Chapter 105: Who Isn't a Summoner?

The night deepened.

Pei Chuyun wiped off her disguise, slipped quietly away from the neighboring courtyard, and infiltrated behind the Abbot's Hall in her true form to spy.

When Lu Xingzhou asked about the "attraction" she wanted to visit, Pei Chuyun blurted out Hongfa Temple without hesitation; of course, there was a reason. She knew some inside information about Hongfa Temple and subconsciously led him in that direction.

Hongfa Temple was certainly not where a great virtuous monk resided, but rather the stronghold of the demonic cultivator "Ying Gui".

Ying Gui had once practiced the method of nourishing oneself by draining others, and had engaged in some furnace-doll exchanges with the Nü Hehuan Sect; the people were sent to Hongfa Temple, so the numbers were known.

Originally, Pei Chuyun was not very sure if Ying Gui was still there after several years, but after hearing the case Lu Xingzhou and Jing Ge discussed, she naturally knew; it must have been done by Ying Gui, one could almost guess from the name alone.

However, Pei Chuyun could not be certain which one in the temple was Ying Gui; was it the Abbot? Or was Ying Gui merely using this place to work? So she still needed to investigate.

Leading Lu Xingzhou here, her first reaction at that time was to unite with demonic cultivators to deal with Lu Xingzhou. Her Nü Hehuan Sect had a past connection with Ying Gui, and since Lu Xingzhou wanted to deal with Ying Gui, they were natural allies; dragging him in to beat up Lu Xingzhou together would at least allow Ying Gui to hold off Jing Ge.

But now she felt some hesitation about this idea.

She only wanted to subdue Lu Xingzhou and turn him into her dog... but if both Ying Gui and Jing Ge entered the fray, the result would inevitably be a fight to the death.

Did her revenge need to go this far? Pei Chuyun was somewhat undecided.

She secretly cursed Lu Xingzhou, this Bai Chi; why did he have to pretend to be elegant, stay in a temple, and admire the moonlight? If he had just stayed in that inn's grave mound, wouldn't there be so much trouble?

No!

Suddenly, Pei Chuyun's heart skipped a beat.

Lu Xingzhou told Jing Ge that watching him would expose the demonic cultivator, yet he voluntarily stayed here, and when provoking Huo Lu, he explicitly stated he wanted to eliminate demons and uphold the Dao...

Step by step, if Lu Xingzhou knew the demonic cultivator was here all along? Was it intentional?

How did he know the demonic cultivator was here? Could it be because Miss A Nu said she wanted to come to Hongfa Temple?

Just as Pei Chuyun felt a chill in her heart, she had already arrived at the Abbot's Hall ahead.

Inside the Abbot's Hall, the lights were bright, and faint voices could be heard. Pei Chuyun quietly looked from behind the window; indeed, Huo Lu was sitting there drinking tea with the Abbot.

The old Monk who looked kind and benevolent during the day now had a slightly eerie tone to his voice: "... Helping the Fourth Young Master kill people, what benefit does this old monk have?"

Huo Lu said indifferently: "Could it be that the Abbot did not hear him publicly claim he came to eliminate demons and uphold the Dao?"

The old Monk laughed: "He doesn't even know who the so-called demonic cultivator is; on what basis can he eliminate demons and uphold the Dao, let alone suspect this old monk without cause. It is merely words spoken on the surface; why should this old monk make trouble?"

Huo Lu said: "The woman by his side is a hundred charms and a thousand beauties; does the Abbot have no interest in her?"

Pei Chuyun: "?"

The old Monk shook his head: "This old monk has already abandoned the path of nourishing oneself by draining others."

Pei Chuyun nodded slightly; indeed, Ying Gui had not cooperated with the Hehuan Sect in these years; it turned out he had already abandoned this path.

The path of nourishing oneself by draining others should be considered the most popular one among the demonic path; even some in the Righteous Path kept furnace dolls, regarding it as a matter of course, but it was unexpected that someone who had tasted the benefits would abandon it, which surprised Pei Chuyun somewhat.

