In front of them was still the dilapidated temple of the Moon God, but their mood had already changed drastically from the beginning.
The statues of the deity shattered in the temple were not the Moon Maiden sculptures within the boundary, but according to her clothing, they should be the later fabricated Moon Goddess. Over ten years ago, people may have discovered something or had other beliefs, and thus gave up the ritual activity of "Moon God's Wedding."
But the twelve deceased women can never return.
Their bones were buried under a Bodhi tree and rotted away, gradually forming an unshakable resentment that gave the Yān Guài an opportunity to take advantage of. Their souls were trapped within the boundary and could not be reincarnated.
Uzhu sleeps and looks up at the high, clear blue sky. The silvery white light has disappeared.
He Ting Shuang was checking the status of the nine missing individuals and found that only three women and a small boy had survived. This was because several men, including Ji Qing, had evil intentions, causing their internal organs to be shattered by resentment. From the outside, there was nothing to see, but inside, there was only a clump of thick blood.
Looking back now, the woman that Yuan Shen saw Ji Qing with in the temple of the Moon Goddess might be a manifestation of resentment.
"Hmm..."
As soon as the weak groans were heard, Wuzhu Mian again heard the system's voice, full of questioning: "Host, what did you do? Why has Chu Yi's popularity decreased from seventy-six to seventy-one? It has decreased by five points in total!"
She watched silently, only to see the Bai Lu Yun who had just woken up, frowning in confusion as she pressed down on the slightly painful back of her neck, clearly unaware of who had knocked her unconscious.
Upon hearing the system's words, Bai Lu Yun quickly lost her composure and shouted angrily: "Do you really have the nerve to ask me that? You said you would protect me. My life is in danger, and I have no time to waste on increasing your popularity, Chu Yi!"
She was actually clear in her mind that Chu Yi loved her vulnerability, her obedience, and her dependence on him.
But in critical moments, he also hoped she could take on the responsibility alone and not be so clingy.
She understood this, but Bai Lu Yun had no choice. After all, survival is the most important thing. As long as she hasn't died, her popularity can always be increased.
She thought more and more angrily, scolding the unreliable system in dog blood, to vent the fear and resentment in her heart.
After all, she was supposed to be portrayed as a weak, innocent, and pitiful person in public. Not only was she not supposed to say foul words, even speaking loudly required caution. But she wasn't someone with a good temper; she had to put on an act. Fortunately, she still had some temper left to vent at the system; otherwise, she felt she might just explode with frustration.
The system was also innocent, guessing: "It should be that the Yān Guài's barrier is more special, so it affects me." After all, as soon as she entered it, it was like touching something bad, and she couldn't do anything. But as soon as she left, it was like nothing had happened.
Upon hearing this, Wuzhu Mian narrowed her eyes in deep thought.
If that's true, that point could be exploited.
She must find out where Little Sister's soul has gone as soon as possible, and her body must be retrieved as well.
The so-called "host" is not to be feared, but to deal with her, the "system" must first be resolved.
At the same time, the system was not willing to be cursed without a response and immediately turned around to blame Bai Lu Yun: "How dare you lose your temper with me? I've said many times before that you should also work hard on your cultivation so that you can stand on your own two feet when danger arrives! Don't expect everything from me!"
The two of them were not pleased with each other, and Bai Lu Yun tried hard to calm down her anger, saying half-heartedly: "Alright, I understand. Just let me know that the place is dangerous. Next time, don't make me go to such dangerous places again. There are many ways to increase the popularity, and we don't have to rush at this time."
Seeing her take a step back, the system didn't continue to nag her.
Chu Yi had sustained some minor injuries, and after taking a medicinal pill, he found that Bai Lu Yun had woken up. He hurried over and said in a low voice, "Lu Yun, how are you feeling?"
Bai Lu Yun rubbed her sore neck and smiled softly, saying, "Ye Wu Brother, I'm fine."
She glanced at Su Lingyi with a touch of shyness in her eyes: "It's just that my neck still hurts a little."
She thought it over and over, convinced that it must have been Su Lingyi, the villainous female character, who had somehow harmed her from behind.
Sensing Bai Lu Yun's gaze, Su Lingyi turned to look at her and said impatiently, "What are you looking at! Don't act like you're innocent!"
Wuzhu Mian touched her nose: "That…"
Su Lingyi immediately interrupted her, sneering, "What if it was me who knocked you out? A dignified cultivator gets scared and cries like a baby by demons, and still has the nerve to talk here?"
Bai Lu Yun's face turned pale, and her eyes reddened with embarrassment as she apologized to Chu Yi: "Ye Wu Brother, this time it was my fault. I dragged you down and hindered your progress. As soon as we return to the sect, I will close my eyes to break through the golden core stage and become someone who can stand alongside you."
Seeing her adoring gaze, Chu Yi couldn't help but feel moved.
Looking at Su Lingyi, Chu Yi advised, "Su Sister, you also know that Bai Lu Yun had a serious illness before. This is her first time going on a journey since she recovered. She didn't mean to do it, so please don't target her anymore."
