Outside Yunmeng Marsh.
Chen Baiqing hadn't chosen to enter the village. After all, the group couldn't speak the local dialect, and their appearance didn't match the people of the Northern Julu Continent.
Illusion techniques could solve these problems, but that would draw attention. If someone detected their spiritual energy fluctuations, it would basically be like delivering themselves to the doorstep.
Inside a slightly weathered mountain god temple near the mountains of Anze Village.
Cui Hao was warming his hands by the fire while also seriously reading the cultivation encyclopedia Chen Baiqing had given him.
Wang Chuan and Li Zhuhua had also rejoined the group. In a corner nearby, they were drawing maps, marking points, and noting key information.
Chen Baiqing stood before the statue, carefully studying the tiger-shaped deity.
The Northern Julu Continent took its reverence for gods seriously. Though the mountain god temple was old, it wasn't dilapidated—at the very least, there were no holes and no drafts.
The statue appeared to be maintained, and the incense burner in front still had a few half-burned sticks, suggesting someone had been here recently to offer incense.
Lu Lingyi walked in from the doorway:
"Team Leader, the formation is set up. Mortals without cultivation will naturally avoid it. Given that concealing the formation's fluctuations takes priority, the formation's grade isn't high—it won't affect anyone or anything with cultivation."
Chen Baiqing withdrew her gaze and responded after hearing the report:
"That's enough. As long as ordinary mortals don't disturb us here."
Li Zhuhua's eyes swept over the map he had drawn. Each red dot represented a temple of considerable scale, and by now the red dots on the map were so dense they would give anyone with trypophobia a hard time looking at it.
He then spoke softly:
"There are already so many temples near Yunmeng Marsh, with incense offerings thriving to the extreme. I can only imagine what the intelligence report's mention of 'demons granted divine authority in Yunmeng Marsh' looks like."
"No wonder the Buddhist Sect had to stop at the Northern Julu Continent—they couldn't even build a single temple here."
Hearing this, Cui Hao looked up and, thinking of something, smiled lightly:
"Then anyone who despises Buddhism would find this place like heaven on earth, wouldn't they?"
Wang Chuan held his pen, and hearing Cui Hao's words, shook his head gently:
"Believing in gods with restraint is seeking peace in one's unease. But believing without limit is creating a place where the murdered find no rest."
"Anything taken to excess becomes a disaster. I've heard that in some small villages, they sacrifice boys and girls to the mountain god to ensure a bountiful year ahead."
Lu Lingyi sighed lightly at this:
"Ignorance…"
Li Zhuhua looked up at Lu Lingyi, his tone turning cold:
"What if it's not ignorance, but a transaction?"
Hearing this, Chen Baiqing looked at Li Zhuhua, understood his implication, and asked:
"Do you have news?"
"I do." Li Zhuhua set down his pen and continued. "Team Leader, you could already see the clues from the statue here today."
"The statues near Yunmeng Marsh are essentially modeled after wild creatures that have cultivated into demons."
"Setting aside other parts of the Northern Julu Continent for now, focusing solely on Yunmeng Marsh, it's common knowledge among all sects that demons run rampant here. There are even several Spirit Transformation great demons, and rumors of Integration giant demons."
"And they run wild without restraint, frequently clashing with each other."
"This news is known to all sects, yet no one intervenes. Besides the fact that this area is under Yunmeng Pavilion's direct jurisdiction, the biggest reason is that these demons, nominally, do not injure, kill, or harm humans."
Chen Baiqing spoke four words:
"Incense Divine Path."
Li Zhuhua looked at Chen Baiqing with slight surprise, then nodded gently:
"Yes. Yunmeng Pavilion's behavior essentially protects these great demons, but in return, they face the reality that spiritual energy here is relatively scarce and cultivation resources are lacking."
"After all, Yunmeng Pavilion wouldn't let outside cultivators swagger into Yunmeng Marsh with resources to do business."
"And outside Yunmeng Marsh, outside cultivators don't recognize the demons of Yunmeng Marsh."
"The Incense Divine Path is an unorthodox path for creatures that have awakened intelligence but crave rapid advancement."
"The demons ensure favorable weather and abundant harvests, and humans contribute incense offerings."
