Chapter 75: Filthy Blood Sect

Duan Rong picked up the corpses of Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng one by one and placed them into the pit!

He then walked to the courtyard wall not far away and picked up an iron shovel leaning against it!

At the base of the wall there, two brooms and a wooden basin full of water stains were also resting!

Gripping the iron shovel, Duan Rong first shoveled the loose soil from the two small mounds beside the corpse pit onto it, then shoveled the soil layer nearby, slowly piling up a slightly raised grave!

Duan Rong patted the soil layer firm, threw away the iron shovel, and picked up some withered branches nearby to slightly cover the slightly raised grave!

After finishing all this, Duan Rong raised his head; the mountain wind was blowing through the temple, making the withered branches and fallen leaves all over the ground rustle!

At this moment, Duan Rong suddenly discovered that on the courtyard wall, a tabby wild cat, at least half a meter long, was lying on the wall top, staring at him with a strange look in its eyes!

Duan Rong's heart skipped a beat; he did not know when this wild cat had already been lying there!

Seeing Duan Rong looking up at it, the wild cat lazily stood up, leaped, and its figure vanished into the mountain forest not far away!

"This ancient temple, I fear it has been abandoned for too long! Not only is the ground covered in bird droppings, it seems even wild cats frequent it often!"

Duan Rong could not help but sigh, then walked to the temple gate, pulled out the door bolt, and pushed open the already cracked wooden door!

Duan Rong walked out of the temple gate and turned back to pull the wooden door shut...

He looked up again at the three characters "Kudu Temple" on the temple gate and suddenly felt that his initial question now had an answer.

Duan Rong walked slowly across the platform in front of the temple gate, bypassed the white, glistening boulder he had passed on the way here, and returned along the mountain path!

However, Duan Rong had always felt in his heart that this Kudu Temple, just its courtyard wall, was built of three layers of brick and stone, which could be called thick and sturdy!

It was evident that the person who built it back then had made a great vow!

But how could such a temple have been abandoned to this state?

But in truth, this matter must start from a major case in Xiangu County six years ago involving the Filthy Blood Sect!

This Filthy Blood Sect had always been a rebel force lurking in Qingzhou!

The leader of this Filthy Blood Sect was named Fu Yi!

He originated from the Taiyi Sect and even became one of the Core Disciples of the Taiyi Sect!

A so-called Core Disciple was the power center of the next generation of the Taiyi Sect!

To put it in common terms, his status was nearly that of a crown prince!

Of course, he was not the only Core Disciple.

Although the Taiyi Sect had a Sect Master, the true power lay with the Elder Council!

The several Great Elders within the Elder Council had the authority to decide the Sect's affairs!

And the Elder Council meetings were convened by the Sect Master!

Core Disciples were the successors to the various Great Elders within the Elder Council!

This person, despite having such status, suddenly betrayed the Taiyi Sect thirteen years ago!

And he created the Filthy Blood Sect!

The Filthy Blood Sect worshipped a demon god—the Five-Pass God—as their main deity and practiced the Filthy Blood Technique!

The Filthy Blood Technique was a secret art that involved collecting the Essence Blood of deflowered virgins to refine and cultivate!

It is rumored that the leader of the Filthy Blood Sect, Fu Yi, had already collected the Essence Blood of nearly a thousand virgins and refined a Blood Infant that he kept with him!

This Blood Infant shared his thoughts and possessed many miraculous and strange methods!

It was precisely by relying on this Blood Infant that Fu Yi was able to escape during the Taiyi Sect's several encirclement campaigns!

Moreover, over the past ten-plus years, due to his painstaking management, the Filthy Blood Sect had blossomed everywhere and had actually grown increasingly stronger!

For many years, Fu Yi and the Filthy Blood Sect had always been a major thorn in the side of the Taiyi Sect!

About six or seven years ago, a Branch of the Filthy Blood Sect in Yuanyang Prefecture was destroyed by the Taiyi Sect!

Its Helmsman led a group of followers, fought their way out of the encirclement, and fled to this Xiangu County!

Their group discovered that Kudu Temple on the outskirts of the county had thick, tall courtyard walls and was located in a remote area!

That Helmsman then led his followers, killed the monks in Kudu Temple, shaved their own heads, burned away their ordination scars, put on kasayas, and began to impersonate monks!

You wouldn't believe it, but in doing so, they actually escaped the pursuit!

