Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 311 Returning to the Mountains and Ending the Lineage
After bidding farewell to the old mountain master, Fang Shu didn't linger outside the mountain gate any longer and headed straight for the Five Internal Organs Temple.

After he sent out the signal outside the mountain gate, he waited for less than a day before members of the Jin family appeared to meet him.

However, contrary to Fang Shu's expectations, entering the mountain was much more troublesome than leaving.

Even with the Jin family as a cover, the other party not only took out Fang Shu's waist token, but also made him demonstrate the inner sect techniques of the Five Internal Organs Temple, and used unknown methods to circle around his storage bag, but did not make him open the bag to check.

Moreover, the person conducting the inspection, although his face was covered, was clearly a seasoned veteran of the temple's internal affairs department, with sharp eyes and definitely not someone to be trifled with.

After the inspection, Jin Duobao presented Fang Shu with a heavy storage bag. Fang Shu weighed it in his hand for a few moments, then put it into his sleeve before leading Fang Shu into the formation and back into the temple.

Having successfully passed through the protective mountain formation, Jin Duobao and Fang Shu both breathed a sigh of relief.

The other party smiled and said, "Brother Fang, you have been traveling with ease and composure. I suppose you have handled your visit to relatives well."

Fang Shu immediately cupped his hands in greeting to Jin Duobao:
"Thank you for your kind words, Brother Duobao. It has indeed been handled properly."

He paused, then became serious:

"This time, Brother Duobao, as a direct descendant of the Jin family, acted as my guarantor, which cost me a lot of money."

This is a favor I owe Brother Duobao. If I need anything in the future, I hope you won't hesitate to ask!

Upon hearing this, Jin Duobao's smile widened even further.

He said excitedly, "No problem, no problem. Between brothers like us, why be so polite? What's with all this talk of personal relationships?"

However, it was obvious that upon hearing Fang Shu's words, the man's steps quickened, and he was quite satisfied with Fang Shu's attitude.

Especially since Jin Duobao gave the money right in front of Fang Shu without any attempt to hide it, and Fang Shu hasn't brought up the matter of repaying the spirit stones yet.

Based on his understanding of Fang Shu, he realized that Fang Shu had clearly included these spirit stones in the debt as a favor, which was why he didn't pretend to offer to use spirit stones to settle the debt.

During several casual conversations, the two grew even closer after this incident.

But just as Fang Shu was about to take his leave and return to his cave to rest, Jin Duobao suddenly hesitated, then called him back after a moment's thought.

The man made a hand seal, isolating himself from those around him, and whispered:
"Brother Fang has been gone for half a month, and there are some things he doesn't know about in the temple. I'd better give him a heads-up first, so that you won't be tricked and used without knowing what's going on."

Fang Shu raised an eyebrow and cupped his hands in greeting: "Brother Duobao, please speak."

Jin Duobao said:

"Right now, the Xuanjiao envoy is coming from the east and Fudang Mountain is pressing in. Our temple has also gone up to the ancient Lushan Mountain. The whole temple has been affected by a lot of evil spirits. Even the temple master has disappeared in a daze. It's really strange."

According to my Jin family ancestor, the Foundation Establishment Immortals in the temple, when gathered together, couldn't even remember the names of the five sect leaders. They only confirmed that the five sects of Mount Lu did indeed have sect leaders and temple masters, each a true immortal who established their lineage.

The man sighed softly: "Alas, but right now there are no true immortals... Beset by internal and external troubles, the five sects of Mount Lu are probably on the verge of collapse."

Therefore, many of the deities in the temple are now arguing about disbanding and extorting money from each other.

Furthermore, many others were discussing whether to simply pledge allegiance to the Xuanjiao envoy and become his henchmen, rather than let Fudang Mountain and the other sects seize the initiative and ultimately become the target of a warning to others.

Fang Shu was stunned when he heard this, feeling quite taken aback.

At this moment, he couldn't help but recall the scene on the ancient Mount Lu, where the five sects of Mount Lu were united in purpose and full of vitality.

The scenes from that time seemed to be right before his eyes.

How come after only a few dozen days, the five sects of Mount Lu are about to collapse and scatter, even willingly surrendering to outsiders and becoming lackeys and henchmen of the Xuanjiao?

Despite his initial shock and bewilderment, Fang Shu quickly regained his composure, merely revealing a slight look of surprise on his face.

After all, he knew about the various scenes on Mount Lu, but the others knew nothing about them.

