I am collecting entries in reincarnation

Chapter 1020 Trial
"It seems that these Gu Masters have obvious advantages and disadvantages compared to the Middle-earth cultivators."

Li Ming pondered, and ripples appeared in his heart.

"Gu insects are convenient, but Gu Masters cultivate Gu instead of cultivating their lives. This is the first problem of cultivation. It's difficult to achieve success in the right way, but it's easier to achieve high combat power. I think this city lord is no more than a hundred years old. He only has a body of sharp Gu insects, but he has the confidence to rival lower-level Yuanying Sanxian. Gu Masters like him are only mid-level in the Moon Worship Sect. In contrast, the major sects in the Central Plains have few personnel. Although each of them is a elite warrior, killing people like Li Tianyun once they achieve success would be as easy as butchering a dog. However, they don't have such great power and control over such a vast land."

"The most urgent task is to gain his trust first. Now that the destiny is confused, Li Tianyun has good luck to protect him. Ordinary people can't deal with him. Gu cultivators are not good at calculating the destiny. Right now, we are not at the level to be attacked by a figure like the Moon Worshiper. We can still have some peace for a while. We must buy time and find a way to sneak into the Wuya Tower."

"He even tried to tempt me with the promise of great rewards. He didn't realize that we were from the orthodox Xuan Sect and looked down upon us. Now he's so impatient, I think he must be in trouble."

As expected, only a few days after the four of them settled in the city, they received an invitation from the city lord.

This time, Li Ming was not the only one invited, but four people were invited to come together, and the location was still the city lord's mansion.

This time, Shi Fengyang changed his clothes and looked more casual. He was holding a scroll in the yard. When he saw the four people coming, he put the scroll on the table beside him.

"Everyone, have you gotten used to living in the city these days?"

Li Ming smiled and said, "The mansion given by the City Lord is quiet and peaceful. It is indeed a wonderful place. My fellow apprentices and I are overjoyed. Thank you for the generous gift."

"No need to be so polite. Since you have joined my Holy Religion, we are all one. Come, sit down!" Shi Fengyang smiled and asked the four of them to sit down. He looked at Li Tianyun and Lin Rou carefully and couldn't help but sigh.

"They are truly a match made in heaven. This girl is stunningly beautiful, no wonder the young master of the Lei family fell in love with her. If I were twenty years younger, I'd be tempted too!"

Li Ming's heart moved, knowing that the city lord must have put in a lot of effort in the past few days to understand the situation more clearly. Li Ming and the other two all came from the Central Plains and hid their identities on the road. Although they had a lot of experiences, basically few people knew about them. The mountains were high and the waters were far away, making it even more difficult to verify.

The background that Li Ming had told him before was even more vague. The only thing that could be confirmed was the Lei family's wedding. The identity of the heroine after this incident, Lin Rou, was real. It would be much easier to investigate along this line.

When this information was made public, it further confirmed what Li Ming said. After all, the key to lying is truth. The best lies are even all true, just misunderstandings caused by a slightly different perspective.

Li Ming was well aware of the truth, so he only hid the sects of the three people, and the rest were basically true. Some loopholes deliberately left in the middle could be verified, and these parts just allowed him to think he could grasp it.

Hearing what Shi Fengyang said, Gu Song said coldly: "Lord City Lord, you must be joking. Although my three brothers are not biological brothers, we are better than blood brothers. We share the same glory and the same suffering. If anyone has improper thoughts about our sister, we will not let them get away with it even if it means risking our lives!"

Shi Fengyang didn't expect Gusong to be so outspoken, and there seemed to be a hint of embarrassment on his face. Li Ming quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Brother, don't worry. The City Lord was just joking. If he hadn't been willing to take us in, we would probably still be like stray dogs, hanging on every corner."

Gusong snorted, but didn't say anything more.

Shi Fengyang thought to himself, "The greater the ability, the greater the temper. The three brothers were able to cause a big disturbance in the Lei family and escape unscathed, even escaping from Lei Ye's clutches. They are indeed very capable. But this is even better."

A thought flashed through his mind, and then he said with a smile.

"Fellow Daoist Wuxin is absolutely right. It was just a joke, but I heard that there seemed to be a faint black energy between Sister Guan's eyebrows. Is there anything wrong with that?"

