Chapter 67 Blasphemy 16. Bold Demon!

At the young man's command, several boys came out, all calling him Third Senior Brother.

The selection of disciples was held in a small county town. The first and second disciples under the Grand Preceptor were disdainful of it. Only the third disciple could not refuse and had to come to preside over it. He was also impatient. Seeing that the young disciples did not have a good look on their faces, he just frowned and responded, indicating that they should not delay and should finish the task quickly.

Upon seeing this, the children quickly set out a white jade offering table and arranged incense, candles, and yellow paper according to the rules of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams.

The constables and soldiers who were standing by tried to help, but they were sternly rebuked: "How dare you, filthy mortals, touch the things of the immortals?"

The constables and soldiers all nodded in agreement.

Shen Mingxin stood among the disciples awaiting selection, using her fan to conceal her lip and secretly pursed her lips.

After the offering table was set up, the boys brought over a redwood box covered with talismans. From the box, they took out an ancient bronze mirror, placed it in the center of the offering table, and then knelt down in unison, shouting, "Please, treasure, appear!"

At the sound of this shout, the three incense sticks on the table suddenly ignited rapidly, and the smoke, as if encountering a strange wind, was abruptly swept up and went straight into the ancient bronze mirror.

Shen Mingxin and everyone around him, including the constables and soldiers, craned their necks and stared wide-eyed at this strange scene.

The next moment, the ancient bronze mirror trembled, and the moss-like green rust on its surface peeled away inch by inch, revealing a smooth, empty surface resembling a mirror reflecting the sky.

Such a miraculous event caused a stir in all directions.

"Silence!"

The boys stood up, and the leader turned around and coldly shouted, "You've disturbed the precious child, you won't be spared!"

After saying that, he looked at Shen Mingxin and the others, and called people up according to their standing order.

The leading boy was much more amiable towards the disciples to be selected. He led them to the mirror, made them kneel on the prayer mat, and comforted them, saying, "Don't be afraid. It's just a matter of letting the treasure look in the mirror to test whether your heart is pure, whether you have any evil or impurities, or whether you have any demonic seeds."

Once the selected disciple had knelt down, the ancient bronze mirror emitted a hazy blue light, which fell upon him and lingered for a few breaths before fading away without any further reaction.

"Five breaths," the boy's smile faded slightly, and he drew a line on the book with his pen, "Innocent and pure, not a demon seed, but impure in heart, not passing. Next."

The rich young master, who was brought up as the first example, immediately looked dejected, as if he had lost his parents.

The second son of the county magistrate deliberately didn't compete for first place, only second. Seeing this, he asked, "Young Taoist priest, may I ask how one passes the test?"

The boy smiled and said, "If the blue light shines for more than ten breaths, and there is no evil or impurity, and it is not a seed of demons, then you can pass the test. Second Young Master, if you are ready, please proceed."

The second young master, who had spent many years studying in Xiling, was a man of the world. Upon hearing this, he smiled, calmly stepped forward, knelt on the prayer mat, and let the blue light descend. The blue light lingered for seven breaths, but he did not pass the test.

The second young master wasn't annoyed. He smiled and didn't leave like the rich young master. Instead, he stood aside and watched the commotion.

One by one, the disciples to be selected stepped forward, and it was almost Shen Mingxin's turn.

But for some reason, as the obstructions in front of him gradually decreased, Shen Mingxin's heart suddenly felt inexplicably uneasy and anxious, as if what lay ahead was not some divine treasure, but a deadly abyss.

His relaxed mood vanished instantly. Standing in the middle of the line, he subconsciously shifted his feet, wanting to shrink back a bit.

However, there were so few people on this last day that he was noticed as soon as he moved.

The second son of the county magistrate laughed, raised his fan, and pointed at him: "Shen Mingxin, just look in the mirror. Why are you scared? You're hiding furtively. You're not as arrogant and domineering as you usually are!"

He's arrogant and domineering, but at least he has some sense of reason, which is much better than you, a disgusting person who deceives men and women and watches people being drowned in pig cages with a smile.

Shen Mingxin suppressed her eye-roll and inwardly scoffed, but gave an awkward smile on her face: "What's there to be afraid of? It's just that... people have to go to the bathroom. Little Taoist priest, I can go last. You and the baby can go ahead and have your check-up. I'll be right back."

His unease grew, and he began to consider taking refuge temporarily.

Unfortunately, fate did not grant his wish.

He had just turned around when he heard the boy presiding over the ceremony say, "Wait."

