No taboos

Chapter 446 Lord of the Temple of Sin

The turbulent waves of the mortal world surge and churn.

Shameful people, shameful deeds, and all sorts of shameful thoughts...

Every single thing, in the unseen corners of the world, will unknowingly accumulate and sludge, leaving behind grime that is almost impossible to "wash away".

Even places like brothels and gambling dens, even if they are demolished and rebuilt into other buildings.

Even if the people living there don't know what this place used to be, they will always feel uncomfortable and unwell.

It is because these places have accumulated too much of this "dirt" before.

It often takes more than a decade for the damage to gradually diminish.

The thing inside Li Xiong's stomach fed on this filth.

When Li Xiong came out, he told the leader that he would only take two breaths, but when he got here, he couldn't help it anymore.

The fleshy monster opened its mouth, spitting out fleshy whiskers as it tried to burrow into the brothel to lick clean the filth and grime that had accumulated in the dark corners of the world!

Song Lin shouted to stop him, but Li Xiong was completely stunned and his eyes were frozen. Now it was not him controlling the thing, but the thing controlling him.

Faced with this situation, Song Lin casually flicked his sleeve, and a foot-long square iron nail slipped into his hand.

"puff!"

Song Lin slammed the iron nail into Li Xiong's vest with a single blow.

The fleshy grotesque mouth twisted and trembled in pain, and the frenzied fleshy tendrils stopped and slowly retracted.

The fleshy, strange mouth slowly closed.

The leader asked Song Lin to keep an eye on things, and Song Lin knew that things would turn out this way.

I've long been used to it.

It was very easy to handle.

Seeing that Li Xiong had returned to normal, Song Lin pulled out the square iron nail.

White, turbid pus and blood gushed from the wound on Li Xiong's back, quickly sealing and healing the wound.

Every time Song Lin saw this scene, his heart would pound uncontrollably.

Is Li Xiong even human?
Li Xiong, oblivious to everything, muttered a complaint while grimacing, "It's no big deal. I'm not going to eat these people. They always stop me..."

"You've satisfied your craving, now go back," Song Lin said casually, but dared not tell Li Xiong about the condition of his wound.

Li Xiong was still complaining: "You're all just afraid that if I eat too much, I'll get promoted to a higher level. You're all just jealous..."

Song Lin pulled him along, and the two returned to the inn together.

In the darkness of a distant street corner, the River Supervisor stood silently, like a zombie.

He opened his right eye and coldly looked at everything that had just happened.

……

As dawn broke, before the officers on night duty at the yamen had even changed shifts, Asmru quickly opened the side door and rushed out.

The captains were puzzled: "Aren't you going to eat?"

Asmru did not answer and headed straight for the city gate.

Once inside the south gate, I found a breakfast stall, sat down, and stared at the gate.

Half an hour later, the city gates opened with a rumble, and a long queue had already formed outside, with people driving carts, carrying loads, and riding horses... Everyone underwent inspection and quickly entered the city.

Asmru stared at it for the entire morning.

He saw the three leaders of the guild enter the city.

……

The leader successfully found the "unawakened body" of the defiled master.

All three were somewhat surprised, because this "unawakened" man looked quite handsome.

He walked through the streets and bought some vegetables, rice, and noodles.

He was very friendly with the vendors in the market, chatting with them every now and then, and an old lady even insisted on giving him a few scallions.

The three leaders did not step forward, but simply watched from a distance.

A strange shadow was flickering in the leader's right eye.

As the "unconscious" figure walked in the distance, the shadow beneath its feet shifted almost imperceptibly.

"Let's go." The leader turned and left.

Li Xiong asked, "Aren't we going to wake him up?"

"The time has not come yet."

……

Xu Yuan spent the entire night finally managing to get "Dream Come True" completely under control.

When Xu Yuan's alchemy skills reached the fifth level, Aunt Wang once said that some evil spirits would take this opportunity to sneak in and harass him from the mortal world, the turbid world, or even "dreams and the sea of ​​consciousness".

