Chapter 80: I'll apologize to your mother!!!

Beihua Tower, the best inn in Fengtian City, was the final lodging place for many high-ranking senior elders from top-tier Taoist sects beyond the Great Wall.

Ordinary disciples of Taoist sects, or those from ordinary sects, stayed in the courtyards arranged by the officials beside the site of the Luotian Grand Offering.

As a temple possessing a contemporary Celestial Master, Biyu Temple naturally had booked an independent courtyard here at Beihua Tower.

Six in the morning, the first light of dawn was faint, the sky not yet bright.

Yet, the main hall within the courtyard was brightly lit, filled with Taoist priests dressed in emerald green robes, each face bearing the exhaustion and gravity of a sleepless night.

Last night, the disciple of Master Lingchen, Zhao Bing, was killed in the street.

The body was charred black, the manner of death wretched.

The four corpses were only dragged back in the dead of night.

For Biyu Temple, this was no different from a resounding slap to the face.

No matter what, Biyu Temple was a Taoist sect presided over by a contemporary Celestial Master.

To kill a disciple of Biyu Temple right under the public gaze like that?

Of course, their own disciple from Biyu Temple was truly a disgrace.

A thousand wrongs, ten thousand wrongs, he should not have committed the act most despised by the Taoist community—kicking over someone's spirit tablet and trampling their Founding Master.

It was precisely because of this that Biyu Temple found itself in a dilemma.

To go and cause trouble for that Lu Yuan?

If word got out, the entire Taoist world would only scorn Biyu Temple for raising such a vile creature, saying he deserved to die.

But if they just swallowed this insult, gritting their teeth and bearing it without any response at all…

That would truly lose face for Biyu Temple.

After all, a disciple from a sect with a contemporary Celestial Master was killed outside, yet there was no reaction whatsoever.

Never mind how outsiders would view it, just the disciples within their own temple would feel disheartened.

Because this Taoist profession is the most protective of its own.

Famously siding with kin over reason!

Provoke a small lamp, and a medium lamp comes; beat the medium lamp, and an old lamp arrives!

Basically, all Taoist sects have this same temperament.

Even though this Zhao Bing did the deed of kicking the spirit tablet and trampling the Founding Master, in the eyes of his fellow disciples at the temple, this matter absolutely could not be left like this!

Moreover, if one really argued this matter, Lu Yuan's actions were also a bit too extreme.

You could have beaten him to severe injury, leaving him with one breath.

You could even have captured him first, then escorted him back to Biyu Temple.

Let Biyu Temple first expel him from the jade register, removing his name from Biyu Temple.

Then you, Lu Yuan, could have killed him, and Biyu Temple wouldn't have said much.

But a thousand wrongs, ten thousand wrongs, you shouldn't have killed him directly in the street!

But now, speaking of it again.

The difficulty of this matter lies in…

Hey!!

Zhao Bing wasn't actually killed by Lu Yuan!!

He was shot to death by a woman!

Good heavens, not a single handle to grasp on Lu Yuan, yet everyone knows this is essentially the same as Lu Yuan killing him.

These senior-ranking Taoist priests of Biyu Temple discussed all night without reaching any conclusion.

So much so that now it was daylight, and all sides were waiting for Biyu Temple's response.

Finally…

The temple master of Biyu Temple, Celestial Master He Zhen, who had been sitting at the head of the table with his eyes closed in meditation, slowly opened his eyes.

Not a ripple of magical power emanated from him, yet the air pressure in the entire room sank.

"Forget it."

Celestial Master He Zhen's voice was very soft, yet it suppressed all other noise.

"Ultimately, the fault lies with us."

He waved his hand and stood up.

"Send someone to deliver a message, have that youngster come over."

"Today at noon, on the grounds of the Luotian Grand Offering, in front of all the major Taoist sects, he will offer a salute and an apology to our Biyu Temple."

"This matter will then be considered closed."

As his words fell, Master Lingchen, sitting at the far end of the table, abruptly looked up, his face full of shock and unwillingness.

"Master?!"

"It's just settled like that?!"

Originally, Celestial Master He Zhen wasn't angry, or rather, he had been suppressing his anger, not letting it erupt.

But after Master Lingchen finished speaking, Celestial Master He Zhen directly became enraged.

"You still have the face to say that?!"

He slammed the table fiercely, scolding Master Lingchen:

"Look at what your disciple did! What kind of thing is that?!"

"Making the entire Biyu Temple share in the shame!!"

"If that fool of a disciple of yours had done even one thing that was justified, we wouldn't be in such a passive position!"

