Chapter 83 Undercurrent (IV)

Qi Xuansu finally arrived at the gate of Qingbai Temple along the mountain road. Looking around, he saw that such a large Taoist temple was quite impressive, but it was not popular enough, so it seemed that the Taoist temple was very deserted, even lifeless.

The door of the Taoist temple was closed tightly, so Qi Xuansu had no choice but to go up and knock on the door.

After a long time, the door slowly opened from the inside, revealing a human face.

This person is not a Taoist priest of high rank, but an ordinary Taoist.

Perhaps it was because no one had come to Qingbai Temple to burn incense for so long, so the Taoist priest asked directly: "Who are you looking for?"

Qi Xuansu took out his own ultimatum and said, "I am Qi Xuansu, a seventh-grade Taoist priest of Tiangang Hall. Please see the local temple leader."

The Taoist man was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses. He quickly opened the door of the Taoist temple and invited Qi Xuansu in. He asked him to wait in the concierge for a while while he went to report to the temple master.

The Taoist temple occupies a large area, and the back half is almost uninhabited and has been abandoned for a long time, so a pen of pigs was raised here.

Bai Yongguan stood outside the pig pen, looking at the big white pigs snatching food inside, with a smile on his face.

The host's wife, Li Zhen'er, stood beside Bai Yongguan, her face pale, and even her whole body was trembling.

After a while, a butcher wearing a dirty apron came over, holding a shining butcher knife in his hand.

"Master wants to kill a pig?" the butcher asked.

"Yes." Bai Yongguan nodded slightly.

The butcher looked at the pigs in the pen and asked, "Which one do you want to kill?"

Bai Yongguan pointed to the whitest and cleanest pig among them and said, "This one is good."

Li Zhener couldn't help but exclaimed and almost fainted.

Bai Yongguan was indifferent.

When the butcher saw this scene, he secretly wondered, could it be that this pig was raised by his wife? It is not unusual for a woman to raise cats, dogs, birds, and rabbits. I have never heard of raising pigs, but this hobby is very strange.

It seems that the master of the temple couldn't stand it anymore, so he decided to kill the pig.

The butcher stopped thinking deeply and walked towards the pig with his knife. The pig's face showed a look of fear like a human's, and it couldn't help but shrink back.

At this moment, there was a knocking sound on the closed door of the backyard.

"Who?" Bai Yongguan asked, his face showing displeasure at being interrupted.

The butcher also stopped what he was doing.

A reply came from outside the door: "Master, there is a seventh-grade Taoist priest from Tiangang Hall who wants to see the master and is waiting in the concierge."

Bai Yongguan was slightly startled: "A Taoist priest from Tiangang Hall."

He was silent for a while and then said: "Invite him to the main hall, I will be there immediately."

There was a reply from the door, and he turned around.

Bai Yongguan stared at the pig in the pig pen with a cold look on his face. After a long time, he snorted coldly: "Forget it, I'll spare your life for now."

The butcher turned to look at Bai Yongguan: "Master, do you want to kill this pig?"

"Let's not kill him yet." Bai Yongguan finished his sentence and turned around and walked out of the backyard.

Li Zhen'er breathed a long sigh of relief and gently touched her chest.

The big white pig that almost died under the knife suddenly collapsed to the ground.

Only the butcher and the second monk were confused.

Bai Yongguan entered the main hall with a smile on his face and said, "Fellow Taoist Qi, I'm very polite, Bai Yongguan."

Qi Xuansu was surprised, because Bai Yongguan was clearly dressed as a Taoist priest of the fourth grade of sacrificial wine. He hurriedly returned the courtesy and said: "I don't dare to be such a mage."

"What kind of mage? He's just an idler in the mountains." Bai Yongguan waved his hand, "I wonder if fellow Daoist Qi holds any position in Tiangang Hall?"

"I don't want to take up the post of deacon." Qi Xuansu replied.

Bai Yongguan said: "It turns out to be Deacon Qi. Sit down, sit down and talk." He sat down first.

There is an unwritten rule in the Taoist sect. If the rank within the Taoist sect is high and the position is low, the title should be based on the rank. Therefore, Qi Xuansu calls Bai Yongguan "Master". If the rank is low but the position is high, the title will be based on the position, so Bai Yongguan calls Qi Xuansu "Deacon Qi". As for outsiders, the grade of Taoist priests shall prevail.

Qi Xuansu also sat down, without going around the bush, and said directly: "To be honest, Xuansu came here to ask for something."

"What's the matter?" Bai Yongguan looked surprised, "To be honest, I like to travel around the mountains and rivers on weekdays, and I don't often stay here. I just returned to the Taoist temple today, and I am not familiar with many local situations."

Qi Xuansu did not mention Zhang Yuelu's fortune-telling with the "Ziwei Dou Shu", but only briefly mentioned the matter of human heads and ancient temples.

"How could such a thing happen?" After hearing this, Bai Yongguan was filled with indignation at first, and then became silent.

After a moment, Official Bai Yong slowly said: "According to logic, as we are both disciples of the Taoist sect, I should not shirk it, but I have no responsibility to arrest the demon, so..."

Qi Xuansu knew that it was because he did not have enough weight, so he had to take out the token that Zhang Yuelu gave him: "Master Bai, I am also acting under the orders of the deputy hall master. I hope that the master can make an exception."

Bai Yongguan looked at the token in Qi Xuansu's hand, his eyes flickering slightly.

…

The water in the Tongtian River gradually calmed down, and there were still many broken ice floes on the river.

Suddenly, a hand reached out of the river, and water splashed everywhere.

