Chapter 735: The Sect Leader Arrives

A small courtyard in the capital, dusk.

The setting sun dyed the small courtyard the color of blood, and withered vines climbed all over the mottled earthen walls.

Under the old locust tree in the corner of the courtyard, a young girl wearing a floral cloth skirt squatted beside a pile of wood shavings, carving a small wooden bird with a small knife.

She was young, yet exceptionally focused.

Humming a nursery rhyme, her skillful hands flew up and down, and wood shavings drifted down rustlingly.

In the blink of an eye, a lifelike wooden bird had been carved.

If it were an ordinary carpenter, it would have been enough to win a word of praise from others, but the young girl only felt it was normal, without a hint of pride.

This was because she was the only granddaughter of the master carpenter Lu Chengye.

She had shown talent since she was young and would surely be an extraordinary female artisan in the future.

The young girl didn't notice that behind her, in the gaps of the woodpile, wisps of black mist slowly seeped out, twisting like living things.

Under the moonlight, a pale paper person's face faintly appeared in the black mist.

A night wind blew, the nursery rhyme stopped abruptly, replaced by a subtle "rustling" sound, like fingernails scraping on linen.

In the courtyard, where was there any sign of the young girl? Only the leaves were blown by the night wind...

Inside the room, the oil lamp was like a bean, and Lu Chengye was hunched over the desk polishing a wood carving.

Crack!

The carving knife suddenly snapped.

The old man frowned and looked up, but saw the shadows cast by the locust branches outside the window swaying like ghost claws, and the young girl's singing had disappeared.

Lu Chengye's body stiffened suddenly, and he immediately rushed out of the small courtyard.

"Hua Niu, Hua Niu!"

Lu Chengye shouted anxiously a few times, just about to go out to look for her, when he saw a slip of paper blown by the night wind, slowly falling from the sky.

The old man's fingers trembled as he unfolded the slip.

But he saw the slip was yellowed, and the dark red blood characters on it were crooked like crawling insects: "Your granddaughter is in my palm, obey my orders, otherwise I will send one piece every day!"

……

"Master Lu, Master Lu!"

The anxious voice from the side interrupted Lu Chengye's train of thought.

A Mystic Craft disciple holding a wooden tray said urgently: "They are urging us over there, our progress must be accelerated, otherwise Master Tao will scold us again."

"Hmm."

Lu Chengye looked at Tao Fengchun, who was directing irritably in the distance, and couldn't help but lower his head, replying woodenly: "Good... good, let's get to work."

It was already deep into the night, but the workshop was still as bright as day.

Tao Fengchun was leading over a hundred artisans in making final adjustments and drawing the embedding Dharma array for the key component about to be capped on the god idol—the "Erlang Zhenjun of the Flint Wheel Crown" that symbolized knowledge, power, and change.

Sweat dripped onto the scorching bronze mold, instantly evaporating into white mist.

"Wake up, everyone! Whoever wants to sleep, get out of the academy and sleep!"

Seeing a disciple dozing off from exhaustion, Tao Fengchun unleashed another round of angry curses; at this moment, he had completely entered a state, like a mad demon.

And Lu Chengye, holding that inconspicuous scorched black wood, walked silently through the busy crowd toward his separate workbench.

He fixed the black wood on the workbench and carefully picked up the carving knife, his movements steady to the point of being impeccable.

The blade fell, instantly shaving off a thin layer of scorched black skin.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, save me!"

Instantly, his granddaughter's crying and shouting echoed in his mind again.

Lu Chengye shuddered and secretly looked around.

Everyone was busy, and he was the only one who heard it.

Lu Chengye knew that this was the other party warning him.

He didn't know who the other party was, and even less understood how the other party managed to leak no abnormal aura at all.

But he knew that the other party must have ulterior motives for the Erlang Zhenjun of the Flint Wheel.

I don't know how many people will die because of this...

But he was old and just wanted his granddaughter to live.

After composing his mind, Lu Chengye picked up the charcoal pen again and carefully outlined the contour on the wood; it was precisely an auspicious cloud Taotie waist buckle.

Making it into a waist buckle was what the other party requested.

Although exquisite, it was inconspicuous when placed in the entire Erlang Zhenjun god idol.

Ding-ding-dang-dang!

The noise around him and the collision of tools became his best cover.

His movements were as fast as a ghost, the carving knife danced, and wood shavings flew.

Under the admiring gaze of the disciples nearby, the Taotie auspicious cloud waist buckle the size of a face gradually took shape, and after some polishing, it gradually became smooth.