With the Celestial Master's wrath, Master Lingchen instantly turned ashen, deeply lowering his head, not daring to speak another word.

Celestial Master He Zhen swept his gaze around, taking in the varied expressions of everyone present.

Some felt there was no problem with handling it lightly like this.

Others felt this method of handling was still too weak.

After all, the other party had directly killed a Biyu Temple disciple in the street.

Handling it like this, the other disciples within the temple might not necessarily be satisfied.

Taoist sects protecting their own, siding with kin over reason, this is a tradition carved into their bones.

And just as this strange atmosphere hung in the air, Celestial Master He Zhen suddenly said quietly:

"An eighteen or nineteen-year-old Celestial Master, unprecedented since ancient times!"

Celestial Master He Zhen suddenly dropped this sentence, and for a moment, everyone was stunned.

Right… right!

They had forgotten about that.

Wait…

Is there really an eighteen or nineteen-year-old Celestial Master?!

Zhenlong Temple?

Never heard of it before…

Who is the temple master of Zhenlong Temple?

Who is this Lu Yuan's master?

While everyone was stunned, Celestial Master He Zhen spoke again, his tone carrying a trace of weariness.

"If you all are still unconvinced, then… seek instruction from the Founding Master."

…

A quarter of an hour later.

Celestial Master He Zhen turned around from in front of the Founding Master's spirit tablet, from which the azure smoke rose straight up without the slightest bend.

"The Founding Master agrees."

He made the final decision.

"Send invitations to the various Taoist sects. Today at noon, in front of the Luotian Grand Offering altar, that Lu Yuan will come to offer an apology, go through the motions, and this matter will be closed!"

…

At the same time.

Three men and three horses galloped at high speed towards the dilapidated Mountain God Temple outside Fengtian City.

Not long after, Lu Yuan and the other two, who had stayed up all night with bloodshot eyes, arrived at the familiar place.

The place where Gu Qingwan had shattered the twenty-star top-tier fierce evil with a single palm.

Also the place where they last saw Yellow Braised Chicken.

Without a single wasted word, a simple altar was quickly set up.

Lu Yuan's face was as dark as water as he placed the charred Yellow Immortal Tribulation Knot in the center of the altar.

Three coarse ceramic bowls were arranged according to the "Three Powers" positions of Heaven, Earth, and Man.

The Heaven-position bowl contained rootless water, inside which was placed a consecrated Bagua coin, its hole threaded with a red string tied to the knot's heavenly thunder pearl.

The Earth-position bowl contained pure local soil from three feet underground, within which three grains of raw glutinous rice were buried, and three light blue tassels from the end of the tribulation knot were placed.

The Man-position bowl contained a mixture of three drops of blood from Lu Yuan's middle finger blended with cinnabar; the main body of the Yellow Immortal Tribulation Knot was immersed in it, leaving only the merit bead exposed above the liquid surface.

Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an stood to the left and right, holding willow branches dipped in rooster blood, tracing "Door-Closing Talismans" in the air to block external yin winds.

Lu Yuan took off his outer robe, wearing only an unbleached plain linen Taoist robe, taking the meaning of "original color for spiritual communication," and stood barefoot before the altar.

He took mulberry bark paper and swiftly wrote a "Tracing Origin Talisman" with a vermilion brush; the talisman's core was drawn with spiral patterns circling within circles, symbolizing the reversal of time.

The talisman paper was burned over a candle flame, its ashes completely falling into the blood-cinnabar liquid in the Man-position bowl.

The liquid immediately bubbled finely, as if water were slightly boiling.

Lu Yuan formed the "Spirit-Chasing Seal" with both hands.

His left index finger extended straight, the remaining four fingers clenched into a fist, symbolizing the "Needle that Fixes the Trail."

His right hand's five fingers were spread and slightly curved, forming the shape of a "Claw that Seizes."

Both hands clasped together before his chest, he closed his eyes to concentrate, reciting the core incantation:

"Heaven, Earth, and Man, the Three Powers bear witness; hair, essence, and blood together serve as proof."

"Now with a blood pact, I connect to the spiritual resonance, to trace the former trail of the original owner."

"Let latitude and longitude appear in the bowl, let scenes manifest in the crystal!"

With each line of the incantation recited, a corresponding phenomenon occurred in the bowls:

When reciting "Heaven, Earth, and Man," rainwater in the Heaven-position bowl swirled counterclockwise.

When reciting "hair, essence, and blood," the glutinous rice in the Earth-position bowl rapidly turned black.

