This humble Taoist priest, Qianhe, begins his quest for immortality by slaying demons and monsters.

Chapter 182 Mid-stage Golden Core Realm, Ten Thousand Ghosts Emerge from the Underworld

The messenger had just left when a group of Maoshan elders arrived outside the main hall, including Xuanmingzi.

"Strange, just now there was clearly an aura comparable to a Golden Core Ghost King, but now it has disappeared. What audacity to dare to act so presumptuously in our Maoshan!"

Upon entering, Master Qian Yuan finished speaking with a hint of anger, and then looked around.

He felt a little more at ease when he saw Zhong Bai sitting cross-legged on the futon.

After all, they all understood that with Zhong Bai present, the likes of the Ghost King would certainly not dare to act recklessly.

"Elders, you have come at the right time. Just now, a netherworld official came to inform me that I have some matters to attend to and need to go down the mountain. I will leave Maoshan to you elders to handle the daily affairs."

After hearing what Zhong Bai said, the elders finally understood the source of the ghostly energy. It was a ghost official from the underworld. That was the only possibility. Otherwise, the Maoshan patriarchs would have captured this ghost king who had come without permission long ago. How could he have had the opportunity to come to the sect leader's hall?
"Rest assured, Master, we will certainly handle the Maoshan affairs well!"

Zhong Bai nodded, trusting the elders' words, and simply flew away on his sword.

......................................................

After leaving Maoshan, Zhong Bai did not immediately go to investigate the commission from the underworld.

Anyway, this kind of thing doesn't bother Zhong Bai. The underworld did give him a task, but it didn't give him a time limit.

Instead of searching all over the world, it's better to wait for trouble to come knocking. The Ghost Festival in July is just around the corner, and Zhong Bai doesn't believe those underworld messengers can hold back.

A remote mountain several hundred miles from Maoshan.

After Zhong Bai arrived, he floated in the void, sat cross-legged on the spirit sword, and planned to break through his own realm first before thinking about anything else.

"Let's try 500,000 Demon Exorcism Points!"

[Consume 50 Demon Extermination Points to exchange for 50 days of Divine Firmament Five Thunder Technique cultivation.]

In an instant, the surrounding winds and clouds changed, and countless streams of spiritual energy from heaven and earth surged toward Zhong Bai. With the Divine Firmament Five Thunder Technique operating at full power, the golden core within his body devoured the spiritual energy entering his dantian like a gluttonous beast, transforming it into pure true essence.

The surrounding spiritual energy surged in like a tide, and the mountain spirits and monsters within dozens of miles all looked up in Zhong Bai's direction. Feeling the oppressive aura that seemed to encompass heaven and earth, they all prostrated themselves, and some of the little ghosts were so frightened that they flew away into the distance.

Time passed slowly, and after a full eight hours, the true essence in Zhong Bai's body had completely filled the golden core in his dantian. The golden core, which was originally the size of a fist, instantly showed three patterns. The vitality emanating from the flowing patterns invigorated Zhong Bai's entire spirit!
"Golden Core Stage 3, Mid-stage..."

The surrounding spiritual energy had been almost completely absorbed. Zhong Bai slowly opened his eyes, feeling the changes within his body, and couldn't help but smile.

To break through from the Golden Core realm to the Nascent Soul realm, one needs to continuously refine the Golden Core, and the Core Patterns are of paramount importance.

Ordinary cultivators can only gain one or two more pill patterns each time they break through a realm. When they reach the Golden Core stage, those who have six pill patterns basically have the possibility of transforming into a Nascent Soul. Those with fewer than six pill patterns can be said to have no chance of becoming a Nascent Soul Dao Lord in this lifetime.

Zhong Bai was quite lucky. He gained three pill patterns on his first breakthrough. Three in the mid-stage of Golden Core, three in the late stage, and three at the peak. If he could reach the Golden Core Perfection stage, he would also gain three, for a total of twelve pill patterns. With such talent, breaking through to the Nascent Soul Dao Lord realm would be a sure thing.

Therefore, Zhong Bai was happy.

After finishing his breakthrough, Zhong Bai slowly got up from the spirit sword and shook his head as he looked at the sky, which had turned into night.

"Tomorrow night is the fifteenth of the seventh lunar month, the day the gates of hell open. I hope I won't disappoint you..."

After saying that, Zhong Bai disappeared into the void.

In Renjia Town.

Night of the 14th day of the seventh lunar month.

According to past customs, on this day, opera troupes would be invited to perform for the ghosts who came to the mortal world.

Normally, this kind of thing is commonplace for the people of Renjia Town, and no one would dare to risk their bad luck by coming to listen. But an unexpected incident occurred.

Inside the theater, Wen Cai's gaze was somewhat vacant. He was biting into a sugarcane and staring at the wonderful performance on the stage in front of him, chuckling to himself.

