Chapter 90

The night grew deeper.

Pei Chuyun wiped away her disguise, quietly left the neighboring courtyard, and infiltrated behind the Abbot's hall in her original appearance to spy.

There was a reason why Pei Chuyun blurted out Hongfa Temple when Lu Xingzhou asked about "attractions." She knew some inside information about Hongfa Temple and subconsciously led him there.

Hongfa Temple was, of course, not the residence of a virtuous monk, but a stronghold for the powerful demonic cultivator "Infant Ghost."

Infant Ghost had practiced the art of harvesting and replenishing, and had exchanged some cultivation vessels with the Enchantress Joyous Sect; the people were sent to Hongfa Temple, so she knew about it.

Originally, Pei Chuyun wasn't sure if Infant Ghost was still there after several years, but after hearing about the case Lu Xingzhou and Jing Ge discussed, she naturally knew—it must have been Infant Ghost; she could almost guess it from the name alone.

However, Pei Chuyun couldn't be sure which person in the temple was Infant Ghost—was it the Abbot? Or was Infant Ghost just using this place to work? So she needed to investigate.

When she led Lu Xingzhou here, her first reaction was to unite with demonic cultivators to deal with him. Her Enchantress Joyous Sect had a friendship with Infant Ghost, and since Lu Xingzhou wanted to deal with Infant Ghost, they were natural partners. Bringing him along to beat Lu Xingzhou would at least allow Infant Ghost to handle Jing Ge.

But now she was hesitant about this idea.

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

Did her revenge need to go that far? Pei Chuyun was indecisive.

She was secretly annoyed at Lu Xingzhou for being an idiot. Why did he have to act refined, stay in a temple, and watch the moon? If he had stayed back at that inn graveyard, there wouldn't be so much trouble!

*Wait!*

Pei Chuyun's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Lu Xingzhou told Jing Ge that watching him would flush out the demonic cultivator, then took the initiative to stay here, and when provoking Huo Lu, he explicitly stated he wanted to eliminate demons and defend the Dao...

Step by step, what if Lu Xingzhou knew all along that the demonic cultivator was here? Was he doing it on purpose?

How could he know the demonic cultivator was here? Could it be because she, Miss A-Zao, said she wanted to visit Hongfa Temple?

Pei Chuyun felt a chill in her heart, but she had already reached the Abbot's hall.

The Abbot's hall was brightly lit, and there were faint voices. Pei Chuyun peeked from behind the window and saw, sure enough, Huo Lu sitting across from the Abbot, drinking tea.

The old monk, who looked kind during the day, now sounded sinister: "...Helping the Fourth Young Master kill someone, what's in it for me?"

Huo Lu said indifferently: "Hasn't the Abbot heard him publicly claiming he's here to eliminate demons and defend the Dao?"

The old monk laughed: "He doesn't even know who the so-called demonic cultivator is; why would he eliminate demons and defend the Dao? It's even less likely he would suspect me without reason. It's just empty talk; why should I bother?"

Huo Lu said: "The woman beside him is charming and beautiful; is the Abbot not interested?"

Pei Chuyun: "?"

The old monk shook his head: "I have already abandoned the path of harvesting."

Pei Chuyun nodded slightly. Indeed, Infant Ghost hadn't cooperated with the Joyous Sect in years; so he had already abandoned this path.

The path of harvesting should be considered the most popular one among demonic cultivators. Even some in the righteous path kept cultivation vessels, viewing it as a matter of course. It was surprising that someone who had tasted the benefits would give it up, which shocked Pei Chuyun.

Huo Lu pondered for a moment: "Abbot, I'm not fear-mongering, but my seventh brother has been a bit strange since he suddenly reappeared in the world. My sixth brother led a group to Xiazhou and was wiped out inexplicably, not to mention that. Just look at the demon case in Xiazhou City and the demon case in Dongjiang Commandery; his shadow is in both. His talk of eliminating demons and defending the Dao may not be groundless; the Abbot should be a little more careful."

The old monk seemed to be deep in thought and didn't answer.

Huo Lu added: "To put it bluntly, Assistant Prefect Shi suffered a disaster for the Abbot's sake this time, and the Abbot owes us a big favor. Pushing back on such a trivial matter as killing a sixth-rank cultivator is really a bit unreasonable."

"He suffered a disaster for my sake?" The old monk sneered: "He was practicing the Evil Infant technique himself and was afraid of being tracked down by the one surnamed Jing, so he suppressed the investigation, which caused the one surnamed Jing to fly into a rage. That wasn't my doing."

Huo Lu wondered: "The Abbot's performance makes me feel... that you seem to be wary of Lu Xingzhou, pushing back on such a small matter."

"No need for reverse psychology." The old monk said indifferently: "I just want some promises from Assistant Prefect Huo in exchange. Do you think I look like a fool, letting you use me to remove a great threat to your family without paying a price?"

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

The old monk chuckled: "Speaking of which, this person is truly throwing himself into the jaws of hell; he actually wants to stay in my temple... then no one will know even if he dies."

"Don't be impatient, Abbot. I still have to go to the Yihong Courtyard to scatter some money and create an alibi." Huo Lu stood up and sighed: "After all, it's a family scandal; I don't want to be a laughingstock."

The old monk laughed and accompanied Huo Lu out the door.

Pei Chuyun thought about it and decided not to appear to seek cooperation; it was unnecessary.