Shen Mingxin paused.

The boy lightly flicked his whisk: "There's no need to be the last one. Since Young Master Shen is in such a hurry, let's do the one right now. It's only a matter of a few breaths. Even if Young Master Shen is in a hurry, surely he can't be in such a hurry?"

Shen Mingxin turned her head.

The boy's eyes were pitch black, staring wide-eyed at him.

The surroundings fell silent. The disciples awaiting selection, those who had not been selected, the servants, the soldiers, the other children, and even the third disciple of the Imperial Preceptor who was sitting to the side with his eyes closed, sipping tea, all suddenly looked over.

Pairs of eyes surrounded him from all directions, wet and bright, like strange insect eggs enveloping Shen Mingxin, making it difficult for him to move, breathe, and causing his throat to churn.

"I……"

Shen Mingxin immediately shut her mouth after she had only uttered one word.

It felt like there were bugs crawling in his throat, and he almost vomited.

"Young Master Shen, what are you waiting for?" The boy stared at him, his other features remaining motionless, only his mouth opening and closing.

Shen Mingxin closed her eyes, knowing there was no way to avoid it, so she had no choice but to steady her steps, walk over, and kneel in front of the ancient bronze mirror.

A hazy blue light shone down from above, and Shen Mingxin's unease reached its peak, almost overwhelming him like a tsunami. He stared at the ancient bronze mirror, not daring to close his eyes.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

Seven breaths, eight breaths...

A soft creaking sound came from not far away; it was the fan in the hands of the second son of the county magistrate that had bent.

The boy, who had been nonchalant, was now filled with astonishment, his hand holding the whisk trembling slightly.

Shen Mingxin was taken aback, but instead of being pleased, he felt a strange and heavy feeling in his heart.

Nine breaths, ten breaths, eleven breaths...

The crowd could no longer contain themselves, and a commotion arose. The boy also showed delight. Seeing that the blue light was fading, he wanted to curry favor and went over to help up the person who was about to become the new disciple of the Imperial Preceptor.

Although Shen Mingxin's heart was pounding wildly and he was extremely uneasy, he breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw that the matter was over, and then he stood up.

Just then, a deep shout came from the side: "Wait!"

Shen Mingxin and the boy both paused for a moment and looked up.

The one who spoke was the young man in white, the third disciple of the Imperial Preceptor.

His expression was calm, but his gaze was sharp as an arrow, fixed on Shen Mingxin: "Don't forget, besides having a pure mind that can last for ten breaths, there is also the seed of a demon, which will also attract the treasure to shine on it more often, so that it can be revealed."

Shen Mingxin's expression changed, sensing a trap, and he immediately tried to stand up to argue. But as soon as he moved, the ancient bronze mirror suddenly seemed to be provoked, its light, which had been fading, suddenly blazed brightly, enveloping Shen Mingxin's entire body.

Shen Mingxin's vision blurred, and then a sharp pain shot through her abdomen.

Caught off guard, he knelt down on one knee. When he instinctively reached out to press down, he found that his belly was rapidly expanding and swelling up as if it had been inflated.

Shen Mingxin was stunned, unable to believe what she was seeing.

But the excruciating pain in his stomach, as if it were about to be torn apart at any moment, reminded him that this was not an illusion.

Panic-stricken cries erupted from all sides. The young man in white slammed his fist on the table and stood up, glaring angrily and shouting, "You audacious fiend! You dare to interfere in my master's disciple-acceptance ceremony? Do you really think I, Shenzhao, am invincible?!"

After speaking, he reached for the gourd at his waist and decisively put it away and refined it, as instructed by Shen Chou and the others.

Just then, a talisman beside him suddenly burst into flames. His ears twitched, as if he had heard some command from afar. His hand, which was reaching for the gourd, paused, and he turned around to draw his sword instead.

In that instant, Shen Mingxin had already come to her senses.

Today's events are not right. Daring to disrupt the selection of disciples by the Imperial Preceptor is not something that Shen Chou and Chunshan Gong could do. Shen Mingxin does not believe that the Imperial Preceptor or his disciples know nothing about it.

If Shen Mingxin still thinks that surrendering now and crying out for justice will clear his name, then he is not being honest, but being foolish.

He didn't know how he had managed to attract the attention of such important figures as the Imperial Advisor or his disciple, but he was clearly at a critical juncture of life and death and couldn't afford to think too much about it.

Taking advantage of the constables' shock and lack of reaction time, he gritted his teeth, decisively leaped up, snatched a knife, and, enduring the excruciating pain, rushed out, shouting, "I am not a demon, I have been wronged!"

