Chapter 13: No one worships the gods. The festival is full of people, and the temple is full of...

"What is...the wrath of heaven?" Ying Bu Ran clung to the stall owner's shoulder and looked at the fallen person curiously, but did not go any further.

Before the stall owner could answer her, she saw the corpse visibly shrivel up rapidly, until only skin covered the bones.

Ying Bu Ran was frightened and took a step back. The stall owner did not approach rashly, but retreated cautiously, while counting rapidly with his fingers.

After a few breaths, she dragged Ying Bu Ran back and explained as she ran, "Hide first, something strange might happen later."

Upon hearing this, Ying Bu Ran subconsciously squatted down and hid behind the cover, watching the stall owner continue to calculate, not daring to disturb her.

A moment later, Ying Bu Ran heard a noise coming from where she had been. She poked the stall owner tentatively, then pointed behind her.

The stall owner had just finished her divination and, understanding Ying Bu Ran's intention, quietly poked half of her head out to observe. Ying Bu Ran followed suit and poked his head out too.

The skeleton, with only skin left on the outside, suddenly began to struggle, and then forced its upper body up in a twisted posture. Finally, it put its almost broken head back in place, turned its head, and observed the surroundings with its two empty eye sockets.

Ying Bu Ran immediately pulled the stall owner to take it back to avoid being seen. At the same time, the stall owner sprinkled some powder on both of them.

"This is used to isolate odors. I don't know if she has a sense of smell, but it's better to be cautious." The stall owner said orally, not daring to speak out.

Fortunately, Ying Bu Ran had learned lip reading without any instruction because she was afraid to get close to others. This made it easier for her to get some information from other people, such as whether it would rain or not.

Ying Bu Ran nodded to show that he understood, and leaned against the wall to listen carefully to the movements behind him.

When the skeleton found that there was no one here, it began to move its stiff bones little by little.

After the sound was completely gone, the stall owner stuck his head out again, then nodded to Ying Bu Ran who was squatting below to indicate that the danger was over. Both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Ying Bu Ran tried to stand up by holding onto the wall, but his legs were numb from squatting for too long. He staggered and almost fell, and was caught by the stall owner.

Ying Bu Ran took a moment to stand up and said to the stall owner gratefully, "I've been squatting for too long and my body is numb... Thank you."

The stall owner waved his hand: "It's okay, it's just a piece of cake. By the way, how about getting to know each other? Tian Yanzong, Qi Yiwen." Qi Yiwen stretched out his hand, took off the mask with the other hand, and smiled brightly.

"Liuyun Sect, Ying Bu Ran." Ying Bu Ran also smiled and shook hands with him, then let go and took off his mask.

Qi Yiwen sat down against the wall, motioning Ying Bu Ran to take a break as well. "It's finally over. I calculated, and there shouldn't be any problems from now on. By the way, I remember you didn't know what Sky Wrath was, right?"

Ying Bu Ran nodded and sat down obediently, waiting for Qi Yiwen to explain. From Qi Yiwen's perspective, he was like a well-behaved puppy waiting to be fed by his owner.

...What was she thinking? Qi Yiwen touched his nose, discarded his strange thoughts, and explained seriously, "Heaven's Wrath, as the name suggests, is a punishment sent down by Heaven out of anger. Rumor has it that it's because the human race broke through the Heaven's Barrier and gained the ability to cultivate, offending Heaven's dignity, and therefore punishing humanity. At first, the body becomes weak and sickly, then slowly begins to wither, losing vitality bit by bit, and finally, all vitality is lost, becoming just like the skin and bones just now. Once afflicted by this Heaven's Wrath, there's basically no chance of recovery, even for cultivators."

"If a cultivator is afflicted by the wrath of heaven, they can only live a little longer than an ordinary person. They lose their spiritual power first, and only after the spiritual power disappears will their vitality be lost."

Ying Bu Ran frowned, puzzled. "So, does Heaven want humans to be condemned to eternal damnation?"

Qi Yiwen didn't expect Ying Bu Ran to have thought of this at the beginning. She shook her head. She didn't know either: "I don't know. There is no definite conclusion on this issue at the moment. What I said just now is just one of my guesses. We are still investigating the specific reason."

"The conditions for the wrath to descend and whether it will spread are currently unknown, so it's best to avoid anyone showing any unusual symptoms."

"I understand, thank you." Ying Bu Ran sighed, "By the way, is there no way to organize it?"

Qi Yiwen shook his head, then nodded. "Yes, but it's just a delay. However, this method is only known to the leaders of the four major sects and their close associates. It was also organized by them. I don't know the details. Yeah? My senior sister contacted me. How about adding a Heavenly Spirit Mirror?"

Ying Bu Ran took out her own Tianling Mirror and said, "Okay!" Then she became troubled again, "But I don't know how to add it..."

"Let me take a look... like this, and then like this, I've added you. If you need anything to talk to me about, just click here and then click this. I'm leaving now, stay here and be safe! Bye~" After Qi Yiwen successfully added Ying Bu Ran as a friend, he waved and left.

Ying Bu Ran waved goodbye to her, then sat there holding her sword, waiting for Zhao Qingxun to come. Thinking of Qi Yi's previous teaching method, she clicked on Zhao Qingxun's interface and tried to contact her.

