Chapter 108: Chapter 108: New Demon Soldier and Spirit Gathering Array

Daoist Wen Yang arrived at Qianmu Temple through arrangements made by the Daoist Scripture Hall, so the temple held a corresponding Dharma assembly and sacrificial ceremony in its front hall.

The assembly and ceremony lasted for four hours, drawing tens of thousands of people from the surrounding area. They completely congested the front hall of Qianmu Temple and the path leading up the mountain.

After enduring the assembly, Wen Yang, Yu Cheng, and Wang Ping went to Yu Cheng Taoist’s small courtyard in the rear mountains. An acolyte had already prepared a simple lunch with wine.

After downing a cup of wine, Wang Ping took the opportunity to ask, "What was the final outcome of the Corpse Soldiers case?"

"Leng Qianhu was imprisoned, and the Commander of the Imperial Guard for Mozhou Road was thoroughly investigated—they even took down the sign of the Government Office. By the time I left, the prison carriage escorting Leng Qianhu to Shangjing City was already on its way. The Vice Thousand Households, Yu Er... was sentenced to execution with a stay, and his clan was exiled to the frontier!"

"That seems a bit harsh," Wang Ping commented.

Wenyang Taoist shook his head, his expression impassive as he continued, "They had a two-pronged plan for this case from the start. One was the fake spirit. If it hadn’t been discovered, it would have become the root of future turmoil in Mozhou Road. Since it was discovered, they used the opportunity to kick the Commander of the Imperial Guard out of Mozhou Road. And me, as well. I’m no longer in charge of Mozhou Road."

"How could it involve you?" Yu Cheng Taoist asked, confused.

"They know me well. With something like this happening on my watch, could I really have the face to stay?" Wenyang Taoist picked up his wine cup. "Perhaps I was the real source of turmoil in Mozhou Road. Without me meddling in things, the situation there might actually stabilize."

"Was it Xiao Shan Lord?" Wang Ping couldn’t hold back the question.

Wenyang Taoist shook his head. "How could a Lord of his stature personally get involved in something like this? He only needs to have an idea, and his subordinates will carry it out for him. He might only learn of the matter from the final investigation report. In that case, this knowledge stops with the three of us. Do you understand?"

"I understand, of course," Wang Ping nodded, then took the opportunity to ask, "What’s the deal with Wenhai?"

"A minor character, but watch out for him lashing out. Qianmu Temple has operated in this region for so long; you won’t let him get the better of you, will you?"

’That certainly wasn’t the question Wang Ping had wanted to ask, but since Daoist Wen Yang put it that way, he felt it was best not to press the issue.’

Wen Yang looked at Yu Cheng Taoist, then his gaze fell upon Wang Ping. He took a Bronze Bell from his storage bag and said, "This is the Demon Soldier from Xia Bian Village, the one that can drag people into illusions. To use it, you must first try to construct an illusion. It can store a total of three. During the construction process, you will unknowingly fall into the illusion yourself, and your consciousness will be pulled into it from time to time."

"The way to avoid this is to use your divine soul to communicate with heaven and earth, projecting the part of your consciousness that is trapped in the illusion into it first. This will cause you to lose a portion of your divine soul, which takes seven days to recover each time. Also, the range of each illusion does not exceed two li."

After hearing this, Yu Cheng Taoist commented, "It’s perfect for ambushes."

Wen Yang said, "It could also be placed in an important area of the sect." He then added for Wang Ping’s benefit, "We’ve named it the Water Moon Bell—from the idiom ’Mirror Flower Water Moon.’ The value of this Demon Soldier is slightly lower than the one you traded me. The one you gave me can control a Fire Spirit as long as it has enough energy, at the cost of some degree of burns to the body."

He looked at Yu Cheng Taoist and explained, "Back then, Xuanhe used it in a trade, and I had to accept. I did need it, after all. As compensation... I can provide a set of Wood Spirit-attribute Spirit Gathering Array. Fellow Daoist Changqing currently needs to merge with his Spirit Communication Talisman. With this array, the merging speed can be significantly increased."

"Also..."

Wen Yang looked at Wang Ping again. "I heard from your master that you want to set up the Nine Extremes Array on Qianmu Mountain. I can give you information about a Fire Spirit Vein, as well as the right to compete for it. Whether you can obtain it, however, is up to you. And this Fire Spirit Vein is most likely not in Zhongzhou."

