All Heavens: Dual Cultivation of Magic and Martial Arts Starting from the Republic of China

When Fu Ze rushed back to Shuangjing Village, he saw a large crowd gathered outside the village chief's house from afar.

Men and women of all ages.

They craned their necks to look inside, their faces showing both fear and curiosity.

Some people were whispering about something, but when they saw Fu Zefei rushing over, they immediately lowered their voices.

Fu Ze's heart sank.

It seems something really did happen.

But judging from the villagers' reactions, it didn't seem like a sudden attack by an evil spirit.

If Liao Xibai were truly in danger, these ordinary villagers wouldn't dare to gather here and watch the spectacle.

He walked straight through the crowd without stopping.

When the villagers saw him coming, they all made way for him.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, Liao Xibai and Feng Xuan came to greet them.

Fu Ze immediately asked.

"What happened?"

The old Taoist priest Feng Xuan had a solemn expression, but he did not panic.

"We've found Crazy He."

Fu Ze's eyes narrowed.

"Found it?"

"Um."

Feng Xuan nodded.

"Under a tree outside Baitian Village, villagers found him lying there asleep. There was also some poop next to him... cough, very unseemly."

As he said this, his expression became somewhat strange.

If Zhao Rui were here, he'd probably say something like, "This case is getting more and more interesting as you investigate it."

Liao Xibai took over the conversation.

"After the villagers recognized him, they didn't make a fuss, but brought him back first. He's currently locked up in the house, and Arui and Junfeng are watching over him."

Fu Ze's heart skipped a beat.

"Is there anything unusual about him?"

Liao Xibai shook his head.

"Not yet. He seems like an ordinary madman, neither struggling nor afraid. He just keeps muttering incomprehensible words."

Feng Xuandao.

"However, just to be on the safe side, I still used a communication talisman. This matter is too critical to wait."

Fu Ze nodded.

"Of course."

Although each one used is one less available, it's worth it for Crazy He to use.

Their investigation has led them to him, and almost all the clues point to him.

Or rather, it refers to the "impure earth" that he carries.

Liao Xibai glanced outside the door.

"Now that young friend Fu is back, everyone is here. We can begin."

He turned to the village chiefs of Shuangjing Village and Hewan Village and said.

"Village chiefs, please persuade the villagers outside to leave first. Too many people talking will easily disturb Crazy He."

The village chief of Shuangjing Village nodded hurriedly.

"Yes, yes! I'll go right away."

The village chief of Hewan Village had an even more complicated expression.

He Fengzi is from their village.

They were also people who had lived near the land temple in their river bend village for a long time.

Now that he has discovered that this madman may be involved in the troubles of six villages, he is naturally both afraid and ashamed.

Liao Xibai continued.

"The two village chiefs can stay. You are the ones in charge of your respective villages, and the more you know about the situation, the better you can cooperate later."

The village chief of Hewan Village said in a low voice.

"clear."

Two village chiefs went out to persuade people.

Before long, the noise outside the courtyard gradually faded away.

Although some villagers were still unwilling to give up and secretly peered out from a distance, at least the area in front of the village was much quieter.

Fu Ze then followed Liao Xibai and Feng Xuan into the house.

The house wasn't big.

The window was half open, and the light was dim.

Zhao Rui leaned against the door, twirling a gun between his fingers. Li Junfeng stood on the other side, arms crossed, his expression cold and hard.

In the center of the room, a middle-aged man in tattered clothes was squatting on the ground.

Her hair was a mess, like a clump of grass that had been soaked by rain and dried in the sun.

His face was so dirty that you couldn't tell what he looked like.

He was not afraid.

They didn't show any panic despite having so many people standing around them.

He just squatted on the ground, looking down at a line of ants carrying food in the corner of the wall.

Fu Ze stopped in his tracks.

This is He Fengzi.

Zhao Rui couldn't help but whisper.

"I never imagined that such a madman could cause such a tragedy in six villages over several years."

Liao Xibai gently shook his head.

"You can't say that. He's just a madman. In this chaotic world, he's as lowly as grass, unable to even take care of himself. He has neither the intention nor the ability to harm others."

"If, as we suspect, he was simply chosen by some evil entity, then he is also a victim."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Zhao Rui opened his mouth, but finally sighed.

"Mr. Liao is right."

Fu Ze also glanced at Liao Xibai.

This is Liao Xibai.

Even when things were so bizarre and tragic, he was still able to distinguish between people and crime at the most crucial moment. He wouldn't let fear and anger overwhelm him and place all the blame on the weakest person.

Liao Xibai looked at Fu Ze.

"Young friend Fu, why don't you give it a try first?"

Fu Ze nodded.

He didn't ask any questions immediately, but walked over to Crazy He's side and slowly squatted down as well.