The "dreamscape" and "sea of ​​consciousness" that Aunt Wang mentioned are actually "Lingxiao".

Aunt Wang used this terminology instead of directly telling Xu Yuan about the existence of "Lingxiao" because she felt it was too early to be considered a fifth-rate person.

It could also just be a habitual behavior.

Because everyone is at the fourth level, they only talk about "Lingxiao". When faced with someone below the fourth level, they subconsciously avoid this topic.

Looking back now, Xu Yuan realizes that the three "selves" he experienced when merging with the True Seed—the Ghostly Self, the Net Self, and the Supreme Self—were likely his subconscious.

Xu Yuan could only guess that the three "I"s corresponded to the three different fates at that time, and he didn't know if it was correct.

Now, it is speculated that one's form in "Lingxiao" should be able to choose freely among the three "selves," or even switch between them at will.

Perhaps because there are now two more types of destiny, there are now two more forms.

Over the course of a night, Xu Yuan used the influence of "dreams coming true" on his subconscious to actually transform the original form of the calf-like strange cloud in Lingxiao into the form of "my ghost and god self"!
After the transformation, Xu Yuan found that his connection with Lingxiao had been significantly strengthened.

For example, when facing Richard before, Xu Yuan drew upon Lingxiao's power during the battle, but he had to "break the connection" after just one time.

It can now be maintained twice, and then disconnected.

However, after creating the "Ghost God Self" in Lingxiao, Xu Yuan was able to draw upon Lingxiao's power through "Dreams Come True" and thus perform some "refined" techniques.

Instead of simply stuffing various thoughts and subconscious ideas directly into the target's consciousness.

This ability to "do meticulous work" and "make dreams come true" complement each other.

Xu Yuan can fabricate some false thoughts and directly integrate them into the target's mind, and the target will directly execute these false thoughts.

For example, when Richard faces Xu Yuan's bell-shaped spikes, his first thought is to dodge, but Xu Yuan will insert the thought of "taking it head-on" into his mind.

"Toughness" comes before "dodging".

The consequences are self-evident.

Xu Yuan was very excited after mastering this "delicate skill".

Then they discovered that this delicate work was extremely laborious.

It had already gone through two disconnections, but if you use "delicate techniques," it will go back to the point of disconnecting on the first try.

Even so, Xu Yuan felt it was all worthwhile.

But now there's a new problem: to perform this kind of "delicate work," you need the help of "dreams coming true."

But "Dreams Come True" is a carriage, which is far too large.

Wherever Lord Xu went, Dafu would secretly follow behind.

But it's inconvenient to carry such a carriage everywhere you go.

Xu Yuan had already completely subdued "Dreams Come True," and this highly active prop vaguely expressed its attitude: as long as the core of the prop is removed, it can perform "exquisite work."

The core element is the script in the center of the stage.

However, Xu Yuan is not a craftsman and cannot separate this core from the entire stage.

If you forcibly take it out, the "Dream Come True" prop will be ruined.

It's a bit of a pity.

"The only thing we can do is bring Lin Wanmo back." Xu Yuan made his decision; before his stepmother came to Champa, he would switch from riding a horse to traveling by carriage.

……

In the middle of the morning, Mao Dabing came to report: "Sir, the interrogation of Qiao Jin and other criminals has been completed."

Xu Yuan nodded and instructed, "Go to the Mountain and River Bureau and the Grand Canal Bureau and invite Lord Miao and Lord Xu over."

"Yes."

The case was handled by everyone together, so naturally everyone should be called upon to wrap it up.

Zhu Zhanmei was the first to arrive.

She was in the Shanhe Si Yamen (official residence of the Mountain and River Administration).

Zhu Zhanlei and Miao Yu were both a little afraid of her, so they went out together to "patrol the streets" early in the morning.