"Are you satisfied with this trade?"

"I’m the one getting the better end of the deal," Wang Ping replied quickly.

"Good. Take this Water Moon Bell and the Spirit Gathering Array for now. As for the information on the Fire Spirit Vein, I don’t have it yet."

Wang Ping stood up and accepted the bell and the Spirit Gathering Array, which was sealed in a jade slip, from Wen Yang. He said, "I was just worrying about a Spirit Gathering Array. Thank you, Fellow Daoist."

After speaking, he put the two items into his storage bag under Yu Lian’s curious gaze. Just then, Yu Cheng Taoist spoke up, "Fellow Daoist, about you leaving Mozhou Road..."

Wenyang Taoist interrupted, "The grand scheme of things won’t change..."

He gave a wry smile and repeated what he had said earlier. "I was serious before. Perhaps after I leave, the situation in Mozhou Road might improve in some other way. I suspect those at the top have already reached some kind of agreement. Xiao Shan Lord won’t be able to stir up any major trouble for a while. He doesn’t want any accidents happening when he’s trying to advance to the Fifth Realm. Compromise is the inevitable result."

"How long is ’a while’?"

"A century or two, I’d say."

"..."

"However, small-scale conflicts will continue. During this century or two, the power of the great families in Zhongzhou will expand rapidly. Make good use of this time to make your own arrangements. And if possible, try your best to strive for the Third Realm."

Wenyang Taoist continued his analysis, "Of course, it’s also possible that the tacit agreement at the top will become void in a few decades. We just need to remember one thing: as long as the Court’s four divisions of the Imperial Guard remain, the world will not fall into chaos. But if even one of those four divisions meets with disaster, the world will be plunged into great turmoil."

Yu Cheng Taoist said, "If Xiao Shan Lord advances to the Fifth Realm, I’m afraid it won’t be as simple as the world falling into chaos. Even the Daoist Scripture Hall might face upheaval. It will be a time of madness and anarchy. At that point, unrestrained cultivators will become the source of all turmoil."

Hearing this, Wen Yang sighed. "This is the grand tide of events. No one can stop it. If you don’t want to be swept up in these matters, the only way is to enter seclusion, meditate, and wait for the world to know peace once more."

That was true enough, but every time a situation like this arose, countless people would leave their mountain sects. Cultivation itself is a form of desire. Everyone hopes for a final destination of transcendence—free of want, free of craving, free of self—and an eternal life as long as that of heaven and earth.

And yet, the process of pursuing these goals inevitably required one to first experience all the dirty dealings of the mortal world.

It was a great contradiction...

Just like the contents of the *Annotations on Heaven and Man*.

Before nightfall, Wenyang Taoist rose to take his leave. Wang Ping and Yu Cheng Taoist saw him to the mountain gate, after which the master and disciple spoke for a while longer.

「Back at the Mountain Peak Dojo.」

Wang Ping eagerly took out the jade slip that sealed the Spirit Gathering Array. After he finished examining it, a glowing panel popped up:

[Liangyi Wood Spirit Array: A mobile Spirit Gathering Array that uses a cultivator’s Qi Sea as its core and Water Spirits and Wood Spirits as its foundation. It gathers and converts Spiritual Qi for the cultivator’s use by leveraging the Heaven and Earth Rules of Yin-Yang Liangyi and the symbiotic relationship between water and wood.]

[1: Place the Wood-type and Water-type Gathering Spirit Spiritual Objects according to the Eight Directions, and connect them with the accompanying Secret Runes. See the diagram below for the Secret Runes...]

[2: Use your Qi Sea to communicate with the Secret Runes and open the Rune Lines. This allows the Spiritual Objects to connect through the Secret Runes, forming a fixed Spirit Gathering Array.]

[Note 1: When refining the array, first connect to the Spirit Communication Talisman in your Qi Sea. You will then know what to do next.]

[Note 2: Refine the array in a location with sufficient Spiritual Qi density to increase the refining speed. (Current Density: 69/100. Speed slightly boosted.)]

[Note 3: The difficulty of this array lies in the initial setup. Novices should practice with ordinary Spiritual Objects. With your level of comprehension, practicing about 300 times should raise your success rate to over 80/100. (Progress: 0/300)]

[Note 4: Refining the completed array is almost impossible to fail, but failure is still a possibility. Do not get distracted during the refining process, or you will become a laughingstock.]