He Fengzi looked up at him, then looked down again to continue watching the ants.

Fu Ze also watched it.

There were some crumbs of biscuit on the ground.

A line of ants moved back and forth, carrying the crumbs little by little into the cracks in the wall.

Fu Ze looked at it for a moment and then smiled.

"They're quite busy."

He Fengzi chuckled.

"Busy, busy."

"They have food to eat."

Fu Ze touched his stomach.

"I'm a little hungry too. I want to eat something."

He Fengzi didn't even look up.

"Nobody eats here."

Fu Ze asked.

"What should that person eat?"

He Fengzi answered as if he had heard a very simple question, taking it for granted.

"Of course people eat red clay."

The expressions of everyone in the room changed slightly.

Fu Ze, however, was not in a hurry.

He remained squatting there, speaking as if he were chatting casually.

"Is the red clay delicious?"

He Fengzi swallowed hard.

"tasty."

A strange light even flickered in his eyes.

"It's sweet, fragrant, and even tastier than meat."

The village chief of Hewan Village turned pale.

He was about to say something, but Liao Xibai raised his hand to stop him.

Fu Ze continued to ask.

"Where can I find red clay?"

He Fengzi shook his head.

"have no idea."

"have no idea?"

"Sometimes you can find it."

He the madman gestured on the ground with his hand.

"Sometimes it's a little here, a little there. But it's mostly in our own village."

Fu Ze's eyes narrowed.

In my own village?

River Bend Village!

Where did you first discover the delicious red clay?

He Fengzi thought about it this time.

This question seems to be a bit difficult for him.

He tilted his head, his eyes were cloudy, and he mumbled a few indistinct words.

After a while, he spoke.

"Land God Temple".

Fu Ze asked.

"The Land God Temple in Hewan Village?"

He Fengzi nodded and grinned.

"There's good food at the Earth God Temple."

Fu Ze and Liao Xibai exchanged a glance.

The old Taoist priest Feng Xuan's face also darkened completely.

Sure enough, the source was indeed the land temple in Hewan Village!

Fu Ze suppressed the turmoil in his heart and continued to ask.

"Who gave it to you?"

He Fengzi answered very quickly this time.

"Given by the Land God."

Everyone in the room fell silent for a moment.

Zhao Rui cursed under his breath.

"Damn it, it really is."

Fu Ze took a light breath.

The whole thing is becoming clearer and clearer.

The local earth god of Hewan Village, the filthy earth, Crazy He, the six surrounding villages, the earth god demanding infant sacrifices... these scattered clues finally began to connect into a complete line.

Fu Ze continued to coax him.

"I also want to ask the Earth God for something delicious."

He Fengzi suddenly stopped watching the ants.

Fu Ze's heart tightened.

Zhao Rui's fingers, which were gripping the gun, twitched slightly.

Li Junfeng slowly lowered his arms, which he had been holding.

Feng Xuan had already pinched a yellow talisman between his fingertips.

Because He Fengzi looked up.

His cloudy eyes stared straight at Fu Ze.

At that moment, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense.

Although at present, apart from unconsciously spreading filth, He Fengzi is just an ordinary madman.

But no one can guarantee that he won't suddenly be manipulated by the mastermind behind the scenes to launch an attack. Even less can anyone guarantee that there isn't something strange inside him.

Fu Ze was also prepared to act at any time.

But He Fengzi stared at him for a while, then suddenly started laughing like a fool.

"no."

Fu Ze asked calmly.

"Why not?"

He Fengzi chuckled.

"The Earth God only gives me the best food."

Fu Ze's eyes flickered slightly.

"Why only give it to you?"

"have no idea."

He Fengzi lowered his head and started looking at the ants again.

"Anyway, it's only for me."

Fu Ze continued to ask a few more questions.

For example, when and how does the Earth God give gifts? Is it given in a dream? Did you hear the Earth God speaking?

But He Fengzi became incoherent again.

Sometimes they say it's at night, sometimes they say it's during the day, sometimes they say the Earth God is in the temple, and sometimes they say the Earth God is in the mud...

If you ask him for more specific details, he starts grinning foolishly or looking down and counting ants.

Fu Ze stood up.

"Looks like we won't get any more information out of them."

The village chief of Hewan Village was deathly pale.

"Is he really our village's local earth god?"

His voice trembled.

"Our Hewan Village has been supporting it for so many years..."

Feng Xuan said in a deep voice.

"If it is the original local deity, it will naturally protect the village. But if it has been corrupted by evil, then it is no longer a righteous god, but an evil god."

Fu Ze nodded.

"By now, the overall picture is pretty clear."

He looked at everyone and spoke slowly.

"The real mastermind is most likely the local deity of Hewan Village."