Zhu Zhanlei was just a patrol inspector, so it was understandable that he went out to patrol the streets.

But just because it sounds plausible doesn't mean Zhu Zhanlei will actually go.

When would Young Master Zhu ever do such a thankless job?

Miao Yu, being the head of the Shanhe Division in charge of laws in Zhancheng, would never be doing such a street patrol job.

Both of them wanted to avoid Zhu Zhanmei in the yamen.

Mao Dabing sent someone to the Shanhe Si Yamen (a government office in charge of water conservancy and agriculture) to deliver a message. Zhu Zhanmei went first, and then sent someone to find Miao Yu and Zhu Zhanlei.

The captain of the Mountain and River Division found the two officials in a teahouse in the south of the city.

As soon as they left home in the morning, they came here to drink tea and listen to music.

Zhu Zhanlei discovered this place by chance.

The tea was so-so, and the storyteller's skill was only average to above average.

However, there was also an old blind man in the teahouse, singing songs with his granddaughter.

My granddaughter is very pretty.

When the captain arrived, Zhu Zhanlei had just performed a heroic rescue, throwing a playboy who was about to abduct a woman out of a second-floor window onto the street.

The playboy nearly broke his leg, and his servants rushed downstairs to help their young master.

The spoiled brat pointed upstairs and cursed, "You just wait, no one in Champa dares to hit your young master..."

Miao Yu and Zhu Zhanlei were both in civilian clothes, not wearing the official robes of the Shanhe Division.

The captain arrived just then: "Chief Lawyer, Inspector, Lord Xu requests your presence at his residence."

The spoiled brat heard everything clearly downstairs, shuddered, tucked his tail between his legs, and ran down the street.

Zhu Zhanlei stood at the second-floor window, pointing at the纨绔 (wan ku, a spoiled brat) and shouting, "Don't run away! Your grandpa here is Zhu Zhanlei of Shanhe Si, and I never change my name or surname!"

"I'm waiting for you to come and take revenge!"

Upon hearing this, the playboy rolled up his sleeves to cover his face and ran even faster.

The onlookers on the street and in the teahouse burst into laughter.

Zhu Zhanlei became increasingly smug.

Miao Yu, with a stern face, said to his subordinates, "This matter must not be spread!"

"Respect!"

The so-called "spread outside" is clear to everyone; it means not letting Miss Zhu know.

The two rushed to the Exorcism Bureau and ran into Xu Miaozhi at the gate.

Zhu Zhanlei was walking in front when Xu Miaozhi coughed. Zhu Zhanlei subconsciously pulled back his left foot, which had already crossed the threshold, and made way for her.

Xu Miaozhi snorted and walked ahead with her head held high.

Zhu Zhanlei whispered to Miao Yu, "I won't stoop to the level of a woman..."

"Yeah."

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Xu Yuan said, "Mao Dabing, tell me what's going on."

"Yes." Mao Dabing came in carrying a tray.

On the tray was a fishy-smelling package.

"What is this?" Zhu Zhanlei couldn't help but ask.

Mao Dabing opened the fishy package and poured out a piece of slippery, bloody flesh.

"This piece of flesh was peeled off from Qiao Jin's chest." Everyone stepped forward to look, and the symbol from Qiao Jin's chest was still on the flesh.

Mao Dabing further explained: "This flesh and blood is not Qiao Jin's, but rather it is parasitic on Qiao Jin's body."

This thing is actually just a drop of so-called holy blood from the Pingtian Society.

Zhu Zhanmei then asked, "Where exactly did this holy blood come from?"

Mao Dabing shook his head: "We've already reviewed it, and Qiao Jin doesn't know either."

The leader pressed the object to his chest, then gave him instructions on how to proceed once he arrived in Champa.

Zhu Zhanlei picked up a pen from the side and poked at the flesh.

The thing twitched slowly for a moment, and then stopped moving.

