"Sun Sun, sit still in the cart and don't move around. Grandpa is going to knock on the door!"
The old farmer parked the ox cart in front of the back door of Wutong Temple. While lovingly instructing his grandson, he walked towards the back door of the temple.
Arriving at the door, the old farmer looked at the beast-shaped door knocker embedded on the door and reached out his hand to gently tap it.
The back door of Wutong Temple was not as grand and majestic as the front door, but rather hidden at the end of a difficult-to-detect mountain path.
The path was rugged and difficult to traverse, with lush vegetation and numerous snakes, insects, birds, and animals. Ordinary people could not easily come here.
In fact, only specific individuals could enter Wutong Temple through the back door, while others could only enter through the front door.
Clang, clang, clang~~~
The door knocker made a clear and melodious sound, resembling the chimes of a bell, despite the heaviness of the door.
The old farmer didn't know why, nor did he want to know. His life experience had taught him that it was better not to know some things in too much detail.
After knocking on the door, the old farmer silently let go of the door knocker, took three steps back, and respectfully lowered his head, waiting for someone from Wutong Temple.
Time passed by minute by minute, and after the time it took for an incense stick to burn completely, a disheveled and untidy man with a dark face opened the door.
The robe worn by this man seemed as out of place as putting a phoenix crown on a clay figurine.
As soon as the man with the dark face opened the door and saw the old farmer waiting outside with his hands hanging down, he rolled his eyes.
"I thought it was the tribute delivery, turns out it's just you, old man!"
"Daoist Master, it's time for the delivery today!"
The old farmer clasped his hands together, a flattering smile on his face, and bowed to the black-faced Taoist. At the same time, the black-faced Taoist yawned.
"Alright, come in. You know the rules, I won't say much. Unload the goods, take the reward money, and hurry up and leave!"
The black-faced Taoist opened the door, and the old farmer bowed once again.
The black-faced Taoist had no particular interest in the humble and respectful attitude of the old farmer. He just stood by the door, nonchalantly picking his nose, and staring at the father and son in front of him.
After comforting his grandson, the old farmer crossed the threshold that was as high as an adult's knee, carrying the goods on his shoulder.
"Daoist Master, everything is here!"
The black-faced Taoist paused in his door-scratching motion and glanced at the vegetable basket carried by the old farmer, furrowing his brows.
"Why are there so few?"
"This old man doesn't know." The old farmer habitually flashed a flattering smile, and the black-faced Taoist muttered, "Those bunch of good-for-nothings who have their fill of the world, don't they fear the Temple Master's punishment?"
"That's true!"
"Alright, come with me!"
"Okay!"
The old farmer responded and entered the gate, reminding his grandson before leaving.
"Good boy, wait here and don't wander around. Grandpa will be back soon."
"Okay!"
The little boy played with the windmill in his hand without looking up.
"Then you wait here for Grandpa, alright!"
Following the black-faced Taoist, the old farmer entered through the gate. The heavy gate slowly closed, emitting a creaking sound from the hinges.
Bang!
The main gate closed, and the animal-shaped door ring swayed gently. Innocent and lively children played with windmills, with no worries or sorrows in their eyes.
...
"This Wutong Temple is truly extravagant!"
The white cat, perched on the back of Thirteen, followed behind the old farmer and the black-faced Taoist, secretly amazed. Although everything in this hall seemed ordinary, those who understood the intricacies could see the difference at a glance.
The door pillars of the corridor were made of Yizhou's nanmu wood, the roof was covered with gold wire colored glaze produced in Ruzhou, and the floor tiles they stepped on were the finest Kunwu jade from Kunzhou.
Even the flowers and plants planted in the flower beds, judging from the leaves and roots, were unique and precious floral species from Shenzhou.
Just by plucking a small portion, the proceeds from selling it would be enough for an ordinary family to eat and drink for ten years.
As the saying goes, "the subtle reveals the profound." Just from this small detail, one could infer how much silver the Wutong Temple had plundered over the years.
The information obtained from interrogating the Taoists in the tomb chamber earlier, combined with everything Duke had witnessed before his eyes, undoubtedly added credibility to it.
Thirteen carried the cat and followed behind the old farmer and the black-faced Taoist, passing through several arches and courtyards. Finally, the black-faced Taoist stopped in a gloomy courtyard and said, "Alright, just place it on this Bagua platform!"
"As for the rest, you don't need to worry about it. Go and collect your reward money!"
"Alright, got it, Daoist Master!"
The weather-beaten face of the old farmer immediately broke into a smile. He nodded eagerly and placed the carrying pole in the designated spot indicated by the black-faced Taoist.
It was on the central platform of this gloomy courtyard, adorned with an embedded Bagua diagram.
After completing all this, the old farmer happily left the courtyard to collect his reward money.
Once the old farmer left, the black-faced Taoist rummaged through his Daoist robe and pulled out a golden bell.