"For some reason, it transformed from a righteous god who protected the region into an evil god."

"Then, it chose Crazy He and made him eat the filth. Crazy He was delirious and wandered around, excreting filth in different places."

"Shuangjing Village, Huaishu Village, Liugou Village, Shiqiao Village, and Baitian Village were probably all polluted in this way."

"The filthy soil erodes the earth's veins and incense offerings, gradually polluting the local earth gods in each village. Once these earth gods are controlled or devoured, they begin to appear in dreams, create disasters, demand infant sacrifices, and devour primordial energy."

Feng Xuan's face was grim.

"To pollute the earth's veins with unclean soil, and to entangle the earth spirits with incense offerings. This method is extremely evil."

Liao Xibai said softly.

"So Crazy He is just a clue, not the source."

Fu Ze nodded.

"Yes, the source is in Hewan Village. To be more precise, it's in the local earth god of Hewan Village."

The village chief of Shuangjing Village turned pale upon hearing this.

The village chief of Hewan Village was so weak that he could barely stand and had to lean against the wall to keep from falling over.

The local earth god, whom they had worshipped for many years, might actually be the source of all the disasters.

Liao Xibai looked at the village chief of Hewan Village and said calmly.

"Now is not the time for self-blame. If you really want to save the village, you have to cooperate with us."

The village chief of Hewan Village nodded hurriedly.

"I'll cooperate! I'll definitely cooperate! Sir, Taoist priest, Young Master Fu, I'll do whatever you ask me to do."

Fu Zedao.

"The most important issue now is how to find the local earth god of Hewan Village."

We've already been to the local temple and thoroughly searched it inside and out, but there's nothing there.

Fu Ze looked at Feng Xuan.

Feng Xuan stroked his beard and explained.

"The Earth God, a deity worshipped by the people, is generally divided into his physical form and his spiritual essence. The spiritual essence, simply put, is somewhat like a person's soul. However, the spiritual essence of a deity is not entirely the same as the soul; it is connected to incense offerings, the earth's veins, and the deity's position."

"Within the jurisdiction of the Earth God, a spirit can detach from its physical form and attach itself to temples, statues, and incense offerings. It can also merge with its physical form."

"Most of the time, the spirit will reside in the local earth god temple to receive incense offerings and to respond to the people's prayers. But if it cannot be found in the earth god temple, it means that the spirit of the earth god of Hewan Village may not have separated from its physical form."

"Or perhaps it has sensed the danger and retreated back into its original body. Once we find its original body, we can truly resolve this matter."

The question is, how do we find it?

The true form of the Earth God could be an animal or a plant. If it actively hides itself and completely conceals its spirituality, finding its true form without any clues is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

Fu Ze looked into the room.

He the Madman was still squatting on the ground watching the ants, muttering to himself. He had no idea what everyone was discussing; his world was very simple…

Suddenly, an idea popped into Fu Ze's mind.

But as soon as this idea came up, he frowned.

not too good.

But after a moment of silence, he finally spoke.

"I have a solution."

Everyone immediately looked at him.

Feng Xuan asked.

"What method?"

Fu Zedao.

"Soul Search".

Upon uttering those two words, Feng Xuan's expression immediately changed.

Liao Xibai also frowned slightly.

Fu Ze continued.

"In my family's Maoshan Southern Altar Dharma, there is a soul-searching technique. It can forcibly search a person's soul and memories."

"Since He Fengzi initially ate the filth at the land temple in Hewan Village and said that it was given to him by the land god, there is a high possibility that his soul and memories still contain key information."

"As long as we search his soul, we will have the opportunity to see directly how the local earth god of Hewan Village came into contact with him, and even see where the earth god's true form is hidden."

Zhao Rui poked half his body out of the house.

"Isn't that great?"

Fu Ze glanced at him.

"The problem is that the person whose soul is searched will suffer soul damage."

Zhao Rui's expression froze.

Fu Ze said slowly.

"At best, it damages the soul and causes memory confusion. At worst, it leaves the soul incomplete, causing mental instability and madness."

He himself found it somewhat ironic at this point.

He Fengzi was a madman to begin with.

But Fu Ze could sense that although he was mentally deranged, his soul was intact.

In other words, his madness may be due to mental trauma, some kind of illness, or the result of a long-term chaotic life.

But his soul did not shatter.

If you use the Soul Searching Technique on him, even if the external appearance doesn't change much, it will actually turn a complete soul into a fragment.

This is harm.

The old Taoist priest Feng Xuan fell silent.

Liao Xibai remained silent.

The two village chiefs dared not utter a word.

In the courtyard, only the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves could be heard for a moment.

Fu Ze looked at the madman squatting in the room watching the ants and said softly.

"This is the fastest and most direct method. What do you think? I can't make up my mind..."