Then I saw this palm grabbing the edge of a huge ice floe, and then the owner of the palm jumped out of the river with the force of support.

I saw this man with disheveled hair and wet body. He was the senior official of the Qingluan Guard who capsized his boat on the Tongtian River.

The current Qingluan Guard has one commander of the third rank, who is the chief officer of the Qingluan Guard; two commanders of the third rank, who are in charge of the North and South Pacification Offices respectively; two commanders of the fourth rank, who are directly under the commander; and two Pacification Envoys of the fourth rank, whose actual number varies, are respectively under the two commanders.

Although the Pacification Envoy is of the fourth rank, one level higher than the fifth rank Qianhu, the status of the two is actually not much different within the Qingluan Guard.

In fact, if the commander of the Qingluan Guard is relied on by the emperor and is strong enough, then the commander directly under the commander can compete with the two commanders in charge of the Pacification Office, and the Pacification Envoy will be on the same level as the Qianhu.

If the commander of the Qingluan Guard is not strong enough, then the two commanders will form a three-legged tripod with the commander, and the status of the Pacification Envoy will rise.

The current commander of the Qingluan Guard is highly trusted by the emperor. He is arbitrary and has the final say in the Qingluan Guard. The two commanders dare not disobey him. The status of the pacification envoy is naturally lower. Of course, if he is carrying an "order from above", it is another matter.

This person is a pacification envoy named Wang Zicheng, who is affiliated with the Southern Pacification Division. He followed the order of the co-governor and inspected the four directions, but he did not expect to be ambushed here.

Wang Zicheng tapped a series of ripples on the river and jumped onto the shore.

At this time, many figures appeared on the shore. Some people have already set up a formation and asked for the Dharma image. People who have not reached this level cannot ask for the Dharma image, but there is also divine power surging around them.

Wang Zicheng looked around and murmured, "Three Jade Void Stage Dharma Realm Wuzhu, what a big deal."

According to common sense, without considering factors such as strategy, time, location, and external objects, just in terms of realm cultivation, three Jade Void Stage people can match one Guizhen Stage person, four Jade Void Stage people can beat one Guizhen Stage person, and five Jade Void Stage people can almost kill one Guizhen Stage person.

At this time, in addition to the three Jade Void Stage Dharma Realm Wuzhu, there are also six Kunlun Stage Wuzhu in the Summoning God Realm.

The so-called Summoning God Realm is actually what people call "God Fighting". Although it cannot manifest the Dharma outside the body, it has its own divine power entering the body. Not only is it extremely powerful, but the physique is also strong, and it can even be invulnerable to swords and guns for a short period of time, which is even better than the warriors of the same realm. However, like the Dharma Realm, it is also difficult to last long, and it is impossible to summon gods all the time. If it is not summoned, the physique is very fragile, and it is impossible to compare with warriors.

At this time, all the witches and priests in the Kunlun stage have already invited the gods to possess their bodies, and they have divided into several groups, with several witches and priests in the Dharma Realm as the center, forming a formation.

Wang Zicheng has fallen into a very critical situation.

However, the Qingluan Guard is not like other government offices. The level of official position is closely and directly related to the realm of cultivation. All members of the Qingluan Guard, regardless of their official position, must have cultivation. The higher the cultivation, the higher the official position. Even if they are not good at managing affairs and cannot hold a real position, they must have a nominal title. This is the rule set by Emperor Taizong back then.

In addition, the Qingluan Guard must be good at fighting. They cannot have realm cultivation in vain. It is not just fists, feet, weapons and firearms, but also fierceness. If the two sides have equal cultivation, fight to the death, and pinch the other's throat at the same time, they will not die even if their throat is broken, and others will definitely die.

Although Wang Zicheng did not gain a foothold in the Qingluan Guards by his realm cultivation, and was considered to be one of those with weak cultivation but strong management ability, his cultivation should not be underestimated. He was a Qi-refining practitioner in the Refining Spirit Realm at the Return to Truth stage.

"Kill!" The leading Dharma Realm witch gave the order directly.

Although Wang Zicheng was shocked, he remained calm. He slapped out with one palm, and directly printed a dark palm print on the chest of a witch in the Summoning God Realm, which was clearly visible.

This was the "Black Evil Palm" of the Qingluan Guards. The palm was poisonous. If it hit the body, it would kill on the spot at the worst, and the poison would attack the heart at the least.

The witch staggered back, his face pale. The other two witches in the Yuxu stage took the opportunity to control the Dharma Realm to attack Wang Zicheng.

Wang Zicheng did not dodge, and resisted the joint attack of the two without any damage.

Looking more closely, Wang Zicheng was wearing "paper armor" under his clothes. It was not the paper armor used in the army, but the armor made of talisman paper folded into a style of armor. Once thrown on the body, it could be transformed into armor, also known as "divine talisman armor". Not only was it harder than iron armor, but it could also resist the energy. If the paper armor could not be broken, the inside could not be hurt. It was a real top-grade spiritual object.

Wang Zicheng pushed with both palms and directly knocked the two people out.

The four Kunlun stage witches and priests muttered something in their mouths, like fearless warriors, and surrounded Wang Zicheng.

Wang Zicheng took a step forward, turned his palm into a fist, and hit a witch and priest in the heart. With the sound of bones breaking, a fist-shaped bulge suddenly appeared on the back of the witch and priest.

Wang Zicheng shook off the corpse that was stuck to his fist, then turned his body and pulled his elbow back suddenly, landing heavily on the chin of a witch who wanted to attack from behind. Not only was the witch's jaw broken by the elbow, but his jaw suddenly closed and his tongue was bitten off, leaving his mouth full of blood.