A dozen minutes later, Xianglu returned to Qinglianzi's courtyard with two bowls of vegetarian noodles and a pot of boiled water.
Upon entering, he saw Mo Chuan absentmindedly scrolling through his phone, while Qinglianzi was meditating.
“Uncle-Master, you are awake.” Xianglu placed the items on the stone table and bowed, “Master asked me to tell you that he has encountered an unexpected issue and will depart at half-past nine.”
Qinglianzi nodded, pushing a bowl of noodles towards Mo Chuan. After Xianglu left, she shot Mo Chuan a fierce glare and said, “Eat. Forget whatever you saw just now. After you finish, I’ll check on your cultivation.”
Upon hearing this, Mo Chuan’s hand holding the chopsticks trembled almost imperceptibly. He grumbled, “Got it… Why so fierce… Old woman…”
For some unknown reason, Qinglianzi’s chopsticks were suddenly embedded in the stone table in front of Mo Chuan.
“What did you call me?”
“Sister Lian… Eat, eat…”
Meanwhile, in the Three Pure Ones Hall of Chongyang Monastery.
Beneath the statues of the Three Pure Ones, a man in a dark purple Tang suit was setting up an altar and performing a ritual.
Not far from the wooden table in front of the man lay a blood-red coffin, covered in talismans. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the cinnabar characters on the talismans were slowly changing from red to black.
“Three Pure Ones return in chaos, the Big Dipper reverses, a blood moon brings disaster…”
With each chanted incantation, the man formed hand seals, then quickly grabbed a lit incense stick and threw it, nailing it onto the coffin.
Soon, eight lit sandalwood incense sticks were inserted into the coffin from eight directions.
The man performed a few more hand seals, then slammed his hand on the table. A small bowl of fresh blood flew up, splashing and scattering in the air. The man caught it all with a locust wood sword and forcefully threw it, planting it in the center of the coffin.
The moment the wooden sword pierced the coffin, the entire coffin began to shake violently, and several talismans instantly turned to ash.
“Pfft—” The man spat out blood, his breathing becoming erratic. He merely wiped his mouth, then resumed forming hand seals and chanting spells, tossing a large number of talismans into a brazier. With a flick of his hand, he blew all the smoke towards the coffin.
However, the coffin continued to tremble violently.
“Sun and moon, the three lights open the ghostly clouds, transform bones, protect the body, defy heaven’s will…”
Suddenly, with a loud bang, the incense burner in front of him cracked, scattering the ash and extinguishing the candles and incense on the long table.
The man spat out blood again. This time, he stopped forming hand seals and instead took out an ink tracer and a black incense stick from his waist. He bit his middle finger, dripped blood onto it, then held the black incense in his mouth. With a pull of his hands, he began to wrap the coffin with the ink tracer line.
The incense sticks on the coffin clearly began to burn faster. The six on the sides were fine, but the ones on the inner sides were gradually nearing their ends.
Finally, just as the incense sticks on the sides were about to burn out, the man finished wrapping the ink tracer line. He then lit the incense in his mouth and inserted it onto the wooden sword.
The coffin gradually calmed down.
Strangely, the black incense burned rapidly, instantly catching up to the shorter incense sticks on the sides.
The ever-burning lamps and incense sticks for the Three Pure Ones in the surroundings were almost entirely extinguished, with only the three incense sticks in the center, dedicated to Taiqing, still burning.
The man, panting, leaned on the long table with his right hand, about to rest. Suddenly, his eyes bulged, and he spat another mouthful of blood onto the floor.
The man’s body suddenly went limp, and he fell to the ground. Before falling, he hooked his hand and pulled down a ceramic jar from the long table.
The ceramic jar fell to the ground, scattering ashes and fragments everywhere.
The man, coughing, fumbled for a pipe from his embrace, trembling as he stuffed a handful of ash into it, then lit it and took a puff.
As the smoke dispersed, the man’s breathing gradually stabilized. He cleared his throat, and his gaze drifted towards the corner of the hall.
In the corner lay a large number of ceramic fragments.
…
Nine o’clock.
Qinglianzi handed Mo Chuan a blue and green daoist robe and said, “Put this on. Since you’ve learned the Great Freedom Meditation from Qingcheng Mountain, you’re considered half a daoist disciple.”
As Mo Chuan, rubbing his sore backside, put on the daoist robe, Qinglianzi said, “Let me tell you about this mission. It’s mainly to protect those Japanese devils, as well as the Cross Alliance, the Russian Empire, and those from Shale who are acting as mediators and peacemakers.”
“A total of twelve esper-users above fifth-tier have been dispatched, with three each from the Daoist, Buddhist, Martial, and Confucian sects.” Qinglianzi said, playing with her hair tips. “Our side consists of you, me, our team leader, and my senior brother, Danhezi of the Kun Gate.”
“Uh…” Mo Chuan thought carefully, clearly not having heard of this person.
“Haven’t you been to the Forbidden City? He’s the only daoist among the Ten Heavenly Stems, codenamed Geng Jin. He wears a black trench coat with a blue and green Tang suit, and often carries many bags at his waist.”
As soon as Qinglianzi mentioned the Heavenly Stems, Mo Chuan remembered. It was this Geng Jin who had acted when Fuxi was interrogating him.
After a brief chat, Xianglu knocked and informed them to gather at the gate of the monastery. The two packed their belongings and set off.
Looking from afar along the bluestone path, Mo Chuan saw a man wearing a black high-necked trench coat and a black fedora standing by the wooden gate. However… on his back was a rectangular object, more than a person tall, wrapped in black cloth and tied with thick red rope.
The man turned his head, saw Qinglianzi and Mo Chuan, nodded, and said, “Greetings, young friend Mo Chuan, junior sister. Activate it.”
Qinglianzi saw what Danhezi was carrying, clearly recognizing something. She merely frowned, then began to form hand seals and chant spells.
Seeing that Qinglianzi said nothing, Mo Chuan also remained silent. He bowed to Danhezi with cupped fists, acknowledging him as a senior.
Purple incantations began to flash on the ground. As a giant purple lotus of light bloomed, a flash of brilliance occurred. The lotus closed, enveloping the three of them, and then disappeared from their location.
…
Longjing City International Space Transfer Station.
A purple lotus rose from the ground, and then the figures of Qinglianzi and the other two appeared out of thin air.
“Holy cow… this mass teleportation is way more awesome than Ryze’s.” Mo Chuan looked around, seemingly trying to guess where they were.
“This is where those foreign guests are teleported. The other side is likely starting their transfer to the platform now.” Danhezi adjusted his hat, then asked a staff member who had approached them, “What wave are we?”
“The first wave, Daoist Master.” A man in a white uniform replied. “However, the remaining three groups will also arrive shortly.”
Saying this, the man handed three badges to the trio. “This is a spiritual energy communication device. You can communicate by injecting spiritual energy into it. It will vibrate slightly when you receive a message, making communication easier.”
As Mo Chuan was taking the badge, he suddenly saw a black Porsche drive over, and three monks emerged from it.
Mo Chuan was greatly shocked.
Qinglianzi smiled at the sight and said, “What are you looking at? My Buddha does not help the poor.”