Weird Cultivation, I have a five-organ temple

Chapter 685 Refining Magical Artifacts
Hearing of the curse cast by the gods, the officials of the prefecture were all terrified and turned pale. They rushed to the spirit storehouse and brought out all the remnants of spirits and magical artifacts that had sealing and purification effects, arranging them around the deep pit.

Whether these items can seal the divine curse within the Supreme Nuo Mask remains to be seen. However, the various remnant spirits and magical artifacts have stirred up internal strife, repelling each other and causing the force field to become chaotic and disordered.

Many of the constables with lower cultivation levels, or even none at all, immediately felt unwell. Some even bled from all seven orifices, which terrified them, and they screamed in horror.

"I'm afraid of bleeding, I'm cursed!"

"Oh my god, my hemorrhoids have burst, and the bleeding won't stop. Am I going to die? Could some evil spirit or monster be about to crawl out of my anus?"

"Help! I have elderly parents and young children to support. I don't want to become a monster, and I don't want to die!"

"Waaah, I finally managed to pay my way into this position, and before I even had a chance to run rampant in the village and extort money, am I going to die? Then all that money I spent and all that job I got for nothing?"

The chaos and noise before them caused the faces of the prefect and the military commander to darken instantly.

Originally, they didn't want to care whether these fools lived or died, but seeing the curious townspeople gathering around, and fearing their shouts would incite a popular uprising, they couldn't help but speak up and reprimand them:

"What nonsense are you spouting? What kind of class do you think you are, to be cursed by the gods?"

"Your cultivation is too low to withstand the power of the remnant spirit magic weapon! Stop howling, you won't die. Get away from here and stop those people, don't let them get any closer!"

While reprimanding them, the prefect also cast a spell, instantly restoring the officers who were feeling unwell to normal. Their bleeding stopped, and they scrambled away to stop the city's residents from getting too close.

The county magistrate took out a bronze mirror covered with incantations from his pocket, made a spell, and carefully approached the edge of the deep pit.

He glanced quickly at the Supreme Nuo Mask in the pit.

Not only did he not dare to go down and pick up the Nuo mask, but after glancing at it, he immediately retreated, backing up to the prefect's side before exhaling a breath of stale air and asking in a low voice, "Prefect, what do you think of this matter?"

The prefect frowned.

After a moment of contemplation, he finally said, "Divine power cannot be faked, and the Supreme Nuo Mask is also real..."

As soon as the strange phenomenon appeared in the sky, the prefect rushed out of the prefectural office.

He initially thought it was thieves causing trouble, but the series of events that followed shocked him greatly!
When the sun shone brightly and divine light and shadow appeared, the prefect clearly felt the presence of divine power and might.

Although the divine power was somewhat weak, it was genuine and extremely pure.

This divine power is completely different from the "divine might" deliberately created by those who are above the third rank and are called demigods; it is the power of a true god!

Either a deity has truly manifested, or someone has obtained a deity's treasure or even remains or organs.

Such pure divine power is something even those Nuo shamans who can communicate with the gods and borrow their strength cannot unleash.

It cannot be faked.

Although the prefect was well-informed, he never expected that someone could steal and devour divine power and refine it for their own use.

As for that supreme Nuo mask, he was right; it was indeed the real thing.

Back at sea, Shang Lu found the Nuo mask and Nuo robe of the Great Nuo of Jiang Kingdom among the various relics spewed out by Hailing Island.

These past few days, Shang Lu had been studying these treasures, intending to refine this Nuo mask, but he found it was simply impossible.

The supreme Nuo mask, passed down through generations of the Jiang Kingdom's Great Nuo, was corrupted and became subject to various strange changes because this generation of Great Nuo went mad and became bizarre in the Divine Dream Evil Land.

If you put it on rashly, you will immediately be contaminated by the chaotic aura left in this supreme Nuo mask by the Great Nuo, causing you to lose your mind and go crazy.

This pollution has seemingly evolved into a bizarre curse.

Even pokeweed cannot purify it.

Even if it is wrapped with a purification talisman and placed inside the Impermanence Decree, the curse in the Supreme Nuo Mask will continue to leak out, attempting to contaminate the pokeweed.

Pokeweed originally intended to destroy the Nuo mask, but later changed its mind and left it to this day as strong evidence.

Moreover, this Nuo mask is not only evidence, but also a troublesome and malevolent object—even if the Tai Mo Academy sends someone to retrieve it, it will be affected by the pollution and curse contained within, making it both unacceptable and difficult to discard.

The most likely outcome is that it will take considerable effort to seal it away.

