85: On the way home, alarming news arrived; a wicked Taoist priest secretly plotted.

As Li Muchen left Poison Dragon Ravine and returned toward the Mountain God Temple, the sky had darkened once more. The mountain forests returned to silence, with only the sound of the wind and the cries of night birds for company.

After a night of fierce fighting and repeatedly calling down thunder, although he had eliminated a major threat like Corpse Old Nine, it had also cost him dearly. Only thirty to forty percent of the True Essence remained in his body, and his mind felt slightly weary. He did not rush his journey; instead, he found a secluded cave to sit cross-legged and regulate his breathing once more, taking a low-grade Qi-Boosting Pill he had obtained from a temple sign-in to accelerate his recovery.

About two hours later, when the moon reached the middle of the sky, he set off again. He traveled in silence, guided by the faint glow of the stars and moon along with his Spiritual Sense, finally returning to the vicinity of the ruined Mountain God Temple before dawn.

However, the sight on the open ground in front of the temple made him frown slightly.

Release Void was gone.

When he had left the previous night, the monk, whose cultivation had been crippled and who was as limp as mud, had been lying on the open ground before the temple. Now, only some messy footprints, drag marks, and a small pool of dried, blackened blood remained. Release Void himself had vanished without a trace.

Li Muchen stepped forward quickly, his Spiritual Sense carefully investigating. The blood belonged to Release Void, and the aura was weak. Besides Release Void's own footprints, there were three other pairs—two pairs were the rough prints of cloth or straw shoes common among mountain villagers, while the other pair was slightly smaller, appearing to be the tracks of a woman or a child, but the gait was steady, unlike that of an ordinary village woman.

The drag marks extended from the bloodstain to the edge of the woods beside the temple, then turned into clearer footprints heading down the mountain.

Was he rescued? Or... captured?

Li Muchen followed the tracks for a distance. The marks became blurred and difficult to distinguish after entering a thick thicket of shrubs, eventually disappearing completely. Clearly, the newcomer was extremely familiar with the mountain forests and skilled at concealing their tracks.

He stood in place, lost in thought for a moment.

Release Void's cultivation was gone, making him no different from a cripple, and he had no possessions of value. To ordinary villagers, he had no worth and might instead be a burden. Who would risk rescuing or capturing him?

There were two possibilities.

First, people from the Lotus Temple had finally come searching, found the heavily injured Release Void, and taken him back to the temple. This would be the best outcome, as letting Master Huiming deal with this treacherous disciple himself would fulfill a cycle of Buddhist Karma.

Second, there were still other forces connected to Release Void or Corpse Old Nine operating in the shadows. For example, that mysterious 'Hemp Third Aunt.' Release Void had confessed that Corpse Old Nine might go to seek refuge with her; perhaps she had been monitoring the situation here all along? Finding that something had happened to Corpse Old Nine and that Release Void was left alone, she might have snatched him away? Whether out of old sentiment or for some other purpose?

Li Muchen leaned toward the latter. The person who took Release Void moved stealthily and intentionally erased their tracks, which did not seem like the upright style of the Lotus Temple monks. Moreover, those small footprints always reminded him of the 'Hemp Third Aunt' recorded in the files—the Western Hunan Miao Girl Grass-Ghost Hag.

If it truly was Hemp Third Aunt's doing, then things were complicated. This woman's danger Rank was extremely high; she was skilled in using Gu poison and raising ghosts. She had ties to Corpse Old Nine but also seemed to maintain her independence. What was her purpose in taking Release Void? Was it to avenge Corpse Old Nine? Or did she have other plans?

"It seems the matters in Western Hunan are not yet completely settled," Li Muchen shook his head gently. But his state had not yet recovered, so it was not advisable to rashly pursue the investigation further. Hemp Third Aunt's movements were secretive and her lair unknown; searching blindly would be no different from looking for a needle in a haystack.

"I'll return to Jin Province first and inform Wu Yuanshan of the situation in Western Hunan. It might be more appropriate for their official forces to intervene in the investigation of Hemp Third Aunt. As for Release Void... if he really fell into Hemp Third Aunt's hands, he is likely doomed, reaping the bitter fruit he sowed."

With this thought, Li Muchen no longer lingered. He identified his direction and accelerated his departure toward the general path out of the mountains.

The return journey was much smoother than the arrival. For one, he was familiar with the path, and for another, the greatest threat had been removed, leaving him with fewer concerns. He traveled by day and rested by night, specifically choosing sparsely populated trails to avoid unnecessary trouble. Along the way, he took two more Qi-Boosting Pills and combined them with seated meditation to regulate his breathing. His True Essence gradually recovered, and by the time he emerged from the vast mountains of Western Hunan and entered the relatively gentle hilly terrain, his condition had recovered by seventy to eighty percent.