Such a scene of disintegration and mutual animosity among the five factions seems to be a logical development.

With a sigh, Fang Shu simply said, "My Five Internal Organs Temple should have flourished after experiencing the secret realm, but who would have thought it would end like this."

"Who says otherwise? I reckon that the Moral Mystic Sect is probably just trying to take advantage of us after seeing how much we gained from our adventures in the Lushan Secret Realm."

Jin Duobao spoke up, then added, "But these are matters for the Earth Immortals above to worry about; there's no need for you and me to concern ourselves with them."

"And Brother Fang, you should be worrying about other things right now; this matter is far more important to you than the others."

Fang Shu raised his eyes: "May I ask what it is?"

Immediately, Jin Duobao slowly recounted some matters concerning the Gu Hall, causing Fang Shu's expression to darken and a cold glint to flash in his eyes.

In front of this friend who had helped him, he made no attempt to hide his anger and sneered:

"Good, good, good! There are actually people who dare to eat the blood of the destitute, daring to mess with my Gu Hall."

I, a celestial being from the Gu Hall, was severely injured for the sake of this temple, which led to my current state!

When Jin Duobao saw that Fang Shu, who was usually calm, was also so emotionally exposed, the quick-witted Jin Duobao immediately understood that Fang Shu not only regarded him as a true friend, but was also extremely angry.

Fearing that Fang Shu might act impulsively, he quickly glanced around and offered some advice:
"Do not get angry, do not get angry."

Jin Duobao pulled Fang Shu to a less conspicuous corner and earnestly comforted him:

"What can we disciples do about the infighting among the Earth Immortals? Besides, the temple has temporarily suspended our Foundation Establishment process. Brother Fang, please be patient. Once we have established our foundations, we will naturally be able to seek justice."

Otherwise, no matter how much potential we have, it will all be for nothing once we die.

"At this juncture, Brother Fang, please remain secluded in your cave. If you encounter any trouble, please remember to visit my Jin family. I guarantee those troublemakers won't dare to enter. As for those from the Gu Hall who wish to seek your help, Brother Fang, please refuse to see them all, lest you become deeply entangled and unable to extricate yourself."

The man shook his head and sighed:
"You should know that Long Gu's eldest disciple, who is now the chief heir of the Gu Hall, avoids these sordid matters and doesn't care about them at all. He is wise and cunning."

Brother Fang, although you are also a disciple of the Dragon Maiden Immortal Clan, you are still inferior to her in rank. There's no need to be angry, no need to be angry.”

Upon hearing this, Fang Shu's eyes grew even colder.

However, he took a few deep breaths and cupped his hands towards Jin Duobao, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Brother Jin."

Such matters are indeed only those at the Foundation Establishment stage who are qualified to resolve.

"Indeed." Seeing that Fang Shu was still quite rational, Jin Duobao nodded, feeling somewhat relieved.

Then, the man chatted with Fang Shu for a while and invited Fang Shu to come to Duobao Hall to see him if he had any free time, since everyone was pretty much free now.

The two then parted ways. Watching Jin Duobao leave, Fang Shu stood there, but slowly narrowed his eyes.

"Only Foundation Establishment Immortals are qualified," he muttered to himself, a cold laugh immediately creeping into his heart.

Now, isn't Fang a genuine Foundation Establishment Immortal? And his foundation is far beyond what those guys in the temple who are just sitting there building foundations can compare to.

These guys really messed with the right people!
Fang Shu pondered, "In that case, the news of the Dragon Master's passing must have already been confirmed in the temple, which is why the other Foundation Establishment Immortals dared to reach out and start dividing up all the wealth of the Gu Hall."

As a disciple of the Gu Hall, and with the Dragon Maiden Immortal having a master-disciple relationship with him, he could not allow such petty people to succeed.

After all, everything in the Gu Hall belongs to his fellow disciples, and he should have a share of their possessions!
In addition, Fang Shuxin was also relieved.

Fortunately, he risked going out and managed to establish his foundation ahead of time. Otherwise, he would be helpless in the face of such a frustrating situation and would have no choice but to prioritize self-preservation.

Fang Shu's eyes immediately flickered.

He changed his mind about returning to his cave to rest first, and instead rushed towards the location of Senior Sister Fang Lu's hermitage.

When he arrived at the entrance of the hermitage, he did not find Fang Lu.

Since that was the case, he inquired around the temple and confirmed some of the rumors about the Gu Hall before heading straight to its location.

Whoosh!

