Nan Zhi was not at all surprised that Ma San had ended up in such a state.
Typically, those who received incense were righteous gods. They did not rely solely on incense to achieve godhood; they also had to cultivate vast merit and strive for recognition from heaven and earth to forge a golden body.
The Locust God was merely a figure of folk legends, an unauthorized deity without a heavenly mandate. He lacked recognition from heaven and earth, had no divine enfeoffment, and did not cultivate merit.
Ma San, a cultivator who could by no means be considered a practitioner of the righteous path, had dared to claim a divine seat and comfortably enjoy the offerings of incense.
While he could enjoy a period of freedom, the devotees whose prayers he answered were mostly those who took risky, unorthodox paths—followers who sought the gods instead of cultivating merit.
Their hearts were filled with desires for fame and fortune, and their minds were consumed by petty schemes and secrets.
Since their hearts were insincere, the quality of their incense was naturally low.
Because the incense was of poor quality, Ma San worked even harder to please his followers.
With spiritual energy depleted, he would grant any wish his followers made just to survive.
The good ones and the bad ones.
The reasonable and the unreasonable.
Even those that violated the order of the heavenly dao.
Was such incense, offered in this manner, not laced with poison?
Over time, this practice became even more harmful than drinking poison to quench one's thirst.
Therefore, he had no one to blame but himself for becoming like this.
However, based on her knowledge of Ma San, she knew she could only believe half of what he said.
Had Ma San truly failed to notice anything was wrong over all these years?
How did the other cultivators who were in the secret realm with him die?
And what was the deal with the endless swarms of hungry ghosts beneath the Western Xia underground palace?
This old ghost was clearly hiding many things.
Nan Zhi calculated her moves but did not follow up on Ma San's last comment. Instead, she asked about something else:
“Fellow Daoist, does this mean that the Flying Golden Winged Centipede outside is your spirit pet?”
Qin Yue's expression turned grim.
They had spent this time searching for an exit but had found nothing.
As for the waterway Nan Zhi had mentioned, it was being guarded so closely by the Flying Golden Winged Centipede that they couldn't even get near it.
Who would have thought that the centipede was being raised by the cultivator possessing Professor Liu?
“Heh heh.”
“Liu Ruhe” laughed, the flesh on her face twisting into a strange smile.
“It is quite shameful, but that beast is indeed a spirit beast raised by this old man. However, three hundred years ago, my soul became unstable. That centipede sensed my weakness and actually had the audacity to try and devour its master!
“Fortunately, while it is massive in size, its intellect is like that of a foolish child. I had to fake my death and transform into a spirit to hide in the stone room, barely managing to deceive it.”
Nan Zhi could guess most of what happened after that.
Ma San's soul had been cornered by the centipede, leaving him with no choice but to linger in the stone room. He thought he had reached a dead end, only for the exploration team to suddenly stumble into the room that day, giving him a chance at life.
After Ma San possessed Liu Ruhe, the Flying Golden Winged Centipede sensed the soul fluctuations of its former master and hunted the exploration team. Fearing that the creature might escape the secret realm, Qin Yue and the others had decisively used explosives to destroy the passage.
Then, “Liu Ruhe” had been chased until she fell into the water, where she happened to run into Hongluo, who was picking up stones by the river.
“The centipede tried to kill its master, but it has always feared the majesty of the divine corpse and dared not approach it.”
“Liu Ruhe” huffed, appearing to loathe that centipede deeply.
“I had no other choice at the time. I did not expect this little woman I possessed to be a complete mortal with a frail, depleted body and incomplete five elements, which is why I left traces behind.
“This woman's body is truly a burden. Once I can get out of here, I must find a talented, handsome young man...”
He didn't finish the sentence, but everyone present understood his unspoken implication.
Soul snatching was an evil art, no different from murder.
The fact that Ma San could mention it so openly showed that in his heart, mortals were nothing more than ants.
Qin Yue frowned deeply.
She understood that they might need Ma San's power to leave.
