Chapter 143: The Taoist Temple

Song Yan was slightly startled, but then he came to a realization.

In the mortal world, within certain remote and unenlightened places, individuals with such facial features were regarded as solitary stars of doom, portents of great misfortune.

They would even blame all the bad things happening around them entirely on the appearance of such a person.

Those who harbored such deep-seated prejudices, even if they embarked upon the path of immortality, would not easily dissolve the biases in their hearts simply because their realms of cultivation had risen.

In fact, they would only grow even more suspicious and paranoid.

The path of immortality was profound and abstruse, and no one would ever make a mockery of their own Daoist journey.

When a certain rumor was difficult to verify as true or false, then to the vast majority of ordinary people, it was effectively true.

For instance, there was a rumor circulating in the Qi State cultivation world that if male cultivators preserved their primordial yang and female cultivators maintained their virginity, the likelihood of success when establishing foundation would be slightly increased.

Take, for another example, the tradition of gathering the purple morning qi in the Dongyuan Sect; it was said that persisting in this practice would result in a purer spiritual power.

Not a single powerful cultivator had ever stepped forward to verify the truth or falsehood of these rumors.

Or rather, those of low cultivation realms could not discern the truth clearly.

Those of high cultivation realms simply had no need to care.

However, Song Yan still harbored a doubt: "Since you have already escaped with your life, why are you going back?"

"Could it be that you want to return to save someone?"

"No, it is not like that."

"I know full well that my strength is weak, so naturally I would not do such a brainless thing."

"..."

Mentioning this matter, Ju Luyi's expression turned somewhat dim.

"My cultivation realm is low, and when I fled, I lost my magic tool."

To be fair, considering how impoverished the young girl in front of him was, the fact that she actually possessed a magic tool was somewhat beyond Song Yan's expectations.

Yet, she quickly provided the answer: "That was the last keepsake left to me by my deceased mother."

Understanding dawned in his heart.

Song Yan pondered for a moment, appearing to weigh something in his mind.

Seeing him lost in thought, Ju Luyi hurriedly said, "Senior Song need not worry. Once night falls, I will simply go back up the mountain and look for it."

"That magic tool is merely an embroidery needle; it probably wouldn't catch the eyes of those few people. It's just that my magical power is too weak to sense it."

"There is no need to trouble you to take action."

"..."

Hearing this, Song Yan felt a twinge of shame in his heart.

His very first thought had not been to help the young girl before him retrieve her magic tool, but rather to go up the mountain and check on Nanshan Temple.

He had met Master Lu of the temple on several occasions, and this elderly cultivator had treated him very well.

That cup of spiritual tea was the first he had ever tasted since stepping onto the path of immortality.

"Let's go take a look."

With this bond of goodwill between them, even if not for the master himself, he should at least avenge his disciples.

At the very least, he ought to collect their remains and lay them to rest in peace.

Song Yan turned and strode forward, walking toward Mount Tainan.

"Senior Song, among those three men, two of them should be at the late stage of Qi Refinement, and the remaining one is at the middle stage."

Ju Luyi hurriedly trotted along behind him, panting slightly.

"You alone..."

Xiao Ju was not implying that the strength of this inner sect senior from the Dongyuan Sect was inadequate; rather, she was vexed that her own strength and cultivation realm were far too low, fearing she would become a burden to him.

"It's fine. If we can't beat them, we'll just run..."

He spoke indifferently, casually drawing a set of old garments from his Qiankun pouch, tearing them into several strips of cloth, and wrapping them around the lower half of Xiao Ju's face.

"Se-Senior... What are you doing?"

"Night hasn't fallen yet, shouldn't you conceal yourself a bit?"

"Oh... Oh."

Only after her face was veiled did he notice that on both sides of Xiao Ju's bridge of the nose, there were still quite a few freckles.

If the enemy recognized this face, it would still be easily identified.

"Useless effort."

Let us just go directly.

...

Outside the Daoist temple stood blue tiles and white walls.

There were numerous cracks on the outer walls.

At the lintel, the plaque inscribed with "Nanshan Temple" hung askew, teetering on the verge of collapse.

