Steam-powered martial arts: My virginity cultivation technique has been broken.

Red Lantern Temple.

Dozens of devotees knelt and worshipped the statue of the Black Pillar Celestial, offering their faith.

It's incredible that they didn't burn incense. These false gods don't absorb faith without limit either. First, it needs to be within the realm of gods. Second, they need to use props. Pure faith is just a person's thoughts, full of emotions and desires. If they forcibly absorb it, they will be contaminated. Incense, candles, paper money, and other such items can serve as carriers.

This is common sense in all religions. People hope that God can have mercy on mankind, but they do not want God to have his own likes and dislikes like humans do.

A thunderous crash rang out as Ku Ning, wielding a sharp blade, dragged a eunuch who looked like a dead dog into the temple. A Luo and Yang Huanxi followed behind.

"I'm here. Weren't you going to keep me here?"

Under Ku Ning's coercion, the eunuch revealed his origins and purpose. He did indeed have connections with Wang Ying, the eunuch in charge of mining taxes in Yanzhou, and was Wang Ying's adopted son.

A few years ago, when the Red Lantern Cult was at its most rampant, Wang Ying sent him to infiltrate the cult. Under the guise of being a bandit, he occupied this city of suffering and worshipped the Black Pillar Celestial Venerable. The reason was that three wandering Taoist priests had given Wang Ying a method for regenerating severed limbs.

"Wild Taoists" are imposters who lack official ordination certificates and stipends issued by the imperial court. These individuals often practice evil arts and practices, unacceptable to the general public, yet many high-ranking officials and nobles are deeply superstitious. The allure of the unknown is undeniable. Whether they are pursuing alternative trends or engaging in conspiracy theories, they directly or indirectly contribute to the growth of countless unorthodox and heretical sects.

That rebirth method requires the aid of folk beliefs, involving the severing of a portion of the Black Pillar Celestial Venerable, followed by a blood sacrifice to refine it into Blood Fiend. Once the Blood Fiend is formed, it is captured and used to make Spirit Blood Pills, which, when consumed, allow the severed limbs to regenerate.

Ku Ning was stunned. How could anyone believe such a morally reprehensible act?

Little did people know that ten years ago, a quack Taoist priest had tricked a mining tax eunuch in a coastal area into capturing three hundred children and extracting their hearts and livers to make elixirs. This caused widespread panic, and the people rose up in rebellion. The imperial court had no choice but to send troops to suppress the rebellion and had the eunuch involved executed by slow slicing.

These bloody lessons haven't even dried yet, and here someone is causing trouble again.

These eunuchs are physically disabled and psychologically twisted, yet they wield immense power, reporting only to their superiors and completely unrestrained. They should be confined to the palace and forbidden from leaving.

Since we've encountered such a heinous crime that has implicated us, we can't just ignore it.

This time, it was the Blood Fiend, who could no longer be called the Black Pillar Celestial Venerable, who sensed the Xuanhuang aura on Ku Ning's body, became greedy, and tried to absorb him.

Humanity's research into the aura is still in its early stages. The reason for this is that, over the millennia, all civilizations on this continent have experienced three severe periods of discontinuity.

The first was known as the Volcanic Age, when lava eruptions covered 90% of the landmass, destroying almost all civilizations. The second was the Ice Age, when abnormal solar phenomena caused a sharp drop in temperature, putting the world on pause and resulting in the deaths of billions of lives. Remnants of this civilization can still be found on the icy northern continents. The final was the Great Flood Age, when the moon approached, triggering a cataclysmic flood. The remains of this submerged civilization can still be found on the seabed.

Some speculate that this was because certain races touched upon uncontrollable energy, incurring divine punishment. Therefore, from the beginning of this stage of civilization, the research on energy essentially stagnated. Later, with the formulation of policies that used true energy and demonic energy to determine identity and race, energy became basically fixed, and no one wanted to be an outcast.

