Weird Cultivation, I have a five-organ temple

Chapter 612 The King of Chu Abdicates?
Without the mind-refining process in the Water Mansion Secret Realm, even if Shang Lu had broken through to the Mind-Clearing Realm, he would probably still have been stunned by this question and revealed the truth.

This is the true interrogation of the Legalists. Those who use this move are highly skilled and it is extremely powerful.

Fortunately, Shang Lu secretly urged him to practice the "Heart Sutra of Supreme Goodness Like Water" without letting his guard down for a moment. At the same time, after he entered the state of clear mind, his mental resistance increased significantly.

Therefore, at this moment, he only lost his composure for a fleeting moment before immediately regaining his composure.

"The entrance to the secret realm is occupied by a bizarre creature skilled in mental attacks. Anyone with a cultivation level below the Mingxin Realm who gets close will have their mind corrupted and drive them mad. In the advance team, only my cultivation level can barely withstand the mental corruption of that creature..."

Shang Lu used his silver tongue to speak only the truth. In addition, the sixth-grade Dao vein spiritual root he had refined contained a tongue that could not be rotten, which greatly enhanced his eloquence and sophistry.

At this moment, what he said was not only difficult to hear wrong, but also made people believe it involuntarily.

However, on the ship, the person who asked the question did not immediately respond after hearing Shang Lu's answer, but instead turned to look at the wizard next to him.

The wizard formed a hand seal, gathering his magical power in his ears, causing them to swell and become like two large palm-leaf fans.

On the back of the ear, veins bulged out, transforming into streaks of witchcraft.

However, he was the Listening Envoy from the Chu Kingdom.

These salvage teams in Yunmeng Marsh are involved in secret realms and various hidden treasures. The Chu Kingdom court is worried that some people will conceal the discovery of treasures and cultivation techniques. Therefore, each salvage team has a Listening Envoy to listen for the truth and monitor their actions.

While still in the Water Mansion Secret Realm, Shang Lu had already obtained these details from several Chu witches. Knowing that the Listening Envoy was present, he told them the truth without a single lie.

They simply concealed some details and did not report them.

But even the Listening Messenger could not discern this due to his eloquence and sophistry.

At this moment, the Listening Envoy on the ship was chanting incantations and listening carefully for a while. Sure enough, he shook his head and said, "Fang Zhuo did not lie."

His voice wasn't loud, but Shang Lu, who was soaking in Zehu Lake, heard it clearly and thought to himself, "There really is a Listener. Those guys weren't lying."

It was after the Listening Envoy spoke that Shang Lu clearly noticed that the killing intent locked onto him had completely disappeared.

But he did not let his guard down.

Because he knew that he had only managed to get through the first hurdle.

On the ship, the man in red robes in charge of the operation spoke again, beckoning Shang Lu: "Come aboard and let's talk."

The pokeweed did not leap out of the water.

Although he used the Hundred Faces Mask to transform into Fang Zhuo's appearance and aura, he didn't know Fang Zhuo's methods. Fearing exposure, he simply pretended to be weak and said with a wry smile, "I just broke out of the secret realm, and it took a lot of effort. I'm not strong enough..."

That's true; he did expend a lot of energy when he broke through the pool controlled by the Nightmare Jellyfish.

The eavesdropper on the ship also failed to detect the problem, only thinking that he was exaggerating a bit. But then he realized that the eavesdropper was trying to take the opportunity to exaggerate his achievements.

If you describe the task as difficult, even if you don't achieve great results, you'll still have put in the effort.

Similar situations were commonplace in the salvage advance team and had become a well-known unspoken rule. The Listener was neither surprised nor suspicious.

In fact, if Shang Lu hadn't exaggerated the difficulties and fabricated his achievements, the Listening Envoy might have suspected that he had been possessed by some strange creature in the secret realm, or that he was preparing for something big.
Before Shang Lu could finish speaking, the man in red robes on the ship ordered, "Bring him up."

The Chu shamans who had surrounded Shang Lu had already abandoned their murderous intent. Upon hearing this, one of them immediately approached Shang Lu, reached out and pulled him out of the foul-smelling swamp, placing him on his flying gourd.

"Thank you, senior brother."

Shang Lu, in Fang Zhuo's guise, thanked the Chu witch.

The Chu witch, with a stern face, returned the greeting coldly, turned the large gourd around, and in a few breaths, flew to the ship.

After jumping off the giant gourd, Shang Lu bowed to the red-robed man on the ship and addressed him as "Captain".

In the Chu Kingdom, the cultivators responsible for salvaging Yunmengze were all granted the title of Captain and given a special name: "Treasure-Touching Captain," which has the same meaning as the Gold-Touching Captain.

"You're all soaking wet, and you didn't even bother to clean yourself up."

The treasure-hunting captain frowned, assuming that "Fang Zhuo" was trying to play the victim, but he did not expect that Shang Lu was afraid of being exposed and dared not make any rash moves.

