Chapter 167: Chapter 166: Everything is Ready

SWOOSH!

SWOOSH!

SWOOSH!

Inside the carriage, Gu Zhao held a palm-sized gourd in his left hand. In his right, the White Wolf Fan flickered in and out of existence as he played with it gleefully.

Zhuo Qingyan, seated to his left, had a smile on her face. The Silk Embroideress, on his right, watched with curious eyes. "It’s so magical!"

After playing for a moment, Gu Zhao placed the fan on the small table and began to carefully examine the gourd.

The gourd was neither gold, wood, nor stone. It felt like jade to the touch but had the texture of bronze. It was wide at the bottom and narrow at the top, with a slightly curved mouth and a matching thumb-sized lid.

The gourd was bronze-brown. On one side of its lower half, the character for "Dao" was carved into the surface. On the other was an inscription of a poem by Lü Zu: "In palm, a strange pearl; in sky, a full moon. When your work is done, you will enter the Daluo Celestial."

This perfectly matched the sentiment, ’Within the gourd lies a universe; the mountain’s name is Daluo Palace.’

The gourd’s material was the very same Heavenly and Earthly Treasure they had seized from the Stone King Cave. Taoist Yan Song had used Taiyi True Fire to melt it down, cast it into the shape of a gourd, and then refined it with his Magical Power.

Due to its unique properties, and with a copper pot and a copper bottle as references, they quickly deciphered the refinement method. Furthermore, because Taoist True Qi follows the Celestial Dao and models itself after nature, the resulting Storage Magical Treasure was perfectly functional.

The space inside the gourd was vast, and it could hold objects larger than its mouth.

Gu Zhao probed it with his Divine Sense. When he activated the gourd, any object brought to its mouth would react with a peculiar energy there, folding space to pass from the outside world into the gourd’s inner dimension.

In reality, the object’s actual size never changed. To an outside observer, however, it would appear to shrink as it entered the gourd’s mouth.

This was a visual discrepancy created at the intersection of the inner and outer spaces, caused by the vastness of the dimension within.

To retrieve an item, one simply had to lock onto it with their Divine Thought, and it would be ejected. Once it left the gourd’s mouth and returned to the world, it would naturally revert to its original size.

"Truly magical!" Gu Zhao sighed in admiration.

Unfortunately, this material was unique to this world. It was formed by dense Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, and the unusual energy within the material had a symbiotic relationship with the substance itself, making it impossible to replicate.

’If this could be replicated in the modern era...’

’Logistics costs would plummet!’

Gu Zhao: (◔◡◔)

...

"We’ve arrived at Changping Prefecture!" the driver, Li Erping, called out.

The Silk Embroideress lifted the window curtain and saw a city wall ahead, a third taller than those of Xiuyue County or Wuhe County. The city gate bustled with an endless stream of people coming and going.

"So many people! It’s so lively!"

"It is one of the Jiangzhou Eight Prefectures, after all. You can’t compare it to a small county town."

"Even though it’s broken free from the Court’s control, it remains a prefecture in name. With no external enemies, it has developed quite prosperously."

"It’s all thanks to the Dragon King of Wanling River holding the line to the north, and the Golden Wind Divine King presiding over Changping Prefecture."

"But our targets on this trip are the Golden Wind Divine King and the Prefectural Magistrate of Changping Prefecture!"

"It doesn’t matter. We’ll eliminate the Prefectural Magistrate and install the Prefectural Minister in his place," Taoist Yi Hong said calmly. "Then we’ll take over the Golden Wind Hall’s location and open a branch of Daluo Palace."

The other old Taoists were collectively speechless, but in an Extraordinary World, might simply made right.

The three carriages stopped at the entrance of a medium-sized inn. Gu Zhao and Zhuo Qingyan disembarked from the first carriage with the Silk Embroideress and Bai Ke, while Yunyang helped the other four old Taoists down from the two carriages behind them.

As Taoist Jing Feng got out of the carriage, he couldn’t help but look toward the northern part of the city.

He practiced the *Fengdu Black Law* and was extremely sensitive to the auras of Ghost Gods. Even though the Golden Wind Hall was revealing no trace of its presence, Taoist Jing Feng sensed it instantly.

