Chapter 254: Monsters Hidden in the Divine Hall

Li Yan didn't expect this old Daoist to be uncooperative.

But what he said was also correct; the Chenghuangmiao was responsible for the safety of cities everywhere, and indeed had no jurisdiction over the Daoist temples in these blessed lands.

Gu Hanzi's original intention was for him to pretend to be a pilgrim and mix into the mountain gate to investigate in secret.

But things had reached this point, how could he retreat?

Li Yan narrowed his eyes and looked at Centurion Zheng on the side.

Centurion Zheng understood immediately, stepped forward, took out a token from his bosom, and said coldly, "Yichang Garrison, ordered to investigate the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect rebels. Daoists, are you still going to block us?"

As soon as these words came out, the old Daoist's face immediately became ugly.

The Commandant's Office was directly under the Great Xuan Emperor, investigating officials above and supervising the martial world below. Although the Mystic Sect was special, it was also within the scope of supervision.

Especially when it involved Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect monsters.

Speaking out to block them again would likely not be appropriate.

The old Daoist Feng Huazi's eyelids twitched, and his face also became cold, "Since that's the case, then everyone, please."

Having said that, he flicked his large sleeves and ignored the group, entering the Daoist temple directly, while saying coldly, "Open all the hall doors, let the lords investigate properly, and see what monsters they can find!"

"Yes, Temple Master!"

Many Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect disciples were also full of anger.

Although most of the experts in the temple had been drawn away, they were also disciples who had just entered the sect, but common people and officials all respected them, and they had never suffered such grievances.

"Hmph!"

Li Yan snorted coldly and entered the Daoist temple with large strides.

He ate soft but not hard, and this old Daoist was likely confused from staying on the mountain; such a big thing had happened, yet he was still putting on airs here.

This Daoist temple belonged to the Zhenwu Palace, so the main hall naturally worshipped the Profound Heaven Zhenwu Great Emperor, and the front hall worshipped Wang Lingguan.

In addition, there was the Sanfeng Hall worshipping Zhang Sanfeng, and the Xiaoxian Pavilion worshipping Immortal Ge Xianweng.

Li Yan came to the main hall and looked up.

He saw a statue standing tall, with gold locks and armor, disheveled hair, stepping on a five-colored spiritual turtle, standing with a sword, eyes like electric light.

Standing beside him were the Turtle and Snake Generals and the Golden Boy and Jade Girl.

It was the Profound Heaven Zhenwu Great Emperor.

The divine 'Gang' was majestic, similarly suppressing his divine ability so it could not be used.

Of course, the 'Gou Die' also had no reaction.

Li Yan had long expected this; he was a living Yin soldier working for the Yin Office, and when encountering some small gods or mountain gods, he might be able to communicate with them.

But such great gods didn't even bother to look at him.

Li Yan didn't care and lit three sticks of incense, held them up with both hands, and arched his hands, "Great Emperor, please witness. I am investigating a case here, hoping your divine might is vast, making all evil spirits have nowhere to hide."

"Audacious!"

"How dare you speak rudely!"

Several Zhenwu Palace disciples immediately scolded angrily.

Li Yan didn't pay attention and carefully inserted the three sticks of incense into the incense burner, kowtowed three times, then turned around suddenly and said in a deep voice, "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"Evil spirits are causing trouble in Dangyang County, you are guarding one side, yet you are ineffective in handling things, and blocking us like this, what are you feeling guilty about?!"

As soon as these words came out, these disciples' faces turned red.

They naturally knew about the Dangyang County affair.

And there was no way to answer this.

Explaining hurriedly would only make them look guilty.

One of the older Daoists remained calm and said indifferently, "This layman, there are hidden reasons for the Dangyang County affair, and we also lost several disciples."

"You want to investigate the case, we will cooperate, no need to rush to splash dirty water."

"Good!"

Li Yan took out a booklet from his bosom, scanned the group, and said, "Where is Feng Lingzi?"

Feng Lingzi was a junior brother who was on good terms with Gu Hanzi; it was he who wrote a secret letter to inform Gu Hanzi, and that was how Gu Hanzi knew there was a problem with this Daoist temple.

Sure enough, hearing the name Feng Lingzi, the faces of the Daoists in the hall changed drastically.

The older Daoist still spoke, saying in a deep voice, "This layman, what business do you have with Feng Lingzi?"

Li Yan became even more suspicious and said coldly, "Where is the person?"

In the main hall, the Daoists looked at each other, wanting to speak but stopping.

Suddenly, an angry voice sounded outside the hall.

"That rebellious disciple has already run away!"

The Temple Master Feng Huazi walked over with a gloomy face.

He looked at Li Yan and said in a deep voice, "You are Li Yan? The one who found the Blood Jade Cong?"

Outside the door just now, he was only busy being angry, and it wasn't until just now that he remembered the name Li Yan, which sounded familiar.

"Exactly." Li Yan nodded.

"Oh."

Feng Huazi's expression softened slightly, "Wudang Mountain sent a letter the day before yesterday, and I only found out about this. You and my Zhenwu Palace have a good relationship, why bring troops up the mountain and be so aggressive?"

