Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 317 Everyone Has the Legacy of Dead Skin
After Fang Shu left, the small temple was silent.

Lu Che Di Xian stood at the door, watching Fang Shu's departing figure, his face filled with emotion, and he remained silent for a moment.

Still behind him, voices broke the silence of the temple from the offering table:

"Such a seed of immortality, formed from a elixir, is it really going to be sent away like this?"

The voice was a buzzing sound; it was the ox-headed, human-bodied earth immortal speaking.

Judging from his tone, he didn't seem to be opposed to Lu Che's decision, but rather it sounded more like casual conversation.

Without needing the Deer Cart Earth Immortal to reply, the Sheep Cart Earth Immortal, who was also on the offering table, spoke up:
"What can we do if we don't send it away? If we leave it in the temple, not to mention that it might be discovered by someone with ulterior motives if we're not careful."

Even if it weren't discovered, Mount Lu's current fortune seems strong but is actually weak. Judging from ancient sayings, it will be at least three thousand years before a cultivator reaches the Spirit Refinement stage. Even if they succeed in achieving the elixir, it will be difficult. If even one such cultivator appears within three hundred years, we would be considered to have accumulated good karma.”

The other person shook his head, saying, "It's tough. Following us old folks will only delay these kids' development."

Upon hearing this, the Earth Immortal of the Ox Cart fell silent.

At this moment, the Deer Chariot Immortal finally turned around. He looked at his two fellow disciples and sighed softly:
"Seeking gold to prove the Dao... I wonder how the temple master and the others crossed this threshold back then."

"These past few days, I've searched through all the temple's scriptures, but apart from the immortal's name card I just gave that kid, I haven't found a single trace of the temple master and his group's request for gold back then."

The Earth Immortal Luche smiled wryly: "The waters here feel far too deep. It seems that knowing them could lead to great karmic consequences."

Upon hearing this, the other two Earth Immortals also had darkened gazes.

After a long while, the oxcart immortal belatedly emitted a buzzing sound:

"Old Deer, is that why you didn't directly pass on the Corpse Dissection Dao to that kid?"

The Deer Chariot Immortal snapped out of his daze and nodded:

"Rather than letting that young man be burdened with karma and burdened with too many karmic debts, it is better to let him leave cleanly and without any trouble, so as not to be burdened with too many responsibilities and hinder his cultivation."

He paused, then said in a low voice, "Besides, the inheritance we have received is only superficial. Rather than misleading future generations, it would be better to let them go and take advantage of the legacy left by their predecessors when they truly reach the stage of seeking gold or refining the spirit."

The oxcart immortal muttered:
"Living like this is quite frustrating."

If he had known it would turn out this way, the old temple master would have preferred to swallow all of us old folks whole, so that he might be able to take that final step.

Even if they were defeated, they wouldn't have died silently and mysteriously in that place, Mount Lu, causing all these strange occurrences.

These words left the deer-drawn cart and the sheep-drawn cart looking at each other in bewilderment.

The Earth Immortal of the Sheep Cart spoke up: "Things have come to this point, why bother saying anything more?"

The Deer Chariot Immortal chuckled for a few moments, then rallied his spirits and said:

"Although the temple master is gone, the temple still exists."

Once it merges into the Xuanjiao sect and becomes a branch of the Xuanjiao sect, perhaps the atmosphere of the five sects of Mount Lu can be purified again, and many things will no longer need to be hidden.

Even if we serve as dogs under the Xuanjiao sect, we are still loyal guard dogs, worthy of this lineage. Gentlemen, please do not lose heart.”

The oxcart and sheepcart heard this, remained silent for a few moments, and then each uttered a single word:
"good."

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

the other side.

After leaving the Five Internal Organs Temple, Fang Shu rode the peach blossom smoke and clouds straight to the Gu Hall.

When he flew over the Gu Hall, he saw that the Gu Hall Valley had changed drastically in just half a day, and he was surprised.

Inside the Gu Hall, many disciples are busily repairing it, with the Foundation Building Immortal personally overseeing the work, arranging affairs, and guarding against any mischief from petty villains.

After Fang Shufei arrived, the Earth Immortal opened his eyes, and after recognizing his identity, he closed his eyes slightly and used his divine sense to guide the people in the valley.

Seeing that the other party didn't like to talk, Fang Shu lowered himself down, simply bowed to the other party, and didn't bother them any further.

Not long after.

He found Fang Lu, Gou Yandi, and others near the Gu Hall.

A dozen or so disciples from the Gu Hall surrounded Fang Shu, and seeing that he was safe and sound, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Senior Brother Fang, you're finally back!"

"With Immortal Master Fang Shu in charge, our Gu Hall can finally hold its head high and no longer be looked down upon by other halls."

