Weird Cultivation, I have a five-organ temple

Chapter 695 Returning to the Witchcraft Academy
Uncle Huai was taken aback by the question. He pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "This old servant doesn't know. But I suppose something must have happened to them."

Shang Lu sensed something else and asked, "You and Hei Yun didn't accompany Zi Shu on his hunting trip to Wushan?"

"No."

Uncle Huai recounted in detail what happened after he escaped from Yunmengze:

"After we fled back to the Kingdom of Ba while dodging our pursuers, Zishu, the hunting sergeant, was to take the rescued clerk and the master of the road to Wushan."

At first, Hei Yun and I followed them, thinking that after you, Master, return, you will definitely go to Wushan, and we can meet up there.

Halfway there, the mouse on patrol said something was wrong and told us not to follow, but to find a way to sneak back to Luoshui County and wait for our master to return.

After parting ways with them, Hei Yun and I concealed our presence and stayed in the mountains for several days, as instructed by Zi Shu's patrol. Only then did we detour to Xingshan and bring Du Feng, Zhu Quan, and the others over..."

During the time they were apart, Uncle Huai's cultivation not only did not fall behind, but also made significant progress.

Now he speaks not through the friction of tree bark to simulate a human voice, but as if he were truly speaking human language.

Moreover, his words, actions, and even his appearance have become more like those of a real person.

It's skin made from tree bark, with so many wrinkles that it looks like an old man in his twilight years.

As Uncle Huai recounted his experiences, Hei Yun chimed in with his own "hoohoo" sounds, adding his own commentary.

However, Shang Lu couldn't understand the horse's neighing at all, and he had to ask Uncle Huai to translate it for him.

Through the accounts of the tree and the horse, Shang Lu quickly gained a general understanding of their experiences after escaping the Chu capital.

Their journey was far from peaceful.

Within the territory of Chu, they were relentlessly pursued and faced dangers no less severe than those experienced by Shang Lu, and on several occasions, they nearly suffered total annihilation.

So much so that when they fought their way back to the Kingdom of Ba, almost everyone was wounded! And the barbarian high priest from the desolate land died suddenly during the escape, his body and soul destroyed, and he was not brought back to the Kingdom of Ba.

Even after returning to the Kingdom of Ba, Zishu and his men did not dare to let their guard down, since many spies sent by the Kingdom of Chu were hiding within the territory of Ba.

Not to mention, as soon as they returned to the State of Ba, they heard the news of the alliance between Ba and Chu, and dared not let their guard down.

Meanwhile, Shang Lu also learned from Uncle Huai and Hei Yun that Zi Shu Xun Shou had been trying to contact Da Zhu, but had been unable to do so.

Finally, on his way to Wushan, he suddenly received a message from the Grand Priest, ordering him to immediately take his men back to Wushan.

It was this message from the witch doctor that made the Rat Hunter realize something was wrong.

After much deliberation, he decided to go to Wushan to investigate the situation.

Because Uncle Huai and Black Cloud were not guardian shamans, the Rat did not take them on its hunting expedition.

It wasn't that I didn't trust them, but I didn't want them to get involved. I also wanted to keep them around and tell Shang Lu about all of this.

"Why didn't the Rat send me a shamanic message during its hunt? Why go through all this trouble?" Shang Lu frowned after hearing this.

After a moment's thought, he made a guess.

After receiving the shamanic message sent by the "Great Sage," most of the people like Zishu Xunshou were likely already locked onto and monitored.

The rat on patrol must have noticed this situation, which is why it didn't send a witch's message to the pokeweed to avoid the pokeweed being targeted as well.

After figuring this out, Shang Lu felt secretly fortunate: "Fortunately, these people were exposed, which allowed me to prepare in advance and seal the Impermanence Token before returning to Ba Kingdom. Otherwise, my identity and whereabouts would definitely have been exposed long ago."

Although he had shown the Decree of Impermanence to the border army shaman when he first returned to Ba Kingdom, the Decree of Impermanence was already sealed at that time, and the time he showed it was short, so he was not afraid of being locked.

But soon, Shanglu had new doubts.

"Since you separated from Zishu Xunshou and the others early on, how could you have known that something had most likely happened to them?"

Uncle Huai replied, “When we parted, the shaman Gongshu gave me a communication stone, saying that I could use it to send messages in case of emergency. Just a few days ago, the communication stone suddenly became active, and the shaman Gongshu sent a message ordering us to report to the Wushan government office in Wushan. But we are neither Wei Shamans nor Gongshu Shaman’s subordinates. That message was obviously suspicious, so I guessed that the shaman Gongshu and his men must have encountered danger.”

Shang Lu raised an eyebrow and carefully inquired about the time. It was the day that Shang Lu's Impermanence Order received the message.

It seems that after capturing the person who was on patrol with the Rat, he not only used the Impermanence Decree to send a message on that day, but also used all the magical artifacts that could be used to send messages to everyone he could contact, thus stinging the law.