That afternoon, he arrived at a relatively prosperous town on the edge of Western Hunan, preparing to take a bus to a nearby city and then transfer to a train back to Jin Province.

The town wasn't large, but it was situated at a major transportation junction and was quite lively. Shops lined both sides of the streets, and pedestrians bustled about, filled with the mundane atmosphere of the secular world, making it feel like a different world compared to the eerie gloom of the deep mountains.

Li Muchen found a small, clean-looking restaurant near the town's only bus station. He ordered a bowl of plain noodles, planning to finish his meal and then inquire about the bus schedule.

There weren't many people in the restaurant; besides him, there were only two tables of customers. One table consisted of several men who looked like transport drivers, loudly discussing the sights they'd seen along the way and freight prices. At the other table sat two middle-aged men whose dress and bearing were slightly different from the locals, appearing somewhat out of place.

One of these two was pale and slightly plump, wearing a gray jacket and glasses, looking like a minor cadre or a teacher. The other was dark-skinned and lean, with shrewd eyes, wearing a worn leather jacket and having thick finger joints, suggesting he often performed manual labor. They spoke in low voices, but with Li Muchen's extraordinary hearing, he still managed to catch a few fragments of their conversation.

"...Is the news reliable? Did it... really appear over in Jin Province?" the pale, plump man whispered, his tone carrying a hint of disbelief.

"Absolutely certain!" The lean man looked around and leaned in closer. "My third uncle works at a mine over there and saw it with his own eyes! It was near Yuntai Mountain. At first, people just heard there was a temple that was quite effective, but then... then I heard something big happened! The mountain almost collapsed! They say some 'monster' appeared and was subdued by a Daoist in that temple! Now it's being talked about everywhere, with all sorts of rumors!"

Li Muchen's movement of eating noodles paused slightly. Yuntai Mountain? A temple? A Daoist subduing a monster?

"Yuntai Mountain... is it that Qingfeng Temple?" the pale, plump man asked. "I think I saw it online. They said it's an internet-famous temple with a very young Abbot."

"Yes, yes, that's the one, Qingfeng Temple!" The lean man nodded, a hint of awe flashing in his eyes. "I heard from my third uncle that things are incredible over there now! People from all over are flocking there; the incense is frighteningly popular! Everyone says the Abbot is a living immortal descended to earth, capable of calling for wind and rain and subduing demons! Even high officials from the province have gone to visit!"

"That's so mystical?" The pale, plump man was half-convinced and half-doubting. "Could it be an exaggeration? These days, aren't there plenty of people who pretend to be gods and ghosts just to swindle incense money?"

"This time it doesn't seem fake!" the lean man said urgently. "My third uncle is an honest man who never believed in such things. But he said that after that 'earthquake,' several people in their village who had strange illnesses that hospitals couldn't cure went to that temple to ask for talisman water, and they were cured when they returned! Some even say they saw the Daoist call down heavenly thunder on the mountain peak! Now the local government seems to have tacitly approved it and even designated the area around the temple as some kind of 'Religious Culture Protection Zone,' which has even boosted tourism!"

The conversation between the two continued with mostly amazement and speculation. Li Muchen, however, had no heart to listen further, his mind filled with growing doubts.

He had left Yuntai Mountain only about a month ago. Before he left, the temple's incense was growing, but it was far from the point of being "talked about everywhere" or having a "living immortal descended to earth." Moreover, descriptions like "the mountain almost collapsed," "a monster appeared," and "calling down heavenly thunder" clearly did not refer to ordinary spiritual efficacy or healing, but involved supernatural combat and manifestations!

Qingfeng Temple had only him as a practitioner. Since he wasn't there, who could have called down heavenly thunder? Who could have subdued a monster? Could it be... that the earth vein suppression talisman he left behind automatically protected the mountain and triggered an anomaly? Or... was there originally some spirit or evil hidden in the mountain that he didn't know about, which emerged to cause trouble while he was away and was repelled by the temple's own aura or the arrangements he had left?

Whichever possibility it was, it meant that a significant change had occurred at Yuntai Mountain!

A sense of unease and urgency rose in Li Muchen's heart. He hurriedly finished his noodles, paid the bill, and walked quickly toward the bus station.

He had to get back as soon as possible!

However, when he arrived at the bus station ticket window to inquire, he was told that the next bus toward Jin Province wouldn't be until tomorrow morning. There were no more departures today.

Li Muchen's brow furrowed. Wait until tomorrow? He couldn't wait.

