Far More Than Just an Act

"The sect's experience was indeed correct."

Xiao Ye put away the book, his expression slightly shifting.

An opponent who is distracted is the perfect target for a sudden attack.

Although his spells were not weak, these monks did not put up any resistance.

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Ye regained his composure.

The fierce battle has now been resolved.

Think about what needs to be done.

With a thought, the floating array gathered together, shrinking to a certain size. Then, a fire talisman fell and burst into flames, leaving only a pile of ashes in an instant.

Then, they waited for Gu Chen to finish his work.

Perhaps because it was headless, the Soul Refining Cup did not seem to need Shan Jing's corpse for support.

Find the ring in the ashes, collect it, put the ashes separately, and disperse them in a different place when you're some distance away.

"It seems that's how it is..."

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Ye suddenly sniffed.

Odor!

"I really have to try it myself first."

At this moment, Xiao Ye's understanding of the unity of knowledge and action reached a new level.

The more you do it, the more proficient you become.

At that moment, Xiao Ye took out the necessary items and began the process of eliminating the odor.

Meanwhile, Gu Chen had also finished his work.

After sensing his surroundings, Gu Chen nodded and gave Xiao Ye a thumbs up.

"Good job, junior brother."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ye then began to retract the formation.

A moment later, a flying boat sped off into the distance.

After the two left, several spiritual entities swept across the area before dissipating:

"Not bad, those two kids on Hidden Origin Peak did a pretty good job."

On the flying boat.

After handing over control of the flying boat to Xiao Ye, Gu Chen took out the Soul Refining Cup again.

"Senior Brother, what's this?"

Xiao Ye looked over.

"A special artifact that can be used to probe for residual memories within the soul."

Gu Chen gave a brief introduction, and then got busy.

Time passed little by little.

About half an hour later.

Gu Chen's expression darkened, and his brows furrowed, revealing a hint of anger.

After quite some time, Gu Chen finally stopped and let out a long sigh of relief.

Xiao Ye looked over and asked:

"Senior brother, is what happened in town related to these monks?"

Gu Chen nodded and said in a deep voice:

"They did it intentionally, and this isn't the only place they do this kind of thing."

After a pause, Gu Chen said:

"The person you discovered earlier, junior brother, is the one who controls the evil spirits those townspeople talk about. They are also known as People Beneath the Buddha, and many of the evil deeds committed by Buddhist Order are done by them."

Xiao Ye frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and said:

"If we didn't intervene, then it must have been these Buddhist Order monks who did, right?"

"Is their purpose in doing this for some so-called faith?"

From the materials he had read, he knew that Buddhist Order places great importance on faith.

In other words, ordinary people must have faith.

The more people who have faith and take refuge, the more benefits it brings to Buddhist Order.

This method of secretly sending people to do bad things and then revealing oneself in public to resolve the issue is indeed a good way to fool ordinary people.

The best way to convince people is to have something to show for it. Neither hearsay nor self-report can leave a lasting impression as vivid as a life-or-death experience.

But in this world, there are not that many sufferings and calamities, and even if there were, they could not be present all the time.

Unfortunately, suffering and calamity can be created.

In this respect, the Aid the Azure Gate and the Buddhist Order share certain similarities.

"That's what I thought at first too."

Gu Chen took a deep breath, his expression solemn:

"But things don't seem to be that simple; the Buddhist Order's ambitions go beyond just that."

Gu Chen then told Xiao Ye the other information he had learned.

Making people believe is only one of the goals.

The deaths of the disciples of the Aid the Azure Gate due to evil spirits were also intentional.

Ultimately, this is the territory where the Aid the Azure Gate has developed for many years, and their development models are similar. If Buddhist Order wants to gain faith, it has to step on the Aid the Azure Gate.

This is the second reason: to prepare for the complete annexation of Aid the Azure Gate.

Thirdly, there are those soul entities.

In Shan Jing's memory, those souls were called Evil Spirit.

They can bewitch a person's mind, making them appear insane, and can also damage a mortal's soul and take their life.

Controlling these Evil Spirit and doing these things is undoubtedly committing evil, and the more evil they commit, the more powerful these Evil Spirit become.

When they become powerful enough, they can purify these Evil Spirit with Buddhist teachings, which will bring varying degrees of benefit to the practice of Buddhist Order methods.

Furthermore, Evil Spirit can also be used in combat.

But this is not the end.

Fourthly, it serves as material for cultivating Evil Spirit.

Materials, in essence, are special elements that can withstand influence.

Most souls cannot withstand the influence of so-called "Evil Energy," and only those that can withstand it can be cultivated into Evil Spirit.

This time, some of the people in Clear Cloud City met the requirements.

Their souls, stripped away and fragmented, were trapped within their bodies, making them appear as if they were dead.

Indeed, this is true. Soul separation is not simply the separation of the soul from the body, but rather the destruction of a portion of the soul, causing it to lose its rationality, and then trapping it within the body through special means.

According to the normal procedure, the monk who controlled the Evil Spirit would cooperate with Shan Jing to "eliminate" the evil spirits mentioned by the townspeople.

At the same time, it revived some people who appeared to be dead, revealing a miracle.

At the same time, the souls of those materials that meet the requirements will be taken away.

As for where they were taken, it seems to be a secret, and neither side has any memory of it.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ye clenched his fists, his expression filled with anger:

"A supposedly revered Buddhist Order, claiming to perform the greatest acts of kindness in the world, yet they secretly resort to such methods. Aren't they afraid of retribution?!"

Even Evil Spirit use the souls of mortals.

In such actions, ordinary people seem to be seen only as raw materials.

This is far more unacceptable than simply being fooled, especially since the other party is Buddhist Order claims to be doing good deeds.

"Perhaps, it is precisely because they have some concerns that these People Beneath the Buddha."

Gu Chen shook his head slightly, glanced in the direction of the Western Region, and his expression was solemn:

"However, the Evil Energy mentioned in the monk's memories is very likely the same kind of Devil Qi from back then."

"We must go back and inform our master about this as soon as possible."

The Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty.

A figure quickly entered the hall.

"Your Majesty, the exploration of the secret realm has yielded a great discovery."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Mu looked over:

"Explain."

Upon hearing this, the other party took out a token and said:

"This token was found within the secret realm. Holding this token allows one to move freely without being affected by the suppression within the realm."

They call this Privilege Token.