Chapter 166

Li Changgeng, the successor of the Shangjing Bai He View. His reputation was not prominent; he was low-key to the point of being hidden, like a divine dragon hiding its body, the Great Dao without a name.

It was only in recent years that rumors had gradually spread among the high-ups of the major Daoist sects that this successor of the Bai He View was uniquely gifted, rarely seen in a hundred years, and had actually mastered 【Heaven and Earth Fortune Seizing】, one of the legendary nine great inner alchemy methods. His talent was so strong that it chased after the Three-Corpse Daoist of that year, Chu Chaoran.

Being able to compare with these two great peaks in the history of the Daoist sects was already an extremely high evaluation.

However, no one had truly seen this successor. The Bai He View had kept him too tightly under wraps, to the point that whether he truly existed and what his true strength was... all of this was unknown.

Yet now, Zhang Fan's various performances forced Wei Qingshuang to connect him with this mysterious Li Changgeng.

Especially the terrifying soul-aspect displayed on the high-speed train, which broke Laoshan's 【White Bone God-Descending Technique】 in a single breath...

"Appearance and Spirit Apart comes from the 【Great Sect Law】. If he weren't a direct disciple of the Bai He View, he wouldn't have received the true transmission. His mastery of this technique is truly perfect." Wei Qingshuang whispered, wisdom shining in his eyes.

Based on this technique alone, he was undoubtedly a disciple of the Bai He View. At the same time, he possessed such terrifying cultivation, and most importantly, he was so young...

Various pieces of information converged like a river, intertwining in Wei Qingshuang's mind, finally approaching the truth.

"He is Li Changgeng." Wei Qingshuang clenched his fists, feeling vaguely excited.

Although he wasn't entirely certain, the results deduced from various signs were close enough.

Li Changgeng was truly as the rumors said, uniquely gifted and shocking.

If this continued, in a few decades, the Bai He View would surely be handed over to him. By then, he would hold half of the Daoist world's territory, holding the reins of the entire Daoist world, just like the current Bai He View Master, Jiang Your Majesty.

Jiang Your Majesty was known by people in the Daoist world as 【Ten Thousand Years of Jiangshan】. If it weren't for the fact that there was still a Chu Chaoran at Zhenwu Mountain, perhaps he would be the number one person in the current Daoist world, the true Daoist Jiangshan.

In the new era, Li Changgeng was very likely to become the new 【Ten Thousand Years of Jiangshan】, yet there would never be a second Chu Chaoran in this world.

"A great opportunity!"

Thinking of this, Wei Qingshuang clenched his fists, his breathing becoming heavy.

A person lives a hundred years, but there are only one or two great opportunities that can truly influence one's fate. If one can grasp it, one will soar to the sky; if one misses it, one will be lost in the crowd.

"Whoosh..."

Wei Qingshuang let out a long breath. The more it was like this, the calmer he became. Facing such a great opportunity, being restless would only lead to failure.

At this moment, he admired his own unfathomable wisdom even more.

"Junior Brother... save me... save me... he's crazy, he actually dares to take action at the Laoshan Daoist Hall..."

Just at this moment, an urgent cry came, pulling Wei Qingshuang's thoughts back.

Luo Baozhang recovered from his previous state of madness, clarity appearing on his face, terror hidden in his eyes.

He looked at Wei Qingshuang as if he had grasped a straw.

"Audacious!"

Suddenly, Wei Qingshuang slammed the table, glaring angrily, staring fixedly at Luo Baozhang.

"Junior Brother, he's right there, where are you looking?" Luo Baozhang was stunned.

"Luo Baozhang, how did I not notice before that you are a demon in human skin, sanctimonious, and unworthy of being a hall master..." Wei Qingshuang glared, scolding sharply.

Luo Baozhang's eyes widened, and he was dumbfounded.

"Junior Brother, how could you..."

"Shut up, who is your Junior Brother!?"

Wei Qingshuang gave a violent shout, startling the Liu brothers nearby.