The Filthy Blood Sect followers lived peacefully in Kudu Temple for a period of time, and seeing that the heat had died down, they slowly began to return to their old ways!

They abducted women from everywhere and brought them to the temple to rape them at will!

This place was remote and had the temple as cover; these Filthy Blood Sect followers gathered here and committed crimes repeatedly, yet remained at large!

As time went on, these followers became increasingly wanton and reckless!

One day, these followers got drunk and, due to a moment of carelessness, actually let several female slaves escape naked!

That very night, a shocking major case erupted!

The then-Magistrate of Xiangu County, Wang Zhentang, contacted the major forces in the county overnight and launched an encirclement of Kudu Temple at dawn!

They slaughtered all the Filthy Blood Sect followers entrenched in the temple, rescued dozens of innocent abducted women, and discovered dozens of skeletons; after examination by the Coroner, they were all female skeletons!

Because this case was too sensational and bloody, Magistrate Wang Zhentang submitted a document that very day, detailing the case to the Taiyi Sect!

He also issued a strict order to seal off the news, forbidding information about this case from spreading within Xiangu County, with severe punishment for violators!

Because Wang Zhentang handled this case appropriately and wiped out the remnants of the Filthy Blood Sect, he received top-tier praise in his performance review three years later and was promoted to Prefect of Yuanyang Prefecture the year after the review!

It was only after Wang Zhentang left that Shen Yanliu succeeded him as the Magistrate of Xiangu County!

When this case broke out, the original body was only ten or so years old, and since Wang Zhentang had sealed off the news, Duan Rong naturally did not know the reasons behind it!

Over the past six or seven years, this once incense-rich Kudu Temple seemed to have been forgotten by the world and had become a habitat for wild cats and dogs!

And Wu Hui was the one who saw this point, which is why he chose this Kudu Temple as his base to attack Duan Rong!

Come to think of it, this Wu Hui was also one of the monks of this Kudu Temple back then; when the monks in the temple were slaughtered by the Filthy Blood Sect followers, he hid in a dry well and escaped the disaster!

But for some reason, after he escaped with his life, he did not go to report it to the officials; instead, he returned to secular life from then on, and since that time, his temperament changed drastically, and he became addicted to killing!

Duan Rong walked to the foot of Yin Mountain and saw that the old horse and broken cart were still tied to that birch tree, and the old horse was lowering its head beside the tree roots, eating a clump of wild grass!

Duan Rong walked over, unhitched the carriage shafts, and then removed the bridle; Duan Rong smiled, patted the horse on its rump, and said, "Old partner, go on, you're free!"

The old horse snorted through its nostrils, still chewing on bits of grass it hadn't swallowed yet; it seemed to be stunned for a moment before it grasped Duan Rong's meaning, suddenly let out a whinny, raised its hooves, and galloped away, disappearing into the mountain forest...

Duan Rong watched with a smile as the horse's shadow faded into the distance, then turned his head to glance at the broken cart in front of him!

Duan Rong circulated his Internal Breath, the muscles in his right arm bulged, and he grabbed the cart handle, spun his body half a circle, and swung his arm with a heave!

The broken cart flew into the sky, smashed against a giant boulder on the mountainside, and shattered with a boom, scattering into pieces!

Duan Rong watched the wooden splinters raining down into the mountain forest, clapped his hands, turned around, and strolled leisurely from the foot of the mountain toward the Official Road!

From this place, it was only a six or seven-mile walk to the city of Xiangu County, and he intended to walk back!

Moreover, at this time, it was the season of spring warmth and blooming flowers; the fields were lush and green, the young wheat shoots had already sprouted, and as far as the eye could see, it was an endless expanse of green! It was a sight that made one feel relaxed and happy!

"Cultivating bitterly every day! Today is just right for an outing!"

Duan Rong smiled, crossed his hands behind his head, and walked leisurely along the Official Road!

Although it was called an Official Road, it was actually nothing more than a dirt path!

Occasionally, nearby villagers would pass by the roadside, and upon seeing Duan Rong in his short tunic with a saber tied at his waist, they would dodge away from a distance!

Duan Rong entered the city at dusk, and by the time he walked near West Street, the sky had already turned dark!

The time for serving meals at the canteen had passed, so Duan Rong found a small tavern in an alley near West Street!

He ordered two hearty dishes and began to eat and drink slowly!

(End of this chapter)