Chapter 146 Yu Li Xiao An... is a coward...
The two deities appeared in the world, and the believers who were kneeling and kowtowing fell silent.
Mo Bei still looked the same as Yun Tianjiao had always known him: a handsome young man with red lips and white teeth, full of vigor, wearing a bright green divine robe adorned with flowers, carrying a spherical glass lamp, with a small braid hanging down from each shoulder, the rest of his hair tied up and hanging down his back, and a purple iris hanging from his waist. He was so pleasing to the eye that it was impossible to associate him with the word "evil."
Yu Li, dressed in a white robe with her hair tied up in a high bun, held a peach blossom-patterned oil-paper umbrella. She still had that gentle and compassionate expression, and there was no sign of injury on her body. She stood side by side with Mo Bei, and the two seemed to have a very harmonious relationship.
After a few high-sounding words of reassurance, the God of Innocent Sorrow began to preach that the plague was caused by the God of Gongxin's indulgence of his relatives, which aroused the indignation of the worshippers below. Yu Li also occasionally chimed in, corroborating the God of Innocent Sorrow's claims and calling on people to stop offering sacrifices to Gongxin—
"The most urgent task is for everyone to remember: stop offering incense to that new demon god. When you see the Temple of the God of Agriculture, you must dismantle the temple and destroy the plaque, and replace it with the Temple of the God of Joy as soon as possible! Only in this way can the plague be stopped as soon as possible."
The worshippers raised their fists in unison, chanting: "Demolish the Temple of the God of Agriculture! Replace it with the Temple of the God of Joy! Demolish the Temple of the God of Agriculture! Replace it with the Temple of the God of Joy!"
Yun Tianjiao frowned deeply. "What's wrong with Goddess Yu Li? Although she may not know that Mo Bei is the god worshipped by Elder Xi Yuan, her current actions are not like her usual style."
"Tch, what else could it be? They probably saw how powerful Mo Bei God Venerable is now and chose to side with him!" Shen Qiongzhi said.
Yun Tianjiao turned to look at Shen Qiongzhi, puzzled: "Qiongzhi, why are you kneeling down?"
She had just said that she would never kneel before the man who killed her brother.
Shen Qiongzhi was stunned for a moment, then belatedly looked down at her knees on the ground, somewhat bewildered: "Yeah, why did I kneel down... Maybe my legs went numb from squatting for too long."
"Can ghosts also experience leg numbness?" Zhu Jing wondered.
Gong Xin looked at Zhu Jing and said, "Immortal Lord Zhu Jing, you also seem to be kneeling. Is it because your legs are numb?"
Zhu Jing's eyes widened slightly, seemingly quite surprised. "Huh? Right, when did I kneel down?"
“Goddess Gongxin, you’re talking about Zhu Jing? Look at yourself.” Shen Qiongzhi gestured towards Gongxin with her lip. At this moment, Gongxin was already kneeling on the ground. However, as Shen Qiongzhi spoke, her head involuntarily lowered again, becoming more and more like a gesture of worship.
Zhiwei said in a deep voice, "We were wrong in our previous assessment. Mo Bei arranged this entire Jiangzhou main city into an array not to absorb the power of living souls, but to cultivate the power of faith! We are being gradually disciplined by the array here into Mo Bei's pilgrims."
“But why do I feel that God Mo Bei isn’t as bad as we think? Maybe we’ve made a mistake and misunderstood him.” Zhu Jing knelt on the ground, looking at Mo Bei’s true form above the temple, his eyes gradually filled with worship. “He’s the God of Joy, the one who brings joy to the world. How could he do evil?”
Shen Qiongzhi was silent at this point. Her forehead was completely on the ground, and she made a standard bowing motion. She bowed once, then twice, then three times, looking like a devout follower of Mo Bei.
Yun Tianjiao and Zhiwei Gongxin exchanged glances, both seeing worry in each other's eyes.
Shen Qiongzhi's cultivation was the shallowest among them, and she was most severely affected by the formation. Gong Xin should have been the most cultivated among them, but due to the rumors of the plague, he lost too many worshippers and destroyed too many temples in a short period of time, and his divine foundation was severely shaken, so he was also quickly affected.
