelings and to be kind even when one wants to.

However, things like buying a house are at least subject to legal restrictions.

The actions of the evil faction are more than ten times more vicious and twenty times more cruel than those of substandard and unfinished real estate developers.

They can even get people to mortgage newly purchased houses to support the upper echelons of the evil faction, causing children to be separated and families to be destroyed.

These dozen or so evil sect leaders, some of whom were not actually very skilled, and some who were only good at martial arts but not at Mind Power magic.

But they are good at providing "answers" to others and brainwashing them with words.

Of course, they're scholars, bloodsucking scholars.

He's naturally a professor, a professor who captivates the heart.

In South Korea, the people have long been aware of the harm caused by the heretical sects, and there is a huge public outcry against them, with self-organized investigation and warning groups.

However, the South Korea leadership consistently refused to pass legislation that strictly censored and cracked down on heretical factions.

Let these evil leaders enjoy their old age happily and peacefully.

"Just looking at it for a few seconds makes me feel nauseous."

Chu Tianshu silently made a judgment in his heart, and a glimmer of expectation welled up again.

"Thankfully, I won't have to watch it for too long."

He wasn't prepared for these people to mobilize all their manpower to search for any clues.

There are other ways to find the remaining opponents.

It should be known that dogs rely on their master's power and become arrogant when they gain power. These evil faction's henchmen, backed by orders from their superiors to mobilize on a large scale, will surely want to do some private work, which will inevitably lead to countless troubles.

In the eyes of the Sect Leader Yeming and others, it was no big deal to let these people handle the matter, even if it involved some ordinary people.

Even the Busan authorities wouldn't bother to investigate those minor civil disputes.

However, Chu Tianshu was not happy about it.

In his eyes, these people who waste oxygen are far less classy than those who set up stalls in the secondhand market.

The fishing party is complete; if we don't punish the evil one now, when will we?!

His goal and answer in coming to Busan this time was only one thing.

This was true before knowing the Grotto-Heaven, and it remains true after knowing the Grotto-Heaven.

Evil and treacherous threats... be eliminated, quelled, and peace of mind will follow!

As the sun set, all the lights in the villa came on.

The three people in the hall stepped into the corridor. The Sect Leader Yeming stood in the middle, while Liu Yan and Chu Tianshu stood on the east and west sides respectively.

The people kneeling in the courtyard were completely silent, waiting to be spoken.

However, those dozen or so evil sect leaders were inevitably more perceptive than their subordinates, and they weren't completely oblivious to what was happening.

Among them was a middle-aged man with a round face and glasses who thought he had glanced at Chu Tianshu discreetly.

Sect Leader Yeming coughed slightly and was about to speak.

Chu Tianshu suddenly asked, "What are you looking at?"

The watch translated and broadcast his words.

Caught off guard, the round-faced man said, "I didn't see anything."

"Oh?"

Chu Tianshu's current appearance is astonishingly dark, with hair, eyebrows, and eye color, a pale complexion, and blood-red lips.

At that moment, he gave a strange smile, and everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

"Your name is Fu Cheng, right? Your Startled Sparrow Hand' technique is quite good. Although you're bulky, your hand speed is very fast, and your eyesight is extremely sharp. Only the Sect Leader Yeming himself can be absolutely certain of capturing you."

Chu Tianshu recited this person's information, "I heard you're not picky about food or drink, and you're interested in both men and women..."

The round-faced man exclaimed in surprise, "I absolutely did not mean to offend you. I only like girls under the age of twelve."

"That's because the two people beside me have subordinates, while I don't. Are you curious why I'm worthy to stand here?"

Chu Tianshu still smiled, and before he finished speaking, a flash of silver light appeared on his hand.

Fu Cheng's "Startled Sparrow Hand" is indeed fast. It is one of the ancient martial arts of Goryeo. When first learning it, the hand moves like a startled sparrow. After mastering it, one can pluck all the tail feathers of a sparrow with a single move, and only then does the sparrow realize the pain.

But when his right hand instinctively reached to grasp the silver light, he grasped nothing.

The silver light touched his chest, then withdrew.

The sword was sheathed, and Chu Tianshu removed his hand from the hilt.

Only then did everyone see that several pieces of cloth had fallen from Fu Cheng's chest, his three layers of clothing were torn, and each had a round hole the size of a teacup cut into it.

Fu Cheng was indeed cautious; beneath his three layers of clothing, he was wearing an ancient soft armor with a breastplate, which explained his bulky appearance.

