Chapter 2057: Banan Border, Overlapping Cases
Chapter 2057: Chapter 2057: Banan Border, Overlapping Cases
Ning Chenxin, along with Gu You and five other senior brothers and sisters, ascended on clouds directly to the summit of Righteous Peak.
The closer they got to the peak, the denser the majestic and righteous aura that swept through their souls became.
After passing through the final layer of clouds, a fantastic scene suddenly appeared before them.
The summit was not pointed but a broad and flat jade platform, with the Righteous Pool at its center.
The pool was small, spanning no more than thirty feet, and its water was neither clear nor emerald green but a milky white, smooth as jade and viscous in texture.
Above the pool surface, a gentle white light misted, pure and untainted, calming the mind and banishing distractions with just a glance.
This was an extremely concentrated Noble Spirit!
A few ancient trees, unknown in variety, with sparse yet powerful branches and leaves, adorned the pool edge, their leaves tinged with a milky halo.
At this moment, Qingcheng Old Daoist sat cross-legged beside the Righteous Pool, looking solemn.
Suspended three inches above the pool water in front of him was the horsetail whisk. Thousands of green silk threads hung down, weaving into a fist-sized cocoon of light that was soaking in the milky pool water.
Within the light cocoon, a dark red mist could faintly be seen, violently thrashing around, morphing into the twisted, sinister face of a handsome man, yet unable to break through the binding green silk, sizzling and emitting black smoke when burned by the white light from the pool, and then purified, disappearing without a trace.
"Temple Master." Lu Mingyuan and the others greeted respectfully.
Qingcheng Old Daoist nodded slightly but did not move his gaze from the cocoon, speaking in a deep voice: "It’s just right, let you see how pitiful this evil spirit is before the genuine righteousness of heaven and earth."
Having said that, Qingcheng Old Daoist gestured as if wielding a sword towards the Righteous Pool.
The milky pool water suddenly brightened, as if driven by an invisible force, turning into several gentle yet tough streams of light, entwining the green cocoon.
The moment the streams of light permeated the gaps between the green threads and touched the inner dark red mist—
"Ah——!!!"
A piercing scream, inhumanly shrill, burst from the cocoon; the dark red mist boiled and contracted violently, the handsome man’s phantom gathering and dispersing intermittently, his face contorted in extreme agony.
"Qingcheng Old Daoist! Kill me! If you dare, just kill me! Throw my soul into this Righteous Pool, let it suffer day and night this Noble Spirit’s burning pain. What kind of righteous path do you claim!" The evil cultivator’s soul shrieked venomously, voice filled with endless pain and hatred.
Qingcheng Old Daoist’s expression remained unchanged, speaking coldly: "Kill you? That would be too easy. Using the blood and souls of countless creatures to cultivate evil techniques, committing boundless slaughter, even your soul dissipating is not enough to atone for such sins."
As he spoke, the pool’s light intensified, the milky glow seemingly carrying the power of purification, eroding and dissolving the dark red mist bit by bit.
Each thread peeled away made the evil cultivator’s soul weaker, the screams became fainter, yet the pain seemed magnified a hundredfold.
Gu You and the others obviously were not witnessing such a scene for the first time, their expressions solemn but not exceedingly surprised.
Lu Mingyuan whispered to Ning Chenxin: "The Righteous Pool, accumulated by the Noble Spirit of past sages and the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism, is greatly beneficial for us cultivating Noble Spirit, but for evil spirits and ghosts, it is an inescapable purgatory.
The Temple Master imprisoning this fiend here is both for interrogation and to use the pool water’s power to slowly obliterate the evil root cause, preventing its remnant soul from escaping or being utilized."
After about an incense stick to burn, the evil cultivator’s screams had become nearly inaudible, the dark red mist inside the cocoon much thinned, its struggles greatly reduced.
Only then did Qingcheng Old Daoist slowly withdraw his hand, the pool waters receded, and the duster green silk slightly relaxed.
