Chapter 139: Temple
Jingwu formed hand seals and used his divine sense to search for the location of that soul.
Before me lay an endless darkness, and I could only grope my way forward.
After a long while, the view suddenly brightened, revealing a dense forest filled with thick white mist, making it impossible to see anything inside.
Jingwu could only vaguely make out the towering temple and the almost transparent soul of a man. Just as he was about to take a closer look, he was suddenly pulled back by a force.
She suddenly opened her eyes and barely managed to spit out a mouthful of blood.
"A-Wu!" Yue Huai quickly stepped forward and supported her. "Are you alright?"
Jingwu shook his head, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. That force just now was incredibly powerful; it swept him back with a single blow. There must be some powerful expert guarding that temple.
"Have you seen my father?" Lu Yanning immediately stepped forward, squatted down in front of her, and asked earnestly.
Jingwu nodded: "I saw it. His soul is in a dense forest. There's a maze set up in that forest, so I can't get in, and he can't see me either. But, is there any place in the capital with a tall temple?"
"Temple?" Yue Huai thought about it carefully after hearing this: "The temples in the capital are all built on high mountains, but there aren't many temples. If we go and explore them all, we should be able to find one."
Jingwu nodded in agreement. She propped herself up and stood up: "Then we'll go look for it after lunch."
The two were discussing something, while Lu Yanning kept his head down, seemingly lost in thought.
She suddenly raised her face and said seriously, "When I was in the palace, I overheard Consort Jin and Prince Hui talking about how the Lingshan Temple on Lingshan Mountain was built with Prince Hui's money. I've been there before; it's also high up in the mountains. Why don't we go take a look?"
Jingwu blinked and nodded: "Alright, now that we have a location, we don't need to wait until after lunch. Let's go now."
Seeing that the other two had no objections, she reached out and grabbed Lu Yanning's arm, instantly teleporting to the entrance of Lingshan Temple.
After landing, Jingwu looked up at the towering temple. His eyes narrowed, and he sensed something was wrong.
This temple looks so strange, it's lifeless, there's not even any incense burning, which shouldn't be the case.
Yue Huai landed beside her and also noticed something was wrong: "Why is there not even any incense burning in this temple?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a strong wind arose, sweeping away the three of them.
Seeing that something was wrong, Jingwu immediately set up a barrier to protect the three of them.
Her eyes swept around and she keenly spotted a hamster behind the temple gate not far away.
This hamster has a fat head and big ears, and looks like it has hundreds of years of cultivation, but it is full of karmic obstacles and can be seen to have done a lot of evil.
Jingwu winked at the person next to him, signaling him to grab the hamster.
Upon receiving the look, Yue Huai did not hesitate and immediately reached out to grab the hamster.
After being caught, the hamster struggled wildly in my hand, unable to hold back its anger and cursing, "Where did this unreasonable human come from, daring to touch your Grandpa Hamster Immortal!"
"You? Cangxian?" Jingwu couldn't help but chuckle and slapped him on the head: "You've committed countless evils, and you still want to cultivate into an immortal? Keep dreaming."
The hamster was stunned by the slap, then bared its teeth and claws and said, "You little sorcerer, with only a dozen years of cultivation, you dare to come at me? You just wait, I'll send you to meet the King of Hell today!"
As it finished speaking, it silently chanted a spell, attempting to transform into human form.
Jingwu didn't give him a chance. He made a hand seal and chanted an incantation, instantly interrupting his spell and slapping him twice in the process.
The hamster's spell was interrupted, and the sudden gust of wind stopped.
It was dazed from those two slaps and took a while to recover.
Jingwu removed the barrier and led his people into the temple first.
Stepping into the temple reveals a completely different scene.
The place was packed with people, each holding an incense stick and bowing repeatedly towards the main hall.
The incense was burning brightly, and there was none of the desolation that usually accompanies temples.
Jingwu frowned deeply, sensing something was wrong, and immediately looked up at the statue in the main hall.
The statue was completely covered with a red cloth, and it exuded a cold aura.
"Awu, something's wrong with the people here. They all seem to have lost consciousness." Yue Huai looked at the people around him offering incense, his eyes were numb, and his face was expressionless as he offered incense in a rigid and methodical manner.
Upon hearing this, Jingwu immediately turned his gaze away from the statue and looked at the people around him.
"Something is really wrong; it's like their souls have been devoured."
A bad feeling suddenly welled up in her heart, and she immediately turned to look at Lu Yanning. She saw that Lu Yanning's eyes were blank and she was about to walk in a certain direction.
Jingwu reached out and pulled her back, casting a calming spell into her body: "Wake up."
Lu Yanning's eyes cleared instantly. She remembered what she had just seen and immediately grabbed the girl's hand: "Awu, I saw my father, I saw my father, please let me go find him."
"Where is your father?" Jingwu scanned the area and saw only these soulless bodies, but not Lord Lu's soul.
"He's right there! He was just standing there beckoning me to come over." Lu Yanning pointed to the locust tree beside him, her eyes reddening slightly. "Master, he's right there! I need to find him!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she broke free from her hand and started to walk in that direction.
Jingwu saw the formation behind the locust tree and immediately pulled her back: "You can't go there, that's an illusion, that's not your father, that's bait created by the illusion!"
Lu Yanning's eyes were filled with panic. After looking more closely at the locust tree, she saw her father standing there, smiling lovingly at her and beckoning her to come over.
She turned her head to look at the girl's expression, met her firm eyes, and inexplicably thought of believing her.
Lu Yanning nodded with her eyes closed, standing behind Yue Huai and Jing Wu, forcing herself to stop looking in that direction.
If it really is my father, he certainly won't blame me.
When Jingwu saw that she was obediently hiding behind him, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
She walked towards the illusion, conjured a spirit sword, and slashed at the figure.
In an instant, the illusory figure turned into a wisp of gas and flew back into the illusion.
Jingwu looked up at the locust tree, thinking of destroying it.
"Awu, wait!" Yue Huai immediately walked over there and removed the illusion on the locust tree: "Look."
As Jingwu looked, he saw countless souls trapped inside the locust tree, and his eyes widened.
She looked at these familiar faces, and then at the people who were solemnly offering incense.
So their souls are all here.
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