Ma Zhou felt a tingling at the back of his scalp, his eyes fixed on Gu Mingyue whose face shimmered with a chilling gleam, a deep panic rising in his heart.
He clearly remembered that when he first arrived, Gu Mingyue was warmly caring and attentive to him, exceptionally kind. Why was she now showing this demeanor?
"Uncle Master, why is it like this?" Ma Zhou inquired.
"You still have the face to ask? Let me ask you this: why didn’t you show up at the God Sealing Ceremony?" Gu Mingyue retorted, turning the blame onto Ma Zhou.
Ma Zhou was taken aback: "God Sealing Ceremony? Isn’t the God Sealing Ceremony tomorrow? What disciple didn’t attend?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? The God Sealing Ceremony concluded yesterday. You delayed and failed to show up, instead indulging in drunkenness in your room, ruining our Yellow Heaven Dao’s significant affairs." Gu Mingyue’s voice thundered as she scolded and held him accountable.
"What? Yesterday?" Ma Zhou was instantly more panicked: "How long was I unconscious?"
"You should be the one to know how long you were unconscious." Gu Mingyue’s voice was icy: "From the end of the Divine Enthronement to the moment you were splashed awake, a whole day and night have passed."
"Impossible! I only drank a little ordinary wine, how could I sleep for a whole day and night, and miss the Divine Enthronement?" Ma Zhou shrieked in distress, then his eyes turned to Liu Feng, who was standing there:
"Uncle Master, it’s Liu Feng who harmed me! Liu Feng brought the wine and invited me to drink; his wine must have had something wrong. If you interrogate Liu Feng, you will surely clear my name!"
"Shut up! Speak no more! Liu Feng is already dead. How can he argue with you? Now with no living proof, you think you can say whatever you wish based on your mere word? Nephew Liu Feng died loyally for the Yellow Heaven Dao, how dare you slander him?" Gu Mingyue was furious: "Someone, grab this unruly Ma Zhou and lock him in prison. Wait for the Great Virtuous Master to come and discuss how to deal with him."
"What? Liu Feng is dead?" Ma Zhou was stunned upon hearing this, as if struck by thunder, unable to explain further, and was dragged away bewildered by the Law Enforcement Disciple.
Gu Mingyue looked at Ma Zhou being dragged out, also feeling helpless; her grand plan was inexplicably ruined, and the matter of dividing the Northern Yellow Heaven Dao would have to be scheduled for another time.
Among the crowd, Zhang Chen quietly shook his head, feeling sorry for Ma Zhou, that unlucky soul truly was having a streak of bad luck, with no chance to confront anyone after Liu Feng’s death.
Zhang Chen stood in the crowd gazing at Liu Feng’s body and noticed Liu Feng’s chest still rising and falling, his breathing not yet ceased, and wondered, "What state is Liu Feng’s body in at this moment?"
Liu Feng’s soul was shattered and then devoured by that woman, meaning that spiritually speaking, Liu Feng was indeed dead.
At this moment, Gu Mingyue came to her senses, her eyes sweeping across the venue: "Liu Feng failed in his Divine Enthronement, his soul scattered beyond recovery, although his physical body remains intact, it will lose all vitality and rot if left for seven days. From now on, Huangli Temple shall be led by Zhou Xu, you must immediately lead the disciples to renovate the Daoist Temple, cremate and bury Liu Feng, then lead the disciples in collecting faith."
Zhou Xu was overjoyed upon hearing this, quickly offering Gu Mingyue a respectful bow: "Disciple obeys the order!"
Starting today, he was the Observatory Master of Huangli Temple, having unexpectedly obtained a Daoist Temple was like the heavens dropping a pie on his head.
Once the meeting concluded, the Daoist Temple became bustling, with the disciples busy renovating and conducting Liu Feng’s ritual cremation, and under Zhang Chen’s watchful eyes, Liu Feng’s still-breathing body was reduced to ashes in the flames.
Zhang Chen couldn’t escape the task of renovating the temple and was summoned among them, starting to busy himself.
Yet Zhang Chen felt relieved that the tunnel he had previously crawled through from the underground chamber was deemed by the temple to have been an excavation by those from the Martial World, long plotting against Huangli Temple, hence no suspicion was raised.
That tunnel was collapsed by Gu Mingyue’s use of Divine Techniques, sealing it off again, preventing Zhang Chen from continuing to siphon off the Power of Incense, though Zhang Chen didn’t intend to use that tunnel for that purpose shortly.
Although Liu Feng was dead, Xie Lingyun was still around, so Zhang Chen’s life was unaffected.
At this moment, Zhang Chen was working a shell, shaping it into window paper, while beside him, Xiaodouding was sneakily observing around slyly, then tugging at Zhang Chen’s sleeve, pointing at Zhang Xiaohua in the distance: "Look at that guy, why does he seem absent-minded and drowsy? He’s been nodding off while working on that shell three times in the past hour."
Zhang Chen turned and saw Zhang Xiaohua also shaping a shell, but looking physically and mentally exhausted, not in a good state.
Zhang Chen smirked inwardly at this: This is just the beginning?
He had indeed secretly suppressed Zhang Xiaohua’s Celestial Soul; too bad he didn’t know any Curse Techniques, or he’d have a good time tormenting him.
Zhang Xiaohua continued shaping the shell, feeling drowsy and bewildered, clueless as to where things went wrong, wondering why his planned Divine Position fell through without a trace, even his Celestial Soul vanished into thin air.
Zhang Xiaohua was panicked but had no recourse, so he forcibly suppressed his anxiety, trying not to show it.
Zhang Chen paid no heed to Zhang Xiaohua, his eyes shimmering with flowing Golden Light, as he looked toward the backyard of the Daoist Temple, sensing that his Sea Calming Divine Pearl was in the backyard.