Weird Cultivation, I have a five-organ temple

Chapter 628 Refining the New Nuo Mask

"stop!"

As soon as Shang Lu arrived at the city gate and was about to enter the city, he was stopped by the guards with stern faces.

"Did you pay the entry tax? Why are you barging in? Come over here for inspection!"

"You don't seem like a good person! Where are you from? What are you doing in the city? Explain yourself right now!"

The city gate guards made some scary remarks, but they just wanted to extort money from the city.

Shang Lu had also climbed his way up from the bottom as a low-level clerk, so he was very familiar with these kinds of methods and had seen countless similar cases.

He coldly stared at the city gate guards who had surrounded him, his tone arrogant: "I am the King's personal guard, the Black-Clad Guard. Do you really want to investigate me?"

These city gate guards were all ordinary people. Shang Lu didn't even need to show his Black Robe Token. He simply used his persuasive words to make them believe in the identity of the Black Robe Guards.

"Xuan... Xuanyi Guard?!"

The faces of the city gate guards turned pale instantly, their bodies trembled uncontrollably, their legs went weak, and they were so frightened that they knelt on the ground.

"My lord, spare me! Spare me!"

"We were blind and didn't recognize your greatness! Please spare our lives, Your Excellency!"

These county soldiers had certainly heard of the formidable reputation of the Black-Clad Guards. Not to mention that during this period, the Black-Clad Guards had been arresting people everywhere and suppressing rumors and prophecies, further enhancing their infamous reputation.

At this moment, these city gate guards had even figured out how they would die and where they should be buried.

But Shang Lu didn't kill them; he just coldly snorted, "Get up!"

The city gate guards did not get up; they continued to kowtow and beg for mercy on the ground.

Shang Lu raised an eyebrow and snapped, "You're not getting up? Then don't ever get up!"

Upon hearing this, the city gate guards were terrified and hurriedly got up, but continued to beg for mercy.

Shang Lu ignored all this nonsense and simply asked, "Are there any other Black-Clad Guards in this city?"

"No."

Several city gate guards shook their heads in unison.

It’s fine if you don’t.

Shang Lu nodded slightly and instructed, "You must not reveal my identity to anyone else, and you must not let anyone know that I was here! Otherwise, you know the consequences!"

He then ignored the city gate guards who were nodding vigorously and went straight into the city.

After he walked away, the city gate guards breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if they had been given a second chance at life.

The other people queuing to enter were completely unaware of what had just happened—this was the effect of the Ice Crystal Blue Lotus.

After entering the city, Shang Lu went straight to the city's shaman temple.

After offering incense to each of the deities enshrined here, they finally found the temple's shaman and revealed their identity as "Black-Clad Guards".

This time, Shang Lu did not use the Xuan Yi Token either. He simply relied on his silver tongue and the influence of the Ice Crystal Blue Lotus on the divine sense to convince the shaman of his words.

Although the shaman possessed the cultivation of the Qi Refining Realm, making him much stronger than the guards at the city gate, compared to Shang Lu, he was like a mayfly in the blue sky... utterly unable to withstand the attack.

"Please have a seat, sir. I will go and fetch the county magistrate and the registrar."

When the shaman heard that Shang Lu was a member of the Black-Clad Guard, his expression was as if he had seen a ghost.

Although she tried her best to remain calm, the panic in her eyes was impossible to hide.

During this period, the Black-Clad Guards were seen by local officials in the Chu Kingdom as nothing more than death-bringing messengers.

Today, the unseen force of death has arrived; how could the shaman not be terrified?

“There’s no need to invite them,” Shang Lu said coldly, stopping them. “I’ll just stay at the Witch Temple for the night and leave tomorrow morning.”

He didn't want to make too much of a fuss.

If it weren't for the fact that his next task would be easier to carry out with the cover of his identity as a member of the Black-Clad Guard, he wouldn't have wanted to impersonate one.

