Weird Cultivation, I have a five-organ temple

Chapter 723 Divine Blessing
Yun Jun sighed and shook his head, saying, "We don't know more than you do."

Shan Jun took over the conversation, gritting his teeth as he said, "The tyrannical king and the powerful clans are extremely cautious in their actions. In addition, the traitors from the White Tiger Division are familiar with the various methods of our Wei Wu, and have made ample preparations in advance, making the investigation difficult. Several times, we almost got caught."

"However, we did not come away empty-handed."

Yun Jun tapped the ground lightly with his foot: "We suspect that Wei Wu's colleagues, and even the Grand Priest, are imprisoned down here."

"You mean, you're imprisoned underground?" Shang Lu asked hastily.

In his mind, however, the strange scene he had just witnessed resurfaced: the blood inside the corpse seemed to be drawn by a force, seeping into the ground at an abnormal speed.

"To be precise, it is deep within the Wushan Mountains."

The mountain spirit told Shanglu and Gongshu Ling.

"After we discovered the White Tiger Division's rebellion and the Usurper's Office being usurped, we secretly hid in the shadows and kept watch. We found that those who were arrested and brought into the Usurper's Office would be transferred to other places after a period of time."

We followed quietly and discovered that the tyrannical king's henchmen were using the fog to conceal their movements.

This tactic may have stumped the Snake and others, but it won't stump us.

We used the fog they created to conceal ourselves, and followed them until we discovered they were escorting people to the Circular Mound Altar.

"The Circular Mound Altar? The Circular Mound Altar for worshipping Heaven and the gods?" Shang Lu interjected.

“That’s right.” Shan Jun nodded, and seeing that Shang Lu had no other questions, he continued, “We originally thought that the tyrannical king’s henchmen were going to kill these people as a sacrifice to the heavens. But that wasn’t the case. Under the influence of witchcraft and mechanisms, the Circular Mound Altar split open into a deep abyss and swallowed the people inside.”

Yun Jun continued, "We wanted to know what unspeakable secrets were hidden in that abyss, and whether the people who were thrown into it were dead or alive. But before we could get close, the abyss on the circular mound closed, and at the same time the mist dissipated, and we almost exposed our whereabouts."

"That's all thanks to me." The mountain king puffed out his chest and boasted with a proud look, "Clouds follow dragons and winds follow tigers. My speed in riding the wind is extremely fast."

Yun Jun rolled his eyes, but did not refute Shan Jun. He simply continued to recount their discovery.

"We fled to a distance, and after everyone left, we quietly sneaked back in. Unfortunately, the abyss had completely disappeared, and no matter what we tried, we couldn't open it..."

Upon hearing this, Gongshu Ling couldn't help but ask, "Since you know that the person is hidden inside Wushan, didn't the two masters consider using the earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magic technique) to sneak down and take a look? Or is there some kind of restriction inside Wushan that would render the earth-遁 technique ineffective?"

"You're right, there really is a restriction hidden beneath Mount Wu."

The Mountain Lord warned, "If you travel in the shallow layers of the earth, you won't trigger the restrictions, but you'll be easily detected by the spies hidden throughout Wushan. However, once you venture deeper into the mountain, you will trigger these restrictions. After we discovered the abyss beneath the Round Mound, although we didn't personally use earth magic to go down and check the situation, we did use some cougars and straw men. But after they went underground, none of them returned, and we lost contact with them. It was as if they had vanished into thin air!"

After he finished speaking, Yun Jun added, "We suspect that either there are various witch formations built deep within Wushan, and anyone who doesn't know how to enter will be trapped and die within them, or there is a secret realm hidden deep within Wushan! Or even a dangerous place!"

Upon hearing what Shan Jun and Yun Jun had said, Shang Lu recalled the scene he had witnessed earlier. After quickly recounting it, he asked, "Masters, Senior Sister, is this blood-sucking formation a witch formation or a dangerous secret realm?"

"Hard to say."

Shan Jun, Yun Jun, and Gongshu Ling all shook their heads: "Both the witch formation and the dangerous secret realm have blood-sucking abilities, so it's hard to make a judgment based on this alone."

Shang Lu sighed. He had finally found some clues, but now he had encountered a new problem. It seemed he would have to find an opportunity to sneak into the depths of Wushan to find out the truth!
The Shadow Gu that infiltrated the Weiwu prison remained silent, thus avoiding detection.

I wonder if I can use the Shadow Gu to sneak into the depths of Wushan Abyss and see what's going on inside, whether Da Zhu, Zi Shu Xun Shou, and Lü Yang are dead or alive...

To Shang Lu's surprise, Shan Jun and Yun Jun had an unexpectedly good attitude.

These two showed no signs of being troubled by the new problem. On the contrary, they were full of confidence and said to Shang Lu, "Your arrival has brought changes. Whenever there are changes, there are opportunities."

