"Thank you to the one who rescued me from the depths of the Abyssal Sea!"
As the Wutong Temple Master spoke, Du ke furrowed his brow.
The cat, engulfed in flames, with demonic flames swirling above its head, appeared otherworldly.
With just one furrow of his brow, Du ke exuded an aura of intimidation without anger.
But the plump Wutong Temple Master remained cheerful throughout. Seeing Du ke's expression, he immediately countered, "Are you talking about... Old Li?"
"I can't say, I can't say."
The Wutong Temple Master shook his head, chuckling as he folded his hands.
"Tsk!"
Du ke clicked his tongue in response. This old man was quite the enigma!
However, it was likely that this old Taoist wanted him to convey gratitude to Old Li.
After all, during his time in Mao City, Du ke could never quite figure out anyone except the old man who spent his days sharpening knives.
Everything in the world has its own essence, but the white cat couldn't perceive any essence on Old Li.
That old man seemed like a dead person, devoid of any essence.
As thoughts raced through his mind, Du ke spoke again, "Then let me ask you, what can you tell me?"
"It depends on how you ask!"
"Seed Bag!"
Du ke blurted out, "I heard from the monastery elder that you put the infants stolen from Mao City into a bag capable of holding living things."
"Is this the bag?"
The Taoist pulled out a purse from his sleeve, embroidered with patterns of auspicious beasts soaring, looking quite exquisite and cute.
"If this is the bag containing the children, then yes, that's what I mean!"
Du ke nodded slowly, but the Taoist chuckled, "The children are indeed here, but there's no such thing as a seed bag; it's just a name coined by five monsters to embellish themselves!"
"Then what is this?"
Du ke stared at the purse in the Taoist's hand. The Taoist tossed it to Du ke, and Thirteen jumped up to intercept it, grabbing it in his mouth.
After all, Du ke was currently engulfed in black cauldron flames, with demonic energy raging wildly, rendering him immobile.
He could only rely on Thirteen to catch it.
"It's just a beast pouch used by past cultivators to hold pets!"
As the Wutong Temple Master spoke, Thirteen brought the pouch to Du ke's side. Du ke looked at the delicate and lovely pouch, his eyes flickering with intent to evoke its essence.
"I advise you not to open it now!"
The Wutong Temple Master stopped the cat's rash actions. Du ke looked up at him, asking, "Why?"
"At least let me see if the children are really inside, to avoid being deceived by you!"
"To open and close this pouch, one needs the cultivation power of a Daoist. If you directly disrupt the formation balance inside the pouch by invoking its essence now..."
"The children will be released, but how will you put them back in?"
With these words from the Wutong Temple Master, Du ke rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I have a way!"
"Since you say so, the old Taoist's previous warning seems to be in vain!"
The Wutong Temple Master arched his hand towards Du ke. Despite the flames burning fiercely on Du ke's body, although he couldn't move, it didn't mean he couldn't mobilize his spiritual power.
Just a slight touch of the spiritual rhythm within the beast sac, and it promptly opened its mouth, spitting out one baby after another.
Du Ke counted these babies, and when the beast sac finally spat out the last one, there were exactly forty-six, no more and no less.
This included the children previously transferred from that Daoist Chen.
Seeing that these children were all safe and sound, Du Ke breathed a sigh of relief.
As for how to safely take these children away, simply refining the beast sac into pills, and then using these beast sac pills to pack them up would do.
While Du Ke was making plans in his mind, the old Daoist also walked towards the wall of the main hall.
As soon as the old Daoist made a move, Thirteen immediately growled lowly, his eyes filled with fierce intent.
"Don't be nervous, I'm just activating some mechanisms, it won't harm you," said the old Daoist.
Upon hearing this, Du Ke's body also shook, the flames receding from him, and the black cauldron began to retract the flames.
Du Ke, maintaining his composure, gazed at the Wutong Temple Master, who smiled and said, "While there's still time, feel free to ask whatever you want."