Su Lingyi glanced at Chu Yi and smiled awkwardly, "Well, what Master said."
Indeed! Master's mind really is flawed!
Wuzhu Mian couldn't help but laugh out loud, understanding the look in Su Lingyi's eyes.
Chu Yi: "……"
Is something wrong?
Bai Lu Yun harrumphed in her heart: "Hmph, pretending, trying to catch and then let go. She won't think that this would make her special, will she? Ye Wu Brother wouldn't be interested in her at all!"
However, no matter how you put it, the affairs of Tonghuaxian County have come to an end.
The subsequent matters were handled by He Ting Shuang. He had the most experience from his journey of enlightenment, so he was more capable of handling such things.
After everything was settled, the group prepared to return to their sect to hand in their tasks.
Uzhu Mian had a plan in mind. She looked at the few people and smiled demurely, looking very sorry: "Graceful Lady, Grandmaster, may I join you on the way back?"
In the barrier, she acted in the shadows, placing Clear Mind and Guardian charms on Su Lingyi and Bai Lu Yun without their discovery. Moreover, once they were able to move, the charms would ignite themselves, leaving no trace.
As for the great fire in the hall, both groups believed that it was set by the other.
In their eyes, Uzhu Mian was just an ordinary person with some intelligence and quite brave.
In fact, Su Lingyi had also been suspicious. But after reflecting on the event, she realized that she must have been drugged, causing some distortion in her cognition and feelings. That's why she felt that this thin little beggar was a hidden master.
Upon hearing Uzhu Mian's words, Bai Lu Yun was the first to refute her.
Before, she questioned as soon as she woke up, why this little character who should have died in the barrier was still alive.
The system, however, was not too surprised and replied: "You are a time traveler. Your arrival may cause some subtle changes, which is normal. But you don't need to worry about it. The extra character is not important and is even beyond the range of visible characters."
Bai Lu Yun, who received this response, was not very reassured. Therefore, when Uzhu Mian proposed to join them in returning to Wuji Sect, she immediately rejected the idea.
Bai Lu Yun looked at Uzhu Mian with a hidden hostility, but her tone was still soft and weak: "I'm sorry, we are just down here to practice, and you are just an ordinary person without the qualifications for cultivation, so you cannot enter Wuji Sect."
However, Uzhu Mian did not mind her at all. She only looked at He Ting Shuang and Su Lingyi.
He Ting Shuang seemed to be seriously considering it. Miss An's performance was excellent, and if she were to take this opportunity to embark on the path of cultivation, she might one day grow into a promising cultivator who would rid the world of demons and protect the Tao.
Even without innate talent or the qualifications for cultivation, she could still join the Business Association.
The Business Association is responsible for making money for the sect. It doesn't require innate talent, and becoming an outer disciple in the Business Association is better than being a beggar in Tonghuaxian County.
Su Lingyi didn't think as far ahead. She just thought that the ordinary person was quite brave and could silence Bai Lu Yun, which she found impressive. Besides, bringing her back wasn't a bad idea; it was just a convenient matter.
Looking at the expressions of the two, Bai Lu Yun felt a sense of danger in her heart. She immediately turned to look at Chu Yi and pulled his sleeve, coaxing him: "Ye Wu Brother, let's go back quickly. This mission concerns Yān Guài, so it's better to inform others earlier."
Chu Yi was about to speak, but Su Lingyi opened her mouth first. She nodded to Uzhu Mian: "Alright, you can come back with us to the sect. We'll test your innate talent then. If you're qualified for cultivation, stay and become a disciple. If not…"
Bai Lu Yun cursed Su Lingyi in her heart, but she kept her composure, merely continuing the conversation: "If there's no innate talent, it seems there's no path to cultivation for you, and you won't be able to stay at the sect."
She wanted to let Uzhu Mian know that it's best to give up: "To be honest, I don't see any ling qi fluctuations around you, indicating that you might not have innate talent or even just a common ling root. If you want to cultivate, it will be much more difficult than for others."
"Let's give you some spiritual pills and stones so that you can live a peaceful life here."
"Good heavens!" Uzhu Mian feigned surprise, covering her mouth with her hand, "I thought you weren't fond of me before meeting the graceful lady, but I didn't expect you to consider me so much! I'm so touched!"
"Graceful Lady, please be assured! I will definitely work hard!"
Bai Lu Yun: "……" Does not understand the difference between good and bad words?
But since the conversation has reached this point, any further persuasion would be too obvious, and she couldn't say anything more. She could only smile wryly with a tug of her mouth.
"Alright." Seeing this, as the eldest brother, Chu Yi made a decision: "Meeting is fate, let alone the fact that this lady has helped us a lot. Let's take her back to the sect together. If we discover that she has innate talent, it's considered having predestined fate in the realm of immortality."
And so, it was decided that Uzhu Mian would accompany He Ting Shuang and the others back to Wuji Sect.
She had no family in Tonghuaxian County, and she didn't have anything to pack. All she did was pile up a small mound of earth outside the temple where she was staying, burn a large pile of paper money, and then followed them away.