Theoretically, with Jing Ge in ambush, Infant Ghost would likely suffer a great loss if he went to ambush Lu Xingzhou alone. But the problem was that this place was Hongfa Temple's home turf; she didn't know how many demonic cultivators were under Infant Ghost's command. Was Lu Xingzhou's preparation enough?

But this situation seemed to have been guided by Lu Xingzhou himself, just waiting for this moment... He should have precautions and wouldn't be easily surrounded.

It was better to lurk and see how the battle went... It would be best if both sides were severely injured, and then she could be the oriole behind, ambushing and capturing Lu Xingzhou; that would be perfect.

Her teleportation magic treasure's cooldown would end tonight! Maybe she could even be considered to have saved Lu Xingzhou's life!

Pei Chuyun slipped back and crouched in her own courtyard.

Then she discovered that during the time she was away, A-Nuo seemed to have disappeared... Lu Xingzhou was sitting alone in the courtyard, sipping wine and admiring the moon.

*Is he really not afraid of death?*

Pei Chuyun could even feel the sound of wind approaching from afar; there was already a perimeter around the guest quarters...

"Whoosh!" A black shadow approached Lu Xingzhou silently from behind, as fast as lightning.

Pei Chuyun saw clearly that it was a black infant body, but with a terrifying, ferocious face, its hands clawing toward Lu Xingzhou's neck.

Lu Xingzhou's white banner suddenly appeared in his hand, and countless vengeful spirits roared out, entangling with the black infant.

The infant suddenly let out a shrill cry that echoed throughout the mountain.

But black flames were mixed in with the vengeful spirits, burning the infant's hands away.

However, this cry shook Lu Xingzhou's soul violently, and the vengeful spirits were all scattered. Lu Xingzhou hurriedly retracted them and turned his wheelchair to throw a punch.

Red and blue qi spiraled and erupted in his hand. With a "boom," as if a powerful bomb had been injected, the black infant was blasted to pieces.

A furious voice came from the air: "Lu Xingzhou! You ruined my magic treasure; die!"

The black shadow approached rapidly, and terrifying black mist shrouded the courtyard.

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

Jing Ge descended from the sky, slashing heavily into the black mist, blocking the attack.

The man never expected that after tailing Lu Xingzhou and watching him pick up girls all day, a demonic cultivator would actually show up at night!

However, at this moment, the demonic cultivator didn't look like the old Abbot at all. In the black mist was a withered, thin body, entirely black, with an infant's head protruding from the dantian, looking extremely terrifying.

Jing Ge was furious: "Infant Ghost! It really is you!"

Infant Ghost laughed strangely: "Why must Commander Jing be like a lingering ghost? With you alone, I'm afraid you'll be trapped here."

"Who said he's alone?" Lu Xingzhou rubbed his hands, and a third-rank Five-Thunder Talisman ignited rapidly: "The talismans from the Incense-Burning Pavilion are of decent grade."

"Rumble!" The Five-Thunder Orthodox Method, which specifically countered yin corpses, illuminated the sky.

Infant Ghost dodged rapidly, but Jing Ge's blade light followed like a shadow, sealing all paths of retreat.

Infant Ghost could only sacrifice a black cloak to withstand the Five Thunder: "Huo Lu said you were a bit strange, and it's true... It's one thing to be able to pull out a third-rank talisman, but it's rare that you have the power to use it."

Yes, talismans couldn't be used across ranks casually. If Ye Tinglan drew a talisman and gave it to a beginner, the beginner would only be backlashed to death if they tried to use it.

This Lu Xingzhou, at the sixth rank, was using a third-rank talisman, which was an absurd leap, so much so that even Jing Ge couldn't understand it.

He had thought Lu Xingzhou's rank was too low to intervene in a third-rank battle, but both sides were surprised. Jing Ge's fighting style immediately changed to entanglement, protecting his own spellcaster.

Infant Ghost sneered: "You want to entangle me like this? Do you know why I practiced the Evil Infant technique?"

As he spoke, several more infant phantoms grew from his sides, grinning as they detached from his body and bypassed Jing Ge to rush toward 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 others..."

Three talismans flew out, "poofing" into three fourth-rank talisman spirits, entangling with the infant phantoms.

The soul banner rose again, and the vengeful spirits shrieked.

This time, it became an army of vengeful spirits with leaders in front, and the effect was different... Those infant phantoms were only fourth-rank in strength and were crazily entangled, torn, and devoured by the talisman spirits and vengeful spirits, their screams shrill and miserable.

Jing Ge twitched his mouth and slashed at people silently.

He always felt like he was participating in a demonic decisive battle; the scene was so strange that you didn't even know which side was the bad guy.

The battle between the two sides lasted only a moment, and the perimeter was rapidly approaching.

Their own people were surrounding them, but Infant Ghost had lost his previous madness and looked solemn: "Since you guessed I was here, you should know this is my territory. Yet you dare to stand in the perimeter and fight without leaving... what is your intention?"

"Abbot, it's bad!" A monk shouted frantically from afar: "The Prefect's guard has broken into the temple and is heading straight for the Bone-Storing Hall, led by a child!"

Infant Ghost was horrified.

*How could the Prefect suddenly intervene?*

Even Jing Ge sighed: "I really admire Brother Lu's judgment now."

Pei Chuyun, who was lurking, was dumbfounded... While she went to eavesdrop on Huo Lu and Infant Ghost's conversation, what had Lu Xingzhou done?