When reciting "trace the original owner," faint golden light spots appeared on the surface of the blood-cinnabar liquid in the Man-position bowl, flickering like a star chart.

Lu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes, bit the tip of his tongue, and spat a mouthful of true yang saliva towards the space above the three bowls!

Amidst the spreading blood mist, his right sword-finger pointed swiftly at the merit bead in the Man-position bowl, shouting:

"Merit as the guide, remnant spirit reveal the shadow—Appear!"

The merit bead erupted with a milky white radiance; mist from the three bowls surged skyward, intertwining in mid-air to form a hazy light screen.

Images flickered within the light screen, finally settling.

It was a birch forest; from a bird's-eye view, all traces were laid bare.

[On the birch tree trunk to the east, nine pitch-black triangular iron caltrops were nailed, their tips hanging a few broken golden-white hairs!]

[To the west, scattered yellow talisman paper lay on the ground, the talisman head twisted into the character for "Forbid," the talisman core drawn with a birdcage, the talisman foot's imprint blurred like "Lock Spirit."]

[To the south, a broken section of thin copper chain was discarded in the grass, its rings engraved with the character for "Suppress" written backwards, stained with black blood and yellow downy hair.]

[Yellow Immortal claw prints, cloth shoe prints, small round indentations, arranged in a pattern, as if a ritual tool had been stamped on the ground.]

[At the edge of the clearing, six small apricot-yellow flags were inserted, their surfaces mostly burned, remnants of cinnabar trapping array patterns visible.]

[The flagpoles were carved from thunder-struck wood, the wood splinters rough.]

A complete set of vicious arrays designed to surround, capture, and take alive!

Just as the light screen was about to dissipate, Lu Yuan's left hand made a grasping motion, and he uttered a low shout:

"Remnant spirits return to the origin, residual energy attach to form!"

"Three strands of hair from the iron caltrops, one thread of spirit from the talisman ashes!"

"Blood energy from the copper chain, residual resonance from the array flags."

"Hear my command, swiftly attach to this knot."

Within the light screen, the hairs, talisman ashes, and blood energy transformed into several faint threads of light, piercing through the illusory screen to wrap around the tribulation knot on the altar.

The merit bead suddenly transmitted a cold, repelling sensation.

Lu Yuan changed his hand gesture, shifting from gathering to guiding.

His right index finger traced the character for "Reveal" on the surface of the merit bead, concentrating the spell power to a single point, and he uttered a low shout:

"Foreign object mixed within, same origin repels each other."

"Pearl light as a mirror, illuminate your true form."

"Reveal!"

The milky white light of the merit bead contracted into a slender beam, shooting towards a crevice at the root of the second birch tree on the eastern side of the light screen.

Half-covered by dead leaves, where the beam shone, the soil emitted an extremely faint emerald fluorescence.

It's you!

Lu Yuan transformed his True Qi into threads, probing into the illusory image of the light screen, and with a fierce flick towards that fluorescent spot!

*Pop*

A light spiritual resonance sound!

A strand of solidified, jade-like emerald light thread was actually forcibly pulled out by him from the image of the "past"!

The light thread fell into the Earth-position bowl, touching the glutinous rice that had already turned to charcoal.

*Hiss—!*

The black ashes recoiled, actually reforming above the rim of the bowl!

A palm-sized jade plaque phantom slowly materialized.

The plaque was crystal clear throughout, like icy emerald, its edges carved with intricate wave patterns.

On the front, a three-story Taoist temple design was carved in intaglio, the plaque above the gate bearing two ancient seal script characters:

Biyu!

Lu Yuan's pupils contracted sharply.

He stared fixedly at the back of the jade plaque, where there were also four lines of inscription carved in tiny regular script.

"Purple qi from the east condenses into emerald,"

"The cold pool of the northern land nourishes this essence."

"The temple named Biyu is no empty talk,"

"It locks the spiritual truth to serve the Supreme Purity!"

Seeing these four lines of inscription before him, Lu Yuan's bloodshot eyes hardened with ferocity.

"Fuck their mothers!"

"Biyu Temple!"

The next moment, Lu Yuan turned and left:

"Let's go!"

"To Biyu Temple!!"

…

Eight in the morning.

Celestial Master He Xun sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, cold sweat seeping from his temples had already soaked his hairline.

Before the spirit tablet in front of him, several broken incense sticks were inserted into the incense burner.

It's exploding.

His head was about to explode.

Originally, Celestial Master He Xun had many engagements today.

Having just entered Fengtian City, there were many things to do, but now all had been pushed aside by Celestial Master He Xun.