Huo Lu pondered for a moment: "Abbot, it is not that Huo is spreading alarmist talk, but since my seventh brother suddenly reappeared in the human world, he has been a bit strange. My sixth brother led the crowd to Xiazhou, and the entire army was wiped out in an inexplicable manner; let that pass, but speaking solely of the Xiazhou City Lord demon case and the Dongjiang Prefecture demon case, his shadow is in both. What he said about eliminating demons and upholding the Dao is probably not baseless; the Abbot had better pay a little attention."

The old Monk seemed to be in deep thought and did not answer.

Huo Lu added: "To put it plainly, this time Prefect She also suffered disaster for the Abbot's sake; the Abbot owes us a great favor. Pushing back and forth over such a trivial matter as killing a sixth-rank cultivator is truly hard to justify."

"He suffered disaster for nothing?" The old Monk sneered: "He practiced the Evil Infant Technique himself; afraid of being dragged out by the Jing family by following the vine, he forcibly suppressed the investigation, causing the Jing family to explode in anger; this was not caused by this old monk."

Huo Lu asked in surprise: "The Abbot's behavior makes Huo feel... you seem to be wary of Lu Xingzhou; pushing back over such a small matter."

"No need for the goading." The old Monk said indifferently: "This old monk only wants some promises from Prefect Huo in exchange. Do you think this old monk looks like a fool if I act to remove your family's great threat for free?"

Huo Lu said calmly: "It's just needing some infants... a trivial matter."

The old Monk laughed helplessly: "Speaking of which, this person can be said to have walked into a hellish door of his own accord; for no reason, he actually wants to stay in my temple... then it is truly that no one would know if he died."

"Abbot, do not rush; Huo still needs to go to the Yihong Courtyard to scatter some money and create an alibi." Huo Lu stood up and sighed: "After all, it is a family shame; let people laugh at us."

The old Monk chuckled and accompanied Huo Lu out the door.

Pei Chuyun thought for a moment and decided not to appear again to seek any cooperation; it was unnecessary.

Theoretically, with Jing Ge lying in ambush, if only Ying Gui went to ambush Lu Xingzhou, he would probably suffer a great loss. But the problem is that this place is Hongfa Temple's home ground; who knows how many demonic cultivators are under Ying Gui; is Lu Xingzhou's arrangement enough?

But this situation seems to have been guided by Lu Xingzhou himself; he is just waiting for this moment... he should have precautions and won't be easily wrapped up like dumplings.

Better to lie in wait and see how the battle unfolds... best if they both suffer heavy losses, then she strikes from behind like a yellow oriole, captures Lu Xingzhou; that would be the most perfect.

The teleportation treasure's cooldown ended just tonight! Perhaps it could even be counted as saving Lu Xingzhou's life!

Pei Chuyun turned around in a flash and squatted back in her own courtyard.

Then she discovered that during the time she was away, it seemed A Nuo was missing... only Lu Xingzhou sat alone in the courtyard, sipping wine and admiring the moon on his own.

Truly not valuing his life?

Pei Chuyun could even feel the sound of wind approaching from a distance; the outer perimeter of the guest courtyard was already surrounded...

"Whoosh!" A black shadow approached Lu Xingzhou's back silently and swiftly as lightning.

Pei Chuyun saw clearly; it was a black infant body, but the face was terrifyingly grotesque, with hands spread wide, stabbing towards Lu Xingzhou's neck.

Suddenly, the Bai Fan appeared in Lu Xingzhou's hand; countless resentful souls howled out and tangled with that black infant.

The infant suddenly let out a piercing wail that echoed across Manshan.

It was that black flames were mixed among the resentful souls, burning the infant's hands away.

But this wail shook Lu Xingzhou's soul violently, causing all the resentful souls to be shaken apart; Lu Xingzhou hurriedly retracted them, turned his wheelchair, and threw a punch.

Red and blue qi spiraled and exploded in his hand; with a "Boom!", as if a powerful bomb had been injected, the black infant was blasted into fragments.

A furious voice came from the air: "Lu Xingzhou! You destroyed my treasure; die for me!"