Shang Lu was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head and smiled wryly: "My two commanders really think highly of me." But in his heart, he couldn't help but wonder: Why does this sound like a compliment? It sounds more like a criticism of my tendency to cause trouble.
This reminded Shang Lu of the time when he was in the Bureau of Thieves, and people complained that wherever he went, a case would occur...

As they were talking, suddenly, Shang Lu, Yun Jun, and Shan Jun's expressions all changed slightly. Gongshu Ling was a little slower to react, but he also quickly noticed the abnormality.

The four of them looked up together and saw a streak of magical light flying across the sky.

Crimson sorcery surged and churned around the sorcery light, conjuring countless eyes of varying sizes and shapes, which looked down menacingly at everything on the ground.

Soon, the beam of light flew over the temple.

The eyeballs formed from witchcraft energy cast all sorts of eerie gazes as they swept across the witch temple, but they found nothing.

A moment later, Wu Guang flew away into the distance with thousands of strange eyeballs.

Only at this moment did Gongshu Ling finally feel completely relieved, thinking to himself, "Hiding in the witch temple actually worked?"

He then remembered what Shan Jun and Yun Jun had said before, and was immediately filled with curiosity about the incense lit by the pokeweed.

If the timing weren't so inappropriate, she would have wanted to ask Shang Lu for a few sticks of incense to study them carefully, to see what they were made of and why they could please the gods and make them willing to help.
"not good!"

Gongshu Ling's expression suddenly changed, as he remembered something else.

"With such a thorough search, how can they possibly escape the notice of the Snake's patrol?"

Yun Jun was very familiar with the Si Snake's hunting skills and said confidently, "Don't worry, the Si Snake's ability to hide is not the strongest among the twelve hunting teams, but it is certainly among the top. Moreover, these guys have mistaken you for her and have already missed their best opportunity."

Shan Jun sighed, "But the Wei Wu who broke through separately don't have the same ability to hide as Si She. They're probably going to be captured."

Shang Lu, however, felt that having people arrested was not entirely a bad thing.

Although he did not have much contact with the Snake Hunting, it is not difficult to analyze from the descriptions of the Rat Hunting and the Mountain Lord and Cloud Lord that the Snake Hunting is a meticulous person.

Hiding in the Wushan Mountains, she was constantly at risk of being exposed and captured, so she couldn't have been unprepared.

Perhaps, the captured Wei Wu has some kind of arrangement hidden on him, which would allow the Si Snake to pass through them and discover the secrets of the Wei Wu government office, and even the mysterious abyss beneath the Circular Mound!

Even these captured shamans might become inside agents, playing an unexpected role in the rescue operation!

At the same time, with these people being arrested, it will inevitably lead to the transfer of the witch doctors who were previously imprisoned in the prison of the Witch Doctor's Office, freeing up the cells.

Once these people are sent to the Abyss of the Circular Mound, the Shadow Gu he released will be able to sneak in along with them and see what secrets are hidden inside Wushan!
The four of them stayed in the temple for a while, during which time they saw wizards and magical beasts flying through the sky several times.

There were even sorcerers who, leading their sorcerous beasts and soldiers, and carrying remnants of sorcerous artifacts, barged straight into the sorcerer's temple and thoroughly searched and questioned everyone there.

The temple's shamans were quite dissatisfied with this matter and initially tried to obstruct it, even invoking the names of certain high-ranking officials in an attempt to scare away the shamans and soldiers.

But it turned out to be completely useless.

The temple keeper, enraged, shouted that he would make those who had offended and disturbed the gods pay the price. However, the shaman who led the group completely disregarded the shaman's threats.

If someone has the ability and the possibility of climbing higher, who would want to go to a shaman's temple and become a shaman?

Even the shamans of Wushan are those who see no hope of breakthrough and whose cultivation has even begun to decline, and they are definitely not shamans from any aristocratic families or major sects.

Even if these people know powerful figures in Wushan, their rank wouldn't be too high.

Moreover, they were ordered by the king to apprehend the criminals!

Seeing the shaman's incessant chatter, the shaman leading the group snorted coldly and threatened, "If you keep making noise, I'll take you back to report!"

"You dare!" The shaman was startled, then shouted again, "Believe it or not..."

The leading wizard interrupted him, shouting, "It's no use bringing up anyone else. We are acting on the king's orders to hunt down traitors! Anyone who dares to obstruct us is an accomplice of these traitors!"

The shaman was greatly alarmed.

This time he was truly frightened. Not only did he dare not continue to obstruct these people's search of the temple and questioning of the worshippers, his attitude even underwent a complete 180-degree change, and he cooperated with great enthusiasm and initiative.

The four people, including Shang Lu, were also thoroughly questioned.

Although these people brought several strange remnants of spirits to see through illusions, they also used the Listening Envoy to judge the authenticity of the interrogation results.