"If you're innocent, why are you running away!"

The disciple of the Imperial Preceptor spoke with righteous indignation.

“I don’t trust you,” Shen Mingxin said, his eyes bloodshot, his steps unwavering. “If this wasn’t a setup by you, and you have a clear conscience, then come with me to the main street of Yu County and have all the elders and villagers come to confront me…”

Those mortals are utterly foolish. Let them come if they want; the Grand Preceptor's disciple doesn't care. But all he wants is a title, not a completely legitimate one. Why waste time here?

Even if the whole world knows that something is wrong and that they have wronged him, so what? How many people would dare to come before him to plead their case?

The Imperial Preceptor's disciple sneered, and without further ado, unleashed a sword strike. The divine power he had received from Venerable Xu Mingtian poured out, transforming into sword energy that instantly pierced Shen Mingxin's left shoulder.

Shen Mingxin's body jolted, but his speed did not decrease. He rushed to the nearest horse at the edge of the training ground, spurred the horse, and galloped away.

"You're the ones who're guilty!"

He roared hoarsely.

This sound seemed to finally bring the souls of the mortals around them back to reality.

The constables and soldiers exchanged bewildered glances. The Grand Preceptor's disciple coldly said, "Why aren't you chasing after this bewitching demon?"

This one sentence sealed the matter. The constables and soldiers, who were not after the truth, immediately shouted and drew their swords to give chase.

"Stop him!"

"Stop him!"

"He is a demon!"

The boy looked at the Imperial Preceptor's disciple with surprise and doubt: "Third Senior Brother, this!"

"Don't panic," the Grand Preceptor's disciple waved his hand, his coldness vanishing, and smiled slightly. "Go and fetch me a horse. We'll slowly catch up and see where this demonic seed came from. We must eradicate it completely and wipe it out in one fell swoop."

The boy was somewhat confused, but he still quickly went to fetch the horse.

The Imperial Preceptor's disciples didn't rush to give chase, but Shen Mingxin was eager to escape.

He had only been practicing martial arts for a short time, but he had loved riding and archery since childhood. Even though he had injured his shoulder, he was still able to draw his bow.

As he spurred his horse out of the training ground to avoid the rain of arrows from behind, he turned around, took the bow and arrows off the horse, slung them over his shoulder, nocked an arrow, and shot down the approaching pursuers.

His swollen belly bounced on the horse's back, the pain like a giant wave, making Shen Mingxin lose his balance and causing his arrows to miss their mark.

Even so, his archery skills were not bad, and with a few consecutive shots, he gradually widened the distance between himself and the pursuers.

With his horse galloping, Shen Mingxin rushed out of the training ground and headed straight for the nearest south gate.

Although he was courageous, he was only a twenty-year-old young man. He had never encountered anything like this before. His mind was in chaos, and he didn't know where to go. He knew he couldn't go back to the Shen family, so he could only flee out of the city.

I don't know where to go outside the city.

If it is truly the Grand Preceptor of the Divine Illumination Kingdom who wants to kill him, then even the Heavenly Empress of Xiling cannot stop him. At this point, one can only hope that the servants and confidants remaining in the residence will not be implicated by him.

However, as the horse galloped through the sparsely populated streets and got closer to the south gate, Shen Mingxin felt increasingly uneasy.

Those chasing after them were always the constables and soldiers, but there was no sign of the Imperial Preceptor's disciples or the boys.

Shen Mingxin's heart sank. He wondered if there was an ambush ahead, or if they were deliberately letting him go to use him as bait. If it was the former, it was really unnecessary; he knew he wasn't anyone important or anything special. If it was the latter, who would be using him as bait?

In a flash, Shen Mingxin pulled on the reins, changed direction, and disappeared into another street.

This road leads directly to the east of the city, no longer to the south.

He had only ridden his horse a dozen or so feet when suddenly the people ahead cried out in alarm. Shen Mingxin looked up and saw a sword aura sweep across, severing the arched bridge and blocking his path.

The Grand Preceptor's disciple's voice wasn't loud, but it came through the noise behind him with perfect clarity: "Why did you change course? If you're a smart person, knowing my master's plans, don't go looking for your own death."

"Go obediently south of the city. If you can help my master with his great cause, he might not only spare your life but also truly take you as his disciple. At that time, wealth, power, and status will be within your grasp..."

-----------------------

Author's note: [Pigeon] Ahem, this story doesn't involve childbirth or pregnancy.