Old Refining Spirit

Li Xuangeng silently calculated in his heart, "Once a few unsightly weeds are removed, the real big fish will naturally be unable to restrain themselves and jump out."

As night deepened, the Temple of Creation, amidst the turmoil of the capital, resembled a solitary, dim yet inextinguishable lamp, quietly awaiting the next moth to stumble upon it.

The view of creation, a secret room in the backyard.

Li Baizhi pushed open the door and entered, carrying a bowl of thick, black medicine that emitted a pungent, bitter smell. The moment she stepped into the secret room, she couldn't help but shiver.

The room was frighteningly cold, and the blue brick floor was covered with a strange layer of black frost.

Li Xuangeng sat cross-legged on the cold jade bed, his white fox fur cloak having fallen to the ground. Beneath that spotless, moon-white Daoist robe, a chilling transformation was taking place.

On the back of his right hand, faint, dark purple scales appeared; his originally long, white fingernails had become sharp and razor-sharp, like those of a wild beast, carving deep furrows into the cold jade bed.

Even more terrifying, black blood was seeping from the white silk covering his eyes. His once pure and righteous [Creation True Qi] was now locked in a fierce battle with an extremely vast and violent ancient demonic energy within his body!

"Senior brother!" Li Baizhi was so frightened that she dropped the medicine bowl, tears welling up in her eyes. She rushed over without hesitation, continuously channeling the pure Medicine King Valley Qi from her body into his back.

"Don't... touch me."

Li Xuangeng suddenly opened his eyes. Through the white silk soaked with black blood, his voice was hoarse and low, carrying a hint of a beastly growl: "Get out! This humble Taoist is... very hungry now."

His scaly hand gripped his thigh tightly, his nails digging deep into his flesh, using extreme physical pain to maintain his "absolute rationality."

"Waaah... I won't go out!" Li Baizhi cried, her face streaked with tears, but she clung tightly to his trembling body. She pulled three extremely long golden needles from her medicine box and, without hesitation, pierced them into the top of his head. "You've eaten so many thousand-year-old demons, do you really think the Creation Furnace is omnipotent? You're refining demons, and the demonic energy is refining you too! The 'Pure Dao Aura' on your body is almost rotten! If you keep eating like this, you'll become a monster just like them!"

As the golden needles entered his body, Li Xuangeng shuddered violently. The scales on his fingertips receded slowly like a tide, and the rampant demonic energy was forcibly suppressed back into the furnace deep within his dantian.

He leaned against the wall, exhausted, panting heavily. His face, beneath the white silk, was deathly pale, like a fragile piece of porcelain.

"Little crybaby, you were crying too loudly." Li Xuangeng weakly forced a smile, raised his hand, which had returned to normal, and gently wiped away her tears. "I know what's going on. It's just that I've been eating too many different kinds of food lately, and I'm having some indigestion."

He looked at his slightly trembling palms, a deep shadow passing through his eyes.

He knew Bai Zhi was right. The stronger the Forge of Creation became, the harder it was for him to control his craving for "flesh and blood." He was slaying dragons, but he was also inevitably growing the scales of evil dragons. If he couldn't find a way to suppress the karmic obstacles within him, losing control was only a matter of time.

Just then, Gu Qingfeng's hurried footsteps came from outside the secret room.

"Daoist Master! Something terrible has happened!" Gu Qingfeng stood outside the door, his voice filled with barely concealed anxiety. "The delegation from the Heavenly Wolf Kingdom has arrived in the capital. Leading them is the Heavenly Wolf Kingdom's High Shaman—'Blood-Eyed Witch Master' Ulanba!"

Li Xuangeng forced himself to sit up straight, letting Bai Zhi wipe the cold sweat from his face with a hot towel: "Is a mere envoy from a barbarian state worth making such a fuss about, as a judge of the Court of Judicial Review?"

"Daoist Master, you are unaware of this," Gu Qingfeng said through gritted teeth, "This Ulanba didn't come to negotiate peace at all; he came to cause trouble! He brought a 'Greedy Wolf Blood Totem,' set up a arena on Zhuque Street, and claimed he would challenge all the state religious masters of the Great Abyss Dynasty. In just half a day, the dozen or so experts from the Imperial Observatory sent by the court were all drained of their life force by that totem!"

Li Xuangeng raised an eyebrow: "Where are the Emperor and the Imperial Advisor? Are they just going to watch the barbarians kill people right under the Emperor's nose?"

"That's the most bizarre part!" Gu Qingfeng lowered his voice. "Ulanbaxiu's witchcraft specifically absorbs the energy of corpses! The Imperial Preceptor and all the officials are mutated forms that rely on resentment to nourish their corpses, and their power is precisely countered by that 'Greedy Wolf Blood Totem'! If they personally intervene, they not only risk being drained dry, but they will also expose their true demonic forms in public!"

"I see." Li Xuangeng sneered.

A group of man-eating rats hiding in the shadows encountered a wild cat that only ate rats, and none of them dared to show themselves first.

"The imperial court is now in complete chaos," Gu Qingfeng continued. "Ulanba has made outrageous statements, saying that if no one in the Great Yuan Dynasty can break his totem, he will not only cede the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, but also demand that the capital hand over ten thousand boys and girls as 'tribute'! The emperor, left with no other choice, has just posted the highest-level 'Nine Dragons Imperial Edict': Whoever can defeat the envoy from the Heavenly Wolf Kingdom will be rewarded with ten thousand gold pieces, granted the title of a king of a different surname, and granted free access to the imperial treasury!"

Upon hearing the words "Imperial Treasury," Li Xuangeng's eyes, hidden beneath his white silk, narrowed sharply.

The karmic fire within his body needs the finest yang-tonifying natural treasures to neutralize it, and all the world's top-tier spiritual herbs are stored in the inner treasury of the Great Abyss Imperial Palace.

More importantly, there were 10,000 boys and girls.

He closed his eyes, and the image of the ragged people queuing for medical treatment outside the Creation Temple, and Xiaoman's innocent and trusting eyes, floated into his mind. If those ten thousand children were sent to the Heavenly Wolf Kingdom as blood sacrifices, his cultivation of Taoist karma would become a complete joke.

Gu Qingfeng.

Li Xuangeng, supporting himself on the cold jade bed, slowly stood up. He changed into a brand new moon-white Daoist robe, and tied a clean white silk ribbon around his neck, completely sealing away the battle-damaged and vulnerable version of himself from before.

"Go, take down the imperial edict."

"Senior brother! You're crazy! Your body can't use true energy at all right now!" Li Baizhi grabbed his sleeve tightly.

"I won't use my inner energy." Li Xuangeng gently patted her head. "There's no need to turn on the furnace to deal with a barbarian who plays with totems. Besides..."

Li Xuangeng turned towards the palace, his smile deepening and becoming calculating.

"We can't just storm the palace. If the emperor dies, the country will be in chaos. We need to find an uncorrupted prince to take his place and secretly teach him how to survive, strategize, and maintain balance in this cannibalistic court."

"By taking down this imperial edict, we can legitimately infiltrate the palace, get close to the core of power, and find that 'clean pawn'."