These ten or so people were those who had chosen to side with Fang Shu when the black rats wreaked havoc in the Gu Hall. Among them were Long Gu's nominal disciples, Qi Refiners from within the hall, and miscellaneous servants who refined essence.

Fang Lu, standing among them, also breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at Fang Shu and said with a smile, "It's good that you're back."

Fang Shu looked at the Gu Hall loyalists who had surrounded him.

A thought struck him, and he immediately reached for the deer-head token in his sleeve.

Fang Shu thought to himself, "Since these men dared to stand by my side during this turbulent time, how can I not reward them handsomely?"

If you don't use your power, it will expire!
Without further hesitation, he immediately issued an order to temporarily suspend the work of the Gu Hall disciples, gather all the staff together, and announce his decision and appointments.

"From now on, the affairs of this hall will be nominally supervised by the Earth Immortal Luche."

Fang Shu held the deer-head token in his hand and instructed: "As for the specific affairs of the hall, large and small, from today onwards, one chief and three deputy chiefs will be appointed."

He then selected four people from the crowd, and the first one he selected was Fang Lu.

This woman was the head of the Gu Hall appointed by him.

This kind of handpicked approach left Fang Lu himself quite astonished.

It should be noted that she wasn't originally a member of the Gu Hall; it was only after Fang Shu rose to prominence that she was gradually drawn into the Gu Hall. And now, she's suddenly become the head of a hall?
According to Fang Shu, the position of head of the department is like that of a half-master, as all the affairs of the department will pass through his hands.

In other words, as long as Lu Che Di Xian and Fang Shu do not show up, Fang Lu will be the most powerful person in the Gu Hall from now on!
This arrangement caused a stir among the disciples, many of whom were astonished. However, Fang Shu merely glanced at the scene, his gaze sweeping across it, and the crowd quickly quieted down.

The quick-witted waiter immediately cupped his hands and shouted, "I will obey the decree of Immortal Master Fang."

"Greetings, landlord!"

With these people leading the way, the other members of the Gu Hall also figured it out.

It should be noted that given the relationship between Fang Lu and Fang Shu, only she is truly qualified to sit in this position of authority!
"Greetings, Head of House!" Shouts rang out one after another at the scene.

Fang Shu surveyed the scene with satisfaction, and then appointed the three deputies and several leaders of various ranks in the hall one by one.

The dozen or so people who followed him all held official positions. Even the few spirit refinement servants among them were no exception.

Not only were the menial workers immediately promoted to outer disciples by Fang Shu, but since there were no suitable positions for Refinement disciples in the hall at the moment, Fang Shu casually mentioned it and created several positions for them. As a result, the dozen or so people around were all excited and overjoyed.

In stark contrast, the immortals who originally held their positions in the hall were all grieving as if they had lost their parents.

However, the charred corpses of Black Rat and the others were still piled up there, and they didn't dare to say anything more.

And soon, these immortals trembled violently. They no longer had time to grieve over the loss of their positions, but instead began to feel fear and apprehension, wondering if they could survive this calamity.

After appointing more than a dozen assistants, the first thing Fang Shu assigned them was not to repair the Gu Hall or count the valuables, but to thoroughly investigate all the immortals, big and small, in the Gu Hall and make sure everyone passed the test.

Including those who escaped from the Gu Hall.

Anyone who steals anything from the hall must not only return it all, but will also be whipped dozens or hundreds of times, depending on the severity of the crime, and may even be beaten to death!

Such menacing words caused some of the people present to turn pale, and some even collapsed to the ground on the spot.

Clearly, these people are not exactly clean.

Fang Shu glanced at these people but ignored them. He simply told the newly appointed staff to take up their posts immediately and get things done on the spot. Then he called Fang Lu into the hall for a private conversation.

In a quiet room.

Fang Lu initially had a smiling face, but after hearing Fang Shu's words, she suddenly stood up and asked in surprise, "What? We're leaving Mount Lu soon!?"

Fang Shu nodded and added:

"Don't worry, elder sister. I'm going to find a master to learn skills. However, I might be accused of being banished from the mountains. In that case, I won't be the only one leaving the mountains."

Fang Shu said in a deep voice, "That's why I'm recommending you as a disciple of Lu Che Di Xian."

Fang Lu slowly came to her senses from the message and immediately understood Fang Shu's meaning.

Now that Fang Shu is about to leave, the prestige he has established will fade in a few days, and one day he will surely be ignored.

Even the positions he established, such as those in charge, were inevitably interfered with by various local immortals within the temple, until another local immortal was born in the Gu Hall, capable of maintaining the temple's prestige once again.

