Misguided practice of sinister cultivation techniques: Slander! The problem lies with you all, not me!
Chapter 223 - 179: Ghost in the Abandoned Temple on a Rainy Night? (Seeking Subscriptions)_2

Chapter 223: Chapter 179: Ghost in the Abandoned Temple on a Rainy Night? (Seeking Subscriptions)_2

Don’t say it, that strike was somewhat beyond Duan Yun and Murong’s expectations.

On the Martial World, those who like to brag and blabber usually possess ordinary martial skills and play roles akin to cannon fodder.

But this swordsman turned out to be a master of swift blade work.

His strike was both fast and fierce.

Just as Duan Yun was about to launch his Jade Sword Finger to assist, the situation suddenly changed.

The powerful and swift momentum of the blade stopped abruptly, as the storyteller raised his hand and miraculously clamped the blade’s edge between two fingers.

The next instant, an even more terrifying and rapid punch came out!

With a bang, the swordsman’s head was smashed to pieces, and his body toppled down, now breathing more out than in, no chance of survival left.

No one expected that this storyteller was actually a master.

Judging by the power of that punch, he should be of the Tongyou Realm level.

The Martial World is just like this; when you try to kill someone, you might just as well be killed by someone else.

Someone swiftly dragged the swordsman out, and the storyteller continued his narrative.

Now, the audience who was previously dozing off woke up and listened intently to the rather dull story, even more earnestly than learning from a father’s instruction.

Because after that punch, there was a distinctly bloodthirsty flavor to the storyteller.

After the storytelling, the storyteller left straight away.

Only then did the crowd begin to discuss, some openly relished the excitement.

To think that a poor storyteller could punch a hotheaded swordsman to death.

The couple sitting in front of Duan Yun presumably knew something and seemed less surprised.

"Poor thing, the Sect Leader of the Five Tigers Head Cutting Sect, lost his mind and became a storyteller, rambling on for decades," the man sighed.

"Who asked Master Li to place all his hopes on a single disciple. His disciple, Chen Qi, was indeed one in a million in terms of cultivation talent decades ago, the most likely to lead the Five Tigers Head Cutting Sect back to its peak. Sadly, at the height of his power, he was drained to a husk by an elder from the Red House.

Master Li treated Chen Qi as his own son, and even when Chen Qi was drained of his Yang Qi, he never gave up. The Sect Leader, after all his authority, swallowed his pride at the Golden Sun Sect, gave up the sect’s treasured items as gifts, and even sent his own daughter to be a concubine, all to acquire a Golden Sun Pill to save Chen Qi.

It was difficult to obtain, but on the way to administer the treatment, Chen Qi mysteriously disappeared, neither seen alive nor found dead."

"Master Li turned grey overnight and lost his sanity, abandoning the sect and endlessly recounting the tale of how he and his beloved disciple would lead the Five Tigers Head Cutting Sect back to the Martial Arts pinnacle.

And yet, the Five Tigers Head Cutting Sect had already been devoured by the White Socks Sect years ago, turning into nothing but the old man’s fantasy."

Duan Yun and the Murong brothers hadn’t expected this storyteller to have such a poignant past.

"So, Chen Qi is really gone?"

"After decades with no news, he’s definitely gone. Rumor has it he leaped off a cliff to his death, with no remains."

...

Duan Yun and the Murong brothers finished their tea and continued on their journey.

This was just a minor episode along their way.

Except for reinforcing Young Hero Duan’s determination to annihilate the entire Red House Mad Woman, the story they heard was of no help.

Their main purpose this time was to rescue the disciples of Qiongling Sect, then explore and annihilate the secrets and entire Thunder God and Mother Sect.

As for the Red House Mad Woman, if encountered, she’d naturally be killed; if not met, one would need to reschedule the time to exterminate them.

No help for it, Young Hero Duan, though bursting with energy, ultimately had only one pair of hands and feet; his schedule was too full to slot in at the moment.

Boom!

With a rumble of thunder, a downpour began.

For Duan Yun, thunder and rain in winter was quite novel.

But this also meant that they had arrived in Leizhou.

Leizhou is known for Thunder Clouds, with frequent thunderstorms all year round, which is why the Thunder God and Mother Sect chose to be based here.

Despite their extensive traveling experience and the old riverside savvy of the Murong brothers, they still couldn’t avoid being maliciously given wrong directions and often taking detours.

And now, in this thunderous rainy weather, they found themselves in a place with no village ahead, no inn behind, and barely any road at all.

The Murong brothers’ faces were skewed from the wind and rain, complaining, "See, I told you to trust the beauty, but you insisted on trusting the child, took the wrong way, didn’t you?"

They had a recent scare with the horse rushing off too hastily, and a tree branch across the road had sheared off the carriage cover, leaving Duan Yun drenched as well.

