After the ghost-hunting master descended the mountain, his fame spread throughout the capital.

Jiang Dusheng had been standing outside the hall for an unknown amount of time.

Finally, the palace doors slowly opened inwards.

Huiming came out, his face showing obvious fatigue, and the back of his monk's robe was soaked with sweat, but his hand holding the prayer beads remained steady.

Jiang Dusheng immediately stepped forward, his voice hoarse from prolonged tension, "Master, how is he?"

Huiming breathed a sigh of relief, and said while fiddling with his prayer beads, "The Vajra Subduing Demon Formation, combined with the vows of the Three Buddhas, has finally managed to temporarily suppress the rampaging evil energy back into the depths of his dantian, and then sealed it away layer by layer with Buddhist barriers."

He looked at Jiang Dusheng with a solemn expression, "But disciple, the root of his evil energy backlash has been damaged this time. He must not use any spiritual power for the next six months, nor can he attract any evil energy, otherwise he will suffer a backlash."

"At that time... even a god couldn't save them."

Jiang Dusheng's tense nerves finally relaxed slightly, and he said in a low voice, "Disciple understands, thank you Master."

Huiming waved his hand, indicating that there was no need for such formalities.

Then, he looked around at the quiet temple, glanced at the hall, and suddenly lowered his voice, coughed twice, and unconsciously increased the speed at which he twirled his prayer beads.

He leaned closer to Jiang Dusheng, lowered his voice, and said in a volume that only the two of them could hear:

"Um... my disciple..."

He seemed to be carefully choosing his words, his old face slightly flushed:

"When I was guiding his breath just now, I discovered that the two of you were showing signs of spiritual connection, with your breaths drawing each other together."

He paused, looking at Jiang Dusheng's suddenly widened eyes, filled with embarrassment, and forced himself to continue:

"Hmm... what I mean is, if we want him to live longer and completely eradicate this ominous threat, perhaps we could try..."

Huiming lowered his voice even further, almost like a mosquito's buzz:

"Use the excessive Yang energy in his body through dual cultivation... to slowly draw it into your own body, harmonize Yin and Yang, and transform it for your own use."

"In this way, it will relieve his burden and help him, and for you... it will also be a great opportunity to dispel negative influences and enhance your cultivation."

"This method requires complete trust and perfect understanding between both parties, but since you two are already so in sync, it shouldn't be difficult..."

After he finished speaking, he immediately straightened his back, regained the solemn appearance of a highly virtuous monk, and looked up at the sky while holding his prayer beads, as if the shocking suggestion he had just made had not come from him at all.

"Ahem... I'm just saying. As for the specifics, you'll have to consider it yourselves and make a careful decision. Amitabha."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Dusheng looked at his master with a detached gaze, his tone calm:

"Master, this is a pure Buddhist place. Did what you just said violate the precepts of speech and thought? If we investigate further, and you were encouraging your disciple to engage in this practice of sexual intercourse, then the precept against lust... I'm afraid it will also be included, won't it?"

Huiming blushed, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He immediately clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and facing the main hall, chanted Buddhist mantras in a voice several times louder than usual, trying to hide his guilty conscience.

"Amitabha! Good, good! Forgive me, forgive me! I was just feeling mentally exhausted and babbled incoherently. Buddha, please forgive me! I... I didn't say anything! It was windy just now, my disciple, you must have misheard!"

He turned and was about to leave, his hurried figure showing no trace of the solemnity of a highly virtuous monk.

"Master," Jiang Dusheng called out to him.

Huiming turned around irritably, puffing out his beard and glaring at her: "What now?!"

Jiang Dusheng pursed his lips, stepped forward, and lowered his voice, which carried a rare hint of hesitation and confusion: "But... he doesn't want to, what should we do?"

She recalled Xie Jinchen's rigid and pedantic manner of adhering to etiquette on every full moon night.

Upon hearing this, Huiming's eyes widened instantly, and his mustache almost stood on end.