However, a loosely organized Gu Hall without any Foundation Establishment Immortals might be exactly what other halls would welcome. They might even directly hinder the Gu Hall's disciples from achieving Foundation Establishment.

Therefore, Fang Shu would have to find another powerful backer for Fang Lu before leaving. With a powerful backer, even if the Gu Hall were to be disbanded, Fang Lu himself should be fine.

Having understood Fang Shu's good intentions, Fang Lu paced back and forth in the quiet room, her face filled with unease.

She spoke:
"What should we do... Sister, it's not like I don't have a master in the temple. Although my master is just a figurehead and has never cared about us, we've only met him a few times."

"But would that old immortal, Luchedi, even deign to look at me?"

By having Lu Che Di Xian become his disciple, Fang Shu was finding a powerful backer for Fang Lu.

Since the Immortal Luche even gave Fang Shu his waist token and said there was no need to return it, it shouldn't be too much for Fang Shu to use the token to help the Immortal take on a disciple.

After all, the other party had personally said that they would take care of the people around him. This move would also be a good opportunity to test whether what they said was true or not.

A multitude of thoughts raced through Fang Shu's mind.

But he only smiled and said:
"Of course I would approve. It just so happens that your name contains the character for 'deer,' and Master Lu's Taoist name also contains the character for 'deer.' Who knows if this isn't fate, destined for you two to become master and disciple?"

Fang Lu couldn't help but mutter to himself, "I spit out my anger under my breath."
"What divine will is there to speak of? It's probably not just your will."

Her eyes were sparkling, clearly filled with anticipation.

Fang Shu watched this scene with a smile.

With the protection of the Earth Immortal Luche and the merits stored in Fanglu's possession, as long as this woman's luck isn't too bad, she should be more than capable of becoming a foundation-building person in the temple.

In this way, not only will the person be safe and sound, but the Gu Hall will also be safe and sound, and even the Dugu Pavilion at the foot of the mountain will be safe and sound, so that they will not have to rely solely on the protection of outsiders.

Soon, Fang Lu snapped out of her elation and remembered what Fang Shu had said at the beginning about "leaving the mountain".

Her gaze towards Fang Shu suddenly turned into one of deep reluctance.

The woman's throat bobbed a few times, but she didn't say anything to persuade her to stay; she simply looked at her tenderly.

Then, the two talked for a while and finalized the matter of the apprenticeship.

When Fang Shu was about to leave, Fang Lu asked him to wait a moment, and hurriedly left the Gu Hall to retrieve a large pile of miscellaneous items.

All the debris was charred black, cracked, or in strange, solidified forms.

Fang Lu spoke up:

"The remains of the Earth Immortal Yan Ya have all been taken away by the immortals of Hutang. They asked us to help convey the message that it was not an intentional act of embezzlement, but rather that it was in accordance with the temple rules and they had no choice but to do so."

Fang Shu's expression was clear: "Hu Tang is right. Although Yan Ya was killed by me, we were fellow disciples and it was not a fight to the death. The temple would never allow the blatant seizure of his family's property after killing him, lest it encourage private feuds."

However, while one cannot openly seize other people's property, one can take it secretly.

Fang Shu narrowed his eyes but did not say these words aloud.

Fang Lu nodded and continued:

"These items were picked out by the disciples from the black rat's corpse. Unfortunately, not only was that guy's storage bag burned through, but even his spirit stones were burned to ashes. It burned for half a day and is still smoking now, leaving only these dead objects undamaged."

Please take a look, Master, and see if there's anything suitable.

Fang Shu listened, but didn't take it seriously, intending to just glance at it a few times.

It should be known that he used his seductive charm to burn the black rat, and even if the rat had one or two Foundation Establishment talismans on it, it would be burned to ashes.

It's a pity about the other party's soul; perhaps it could contain some information about the secret realm's inheritance.

Suddenly.

"Huh." Fang Shu scanned the clutter with his divine sense and actually found flesh and blood among them.

"It hasn't been burned completely yet?" he wondered inwardly.

Immediately, Fang Shu had a thought and captured the object.

The object was only the size of a palm, leathery in appearance, with a human skin texture, and should be from a black rat, but it was unclear whether it was scalp or face skin.

On this skin, there are faint, grayish, gnarled characters, barely visible, obscuring the treasure and making them difficult to discern.

Upon seeing this item, Fang Shu was immediately overjoyed.

Needless to say, this item must be the heirloom that the Black Rat obtained in the Lushan Secret Realm, which is why it was able to withstand the burning of the Enchanting Bone Yang-Stealing Fire for half a day!
After examining it, Fang Shu probed it with his divine sense, but failed to unleash the mysteries of the skin. No divine thoughts emerged from within, as if it were just a dead skin.

(End of this chapter)