In a corner of the theater, several ghost messengers were intently discussing something while watching Wen Cai.

"Is he the scapegoat this time?"

Five ghost messengers, one of whom finished speaking, and another ghost messenger took over.

"This scapegoat is not bad; his master seems to be Lin Fengjiao, a disciple of Maoshan."

"Which underworld bank's head manager?"

"Yes, it's him!"

"So, this means that not only can we complete the mission assigned by our superiors—releasing a few ghost generals back to the mortal realm—we can also take this opportunity to extort money from this bank tycoon?"

"Hehehe, what a fat sheep..."

The ghost messengers had already set their sights on Wencai. As for why Wencai was so foolish, it was naturally related to them!
......................................................

Inside the mortuary, Lin Fengjiao had just finished burning the paper money she had printed during the day when she saw Qiusheng rushing towards her from outside the courtyard gate. His hurried appearance clearly indicated that something had happened.

"Master, something's happened!"

Lin Fengjiao, who had just finished burning paper money, frowned and said, "Don't rush, tell me slowly, what happened?"

Qiu Sheng, panting heavily, calmed down before saying, "Master, for some reason, Senior Brother Wencai suddenly went to the theater to listen to the play. That play is for ghosts! I tried to pull Senior Brother Wencai away, but he was like he was being carried. I couldn't pull him away, so I had to come back to you, Master."

Upon hearing this, Lin Fengjiao felt a tremor in her eyelids, as if something big was about to happen.

"quick!"

After uttering the word, Lin Fengjiao led Qiu Sheng quickly toward the stage.

When they arrived, the play in the theater was already halfway through.

Standing outside the stage, Lin Fengjiao looked rather grim, and she also noticed Wencai's unusual behavior.

"Qiusheng, something's not right. Take this red rope with you. My Taoist true energy is too strong. Entering the theater will easily disturb these spirits. Once you're inside, remember to stick the immobilization talisman on Wencai's forehead and carry him out."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Sheng nodded.

"Master, don't worry!"

After saying that, Qiu Sheng walked towards the stage. When he arrived, he opened his magic eye. At this moment, the stage was full of ghosts. Qiu Sheng suppressed his nausea and came behind Wen Cai. Just as he tugged at Wen Cai's sleeve, a female ghost in purple appeared in front of him in an instant.

Her beauty is truly rare.

Unfortunately, the current Qiu Sheng is no longer the Qiu Sheng of yesteryear. After seeing the female ghost, he merely glances at her and then pretends not to see her.

"Wencai, Wencai!"

She called out softly, but Wencai remained unmoved as if he hadn't heard her.

in the corner.

Several ghost messengers couldn't help but sneer at the sight.

"This Lin Fengjiao is really clever. She didn't come in herself but let a disciple at the third level of Qi Refining come in. It's just a pity that everything is under our control. Lin Fengjiao is determined to be the scapegoat!"

After speaking, a ghost messenger gave a signal with his eyes, and the purple-clad female ghost immediately understood. She exhaled a wisp of ghostly energy towards Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng, and in an instant, the eyes of the two of them became dazed.

Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai went straight towards the ghost messengers and, without hesitation, affixed the immobilization talismans to the foreheads of the five ghost messengers. At the same time, someone in the ghost horde shouted that the ghost messengers were immobilized and to run away, and the surrounding spirits immediately scattered in all directions.

Outside the theater, Lin Fengjiao was furious when she saw this scene. Her two disciples had been used as pawns by a purple-clad female ghost, allowing these ghosts to escape. These were tens of thousands of ghosts!

Without a second thought, Lin Fengjiao rushed into the stage, took off her Taoist robe, and threw it into the air. Hundreds of spirits were absorbed into the robe, but it was ultimately a drop in the ocean.

After all that work, they only managed to catch a few hundred ghosts; the rest had vanished without a trace.

At this moment, Qiu Shengwen, who was in the corner, realized what was happening. The two of them were still in a daze when they saw the immobilization talismans on the heads of the five ghost messengers in front of them spontaneously combust. Then, the five ghost messengers, who were immobilized, stared at the two of them and disappeared from the spot after letting out a cold snort.

"What are you two standing there for!"

Lin Fengjiao walked over with a somewhat helpless expression.

Seeing this, Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai knew they had made a grave mistake, and both lowered their heads, their faces pale.

Seeing this, Lin Fengjiao sighed.

"Alright, this is not your fault. That purple-clad female ghost possessed the late-stage Ghost Soldier realm, so it was easy for her to bewitch you two."

However, this matter is a bit difficult to handle..."

Lin Fengjiao looked at the spot where the ghost messengers had disappeared. How could she not know that she had been tricked?

With Qiu Sheng's mediocre skills, how could he possibly stick a talisman on a ghost messenger's forehead?