Li Yan said in a deep voice, "With a great disaster at hand, I have no choice but to be rude."

"Great disaster?"

Feng Huazi's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't rush to ask, instead saying, "Feng Lingzi stole the mountain's Dharma artifact and has already fled, whereabouts unknown. Where did you find out his name?"

Li Yan narrowed his eyes, "This Daoist Feng wrote a secret letter to the Yunyang Prefecture Chenghuangmiao, saying that people in the Daoist temple had died one after another, but what he reported were all normal."

"He sensed something strange and investigated in secret; how did he suddenly become a traitor? Can the senior explain?"

Feng Huazi was stunned, "There is such a thing?"

He calmed down now and pondered, "Since Layman Li is asking, I don't need to hide it. Since last year, several disciples in the temple have indeed died, but they all died of illness, with no abnormalities."

"I worship Immortal Ge Xianweng and am also somewhat proficient in the Daoist medicine of Qi and Huang. If there were abnormalities, how could I not see them."

Li Yan pondered for a moment, "Then what about Feng Lingzi?"

Feng Huazi shook his head, "A while ago, I was in seclusion practicing alchemy, and only found out about this after coming out."

"In the Xiaoxian Pavilion, the 'Colorful Cloud Shoes' were originally worshipped, a precious Dharma artifact left by Immortal Ge Xianweng, which can be used to climb mountains and cross dangers, as if walking on flat ground."

"He stole this treasure and went down the mountain. I sent people to search at every pier, but couldn't find him."

"Feng Lingzi is my senior brother's disciple, and he is considered clever. I wanted to find him in advance and persuade him to turn back. But things have reached this point, and there is no other way; I was just preparing to report to the Law Enforcement Hall to issue a wanted notice."

"Oh?"

Li Yan listened, but became even more suspicious, "He stole the Dharma artifact and went down the mountain; did anyone see it with their own eyes?"

Feng Huazi turned around and said, "Feng Gangzi, you handled this matter, tell Layman Li the situation."

"Yes, Master."

It was the older Daoist who spoke, arched his hands and said in a deep voice, "It wasn't just one person who saw it; Feng Lingzi even injured several disciples who tried to stop him."

"That's right, we saw it with our own eyes!"

Several young Daoists stood out.

One of them said indignantly, "This Feng Lingzi was always tricky and strange, relying on his profound martial arts, often teasing us."

"The Southwest war started, and those powerful senior brothers were just drawn away, and he took action that night. After being discovered by us, he directly injured people and fled."

Li Yan was silent for a moment, thoughtful, "Before this Feng Lingzi left, was there anything unusual, or did he say anything?"

One of the Daoists said angrily, "Who knows, he was always like that, tricky and strange, not on good terms with the senior brothers, he must have had evil intentions long ago."

Other Daoists also chimed in:

"That's right, it's not strange at all to do such a thing!" "Maybe he entered the evil path long ago..."

Outside the main hall, a thin little Daoist boy heard this and was full of anger; he couldn't hold it in anymore, gritted his teeth, and rushed out, shouting loudly:

"Feng Feng Shixiong Feng is not that kind of person!"

A Daoist immediately scolded angrily, "Jingkong, where is your place to speak here? Get out and sweep the floor!"

"Shut up!"

Feng Huazi saw Li Yan's mockery and felt embarrassed, so he scolded, and these Daoists closed their mouths one after another.

He glared at them fiercely before sighing, "I let Layman Li see a joke."

Having said that, he looked at the little Daoist boy and said softly, "Your name is Jingkong? Don't worry, say whatever you have."

This little Daoist boy was clearly holding it in for a long time; first, he cried a few times, then stared at those Daoists and said indignantly, "Feng Feng Shixiong Feng teased you because he couldn't stand you bullying people."

"You guys, relying on entering the sect early, often bully and order us around, and don't teach us martial arts seriously. If it weren't for Feng Feng Shixiong Feng, we wouldn't even have learned the introductory fist techniques..."

Listening to the little Daoist boy's accusation, those young Daoists were full of embarrassment, their eyes drifting.

!.

Feng Huazi's face turned iron-blue.

He was obsessed with medicine and alchemy, often in seclusion, and left all the affairs of the temple to several disciples.

He didn't expect the atmosphere to become like this.

And he lost face in front of outsiders...

Thinking of this, the old Daoist turned his head and glared fiercely at the disciples behind him.

Li Yan couldn't care about these messy things and asked, "Jingkong, before Daoist Feng Lingzi had an accident, was there anything unusual?"

"Yes."

The little Daoist boy nodded hurriedly, "A month before Feng Feng Shixiong Feng had an accident, when he was teaching us fist techniques, he was a bit absent-minded, but when asked what happened, he wouldn't say."

"Later, he couldn't even take care of teaching us fist techniques and often ran to the Scripture Pavilion to read classics; sometimes he could even miss morning and evening classes."

"Also, once, I saw him talking to the air, looking very scared..."

"Hmm?"

Now, even the Temple Master Feng Huazi felt something was wrong, furrowed his brow, and said in a deep voice, "Did he say if he discovered anything?"

"No."