The black shadow approached rapidly, and terrifying black fog enveloped the courtyard.

"Clang!" A brilliant blade light flew from the sky, illuminating the night and scattering the mist.

Jing Ge descended from the sky, chopping heavily into the black fog with one blade, blocking the attack.

The man never expected that after following Lu Xingzhou and watching him flirt with a girl all day, he would actually run into a demonic cultivator at night!

However, at this moment, this demonic cultivator looked nothing like the old Abbot; within the black fog was a withered, thin body, entirely black, with an infant's head drilling out from the dantian, looking extremely terrifying.

Jing Ge flew into a rage: "Ying Gui! It really is you!"

The Infant Ghost let out a cackling, eerie laugh: "Commander Jing, why are you like a lingering ghost that won't fade? With only you alone, I'm afraid you'll be trapped here."

"Who said he's alone?" Lu Xingzhou rubbed his hands together, and a third-grade Five Thunder Talisman quickly ignited: "The talismans from the Burning Incense Tower are quite high in grade."

"Boom—boom—boom!" The Five Thunder Righteous Technique, specifically effective against Yin Corpses, illuminated the sky.

The Infant Ghost swiftly dodged aside, while Jing Ge's blade light followed like a shadow, sealing off all escape routes.

The Infant Ghost could only summon a black cloak to forcibly withstand the Five Thunder: "Huo Lu said you were somewhat strange, and indeed so... It's one thing to casually pull out a third-grade talisman, but that you even have the power to wield it is truly rare."

Indeed, talismans cannot be wielded across grades at will; if Ye Tinglan were to draw a talisman and give it to a beginner, the beginner would only be consumed by backlash and die if they tried to use it.

This Lu Xingzhou, at sixth grade, wielding a third-grade talisman, crossed the gap so absurdly that even Jing Ge found it hard to comprehend.

He had thought Lu Xingzhou was too far behind in level to interfere in a third-grade battle, but unexpectedly, both sides were taken aback. Jing Ge's fighting style immediately shifted to entanglement, protecting their own spellcaster.

The Infant Ghost sneered: "You think this will entrap this one? Do you know why I cultivated the Evil Infant Method?"

As the words fell, several more infant phantoms suddenly sprouted on either side of his body, grinning savagely as they detached from his form, bypassing Jing Ge to charge at Lu Xingzhou.

Jing Ge was about to turn back to help Lu Xingzhou, but saw Lu Xingzhou sigh: "Isn't it just a Summoner... my Soul Banner is a bit weak, but I have other things..."

Three talismans flew out, "Bang!" transforming into three fourth-grade Talisman Spirits, which immediately clashed with the infant phantoms.

The Soul Banner rose again, and resentful souls let out a piercing shriek.

This time, it was an army of resentful souls with a leader at the front; the effect was different... Those few infant phantoms were only fourth-grade in strength, and were furiously entangled, torn apart, and devoured by the Talisman Spirits and resentful souls, their screams utterly ghastly.

Jing Ge twitched the corner of his mouth and silently hacked at people.

He felt as though he were participating in a demonic path decisive battle; the scene was so bizarre that you couldn't even tell which side was the villain.

In the blink of an eye, the encirclement rapidly closed in.

Their own people were closing in, yet the Infant Ghost, contrary to his earlier arrogance, now looked grave: "Since you guessed this one was here, you should know this is this one's territory. Yet you dare stand here as two people, entangling in the encirclement without leaving... what is your purpose?"

"Abbot, it's bad!" A Monk from afar came running, shouting in a rage: "The Prefect's Guard has burst into the temple! Under the lead of a child, they are heading straight for the Bone-Hiding Hall!"

The Infant Ghost's face changed in shock.

How could the Prefect suddenly intervene?

Even Jing Ge sighed: "Brother Lu's judgment... I truly bow to it now."

Pei Chuyun, who had been lying in ambush, stood with mouth agape... While she ran off to eavesdrop on the conversation between Huo Lu and the Infant Ghost, what had Lu Xingzhou done?

(End of this chapter)