Chapter 60: Incense Cauldron Refining Evil

Cang Ming was not surprised or surprised at all. He just subconsciously pressed the mask and turned to look at Wei Ci. He saw that Wei Ci had put on a fox mask at some point. The workmanship was exquisite and the material was similar to her rabbit mask.

Meeting her gaze, Wei Ci blinked, leaned over and whispered, "General, the two of us really look like we're going to a New Year's Eve party together."

Cang Ming felt relieved a little, and smiled slightly under his mask: "New Year's Eve party? Okay, then we'll have a competition later to see who can defeat those two believer leaders first."

Wei Ci said calmly, "It seems the owner of this dojo is another old acquaintance. It's just that Li Xianzhen actually defected to Old Ghost Lotus's master and became a colleague of Old Ghost Lotus. It's really interesting."

A deep silence fell over the dojo. Everyone sat in a circle, their heads raised in reverent gazing at Li Xianzhen, who stood in the center. As expected, Li Xianzhen didn't recognize Cang Ming and Wei Ci. She stood there blankly, staring blankly ahead. She wore a black robe embroidered with intricate patterns in gold thread, resembling palaces and mountains shrouded in auspicious clouds.

Old Guilian stood beside the incense burner, peering into it, nodding his head. Cang Ming quietly asked the old woman, "What is this person in embroidered shoes doing?"

The old woman replied in a low voice: "Of course it is to count the offerings." Cang Ming only half understood what she meant, and thought to himself that the incense had already burned out, so what was there to count in a furnace of incense ashes?

Old Ghost Lian finally raised his head and said to Li Xianzhen, "That's enough for today." Cang Ming was inwardly shocked. Now that Old Ghost Lian had been transformed into an embroidered shoe puppet by his master, he should have been superior and possessed immense magical powers. Unexpectedly, he was no different from a corpse dug out of a mass grave. The once loyal subordinate had become a walking corpse, a legacy that would surely be left for future generations to observe and lament.

Wei Ci saw through her thoughts and couldn't help but curl his lips slightly: "The general is really a man of temperament."

Li Xianzhen looked at Old Guilian with disgust, her face filled with hatred. Her fists trembled slightly, as if she wanted to cut him into pieces and burn him in a fire, but that wouldn't satisfy her hatred. But she simply ordered, "Raise the cauldron."

Old Guilian stretched out his ragged, cloth-like arms and struck the giant cauldron like a bell, muttering to himself as he began to perform a ritual. Soon, something oily and black crawled out of the cauldron, shifting its shape at will, and slowly made its way through the crowd and out of the dojo. Its limp, lazy appearance was incredibly cheesy, yet the crowd of believers seemed oblivious.

Wei Ci said coldly, "Evil and ferocious."

Cang Ming stuck his head out again and asked the old woman stealthily, "Did you see what's in the cauldron?" The old woman said curiously, "In the cauldron? Isn't it just incense?"

As expected, mortal eyes cannot see evil. What fell into the cauldron was not only the voices of prayers and the ashes of incense, but also the resentment and paranoia of the wisher. These intense, twisted emotions from the human world were an offering to the master of the dojo.

Cang Ming turned his head around, searching for startled faces or restless limbs, trying to identify Xi Sheng and Wu Lü through subtle reactions. However, the sea of ​​clouds swirled in the Buddha's palm, blurring his vision, so he had to give up.

After the last evil beast left, Li Xianzhen slowly spoke, "The king has received your prayers." Everyone shouted, "Where is the king? We want to see you!"

Li Xianzhen said woodenly, "The King never appears in person."

Someone brave enough shouted, "Where is the immortal who wore a lotus fan and pink and white clothes? He said that the king would favor us believers!" Li Xianzhen turned a deaf ear to him.

Amidst the commotion, Cang Ming once again exchanged words with the old woman: "This white-haired woman, is she the new female official of the dojo?"