After getting hold of the golden bell, he gently shook it, and then simply abandoned the carrying pole here, leaving the courtyard without any further concern.
Duke, witnessing all this, felt somewhat puzzled. Was it really okay to just leave these things here like that?
But before he could contemplate further, ripples suddenly spread across the Bagua platform where the carrying pole was placed. In the instant the ripples spread, ghostly hands emerged from the ground, grabbing the carrying pole and quickly sinking back into the ground before Duke's and Thirteen's eyes.
Seeing this scene, the white cat widened its eyes, overwhelmed with astonishment.
"So, it was taken down like that?"
Duke had never expected that the carrying pole carrying the child would be pulled underground by ghostly hands. It was far beyond his imagination that this would be the entrance to the underground palace beneath the Wutong Temple, as the Taoists had mentioned.
Witnessing this scene, Duke finally realized that something was amiss in the courtyard he was in.
First of all, it was now noon, but the yard was extremely cold, and the courtyard was overgrown with weeds, with heavy moisture in the air. The trees planted there were all several people's embrace thick old locust trees.
"Could it be that the Wutong Temple not only exorcises ghosts but also keeps them?"
Duke narrowed his eyes, feeling somewhat uneasy.
He had originally planned to follow the path and find out where the entrance to the underground palace was. But now, it seemed that his plan had been disrupted.
"Damn it!"
"Roar?"
Thirteen turned to look at the white cat, his eyes filled with inquiry. Lord Cat, what should we do next?
"Let me think, wait for me to think!"
Duke raised his head and looked at the sky. The sky was bright with sunlight, but strangely, it couldn't bring any warmth to this courtyard.
As Duke gazed at the sun, his ears twitched and the corners of his mouth involuntarily curved into a smile.
"Let's leave this place for now. I have an idea. We'll come back at night!"
Duke patted Thirteen's small head, and Thirteen let out a roar, asking where they were going.
"Find a sunny spot. Let's go sunbathe for a while."
With these words, the white cat, Duke, retraced their steps, jumped out of the walls of the Wutong Temple, and then searched for a sunny spot among the mountains of Wude Mountain.
Half an hour later, the cat and dog found a sunny spot and stopped to rest. Duke took out Blood Nourishing Pill, Clear Water Pill, and Moonlight Pill to replenish the dog. He himself faced the sun, absorbing its rays and starting to refine the Sun Essence Pill.
Putting aside the matter of entering the underground palace for now, Duke's first priority was to figure out how to find the children and take them away without being pursued.
Duke couldn't believe that everyone in such a large Wutong Temple was as useless as the Taoist priests in the tomb chamber.
So, he needed to leave himself an escape route before considering anything else.
After Duke refined the Sun Essence Pills one by one, he threw them all back into the black cauldron for a second refinement.
After several Sun Essence Pills were combined into one, their size decreased, but the radiance they emitted became even stronger.
Embedded in the space of the black cauldron, they looked like small suns, illuminating the entire space brightly.
While refining the Sun Essence Pills, Duke also unintentionally noticed the short sword he had scavenged from the stuffy gourd.
He had originally planned to refine the short sword into a pill, but it had been delayed by some things and had been lying idle in the space of the black cauldron.
Now that he noticed it, he decided to refine it as well.
After Duke threw the sheathed short sword into the black cauldron, it was immediately enveloped in flames. The flames licked the sword, continuously evaporating impurities and rapidly shortening it.
At the same time, Duke realized that his inner energy was being drawn away by the black cauldron.
Realizing this, Duke quickly turned his gaze to the sword being refined in the cauldron.
Before long, a pill resembling a treasure sword jumped out of the cauldron, embedded in the void, shining with a chilling light. Just a glance at it would make one's eyes hurt.
Duke replenished himself with a few Blood Nourishing Pills to make up for the consumption, and also took out this sword pill from the black hole space.
Duke played with this extremely cold sword pill in his hand and muttered to himself, "The ancient records mention that those who cultivate the sword can reach profound mastery and refine flying swords. What wonderful use does this sword pill refined by my black cauldron have?"
"Could it be meant for consumption?"
Duke looked at the sword pill in his hand, licked his lips, and instinctively felt that this thing seemed to be more than just something to eat.
"Perhaps it should be used like this?"
Du Ke attempted to infuse his internal energy into the Sword Pill. The Sword Pill immediately trembled.
In the next second, a narrow crack silently appeared on the ground.
Du Ke, upon seeing this crack, widened his eyes and burst into laughter.
"So, this is it. So this is the effect after refining this object into a pill!"
"Hahaha, with this, my confidence in entering the Wutong Temple has increased by another level!"
In his excitement, Du Ke frowned as he looked at the Sword Pill, which had turned dull in color.
"But it seems like this Sword Pill has some usage restrictions."
"However, elixirs are consumables, and it's not unreasonable for the Sword Pill to have usage restrictions after refinement."
"Never mind, let me throw it back and refine it again for the second time!"