The treasure-hunting captain cast a spell, summoning a gust of wind that swirled around Shang Lu, instantly drying him off. Only then did he ask, "Were you injured in the secret realm?"

Shang Lu was already tainted with a lot of chaotic energy in the Water Mansion Secret Realm, and his cultivation level was unstable due to the continuous breakthroughs in his cultivation in a very short period of time.

After passing the Nightmare Jellyfish test, they fought another magical battle.

To onlookers, his current condition appeared as if he were injured, and seriously so.

Shang Lu glanced at the Listening Envoy beside him without showing any emotion, and then, using his silver tongue and sophistry, said, "Thank you for your concern, Commandant. My condition is alright."

This is true; the Listening Envoy, who was making a hand gesture, did not react.

The Treasure-Hunting Captain wasn't really that concerned about "Fang Zhuo." He simply asked a question to show that he still cared about his subordinate, then changed the subject to what he was truly concerned about: "What's the situation in the new secret realm?"

At this moment, Shang Lu was completely immersed in the role, and as "Fang Zhuo," he said indignantly, "Captain, please punish the idiot in charge of assessing the danger level of the secret realm! He said the danger level of this secret realm was only seventh grade, but we found that the situation is far more dangerous than he assessed..."

Captain Mobao interrupted, "We'll talk about these things later. The new secret realm is inherently unstable, and it's normal for the danger level to change. Otherwise, why would we send out an advance team? Tell me, what exactly is the situation in this secret realm?"

"Yes." Shang Lu bowed and accepted the order. Although he had adjusted his emotions, he still looked indignant and began to recount the various situations in the Water Mansion Secret Realm, telling the whole truth.

The Listening Messenger was right there listening; lying would only arouse suspicion.

From beginning to end, Shang Lu never took the initiative to admit that he was Fang Zhuo. Even now, when he was telling the story of the Water Mansion Secret Realm, he was doing so from his own perspective.

Therefore, even though the ears of the Listening Messenger were swollen and about to burst, he still couldn't hear the slightest mistake.

The treasure hunter became increasingly excited as he listened, even interrupting Shang Lu's narration: "You said the malevolent energy in this secret realm is constantly growing? The strange creatures are also constantly evolving? And you even discovered a spirit ore vein inside?"

"Yes," Shang Lu replied, clasping his hands in agreement.

"What is the scale of the spirit mine?" the treasure hunter captain asked again.

"Judging from the reports from the prospecting worms, it's of medium scale," Shang Lu said, taking out a lump of bloody spirit ore.

Immediately, a Chu shaman stepped forward, took the spirit ore, and took it down to verify its spirit content.

"Medium-sized? That's already quite good, worth developing." The Treasure Hunter was excited. Discovering a secret realm that met the development requirements was a great achievement for him.

He paused, then asked, "Besides the spirit ore veins, are there any other treasures in this secret realm? Or ancient cultivation techniques and secret arts?"

Pokeweed immediately took out the tortoise shell map.

Surveying the secret realm was the most important task for the advance team. Even if he wanted to keep this tortoise shell for himself, it would be difficult, let alone since it was completely useless to him now.

"Captain, please look. This is a map we drew in the secret realm. We've marked places where there might be treasures, but you need to break the restrictions to enter." As Shang Lu spoke, he pointed to several marked points.

"We've tried every method to break the restrictions in these places, but we haven't been able to."

The places Shang Lu pointed to were indeed the locations where they had failed to break the seal, but he deliberately omitted the Delusional Heart Pool and the Water Scripture Stone Wall.

Thanks to his silver tongue and sophistry, the treasure hunter failed to notice the omission of the pokeweed.

Meanwhile, in the ears of the Listening Messenger, Shang Lu was telling the truth—he didn't mention the Pool of Delusions and the Stone Wall of the Water Scripture; at most, it was an omission, not a lie.

Next, Captain Mobao asked in detail about the various dangers and strange creatures inside the Water Mansion Secret Realm, and Shang Lu told him the truth.

Only after asking all these questions did the Treasure Hunting Captain remember the advance team members who had entered the Water Mansion Secret Realm with "Fang Zhuo" and ask, "How are the others doing in the secret realm?"

This is not a good question to answer, as the Listening Master is still listening nearby.

"The situation is terrible; some people have even died and their souls have been extinguished!"

Pokeweed only said that someone died, not that anyone lived. Coupled with his eloquence and sophistry, neither the Listening Envoy nor the Treasure-Hunting Captain could detect anything wrong with his words.

The Listening Master has a set of rules for judging whether a person's words are true or false.

As long as the speaker firmly believes that what they are saying is true, even if they are telling complete lies, the Listening Master will not be able to detect any flaws.

At that moment, Shang Lu kept telling himself: I'm telling the truth, I'm telling the truth...

What he said was the truth, but he missed reporting some details.

"We will try our best to rescue them as soon as possible."