"What exactly are the Five Masters?"
Du Ke had been hearing about the Five Masters from interrogating Daoist Chen.
Now that the old Daoist had prompted him to ask, how could he miss this opportunity?
At this moment, the old Daoist also reached the wall, starting to feel for the bricks.
"They are just five spiritual ghosts that have lost their masters' restraint and guidance and have strayed onto the wrong path!"
"Spiritual ghosts?"
Du Ke pondered over this term, "Are there distinctions between spiritual and non-spiritual ghosts?"
"I'm not too sure about what spiritual ghosts are. I only caught a glimpse of their past from the dreams of those five demons, that's why I said it!"
"Then why haven't they shown up despite all the commotion I caused?"
"Because those five have long been extinguished," said the old Daoist, pressing down a brick on the wall, "Ah, found it."
"Extinguished?"
Du Ke widened his eyes, and the Wutong Temple Master chuckled, "Yes, probably around noon today!"
"Do you know who did it?"
"I can't say, I can't say!"
The Wutong Temple Master shook his head, and the wall beneath his feet began to crack layer by layer, and twelve stone pillars rose up.
On each of these rising stone pillars was a stone disc. After the stone pillars rose steadily, the old Daoist walked to the first one and turned the stone disc.
"If you have any other questions, ask them quickly, or else there won't be any time later."
The Wutong Temple Master urged Du Ke, still smiling.
Du Ke clicked his tongue, convinced in his heart that the person the old Daoist couldn't mention was Old Li.
"I've heard that the Su Family in Qingzhou has been in contact with your Wutong Temple."
"Mm, that's true, but it's only been in recent years," the Wutong Temple Master chuckled, "People can't get past the hurdle of death, even those who have entered the Dao."
"Indeed, there are too few people who can see through and detach from all of this."
"Do you know which member of the Su Family is asking for your Blood Soul Pills again?"
"I don't know about that," Wutong Temple Master said as he adjusted the stone discs on the four pillars. He had just finished with the fourth one and now moved on to the fifth, rotating the disc to make adjustments.
"The world of cultivators is vast and diverse. I am merely a puppet of the Wutong God. How could I be involved in so much?"
"Do you think you can absolve yourself with just that statement?"
Du ke smirked, observing Wutong Temple Master's manipulation of the stone discs. "Some things, once set in motion, are beyond your ability to escape," the Temple Master replied.
"When caught up in any matter, it's not easy to extricate oneself," Du ke retorted.
"The momentum of the world, once set in motion, is like a rolling wheel, unstoppable!"
"You're still young now, perhaps you don't understand. But when you find yourself in a situation like mine someday, you might comprehend," the Temple Master said.
"Not being able to escape doesn't mean you can't break the deadlock!"
At this, Wutong Temple Master paused, then chuckled heartily. "You're quite different from others, indeed!"
"But what you said is true; if you can't escape, then breaking the deadlock is the way to go."
"But once you're deeply entrenched, how do you break free?"
With this, Wutong Temple Master approached the final pillar, twisting the disc atop it.
"Speaking of which, you've been tinkering with this pillar since earlier. What is it for?"
"Nothing much," the old Taoist shrugged indifferently, finishing setting the last stone disc. "Just a self-destruct mechanism that I requested the builders to specially install when this underground palace was constructed!"
"A self-destruct mechanism?"
Du ke's eyes widened, and the Taoist nodded. "This palace is connected to an underground water source. Once activated, it will flood the palace."
"The palace is enormous, almost hollowing out the entire Wude Mountain. So once activated, Wude Mountain will collapse completely within an hour!"
"You old scoundrel!"
"Weren't you planning to destroy Wutong Temple too?" Wutong Temple Master countered, surprising Du ke.
"But I haven't even escaped yet..."
"No worries, there's still time. Judging from your appearance, you're about to undergo a transformation soon," Wutong Temple Master said, causing Du ke to narrow his eyes in surprise.
