Weird Cultivation, I have a five-organ temple

Chapter 722 A Helpful Assistance
In the end, Lu Zhangyin did not die suddenly or go mad.

With the help of the remnant spirit artifact and the bloody self-harm methods, he exchanged pain for clarity and strength, barely suppressing the eerie blood mist that had invaded his body.

The ability to suppress the eerie blood mist was not due to Lu Zhangyin's particularly powerful methods, but simply because the amount of the eerie blood mist was too small.

Most of the strange blood mist that Shang Lu devoured in the dream was sealed, with only a small amount being refined by the Five Internal Organs Temple and made usable.

As for this small amount of strange blood mist, quite a bit had already been used before, and Shang Lu still needed to keep some as a reserve.

Therefore, there wasn't much of the eerie blood mist used as a "surprise," and Lu Zhangyin was ruthless enough to use self-mutilation through asceticism to clear his mind and suppress the violent witch energy.

Fortunately, he was decisive enough; otherwise, even this small amount of strange blood mist could have driven him mad and caused him to die violently!
Even though he didn't die, Master Lu's condition was very bad. The witch energy within his body was still in a chaotic and uncontrollable state.

The chaotic witch energy not only churned within his body but also spread outwards, forming a dark red mist around him that surged continuously.

As a result, the light and space around him seemed to show signs of distortion.

As for Lu Zhangyin's physical body, it was even stranger—his entire body was covered with countless sores, which, from a distance, looked like countless hideous, bloody mouths.

Ugly fleshy buds emerged from the bloody mouth, resembling long, scarlet tongues.

Although under Lu Zhangyin's suppression, these ugly fleshy buds no longer tried to "devour" him, they did not disappear. Instead, they stood tall, eyeing their surroundings menacingly.

Like venomous snakes, they swarm and devour anyone who enters their hunting range!

"Huh...huh..."

Lu Zhangyin was breathing heavily.

He expended a great deal of effort and sacrifice to suppress the strange blood mist that had invaded his body.

This encounter left him both shocked and furious.

"What kind of method is this, that it can disrupt my witch energy and physical body? When did those people from the Snake Clan acquire such abilities? Why was there no prior warning?"

Enraged, Lu Zhangyin suddenly looked at the Commandant of the Guards and Changsun Jing.

These two had distanced themselves from him from the start and even used remnant spirit artifacts for self-defense, clearly having anticipated his fate.

Even that scoundrel Changsun Jing deliberately lured him into suffering this great loss!

Lu Zhangyin's gaze instantly turned icy cold, but he also knew that even if he questioned them, these two would have countless reasons to brush him off, and might even turn the tables on him.

Taking a deep breath, Master Lu swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

There's no point in just talking tough; the best approach is to find an opportunity to retaliate!

But at this moment, the anger that was simmering in Master Lu's heart needed to be vented.

His gaze swept over the Imperial Guard and Changsun Jing, then landed on the panicked crowd fleeing in the market below.

What had just happened terrified the group of people.

They just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, fearing they would be drawn into some terrible fight.

The anger in Lu Zhangyin's heart instantly turned into killing intent. He grunted, raised his hand, and the chaotic witch energy churning around his body transformed into countless deadly beams of blood light, whistling as they shot towards the people in the market.

He actually wanted to kill all of these people to vent his hatred.

The Imperial Guard had anticipated his move and acted almost simultaneously, stopping the deadly aura he was releasing.

But this only fueled Lu Zhangyin's anger.

He turned his head and glared at the guard, his gaze cold and sharp, like a blade that wanted to dissect the guard.

Lu Zhangyin coldly demanded, "What does the Commandant of the Guards mean? Do you intend to oppose me?"

"Don't be ungrateful, Master of the Seal."

The Commandant of the Guards was neither intimidated nor indulged. He snorted coldly and said, "I stopped you for your own good. All these people in Wushan City belong to the King. If you kill one or two, it's no big deal. But if you massacre the entire city, the King will blame you, and I'm afraid even the Commander of the Guards won't be able to bear the consequences!"

Upon hearing this, Master Lu's expression changed constantly, like a dye shop that had been opened.

In the end, he suppressed his murderous intent. Even though he was very dissatisfied with the Commandant of the Guards, he had no choice but to clasp his hands in a salute and say thank you against his will: "Thank you for reminding me, Commandant of the Guards."

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, causing the witch energy within his body to become increasingly chaotic, and even causing the strange fleshy buds that had been suppressed on his body to grow wildly again.

"what--"

Lu Zhangyin was in excruciating pain, especially feeling as if countless strange, chaotic, and meaningless sounds and messages were flooding into his head, threatening to burst it open.

"No, I have to go back immediately and clean up this pollution."

The chaos of the witch's energy and the bizarre changes in his physical body made Lu Zhangyin forget about being angry. He clutched his head and cried out in pain, "I entrust the task of hunting down the Snake and its accomplices to you all!"