Mao Dabing: "After this mass of flesh and blood left Qiao Jin's body, its activity became weaker and weaker."

However, according to Qiao Jin's confession, the activity level had actually begun to decline long ago.

Xu Yuan: "When did it start to decrease?"

"Qiao Jin said he felt it was yesterday morning, but he was in prison and never saw the light of day, so his sense of time wouldn't be very accurate."

Xu Yuan nodded, guessing that it must have happened when the Great Sage Equaling Heaven suddenly severed the bloodline connection.

Mao Dabing continued, "We thoroughly searched the Pingtianhui branch."

In that underground hall, the stone well used for the ceremony had dried up. Qiao Jin said that the ceremony itself wasn't important; it was just meant to be mysterious and solemn to deceive the congregation. Its main purpose was to obtain the sacred blood and the ancient stones used for paving the road and building the well—those stones all came from the ancient temple where the statue of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven was first discovered.

Xu Yuan sneered, "The Pingtian Society really treats its members like pigs!"

Zhu Zhanlei looked at the mass of flesh and blood and said, "This isn't some kind of holy blood. The real thing that's working is probably this symbol, isn't it?"

"What the Great Sage Equaling Heaven left behind might really have been a drop of blood, which slowly turned into this mass of flesh and blood." Xu Yuan speculated, "Perhaps... without the suppression of the Equaling Heaven Society and the Repentance Cult, this drop of blood would have long since swelled into a gigantic monster of flesh and blood!"

After considering Xu Yuan's words in light of the actions of the Pingtian Society and the Chan Sect, everyone agreed: "That might actually be true..."

The Great Sage Equaling Heaven left behind a drop of blood, perhaps in an attempt to multiply it into a new clone.

The Repentance Cult does not allow this to happen.

Zhu Zhanlei poked it with the pen, but this time the flesh didn't budge.

“It’s awful,” Zhu Zhanlei said.

The flesh and blood dried up quickly, turning into jerky under everyone's watchful eyes, and then crumbled into a pile of dust.

Instead, the symbol existed out of thin air for a moment before slowly disappearing.

"Does Qiao Jin know the Pingtian Society's next move?"

"He didn't know, but he confessed that the one who wanted to lure the Great Sage Equaling Heaven to ascend to the status of a mortal god was the Lord of Iniquity."

"If successful, his secular divine title will be Lord of the Gou Temple."

Qiao Jin guessed that the master must have a backup plan for this operation.

"The leader of the Pingtian Society is a fourth-rate cultivator who practices the secret method of 'Becoming a Demon.' To advance to the third-rate level, he must make great contributions; otherwise, the Lord of the Defiled would never pass on the subsequent methods to him."

"But the true confidant of the Lord of the Plain Heaven Society is named Li Xiong."

"The Lord of the Filth planted something in Li Xiong's body. That thing craved the filth and dirt of the world and lived in Li Xiong's body for ten years, but Qiao Jin still couldn't figure out what this thing was for."

Mao Dabing then shared some of the intelligence he had gleaned from the interrogation of the Pingtian Society, focusing on the Society Leader's "Magic of Becoming a Demon." He concluded by saying, "According to Qiao Jin's deduction, if the Society Leader had taken any action, he should have already infiltrated Champa today."

Xu Yuan nodded and said, "Everyone, tell your men to keep a close watch. If you find anything, report it to each other immediately."

"Okay," everyone agreed in unison.

They all went back. Xu Yuan left the duty room and went to the backyard to knock on the door of Master Miaoyan's room.

"It's me, the real person."

Miao Yan opened the door and stood at the entrance, looking at Xu Yuan with a questioning look in her eyes.

There was no intention to invite Lord Xu inside.

"The Pingtian Society has arrived."

Miao Yan Zhenren hummed in agreement, still looking at him the same way.

"We have to strike first; we can't wait for them to finish setting everything up."

