Weird Cultivation, I have a five-organ temple

Chapter 699 Door-to-door debt collection

The domineering and fierce sword energy made Bai Lingxu think that he was doomed to die.

But he couldn't understand why Shang Lu wanted to kill him.
However, when the swift sword energy entered his body, it did not shred his internal organs as he had expected. Instead, it went straight to his three dantian points, nailing away all the curses that had been troubling and tormenting him for some time.

Shang Lu's Lung-Gold Sword Qi is enhanced by the destructive power of Venus. Even cultivators at the Inner Palace Realm would fare poorly against it, let alone these Gu curses!
Not only did Shang Lu destroy the three Gu curses, but he also activated the Lung Golden Sword Qi to force them out of Bai Lingxu's body.

"Ugh, ugh... wow..."

Bai Lingxu vomited violently, spitting out thick, black phlegm from his mouth and nose.

These thick, black viscous fluids seemed to possess life; even after Bai Lingxu vomited them out, they continued to wriggle, trying to find a fresh, living body to parasitize.

In fact, they were already dead. These actions were merely conditioned reflexes of centipedes that do not stiffen even after death.

But Bai Lingxu was startled.

He was afraid that these strange things were really still alive, and he didn't want to be entangled with them anymore. Although he felt unwell and his witch power was weak, he still took out a painting of spirit beasts at the first moment.

Despite his weakened state, he channeled his magical power and summoned a bird that resembled a raven but was entirely crimson. The bird spewed forth raging flames, burning all the wriggling, viscous black liquid to ashes.

Afterwards, Bai Lingxu recalled the Fire Crow, put away the Spirit Beast Scroll, and solemnly bowed to Shang Lu.

"Junior Brother Shang, thank you for your help!"

He clearly sensed that as these curses were destroyed, the depletion of his magical power stopped, and the alarm that had been threatening his life was also lifted.

Overwhelmed with excitement, Bai Lingxu was also quite surprised, unable to understand how Shang Lu had discovered the curse within him.

This vicious and evil thing was something that even Lu Dao didn't notice back in the Witch Academy.

As for Bai Lingxu, all that is known is that he has been infected with a Gu poison, but no one has been able to find where the Gu poison is hidden. The only thing that can be sensed is that it is constantly eroding his witch power and taking away his life force.

Bai Lingxu wanted to ask, but before he could speak, Shang Lu waved his hand and said, "Senior Brother Bai, why be so polite? We've been through thick and thin together."

Then, Shang Lu said, "Now can you tell me why I've ended up in this situation?"

Bai Lingxu sighed, put aside his doubts, and followed up on Shang Lu's question, saying, "Junior Brother Shang came to find me, so you must have already heard about me from Uncle Lu, right?"

Shang Lu nodded and said he had heard of it, adding, "Uncle Lu said he thinks there's something fishy about it, but no matter how he asks you, you won't say anything, and you even told him not to investigate."

Bai Lingxu sighed, "It's not that I was unwilling to tell you, but at that time, I had already been cursed with a Gu poison. If I revealed anything, I would immediately suffer intense torment, a fate worse than death! Now that these damned Gu poisons have been eradicated, I can tell you. The person who forcibly bought my Star Marrow, Earth Milk, and Thousand Family Millet was an elder of the Jin family. That Jin family elder had a grandson who was also in our Witchcraft Academy. He wanted to break through to the Heavenly Realm, so he set his sights on what I had..."

Bai Lingxu gritted his teeth and recounted the whole story to Shang Lu.

During this process, unlike usual, he was no longer struck by the pain of the Gu poison before he could even utter a word. Therefore, he became even more certain that the Gu curse in his body had been completely neutralized.

The Jin family was originally a second-rate sect in Baiyi County. Not long ago, Wei Wu, in alliance with other sects and aristocratic families in Baiyi County, first wiped out the Li family, and then, following the clues uncovered from the Li family, destroyed several other sects and aristocratic families. As a result, in the absence of powerful figures in Baiyi County, the Jin family, a second-rate sect, barely managed to squeeze into the ranks of first-rate sects.

The sudden outbreak of the conflict made the entire Jin family extremely arrogant.

When Wei Wu was still around, they were relatively restrained, but as soon as Wei Wu left, they immediately became arrogant and unruly.

However, due to insufficient resources, even though they shared the assets left by the Li family and other sects with other sects, they could not fully digest them in the short term.

Moreover, they paid a heavy price in this "cleansing" operation, and for a while, they couldn't even produce the spiritual materials needed to break through to the Heavenly Realm.

That's why the Jin family disciple set his sights on Bai Lingxu.

He first pretended to send someone to ask Bai Lingxu for breakthrough materials, but after being refused, he did not immediately turn hostile.

However, not long after, Bai Lingxu received a task. On his way out of the Witch Academy, he was asked by a disciple of the Jin family to have an elder plant a curse in his body using a secret technique.