Having said that, without waiting for these people to agree or not, he urged Wu Guang to fly unsteadily toward the Weiwu Yamen.

Within the Weiwu Yamen (a government office for the protection of witches), there are corresponding treasures and formations used to purify pollution.

Watching Lu Zhangyin leave, the Commandant of the Guards looked at Changsun Jing and said with a cold smile, "The Minister of Justice is truly skilled."

Changsun Jing pretended not to understand, but inwardly he scoffed.

After his elder brother died, the man surnamed Lu was appointed as the Chief of the Guardian of the Witchcrafts, in charge of the Witchcrafts Administration. He had completely snatched power and benefits from the Changsun family. Naturally, he hated Lu to the core and would never miss any opportunity to scheme against Chief Lu.

But even if you can do something like this, you absolutely cannot admit to it!

The Imperial Guard did not pursue the matter further.

The conflict between Changsun Jing and Lu Zhangyin had nothing to do with him; in fact, he was eager to see the two sides fight so that he could reap the benefits.

However, the most urgent task is to track down the whereabouts of the treacherous officials and traitors, including Si She.

The chaotic power that had invaded Lu Zhangyin's body was the best clue, but given what happened at the Weiwu Yamen that night, and the lessons learned from Marquis Changsun and Lu Zhangyin, neither the Weiwei, Changsun Jing, nor the experts from the other powerful families dared to touch that chaotic power.

They could only begin their investigation by observing the strong winds and thick fog that had just appeared.

However, even though they managed to capture the lingering fog, they tried every means and all sorts of witchcraft and treasures, but to no avail.

The person who stirred up the fog seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth!
They failed to find Shang Lu and the others, but Shang Lu, through the strange blood mist, clearly saw through their relationship.

"These powerful families and sects are indeed not a united front. I need to find a way to make them fight amongst themselves..." Shang Lu thought to himself, while holding incense sticks, he respectfully bowed three times to the Goddess Houtu, and then put the incense sticks into the incense burner.

At this moment, under the guidance of San Niang, he led Gongshu Ling, Shan Jun, and Yun Jun into a witch temple.

In this shamanic temple, besides the Earth Goddess Houtu, the Mountain Spirit and several other deities are also worshipped.

Naturally, Shanglu couldn't show favoritism. After offering incense to Houtu Niangniang, he also offered incense to the mountain spirits and several other deities in the temple.

Unlike Shang Lu, who relaxed as soon as he entered the temple, Gongshu Ling remained on edge.

Although her armored body lacks an expression system and cannot express emotions through facial expressions, her spirit vortex reactor is constantly running at high speed without any relaxation, which shows just how tense she is.

"Can we really escape the Soul-Sealing Curse by hiding here?" Gongshu Ling asked in a low voice.

There was a hidden half-sentence behind that sentence, which was meant to urge Shang Lu to leave quickly and not waste time here, lest the powerful families and sects catch up with him.

The Mountain Lord and the Cloud Lord were initially skeptical, but after smelling the incense offered by the pokeweed to the gods, their hearts were instantly at ease.

Upon hearing Gongshu Ling's question, before Shang Lu could speak, the two of them preemptively answered:
"If we were just hiding here, it wouldn't be of any use. But since he's offered incense, there's no need to worry!"

"The gods in the temple will surely protect us!"

After saying this, the Mountain Lord and the Cloud Lord looked at Shang Lu again, secretly marveling.

They had enjoyed the incense offered by pokeweed, so they knew how good it was. They just hadn't expected that the gods would also have a taste for it.

No wonder this kid is so lucky and has so many opportunities.

He made a good impression on the gods, so how could he lack opportunities and good fortune?

Soon, Shang Lu offered incense to all the deities in the temple.

To the surprise of Shan Jun and Yun Jun, Shang Lu took out two more incense sticks after turning around, offered one to each of them, and said, "Thank you for saving us, my two teachers. I have nothing to repay you with but this incense."

Shan Jun and Yun Jun secretly admired how well this kid knew how to behave, and without being polite, they held the incense and began to inhale its fragrance.

"It's been a long time since I've tasted the delicious food you ordered."

"Not bad, still the same taste as before. 99% perfect, a rare find..."

Shang Lu chuckled to himself, thinking to himself that these two had actually learned quite a few witty remarks after leaving the Baiyi County Witchcraft Academy.

As the Mountain Lord and Cloud Lord enjoyed the incense offerings, he and Gongshu Ling once again thanked the two for saving them.

Immediately, Shang Lu solemnly urged Shan Jun and Yun Jun to leave quickly: "When I was offering incense, I received a divine revelation that it would help us escape this pursuit. Master Shan, Master Yun, you should leave quickly after you have finished enjoying the incense, lest we drag you down with us."

"drag?"