After doing all this, he seemed to have exhausted all his strength, cold sweat oozing from his forehead, but the movements of his hands did not stop at all.

He took the special wood lacquer, brushed it once, and then said: "Alright, just leave it here to dry, and brush it two more times tomorrow morning and noon."

"Yes, Master Lu."

The disciples nearby carefully lifted the waist buckle and placed it on the wooden rack.

Rows of wooden racks were filled with various wooden accessories.

Because time was too tight and they couldn't find enough strong and massive spiritual materials, Tao Fengchun decided to use an iron frame as a frame and make the god idol with a mortise and tenon structure.

The night was darker, and the firelight flickered.

No one noticed that the wood quality of the waist buckle seemed to have undergone some kind of demonic tempering, presenting an unsettling dark red color, exuding a faint, rotting, sweet, and fishy smell...

…………

Just as the academy was busy, the imperial court was not idle either.

Southwest of the imperial city, the main hall of the Commandant's Office.

The hall was dim, with only a few bronze oil lamps flickering, reflecting the mountain and river maps and various ceremonial equipment hanging on the mottled stone walls.

The air was filled with the smell of rust and old ink, and even breathing felt oppressive.

Zhao Wujiu stood with his hands behind his back, his scarlet python robe like solidified blood in the dark.

Kneeling before him were several Thousand-Household commanders of the Commandant's Office, all in black clothes with silver-embroidered Taotie, iron plates hanging at their waists, heads lowered, not daring to look directly.

"Everyone," Zhao Wujiu opened his mouth, his voice hoarse like a rusty knife scraping bone, "The sect leaders of the various Mystic Sects have left their mountains and are heading to the capital."

Everyone held their breath, cold sweat oozing from their foreheads.

"Jade Yu Chanzi of Wudang, Heavenly Zhang Tianshi of Long Hu, Qiu Changchun of Zhongnan, Chen Kongzi of Qingcheng, Wang Miaoyin of Emei..."

He slowly read out name after name, each sound like a heavy hammer hitting everyone's heart, and said coldly: "They are holding the banner of 'Protecting the Erlang Zhenjun,' but in reality, they want to seize divine power and check and balance the imperial court."

Having said that, he turned his head slightly, his eyes cold in the shadows: "Pass the order to every state and prefecture—"

"Starting today, set up checkpoints along the river routes. Any Mystic Sect cultivator passing through the border shall be strictly investigated under the pretext of 'investigating the Jianmu demon people'!"

"The Grain Transport Office, the Inspection Division, and the naval outposts must all cooperate. If any sect asks, just say that Eastern demon people have infiltrated the Divine Land and are sneaking through the waterways, and the imperial court has no choice but to guard against it."

A Thousand-Household commander gathered his courage and looked up: "Eunuch, if the Mystic Sect forces their way through..."

Zhao Wujiu sneered: "Then let them force their way."

A black iron token slid from his sleeve and slapped onto the desk, startling everyone.

"Pass the secret decree, the garrison troops along the way shall be secretly on guard. Anyone from the Mystic Sect who forces their way through shall be treated as 'colluding with demon people' and executed on the spot!"

"Remember—"

He tapped the token with his fingertip and said indifferently: "Jade Yu Chanzi of Wudang, this person is the most sensible, and Wudang is also deeply favored by the imperial court; officials along the way must 'treat him with great hospitality' and be sure to let him drink a few more cups of tea."

"Heavenly Zhang Tianshi of Long Hu, this person has many thoughts and a explosive temper back then; he is the biggest trouble. Checkpoints along the way must 'occasionally have omissions' and let him pass first."

"As for the others... Chen Kongzi of Qingcheng has just taken office, block him first to test his bottom line; Wang Miaoyin of Emei is arrogant, humiliate her; the old Daoist of Zhongnan is suspicious, confuse him."

"No matter what means you use, you must drag them down."

As he spoke, he straightened up slowly, his withered face in the shadows like a ghost or demon: "Within three days, there can only be one 'Sai Sai Tian Shi' in the capital."

"And that is—the Erlang Zhenjun of the Flint Wheel on the Altar of Land and Grain!"

"Yes, Superintendent!"

……

Click-clack~ click-clack~

The mountain wind swept fallen leaves across the official road.

The green donkey of Jade Yu Chanzi of Wudang walked leisurely.

The Daoist leaned on the donkey's back, holding a book in his hand, humming a vulgar ditty: "Don't say the Mystic Sect is quiet and good, it's not as good as looking at the Erlang Zhenjun with drunken eyes..."

"Sect Leader!" ===== CHAPTER 736 =====