"You are simply the scum of my Laoshan, the disgrace of the Daoist world, colluding with the demons of Wu Wei. Your crimes deserve death!"

With this label slapped on him, Luo Baozhang's expression became incredibly colorful. He looked blankly at Wei Qingshuang, feeling that this Junior Brother he had known for over ten years had become so strange, so strange that it was as if he had become a different person.

Such righteousness, such righteous indignation, was something he had never seen before.

"You have a good relationship with Wang Tao, even teaching you the method of harvesting and supplementing the soul-aspect."

Just at this moment, Zhang Fan spoke, his cold gaze falling on Luo Baozhang.

"Wang... who is Wang Tao?" Luo Baozhang was blank, looking at Zhang Fan, his eyes filled with deep fear and apprehension.

"It's Hai Zhu. Don't you even know his name?" Zhang Fan sneered.

In Hai Zhu's eyes, this master of the Laoshan Daoist Hall was nothing more than a pawn, so naturally, he had no qualifications to know his name.

"Harvesting and supplementing the soul-aspect!? Luo Baozhang, you are courting death." Wei Qingshuang's expression changed slightly.

Harvesting and supplementing the soul-aspect is a major taboo in the Daoist world and also the greatest characteristic of the demons of Wu Wei.

For this reason, the Daoist world had launched nine 【Mountain-Breaking and Temple-Destroying】 campaigns in history, all to exterminate the demons of Wu Wei and put an end to the harvesting and supplementing of soul-aspects.

Wei Qingshuang didn't expect Luo Baozhang to be so deeply involved. No wonder his aptitude was mediocre, yet his cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds over the years, and he had even mastered a technique like the 【White Bone God-Descending Technique】.

"You... you know everything..."

Luo Baozhang's voice trembled, his eyes filled with terror as he looked at Zhang Fan, gradually remembering everything that had just happened.

"You... you invaded my soul-aspect, you... who exactly are you? You are not from Night-Not-Bright..."

Luo Baozhang's face was as pale as paper. He didn't believe that someone with such methods would be an employee at a small, broken place like Night-Not-Bright for no reason.

"I don't believe it either," Wei Qingshuang thought silently.

"You sold Jiang Lai to Hai Zhu!" A strong murderous intent flashed in Zhang Fan's eyes.

"I... I... I only told that girl's whereabouts," Luo Baozhang said tremblingly. "As for what happened later, I don't know."

"How can I find Hai Zhu?" Zhang Fan said coldly.

Although Appearance and Spirit Apart can invade the soul-aspect, the soul-aspect is vast. Trying to find useful information from it is like taking millet from the sea, requiring a huge amount of time and energy. What Zhang Fan lacks most now is time.

"This..." Luo Baozhang's face tightened, showing a look of difficulty.

If he leaked Hai Zhu's whereabouts and the other party found out...

"Do you still have room to bargain?" Zhang Fan said coldly.

Luo Baozhang's face twitched upon hearing this, his flickering gaze avoiding Zhang Fan's eyes.

At this moment, he was like a frightened kitten, not even daring to look up.

"Leniency for confession, severity for resistance. Luo Baozhang, if this matter reaches Laoshan, you should know that the people interrogating you won't be as polite as this Daoist Brother."

Wei Qingshuang helped out.

"Polite!?"

Luo Baozhang looked at Zhang Fan with a strange expression.

"Bigui Garden!"

Finally, Luo Baozhang's clenched fists loosened, and he spat out three words.

"Building 8, 417 Bigui Garden... that is a foothold of the Wu Wei Sect in Qilu City. I saw Hai Zhu there once."

"Bigui Garden!?" Zhang Fan raised an eyebrow and looked at Wei Qingshuang. He was not familiar with Qilu City.

"Daoist Brother is new here. If we are to deploy and capture people, it is most appropriate for my Daoist Alliance to take action."

Wei Qingshuang understood.

Zhang Fan nodded, and the latter took out his phone, went outside to make a call, and only came back after a long time.