However, they still failed to see through the disguise and lies of Shang Lu and the other three.

Instead, several spies from other countries were discovered among the pilgrims.

The shaman was so frightened that he quickly defended himself, saying that the spy had nothing to do with him and that he did not know the other party's identity.

The wizard leading the group completely ignored his explanation and ordered his men to take him and the spies away.

Even if they couldn't catch the traitors, capturing a few spies would be enough to get by.

Otherwise, they would have no choice but to kill innocent people and claim credit for their crimes.

Shortly after the group left, Shang Lu and his three companions also departed from the temple.

Before leaving, Shang Lu offered incense to the deities enshrined in the temple to thank them for their help.

Just as Shang Lu turned around and left the temple with Gongshu Ling, Shan Jun, and Yun Jun, wisps of smoke drifted from the incense burners.

The wisps of smoke rapidly gathered and swirled, flying outwards and transforming into a lotus flower above their heads. After circling a few times, the smoke dissipated into a misty rain that fell upon them.

The four of them immediately felt a lightness in their bodies.

Both physical and mental states were elevated to their peak in that instant.

Especially Shang Lu and Gongshu Ling, who had previously fought fiercely and consumed a lot of their witch power and essence, were actually restored and replenished at this moment.

The four of them turned around almost simultaneously. First, they saw the green smoke falling like rain, and then they saw the statue of Houtu Niangniang enshrined in the temple behind them.

"A blessing from the gods?"

Yun Jun's mouth dropped open in surprise.

During the years that it and the mountain king served at the shamanic academy in Baiyi County, they witnessed many scenes of praying to the gods, inviting the gods, and even offering sacrifices.

Of these, very few can evoke blessings from the gods!

This kid Shang Lu is indeed not only blessed with great fortune, but also favored by the gods!
Furthermore, they also realized that the incense from Photinia serratifolia was an exceptionally good product, which was why the gods were "bowed upon by those who feed them."

Before this, Shan Jun and Yun Jun knew that the incense given by Shang Lu was a good thing, but they did not know exactly how good it was.

Now that they have seen the blessings from the gods, they suddenly realize that the incense of Pokeweed is probably many times better than they imagined!
Thinking of this, Shan Jun and Yun Jun felt a pang of regret, like "Pigsy eating ginseng fruit": they had inhaled the incense too hastily before and should have savored it more carefully.

Now, they are too embarrassed to ask the pokeweed to light another stick of incense for them.

Even if the pokeweed didn't object, the timing wouldn't be right.

Mountain Lord and Cloud Lord could only suppress their frustration and regret, and together with Shang Lu and Gongshu Ling, they bowed to the Goddess Houtu in the temple to thank her for her blessing.

After leaving the temple, Shang Lu led Gongshu Ling, Shan Jun, and Yun Jun straight back to the inn.

At this time, there were still many patrols and checks in Wushan City.

With Third Sister leading the way, they avoided most of the patrols and checks. Even in the few places they couldn't avoid, thanks to Shang Lu's silver tongue and the blessing of the Goddess Houtu, they managed to get through them all without any real danger.

This also gave Shan Jun and Yun Jun a deeper understanding of Pokeweed's abilities and methods.

In their previous memory, Shang Lu's cultivation and abilities were still at the eve of leading the county troops to Xingshan to provide support.

Unexpectedly, in just a few months, Shang Lu's cultivation and abilities underwent a tremendous change!

Back at the inn, Shang Lu breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that Bai Lingxu, Du Feng, and the others were unharmed.

After some questioning, it was learned that although a wizard had brought people to the inn to investigate, Bai Lingxu had managed to deal with them all.

Senior Brother Bai's years of shrewd businessmanship weren't for nothing. He's incredibly smooth-talking, and with a good number of magical beasts and insects at his disposal, even if he can't fool experts like Changsun Jing and Weiwei, he's more than capable of dealing with lower- and middle-level wizards who come to investigate.

Bai Lingxu was overjoyed to see Gongshu Ling, and was even more delighted to learn that the two strangers who had returned with Shang Lu were actually the Mountain Lord and Cloud Lord in human form.

However, when he heard that Shan Jun and Yun Jun were also members of the Guardian Witches and were responsible for examining and selecting Guardian Witches in the Witch Academy of Baiyi County, he instantly lost his composure. He grabbed Shan Jun and Yun Jun and questioned why Lü Yang could become a Guardian Witch but he could not. He insisted that the two of them give him a reason.

After a close call, it was already late at night.

Shang Lu did not sleep. He sat cross-legged in the room, practicing the "Heart Sutra of Supreme Goodness Like Water" while keeping watch.

Suddenly, a thought struck him.

But the Shadow Gu, who had infiltrated the prison of the Witch Doctor's Office, finally made a move...

(End of this chapter)