"That kid looked so well-mannered, how was I supposed to know he’d give us the wrong direction? Don’t they say in the Martial World, the prettier the woman, the bigger the liar?" Duan Yun retorted.

"What do you mean ’the prettier the liar’? I think you have a bias against beautiful women! They are so good-looking, and wear so little, it wouldn’t be too much to call them living Bodhisattvas. Would a living Bodhisattva lie to you? You deserve to get drenched!" Murong argued angrily.

He, Murong, had only one principle when roaming the Martial World: those not so pleasing to the eye show their nature in their faces, surely not good people, while those good-looking have a high chance of being good.

"Alright, let’s find a place to shelter from the rain first," Duan Yun said.

At this moment, with a thud, another hole appeared on the narrow muddy road, and the wheel ruts sank into it again.

Duan Yun got off the carriage and lifted the wheel ruts.

Amidst the thunderstorm, all around was a white expanse, with wild grass on both sides of the road.

The holes on the road were deep and not small, as if they had been burrowed out by something.

Because there were too many pits, and fearing that the horse would sprain its foot, the road soon saw the Murong brothers pulling the carriage like a horse, and Duan Yun carrying the horse on his shoulders.

While pulling the cart, the Murong brothers complained, "To think that us Murong brothers, who have been lazy for years, ended up pulling carts like an oxen or horse today."

At this time, Duan Yun suddenly pointed upwards and said, "Look, isn’t that a house?"

The Murong brothers looked in the direction while pulling the cart and exclaimed joyfully, "It seems to be a temple."

"Quickly! Quickly!"

There’s a saying in the Martial World, it is better to spend the night at a desolate grave than to stay overnight in an ancient temple.

First, because according to legend, abandoned ancient temples are places forsaken by gods and Buddhas, not only will the deities no longer bestow blessings, but it becomes an even easier paradise for demons and ghosts. In many idle books and stories, there are often tales of scholars being devoured by demons and ghosts because they spent the night in an ancient temple.

Second, an abandoned ancient temple is very likely to be a den for ill-intentioned bandits, and ordinary people who enter may unwittingly walk into a den of wolves.

Luckily, Duan Yun and the Murong brothers are no ordinary people.

They are valiant Young Heroes!

Since when do Young Heroes fear bandits!

It would be best if they could encounter some utterly wicked bandits, so they could kill them cleanly in the name of Acting for Heaven and incidentally pick up some ill-gotten gains for travel expenses.

Indeed, before entering this dilapidated temple, they even hoped there would be some evildoers here.

Unfortunately...

The ruined temple had been abandoned for a long time, and inside, besides a sizable spider and webs that resembled those in the Silk Cave, there was not a single person in sight.

But after much discussion, this place was barely adequate for sheltering from the rain.

The Buddha statue in the temple only had its lower half left, which was covered in green moss.

Although it was not yet night, with the thunderstorm and thunder, the world turned dark and gloomy.

The heavy rain in winter was even more annoying than in summer, as the clothes felt like they were about to frost over, becoming much stiffer.

Originally, they wanted to burn some wood to dry their clothes, but the rotten windows and doors all around were soaked through and could not be lit, and even if they were ignited, the smoke was heavier than the fire.

"Come on! Brother, you can put your stake training to use," Duan Yun said.

The Murong brothers lay on the ground, circulating their True Qi.

In a moment, his body became scorching hot, and steam began to rise from his soaked clothes.

At a glance, he looked just like a dryer.

Since practicing "Jade Sword True Understanding," the Murong brothers had initially gone overboard for a while but eventually found the knack of drawing the fire from within their core to their extremities, distributing the terrifying heat across their entire body.

Now, the Murong brothers were like a hot iron, giving off waves of warmth.

Duan Yun also draped his clothes over him to dry.

"Get your underpants away from me!"

The Murong brothers disdainfully threw Duan Yun’s soaked underpants back at him.

Duan Yun couldn’t help but retort, "Stingy."

This was a side hall of the ancient temple, which had a relatively intact structure compared to the rest of the not-so-large temple.

But a thick branch of a tree had pierced through the roof, so looking up from here, the entire roof seemed to be covered with numerous giant pythons, and in this dim weather, it was quite eerie.

The Murong brothers were running their intensely warm True Qi, and even the horse knew this, quietly moving closer to warm up.

After a while, the Murong brothers’ clothes and some of the less wet wood had dried.

Duan Yun began to make fire for brewing tea.

Honestly, having a place to take shelter and drink tea on a rainy day was quite nice.

But suddenly, the Murong brothers, who had been lying there just fine, sprang up like a gecko, almost bumping into Duan Yun’s feet.

"What are you doing?" Duan Yun asked in surprise.

"There’s a ghost!"

The Murong brothers looked towards a certain spot on the roof.

With a gust of wind, the flames flickered, and the entire room suddenly turned dark and bright erratically...