"He's so good!"
Ji Wang was a little nervous at first, riding on his horse, afraid that he might have misunderstood something and gone astray.
But he soon discovered that Bujiu's directions were clear and incredibly useful.
Bu Jiu nestled peacefully in front of him, its ear tips slightly tilted to the left. Ji Wang immediately understood and pulled on the left rein: "Giddy up! To the left!"
Ji Wang's ears snapped to the right, and he immediately adjusted, "Alright! The road on the right!"
If the horse runs too fast, the mountain wind will be fierce, and its ears will be pushed back to try to reduce wind resistance. Then you need to slow the horse down a bit: "Understood, understood, the wind is too strong, slow down, slow down."
He even discovered new features on his own.
If his ears suddenly perk up, Ji Wang will immediately stop his horse and hold his breath to observe his surroundings, although most of the time it is just a wild rabbit or bird darting through the forest.
After running for about half an hour, the horse stopped at a place that was clearly the starting point of the uphill path.
Ji looked down and saw that the little fox in his arms had stood up, its eyes looking towards the buildings on the mountainside.
Its ears no longer pointed the way, but stood erect alertly, and its tail tightened.
It seems we've arrived at our destination.
This is at the foot of the mountain where Xuanming Temple is located.
Ji Wang stroked the smooth fur of Bu Jiu in his arms, as if to encourage himself, or perhaps to ask for the next instructions: "We've arrived. What do we do now?"
Before he could finish speaking, he felt a lightness in his arms.
Bu Jiu leaped off the horse, and the instant it touched the ground, a soft light flashed, and the small figure suddenly lengthened and changed in the light.
Bu Jiu stood with his hands behind his back in front of the horse, saying nothing, but turned around and reached out his hand to Ji Wang, who was still riding on the horse.
The hand had distinct knuckles, completely different from the furry claws from before: "Come."
Ji Wang did not hesitate and immediately offered his hand.
With a little effort, Bu Jiu helped him down from the horse.
The moment his feet touched solid ground, Ji Wang felt the unsettling aura emanating from the Taoist temple on the mountain, a mixture of incense smoke and an indescribable chill. Despite it being a warm spring day, it sent a chill down his spine.
He unconsciously took a step closer to Bu Jiu.
Bu Jiu didn't let go of his hand, but instead led him, taking the first step towards the stone steps leading up the mountain.
"Stay close." Bu Jiu looked ahead. "Don't panic."
Before long, a mountain gate came into view, with a plaque above the gate that read "Xuanming Temple". The paint looked freshly applied and was exceptionally vibrant.
The two had just stopped in front of the mountain gate when the two disciples guarding the gate saw Bu Jiu and their expressions changed drastically.
One of them reacted extremely quickly, turning around and sprinting towards the temple, shouting as he ran, "They're here! They're here—!"
Almost instantly, more than a dozen Taoists carrying peach wood swords or talismans poured out of the temple. The leader was a fellow disciple of Xuanfeng Taoist whom they had met yesterday.
They quickly dispersed, surrounding Bu Jiu and Ji Wang, their sword tips and talismans all aimed at the two of them.
The middle-aged Taoist priest leading the group had a grim face and shouted sternly, "Demons! We haven't even come to settle accounts with you yet, and you've already delivered yourselves to our doorstep to die!"
Ji Wang had never seen such a scene before. His heart jumped into his throat, and he instinctively wanted to shrink behind Bu Jiu.
But when he caught a glimpse of Bu Jiu's slightly annoyed profile out of the corner of his eye, a surge of courage, which he didn't know where it came from, rushed up to him in an instant.
Instead of retreating, he took a big step forward, using his not-so-broad frame to firmly shield Bu Jiu behind him.
The action was so quick and decisive that even Bu Jiu was momentarily stunned.
Ji Wang's voice was loud and defiant as he shouted at the group of Taoists, "You've gone too far! You were the ones chasing after him, trying to kill him! He... he was such a good person, he wouldn't even eat the wild rabbits and birds along the way, he—"
He was eager to defend Bu Jiu, wanting to shout out all the "good" things he had seen Bu Jiu along the way, to prove that he was not a vicious person.
However, before he could finish speaking, Bu Jiu reached out from behind and covered his mouth, silencing all the more outrageous accusations that followed.