In just a few words, Zhu Jing and Gong Xin, like Shen Qiongzhi, began to look at Mo Bei with fervent eyes. The three of them joined the other worshippers in shouting, kowtowing, and weeping, repeating over and over, "We beg the God Mo Bei for protection, we beg the God Mo Bei for protection."
Yun Tianjiao was horrified. Seeing that Zhiwei was still conscious, he said, "We have to leave here immediately!"
Zhiwei kept circulating his divine power, forcibly resisting the force that was affecting his mind, but he also found it very difficult. Fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, and one knee involuntarily knelt on the ground.
"Your Highness..." Zhiwei looked at Yun Tianjiao with doubt in her eyes, "Your Highness seems... unaffected?"
Yun Tianjiao was stunned for a moment, and finally realized something. "That's right, I don't feel like I'm being controlled at all, but in terms of cultivation and strength, I'm below you, so I should be more easily controlled by the formation than you."
She looked down, trying to see if her knees had unconsciously fallen to the ground, but all she saw were two furry cat paws.
At this moment, she was still in the form of a black cat.
Yun Tianjiao suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said to Zhiwei, "Back then, I used the body of this black cat to nourish my soul, so now I can be considered half a cat demon. Is it possible that this formation only has a greater impact on humans and a smaller impact on animals?"
Zhiwei gritted her teeth, but her knees still uncontrollably knelt on the ground, and her head slowly lowered.
Yun Tianjiao was anxious and quickly jumped onto his shoulder, patting his head with his paws. "Hey, Zhiwei, you and I are the same. When we were in Xuanxiao Sect, we also used the body of a black panther to nourish our souls. Later, we were banished to the Tongbei Tower to cultivate for many years. You are now half a panther demon. Try transforming back into your panther form. Maybe you can get rid of the influence of the formation here!"
Zhiwei's eyes reddened, his pupils gradually losing focus. He felt something patting his head, making him extremely irritated. Just as he was about to remove the annoying thing from his body, he heard someone say in his ear, "Cang Han! Transform into a black panther! I want you to become a black panther!"
This is... the voice of desire...
But why would Yu Meng talk to him? And why would she turn him into a black panther?
Who is Yu Meng? And who... is he?
Her consciousness grew increasingly chaotic. Zhiwei's mind felt as if it had been filled with lead, heavy and dull, unable to understand anything. Only one voice echoed like in an empty valley: "Please, God Mo Bei, protect me! Please, God Mo Bei, protect me!"
He succumbed to the chanting, bowing his forehead to the ground, but in the end, he was stopped by another simple and straightforward thought—he had to listen to Yu Meng's words.
No matter what happens, you must listen to Yu Meng's words!
Nothing in this world is more important than this; it is something more important than his life.
Yun Tianjiao watched helplessly as Zhiwei knelt down, only to transform into a black panther at the last moment. Overjoyed, she quickly jumped off Zhiwei, her cat-like eyes gleaming as she stared intently at the black panther.
Black Panther slowly opened his eyes and met Yun Tianjiao's gaze.
"Are you feeling better?" Yun Tianjiao asked.
Zhiwei nodded. "Just as Your Highness said, after transforming into an animal, one is no longer affected by the formation. As expected of Mo Bei, the fervent faith generated by these endless stream of worshippers is far more powerful than their life force."
Yun Tianjiao looked at the other three people beside him and said to Zhiwei, "We need to find a way to break the formation here."
The two remained in animal form as they moved through the crowd, trying to find a way to break the formation as soon as possible. Logically, the cat and leopard moving through such a crowded place should have caused a commotion, but the worshippers seemed oblivious. They stared at the God of Ink Sorrow with almost obsessive eyes, bowing and praying incessantly, like a group of soulless and mindless puppets.
Mo Bei was very satisfied with the power of the incense offerings here. He closed his eyes, spread his arms, and enjoyed the endless power that the worshippers brought him. The satisfied expression on his face revealed the greed and desire beneath his simple smile.
