"My treasure!" The Daoist hurried forward to pick up the treasure sword, his voice full of panic.
"Daoist, what’s wrong with your treasure?" The military leader quickly asked with concern.
"That strange creature possesses a powerful power of filth that can even invade divine power. Although my treasure sword cut down that monster, it was tainted by the creature’s foul aura. Without half a month of sacrificial refining and nurturing, I’m afraid it can’t be used again." The Daoist carefully put away the treasure sword, then looked towards where the Blood God Child had fallen. "I have to see what kind of creature this is that possesses such a filthy power."
At this time, the martial artist and the Daoist came forward together, but there were no traces of bloodstains on the ground, and it was completely impossible to see any sign of the Blood God Child having fallen, as if the Blood God Child had vanished into thin air.
"What kind of ghostly thing is this?"
The two looked at the empty ground, looking at each other in confusion.
Further away, Zhang Chen pondered, "My Blood God Child inherited the characteristic of bloodstain, and it can taint treasures. It’s quite interesting. If the Blood God Child’s powers grow stronger in the future, it won’t be the treasure sword slaying the Blood God Child, but the Blood God Child directly tainting the treasure sword instead."
"However, the power of incense faith should not be underestimated. Without discussing other techniques, just that flying sword technique alone, along with splitting the sword light into dozens of paths, already surpasses ninety-nine percent of the techniques in the world. I just don’t know if my five-colored divine light can capture the flying sword. If the five-colored divine light can capture the flying sword, then this technique is of no concern to me; if it cannot, I will have to avoid encountering it in the future." Zhang Chen muttered to himself.
Seeing the mountain soldiers scattered by the Blood God Child, Zhang Chen quietly disappeared into the mountains. By the time dawn broke the next day, Zhang Chen returned to the Daoist Temple with the first wave of incense-offering visitors. Upon returning, he saw Xiaodouding meditating with crossed legs.
Zhang Chen silently glanced at Xiaodouding, thinking to himself, "Xiaodouding is really diligent. She probably senses the crisis too, right? I just don’t know if there’s any treasure in the world that can assist her cultivation."
Zhang Chen silently started cooking, and when Chengyu woke up and saw Zhang Chen cooking nearby, his face showed a hint of surprise: "Zhang Chen, you’re back?"
Xiaodouding directly jumped off the bed, her eyes focusing on the pot, and sure enough, it was stewing meat again.
"How did you handle the errand?" Zhang Chen fished out the stewed meat and asked Xiaodouding.
"Don’t worry, since you entrusted this matter to me, I’ll settle it for you today," Xiaodouding confidently promised, patting her chest.
Zhang Chen nodded secretly at her words. Just as the two of them were enjoying their meal, a burst of noise suddenly came from outside the door. Xiaodouding wiped her hands and went out, returning shortly with a tense expression. She leaned in close to Zhang Chen’s ear and whispered, "Zhang Chen, have you heard? Something major happened at the foot of the mountain. Last night, two thousand guards from Prince Pingbian’s Mansion were killed, all drained of blood by a red monster. The Observatory Master is gathering all the elders and disciples to go down the mountain for an exorcism."
Zhang Chen’s face turned to surprise at her words, "How come another two thousand people died? Didn’t three thousand people already die last time? Didn’t Prince Pingbian’s Mansion have any defenses?"
Xiaodouding shook her head, "I don’t know! Who knows where things went wrong in Prince Pingbian’s Mansion. Now the Observatory Master is gathering everyone to go down the mountain for the exorcism, we have to go along too, let’s hurry down the mountain."
Zhang Chen and Xiaodouding packed up the stewed meat and walked out the door. They saw the entire Daoist Temple tense, with people moving in groups, carrying all sorts of ritual implements as they headed out of the mountain gate. In the distance, thousands of corpses were laid side by side in front of the mountain gate, looking terrifying.
Xiaodouding looked at the rows of dead bodies, feeling a bit scared, huddling close to Zhang Chen, holding his hand and following him step by step.
Zhang Chen scanned the area, unable to see Zhang Xiaohua anywhere, wondering where she had gone.
"Zhang Xiaohua is said to be scared out of her wits and is hiding in the Ancestral Master’s hall in the backyard," Xiaodouding said.
Surprise filled Zhang Chen’s eyes at her words; he never expected Zhang Xiaohua to be so cunning.
The ritual began, and Zhang Chen followed the elders and disciples in reciting scriptures. The ritual quickly concluded, and at the elder’s command, thousands of corpses were burned into ashes.
Then, Zhang Chen and Xiaodouding, the two who were pretending to understand the ritual, returned to the Daoist Temple. Only then did Xiaodouding mysteriously leave the small building, leaving Zhang Chen there contemplating his cultivation.
After two hours, Xiaodouding returned with dark circles around her eyes, her face full of joy: "Succeeded! Tonight you can go clean the statues."
During the day, there are incense-offering guests at the Daoist Temple, so the statues can’t be cleaned. Only after the mountain gate closes at night can the disciples responsible for cleaning go to tidy the statues.
Seeing Xiaodouding’s dark circles, Zhang Chen’s heart skipped a beat, "What happened to you? Does it hurt?"
"That bastard hit me in a sneaky move, learned some odd boxing style from who knows where, I was caught off guard and suffered a big loss, but that bastard didn’t get away easy either, I broke one of his legs," Xiaodouding said proudly.
Zhang Chen lovingly picked up some white wine to rub Xiaodouding’s wound, causing her to wince in pain, making Zhang Chen’s heart ache.
"Don’t worry, it’s just a minor injury. Previous ones were much worse, but I survived them, didn’t I?" Xiaodouding forced a smile, comforting Zhang Chen instead.
Hearing her words, Zhang Chen felt a twinge in his heart, but he didn’t say more, silently tending to Xiaodouding’s wounds. In his heart, he resolved that if anyone dared bully her again, he would make sure to break the offender’s bones.