When Fang Shu arrived at Gu Tang Valley with ease, he found that the protective array of the entire valley had already risen up and transformed into a barrier.

This sight initially relieved him, as he assumed that the disciples and servants of the Gu Hall had activated the formation to isolate the inside from the outside in order to prevent it from being swallowed up by others.

However, when he got closer, he found that the situation was not as he had imagined.

On the contrary, unfamiliar faces were standing at the entrance to the valley, blocking the valley road.

And every now and then people would emerge from the valley, each carrying something in their hands, their storage bags at their waists bulging.

"Be careful, everyone. These are all evil things in here. If they're released, they might crawl into our bodies."

Voices rang out one after another among the disciples:
"Pah! These snake-playing and insect-feeding bastards are always up to no good, they're a real jinx."

"If these things weren't perfect for feeding spirit pets, I really wouldn't bother coming here to plunder."

Fang Shu's gaze swept across the group, and he immediately recognized which faction they came from.

They were all members of the Beast Hall, specializing in controlling demonic beasts and raising pets.

Compared to the Gu Hall, the Beast Hall is quite similar to the Gu Hall in most aspects, except for the different types of living creatures it raises and controls.

And just as those disciples who carried it said.

The Gu worms cultivated by the immortals of the Gu Hall are often a great tonic for certain demonic beasts and spirit pets, especially birds, as they can accelerate the growth of demonic beasts and even assist in breaking through realms.

In this way, Fang Shu could understand why it was the people from the Beast Hall who were so eager to come and devour the extinct members of their Gu Hall!

Looking around the vast Gutang Valley, Fang Shuyi understood as well.

The reason why all the formations in the valley were activated was probably to prevent the disciples of the Gu Hall from running around recklessly, dividing up the spoils in secret, or even giving up and letting many Gu worms in the Gu Hall escape.

With the formation surrounding them, all the disciples and Gu worms in the Gu will be trapped like turtles in a jar, with none able to escape.

The fact that such a large-scale invasion could occur within the territory of a sect shows that the current state of affairs is indeed chaotic, with the various immortals preoccupied with their own problems and growing increasingly disunited.

After careful consideration, Fang Shu no longer hesitated.

He swayed and appeared in front of the passage into the valley. Without concealing his figure, he flicked his sleeve and fiercely overturned the Beast Hall disciples who were carrying Gu worms and Gu pools.

"How dare you blockade the Gu Hall and steal our supplies!" Fang Shu shouted coldly.

He immediately took action, breaking open the jars and pools that contained the Gu worms and releasing a large number of them.

Buzzing, hissing.

The worms flew and crawled around wildly.

A scream rang out at the scene, followed by screams of agony.

The venomous insects bite anyone they see.

"Who! Who dares to lay a hand on me?"

The disciples of the Beast Hall roared, filled with shock and anger.

But when they looked up and saw Fang Shu, many of them immediately recognized him, their expressions changed, and some even broke out in a cold sweat.

It should be noted that Fang Shu, a ruthless character who emerged from the secret realm and personally crushed a Foundation Establishment seed at the Dry Bone Temple, is someone they absolutely cannot afford to provoke.

"How did this ruthless person come out of seclusion? Wasn't it said that he had never shown his face and had been hiding like a coward?"

The disciples of the Beast Hall exclaimed inwardly, "Damn it! I told you we shouldn't come to guard the gate. Not only is there no profit to be made, but we're also going to get killed!"

Given the current situation, if these outer disciples were killed by Fang Shu, they would truly have died in vain.

However, Fang Shu was too lazy to pay attention to these beast hall henchmen. It would be enough to knock down some Gu worms and let them suffer on their own.

He flashed his waist token and darted past the Beast Hall disciples, directly entering the valley's formation.

The formation did not hinder him for even a moment.

Soon, the dilapidated valley scene inside the Gu Hall came into his view.

Those once gloomy and gnarled forests have all been dug up, and the corpses of snakes and insects that used to roam freely in the forests are everywhere, a truly deplorable state.

As Fang Shu rushed to the front of the Gu Hall and looked at the desolate hall building, a rather familiar aura suddenly appeared in his perception.

The other person was sitting calmly and steadily in the hall, using the stone carvings of the Gu Hall as a screen, and was diligently writing in a book.

All items looted and dismantled from the Gu Hall must first be inspected by this person and approved before they can be moved away.

Not only did the disciples from the Beast Hall fawn over this person, but the familiar faces in the Gu Hall also held him in the utmost reverence and tried to curry favor with him.

(End of this chapter)