"Ugh ugh ugh—!" Ji Wang struggled for a moment, then turned his head away in dissatisfaction.
Bu Jiu's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and his eyes were filled with disgust that was "unbearable to hear".
He looked down at Ji Wang, who was still muttering to himself, and almost gritted his teeth as he squeezed out a sentence: "What kind of nonsense are you talking about?"
His tone was filled with despair at his limited vocabulary and bizarre logic.
The group of Taoist priests, who were originally on the verge of exchanging blows, were also taken aback by this sudden change and Ji Wang's words, and the scene became somewhat tense for a moment.
Bu Jiu's gaze returned to the leading Taoist priest.
"Enough with the nonsense." He released his hand from Ji Wang's mouth, instead putting his arm around Ji Wang's shoulder and pulling him behind him. "Who wants to die first?"
The group of Taoist priests were both shocked and furious by the indifference in his words. They exchanged glances, gripped the talismans in their hands even tighter, and their peach wood swords trembled slightly, but none of them dared to step forward first.
The absurdity of Ji Wang's previous accusations vanished completely under Bu Jiu's pure and imposing aura.
Looking at their hesitant appearance, Bu Jiu's eyes flashed with a hint of mockery, as if watching ants struggling.
He seemed to suddenly realize something and said, "Or, you can all come together?" His gaze swept over the dozen or so panicked faces, and his tone even carried a hint of mercy. "That way, you can keep each other company on your journey to the underworld."
"..." The color drained from the faces of the Taoist priests instantly, and their hands, which were holding the ritual implements, trembled so much that they could barely hold them.
This is no longer a simple provocation, but a complete and utter contempt, treating their lives as objects to be disposed of at will!
"You insolent fiend!" The leading Taoist priest could no longer contain his humiliation. He roared and a thunder talisman in his hand ignited, hurtling straight at Bu Jiu's face.
His movement caused the other Taoists to suppress their fear and activate their talismans. In an instant, talismans, like a dense swarm of bees, accompanied by shrill cries, enveloped Bu Jiu and Ji Wang from all directions.
Faced with this overwhelming attack, Bu Jiu's expression didn't change at all, and he didn't even let go of Ji Wang's shoulder.
He casually raised his other hand, spread his fingers, and gently clenched it against the surging torrent of attacks.
There was no earth-shattering noise.
All the talismanic light, sword energy, and lightning fire solidified abruptly when they touched the area a foot or so in front of his palm. With a series of subtle, dense crackling sounds, they all transformed into specks of spiritual energy.
The whole process happened in the blink of an eye.
The group of Taoist priests, still in their attacking stances, their faces contorted with rage, froze completely, their eyes filled with extreme fear.
Bu Jiu slowly lowered his hand: "It seems..." he said calmly, "that you have chosen to travel together."
The moment he finished speaking, an even more terrifying demonic aura erupted from his body.
Almost simultaneously, Bu Jiu's arm around his shoulder became a full embrace, and he raised his other hand, gently covering Ji Wang's eyes with his palm.
As darkness descends, other senses become increasingly clear.
Ji Wang could feel the steady heartbeat from Bu Jiu's chest and hear his voice above his head: "Your ancestor was just a wandering rogue in the martial arts world who was being chased by his enemies and was as frightened as a stray dog. He collapsed in front of my door on a snowy night. I took pity on him and allowed him to take shelter from the wind and snow for one night. But while I was in meditation, he stole a very basic chart from my bookshelf."
The hand covering his eyes twitched slightly, and Bu Jiu chuckled: "In the end, he didn't even master the basics. Instead, he copied others and created some bizarre and incomparable techniques. He took in a bunch of worthless disciples and followers, and used his name to engage in this fraudulent and harmful business."
He paused, then held Ji Wanghuan even tighter: "Truly, he deserves to die."
As soon as the words were spoken, the stone steps shattered, the vegetation withered, and the dozen or so Taoist priests were crushed and swallowed by this pure power before they could even scream.
However, Ji Wang was protected unharmed amidst this destructive force.
Bu Jiu removed the hand that was covering Ji Wang's eyes.
As light returned, Ji Wang adjusted to the light and hurriedly looked around.
The dozen or so Taoist priests who had surrounded them had vanished without a trace, leaving not even a speck of ashes. Only the messy ground in front of the mountain gate and the lingering eerie demonic aura in the air indicated what had just happened.