"Oh right, before we part ways, let me give you a few things," the old Taoist said, taking out three cloth bags from his robes and three short knives. "I sense the resentment of a soil ghost lingering on you, so I assume the soil ghost is attached to you."
"The wood ghost has been sent to lure away the Moon Shadow Black Eyes Golden Tiger, leaving behind these three remaining Metal, Water, and Fire ghosts for you."
"Although these five ghosts were conjured using unorthodox methods, if you can cleanse them of their resentment and obsessions, returning them to their true nature, you can refine them into five elemental spirits."
"I see you've reached the Internal Organs Realm; I assume you're nurturing your internal organs. If you can accomplish what I've said and then house these five elemental spirits within your internal organs, breaking through the Internal Organs Realm is just a matter of perseverance. It will greatly benefit your cultivation!"
Du ke watched the elderly Taoist, who had placed three cloth bags and three short knives on the ground, with a smile.
"Today, I've rid myself of all karmic hindrances, thanks to you. If we meet again in the future, I'll repay this favor!"
With these words, Wutong Temple Master drifted away.
Du ke could only watch the prosperous Taoist leave. Thirteen retrieved the three cloth bags and knives, howling at Du ke.
"Mr. Cat, what should we do next?"
"Wait for another quarter of an hour!"
Closing his eyes to sense, Du ke continued, "In another fifteen minutes, the anomaly on me should end."
"At that time, we'll catch up, subdue this old Taoist, and interrogate him while giving him a good beating!"
"Woof!"
......
Wutong Temple Master ascended the long corridor of the underground palace, each step steady, yet his eyes showed no attachment to anything.
With each segment of the journey, he shed a layer of his Daoist robe.
By the time he reached the exit of the underground palace, Wutong Temple Master was left with a white single garment.
Staring at the nearby gate, he removed the jade crown from his head, took off his hairpin, and let his gray hair fall freely.
When Wutong Temple Master walked out of the underground palace and arrived at Wutong Temple on the surface, he was already barefoot in a single garment, his hair disheveled.
The Taoist guards at the entrance, seeing their master in such a state, were startled. They rushed to greet him, and one guard even tried to lend him his robe.
"No need."
Wutong Temple Master declined the offer, but the guard insisted, "How can this be? You are the Temple Master, and we are the disciples of Wutong Temple..."
"No Temple Master, no Wutong Temple."
Wutong Temple Master moved forward, ignoring the two behind him.
"From today onwards, there's no Temple Master, no Wutong Temple!"
"Hahaha!"
Swinging his arms, the old Taoist walked out of Wutong Temple, heading down the mountain through the gate.
Leaving two bewildered Taoist disciples staring at each other.
When Wutong Ming reached halfway down the mountain, he stopped, turned to the side, clasped his fists, and bowed, "Originally, I planned to ask Mr. Cat to thank you on my behalf. Now, it seems unnecessary."
"Are you willing?"
Old Li emerged from nothingness, frowning as he observed Wutong Temple Master.
Wutong Temple Master smiled nonchalantly, "All is illusion, the right path in the mortal world is but a dream of immortals."
"Gazing at the worldly prosperity is merely a grand dream."
"Mr. Li, I've awakened."
Wutong Temple Master stared directly into Old Li's eyes.
"How about you?"
They exchanged a prolonged, silent gaze.
After a moment, Wutong Temple Master laughed freely.
"It seems you're not ready to wake up."
"In that case, this old man will take the lead."
With that, he waved his hand, shouldered his stride, and descended the stairs back up the mountain.
"The distinction between truth and falsehood in the human world is challenging, and the world undergoes changes!"
"Immortals and gods view me like a swimming fish, weaving dreams to trap me!"
"Awakening from the dream, I depart from the mundane, returning to my true self, walking barefoot!!!"
"Return, return!!"
"Hahaha......"