Suddenly he opened his eyes, a cold glint flashing in them, but it was only for a moment before he smiled happily again.
"Yu Li, a disobedient little fellow has come here. What should we do?"
Yu Li's cold eyes swept across the crowd, and she quickly spotted Yun Tianjiao and Zhiwei. Without hesitation, she raised her hand and flung out her oil-paper umbrella. The umbrella swept half a circle in the air, passing through pink light and shadow, and then spun towards Yun Tianjiao's location.
The edge of the rapidly spinning umbrella was as sharp as a knife, slashing towards the black cat's body at the waist.
Seeing this, the black panther pounced in time, intercepting the paper umbrella in mid-air. However, the paper umbrella had already stopped moving before the black panther pounced, and suddenly split into nine identical paper umbrellas, surrounding the black panther and trapping him like a caged beast.
It turns out that Yu Li's target was not Yun Tianjiao from the beginning.
"Zhiwei!" Yun Tianjiao rushed towards one of the paper umbrellas. She knew that with this formation, destroying just one of the paper umbrellas would break the formation and help Zhiwei escape her predicament.
However, with a flick of her long sleeve, Yu Li suddenly raised the entire formation, pulling the black leopard into the air, causing Yun Tianjiao to miss his target.
Yun Tianjiao summoned his Vajra Pestle and followed closely behind, aiming at a paper umbrella once more, preparing to break the formation.
"Where did this little flying insect come from? Naughty." Mo Bei casually flicked his finger with a smile, and the vajra was struck as if it had been severely damaged, making a deafening roar that shook the heavens and the earth, before plummeting straight to the ground.
Yun Tianjiao and the Vajra Pestle were of one mind, so she naturally suffered a severe backlash. She felt a sweet taste in her throat and vomited a mouthful of blood. As she watched the Vajra Pestle about to smash down on the mortal pilgrims below, she used all her strength to shrink the Vajra Pestle back. This only made her injuries worse, and she collapsed to the ground, unable to move.
Upon seeing Yun Tianjiao injured, Zhiwei's leopard eyes instantly turned bloodshot. He had sensed it the moment he touched Yu Li's paper umbrella; the other party's cultivation had greatly increased, far surpassing the level of ten days ago. Not to mention him, even if he, Yun Tianjiao, and Gong Xin joined forces, the three of them would probably be no match for them now.
However, in his shock and anger, he transformed back into human form and forcibly broke the formation. Yu Li's formation was a trapping beast formation, and once Zhiwei returned to human form, its power was greatly reduced, allowing Zhiwei to escape.
Zhiwei landed back on the ground and picked up the seriously injured Yun Tianjiao. Immediately afterwards, he felt the influence of the Mo Bei formation and his knees fell down uncontrollably again. He dared not continue to maintain his human form and could only transform back into the form of a black panther.
Yu Li chased after them and set up another paper umbrella trap, this time trapping both the cat and the leopard.
"Lord Mo Bei, what should we do with them?" Yu Li asked expressionlessly.
Mo Bei stroked his chin with one hand, seemingly quite conflicted. "Logically speaking, if they could obediently become my worshippers like the other three, I could spare their lives. With their cultivation level, the incense power they can provide is far stronger than those useless mortals. Unfortunately, they are disobedient and have turned into two beasts here, causing me trouble."
While Mo Bei was rambling on, Yu Li's expression remained unchanged, as if she were merely an emotionless executor who would do whatever Mo Bei asked her to do, without any personal likes, dislikes, or judgment.
"Sigh, forget it. Since that's the case, let's just throw them into the incense burner and burn them." Mo Bei finally waved his hand helplessly and made the decision.
Yu Li obeyed orders without question. With a flick of his wrist, he directed the Nine Umbrellas Trapping Beast Formation toward the enormous incense burner in front of the hall.
At that moment, Yun Tianjiao suddenly shouted, "Xiao An!"
Yu Li paused, and a rare crack appeared on his face, which was usually covered by a mask.