She had kept it in her storage ring since Zhao Qingxun gave it to her and had rarely taken it out. She only had three friends. This was the first time she had taken the initiative to contact someone.

…

After being separated, Zhao Qingxun did not go to find Ying Bu Ran immediately, but sent a message to Cheng Banxia and then disappeared into the crowd.

Someone was following her, but fortunately, according to Cheng Banxia's response, Ying Bu Ran was not being followed, which made her feel relieved.

Zhao Qingxun tried his best to blend into the crowd, then found an opportunity to escape and hide, intending to wait until the pursuers left or were exposed and dealt with before looking for Ying Bu Ran.

When she looked up, she found that she had entered the temple dedicated to the two predecessors who pioneered the path of cultivation.

But there was no one here, and there was a layer of dust in the temple. It seemed that no one had been here for a long time.

Zhao Qingxun waved his hand to clear away the ashes, then lit some incense and worshiped respectfully before turning around and looking outside the door.

There are hardly any people, and it is easy to detect whether you are tracking or being tracked.

She waited for a while, but there was no movement, as if the stalker had completely left.

Zhao Qingxun took a step forward, seemingly unprepared, but in fact he had secretly gathered spiritual power in his hands.

As expected, the moment she stepped out, a sword flashed and stabbed in front of her. Zhao Qingxun was well prepared and stepped back to avoid it. At the same time, he gathered his spiritual power and struck out, pushing the pursuer back a few steps.

Although he came here wearing a mask and a black cloak, Zhao Qingxun still recognized this person who had impressed her before by the fluctuation of his aura and spiritual power: "It's you, the one who delivered flowers on the float."

"It's not a flower for you, but you remember it very clearly. My flower is on you?" The pursuer quickly stopped, steadied his mask, and swung the sword casually, but his eyes were always fixed on Zhao Qingxun.

Was it through the flower? How did they know Ying Bu Ran's special qualities? Zhao Qingxun also took out his sword, and with his other hand, he summoned the flower from before and shattered it directly.

The connection was severed in an instant. The pursuer snorted and left without further ado. He just said a few words and turned away.

She said, look at the statue behind.

The statue behind him? Zhao Qingxun first used his spiritual power to protect his eyes, then turned around, but there was nothing unusual. Then he thought about it again. This place was chosen by her, and the pursuer had only been here for a short time and had no time to plan.

So why do we need to look behind?

Zhao Qingxun looked up at the two statues whose faces could no longer be seen, and unexpectedly saw a sense of loneliness and absurdity, but he didn't know where it came from.

Ah, yes, she remembered. This was supposed to be a celebration in their memory, but she was the only one here to pay her respects.

I don’t know when it started, but when Xuanmen held such celebrations, they no longer included ancestor worship, as if they were deliberately concealing it.

Why was that? Zhao Qingxun suddenly realized that, since when, Xuanmen had become increasingly distant from the Xuanmen in her mind that punished evil, promoted good, and benefited the world.

"Why? Because someone has a guilty conscience." A chuckle came when Zhao Qingxun turned around.

Zhao Qingxun immediately raised her sword and turned around. No one was there, the only difference being that one of the statues had a faint glow in its eyes. She remembered this being the ancestor who had fallen into the devil's way.

Seeing Zhao Qingxun looking at her, the statue's pupils suddenly emitted a strong light. Zhao Qingxun subconsciously closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she had arrived in an unfamiliar area.

This was the ancestor's spiritual space. The gap in strength between them was too great. Even the remnants of the formation left here could pull her into the spiritual space in an instant.

No matter what, although this ancestor's attitude is very bad now and he was once an enemy of Xuanmen, he is still the one who leads mankind to light. Zhao Qingxun looked at the person in front of him and bowed respectfully.

The man turned around, his face hidden in the shadows, his arms folded across his chest, and refused to accept the offer. "We are not of the same faith, so there is no need to salute me."

"May I ask, ancestor, what did you mean by what you said before?" Zhao Qingxun seemed not to notice her attitude and continued to remain respectful.

The ancestor tutted, his voice tinged with sneer. "What do you mean? Of course I mean it literally. They were the cause of our demise, so of course they dare not pretend to be anything more."

Zhao Qingxun's pupils shrank slightly, and he didn't say anything. He just stood there quietly, but with a hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes.

The ancestor, sensing a hint of stubbornness, laughed again and continued, "You know what? The wrath of heaven and the heavenly sacrifice are all lies, lies perpetrated by a group of people to satisfy their own selfish desires. The wrath of heaven is a man-made disaster, and she died because of the heavenly sacrifice."

This sentence hit Zhao Qingxun hard. She stood there in a daze for a long time, unable to come back to her senses. After a moment, she regained her composure and asked, "Do you have any evidence?"

The ancestor spread his hands and said, "No, after all, I was framed and killed after that. How could I have any evidence? Believe it or not, but if you insist on doing this, you will be the one who regrets it."

"Go away! I've already given you a warning. I'll watch you go down my old path, and then you'll regret it."

The author has something to say:

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While I was writing, the teacher suddenly sent me a new notice, and I had to work on my graduation project halfway through. I will be late [burst into tears]