But what good is knowing? This is an open conspiracy. He can only stand outside the stage and watch. If he comes in to stop them, he will be the one to bear the consequences.

However... Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai are no different from him taking the blame; they all end up with the same result.

"Master, we..."

"No need to say anything more. Let's go back to the mortuary first. We'll deal with whatever comes our way. We'll find out what these ghost messengers are up to when they come to our door."

......................................................

In the mortuary.

Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai stood to one side with their heads down, while Lin Fengjiao, dressed in a bright yellow Taoist robe and holding a peach wood sword, waited for the ghost messenger to arrive in the center.

Five ghostly auras arrived, and five ghost messengers simultaneously appeared before Lin Fengjiao!
After taking a deep breath, Lin Fengjiao swallowed the mud pills that had been prepared beside her.

Humans have their own language, and ghosts have their own stories.

Not all ghost messengers speak human language as readily as they did when they met Zhong Bai.

"You gentlemen have come to visit, presumably for the sake of my two disciples..."

Lin Fengjiao got straight to the point, and the ghost messengers exchanged glances before a faint smile appeared on their lips.

“Master Lin, we did not want to bother you, but tens of thousands of spirits have escaped your control because of your disciple. How can we report back to our superiors?”

Therefore, the only recourse is to come to the mortuary to demand an explanation!

Lin Fengjiao listened, and even though she was extremely angry, what could she do?
The five ghost messengers in front of him were all at the Ghost General level, comparable to Foundation Establishment True Persons. The reason they could talk to him so calmly was that he was a disciple of Maoshan.

"How do you all intend to handle this matter?"

With a heavy heart and a sense of helplessness, Lin Fengjiao could only submit to being at the mercy of others.

"This matter is simple. Your two disciples immobilized us without permission, causing all the ghosts to escape. If you are willing to take your two disciples to the underworld for punishment, that is also acceptable."

Knowing full well that Lin Fengjiao would never agree, the ghost messenger still made the request.

"Lord Ghost Messenger, is there any other way to resolve this?"

"Other solutions?"
Very well, since you are a disciple of Maoshan, we are willing to give you this face.

"If you can capture the tens of thousands of escaped spirits within three days, this matter can be delayed."

"Not only that, Your Excellency also needs to give us some silver notes to take to the underworld to bribe the officials."

A ghost messenger picked up the conversation, and upon hearing this, Lin Fengjiao realized that the key point was coming.

Holding up two fingers, Lin Fengjiao asked, "Gentlemen, would twenty million silver notes be enough?"

The ghost messenger was unlikely to easily agree to a bargain.

"Fifty million!"

"Twenty-five million!"

"No, it has to be at least forty-five million!"

For a time, neither side was willing to back down, and an agreement was only reached after the price was negotiated down to 40 million.

With the results in hand, the ghost messengers immediately left the mortuary, while Lin Fengjiao, after standing up, appeared somewhat dejected.

The banknotes in the underworld are not printed randomly; there is a fixed quota. Trying to print more would deduct from Lin Fengjiao's karma. With just 40 million, five years of work as a bank manager would be for nothing.

"Master, we..."

Only after the ghost messengers left did Qiu Shengwen breathe a sigh of relief and begin to inquire about the outcome of their investigation.

"You two are safe for now, but this matter is not over yet. I need to gather my fellow disciples to resolve it."

Lin Fengjiao did not choose to tell Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai about the 40 million. In the end, this matter was aimed at him, and Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai were just tools.

Before the statue of the ancestral master, Lin Fengjiao sighed. Behind her, Zhe Gu slowly walked over. She had just learned what had happened from Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai.

"Senior brother, these ghost messengers are clearly deliberately letting those wandering spirits escape, and they're making you responsible? How can we tolerate this?"

Lin Fengjiao shook her head.

“Junior sister, we have no choice but to accept it. Otherwise, how can we save Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai? They have indeed placed the immobilization talisman on the foreheads of the underworld officials. If we don't do anything, Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai will probably lose their lives…”

Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhe fell silent.

"Alright, I have my own considerations about this matter. It's just a few years of good deeds, there's plenty of time in the future, no need to rush."

"Alas! What an undeserved calamity!"

After taking a deep breath, Lin Fengjiao took out her fellow disciples' summons and briefly explained her situation to them.

In the official road charitable estate.

It was late at night when Simu received the message and immediately got up and headed towards Renjia Town.

At the same time, Maoshan disciples from within a radius of two hundred miles, centered on Renjia Town, all flocked to it. They were willing to heed Lin Fengjiao's call to her fellow disciples, after all, Lin Fengjiao was only one step away from becoming a Foundation Establishment True Person, and there were quite a few Maoshan disciples who wanted to build a good relationship with her.

(End of this chapter)