At this moment, in the eyes of the prefect and the military commander, both the divine power just now and the supreme Nuo mask in the pit now proved one thing - Da Nuo is really dead, killed by divine punishment!

This confirms that the various rumors circulating recently are not false, but true!

The two remained silent, both seeing shock and horror in each other's eyes.

After a moment, the prefect said, "We cannot make a decision on this matter. Quickly send someone to report this to the imperial court and the Tai Mo Academy, and ask them to make a decision!"

The prefectural commandant nodded repeatedly.

Whether it's a divine manifestation, a Da Nuo being punished by the gods and dying, or the Supreme Nuo Mask being cursed by the gods and turned into a malevolent creature, all are thorny issues.

Handling it rashly will only bring disaster upon yourself; it's better to leave it to the higher-ups to deal with.

The prefect calmed down at this moment and issued a series of orders:
"Before the imperial court and Tai Mo Academy send anyone here, we must keep the news under wraps and prevent the news of Da Nuo's death from spreading... Also, deploy manpower to seal off the nearby streets. Without our two warrants, no one is allowed to enter or leave!"

The prefectural commandant accepted the order with his hands clasped, and immediately summoned the prefectural magistrate to make a series of specific arrangements.

In an instant, soldiers rushed about the city, driving away the curious onlookers and ordering them to keep the secret and not to gossip.

"Don't blame us for not warning you, the Prefect will be sending out his 'spies' to listen in the next few days!"

“If you dare disobey orders and secretly spread what happened today, and are discovered by those ‘spies,’ not only will you be thrown into jail, but your relatives and friends will also be implicated!”

"If you don't want to die, watch your mouths! Remember, trouble comes from the mouth!"

Ordinary people were naturally frightened by the soldiers' words.

However, there were also many merchants and cultivators from other places in the city. Although they did not discuss it in the city, once they left the city and went far away, they spread the news of what happened that day with embellishments.

After all, what happened today was truly shocking and terrifying!

With divine intervention and the punishment of the Great Nuo, how could people possibly keep quiet about it?

As for the government blocking the news?

The more you try to block things out, the bigger the matter must be; the more you talk about it, the more well-informed you seem!
Initially, many people from other places had great doubts about this matter.

The gods manifested their power, punishing and killing the Great Nuo...

Either one is utterly absurd; how can one believe them?

However, neither the prefect nor the military commander expected that the events of that day had been secretly "recorded" by a cultivator using a secret technique. They dared not even look directly at the gods; how could they have imagined that someone so audacious would dare to use a secret method to record this footage?

Even more unexpectedly, these people actually managed to record it successfully, without angering the gods or suffering a backlash from the magic.

These secretly recorded images naturally caused a new sensation.

Even though the Tai Mo Academy and the Jiang Kingdom's court immediately issued orders to crack down on the spread of the images, it was to no avail.

Cultivators from all over the world, once they hear that someone has the footage, will travel thousands of miles to watch it. Some cultivators have even found a way to make money from it by charging for viewings.

Even the monks in local government offices were secretly transmitting these "illegal" images.

As for the sects and families in various places, they obtained these images immediately.

The so-called imperial edict has become a joke.

Under such circumstances, news spread that Tai Mo Academy had fallen into the demonic path, and that Da Nuo had committed heinous crimes, incurring the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people, and had been exterminated by the gods.

Furthermore, the events that occurred in Shannan County have caused considerable concern among many sects, aristocratic families, and even local officials.

Although they had not experienced the Dark Ages, they had seen the various historical records passed down from that time and knew that sacrificing evil gods with killings and using ordinary people as offerings was far inferior to that of cultivators.

If they let this go unchecked now, the next step will likely be to sacrifice these cultivators, or even use them to refine pills.

As a result, within just a few days, the sects and aristocratic families of various prefectures in the Jiang Kingdom reached a consensus and went to the Tai Mo Academy to question the king and the officials in the court.

Local officials also submitted memorials one after another—the example of the magistrate and county commandant of Shannan County was there for them to see, and they did not want to follow in their footsteps.

The king of Jiang and the officials of the court were greatly alarmed by the raging anger of the people. They dared not ignore or deceive them. On the one hand, they appeased the sects, aristocratic families and local officials in various places, and on the other hand, under pressure, they sent people to Tai Mo Academy to conduct an investigation.

Faced with this series of changes, Tai Mo Academy was furious, but dared not forcefully stop it.

Because they discovered that communication with Hailing Island seemed to have truly been cut off.

While dealing with inquiries from various places and investigations from the imperial court, they frantically dispatched people to Hailing Island to see what had happened there.