Although the Treasure-Hunting Captain said this, he did not immediately mobilize troops. Instead, he turned to his subordinates and ordered them to raise the danger level of the secret realm. At the same time, he instructed them to report to their superiors and apply for manpower to enter the Water Mansion Secret Realm to eliminate the monsters and clear obstacles for the subsequent formal development.

Seeing that the Treasure-Touching Captain had no further questions, the Listening Officer also put away his swollen ears, afraid of hearing any more of the Treasure-Touching Captain's hypocritical remarks.

After a moment, the treasure-hunting captain, having finished his arrangements, looked at Shang Lu again: "You..."

He originally wanted Shang Lu to stay behind and wait for the requested personnel to arrive so he could act as a guide before entering the Water Mansion Secret Realm.

However, after seeing Shang Lu's "unstable cultivation," he hesitated for a moment, but then took pity on him and changed his words, saying, "Alright, you should go back to the island and rest. Once your cultivation has recovered, you can come back to participate in the follow-up matters. Don't worry, you'll definitely get your share of the credit!"

"Thank you, Captain! Thank you, Captain!"

Shang Lu bowed deeply, hands clasped, looking extremely grateful.

Under the influence of his silver tongue and sophistry, the treasure hunter was very satisfied with the pokeweed's reaction, nodding and stroking his beard as he said "good."

Then he turned his head and waved to Chu Wu, who was controlling the giant gourd, and instructed, "Ding Qiu, go and take him to the nearest island to recuperate and rest."

"Take orders."

Ding Qiu clasped his hands in response, raised his hand to pat the gourd at his waist that had shrunk, chanted an incantation to make it instantly grow larger, and then rode on it first, before calling out to Shang Lu.

"Senior Brother Fang, come up here. I'll take you back to the island to rest."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Ding."

Shanglu responded, feigning weakness, and struggled to leap onto the large gourd.

"Hold on tight." Ding Qiu called out, slapped the large gourd with his hand, and lifted it into the air. After adjusting its direction, it flew towards the nearest island.

Even the nearest island is hundreds of miles away.

After flying dozens of miles away, the giant gourd left the area of ​​the witch formation set up by the salvage team.

It was only when Shang Lu flew out of the witch formation that he realized that the Chu witches were actually using a multi-story ship to set up the formation.

Several multi-ships surrounded the area, "linking" together to form a witch array, used to suppress the various strange phenomena in Yunmeng Marsh and create a favorable environment for exploration and salvage work.

Just now, if Shang Lu had tried to escape by force, even if he had managed to break through those deadly traps, he would have been blocked by these ships.

Even if they can't kill him, they can at least hold him off, allowing the experts from Chu Wuzhong to arrive and eliminate him.

Shang Lu secretly rejoiced that he hadn't acted rashly.

After Ding Qiu's gourd flew out of the range of the ship-shaped witch formation, it was immediately shrouded in a thick mist. Thunder surged within the mist, but Shang Lu and Ding Qiu both had Yunmeng Marsh talismans on them, which prevented them from being killed.

Being in the swampy fog greatly affected their vision. But this did not stop Ding Qiu. He waved his hand and summoned a swamp map. On the map, a dot that kept flashing with witch light was them.

Ding Qiu pointed to a target on the Ze Tu, and the Ze Tu immediately transformed into a beam of magical light, guiding it towards the target island. Even if one was in the Ze mist and couldn't distinguish east from west, one could still follow this beam of magical light and accurately reach the destination.

Of course, Shanglu didn't want to go to the island.

According to his understanding, once on the island, in addition to resting, one would be subject to further scrutiny and interrogation by shamans from departments such as the Discipline Department.

He was not Fang Zhuo after all. If he slipped up during the interrogation, he would inevitably face annihilation.

Therefore, he had to find a way to escape before reaching the island.

Having this idea, Shang Lu immediately used his silver tongue and sophistry to get close to Ding Qiu.

This was both an inquiry into the recent situation in the State of Chu and a way to lower Ding Qiu's guard.

Ding Qiu had no suspicions. Under the influence of his eloquence and sophistry, he felt very close to this "Senior Brother Fang." He not only revealed all the information he knew, but also gradually relaxed.

Ding Qiu spoke eloquently:
"You stayed in the Water Mansion Secret Realm for five days. During those five days, quite a few significant things happened!"

"The old King of Chu has announced his abdication, and his eldest son will ascend the throne. Currently, several high priests are informing the gods to select a few days for the grand ceremony..."

"Although the eldest prince has not yet formally ascended the throne, he has already begun to exercise royal power in place of the old King of Chu, issuing various edicts. The first royal decree issued by the eldest prince was to conduct a nationwide manhunt for enemy spies..."

The old King of Chu abdicated? The eldest son inherited the throne of Chu?
This news greatly surprised Shang Lu.

Because he remembered very clearly that he had seen a flesh pill made from the blood, flesh and soul of the eldest young master in the Guixu Tower!

The eldest prince of Chu had long since died.

Is this newly enthroned eldest son a human or a ghost?

Where is the old King of Chu hiding now?

(End of this chapter)