Upon seeing this, Yun Tianjiao immediately added, "Yu Li, you're the Xiao An who founded Ji'an Hall to provide shelter for pitiful women all over the world, right?"
As Yun Tianjiao revealed Yu Li's identity, it seemed as if an invisible veil was slowly lifted from Yu Li's body.
Yun Tianjiao had personally experienced this scene. Back then, Yu Li used divine power to cover her face in order to protect her, so that those familiar with her in the Heavenly Realm could not recognize her.
Once the magic concealing her true appearance was removed, Yu Li revealed a face that was extremely similar to Yu Li's, yet also different. That face had a beauty mark under its eye, delicate and gentle features, but its brows and eyes possessed an inherent fortitude—exactly the same as the stone statue of Xiao An they had seen in the Ji'an Hall!
Yu Li's expression was blank, and her mouth moved with difficulty. It seemed that her body was not under her control. Only with strong willpower could she utter the next sentence: "How...how did you know...Xiao An?"
Yun Tianjiao said, "It's not just us who know; there are many people in this world who remember you, worship you, and cherish your memory. But how could you have abandoned Xiao An?"
Two lines of tears streamed down Yu Li's face. Her emotions were in turmoil, and she choked up uncontrollably. "But... Xiao An, Xiao An... is a coward. She has let down the sisters of Ji'an Hall. She ran away with her death and abandoned them."
"How could that be? You were harmed by rumors and had no choice but to die to prove your innocence. After your death, the women of Ji'an Hall united as one, taking up arms to protect themselves and driving away all those who had bullied you. Hundreds of years have passed, and Ji'an Hall has become Ji'an Township, sheltering countless women displaced by the chaos of war. Your merits continue to this day, so why should you feel ashamed? Those who should feel ashamed are the ones who spread rumors, stirred up trouble, and plotted against you!"
As Mo Bei listened to the two of them talking back and forth, he simply straightened his divine robe and sat down in mid-air. He rested his chin on his hands and looked at Yun Tianjiao when Yun Tianjiao spoke and at Yu Li when Yu Li spoke. He turned his head back and forth, blinking his clear eyes like an innocent and lively child.
But he quickly grew impatient. Seeing Yu Li's increasingly excited expression, he casually pulled on the object, like a puppeteer manipulating a puppet.
Yu Li's body instantly stiffened and straightened, his joints twisted into strange angles, revealing an expression of extreme pain.
Yun Tianjiao finally saw clearly that Yu Li's body was connected by thousands upon thousands of thin silver threads. The ends of all the silver threads were held in Mo Bei's hand, and he could control Yu Li at will with just a flick of his finger.
The scene was incredibly familiar. Yun Tianjiao stared at the dense silver threads, then suddenly widened his eyes and blurted out, "Puppet Bride! The Puppet Bride's secret realm at the Ascension Ceremony, you set it up!"
Mo Bei looked over with a smile, winked at Yun Tianjiao, as if encouraging her to finish what she was saying.
Yun Tianjiao's face was filled with disbelief, "So Shen Qiongzhi... you killed her? She wasn't raped and murdered by Lin Shen, she was killed by you..."
"Hey, stop, stop!" Mo Bei hurriedly said, "Don't wrong me, Goddess Yu Meng. I'm still a virgin, don't ruin my reputation!"
Then, as if he had thought of something interesting, he chuckled, "As for me, I just brought that foolish Lin Shen into the secret realm, and when his inner demons flared up, I had Miss Shen soothe him. But you guessed half right, I did indeed do the cleanup afterwards."
"It was you...it was you who drained Shen Qiongzhi dry..."
Mo Bei didn't deny it, but clicked his tongue with regret. "The Shen family's daughter was the first mortal I consumed. Back then, I had no experience and only focused on absorbing flesh and blood essence. I didn't expect that the soul was the real treasure. Miss Shen has an extremely noble destiny. If I had known that earlier, I should have devoured her soul back then. But now, if I had to choose, I wouldn't even devour her soul. I would find a way to turn her into my worshipper, to offer sacrifices and prayers for me, providing me with a continuous stream of faith power. That would be the most worthwhile deal."
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