"Exactly. Alas, I am an old man, and I had hoped to have the honor of meeting the king and kowtow to him and make a wish in person." The old woman glanced at Wei Ci and advised with the tone of someone experienced, "Young man, if you are deficient in kidney essence, just come and pray and offer sacrifices more often. There is nothing to be embarrassed about."

Wei Ci's face was icy, and he gritted his teeth and said, "General, you know whether I can do it or not."

Cang Ming was startled and said hurriedly, "I... when did I know?" Even as he said that, fragments of images suddenly popped up in his mind. Strong arms, a solid body, and the fiery temperature and hard touch of an unspeakable part... Cang Ming could almost feel the hot body against his skin, so he changed his words and said, "I think... I know a little bit..."

Two heads silently approached from behind. Cang Ming turned around and found that these two people had been craning their necks to listen to the conversation, their eyes fixed on her and the Demon King without blinking.

Seeing her turn around, the young man who looked like a street vendor said, "What do you know? Let's continue chatting. What were we talking about just now? Some people have insufficient kidney energy and are born with a cold body. Do they need to supplement the essence of pure yang?"

The man standing nearby, wearing a hood and covering his face with a piece of furoshiki, said coldly, "But some people don't admit it."

Undeterred: "...General."

Cang Ming's eyebrows lit up with joy, and he punched the two men in turn: "So you're here!" Wu Lu stroked his chin proudly and said calmly: "Yeah. I crawled over here during the chaos."

So Cang Ming told the two of them about Li Xianzhen's identity and agreed to wait and see what would happen. Xi Sheng glanced at Li Xianzhen and said, "No wonder his hair has turned white."

The crowd shouted for a long time, but Li Xianzhen remained hunched over in the cold wind. Finally, the shouting died down, and Li Xianzhen, ignoring the crowd of believers, announced in a hoarse voice, "The king has decreed that this time, you all meet in the palace."

The whole place went wild with excitement. Every believer's face was filled with joy, and the Buddha's palm was filled with roaring voices.

"This has never happened before! Your Majesty, you have shown mercy to the people today!"

"When I see the king, I will kowtow to him a hundred times and pray for all the glory and wealth in my next life. Ha, ahahahaha..."

"Excuse me, great immortal, how do we get to the Great King's Palace?"

Old Guilian suddenly stood at attention and shouted in a drawn-out voice, "Silence—" With his crooked paper skull and ferocious face with his tongue sticking out, the whole audience shuddered and fell silent for a moment.

Cang Ming knelt on one knee, her brow furrowed, one hand on the hilt of her sword, ready to leap out at any moment. Her mind raced through countermeasures, but her anxiety grew increasingly confused. The barrier surrounding the dojo had long since been repaired, and it was likely that, with the exception of Wei Ci, the other three would be unable to use their magic.

Wei Ci also leaned forward, ready to strike. He placed a soothing hand on Cang Ming's waist, and at the same time, he said softly, still brooding, "If a fight breaks out later, the general will see whether I am capable or not."

Li Xianzhen knelt before the incense burner and clasped his hands in worship: "Your Majesty, if you are in spirit, please give me a secret order."

Before everyone's eyes, the incense cauldron vanished. A golden light spread, the clouds and mist parted, and where the giant cauldron had been placed, a magical circle suddenly appeared.

Li Xianzhen said, "I'm sure you're all familiar with this teleportation array. However, this array isn't sending you down the mountain, but to the King's inner palace."

All of a sudden, all the believers shouted "Long live the golden circle" like crazy and rushed into the golden circle.

"Slow!" Cang Ming shouted, rushed to the front of the magic circle, swung his sword downwards, blocking the way of a group of lunatics.

The group of lunatics slid around like loaches, intending to bypass Cang Ming and continue into the magic circle. The crowds from other directions swarmed over them like ants, and how could one man and one sword stop them all?

Someone yelled, "Little girl, why are you blocking the road?"

With a bang, the man flew out. Wei Ci's fist hung in the air, and behind the fox mask, the eyes looked at the direction where he flew with uncontrollable anger.