After a moment of deliberation, he turned and left the bus station. In a secluded corner on the edge of town, he took out his phone—this was a satellite phone provided by Wu Yuanshan before the Western Hunan operation, specially encrypted for use in case of emergency contact.

He dialed the encrypted line that had only a number.

"Beep... beep..."

After a few busy tones, the call was picked up, and Wu Yuanshan's steady voice came through: "Hello?"

"Director Wu, it's me, Li Muchen." Li Muchen got straight to the point. "I am currently in Longkou Town on the border of Western Hunan and Eastern Guizhou. The matters in Western Hunan are basically settled; Corpse Old Nine has been executed, but his accomplice 'Hemp Third Aunt' may still be active and has taken away the Lotus Temple rebel monk, Release Void. I will report the details in person when I return. Now there is another urgent matter—I need to return to Yuntai Mountain in Jin Province immediately, as quickly as possible."

On the other end of the line, Wu Yuanshan seemed to fall silent for a moment before his tone turned serious: "Daoist Master Li, it's good that you're back. There have indeed been some situations at Yuntai Mountain. Our people have also received reports and were just about to contact you."

As expected! Li Muchen's heart sank. "What's the situation?"

"About ten days ago, a minor earthquake occurred in the Yuntai Mountain area. The magnitude wasn't high, but the source was very shallow and accompanied by abnormal geomagnetic and energy fluctuations, similar to the precursors of certain 'abnormal events' we've monitored," Wu Yuanshan's speaking speed increased. "Subsequently, rumors of 'the Mountain God's wrath,' 'a monster Undergoing Tribulation,' and 'a Daoist manifestation' began to spread locally. According to information sent back by our peripheral personnel, the incense at Qingfeng Temple has exploded in popularity, and stories of Abbot Li Muchen 'manifesting to subdue a monster' are being told with great detail. But we verified that you were not in the temple at the time."

He paused, his voice lowering: "More importantly, we monitored that before and after the 'earthquake,' more than one unidentified, presumably 'extraordinary' powerful energy source appeared and clashed in the Yuntai Mountain area. One of them had obvious... Demonic Qi characteristics. Another was upright and peaceful, similar to Daoist True Essence, but seemed to combine with Earth Vein Power, possessing incredible might. We suspect a real 'monster' tried to attack or occupy Yuntai Mountain, and your temple... or rather, some arrangement you left at the temple, successfully repelled or suppressed it."

A monster? Attacking Yuntai Mountain? Repelled by the temple's arrangements?

Li Muchen instantly thought of his actions before leaving, where he had used the earth vein suppression talisman as a core to preliminarily organize and reinforce the earth vein nodes of Yuntai Mountain! Was it really the earth vein suppression talisman automatically protecting the mountain, drawing on Earth Vein Power to repel an external monster? Or... was there something already lurking in the mountain that was disturbed by his actions or the temple's increasingly prosperous Power Of Will from the incense?

"We are still investigating the specific details; the information is currently chaotic," Wu Yuanshan continued. "But one thing is certain: Qingfeng Temple and you personally are now at the center of a storm. Not only are ordinary believers flocking there, but some individuals or organizations hidden in the shadows who are sensitive to 'extraordinary' powers have likely noticed the place as well. You must be extremely careful when you return."

"I understand." Li Muchen said in a deep voice, "Director Wu, can you arrange the fastest way to get me back to Jin Province?"

"I can," Wu Yuanshan answered decisively. "Wait in Longkou Town. I will immediately coordinate with the nearest unit to send a car to pick you up and take you to the provincial capital airport, and arrange the earliest flight to Jin Province. You should be able to... set off tonight."

"Thank you."

Hanging up the phone, Li Muchen stood in place and looked toward the north, the direction of Yuntai Mountain.

Changes in the mountain, the appearance of a monster, flourishing incense, undercurrents surging... everything pointed to one fact:

During the time he was away, Yuntai Mountain was no longer the quiet and peaceful place of cultivation it used to be. Some kind of change, or rather, a kind of "wave," seemed to be quietly rising with Qingfeng Temple as its center.

And he, the Abbot, had to return immediately to stabilize the situation and uncover the truth.

While waiting for the vehicle to pick him up, Li Muchen's thoughts churned. The corpse trouble in Western Hunan had just been settled, and now there were monsters lurking at home. This world truly was not peaceful.

He subconsciously touched the warm earth vein suppression talisman in his robe and felt the True Essence in his Dantian, which had mostly recovered.

Whether the path ahead held monsters or demons, humans or ghosts, since he had chosen this path and chosen to protect that mountain and that temple, he could only... press forward with indomitable will.