"Alright." Master Miaoyan finally spoke, understanding Xu Yuan's meaning. She came out and closed the door: "Let's go."

Xu Yuan nodded and led Miao Yan Zhenren towards the back door.

Upon reaching the door, Xu Yuan frowned and said, "Master, could you... perhaps conceal your attire a little?"

Such a radiant and beautiful Taoist nun is the center of attention wherever she goes.

After thinking for a moment, Master Miaoyan took out a mask from her sleeve and put it on her face.

The mask wriggled and contracted, adapting to Miao Yan Zhenren's face.

Xu Yuan looked again and saw that the beautiful Taoist nun had turned into an ordinary-looking, yellow-faced woman.

Xu Yuan smiled, and the two of them went out and walked out along the back alley of the yamen.

On the way, Xu Yuan whispered to Master Miaoyan as they walked, "The leader of the Pingtian Society is a fourth-rate magic cultivator who practices the 'Becoming Magic Technique.' It is said that he has already mastered six Mad Demon Shadows, each with a unique innate trickery. However, we only know four of them so far: 'Whispering Erosion,' 'Close-to-Body Possession,' and so on..."

Miao Yan Zhenren said calmly, "It's not important."

Xu Yuan choked for a moment, then thought about how Richard, who was of roughly the same skill level, couldn't last three moves against Miao Yan Zhenren, so he could only nod and say no more.

But Miao Yan suddenly stopped, turned around and stared at Xu Yuan's backside, her big almond-shaped eyes full of curiosity.

Xu Yuan awkwardly grabbed Dafu by the neck and pulled him out: "This is my pet."

"Oh, very cute." It was rare for Miao Yan Zhenren to say more than a few words to someone she didn't know well.

……

After finding the "unawakened body," the three leaders went to the Little West Temple, looked around, and observed for an hour before heading towards the center of the city and arriving outside the Champa government office.

After observing for about half an hour, he left and inquired about the brothels, casinos, slave markets, and prisons in the city.

Li Xiong was already impatient, rubbing his hands together as he asked, "Master, where shall we begin tonight?"

The leader already had a plan in mind: "Start with the prefect."

The government office is well-defended; I need half an hour.

We'll make our move before dark. I'll use the Mad Demon Shadow to devour his soul and seize control of the Prefect's Seal. Then you can eat as much as you want.

"Once you reach the fourth rank, we'll unseal the Holy Blood and unleash the Burning Dream Gu!"

Li Xiong was overjoyed and asked, "If we succeed tonight, and the Scoundrel devours the Great Sage Equaling Heaven to ascend to the status of a mortal god, will we all be granted the privilege of following the Scoundrel into the temple and being worshipped?"

Even a god in the secular world is still a god.

Entering a temple and being enshrined as an official means becoming a subordinate of a worldly deity. Although one cannot be called a god, one's status will be greatly elevated, and one can even borrow the power of worldly deities when traveling.

The Lord smiled and answered affirmatively, "Yes, Lord, you always keep your word."

"Hahaha, that's great!" Li Xiong laughed.

But in their hearts, both the leader and Song Lin were actually saying: You won't.

You will surely die after tonight.

The master of the association will not enter the temple. Once this matter is accomplished and the subsequent methods are available, one can be promoted to the third rank.

What's the point of entering the temple? To be a dog of the vile Lord for eternity?

Song Lin, like Li Xiong, was eager to enter the temple and was convinced that he would succeed tonight.

The Lord began planning decades ago, and all preparations culminate in tonight.

Moreover, Song Lin was well aware of how terrifying the Lord of the Scoundrels was.

Outsiders say that Champa is an "inauspicious place" for the Pingtian Society.

Even the Great Sage Equaling Heaven believed it and deliberately revealed a flaw in the city of Champa.

But Song Lin always suspected: Is it possible that the master deliberately made you think that way?

The leader of the association used the Mad Demon Shadow to control the prefect. With the imperial seal in hand, he could command the "public opinion" within the city.