"Its aura is powerful, but it’s unstable and impure," Taoist Jing Feng said with a frown. "There are many Ghost Gods inside, and no shortage of experts."

The other old Taoists tried to sense it carefully but detected nothing. Taoist Yan Song asked in a low voice, "They’ve concealed their auras. How did you sense them?"

A corner of Taoist Jing Feng’s mouth curved up. "As long as it’s a Ghost, it can’t escape my senses!"

At this point, Taoist Jing Feng added a warning, "I can also sense what feel like Qi Mechanism traps over there. It seems they’re already prepared. Could they know we’re coming?"

Taoist Ming Yu nodded and smiled. "If that’s the case, doesn’t that just make it easier to wipe them all out in one fell swoop?"

Taoist Yan Song chuckled. "You arrived late, so you don’t know. Our Sect Leader clashed with the Golden Wind Sect on the very first day and seized one of the Golden Wind Divine King’s Incense and Candle Divine Statues."

"Is that so?" Taoist Jing Feng only knew that they had killed Consort Yu of the Golden Wind Sect and rescued Zhuo Qingyan, whom the Golden Wind Divine King had coveted. As for other minor details, no one had bothered to mention them.

"I heard the Golden Wind Divine King has several centuries of Dao Practice. I wonder if he can be imprisoned in Mingling Prison," Taoist Jing Feng said with some anticipation.

"In your dreams!" Taoist Yan Song rolled his eyes. "A major Ghost like him, we’ll definitely have to join forces to destroy him and divide the Evil Qi. As for the other one, Consort Yun, if you have the skill, you can take her in yourself."

Taoist Jing Feng shook his head in disgust. "No, thanks."

The group parked the carriages in the inn’s rear courtyard, rented a few of the best rooms, and put away their more conspicuous luggage. Then, they circled the area where the Golden Wind Hall was located.

The Golden Wind Hall was situated in the northern part of Changping Prefecture City. As the main hall in the Prefecture City, it covered a vast area. The main temple had three courtyards and housed shrines to the Eight Guardians, the two Divine Consorts, and the Golden Wind Divine King. To the left were pavilions and gardens, to the right were the sect’s living quarters, and in the back was a hidden area.

The main gates of the Golden Wind Hall were wide open, and worshippers came and went in a steady stream. They burned incense to honor the gods, their faces glowing with health and vigor.

But the group didn’t look at these common people. Instead, they cast their gazes further, their sight seemingly penetrating through several layers of buildings to the hidden corners of the rear courtyard.

"Although the Power of Incense and Candlelight conceals it, it can’t hide that foul Evil Qi," Taoist Yi Hong said, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Besides Absorbing Yin and Nourishing Yang, and Absorbing Yang and Nourishing Yin, they also practice Soul Extraction and Essence Refinement." Taoist Yan Song’s gaze hardened. "They already have the Power of Incense and Candlelight, so why go to such lengths to commit these unrighteous acts?"

Zhuo Qingyan stated calmly, "Soul Extraction and Essence Refinement, besides being used for Soul-Devouring cultivation, can also be used to forge Magical Artifacts. Senior, don’t forget that the Stone King also forged the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner. The Golden Wind Divine King would be no different."

Taoist Yi Hong opened his eyes. "The villains must be killed!"

Taoist Ming Yu and Taoist Jing Feng nodded in unison. "Indeed, they must."

Taoist Yan Song asked Gu Zhao, "The Golden Wind Hall is quite large. Besides the traps, there are many experts and powerful Magical Artifacts. Did you bring enough supplies?"

Gu Zhao and Zhuo Qingyan exchanged a smile. He patted the gourd at his waist. "Thanks to Martial Uncle’s timely forging of this Storage Magical Treasure, we were able to bring thirty-six Array Wooden Stakes. We can set up an array at any time. Even without the aid of Earth Vein Spiritual Power, trapping them for a night won’t be a problem."

In that case...

Everyone looked to Gu Zhao. He nodded. "All preparations are complete. We strike tonight!"