"This……"

The shaman hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not dare to disobey Shang Lu's order.

In particular, Shang Lu then added, "You must keep my presence here a secret and not let anyone else know."

"Yes, yes, I understand."

The shaman nodded quickly, imagining that the black-clad guard in front of him had come with a special mission.

He then thought of the rumors and prophecies that had been circulating recently, and his face grew even more grim. He wanted to plead for the children in the city, but he didn't know how to begin.

Shang Lu noticed the shaman's panic but didn't say much. He simply asked him to arrange accommodations and then left the shaman's temple.

Seeing that Shang Lu had left, the shaman instinctively wanted to find the county magistrate and the registrar to discuss countermeasures.

But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he remembered Shang Lu's instructions. After hesitating for a moment, he still didn't dare to go looking for the magistrate and the registrar. Instead, he prayed to the gods for protection in the temple...

Shang Lu wandered around the county town and quickly found gambling dens, brothels, and other similar establishments.

He didn't even bother with any tricks; he simply unleashed the Calamity Lamp, letting it feed on its desires.

He's now a "Black-Clad Guard," so any problems can be passed on to him.

Once Huo Xinzhan had eaten and drunk his fill, Shang Lu returned to the Witch Temple.

Upon his return, the shaman hurriedly came out to greet him, his eyes constantly glancing at Shang Lu, trying to see if Shang Lu had kidnapped a child on his trip.

Seeing that Shang Lu returned empty-handed, the shaman was not at ease, fearing that Shang Lu had used some kind of witchcraft to conceal his presence.

After sending the pokeweed into the room, the shaman was still worried and turned to instruct several disciples in the temple to go to the homes of people with children in the city to find out what was going on.

"Just go and see if those families' children are still there. Don't say or ask anything else, and don't disturb those families. Just inquire from a distance."

The disciples, puzzled, asked curiously, "Master, why is this?" The shaman, remembering Shang Lu's instructions, dared not say more and scolded with a stern face, "Don't ask any more questions."

Seeing that he was truly angry, the disciples dared not say another word, and they all clasped their hands in obedience and hurried out of the temple.

The shaman thought he was being very careful, but he never expected that Shang Lu would overhear everything.

"I never expected that he was a shaman who loved the people."

Shang Lu muttered to himself, and seeing that he did not reveal his presence, he did not interfere further.

After a while, the disciples who had been inquiring about the news returned one after another.

Hearing that all the children in the city were there, the shaman breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Then, unable to contain his curiosity, he wondered: if the black-clad guards weren't after the children, what were they after?
"Could the rumors circulating in the streets be false? That makes sense, how could the King possibly become a man-eating monster..."

It was night in a blink of an eye.

Just as midnight arrived, Shang Lu released the Sleeping Gu, causing everyone in the temple to fall asleep, so as not to affect his communication with the gods and his exorcism.

He then entered the temple of the shaman, the shrine dedicated to the god of the East.

After taking out the sacrificial altar and offering incense to Dongjun, Shanglu began the ritual of communicating with the gods and performing the exorcism.

The clay statue of the God of the East suddenly moved its eyes, looking down at Shanglu from its high position.

Even though they were made of clay, their eyes shone with a radiant light like the sun.

Upon sensing the aura of light, the fiery red bird feather placed on the sacrificial altar suddenly burst forth with raging flames, engulfing itself and all the other materials needed to make the Dongjun Nuo Mask.

Damn it? !
Shanglu was startled.

What's going on? Has Dongjun suddenly changed his mind? He wants to burn the materials and prevent me from making His Nuo noodles?
A few breaths later, the flames dissipated.

Whether it was the fiery red bird feathers or the other materials, everything was intact.

Not only was it not burned, but the spiritual energy it emitted became even purer.

Shang Lu breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Dong Jun was not going back on his word, but was helping him. He immediately bowed to the statue of Dong Jun and said, "Thank you for your help, Divine Lord."