As soon as Li Tianyun said this, he felt a pain in his heart. Although Li Ming tried his best to treat her, the Scorpio poison was definitely not trivial. There was still some poison left and it was constantly consuming the vitality of Lin Rou's body. Even if Li Ming absorbed the poison for her every day, it was only a temporary solution. Not to mention that she could not use her magic power, even her lifespan was greatly affected. Now she was becoming increasingly haggard and her clothes were getting looser.

"Alas," Li Tianyun sighed and said angrily.

"That bastard from the Lei family poisoned Rou'er. We tried everything but could only delay it, but we still couldn't find a solution."

Lin Rou comforted him, "Brother Tianyun, everyone has their own destiny. I have already gotten what I wanted by being able to see you again before I die. How could I dare to ask for more?"

Seeing this, Li Ming and Gusong looked at each other and sighed together.

Shi Fengyang was overjoyed to see that the four men looked helpless. Knowing that the information was true, he put on a concerned look.

"Oh, what should we do? Brother Li and Miss Lin are such a perfect match, could it be that they have just reunited and now they are separated forever? I wonder what kind of poison has infected my sister-in-law. This city lord should think of a way to help her!"

Li Ming sighed, "Scorpio Gu poison is unique in the world. The poison and antidote are one-to-one. Even other Scorpio Gu antidotes can't cure the Scorpio Gu poison she was infected with. We have used all our life's knowledge these days to save her life, but..."

Li Tianyun slammed the table again, anger showing on his face. This emotion was real and not fake. At this moment, he really hated the Lei family.

Gu Song patted his shoulder and said, "No matter what decision you make, I will support you."

"Thank you, senior brothers." Li Tianyun responded with great emotion.

"Scorpio poison?" Shi Fengyang murmured, looking thoughtful.

Li Ming quickly asked with concern: "Could it be that the City Lord has a solution?"

Shi Fengyang did not agree immediately, but pondered for a while, and finally said in the gazes of the four people.

"This poison is indeed very troublesome, but to say there's absolutely no hope of a cure is an exaggeration. As far as I know, the Saint Aunt in our Holy Church possesses a sixth-level Green Jade Flowing Pearl Gu, which is the nemesis of all poisons. Back then, a family was manipulated by a villain, and the Saint Aunt personally used this Gu to neutralize the Scorpio Gu poison, adding another great aid to our Holy Church! However, this matter was kept secret, and the names of the people involved were hidden. Even this matter was never publicized, so the world is unaware of it."

Li Tianyun was delighted and asked quickly, "Where is the Saint Lady now?"

"The Saint Lady is of noble status and now lives in seclusion outside of Jiaoming City, the capital of our Moon Worshiping Holy Sect!" he said with a smile. Li Tianyun said quickly, "Since that's the case, there's no time to lose. I'll take Rou'er and ask the Saint Lady for help."

"Slow down," Shi Fengyang stopped him quickly.

"Brother Li, do you think anyone can see the Saint Lady? She is second only to the Lord Saint in the Holy Church, and her status is only below the Lord Saint. Not to mention you, even I can't ask to see her."

Li Tianyun was startled, but then he said firmly: "I believe that the Saint Lady will not regret standing idly by!"

"Master Shi, my junior brother is inexperienced. Now that the city lord has spoken, I'm sure he is not trying to tease us, right?" Li Ming said, staring at Shi Fengyang.

"Of course." Shi Fengyang felt confident at this moment, so he took a sip of the spiritual tea and then said.

"I won't hide it from you. Logically speaking, you two Daoists with your level of cultivation shouldn't stay in this small place of mine for long. You should go."

He pointed upwards and said.

"To show off one's skills, of course. As the saying goes, wealth and honor are sought in danger. If you go there, you won't be able to enjoy the comfort here. As far as I know, after joining our Holy Sect, many people have made great progress, but there are also some who have fallen on the road. What's more, if you ask the Saint Lady to take action personally, if you don't have the means, I'm afraid you will never see the Saint Lady in this lifetime."

"Exactly this!"

Li Ming waved his sleeves and smiled, saying, "My Lord City Lord, what you said is absolutely right. I just don't know if you have any connections."

Shi Fengyang stood up and said with great confidence.

"You are not originally from the Holy Church, nor are you even from the Southern Border. It is normal that you don't know. But you can ask Miss Lin, among the four major families in the Moon Worshiping Sect, is my Shi family a member?"