"Where is that sound transmission stone?" Shang Lu asked hurriedly.

Uncle Huai opened his mouth and spat out a stone that was densely entwined with vines.

The stone wasn't big, about the size of a badge.

Because of the entanglement of vines, Shang Lu could not see its appearance. However, through the spiritual eye between his brows, he could clearly see that this entangled sound transmission stone was constantly releasing distorted witch energy.

But all this witch energy was trapped and absorbed by the vines, and in the end, not a single drop escaped.

"Well done. As expected of Uncle Huai, you are indeed very cautious," Shang Lu praised, his heart finally at ease.

After a pause, he told Uncle Huai his plan: "I plan to go to Wushan to see what exactly happened."

"I'll go with you!" Uncle Huai volunteered without hesitation. Black Cloud also neighed loudly, puffing out its chest, looking like it was saying, "I'm awesome, you'd better take me with you."

“Hei Yun can come with me, but Uncle Huai, you have another important task.”

Although there was a sign saying "Do Not Listen" in the side room, Shang Lu still habitually beckoned Uncle Huai closer before whispering the instructions:

"You are sensitive to malevolent energy. See if you can find a hidden and unknown malevolent spot. The stronger the malevolent energy, the better."

Uncle Huai is a spirit of a locust tree, and locust trees have an innate sensitivity to yin energy.

Sending him to find the evil acupoint is the most suitable thing to do.

Uncle Huai was puzzled as to why Shang Lu was looking for such a place, but he could tell that Shang Lu took this matter very seriously, so he didn't ask any further questions and immediately nodded and clasped his hands in agreement: "Yes, this old servant will take care of it right away."

Shang Lu then instructed him, "Once you have any news, contact Third Sister."

At the same time, he took out several boxes of spirit fat, pills, and confiscated cultivation techniques suitable for wood-type demons, and gave them all to Uncle Huai.

"Take these. While searching for the evil acupoints, don't neglect your cultivation. When your cultivation reaches the point where you need to break through, I still have spiritual roots here that you can use for your breakthrough!"

Uncle Huai held the spirit fat, pills, and cultivation manual, his excitement no less than that of Du Feng, Zhu Quan, and the others who had just left. His voice even trembled as he said, "Thank you, Master!"

When Hei Yun saw that Uncle Huai had obtained the elixir and the cultivation technique, he became anxious. He not only neighed loudly, but also tried to bite Shang Lu's clothes with his mouth.

Even without Uncle Huai's translation, Shang Lu knew that Hei Yun was envious. He had to stop favoring one over the other and give this "meritorious contributor" some reward.

"What's the rush?" Shang Lu kicked Hei Yun and laughed, "Follow me, are you afraid of not having pills and cultivation techniques?" He then asked Uncle Huai, "Have you found out anything in the county town these past few days?"

Uncle Huai knew what news Shang Lu was asking about, and shook his head with a wry smile: "Luoshui County is still too remote. Even with the Yunhua Mountain Secret Realm, news from the county town is still too outdated."

Shang Lu nodded and sighed.

He had served as a constable and county lieutenant in Luoshui County, so he knew the situation there very well and knew that what Uncle Huai said was absolutely correct.

"I'll go to Chengfeng County tomorrow to go back to the Witchcraft Academy and gather information," Shang Lu immediately made the arrangements.

He was initially lured into the Weiwu by the Zishu patrol in secret. Now, almost no one in Baiyi County knows his identity as a Weiwu, so he doesn't have to worry about being targeted.

After Uncle Huai finished asking questions and giving instructions, he was about to take his leave, leading the flower and grass spirits he had cultivated to find a suitable burial site.

"Wait a moment."

Shang Lu stopped him and gave him a captured storage artifact.

"This place is full of money and valuables. While you are looking for the inauspicious burial site, also find a few suitable places to buy some houses and land."

Uncle Huai was slightly taken aback, but reacted quickly and soon understood Shang Lu's intention. He took the storage artifact containing money and replied solemnly, "Master, rest assured, this old servant knows what to do."

Shang Lu smiled and said, "I trust you to handle things. Go ahead and send me good news as soon as possible."

Uncle Huai clasped his hands in a salute, then turned and strode away.

After he left, Shang Lu turned his gaze to Hei Yun.

This fellow thought it was finally his turn to receive the reward, so he swung his ponytail like a dog's tail, making it look like a windmill, while grinning foolishly with his mouth wide open.

Shang Lu looked it up and down a few times, and was also somewhat surprised: "I didn't realize that you had actually reached the Qi Refining Perfection stage and were about to break through!"

The dark clouds stood tall and proud, beaming with smug satisfaction.

"It seems that being hunted down with Zishu and the others has brought out your potential."

Shang Lu smiled and did not take out any spiritual fat or pills for Hei Yun. Instead, he reached out and grabbed its horse's ear, leading it out of the side room.

"Let me see if your other skills have improved besides your cultivation level. Don't blame me for not warning you, you'd better show all your abilities later."

"Huh? Huh huh huh!"

