Chapter 144: The Taoist Temple
Song Yan paused briefly, then let it go. In the mortal world, in certain remote and undeveloped regions, people with such appearances were seen as cursed loners, omens of misfortune.
They would even attribute every misfortune that occurred around them entirely to the presence of such a person.
Those who harbored such prejudices, even after setting foot on the path of cultivation, would not easily have their preconceptions dissolved by a rise in their realm.
They would, in fact, become even more superstitious.
The path of cultivation was mysterious beyond mystery. No one would joke about their own Dao.
When a certain rumor could not be verified as true or false, then for the vast majority of ordinary people, it was true.
For example, in the cultivation world of the Chu Kingdom, there was a rumor that male cultivators who preserved their primordial yang and female cultivators who retained their virginity would have a slightly higher chance of success during Foundation Establishment.
There was also the Eastern Abyss Sect’s tradition of Gathering Qi at Dawn—rumor had it that persisting in this practice would make one’s spiritual energy more pure.
None of these “rumors” had any powerful cultivator step forward to verify their truth.
Or rather, those of lower realms could not discern the truth clearly.
Those of higher realms did not care to.
But Song Yan still had one question. “Since you already escaped with your life, why do you want to go back?”
“Don’t tell me you want to go back and save people?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“I know my own strength is feeble. Of course I wouldn’t do something so reckless.”
“…”
At the mention of this, Ju Luyi’s expression turned somewhat somber.
“My cultivation is low. When I fled, I lost my magical artifact.”
To be honest, seeing how poor this girl in front of him was, the fact that she possessed a magical artifact was something Song Yan had not expected.
However, she quickly provided the answer. “It was the last keepsake my late mother left me.”
He understood.
Song Yan pondered for a moment, seemingly considering something.
Seeing him lost in thought, Ju Luyi quickly said, “Senior Song, please don’t worry. Once night falls, I’ll go up the mountain and search for it.”
“That artifact is just an embroidery needle. Those people might not even have bothered with it. It’s just that my magical power is too weak to sense it.”
“I won’t trouble you to lift a finger.”
“…”
Hearing this, Song Yan felt somewhat ashamed.
What he had considered first was not helping the girl in front of him recover her artifact, but rather going up the mountain to see Nanshan Temple.
He had crossed paths with Temple Master Lu several times, and this elderly cultivator had treated him very well.
That cup of spirit tea had been the first he ever tasted since setting foot on the path of cultivation.
“Let’s go take a look.”
With this bond of friendship, not to avenge him or his disciples, he should at least gather their bodies and give them a proper burial.
Song Yan turned and strode toward Tainan Mountain.
“Senior Song, among those three, two should be at the late stage of the Qi Refining Stage. The remaining one is at the middle stage.”
Ju Luyi hurriedly jogged to catch up, panting.
“You alone…”
Little Ju was not doubting the strength of this inner sect disciple of the Eastern Abyss Sect. She was frustrated that her own cultivation was too low and would hold him back.
“It’s fine. If I can’t beat them, I’ll just run…”
He said dismissively, then casually took some old clothes from his cosmos bag, tore them into strips, and wrapped them around the lower half of Little Ju’s face.
“S-senior… what are you doing?”
“It’s not dark yet. Don’t you think you should cover up?”
“Oh… oh.”
Only after her face was covered did he notice that Little Ju still had quite a few freckles on either side of her nose.
If the other party recognized this face, it would be easy to identify her.
“Useless.”
Let’s just go.
…
Outside the temple, green tiles and white walls.
The outer walls bore many cracks.
Above the lintel, the plaque engraved with “Nanshan Temple” hung askew, ready to fall.
Droplets of blood dripped down. “These people started killing from the moment they set foot on the mountain path.”
Before even stepping into the temple, they had already passed two or three corpses. The valuables on their bodies had vanished without a trace.
Ju Luyi was silent.
It was clear she was experiencing a measure of fear.
But she did not want to show it, so she forced herself to stay calm.
Following Song Yan, he stepped together with him into the temple’s front courtyard.
A thick stench of blood, mixed with the rancid smell of wine, food, and meat, assaulted their nostrils.
Several corpses in young disciples’ robes lay scattered across a pool of blood.
Some lay face-up, their eyes wide open in death. Each throat bore a deep knife wound.
“What the hell!”
Boom—
Cursing voices carried over, along with the sound of pottery shattering on the ground.
“What kind of horse piss do they hide in this dump? Terrible.”
Ju Luyi instinctively tried to pull Song Yan into hiding. “Senior Song…”
Song Yan’s eyes glimmered with a golden light. “Fifth level, seventh level, eighth level of the Qi Refining Stage.”
He was already calculating whether joining forces with Xiao He to cut down all three of them would be dangerous.
Yes, but only slightly.
Right now, ascending the mountain with the Hidden Sword Spirit Concealment Technique running at full power, he would be difficult to detect.
But Little Ju had no such means to conceal her aura.
“You dare come back to seek death?!”
Bang—
The wooden doors of Nanshan Temple’s main hall were shattered by a surge of tremendous spiritual energy, and two cultivators walked out from within.
At the same time, a third cultivator at the fifth level of the Qi Refining Stage emerged in a leisurely manner from the adjacent wing room.
Song Yan’s gaze flickered, and he caught a glimpse of several naked female corpses lying sprawled across the main hall and the wing room.
He felt a twinge of discomfort and looked away.
“I gave you a way to live. Why come back to seek death?”
The cultivator at the eighth level of the Qi Refining Stage wore a yellow robe. “And you’ve brought along a… pretty boy.”
The yellow-robed cultivator narrowed his eyes slightly. Unable to clearly discern the other party’s spiritual energy level, he had already grown somewhat wary.
The three had now gathered at the entrance of the main hall, facing Song Yan with predatory eyes.
“Brother Xiang, that person seems to be a disciple of the Eastern Abyss Sect.”
“Mm…”
Just as the three were communicating through voice transmission, Song Yan smiled warmly. “Fellow Daoists, forgive my intrusion.”
“I was passing through and wondered—do any of you happen to know where Nanshan Temple’s master, Lu Yuan, has gone?”
“…”
Seeing that this young man showed no intention of seeking revenge, the yellow-robed cultivator thought to himself that this person was probably just a cowardly wimp.
So he sneered and said casually, “Lu Yuan? Heh heh.”
“That man made too many enemies. He was killed by someone while traveling outside.”
“I also had a grudge against him, so I took this opportunity to wash the temple in blood, enjoy his women, and take his belongings.”
His gaze was cruel, and his eighth-level Qi Refining Stage aura swept toward Song Yan and the girl without restraint.
“Got a problem with that?”
“I see. Alas… such is fate.”
Song Yan nodded, seeming merely somewhat regretful.
He continued, “I had some friendship with this Temple Master Lu. Now that Nanshan Temple has been destroyed, I shall bury his disciples one by one on his behalf.”
With that, without waiting for their response, he walked toward the nearest corpse.
Ju Luyi did not know what song Senior Song was singing. Her small hand reached out to pull him back, but she withdrew it.
“Is your brain full of water?! My big brother said he had a grudge against that old dog Lu Yuan!”
“Are you deaf?!”
The long-faced cultivator at the seventh level of the Qi Refining Stage commanded two flying blades to shoot toward Song Yan.
In the span of a breath, they had already closed in for the kill!