CHAPTER 266: CHAPTER 266 PEACH BLOSSOM MAID

The old monk overestimated Lu Zheng’s interest in the various sects of the Southern Border, so he died and contributed a considerable Light of Fortune, making his death somewhat worthwhile.

...

"I really didn’t expect, this guy was quite cunning." Lu Zheng complained, "Not only did I have to swear not to kill him, but also not to leave any mark on him, and you guys can’t make a move, plus we can’t leave the estate..."

Hua Yixing and the other women looked at Lu Zheng speechlessly. If they hadn’t just personally experienced the verbal duel and language trap between Lu Zheng and the old monk, they might have believed Lu Zheng’s nonsense.

Although he didn’t get any specific information from the old monk, Lu Zheng still learned some general situations that weren’t considered secret.

For some unknown reason, the major sects in the Southern Border temporarily put aside disputes and grievances, mitigating their conflicts significantly.

Then many self-serving, heretical cultivators focused their attention on the Great Jing Dynasty.

Previously, those who didn’t dare come to the Great Jing Dynasty, or the heretical Abnormal People causing chaos in the Southern Border, began infiltrating the Great Jing Dynasty to stir up trouble.

For instance, the Paradise Heavenly Maiden’s Bewitching Divine Realm that the old monk wanted to refine required the souls of beautiful women with cultivation.

While the southern regions of the Great Jing Dynasty aren’t exactly a demonic dance, they are relatively dangerous, with many more powerful demons already holding grievances against the Great Jing Dynasty, now taking advantage of the chaos to disrupt it further.

Hence, those like the old monk, who are neither high nor low in cultivation, infiltrated deeper into the Central Plains.

Lu Zheng rubbed his chin, "There are so many heretical cultivators in the cultivation realm; I thought everyone was cultivating peacefully, pursuing immortality."

Shen Ying laughed, "How is that possible? Immortality is hard, and many would indulge in pleasures. Besides, Lu Lang, the first abnormal entity you encountered was the Painted Skin Corpse Ghost that excavates the heart and peels the skin, right?"

"That’s not an abnormal entity." Lu Zheng waved his hand, "But the Bewitching Divine Realm that the old monk prepared, besides dealing with enemies, can’t it be just for enjoyment unless..."

Lu Zheng paused, "Okay, I guess it could indeed benefit his spiritual cultivation?"

Liu Qingyan nodded, "That’s likely the case. This old monk comes from the Mist God Valley, which sounds like a sect primarily cultivating the divine soul."

"How do you disguise as a monk, aren’t you afraid the Buddhist Sect will come after you?"

Shen Ying laughed, "Didn’t you hear him say he had many nun colleagues? Perhaps the techniques of the Mist God Valley originated from the Buddhist Sect. The Daoist Sect has three thousand paths, and there are many schools in the Buddhist Sect; the Western Buddha Country even has Joyful Zen, whose core is universal love, but it’s not surprising for an evil sect to evolve from it."

Lu Zheng, "..."

"What about these two bodies? Should we dig a hole and bury them?" Hua Yixing stepped forward.

If Lu Zheng hadn’t appeared today, they would have probably been decimated by the old monk.

If Lu Zheng knew Hua Yixing’s thoughts, he would have told her to drop the "probably," because the Light of Fortune extracted from the Jade Seal doesn’t lie.

"Bury them." Lu Zheng nodded and then added, "But first, let’s search the bodies."

"Search the bodies?" Hua Yixing didn’t understand?

"Just to check if there’s anything valuable on him, like this." Lu Zheng reached out and used the Transportation Technique to grab the brass alms bowl that had fallen on the ground.

"Ding!"

He casually knocked it, and Lu Zheng shook his head, "No, it’s not pure."

Everyone was speechless; it was a dignified Dharma Artifact, and you care about whether the material is pure?

Lu Zheng infused True Qi, but the alms bowl did not react, clearly a specialized Dharma Artifact belonging to the Mist God Valley of the old monk.

It either required a special technique or special True Qi.

"To use it, it needs to be purified and re-reverned." Lu Zheng said, "But we don’t need this thing, it would benefit Guangyue."

Liu Qingyan covered her mouth and laughed, "But Monk Guangyue is not a Wandering Monk, isn’t he?"

A monk stationed at a temple, who uses an alms bowl!

Lu Zheng nodded, "I also think it can’t benefit him, so it’ll be my collection."

...

This old monk wasn’t rich, nor did he carry any cultivation manuals with him. So besides the Dharma Artifact alms bowl, his only valuable legacy was the light orb of the Paradise Heavenly Maiden’s Bewitching Divine Realm.

Lu Zheng extracted the light orb from the old monk’s body, infused his True Qi, and although it didn’t activate the Bewitching Divine Realm, the light orb itself flickered constantly, emitting rays of multicolored light. One by one, semi-transparent figures appeared faintly in the light orb, but their eyes were dazed, seemingly devoid of intelligence.

These were the divine souls of the Heavenly Maiden within the Bewitching Divine Realm, all women killed by the old monk earlier.

"So pitiful—"

Bai Ting’Er couldn’t help but clutch Lin Jing’Er’s sleeve. Just thinking about the possibility of her own divine soul being refined into such a thing made her tremble all over, sending chills down her spine.

Liu Qingyan showed sympathy in her eyes and nodded, "Their divine souls have all fallen, their True Spirits lost in the sea of desire, unaware of themselves, like walking corpses."

Hua Yixing glanced at Lu Zheng and couldn’t help but say, "Let their souls return to heaven and earth?"

However, before Lu Zheng could speak, Shen Ying reached out and took the light orb, "No rush, although their divine souls have fallen, their True Spirits haven’t perished. As long as the secret technique is broken and they are nurtured for a while, they can recover their True Spirit memories."

"But they’re already like this." Yu Mingxin couldn’t help but say, "Restoring their True Spirit memories would be even more cruel, wouldn’t it?"

Hua Yixing reminded, "Their divine souls have already been refined, making it difficult for them to cultivate independently, like branches and leaves that must have a trunk to depend on. Sending them to the Netherworld would be useless."

"I know." Shen Ying said, "But I am an Incense and Candle God, originating from the poem ’Peach Blossoms,’ initially an Immortal Peach Tree, and I am short of some Peach Blossom Maids. They can utilize my incense and candle for longevity."

"What?"

The five women exclaimed in shock, looking at Shen Ying with surprise and envy.

Shen Ying smiled, "After all, they were unjustly killed by the old monk and may not willingly die. Once I restore their True Spirit memories, I can ask them.

If they don’t wish to exist as soul bodies, I will send their souls back to heaven and earth. If they wish to depend on me, I can grant them the identity of Peach Blossom Maids, choose them as peach trees for their bodies, and make them my Divine Attendants, allowing them to cultivate through the peach trees and walk the Incense and Candle Divine Dao."

Shen Ying shrugged, "Rather than letting them continue in oblivion, it’s better to let them decide their own future."

Yu Mingxin nodded, convinced.

"Third Sister, come with me to dig a hole." Lin Jing’Er said to Hu Cai Niang.

"No need, leave it to me." Lu Zheng said, grabbing Ji Zizhen’s corpse with a wave, then the old monk’s corpse, and sank into the ground.

That’s when Lu Zheng realized that the Earth Travel Technique is a great method for disposing of bodies.