But with a snap, a round piece the size of a teacup fell off the breastplate.

Fu Cheng was so startled that he trembled all over, and a layer of white sweat appeared on his face.

That soft armor was a treasure he had worked hard to acquire in the past. When worn, it could even stop ordinary rifle bullets and absorb the impact completely. He never expected it to be so fragile in the face of that silver light.

What's even more terrifying is that before Chu Tianshu drew his sword, he shouldn't have been able to see the soft armor, nor could he have known the material of the clothing and soft armor.

But once the knife was wielded, it tore through the clothes and cut through the soft armor, the distance was just right, without even scratching the oily skin on the body.

This reveals an exceptional level of keen observation and skill in knife work.

Sect Leader Yeming and Liu Yan couldn't help but exchange a glance, secretly praising each other.

"His swordsmanship is exquisite."

The Sect Leader Yeming chuckled inwardly, "But he's also a bit impatient, deliberately using this person to intimidate others."

"That's true. We both have the ability to create subordinates, but he doesn't, so it's understandable that he's eager to establish his authority."

The Sect Leader Yeming thought this to himself, but laughed out loud.

"I'm sure you all already know about my and Brother Liu's abilities from our exchanges, and now you've all witnessed the skills of the Layman Tian, haven't you?"

"As long as you do your best to serve the three of us, you will have three powerful backers in the future, and your future will be bright, as you can imagine."

The Sect Leader Yeming clapped his hands. "Let's all drink a cup of wine together; from now on, we are all one family."

"Let's assign more important tasks."

The members of the Spiritual Cultivation Society were prepared and came up carrying a tray.

Each tray Shangdu ten white porcelain wine cups, which were then distributed to the kneeling crowd.

"Layman, Brother Liu."

The Sect Leader Yeming handed each of them a cup, and then poured one for himself, saying, "Come, let's drink together."

"Huh?"

The Sect Leader Yeming suddenly noticed Fu Cheng's tear-streaked face and was somewhat displeased. "This is just a small punishment to serve as a warning. It didn't even scratch your skin, so why are you crying?"

Fu Cheng touched his face blankly.

"Huh? Why am I crying?"

He saw the handful of cold tears in his hand and suddenly realized an extreme sadness.

His physical body was so overwhelmed with grief that his brain automatically protected itself by abstaining from some sensory signals, preventing his consciousness from immediately perceiving this sorrow.

Liu Yan scratched his chin and squinted at Fu Cheng.

The Sect Leader Yeming suddenly sensed something was wrong.

Chu Tianshu smiled.

Guh!!!

Fu Cheng's body suddenly shrank, as if something had transformed his emotions and essence into something harder and denser.

It made him shrink like a wrinkled, dried-up monkey corpse in an instant, and then swell up again in a flash.

The elastic skin stretched into a perfect sphere almost instantly.

Hundreds of jet-black blade energies tore through the air and erupted wildly.

The blade energy scattered and darted about like flying snakes, all piercing towards these members of the evil sect in the blink of an eye.

Chu Tianshu's strike, though seemingly harmless to Fu Cheng, actually infused him with an extremely refined Saber Intent, which then permeated and transformed him.

Most of the hundreds of people kneeling there had their torsos pierced and necks severed by these blades, their faces filled with astonishment, blood not yet spilling out.

The setting sun still lingers in the western sky, while the waning moon hangs in the eastern horizon.

In the flowerbeds and courtyard, this deadly scene seemed to freeze for a moment.

In that instant, the Sect Leader Yeming soared into the air.

His face was contorted with rage, a wine glass still clutched in his hand, his figure moving like a bat, faster than the speed of sound.

He knew whose anger should be directed at: Chu Tianshu.

However, he didn't even look at Chu Tianshu; he simply shot into the sky, creating distance at full speed.

Chu Tianshu's left hand was magically breaking through the air.

The hand was the color of topaz, and its palm was about to bloom with a red light. It should have been used to strike the Sect Leader Yeming.

Yeming flew up, his hand transformed into an upright palm and reached directly to Liu Yan's side.

Caught off guard, Liu Yan couldn't even make out the red pattern on the palm when he looked at the hand.

All I could feel was a blinding, crimson light emanating from the yellow jade palm, forming Zongheng pattern.

The power to chase the sun reaches the farthest reaches; the power of Samadhi is extremely intense and yang!

With a single palm strike, he filled the entire field of vision, his fingers reaching for the sky and the base of his palm pressing down on the ground.

(End of this chapter)