"It has been arranged. In half an hour at most, there should be news."

Zhang Fan didn't speak. The headquarters of the Dongshan Province Daoist Alliance was in Qilu City. Since there was a clear lead, mobilizing manpower to surround and capture was indeed more convenient and faster than him doing it alone.

Sure enough, half an hour later, Wei Qingshuang's phone rang.

"What?"

"I understand. Control the scene, I'll be there in a moment."

Wei Qingshuang hung up the phone, his expression somewhat ugly as he said, "The place is empty. According to the traces at the scene, no one has been there for a long time."

As the words fell, Zhang Fan looked up at Luo Baozhang. "You have one more chance to prove your value."

Luo Baozhang's eye twitched; he naturally heard the threat in Zhang Fan's words and said immediately, "Luoxia Town..."

"There were a few more times. He asked me to send the harvested soul-aspects to Luoxia Town for his cultivation use."

Just this month, Luo Baozhang had sent six or seven "takeouts" for Hai Zhu. The other party's appetite was insatiable. For a single soul-aspect, if he were to harvest and refine it himself, it would take nearly a month, but Hai Zhu...

Seven or eight soul-aspects were only enough for him to eat one meal.

"The time and place of each meeting were different. I guess he must have a foothold in Luoxia Town or nearby," Luo Baozhang speculated.

"Let's go."

As he spoke, Zhang Fan stood up.

Luo Baozhang breathed a sigh of relief. However, before he could react, Zhang Fan's giant hand gripped his neck.

"You... what are you doing?" Luo Baozhang said in terror.

Zhang Fan couldn't be bothered to talk nonsense. He withdrew his palm, and Luo Baozhang's soul-aspect was detained.

"Daoist Brother..." Wei Qingshuang's expression changed slightly, having a new understanding of Zhang Fan's strength. Luo Baozhang was not even as good as a chick in his hands, and his fundamental soul-aspect had been directly pulled out.

Such overbearing methods made Wei Qingshuang's mouth twitch.

"Hmm!?" Zhang Fan glanced sideways at Wei Qingshuang: "Does Daoist Friend Wei have any high opinions?"

"Daoist Brother is truly compassionate," Wei Qingshuang laughed dryly.

"Can we add each other on Super-Letter? In case Daoist Brother has any errands, it will be more convenient to call me."

Zhang Fan hesitated slightly upon hearing this, then took out his phone.

"Let's go."

Following that, he called the Liu brothers to leave the Laoshan Daoist Hall and head to Luoxia Town.

"I heard that the Bai He View has a Daoist technique called 【Six Spirits Without a Master】, which can forcibly detain the soul-aspect. This must be that move."

Wei Qingshuang watched Zhang Fan's departing back, becoming more certain of his guess and secretly making up his mind.

He hurriedly took out his phone and dialed a number.

"It's me. Gather all the personnel in the group in Qilu City and be on standby twenty-four hours a day."

Two hours later.

Zhang Fan took the Liu brothers by taxi to Luoxia Town, seventy kilometers north of Qilu City.

This is an ancient tourist town. Because it backs onto Luoxia Mountain and has beautiful scenery, it was invested in and developed as a tourist resource. Its fame has grown over the years, attracting quite a few tourists.

"There aren't many people."

Just as they entered the small town, Liu Xingchui couldn't help but say. When they were in the car, the driver had boasted about this small town to the heavens, saying that when it was busy, cars couldn't even drive in.

"It's just the beginning of autumn now, not the peak tourist season." Zhang Fan whispered. On the way here, he had already searched with his phone.

It is said that every year in November or December, Luoxia Town's popularity is at its peak, especially 【Watching the Sunset at Cangshan】, which attracts countless couples. The golden curtain of the sunset, vows of eternal love...

By then, hotels have to be booked in advance. Rooms that usually cost two or three hundred a night can rise to one or two thousand during the peak season.

"This town only has two entrances, north and south. You two guard them respectively, and I'll go around." Zhang Fan instructed.