The brawl erupted, creating a swirl of activity within the chaotic crowd. Cang Ming was still trying to hold back these frenzied figures, while Xi Sheng and Wu Lu were directly pulling people back.

However, it is just a drop in the bucket and more and more people are standing in the golden circle with mysterious and happy smiles on their faces.

Wu Lu shouted in despair: "Otherwise, don't save them, these believers are inherently vicious—"

Xisheng, however, while pulling the person, retorted, "Some people aren't completely bad to the core. Isn't there an old lady who advises people to replenish their kidney essence?"

Cang Ming stumbled under the wave of people and bumped into Wei Ci's chest. She turned around and looked at him for help. Wei Ci stared down at her, one hand around her waist, and snapped his fingers with the other.

Suddenly, a flock of seagulls flew in from all directions, scattering the people in the magic circle. The fanatical believers were pecked by the seagulls and fled in panic, all of them cursing loudly.

Old Ghost Lotus was on the move. He stumbled with every step, walking back and forth, stretching out his limp arms to drive the crowd away: "Circle back, circle back—"

Amidst the surging crowd, Cang Ming's figure seemed completely out of place. Li Xianzhen's eyes suddenly focused. The chaotic cacophony of figures between her and Cang Ming seemed to freeze as they stared at each other.

Cang Ming snorted coldly, "Your master is quite calculating. He actually used so many mortals as coercion and such despicable means to lure me out."

Li Xianzhen struggled to get through the sea of ​​people and rushed over: "Where's Tao Ren? Shameless thing, like mother, like daughter..."

With a swish, the ice blade flashed. Cang Ming stood before Li Xianzhen, the tip of the sword pointed at her throat. Wei Ci stood a step away, arms folded, narrowing his narrow eyes as he stared at Li Xianzhen with disgust.

Cang Ming's face was reflected in Li Xianzhen's fiery red eyes. Cang Ming said in a low voice, "Li Xianzhen, I never thought you would go to Old Ghost Lotus's master. Don't you remember that Old Ghost Lotus killed your child?"

Li Xianzhen threw her head back and wailed, her throat cracking like glass. She glared at Cang Ming with hatred and said, "What do you know? You'll never understand! I stole Old Guilian's body and gave it to the king, then served him and obeyed his orders, all so that after the deed was accomplished, the king would bring Yi'er back to life!"

"His soul has already been scattered, how can he be brought back to life?" Thinking of Hua Yi, Cang Ming felt sad. "Even the gods cannot bring people back to life."

Li Xianzhen's knees suddenly gave way, and he fell to the ground, clutching the stone floor and crying loudly: "He can live! He can live..."

Cang Ming pointed his sword downwards, staring at her in silence. Li Xianzhen kowtowed and said, "I beg you, just obey the king and go see him... My mission will be accomplished, and Yi'er will be back..."

"To see the king?" Wei Ci approached step by step and demanded, "Do you want her to surrender to your king, or be killed by your king?"

Li Xianzhen was in a daze, weeping bitterly, still calling out Hua Yi's name. The north wind howled, and Cang Ming's face was expressionless, as mournful and silent as a snowy field. "My king, who is this person? The barriers set up by Shiqiyan and Xian Zhenyu were probably created by this king."

Behind him, Wu Lu was so exhausted that he was out of breath. He shouted from afar: "Hurry up, these people are very fierce, we can't stop them..."

Li Xianzhen raised his head, tears streaming down his face as he murmured to himself, "Your Majesty is a god, a god in heaven. He must have a way to bring Yi'er back."

Cang Ming held his breath and asked, "Which god is it?"

"The king said, what you know and what you have seen, you have seen on this Buddha..." Li Xianzhen was talking incoherently and confusingly.

Wei Ci whispered, "Could it be the Grandmaster of the Wangxian Sect?"

Cang Ming only felt a buzzing in his brain and a feeling as if the sky was falling and the earth was collapsing in his heart.