As long as Da Nuo is alive, and as long as the instructors on Hailing Island are still alive, they will not fear any questioning or investigation. At worst, they'll just "purify" all of them!
Although Shang Lu did not witness the series of events that followed, since he had orchestrated the whole affair, he could guess a thing or two about it.

After the illusory image of Dongjun descended and revealed the divine message, and after throwing down the Supreme Nuo Mask, Shang Lu put away the Dongjun Nuo Mask and the novelist's notes filled with the details of the event in the Dongjun Temple.

Afterwards, Shanglu respectfully offered another stick of incense to Dongjun, thanking Him for tacitly approving his disrespectful act of impersonating a deity.

The fact that there was no obstruction or divine punishment is tantamount to tacit approval.

That's why they say you're beholden to someone who feeds you.

After the deed was done, Third Sister quickly put away the magic array and erased all traces of the place, even concealing the fluctuations of her aura.

As soon as she finished doing all this, flocks of exotic birds flew overhead with a whooshing sound.

These are spirit birds released by the prefect. Their sharp eyes are extremely adept at capturing the flow of qi. If there is any abnormality, they will immediately detect it and warn you.

Third Sister erased all abnormalities beforehand, so they didn't notice anything and quickly flew away.

Shang Lu did not stay there for long. After offering incense, he took the little black fox and left the city.

At this moment, the guards at several city gates were still in shock. Some were even kneeling on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly towards the sky, completely unaware of Shang Lu's departure.

After leaving the city of Yanhe County, Shang Lu continued riding on his gourd westward, encountering strict checks by several disciples from nearby aristocratic families and sects along the way.

Since the tragedy in Shannan County, local governments, cultivation families, and sects have intensified their investigations of passing cultivators.

Sure enough, they actually caught a few more cultivators who were plotting to slaughter villages and towns and offer them as sacrifices to the so-called "Heavenly Dao".

These cultivators, without any surprise, were all people who had just attended lectures at the Tai Mo Academy!
Moreover, this time, these cultivators died mysteriously within two days of being captured, making it impossible for the sects that captured them to take them to the Tai Mo Academy for questioning.

However, after this matter spread, more people believed that the rumors were true, that Tai Mo Academy had fallen into the demonic path, and even wanted to bewitch cultivators to use it.

If that weren't the case, why would there be a need to kill someone to silence them?

Similarly, after this incident was reported, local governments, religious families, and sects further strengthened their patrols and inspections.

They were terrified that if they weren't careful, the demonic cultivators who had been bewitched by the Tai Mo Academy might infiltrate their territory and wreak havoc.

Fortunately, Shang Lu had complete identification documents, and he was eloquent and persuasive. Moreover, he had studied the essence of Confucianism, especially after practicing the "Righteousness Technique," which cultivated his righteous spirit. Whenever he was questioned, he was never suspected and passed through smoothly.

Three days later, Shang Lu flew out of the territory of Jiang State and entered the territory of Deng State.

Upon entering Deng State, Shang Lu immediately sensed that the energy here was in a violent and chaotic state.

All of these were caused by war.

This war not only shook the dragon vein and destiny of the Deng Kingdom, but also plunged the people into panic and fear, which in turn affected the national energy, causing it to become chaotic.

If the chaotic energy cannot be reversed quickly, it will conversely pollute the national fortune of Deng and make the people of Deng even more panicked.

It could even affect the cultivators of Deng Kingdom, causing their qi to become disordered, thus weakening their cultivation and even leading them to suffer from qi deviation.

This creates a vicious cycle that ultimately cannot be saved and is beyond redemption.

However, these have nothing to do with pokeweed.

After entering the territory of Deng, he no longer flew on the gourd of witchcraft. Instead, he and the little black fox disguised themselves as refugees fleeing war and traveled through the mountains and forests.

Deng Guo is currently in a state of emergency. The arrival of outside cultivators flying on magical artifacts could very likely trigger a siege.

After leaving the Jiang Kingdom and confirming that the Tai Mo Academy was in trouble and could no longer pursue him, Shang Lu finally had the opportunity to refine the magic treasures he had left behind.

These magical artifacts can only be truly used by him after they have been refined and consecrated.

Fortunately, the spiritual imprints within these magical artifacts have all disappeared.

It's unclear whether those spiritual imprints disappeared with the original owner's death or were forcibly erased by the awakened deity.

In any case, this is the best thing for Pokeweed.

On the second day after entering Deng State, Shang Lu found a dilapidated temple in a mountain, took out the magic treasures, and began to refine them.

(End of this chapter)