Chapter 53: Divine Retribution

Su Ping used the perspective of Spirit Mouse Xiaobai and Xiaohui.

He was the first to gaze from afar at the mushroom cloud slowly rising above the Daoist temple.

Although this mushroom cloud was not as exaggerated as the special effects in movies, it still manifested the power of the explosives.

The Daoist temple on the mountain turned into a patch of broken walls and ruins almost the moment the mushroom cloud soared into the air.

A large amount of wooden structures caught fire, adding flames and black smoke to the mushroom cloud.

Su Ping was not surprised by the appearance of the mushroom cloud.

As long as the quantity is sufficient, even black powder can produce a mushroom cloud.

Not to mention that Su Ping used the "sweet powder" that many civilian military organizations praised after using it.

Coupled with the fact that the explosion site was a relatively enclosed underground secret chamber, such an effect was within reason given the favorable timing and location.

"The power of explosives is still very violent and formidable in this Cultivation World."

"With this kind of destructive power, even a Foundation Establishment master would suffer a great loss if caught off guard!"

"However, even this Guilingzi at the Mid-stage Qi Refining could detect the abnormality in advance to some extent."

"This move of mine only has miraculous effects on cultivators at the Qi Refining stage."

"Not to mention that Foundation Establishment masters can release their Divine Sense, which is like having a wall-hack; it would require increasing the difficulty to make them fall into an ambush."

Su Ping had already thought of ideas such as hiding the explosives in stone statues or disguising them as flower mud.

Afterwards, after repeatedly confirming that Guilingzi's aura could no longer be sensed at the explosion site.

Su Ping's heart stirred, and with a squeak from Spirit Mouse Xiaobai and Xiaohui, they left the rat pack in the surroundings to continue lurking and gathering follow-up intelligence before quickly retreating to Linyue Villa.

The explosion on the mountain alarmed the dignitaries of Jin Feng City.

Several hours later, a large number of martial artists and Loose Cultivators from the city arrived at the mountain, and after seeing the miserable state of the Daoist temple, a large group of them were stunned.

Martial artists whose family members had been harmed learned from the surviving Daoist priests on the periphery that Guilingzi was at the center of the explosion and that it was highly probable there was nothing left of him.

They even shouted that this was a divine retribution!

The City Lord also arrived shortly after; upon seeing the situation, sweat poured down like rain, and he hurriedly ordered the site to be sealed off before using the City Lord Mansion's Dharma Artifact authority to report the situation.

An Inspector of the city was dead.

And he died in an incredible, massive explosion.

This kind of matter, this scapegoat... was something the secular forces of Jin Feng City could not bear under any circumstances! Guilingzi left in the morning, and the Immortal Boat did not fly over until late at night.

Standing on the deck of the Immortal Boat this time was still that Patrol Envoy with three swords on his back and sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes.

There was no help for it; the current elites of the Immortal Sect were all busy, and there were endless abnormalities to be wiped out everywhere.

The territory he was responsible for could only keep expanding.

"Hmm?"

This Patrol Envoy was attracted at first glance to the ruins of the Daoist temple, where the dust had already settled.

Looking at that massive crater, he could not help but feel secretly shocked in his heart.

With his sword cultivator mindset, he could not imagine that this was the power of explosives.

Instead, he silently compared it to his own killing moves and finally became convinced that the cultivator who caused this destructive trace either had a cultivation level far above his own, or possessed a high-power Dharma Artifact! "Such a cultivator cannot be a nobody; why would he come to find this Guilingzi?"

"This person... has secrets?"

The Patrol Envoy slowly descended from the Immortal Boat, and the moment he stepped into the crater, he keenly sensed something.

Snap! The Patrol Envoy took out a Talisman and let it crack open, releasing ten thousand rays of Golden Light.

The next second, the Patrol Envoy leaped into mid-air like a startled rabbit: "Evil Qi!"

"An Evil Spirit sacrifice has been performed in this place!" "Another Evil Cultivator!"

The Patrol Envoy was not stupid; through the relevant intelligence he read on the way, and the people and livestock being temporarily kept under guard on the back mountain.