At the time, Bai Lingxu was unaware of this and did not feel any discomfort.

When he completed his mission and returned to the Witch Academy to begin his seclusion and make final preparations for a breakthrough, the curse within his body suddenly flared up, causing him to suffer a qi deviation and a significant loss of cultivation.

The Jin family disciple seized the opportunity and sent someone to purchase materials for breaking through to the Tongtian Realm.

This time, however, none of the conditions the other party had previously offered were available; the only condition was that his life be spared.

Bai Lingxu initially refused and even planned to spread the news, but he was tormented by the curse and had no choice but to compromise.

After handing over the breakthrough materials, Bai Lingxu's torment was greatly relieved.

At the same time, he discovered that his body felt like it had several large holes that were constantly devouring his magical power.

The more he tried to cultivate and regain his former strength, the more he was devoured.

This series of misfortunes left Bai Lingxu disheartened, which led him to request a transfer to another post in Fangting County, where he became a shaman and spent his days drinking and waiting to die.

"What are the names of the Jin family elders and disciples?" Shang Lu asked.

"The elder's name is Jin Yunpeng!"

Bai Lingxu spat out a name through gritted teeth, clearly harboring deep hatred.

"The person he sent did not reveal his identity. But I don't have any other skills, except for gathering information. It didn't take much effort to find out that he was the mastermind behind it all! And that Jin family disciple is named Jin Yutang."

Shang Lu nodded and asked, "Now that the curse has been lifted, what are your plans next, Senior Brother Bai?"

This question really stumped Bai Lingxu.

The excitement and joy he felt at breaking the curse faded after a moment of silence.

With a long sigh, Bai Lingxu reverted to his previous self-destructive demeanor, and said softly:

"Although the curse is gone, I have no chance to recover my cultivation, nor any hope of breaking through. What else can I do? I can only stay in Fangting County, be a shaman, and live out the rest of my life... That's all."

"Don't you want revenge? Don't you want to get your things back?" Shang Lu asked.

Even without using eloquence, his words were incredibly seductive.

"Yes! Of course I do!"

Bai Lingxu was emotionally agitated.

But soon, he sighed in disappointment.

"What's the use of thinking about it? The Jin family is powerful, and Jin Yunpeng is already at the Great Perfection of the Mind Realm. It's just that he hasn't been able to gather the materials needed for his breakthrough, which is why he hasn't been able to break through to the Inner Palace Realm. I heard that this time, Bachu joined forces to attack Deng, and Jin Yunpeng led the Jin family disciples to participate in the war, all in order to hunt down an Inner Palace Realm cultivator and seize his spiritual root to complete his breakthrough."

Even disregarding the Jin family and Jin Yunpeng, Jin Yutang's cultivation must have reached the Tongtian Realm after using my Star Marrow, Earth Milk, and Thousand Family Millet. But I've fallen to the Lesser Completion of Qi Refining... How can I possibly avenge myself?" "I can help you!" Shang Lu said.

Bai Lingxu hesitated and said, "Junior Brother Shang, I am already very grateful that you helped me break the curse in my body, but..."

Shang Lu interrupted him, saying in a deep voice, "There's no such thing as 'but' or 'no.' How bad could it be compared to what you've already experienced? The reason your cultivation couldn't be restored was because of the Gu curse. Now that the Gu curse is gone, with your talent, Senior Brother Bai, it won't be long before you can restore your cultivation and have another chance to break through."

Bai Lingxu stared wide-eyed at Shang Lu, feeling as if these words were the whispers of a devil tempting him.

But the pokeweed continues.

"Senior Brother Bai, are you really going to give up? Are you really going to just loaf around in Fangting County, waiting to die, and end the rest of your life there?"

Bai Lingxu opened his mouth wide, a strange feeling of suffocation rising in his chest, making him gasp for breath.

A moment later, he gritted his teeth.

"You're right! It can't get any worse than this! Rather than wasting our lives here waiting to die, regretting it for the rest of our lives, we might as well take a gamble! It just so happens that Jin Yunpeng has gone to the battlefield in Dengguo, so he can't protect Jin Yutang!"

As Bai Lingxu spoke, he took out the witch's token from his pocket and asked someone where Jin Yutang was now.

Shang Lu stopped him, saying, "If you go and inquire, you might alert the enemy. Let me do it."

At that moment, Bai Lingxu followed Shang Lu, leaving the Drunken Flower Pavilion and returning to the Witch Temple in Fangting County.

Shang Lu released the paper figures and sent several of his old acquaintances from the former Thief Cao Bureau to gather information.

These people from the Bureau of Thieves were already skilled at tracking down clues and investigating information, and now they were back to their old profession.

While waiting for news, Shang Lu was not idle.