The statue remained silent, without uttering a sound.

"She's quite arrogant. But arrogance isn't fashionable anymore, okay?"

Shang Lu complained inwardly, but didn't waste any time. He picked up the materials that Dong Jun had helped him refine and began to make Nuo noodles.

Soon, Shang Lu successfully created a Nuo mask with red as the main color and a small amount of gold and black as embellishments.

At this point, the Nuo mask could only be considered an ordinary mask, without any supernatural features.

It is also necessary to perform a ritual to communicate with the gods, so that the gods may "bless" and bestow "supernatural powers" before it can be used.

Shang Lu placed the Nuo mask on the altar, stepped on the Yu steps, and began singing Nuo songs, thus beginning the ritual to communicate with the gods.

The ceremony went very smoothly—Dongjun himself participated. If it hadn't gone well, Shanglu would have given up on developing the Nuo witchcraft tradition.

A moment later, a beam of true solar fire pierced the night, falling into the temple like a meteor and disappearing into the Nuo mask. The originally ordinary Nuo mask immediately emitted a fierce flame.

At this moment, Dongjun's Nuo noodles are ready.

Shang Lu suppressed his impulse and did not rush to test the effect of the Nuo mask.

After paying his respects to Dongjun and offering him another stick of incense, Shang Lu put away the Dongjun Nuo mask and the sacrificial altar, and turned to go to another temple where the Mountain Spirit was worshipped.

In the temple of the mountain spirit, he used the same trick again.

The mountain spirit also personally helped him refine the materials.

However, when Shang Lu was performing the Yu Steps and singing Nuo songs to communicate with the gods, the Mountain Spirit was clearly dissatisfied and interrupted Shang Lu, starting to sing Nuo songs on its own.

The pokeweed was shocked.

This is the first time I've ever seen a deity sing a Nuo song to itself.

Surprised as he was, Shang Lu was not bewildered, nor did he miss the opportunity. He carefully learned the Nuo song sung by the mountain spirit.

The singing style and lyrics were different from what he had learned in several ways.

Although his Nuo song wouldn't anger the gods, it certainly wasn't as effective in communication as the one sung by the mountain spirit himself.

While learning to sing Nuo songs, Shang Lu couldn't help but think to himself, "Since you're all personally participating, is it still necessary to perform this ritual to communicate with the gods? Or do the gods also insist on a proper procedure?"

Soon, the mountain spirit's communication ritual also came to an end.

A streak of green light flew up from the statue of the Mountain Spirit, transformed into a firefly, landed on the Mountain Spirit's face, and quickly merged into it.

The entire Nuo mask, a vibrant green, immediately exuded a rich, woody aura.

At this moment, the mountain spirit's Nuo noodles were successfully made.

Similarly, Pokeweed offered another stick of incense to the Mountain Spirit to thank Him for His help.

To Shang Lu's surprise, the mountain spirit, while accepting his offerings, also gave him a lecture:
"Now that you have learned the way of Nuo shamanism, you should put some effort into Nuo songs and dances. These are not only a means of communicating with the gods, but also a way of communicating with heaven and earth!"

Shang Lu knew that the mountain spirit was targeting him.

Nuo songs and dances are indeed very useful, especially now that he has the Calamity Lamp. When used together, the power they unleash is absolutely extraordinary.

"I know I was wrong, and I will definitely strengthen my study of Nuo songs and dances in the future."

Shang Lu bowed and replied that the mountain spirit had taught him a lot about Nuo songs, so calling him "disciple" would not be an exaggeration and would also bring him closer to the mountain spirit.

If you encounter danger in the future, ask the mountain spirit for help, and it will be too embarrassing for Him to refuse—how can a master stand by and watch his disciple die when he is in trouble?

After seeing off the mountain spirit, Shang Lu finally had the time and energy to examine the two newly acquired Nuo masks.

(More tonight)
(End of this chapter)