The three of them turned to look at Lin Rou, who immediately nodded and said, "There are four great families within the Moon Worshiping Sect with a long history and deep roots. They are Zhao, Shi, Qi, and Yu. The Shi family is indeed quite impressive."

Seeing this, Shi Fengyang chuckled and said, "Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't dare to make this promise, but right now there is an opportunity!"

"I'd like to hear the details." Li Ming said quickly.

Having said that, Shi Fengyang also smiled bitterly.

"Speaking of which, this matter is also related to me. Although I was born into the Shi family, my mother's family background was not good, and I was not valued by my father. Fortunately, I was talented and diligent in my cultivation. That's why my father valued me later and invested a lot in me. I took the position of city lord at this age, but this is the end. The world is not short of geniuses. So what if I have top-level talent? So what if I am a fifth-level Gu Master? In the face of the general trend, I am just a speck of dust. If I can break into the sixth level, then I can finally have a little autonomy."

Now that things have come to this, Shi Fengyang has been pouring out his true feelings in a half-truthful way in order to gain people's trust.

"My father is one of the nine elders of the Holy Church, and I am his seventh son. Within the Holy Church, the leader holds supreme status, his words are law, and no one disobeys. However, the leader has been less involved in the affairs of the church in recent years. The Council of Elders, composed of the nine elders, handles most of the church's affairs. The high priests of the twelve branches manage their own affairs, and the lineage of saints and saintesses serves as spiritual leaders. Although they have some supporters, their real power is not great. Our four great families firmly hold four of the nine elder seats, and at our peak, we even held six. However, a few years ago, the leader recruited two Nascent Soul-level immortals into the Council of Elders, and now their power has surpassed ours."

In just a few words, it has been revealed that the Moon Worship Sect is not entirely solid. Of course, this is normal. Isn't it the same for the Luo Zhen Immortal Sect?

All I can say is that there is nothing new under the sun. No matter where you are, there are mountains and hills everywhere.

Gu Song frowned upon hearing this and asked, "What do these things have to do with you?"

"Right now, the power of the aristocratic families is being suppressed. Naturally, the four elders, including my father, don't want this to continue. So, they decided to select the next generation of people with the qualifications to advance. The difference between the fifth and sixth revolutions is huge. The cultivation of the Gu Dao is easy at first and difficult later. The first five revolutions are much faster than the Immortal Dao, but at this level, the difficulty is several times greater than the shattering of the pill and the birth of the baby. Without opportunity and support, if you rely on yourself, you can't advance to the sixth revolution. Throughout the thousands of years of history of the Moon Worship Sect, those who can reach this step are rare. Although I think I have talent and understanding, but if I were to go it alone, there is absolutely no chance of success!"

Shi Fengyang shook his head and said.

"In that case, what do you want, Lord Shi?"

"Yes, although my background is limited, I am not inferior to others after all these years of accumulation. Moreover, this is a screening trial jointly organized by the four great families. There is only one thing: this trial cannot be fought alone."

Hearing this, Li Ming asked again, "Since City Lord Shi has such great ambitions, hasn't he made some trustworthy Taoist friends to help him over the years? Is that possible?"

Seeing Li Ming's strange look, Shi Fengyang quickly and decisively shook his head.

"Although I'm not a sincere gentleman, I'm definitely not a sinister villain. No one wants to associate with me. However, this matter is of great importance. Various forces within the church are hindering me. Even I'm being targeted. Several of my friends are either unable to spare the time or simply don't want to get involved in this mess. Some of them, although capable, have obvious strengths and weaknesses. I'm afraid they already have plans to deal with it."

After Shi Fengyang explained it in detail, Li Ming finally understood. Under the same realm, Gu Masters rely more on intelligence than cultivators. Shi Fengyang has no support from his mother's family. Although he has done well in these years, he is still far behind those real children from aristocratic families.

Not to mention that the people he made friends with were not as good as him. There were a few who had good abilities, but they were all clearly calculated. To put it bluntly, Shi Fengyang did have the strength to compete, so he was feared by others. When the forces behind them made small moves, his father, the elder, did not come forward to support him, which led to his early defeat in this war without gunpowder.

If nothing unexpected happened, even if he participated, the only result would be loss.

Li Ming was so wise and experienced that he had figured everything out in a flash, and he knew Shi Fengyang's situation, so it was no wonder he was so anxious.

But now that things have come to this, Li Ming naturally has to ask.

"But I don't know what this trial is about?"

(End of this chapter)