Black Cloud was dumbfounded. It never expected that while everyone else was receiving a reward, it was getting beaten up.
It saw it very clearly; this so-called test of skills was just a ploy to beat it up!

Black Cloud was right; Shang Lu was indeed going to beat it up.

Shang Lu could see that this fellow had become arrogant and conceited after his cultivation improved. He knew that he had to curb his arrogance, otherwise something would definitely go wrong when he broke through to a higher realm!
Black Cloud braced itself against the ground with its hooves, unwilling to follow Shang Lu, but its little tricks were no match for Shang Lu, and it was quickly dragged out of the side room and into the backyard.

Shang Lu didn't even make a move himself; he simply released several paper figures to beat up the dark cloud, from midday until the dead of night.

The paper figures that Shang Lu is tearing up now are incredibly powerful. They can even ambush and injure experts who are also at the Inner Palace Realm. Beating up Hei Yun, who is at the peak of Qi Refining, is just too easy for him.

For as long as the paper figures beat him, Hei Yun screamed in agony, causing many people in Shuanggui Village to become curious and inquire whether Shang Lu was going to hold another banquet and start slaughtering pigs. But the screams didn't sound like pigs howling.

After a severe beating, Hei Yun became much more obedient and no longer dared to be arrogant.

After beating it up, Shang Lu also gave it a treat, using the spiritual root he had captured to help it break through to the Zhou Tian Realm and condense a Qi vortex.

With the black clouds of the cyclone, the improvement in combat power is not yet apparent, but the speed of movement is much faster than before.

Even the flying speed of the witch gourd couldn't keep up with the speed of the black cloud galloping.

Shang Lu helped Hei Yun break through to the Zhou Tian realm in front of Du Feng, Zhu Quan, and others.

After Hei Yun broke through, he turned to the crowd and said, "Hei Yun has broken through to the Zhou Tian Realm, so you all need to step up your game. We can't be worse than a beast, can we?"

Du Feng, Zhu Quan, and the others felt both ashamed and excited after hearing Shang Lu's words.

They were ashamed that their cultivation level was not even as good as a horse.

The excitement stemmed from understanding Shang Lu's unspoken message: as long as they cultivated diligently, Shang Lu would lend them a hand when they broke through!
Du Feng, Zhu Quan, and their group were well aware that in the current world, whether it was the Witchcraft Academy, the army, or joining a powerful family or sect, breaking through to a higher cultivation level was not easy.

On the one hand, the materials needed for the breakthrough are expensive and rare.

On the other hand, cultivation resources are controlled by aristocratic families and sects, and even the Witchcraft Academy has been infiltrated and controlled by them.

Even the most gifted cultivators would find it difficult to gather the necessary materials and complete a breakthrough without their permission.

Even if one manages to break through by chance, a lack of cultivation resources can hinder further progress, ultimately leading to a decline in cultivation level.

However, Shang Lu was not stingy with cultivation resources for them at all.

How could everyone not be excited about this?
They wished they could kneel down before Shang Lu and say, "Having wandered for half my life, I only regret that I have not met a wise ruler. If you do not abandon me, I am willing to become your godfather."

After Hei Yun completed its breakthrough, Shang Lu stayed for another day to help it stabilize its cultivation before bidding farewell to his parents, saying that he had to return to the prefectural government to hand over his duties.

Wu Guizhi had no suspicions, but simply told Shang Lu to come back more often during his days off.

Shang Mingqiu pulled Shang Lu away to a distance before saying, "You can go without worry. Your father is here at home, nothing will happen."

He paused, then asked nervously, "After you leave, is there anything we need to be careful about?"

Shang Lu didn't hide anything from him and said in a low voice, "Don't worry, my third sister and I have already made arrangements at home these past two days. But you and your mother should also be prepared that we may need to move in a few days."

Shang Mingqiu nodded: "I understand. If we go to another place, no one will know our background."

He became increasingly suspicious that the powerful figure Shang Lu had offended was no ordinary person, but he didn't ask any further questions. He solemnly said, "Don't worry about your mother, I'll take care of that. You and Third Sister must be careful while you're out and about!"

Shang Lu nodded and replied, "Don't worry, Father. With Third Mother here, your son will be fine."

After bidding farewell to his parents and leaving home, Shang Lu rode on Black Cloud, leading Du Feng, Zhu Quan, and others who were also riding horses, and sped towards Chengfeng County.

Upon arriving in Chengfeng County, Shang Lu did not enter the city but went directly to the witch's academy outside the city.

Upon seeing the gate of the Witchcraft Academy from afar, Shang Lu took out incense, preparing to offer it to the dragon and tiger stone statues of Yun Jun and Shan Jun, as he had done before.

But when Shang Lu rode the black cloud closer, he was surprised to find that the guardian statue at the entrance of the witch's academy had been replaced.

The Cloud Lord and the Mountain Lord have disappeared. Guarding the gate of the Witch Academy are two angry-looking, muscular statues.

(End of this chapter)