This situation only began to loosen after the mechanical revolution, for example, the artificial spirits created by priests were the study and application of different auras.

Some sorcerers have conducted research and found that, apart from some top-tier cultivation techniques, ghostly energy is of a higher level than most true energy and demonic energy, and its equivalent is the primordial yang energy within the human body. Xuanhuang energy can arouse the desire for bloodlust, and its level is naturally higher than ghostly energy.

As soon as Ku Ning stepped into the temple, several sharp, piercing gazes came from all directions: "And there's more than one. Are they not even pretending anymore?"

Three wandering Taoist priests dressed in blue robes appeared at the top of the temple and at the two corners of the eaves. The one at the highest point said, "First-rank martial artists are rare here. Are you a lackey of the imperial court?"

Ku Ning's expression was serious, taking the situation seriously. The moment these three appeared, he knew they were unorthodox sorcerers. The one at the top could see through his cultivation level, meaning he himself was likely above the third rank. The path of a sorcerer was far more difficult than that of martial arts; reaching the third rank wasn't something that could be achieved through mere effort, but rather required a large amount of resources. These individuals weren't independent cultivators; they likely had the backing of an organization or a family/sect.

After the previous incidents, Ku Ning had grown accustomed to this plague-ridden world, a place rife with conspiracies and traps. Even if he didn't provoke others, they would find reasons to cause him trouble. The strong survive, the weak are devoured. The fault wasn't his, but the world's.

In this divine realm, he did not rashly activate his third spiritual vision, unlike A Luo who was suppressed. He had already seen a scene similar to the perspective of his third spiritual vision under the martial artist's eyesight without activating it. It was a space composed of qi and rules, and everything except people had an illusory feel to it.

He was certain it wasn't a hallucination, but a real alternate dimension, though it was too weak.

Activating the third spiritual vision, which also involves space, could very likely disrupt this fragile spatial balance and create unknown dangers: "This blood demon is extraordinary. The ghost realms of ordinary ghost races can only distort space based on reality, but I didn't expect it to have the ability to construct space. This scene is not as detailed and magnificent as what I saw with the third spiritual vision, but it is still not something an ordinary person could do."

"I wonder who's in charge here—that Blood Fiend, or those three wild Taoists?"

Ku Ning pondered this in his mind, then tentatively asked the three men, "Which sect, which family, or clan are you from? A third-rank sorcerer and two fifth-rank sorcerers, engaging in such shady dealings in this godforsaken wasteland—aren't you afraid of being investigated by the imperial court and having your families wiped out?"

"Ha, just as I thought, a lackey of the imperial court!"

The third-rank sorcerer at the highest point sneered, spat, and spun a topped spinner with his fingertip, sending crimson flames flying: "Die! In the Blood Fiend's domain, even a first-rank sorcerer will be suppressed!" The other two also used their magic to assist, their tops attacking, their tips glowing red-hot like shooting stars. Seeing that they were even more eager to attack than he was, Ku Ning said, "You've brought this upon yourself. Isn't it better to live? Don't play with fire and get burned!"

"Second strike, Wind and Fire!"

With a crisp clang, the cleaver blocked the rapidly spinning top. The crimson flames on it, eroded by the cleaver's energy, were transformed and used to launch a rapid counterattack.

"What's going on! Why isn't your power being suppressed?!"

The three were terrified. Ku Ning, of course, knew why! Leaving aside his physique, transformed by the Xuanhuang Qi, which naturally countered ghosts and gods, the black true energy born from his reverse practice of the Boy's Virginity Technique was in no way weaker than ghostly energy. The Boy's Virginity Technique was based on primordial yang, and the reverse practice of the Boy's Virginity Technique was based on it. How could this divine realm possibly suppress him!

Ku Ning vanished from his spot, following the blood fire upwards, closing in on the three, instantly eliminating the two weaker ones, leaving only the third-rank one behind.

"Now you can tell me your origins and purpose!"