Looking at Ji Wang's terrified face, Bu Jiu suddenly asked, "...Are you afraid of me?"
Ji Wang looked at him sharply and quickly shook his head: "No!"
He answered quickly and urgently, then frowned, a hint of grievance appearing on his face: "I just... hadn't even figured out why they called me a monster. Now look what's happened, everyone's gone, who am I supposed to ask?"
Seeing his preoccupation with "reputation" rather than his ruthless methods, Bu Jiu's tension dissipated.
He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and pointed to the depths of the Taoist temple: "These are just low-level thugs; you won't get anything out of them. The ones who truly know the inside story and can make decisions are still sitting inside."
Ji Wang followed his gaze to the palace, recalling Bu Jiu's words, and pressed, "What exactly did they do to harm living beings? You just said..."
“Soul Refining.” Bu Jiu uttered two words, his voice not loud, but it made the surrounding temperature seem to drop several degrees.
Ji Wang gasped.
Although he was not proficient in Taoist magic, he knew that "soul refining" was an extremely insidious and evil forbidden technique. It used the souls of the living or the dead as materials to refine magical artifacts or enhance evil skills. The process was extremely painful, and the souls would never be able to be reborn.
A chill ran up his spine from the soles of his feet. He had been somewhat uneasy about the "extermination of the family" before, but now he felt that these people deserved to die!
He clenched his fist, then suddenly looked at Bu Jiu, his eyes flashing with the fearlessness of a newborn calf, and a hint of negotiation in his tone: "Um... the big one sitting inside, you can have it. As for the smaller ones over there..." His eyes gleamed with an astonishing light, a hint of eagerness in them, "Could I stab you first before you make your move?"
He remembered that he still had a few attack talismans that Bu Jiu had personally modified, which were barely usable.
He drew so many useless talismans and endured so much disdain; surely they must be of some use, right? Even if it's just stabbing someone in the back!
Bu Jiu was clearly not expected that he would make such a request. Looking at Ji Wang's eyes, which were particularly bright with anger and determination, he raised his hand after a long while and flicked Ji Wang's forehead lightly with his finger: "Granted."
The disciples inside seemed to have all fled upon hearing the commotion, allowing the two to enter the main hall of Xuanming Temple without any hindrance.
The hall was dark and filled with a strong smell of incense and a nauseatingly sweet, fishy odor.
Unlike other Taoist temples, the vermilion pillars inside this hall are covered with twisted runes, and the central altar is not dedicated to the Three Pure Ones, but to a black statue with a blurred face and an evil aura.
However, the hall was empty.
Only beneath the statue was a massive, intricate array drawn with blood.
The array's patterns were still faintly glowing, and several twisted, struggling phantoms, emitting silent wails, floated in the center—these were the living souls that had been partially refined.
Scattered around the formation were some magical artifacts and scriptures that had not been taken away.
"It seems they heard the commotion and ran away." Bu Jiu walked towards the still-operating Soul Refining Array, preparing to destroy the array's core.
Ji Wang looked at the several clumps of souls struggling in pain, and his stomach churned.
He clutched the attack talismans in his arms, scanning the hall, trying to find someone he could "stab in the back".
Just then, his gaze was drawn to an inconspicuous mark on the edge of the formation.
It wasn't part of the formation; rather, it resembled an extremely subtle mark drawn with cinnabar.
Ji felt a buzzing sound in his head, as if something had shattered.
In the same dimly lit environment, amidst the same intricate array, an old man with his back to him respectfully reported to a blurry black figure: "...Rest assured, sir, the bait has been cast. That demon will surely come seeking it. Once he steps into this array, no matter how powerful his cultivation, he will be utterly destroyed, his entire cultivation rendered useless to you..."
Ji Wang's face turned deathly pale instantly. He stepped forward and grabbed Bu Jiu's arm: "Bu Jiu! Don't move! This entire hall is a formation! It's a trap! They're luring you in!"
He pointed to the inconspicuous mark, his voice urgent: "That's...that's a disguise for the array's core! They want to refine you!"
Upon hearing this, Bu Jiu's pupils contracted sharply: "What did you remember?"
Ji Wang was stunned. He stared at his finger pointing at the center of the formation, his mind a complete mess.
How would you know?
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