Through the Nuo mask, he borrowed the divine power of the mountain spirit to help Bai Lingxu heal the injuries to his Qi Sea and assist him in restoring his cultivation.

Two days later, the paper figure and the old accomplice of the Thieves Bureau sent back messages one after the other.

Jin Yutang's cultivation level has indeed broken through to the Tongtian Realm.

During this period, he was not in the Witch Academy, but had gone to Wanku Mountain before his breakthrough.

Mount Wanku was originally the territory of the Li family. There was a dilapidated secret realm in the mountain, which also contained several spirit mines.

After the Li family was eliminated, the Jin family seized Wanku Mountain. Jin Yutang, as Jin Yunpeng's most beloved disciple, was sent there to take charge. This was both to allow him to gain experience and make contributions, and to keep a close eye on the mountain's produce, prioritizing its supply to his own lineage.

Knowing where Jin Yutang was, Bai Lingxu urged Shang Lu to take him away as soon as possible.

Shang Lu wasted no time. He left Du Feng, Zhu Quan, and others in Fangting County, and instead of riding the Black Cloud, he released the Witch Gourd, loaded Bai Lingxu onto it, and headed straight for Wanku Mountain.

Upon arriving at Wanku Mountain, Shang Lu, posing as a fellow student from the Witchcraft Academy, went to visit Jin Yutang, only to discover that Jin Yutang was not there.

Using his silver tongue and sophistry, Shang Lu quickly found out that although Jin Yutang was assigned to be in charge of Wanku Mountain, the actual mining, guarding and other work were handled by specialists.

Jin Yutang didn't need to worry about these trivial matters at all.

As the direct descendant of the Jin family and Jin Yunpeng's most beloved grandson, he had been pampered since childhood and could not stand the coldness and boredom of Wanku Mountain. Therefore, instead of suffering in Wanku Mountain, he lived in the county town closest to Wanku Mountain and remotely directed operations.

Having ascertained the location of Jin Yutang, Shang Lu and Bai Lingxu immediately headed to the nearest county town.

Upon entering the city, the two learned without much inquiry that the largest and most luxurious mansion in the city was Jin Yutang's temporary residence.

Jin Yutang, representing the Jin family, arrived in this place and was extremely arrogant. Especially after breaking through to the Tongtian Realm, he treated the local magistrate, shamans, and other officials like slaves, making them go to his residence every day to pay their respects and greet him.

It is said that the county magistrate here actually sided with Jin Yutang and became a lackey of the Jin family.

Gazing at Jin Yutang's luxurious mansion from afar, Bai Lingxu forcibly suppressed his killing intent and excitement, and said in a low voice, "Junior Brother Shang, let's scout the place first, and then sneak into the mansion after nightfall to seek revenge on Jin Yutang?"

Shang Lu shook his head and sneered: "Why bother with all that trouble? Let's just barge in now!"

"Just force your way in?"

Bai Lingxu was taken aback upon hearing this, and frowned, saying, "Leaving aside Jin Yutang's cultivation level, he must have people protecting him. Furthermore, this mansion is certainly equipped with traps and mechanisms. To force our way in recklessly would be..."

"No problem." Shang Lu smiled confidently. "Just you wait and see!"

As he spoke, he walked straight toward the luxurious mansion.

Seeing this, Bai Lingxu hurriedly followed, cautiously surveying his surroundings.

Upon arriving at the gate of the mansion, Shang Lu summoned the Ice Crystal Blue Lotus and also borrowed the Great Sage Barrier from the novelist's notes.

The barrier quickly enveloped the courtyard, "dividing" it into a small world.

The illusion created by the Ice Crystal Blue Lotus has also trapped this place.

With double precautions in place, no matter how much noise occurred inside the house, people outside would not be able to detect or perceive it.

Bai Lingxu stared in shock, his mouth agape.

Although his cultivation was greatly damaged, his eyesight remained, and he was able to sense the power and extraordinary nature of the Ice Crystal Blue Lotus and the Great Sage Barrier.

He couldn't help but ask, "Junior Brother Shang, where did you get all these treasures?"

Shang Lu laughed and didn't answer the question, but simply greeted him.

"Let's go, Senior Brother Bai, let's go collect the debt!"

He kicked open the gate to the mansion and led Bai Lingxu inside with a swagger.

However, the servants in the courtyard did not react at all to the door being kicked open and Shang Lu and Bai Lingxu barging in.

Not only did no one stop them, but there was also no screaming or scolding. They were allowed to swagger ahead and head straight for the side courtyard where Jin Yutang was listening to music.

It was as if they hadn't seen the two people at all, nor had they seen the door being kicked open.

In the side courtyard, Jin Yutang, who had been listening to music with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.

He roared, his voice like thunder, deafening.

"Who are you, bandits, daring to cause trouble in my house?"

(End of this chapter)