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The group parted on bad terms, with Xuande leaving first.

"The evil spirit has been vanquished, and we will not linger any longer."

Having received the reward money, the old Taoist declined Liu Yuanwai's offer to treat him to a meal and walked out the door. Turning to Xu Guangkun, he said...

"You've seen how difficult it is to earn 1000 silver dollars, haven't you? From now on, don't take on these big orders anymore; just take small ones to make a living. Alas, it's a pity that this woman met such a tragic end, her soul scattered."

Xu Guangkun didn't respond, but instead asked out of the blue, "Master, why are you so determined to save these evil spirits?"

The old Taoist priest fell silent for a while after hearing this, then took out his gourd of wine, took a sip, and said, "When I was five years old, my mother died a violent death and became a ghost. She ate my father and left me alone to beg on the streets. At that time, I hated my mother, until I met my master, who is also your grandmaster."

As he spoke, he gulped down another mouthful: "My master cast a spell, and only then did I realize that my mother had been by my side all along. At that time, I was filled with hatred. I went up and punched and kicked her, saying a lot of hurtful things. When my mother cried, I just thought it was crocodile tears. My master stopped me and scolded him for aiding and abetting evil, saying that his cultivation was all fake."

At this point, tears welled up in the old Taoist's eyes. "As I grew up, I learned why a child of just a few years old could beg on the street without being eaten by evil spirits or captured by heretical practitioners who practice mutilation and torture."

He wiped his face with his sleeve and summarized, "Evil spirits don't harm people by their own volition; it's just their nature, their obsessions too deep. That's why I only guide them, not kill them."

"Then, what about Martial Uncle?"

Xu Guangkun asked.

Xuande and the old Taoist priest are two extremes.

Xuande neither drove away nor crossed the river, but only killed, earning him a fearsome reputation.

"Your Uncle Xuande..." The old Taoist's face showed even more sorrow, "When he was eight years old, his family moved and encountered an evil spirit, and the whole family..."

The last two words were not spoken, but Xu Guangkun already knew.

"So he made a great vow to kill all the ghosts in the world, regardless of whether they are good or bad." The old Taoist priest sighed, "His actions were too ruthless, but there are extenuating circumstances."

"It's inexplicable, inexplicable, inexplicable, inexplicable." The old Taoist sighed and walked away. Xu Guangkun looked at Xuande, who had somehow appeared beside him, and said, "Uncle-Master, I can't persuade him."

"Enough." Xuande gazed at the old Taoist's retreating figure and said in a hoarse voice, "He's already over sixty, and has been at the age of fifty for over twenty years. To advise him would be wishful thinking on my part."

"How much longer, Master?"

Xu Guangkun recalled what Xuande had said that morning.

"About half a year." Xuande's tone grew increasingly heavy. "Decades have passed in the blink of an eye, and the time is almost up."

Xu Guangkun remained silent for a moment, but then something occurred to him: "Uncle-Master, could the century-old monkey wine extend Master's lifespan?"

"A century-old monkey wine?" Xuande was taken aback, then his spirits lifted. "Where did you hear that?"

Xu Guangkun was puzzled, as he had already told the old Taoist about his experience that day.

Didn't he tell Xuande?

So, he added more embellishments, erased the parts about mountains and seas, and told the story in detail.

Xuande listened attentively at first, but his expression gradually became serious, and finally he looked quite grim. "You mean ghosts with three heads and six arms, and ghosts without heads?"

"right."

"So that's where it was hidden! So that's where it was hidden!" Xuande sneered repeatedly, then flicked his whisk. "I'll go make preparations; we'll explore that ghostly realm soon!"

.....

Back at the Taoist temple, Xu Guangkun carefully completed the daily tasks required for his supernatural powers. He then found the old Taoist priest staring blankly at the memorial tablet in the main hall.

"Master, was the one who killed my uncle's entire family a three-headed, six-armed demon, or a headless demon?"

After cultivating for a while, Xu Guangkun finally understood why the old Taoist knew about the hundred-year-old monkey wine that could prolong life, but didn't shamelessly ask Xuande for it as he always did.

"Your martial uncle knows?" The old Taoist's expression changed, and he suddenly stood up.

"I'm sorry, Master." Xu Guangkun knew that his good intentions had backfired.

"You're going to kill your martial uncle! How could I have taken you as my disciple?!"

The old Taoist priest was visibly agitated. He stood up and paced back and forth for a while, then gritted his teeth, turned around, and walked out of the Taoist temple. "I'm going to find your martial uncle!"

......

Xu Guangkun was unclear about what the two talked about, but he knew that the old Taoist priest had probably retreated in defeat.

The reason was that the old Taoist priest had been cursing in front of the memorial tablet ever since he returned, saying, "If you're going to die, then die! Die somewhere far away! You can't reason with a damned ghost!"

After scolding him, she found Xu Guangkun and said, "You're not allowed to go with him!"

"Master," Xu Guangkun knew that saying this now would anger the old Taoist, but he still said, "How can I not go after causing this trouble?"

"Master! Master!" The old Taoist priest ignored Xu Guangkun's cries and angrily said, "I won't be a master of a dead man!"

He pointed to the memorial tablets: "Do you know why I'm still alive when they're dead?"

Xu Guangkun glanced at the memorial tablet, then at the old Taoist priest.

There were guesses, but no one dared to say anything.

"have no idea."

"Don't know my foot!" the old Taoist priest exclaimed excitedly, spitting everywhere. "What makes you think you don't know?!"

Getting agitated, he poked Xu Guangkun's body with his hand. Xu Guangkun knew he was in the wrong, so he didn't dodge.

"All you do is show off, all you do is show off!" he said angrily. "Everyone says that actions speak louder than words, but you've been with me for so long, how come you still can't learn to be timid?"

"You think being a coward is shameful? Huh!"

The old Taoist priest spat in Xu Guangkun's face: "All my former masters and senior brothers laughed at me for being a coward, but look what happened! They're all dead now! Their bones have turned to dust, and only I, this old Taoist priest, am still alive! Tell me, isn't it because I was a coward?!"

Xu Guangkun hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

In the end, he didn't say anything and just stood there silently.

"Have you gone mute? Weren't you so talkative? You used to spill everything, didn't you? Now you're not saying anything?" The old Taoist priest launched into another tirade.

Xu Guangkun remained silent throughout.

Finally, the old Taoist priest couldn't continue speaking and glared at Xu Guangkun resentfully.

"Go ahead and try to die, I'll pretend I've never known you, never had a senior brother, and never had a disciple like you!"

Having said that, he flicked his sleeves and angrily turned to leave.

Where he had just stood, several talismans outlined in vermilion and edged in gold floated silently in the air.

Xu Guangkun reached out and took the talisman, then shook his head.

......

Perhaps it truly is a sea of ​​hatred.

Xuande found Xu Guangkun at noon the next day.

"Let's go. You said you knew the location, right?"

"Yes." Xu Guangkun nodded. He had a good memory and still remembered the latitude and longitude.

"Then lead the way."

The two sped along and arrived at Qixinggang in the blink of an eye.

Xuande stood there for a while, then turned to look at Xu Guangkun, who was already prepared.

Do you know why I haven't returned to the sect?

Xu Guangkun was a little confused as to why this was being brought up now, but he patiently asked, "Why?"

"That headless demon is your advisor."

......