Where is this "public opinion" reflected?
This is embodied in "Lingxiao"!
Public opinion is also a kind of subconsciousness. The public opinion of the entire Champa is a behemoth in Lingxiao!
Each individual's will is reflected in the Lingxiao Palace, but the collective will of the whole is also reflected in the Lingxiao Palace.

Having obtained the imperial seal, one is now invincible in the Heavenly Palace.

This is an extension of the imperial court's authority.

Then, the "Dream-Burning Gu" was used to open the Lingxiao Palace, and the Holy Blood was used to lock the location of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven.

Next step: Release Li Xiong.

Li Xiong was trained by the master for ten years, specifically to deal with the Great Sage Equaling Heaven.

The moment the Great Sage Equaling Heaven fled into the Heavenly Palace, the Lord of the Gou began to make this plan.

The final step is to awaken the "unawakened body" of the tainted master.

The leader said, "The time is not yet right," but Li Xiong did not understand what he meant.

Because once awakened, it will attract the dreadful Lord.

The filth master is in an abnormal state and cannot easily emerge.

Therefore, only after confirming that the Great Sage Equaling Heaven is powerless to resist will the Lord of Grievance descend.

This plan was meticulously crafted, leaving the Monkey King with nowhere to escape.

The previous actions of Qiao Jin and his group were merely the Scoundrel's attempt to weaken the Great Sage Equaling Heaven a bit more.

Similar actions were originally planned to be carried out several more times.

But Qiao Jin failed, and to prevent any unforeseen complications, the ruler decided to launch the operation ahead of schedule.

The three returned to the government office.

Li Xiong kept thinking about where to start eating the whole way.

Asmru had been secretly following them all day.

Asmuru continued to write stories while tracking them.

The story contains various "coincidences" that led to the previous leader not noticing a blue-eyed barbarian following him.

That's what Asmru thought—but he didn't know he had a life spell on him.

The power of fate-telling comes from "ruling the world".

That's why the leader didn't discover him.

When the three leaders returned to the prefectural government office, Xu Yuan and Miao Yan Zhenren arrived.

Upon seeing Lord Xu, Asmru turned and went back on his own.

Xu Yuan and Master Miaoyan followed them all the way to the outside of the government office. Finally, Master Miaoyan couldn't help but ask, "Where should we make our move?"

"We'll take action right here at the government office."

There is a large square outside the main gate of the government office, and the government office is quite far away from other buildings in the surrounding area.

Taking action here can minimize the risk of harming innocent people.

and……

The prefect deliberately withheld the City God's golden seal, so Xu Yuan was about to take action outside the prefectural office to scare the prefect.

The three leaders waited patiently, so Xu Yuan wasn't in a hurry.

There are still pedestrians around now, but as it gets darker, there will be fewer and fewer.

Xu Yuan whispered to Miao Yan Zhenren, "Senior, when dealing with the sect leader, don't give him any chance. If you attract that filthy master, I'm afraid we won't be able to withstand it."

Miao Yan nodded, released the magic sword, and gently rubbed it in her palm.

As it was getting dark, the chairman stood up...

Xu Yuan hissed, "Make your move!"

The magic sword suddenly disappeared from the hand of Master Miaoyan!

Immediately following, a five-zhang-long giant sword hung in mid-air above the leader's head.

Brilliant lightning flowed down the magic sword like water.

Like a thunderous waterfall, it poured down on the leader's head with a roar!

The leader's physique was considered robust among ordinary people, but the Thunder River Waterfall was ten feet thick. When it drenched the leader, it made his body exceptionally transparent, revealing his internal organs and bones clearly!
Five mad demonic shadows burst forth from his body, but within the Thunder River Waterfall, they were as weak and powerless as bats, and were instantly melted away.

Song Lin was dumbfounded. This...this...this wasn't part of Lord Gou's plan!?

(End of this chapter)