Celestial Master He Xun now had absolutely no idea what was happening, why the Founding Master and his own master were like this, impossible to appease!!!

From last night until now, he had lit incense six times.

All six times, it went wrong!

The first time, the azure smoke didn't form a line, scattering chaotically like tangled hemp, making his eyes water.

The second time, the incense didn't burn vigorously; the lit tip seemed as if soaked in water, flickering uncertainly.

In the end, it even choked out a pungent, spicy smell like burning dried chili peppers!

Later, it became simply terrifying.

Before the incense ash could fall, it actually "crackled" and burst into sparks in mid-air, like will-o'-the-wisps darting about!

This scared Celestial Master He Xun so much he didn't dare light it again, didn't dare ask again.

Now Celestial Master He Xun was completely bewildered.

No…

What on earth does this mean??!!

Had he done something that defied heavenly principles?

Celestial Master He Xun even reflected on the time he peeked at the big girls bathing when he was a kid.

How… how could the Founding Master and his own master… be this angry??

For a moment, Celestial Master He Xun began to suspect if his own great limit had arrived??

Or if his great tribulation had come??

Were the Founding Master and his master giving him a warning??

Anyway, now Celestial Master He Xun was so scared he didn't even dare step outside.

Afraid that the moment his left foot stepped out the main gate, his back foot would slip, and with a loud thud, he'd directly smash his head against the doorframe and die.

Celestial Master He Xun felt this was very possible, after all, it just snowed beyond the Great Wall yesterday…

Hmm…

Possible my ass!!

Mother dear…

What the hell happened?!

What major event is this?!

At this moment, Celestial Master He Xun's mind was in turmoil, frantically reciting true scriptures, praying for the Founding Master to give enlightenment…

And just then, Song Yan hurriedly rushed in, stumbling and crawling:

"Master!!!"

"Master!!"

"I understand!!! I know what's going on!!"

"Master, look quickly!!"

Celestial Master He Xun abruptly opened his eyes, bloodshot, staring fixedly at his disciple.

He saw Song Yan actually slide-kneel from the doorway, *whoosh* sliding right up to Celestial Master He Xun.

Then he shoved the invitation in his hand directly into Celestial Master He Xun's grasp.

"It's… it's Bi… Biyu Temple's… invitation!"

Song Yan was panting, out of breath. Just now at the main gate, Song Yan received the invitation sent by Biyu Temple, and after asking a bit about the situation.

Only then did Song Yan understand why the Founding Master and his own master had been causing such a ruckus all night, impossible to appease!

Celestial Master He Xun snatched the invitation, his fingers trembling, urgently asking:

"What's wrong? Speak quickly! Is it related to Biyu Temple?"

Song Yan finally caught his breath, his face pale as he shouted:

"Yes!!"

"Not… not just related, the root is with my junior brother!"

"That heavenly thunder last night was summoned by Junior Brother Lu Yuan!"

"He and his senior brothers were doing work at the Pear Garden in the old city district. They had just gone in when those four beasts from Biyu Temple kicked over Junior Brother's ritual altar outside!"

Then, Song Yan took a big gasp and hurriedly continued:

"And then they kicked the Founding Master's spirit tablet of Zhenlong Temple into the muddy ground, and then went up and stomped on it!!"

Celestial Master He Xun: "????"

Zhenlong Temple Founding Master's spirit tablet?

A *buzz* went off in his head, as if struck by a heavy hammer.

Celestial Master He Xun's neck turned like a rusty gear, inch by inch, towards the space above the altar table.

[The Position of Zhang Jiuting, True Man of Nine Heavens Responding to Primordial Principles and Upholding Laws, Thunder-Wielding Celestial Master, Dispelling Illusions Golden Thunder]

Celestial Master He Xun: "????"

Fuck me!!!

Lu Yuan's Founding Master, isn't that fucking my Founding Master too?!

Zhenlong Temple's Founding Master, isn't that fucking my Tianlong Temple's Founding Master too?!

Damn it!!

So the root is here!!!

Those dog-fucking Biyu Temple bastards kicked my Tianlong Temple's Founding Master!!!

…

At the same time, the Luotian Grand Offering altar site.

In the center of the bustling, noisy grounds, the atmosphere was murderously solemn.

Lu Yuan looked towards Celestial Master He Zhen sitting in the very center, his furious voice resounding across the entire area:

"I APOLOGIZE YOUR FUCKING MOTHER!!!"

The next second, Lu Yuan roared with all his might:

"RETURN MY IMMORTAL FRIEND!!!"