"Understood." The Liu brothers understood and separated.

"Master, Daoist Master..."

Walking on the road, Luo Baozhang's wailing voice came from Zhang Fan's pocket.

"I beg you to show mercy and let me go."

Although he is a practitioner of the Dao, if the soul-aspect leaves the body for too long, the body will have big problems. Some people even cannot return to their body. After a long time, even if they can go back, they might be left with a disability.

This is also one of the risks of the soul-aspect leaving the body.

The soul-aspect has no body as a dwelling. Over time, Yin dregs gradually flourish, either turning into ghosts or scattering like dust, unless one cultivates to the Pure Yang Limitless Realm, only then can one abandon the flesh and achieve immortality.

Zhang Fan turned a deaf ear. After walking for a long time, he sat down outside a teahouse.

It must be said that this small town is antique, as if time has frozen here. Without the noise of the city, the tourists coming and going wander freely, truly having the flavor of a paradise.

"Sir, please scan the code to order here." The waiter came over and reminded him thoughtfully.

Zhang Fan nodded, took out his phone and scanned the code. An iced Americano was 38, a pot of Longjing was 188...

"Too expensive." Zhang Fan curled his lips. Although it was a scenic spot, this price still made his hand shake a little...

To be honest, his hand hadn't even shaken like this when he faced Li Linglang.

"Forget it, anyway, I can get reimbursed when I go back."

Zhang Fan was generous for once and ordered a pot of 188-yuan Longjing.

"Sir, do you need a guide?"

Zhang Fan was drinking tea when a sweet voice came from behind him. He turned his head and saw a young girl standing in front of him, wearing a ponytail, a tight T-shirt, a vest over it, and sneakers. She looked bright and lovely, with a youthful and beautiful temperament.

"A guide? No need." Zhang Fan shook his head. He wasn't here for tourism.

"Since you've come to Luoxia Town, don't you want to go up the mountain for an adventure? Maybe you can find the legendary Daoist temple!"

The girl didn't give up. Not wanting to miss this rare business in the off-season, she actually sat down directly.

"There's a Daoist temple on this mountain?" Zhang Fan became interested.

"My name is Lin Jianyue." The girl reached out her hand and introduced herself.

"Lin Jianyue..."

Zhang Fan chewed on the name and shook her hand. A warm feeling followed.

"My name is Zhang Fan."

"You haven't answered my question yet. Is there a Daoist temple on this mountain?"

If Hai Zhu is really nearby, the possibility of him hiding in a Daoist temple is the greatest.

"Have you heard the legend of Luoxia Mountain?" Lin Jianyue asked instead of answering.

"What legend?"

Zhang Fan instinctively turned his head and looked at the towering, lush green mountain behind him.

"An immortal held the sunset and fell on this mountain..." A different kind of brilliance surged in Lin Jianyue's bright eyes.

"It is said that long ago, an immortal descended to earth, holding ten thousand feet of golden sunset and fell into the mountain, hence the name..."

"Since then, quite a few Daoist practitioners and alchemy masters have come to this mountain to practice."

"So, is there a Daoist temple on this mountain?" Zhang Fan asked back.

"There wasn't one before, but later a Daoist priest came to Luoxia Mountain and built a Daoist temple on the mountain, named 【Prisoner Qiu Qiu Xian Guan】..." Lin Jianyue slowly withdrew her gaze from Luoxia Mountain and landed it on Zhang Fan.

"Prisoner Qiu Qiu Xian Guan? Why such a name?" Zhang Fan asked curiously.

"Some say that the Daoist priest had heaven-reaching abilities, found the immortal who fell into the mountain, and imprisoned him in the temple..."

"That temple is called a Daoist temple, but in reality, it is a cage!" Lin Jianyue lowered her voice.

"There's such a thing? That Daoist priest's tone is bigger than his ability. What's his name?" Zhang Fan asked casually.

"His name is the Three-Corpse Daoist!" Lin Jianyue's lips parted slightly, spitting out a name.

(End of chapter)