The little Daoist boy shook his head, "Feng Feng Shixiong Feng didn't say. By the way, he did say one sentence."

"What did he say?"

"Feng Feng Shixiong Feng said, don't go near the Xiaoxian Pavilion at night; if you hear someone calling your name, just pretend you didn't hear it."

Li Yan said in a deep voice, "Feng Feng Shixiong, I want to go to the Xiaoxian Pavilion to take a look."

"That is natural."

Feng Huazi's face was also very ugly, and he led the way in front with large strides.

He was only obsessed with alchemy and medicine, but he wasn't a fool; he had already sensed something was wrong.

The group walked rapidly to the backyard of the Daoist temple.

They saw a large hall standing in the center; from the bricks, stones, and wooden beams of the hip-and-gable roof, it looked very ancient.

Because of Feng Huazi's order just now, the main door of the hall had already been opened, and inside, Immortal Ge Xianweng was worshipped.

Beside him were three women and one man, who should be the couple Liu Gang and Lady Fan, as well as the two daughters of the Qu family.

The hall was cleaned very cleanly, the bluestone floor tiles were smooth, and the surrounding walls were covered with murals describing Immortal Ge Xianweng's deeds.

A few rays of sunlight slanted through the carved windows, and dust danced slowly in the light beams. The offering table was filled with offerings, and the incense was curling.

Higher up, there were also wooden boxes and jade bottles of various sizes, clearly using Immortal Ge Xianweng's divine power to preserve and bless the medicine.

This main hall also had restrictions, and divine ability could not be used.

At least at first glance, there was nothing wrong.

Li Yan didn't waste words and turned around directly, "Feng Feng Shixiong, can you open the restrictions?"

Feng Huazi naturally knew what he wanted to do, and after hesitating for a moment, he ordered, "Go, open the restrictions."

Doing this was clearly a bit disrespectful, but with such a big thing happening, he had to investigate clearly.

"Yes, Master."

Several disciples left immediately, first returning to the Zhenwu Main Hall, turning several bronze mirrors on the main beam, then running to other areas of the Daoist temple, pulling out the five-colored flags inserted there.

In an instant, the dense power of incense mixed with the scent of medicine rushed toward them, and the innate 'Gang' evil qi was like a mountain, making everyone's breathing difficult.

This kind of restriction was not only for defense but also for protection; otherwise, staying in such a place all the time would be too much for disciples who had just entered the sect.

Li Yan formed the Yang hand seal and took a deep breath, his expression changing drastically.

"Monsters, audacious!"

Feng Huazi on the side shouted, even a bit exasperated, and directly rushed into the main hall, flicking his hand, and four ancient bamboo talismans whistled out, hanging at the four corners of the hall.

It was clearly a formation of some kind.

Not only him, but several Daoists also changed their expressions.

Even Li Yan felt it was a bit absurd.

Any Mystic Sect statue must be 'installed with organs' (filled with items) when made, with the body hollow, placing various Dharma artifacts inside, to be more miraculous.

And inside the statues of the two daughters of the Qu family, there were two strands of fishy stench; it looked like two rat monsters had crawled in.

"This... no wonder the offerings were always lost."

A young Daoist's face was ugly, muttering, "I thought it was some senior brother who was greedy and stole them, so I didn't pay attention; it turned out to be these two beasts."

Others were also furious.

Rat monsters hiding inside the statue was not just as simple as stealing offerings; they were also receiving their incense worship every day, which was much better than cultivating alone in the mountains.

The statue was polluted and clearly could no longer be used.

Feng Huazi was full of killing intent, drew his sword with a 'clang,' and with just a light stroke, the two statues broke from the middle.

The Zhenwu Palace was famous for its martial arts; this old Daoist, although more obsessed with medicine and alchemy, had also reached the Dark Jin stage, and with the cooperation of martial arts, he could actually display power similar to sword 'Gang.'

Crack!

The statues broke, and two shiny, oily rats crawled out, trembling, kowtowing on the ground, clearly having gained spiritual nature.

They were clearly terrified, squeaking wildly.

"Monsters, die!"

The older Daoist Feng Gangzi, who had been furious before, had eyes full of anger, dark energy erupted from his feet, and he leaped out, drawing his long sword in mid-air, wanting to behead the two rat monsters.

Just then, Li Yan suddenly turned sideways, shook his long arm, passed under his arm, and with a cross-sword leg, threw this person directly away.

Li Yan didn't kill him; Feng Gangzi twisted his body in mid-air and landed steadily on the ground, shouting angrily, "What are you doing?"

"What's the rush?"

Li Yan narrowed his eyes, "Although these two rat monsters are rebellious, hiding in the hall, they must have seen or known something; ask clearly before talking."

"Ask monsters?"

Feng Gangzi smiled, "Is the guest joking?"

Li Yan didn't pay attention, but looked at Lu San on the side, "Feng Feng Shixiong Lu San, I'll trouble you."

Lu San nodded, stepped forward, and made sounds like 'cluck-cluck-da-da' with his mouth, communicating with the two rats.

"Upper language?"

Several Daoists were surprised.

And that Feng Gangzi's eyes also became suspicious...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 255 =====