He turned to face Ning Chenxin and the six others, his solemn face slightly eased, yet his eyes remained serious.
"I have an urgent task for you." Qingcheng Old Daoist got straight to the point, "When refining this fiend’s soul, I used the Soul Searching Technique, combined with the lingering evil aura traces from Kuyun Mountain, tracing back to their source, and found that this may not be an isolated incident."
He paused for a moment and continued, "This fiend, named Blood Shadow, is not a native evil cultivator of Fuyao Realm but from a hidden evil organization.
They act strangely, often using small to medium-sized sects to set up evil formations like the Blood Soul Sacrifice Refining Array, seizing the creatures’ blood essence and souls for cultivation or to refine evil artifacts. Kuyun Sect is just a pawn or a testing ground they chose.
However, deeper information about this organization is under restriction; forceful soul searching would destroy this person’s soul, only through the slow erosion by the Righteous Pool can the restriction be breached."
Ning Chenxin was stirred in heart, asking: "Is the subsequent task related to this matter?"
Qingcheng Old Daoist nodded.
Beside him, Gu You said: "Old man, are you referring to the Banan Border?"
Old man...?
Ning Chenxin glanced at Gu You.
Qingcheng Old Daoist seemed used to it, continuing, "Recently, at least fourteen sects have been mysteriously massacred at the Banan Border, entire clans wiped out. Coincidentally, that kid Han Shouyi is at the Banan Border, and according to his description, the massacre traces of these fourteen sects are similar to those of Kuyun Sect."
Gu You looked exasperated, "Why is Senior Brother Han always running to the Banan Border? If that’s the case, let him investigate."
Qingcheng Old Daoist flicked a finger on Gu You’s forehead, causing Gu You to clutch his head in pain, "You’re just lazy!"
Immediately, he turned to Ning Chenxin, his gaze profound: "Ning Ru, you’ve just entered Qingcheng, you should be calmly cultivating.
But this matter is significant, with evil cultivators rampant, harming lives; those of us cultivating the righteous path cannot stand idly by. Furthermore, the Noble Spirit you possess is keenly sensitive to such evil, and may detect clues unnoticed by others.
Additionally, as far as I know, the Supervisory Temple has also sent people, one of whom is your friends.
Lu Mingyuan stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said: "Temple Master, the situation at the Banan Border is complex, and the evil cultivators’ methods are strange. Although Junior Brother Ning has exceptional talent, his cultivation is shallow, should we..."
Qingcheng Old Daoist waved his hand to interrupt: "No need to worry. Precisely because his cultivation is shallow and he’s a new face, it’s less likely to draw those hidden individuals’ attention."
Speaking at this point, Qingcheng Old Daoist looked at Lu Mingyuan and Gu You, who was squatting on the ground clutching his forehead: "Mingyuan, Gu You, you two take Ning Ru to the Banan Border and rendezvous with Han Shouyi first."
Lu Mingyuan cupped his hands, saying: "Understood."
Gu You pouted, "The old man just knows how to boss us around."
Everyone accepted the order and was about to leave.
Qingcheng Old Daoist suddenly called Ning Chenxin back, his tone softened: "Chenxin, before you set off, sit by the poolside for a while, feel this Noble Spirit, it may help stabilize your state of mind and enhance your use of Noble Spirit.
But remember, don’t enter the pool water deeply, your current cultivation is not enough to endure the direct wash of its vast righteous energy."
Beside them, Zhou Qing and Gu You immediately said: "The old man is partial again! Ning Ru just arrived and can enter the Righteous Pool! We had to cultivate for decades at the time!"
Qingcheng Old Daoist turned his head, fists clenched, only to find they had long run off.
Ning Chenxin smiled, cupped his hands, and said: "Thank you, Temple Master."
With that, he followed Qingcheng Old Daoist’s instructions and sat cross-legged by the Righteous Pool.