He immediately understood Guilingzi's true identity.

And he had a few more bold guesses about the person who took action.

Perhaps it was a high-level master of the Dao who saw an Evil Cultivator and found them displeasing, so he casually struck to deliver divine retribution.

Or it was an internal strife between Evil Cultivators, or even a direct clash between different factions of Evil Cultivators! Some Evil Cultivators possess self-detonation Secret Techniques, and with the aid of an Array, it is not impossible to cause this range of explosion!

Involving Evil Spirits and sacrifices, the Patrol Envoy did not dare to continue thinking or investigating at the scene.

He returned to the Immortal Boat and immediately reported the relevant situation.

At the same time, following his order, those Loose Cultivators and Daoist priests who followed Guilingzi and luckily survived were all captured, and a harsh interrogation began.

Many Loose Cultivators were only working for Guilingzi because of his status, position, and promises of Spirit Stones.

Now that they knew part of the situation, they were all scared half to death.

Some of the captured Loose Cultivators even thanked the person who took action for preventing Guilingzi's plan from succeeding.

Otherwise, at the moment of the sacrifice, those captured mortals would not have been able to escape.

How could they, these Loose Cultivators, have been able to run? They had not spent so long in the bottom rungs for nothing; they knew at least that in sacrifices involving Evil Spirits, mortals were just fillers, fuel.

Those with Spirit Roots were the offerings, the key to pleasing the Evil Spirits! Recalling Guilingzi's attitude while he was alive, the Loose Cultivators now firmly believed that he was a madman, and they were likely already sacrifices in his plan! "Heh, saying you knew nothing and were victims at this point—can you really clear your names?"

While waiting for a reply from his superiors, the Patrol Envoy also participated in the interrogation; no longer a novice, he was noncommittal about the testimonies of the Loose Cultivators.

During this time, this Patrol Envoy saw the news regarding the Inspector of Jinque City, Su Ping.

Seeing that this Inspector Su Ping was kind-hearted, not only saving disaster victims but also severely cracking down on those human trafficking gangs.

And even falling out with Guilingzi, a fellow of the same path, because of this.

A flash of appreciation crossed the Patrol Envoy's eyes.

Yet he did not suspect in the slightest that this matter had anything to do with Su Ping.

In normal thinking, Su Ping was just an ordinary little cultivator who had just entered the Mid-stage Qi Refining, with at most an Entry-level Body Tempering.

Dealing with low-level Demon Beasts in his own territory was the limit of his capabilities.

How could he have the ability to deal with an old-school Evil Cultivator like Guilingzi?

Not to mention that looking at this scene, let alone a Qi Refining Late Stage cultivator, the Patrol Envoy would even believe it if a Foundation Establishment cultivator had made a move.

Besides, to be honest, in their eyes, is the matter of a few Loose Cultivators and a few thousand mortals even considered a matter? If they were sensible and offered an apology and compensation, the matter would be over; why would anyone come to wipe out someone's home over such a trivial thing! Even if Guilingzi had become an Evil Cultivator and his brain wasn't working right, wouldn't it be more reasonable for Guilingzi to go and take revenge on this Su Ping first?

Of course, as per protocol, the Patrol Envoy still piloted an Immortal Boat to Jinque City early the next morning.

It wasn't that he suspected Su Ping, but rather he was checking along the way to see if he had any Evil Qi on him, and whether Jinque City had also been infiltrated by Evil Spirits.

The Immortal Boat moved in the direction of Jinque City.

Out of caution, Su Ping had not gone to Water Blue Star these past two days and had maintained contact with the rat swarm; seeing this, he immediately summoned the Pot Heaven and sent both the spirit rats and the Wen Bird inside.

Then, Su Ping and the City Lord welcomed the Patrol Envoy's visit together.

He also accepted the inspection from a white jade mirror held up by the Patrol Envoy.

This was a Dharma Artifact mirror that could distinguish most Evil Qi.

The result was naturally pleasing to everyone.

The Patrol Envoy also breathed a sigh of relief and once again dangled a carrot before Su Ping.

(End of this chapter)