Droplets of blood dripped down.

"These people started killing the moment they stepped onto the mountain path."

Before even entering the temple, they had already passed two or three corpses, the valuables on their bodies already stripped clean and gone.

Ju Luyi remained silent.

It was evident that she harbored a trace of fear.

Yet she had no wish to display it, forcing herself to remain calm.

Accompanied by Song Yan, she stepped forward and entered the front courtyard of the Daoist temple.

A heavy, pungent stench of blood, mingled with the sour and spoiled odor of liquor and meat, assailed their senses.

Several corpses clad in youthful Daoist robes lay scattered in pools of blood.

Several of them lay face up with their eyes wide open in death, a deep slash wound carved across every single one of their throats.

"Damn it all!"

Bang—

A curse echoed, accompanied by the sound of some porcelain shattering against the ground.

"What kind of horse piss is hidden in this damn place? Hard to swallow."

Subconsciously, Ju Luyi wanted to pull Song Yan away to hide: "Senior Song..."

Only to see a golden brilliance flashing within Song Yan's eyes: "Fifth, seventh, and eighth layers of Qi Refinement."

In his mind, he was already calculating: if he and Xiao He joined forces to slaughter these three individuals together, would there be danger?

Yes, but very minimal.

As they ascended the mountain just now, the Concealed Sword and Quieted Spirit Technique was operating at full capacity, making them extremely difficult to detect.

Xiao Ju possessed no such means to conceal her aura.

"You still dare to come back and court death?!"

Boom—

The wooden doors of Nanshan Temple's main hall were blasted apart by a surging wave of spiritual power, and two cultivators strode out.

Simultaneously, the third cultivator, at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement, arrived belatedly from the adjacent side room.

Song Yan's gaze flickered, faintly catching sight of the naked corpses of several female cultivators lying horizontally inside the main hall and the side room.

Feeling a twinge of revulsion, he averted his gaze.

"I gave you a path to survival, so why must you return to seek your own death?"

The cultivator at the eighth layer of Qi Refinement wore a yellow robe.

"And you brought along... a pretty boy."

The yellow-robed cultivator narrowed his eyes slightly; finding it difficult to discern the other's spiritual realm, he instantly grew somewhat guarded.

The three of them had already converged at the entrance of the main hall, facing Song Yan with hostile gazes.

"Brother Xiang, that person looks like a disciple of the Dongyuan Sect."

"Hn..."

Just as the three were communicating via spiritual transmission, Song Yan smiled cordially: "Three fellow Daoists, I have intruded."

"Passing by this place, might I ask if you gentlemen happen to know where Master Lu Yuan of Nanshan Temple has gone?"

"..."

Seeing that this young man harbored no intent of seeking revenge, the yellow-robed cultivator concluded that this person was probably nothing more than a cowardly and timorous weakling.

Thus, he let out a cold laugh and casually replied, "Lu Yuan? Heh heh."

"That fellow made too many enemies and was killed while traveling outside."

"I too hold a grudge against him, so I took this opportunity to wash the temple in blood, enjoy his women, and plunder his wealth."

His gaze was cruel, and the aura of the eighth layer of Qi Refinement was unleashed without reservation, sweeping overwhelmingly toward Song Yan and the young girl.

"Is there a problem?"

"So that's how it is. Alas... such is the fate dictated by the times."

Song Yan nodded, appearing merely somewhat regretful.

He continued, "I share a certain bond of friendship with this Master Lu. Now that Nanshan Temple has fallen, I shall bury these disciples of his one by one."

With those words, without waiting for any response from them, he walked toward the corpse closest to him.

Clueless as to what play Senior Song was putting on, Ju Luyi's small hand reached out as if to pull him back, but she quickly withdrew it.

"Is your head stuffed entirely with water?! My eldest brother just said he has a blood feud with that old dog Lu Yuan!"

"Are you deaf?!"

Instantly, the long-faced cultivator at the seventh layer of Qi Refinement manipulated two flying blades, shooting them fiercely toward Song Yan.

In the span of a breath, they had already closed in for the kill!

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