"Hmm?" The middle-aged man looked at the fruits and pastries on the table, his pupils constricting involuntarily, a trace of caution flashing in his eyes.
"Why are there fewer pastries and fruits? Could someone have stolen the offerings here?"
The middle-aged man asked, his eyes full of suspicion as he scanned the hall: "Who! Come out immediately!"
His voice was cold, mixed with a tinge of fear, as his conversation with the young man involved an earth-shattering secret, and if it were leaked, it could be fatal.
So there was no way the secret could get out.
"I’ve already noticed the dust left by your footprints. If you come out on your own and pledge allegiance to me, I might spare your life. But if I have to flush you out, don’t be surprised if someone will cut you into pieces." The middle-aged man’s voice was filled with ruthlessness, very intimidating, making one’s heart tremble.
Beneath the offering table, Zhang Chen and Xiaodouding secretly lamented their bad luck, wondering why they’ve been so unfortunate recently, twice stealing offerings and twice hiding under tables, only to encounter such terrible situations.
Upon hearing the middle-aged man’s reprimand, Xiaodouding glanced at Zhang Chen, thinking they had been discovered. Then she made a gesture to Zhang Chen, indicating ’you stay here and hide, I’ll go out and handle them,’ thinking it was better for one to risk exposure than for both to get caught.
But Zhang Chen pressed Xiaodouding’s shoulder, shaking his head to signal her to stay calm. He was sure not to leave any traces before entering, and that old man must be bluffing.
Just then, the young man spoke: "Master, don’t be so paranoid. Perhaps the time hasn’t come yet, and the disciple responsible for changing the offerings hasn’t arrived."
Saying this, he picked up a pear from the table, wiped it off, and began to munch on it.
The middle-aged man nodded upon hearing this, seemingly agreeing with his words: "That must be it; otherwise, my bluff would have made the person come out. Timing-wise, it should be that the offering replacement time hasn’t arrived yet. Let’s leave quickly before someone sees us here."
After speaking, the two of them left, leaving Zhang Chen and Xiaodouding hiding under the curtains, not daring to breathe.
Xiaodouding heard the footsteps departing and was about to speak and crawl out, but Zhang Chen grabbed her, covered her mouth, and shook his head at her.
Although Xiaodouding didn’t understand why Zhang Chen did this, she chose to trust his lead.
After about forty breaths, the voice of the young man sounded from outside the hall: "Master, it seems there’s indeed no one, otherwise they should have come out."
"There’s indeed no one; I was overthinking it. Let’s go." Another middle-aged man’s voice echoed.
At this moment, Zhang Chen cursed under the curtains: "Old schemer!"
He was not experienced, just sensed the movement of objects through the moisture in the air. When those two moved, they parted the air’s moisture, and halting suddenly at the hall entrance obviously couldn’t escape his senses.
Now Zhang Chen crawled out from under the offering table, with Xiaodouding still hiding and refusing to come out. She said to Zhang Chen: "Should we hide a bit longer? What if they circle back?"
"They won’t; they’ve already gone far." Zhang Chen picked up a pear and began munching again: "Do you know those two people?"
"One is Xu Wei, who manages the disciples’ martial exams in the Daoist Temple and is the Deputy Observatory Master, mainly responsible for teaching martial arts to the disciples. As for the other disciple, he’s Second Brother! He was clearly apprenticed under Master but secretly colluded with Xu Wei, betraying the temple, and trying to seize our temple’s mysteries; he deserves death!" Xiaodouding cursed in indignation, face full of righteous anger.
"Second Brother? So that’s Second Brother? What’s his name?" Zhang Chen inquired.
"Wei Yingwu! He’s the one who got a girl pregnant at the mountain base earlier." Xiaodouding stated.
Zhang Chen pondered upon hearing this. He knew Wei Yingwu, not only knew but also had a grudge against him. Earlier, when he tried to apprentice under Mr. Wuliu, Wei Yingwu had kicked him several times and seized his treasure.
"I’ll go find Master to expose them," Xiaodouding said furiously.
Zhang Chen directly stuffed a bitten pear into Xiaodouding’s mouth and said irritably: "We are insignificant; even if we report them, nobody will believe us."
"What should we do, then? Let their conspiracy succeed and let them take away our temple’s mystery?" Xiaodouding was anxious.
"Didn’t the temple say there would be a martial competition to determine the outcome? When the time comes, we’ll figure out a way to defeat Wei Yingwu, won’t we?" Zhang Chen took Xiaodouding’s hand and walked towards the door:
"We are determined to obtain this mystery!"
Through Zhang Chen and Fox Spirit’s conversation, they also roughly understood the divine hierarchy’s cultivation levels in this world.
The divine levels are determined according to the mystery.
For example, the mystery within the Empress Tomb; if someone acquires it and masters the Twelfth Tier mystery, they would gradually merge with the Twelfth Tier mystery, growing stronger. The tier of a deity is determined according to their fusion with the mystery.
Since the mystery that controls gravity is the Twelfth Tier, getting the Twelfth Tier mystery means the upper limit is Twelfth Tier.
If someone acquires a Third Tier mystery, they would reach their limit, capped at the Third Tier, as they merge with the mystery.
Of course, this is without cultivating the Divine Soul Technique. If one steps into the path of cultivation, this barrier will break.