Her logic could accept it, but her emotions could not.
She wondered what Ma Guniang thought...
Qin Yue looked at Nan Zhi discreetly, but the latter's expression remained unchanged. Nan Zhi didn't even flinch at the mention of Ma San's plan to snatch another soul.
“I checked earlier, and the entrance to the secret realm these mortals used has already disappeared. To leave this place, we must slay that Flying Golden Winged Centipede.
“If you are willing, Fellow Daoist, could you tell me if that beast has any weaknesses?”
“Liu Ruhe” was stunned for a moment before realizing that Nan Zhi, who was only at the first level of Foundation Establishment, intended to slay the Flying Golden Winged Centipede.
Although the beast was foolish, its cultivation was equivalent to a cultivator at the second level of Foundation Establishment, and its hard armor was impervious to water, fire, and blades.
If this Ma Guniang wanted to leave alone, she could have simply used an escape technique to slip away. Why go through the extra trouble of killing the monster?
He glanced at the mortals beside her, and a flash of realization crossed his eyes.
So, it was for these mortals after all.
As expected of someone from the Demon Suppression Division—pedantic to the extreme.
To risk her life for a few mortals.
Just like those people who died for their cities in the past; they knew they couldn't stop the puppet army, yet they insisted on using themselves as bait to burn the city and perish together.
What did the lives of mortals have to do with them?
Did they not understand the principle of “living to fight another day”?
Ma San felt a secret joy but did not voice any objection. He merely pretended to ponder for a moment before speaking hesitantly:
“I naturally understand that beast. However, you must promise me that once we are out, you will find a way to help me leave this cramped little corner of the world.
“If I die in this secret realm, this woman I am possessing will naturally perish with me.”
This was a blatant threat.
Everyone knew that the people of the Demon Suppression Division were often foolishly kind.
Ma San was banking on that.
The stone room suddenly fell silent, with only the sound of gurgling hot air rising continuously.
After a long silence, Nan Zhi finally spoke.
“Very well.
“The people of the Demon Suppression Division value their promises above all else. I guarantee that I will bring every single one of these people out, and I will not leave you behind in this secret realm.”
Only then was Ma San satisfied. He quite readily informed Nan Zhi that there was a death point hidden under the scales twelve inches below the Flying Golden Winged Centipede's head. It could be subdued simply by piercing that spot with a gold needle.
“Fellow Daoist, have some tea.”
Nan Zhi gestured for Ma San to drink and a smile appeared on her face. “I wonder what secret that locust corpse holds to emit such a pungent fragrance. I hope you can enlighten me, Fellow Daoist.”
“Of course.”
“Liu Ruhe's” expression turned slightly awkward. Her lips barely touched the water before she pulled back and gave a forced laugh.
“That body was already saturated with incense. Once the soul left, the incense energy within could no longer be contained, so it naturally leaked out.
“This scent attracts demon beasts, but it also makes them afraid to approach.”
The tense atmosphere from moments ago vanished, and the two acted like old friends reunited in harmony.
Little did they know, both were harboring their own hidden agendas.
“I see. Thank you for the explanation.”
Nan Zhi smiled, hiding her true thoughts.
She finally remembered why that scent was so familiar.
She had once smelled a similar fragrance on Huiyuan.
So, what exactly was that monk's origin?
...
...
For the next half month, Nan Zhi remained in the stone room, busy copying the teleportation formation and familiarizing herself with the rewards she had obtained from the last lottery.
As for the items Ma San had left in the stone room, she didn't touch them for now, only categorizing them and storing them in her system inventory.
As long as the original owner was still alive, she couldn't let her guard down.
During this time, the exploration team was sensible enough not to disturb Nan Zhi, choosing instead to communicate through Hongluo.
The Special Investigation Bureau was, after all, a well trained official organization. After a period of rest and recovery, and with the Locust God's guidance, they were already able to work together to capture some mid sized demon beasts and extract their demon cores.
These demon cores were still delivered to the stone room according to the thirty seventy split.
Rate on N.U.