He pointed at Jiang Dusheng, then tremblingly pointed towards the main hall, so angry that he spun around halfway in place, practically spitting out the words through clenched teeth:

"You two! You're going to drive this old monk crazy! Who is the one who grew up reciting the rules and precepts?! Who is the one who should have 'abstaining from sex' etched on their forehead?! Huh?!"

He was heartbroken, pointing a finger at Jiang Dusheng:

"How come he's even more like a block of rotten wood than you, a wooden fish you've been beating since you were a child? Don't tell me you initiated this connection in our spiritual realms?!"

Jiang Dusheng: "..."

The forced composure on her face instantly crumbled, and she guiltily looked away, reverting to her usual aloof demeanor.

"Master, don't make wild guesses. It's just a coincidence! Let it go. Forcing it will only create inner demons. Let nature take its course."

After saying that, she took a step towards the main hall, wanting to see Xie Jinchen.

"stop!"

Huiming grabbed her sleeve, looking her up and down with disdain. "You're a young lady, can't you at least tidy yourself up?"

"Covered in blood and scorched by malevolent energy, you dare to approach the Buddha? Are you trying to offend the Buddha, or do you want him to wake up and see you in this wretched state?"

Only then did Jiang Dusheng belatedly lower his head and see large patches of dark red bloodstains on his sleeves. Although the wounds on his arms burned by the evil energy were not bleeding, the surrounding skin was still swollen and terrifying, emitting a faint black aura.

She was indeed in a terrible state.

She said "Oh," and was quite obedient to advice, turning around and walking towards her meditation room.

Huiming looked at his little apprentice's seemingly calm but actually absent-minded back and shook his head helplessly.

After washing up in his meditation room at the Zen temple, Jiang Dusheng went to the main hall.

Inside the hall, the ever-burning lamps cast a dim yellow light, and the golden statues of the Three Buddhas stood solemnly, their eyes lowered as they looked down upon all living beings.

Xie Jinchen lay on a makeshift bed made of several prayer cushions in front of the Buddha, having changed into a set of inner robes provided by the temple.

His eyes were closed, and although he was in a Buddhist hall and dressed in plain clothes, his face was so handsome that it was almost otherworldly and aggressive, creating a subtle contrast with the peaceful and serene atmosphere around him.

Jiang Dusheng watched quietly for a while before stepping forward, gathering a wisp of spiritual energy at his fingertips, and carefully probing into his wrist pulse.

Sure enough, the violent baleful energy had been firmly suppressed deep within his dantian, like a dormant volcano, temporarily calm.

This finally eased Jiang Dusheng's anxiety a little.

Just then, light footsteps sounded outside the hall. Huiming peeked in and whispered:

"Disciple, it seems there are guests visiting outside the temple. The sound of horses' hooves is rapid, heading straight for the temple gate. Go out and take a look."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Dusheng withdrew his hand from probing the pulse and looked up in surprise: "Why not let Senior Brother Guanxin go and check?"

Huiming said irritably, "Our Nanchansi Temple is located in a remote area, and we don't see many proper worshippers for ten days or half a month on a regular basis!"

"In the middle of the night, judging from the sound of hooves, there were more than just one or two horses. They were coming with great momentum, heading straight for the mountain gate. It was clear that they were looking for someone."

"Besides this kid who was just carried in, who else in this temple deserves this kind of fuss? Hurry up! Don't dawdle!"

Jiang Dusheng had no choice but to stand up and straighten his clothes.

Behind her, Huiming seemed to suddenly remember something and hurriedly added, "Don't kill any living beings."

He paused, his eyes darting around, then leaned closer and added furtively:

"If you really have to take action, remember to do it outside the temple gate, somewhere far away. Don't dirty our sacred Buddhist site; it's hard to clean and it's bad luck."

Jiang Dusheng paused, turned back to look at his master's face, which was trying hard to put on a serious expression, and said softly:

"Master, I suddenly understand why our temple has never been very popular."

Huiming was speechless, his old face instantly losing face, and he angrily waved his sleeves:

"Go away! What do you know, you little brat! Hurry up! Don't let them tear down the mountain gate!"