Chen Baiqing sighed softly at this, and Cui Hao's expression also dimmed slightly.
Wang Chuan, however, looked at Li Zhuhua with a puzzled expression.
Seeing this, Li Zhuhua continued with a helpless look:
"How could demons tainted by the Incense Divine Path have real abilities? What favorable weather or peace can they guarantee?"
"All those beasts can do is cause disasters. If you don't offer incense, you get devastating floods even when the weather should be fine. If you do offer incense for abundant harvests, you still get disease and disaster."
"Offering incense isn't a choice—it's a necessity."
"And burning incense at just one temple won't do. You have to burn it at every temple."
"Among them, the great demons can secretly manipulate sacrifices. The boys and girls I mentioned earlier are an example of that."
Wang Chuan frowned:
"Yunmeng Pavilion should know all of this. Why… don't they do anything?"
Lu Lingyi spoke calmly:
"After long enough, it becomes the norm. Yunmeng Pavilion probably thinks it's better to avoid trouble. Besides, who knows why Yunmeng Pavilion values Yunmeng Marsh so much?"
Chen Baiqing raised her hand slightly, steering the topic back to the mission:
"Since evil cultivators can move freely within Yunmeng Marsh, they must have some kind of protection through these connections. The evil cultivators provide extra blood offerings or cultivation resources in exchange for the great demons' protection, evading pursuit or investigation."
Cui Hao frowned, his tone serious:
"If that's the case, if we keep investigating directly, we won't just be hunting evil cultivators—we'll be challenging a norm that all of Yunmeng Marsh tacitly accepts."
Chen Baiqing turned to look at the statue inside the temple again:
"We haven't entered Yunmeng Marsh yet, so there's still room to maneuver. With our cultivation and words, we can't change the current situation here."
"As for our mission, overthrowing all of Yunmeng Marsh isn't the only option. Can we support a demon to join in, gather intelligence, and confirm the evil cultivators?"
"We just need to seize the opportunity and strike in one blow."
Li Zhuhua nodded in agreement:
"What the Team Leader says is what we can do right now. Our next step could be to capture a demon. If time permits, requesting one from the sect would be more reliable."
"That won't work. The sect's demons don't cultivate incense," Lu Lingyi interjected. "We'll probably need to catch one locally—a demon that cultivates incense, knows the rules, and understands the local slang."
Cui Hao looked out the temple door. The night was long, with not a trace of moonlight. He sighed:
"That won't be easy to come across, will it?"
Chen Baiqing smiled at the corner of her mouth: "Wild temples are everywhere. How could it be hard to encounter one?"
The three—Lu Lingyi and the others—seemed to sense something and turned their gazes toward the outside of the temple together.
Seeing this, Cui Hao put the book back in his spatial ring, quickly stepped to his senior sister's side, and asked quietly:
"Who's coming?"
Chen Baiqing's tone was calm:
"Probably the rightful owner of this temple."
Her words had barely fallen.
A demonic wind surged, blowing the temple doors wide open.
Chen Baiqing raised her hand slightly, and the Azure Heaven Treasure Ring on her finger flared with light.
The next moment, a ferocious, upright-walking tiger stepped in, its gaze quickly sweeping over everyone inside the temple.
Its tiger face was fierce, baring fangs in a grin. Its eyes swept over the five people in the temple, and its voice was deep:
"Five little brats, why are you still lingering in Grandpa's temple so late at night?"
"Are you afraid Grandpa…"
"Is hungry?"
[
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[
Dear Readers,
I post multiple high-quality, human-polished chapters every day. If you enjoy the story, consider supporting the release schedule to unlock massive advanced chapter buffers!
Support Options:
$6 — Read 20+ Chapters Ahead (High-speed daily updates!)
$8 — Read 40+ Chapters Ahead + Exclusive Character Images
$10 — Read 60+ Chapters Ahead + Character Images + Patreon Community Chat
(Note: These chapter counts are guaranteed minimums. Because of my rapid update schedule, you will often get even more!)
⚠️ Apple Users: Please subscribe via your web browser (Safari/Chrome) instead of the Patreon App to avoid a 30% fee and massive payment delays.
Thank you for reading and keeping these daily releases going!
Support Here: patreon.com/Alex_Cruise
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