The Mountain Lord and the Cloud Lord exchanged a glance and laughed together.

"Kid, you're underestimating us. Do you think we're the kind of people who'd be afraid of being dragged down? Besides, the two of us joined the Guardian Witches much earlier than you!"

As they spoke, the Mountain Lord and the Cloud Lord opened their mouths and simultaneously spat out two jade tablets.

These two jade tablets are different from the Impermanence Tokens of Pokeweed and Gongshu Ling, but based on the witch patterns on them and the witch energy fluctuations they emit, they are indeed a type of Guardian Witch Token.

Within the Guardian Witches, there are several types of tokens depending on the duties performed. Shang Lu and Gongshu Ling were aware of this, so they were not surprised, but rather taken aback: "You two are also Guardian Witches?"

Upon hearing this, the Mountain Lord and the Cloud Lord were displeased. They both grunted and retorted, "What do you mean by 'actually also a Guardian Witch'? If you can become a Guardian Witch, why can't we?"

Shang Lu hurriedly said, "This student did not mean that. It's just that you two concealed your identities so well that we are quite surprised to find out now."

The mountain lord chuckled: "You little rascal, you're as good with words as ever!"

Yun Jun snorted, "Glib talker." However, the expression on his face improved considerably.

The mountain king smiled and recounted the reasons why they had joined the Wei witch:

"Cultivation is far more difficult for spirits than for humans. Especially for spirits like us who are born later in life, it is even more difficult. Even if we were willing to serve as dogs for powerful families and sects, we would still be looked down upon. It is only because the Great Priest is open to all who are willing to teach that we spirits are given the opportunity to cultivate."

Later, when the Grand Master was ordered to establish the Guardian Witchcraft Academy, we naturally followed him without hesitation, becoming members of the Guardian Witchcraft Academy and were sent to the Witchcraft Academy of Baiyi County to monitor the local area and search for talented people..."

Upon hearing this, both Shang Lu and Gongshu Ling were secretly amazed.

They also realized that the reason why the Rat's patrol led them into the Wei Wu was not only because of their outstanding performance in eliminating the He Zei and killing the Zhongli Da Wu, but also because the Mountain Lord and the Cloud Lord had already understood their temperament, character, and so on, and reported it to the Great Priest.

Shang Lu was overjoyed. Although Shan Jun and Yun Jun's cultivation levels might not be as high as his, their abilities and skills were by no means inferior.

Even he himself lamented that many of his methods were insufficient.

Since the Mountain Lord and the Cloud Lord are also comrades of the Wei Wu, this undoubtedly provides them with a great help.

Surprised and delighted, Shang Lu asked, "So, the two commanders came to Wushan because they received a summons from the Grand Priest?"

"The summons from the Grand Master is a complete fake!"

The Mountain Lord and the Cloud Lord spoke in unison, asserting with absolute certainty.

“It’s absolutely impossible for the Grand Priest to recall all the Guardian Witches back to Wushan. Someone is impersonating him and sending a false order. When we arrived at Wushan, we saw the Grand Priest from afar. Although his appearance and demeanor were remarkably similar, a fake is a fake, and it can’t be the real thing!”

Shang Lu had only been in Wushan for a few days and had not yet had the chance to meet Da Zhu. However, he had long suspected that Da Zhu, who had appeared in Wushan many times, was an imposter. Therefore, he was not surprised at all after hearing what Shan Jun and Yun Jun said.

After exchanging a few curses, the Mountain Lord and the Cloud Lord continued their story, one after the other:
"We received an imperial order to be transferred back to Wushan. At that time, we didn't know that the tyrannical king had killed the Grand Priest and the Guardian Witch. We sent a message to the Grand Priest, but we didn't receive a reply. It wasn't until we arrived in Wushan that we learned something had happened to the Grand Priest and the Guardian Witch's office, but that's another story!"

"After we arrived at Wushan, we found that not only the two of us, but also all the spirits and monsters in the other Wushan Academy, local government offices, and border troops whose cultivation was above the Mingxin Realm had been summoned to Wushan."

"Some spirits speculate that the imperial court is very satisfied with our performance and wants to reward us for our contributions. But we know very well that the officials in the court are not so generous!"

"The facts have proven that our judgment was correct. The tyrannical king summoned us back to Wushan not as a reward, but to use us as medicine! The tyrannical king and several high-ranking officials have contracted some strange disease, and they actually want to use people as medicine, using spirits as ingredients..."

"After we learned about this, we immediately informed the group of spirits, hoping to escape with them. However, most of them did not believe us, and in the end, only a few spirits escaped with us."

Those spirits escaped and left Wushan directly, while we stayed behind to find out what had happened to the Grand Priest and the Witchcraft Administration.

"Have you found anything?" Shang Lu asked hurriedly, and a red light also flashed on Gongshu Ling's witch mask.

(End of this chapter)