53: Chapter 53 Work Must Be Documented

Li Xiuyuan had actually left the eaves of the main hall long ago; he did not join the chaotic slaughter, but instead came to the outside of Jingxin's meditation room.

Back when Lu Xingyun released his spiritual soul to investigate, Li Xiuyuan, perched on the eaves, had already captured a wisp of extremely obscure black energy as it snuck into Jingxin's meditation room like a phantom.

For the past few days, Zhi Zhen had been in charge of the general affairs at Phoenix Temple, while Jingxin had kept himself locked in his room, never once appearing.

Mirage Qi intertwined with the morning mist and dew, feeding back Jingxin's state inside the room to Li Xiuyuan without reservation.

His condition was poor; by locking himself in his meditation room, it was clear that his Zen heart had been shaken.

When it came down to it, Jingxin was just a twenty-year-old young man who had always stayed within Phoenix Temple, never venturing out and never having experienced any great trials or tribulations.

The current disaster at Phoenix Temple had long since exceeded his capabilities. Furthermore, Zhi Zhen's words had been truly heart-wrenching.

Human desires are extremely complex things; even for someone as pure as crystal, it is hard to avoid being stained by the dust of the world.

Although Jingxin possessed a good deal of Buddha-nature, he was, at the end of the day, still human.

The white mist permeating the meditation room was actually formed by Li Xiuyuan's Mirage Qi.

Nowadays, his Mirage Qi could reach the level of being indistinguishable from the real thing. The old monk that appeared from the Mirage Qi was conjured by Li Xiuyuan based on his limited understanding of the old monk.

Li Xiuyuan didn't know if the old monk's persona was accurate, but for now, it seemed to be working just fine.

Outside the window, the mass of black energy attempting to escape collided head-on with Li Xiuyuan.

This mass of resentment clearly hadn't expected a White Flood Dragon to be hovering outside the window; it paused for a moment, instinctively wanting to turn away.

However, Li Xiuyuan opened his gaping maw and took a fierce breath.

A terrifying suction force was born out of thin air, and before the mass of black energy could even dodge, it was swallowed into his belly, much like a whale gulping down water!

The moment the black energy entered his body, a cold and violent force exploded within his belly.

The mass of black energy thrashed about frantically, trying to squeeze out through the gaps in his scales and escape through any exit it could find.

But Li Xiuyuan had been prepared; he clamped his jaws shut, locking that force tightly within his body.

Meanwhile, deep inside the cave on Yunfeng Mountain, the sacred tree glowed with a brilliant golden light.

Qing'er sat atop the canopy, her eyes slightly closed, chanting an obscure and ancient Sanskrit melody between her lips.

The sound was ethereal and distant, traveling through the mountain forest's Mirage Qi like a giant woven net, draping over Li Xiuyuan.

The black energy struggled violently against the Sanskrit melody, thrashing about inside Li Xiuyuan's body as it tried to shred his organs and pollute his inner core, but the melody wrapped around it like gentle water, preventing it from escaping in the slightest.

The resentment was gradually purified by the Sanskrit melody.

At the very last moment, a giant bird with its wings spread appeared before Li Xiuyuan's eyes; it was entirely crimson, with pitch-black, murky eyes that glared at Li Xiuyuan with intense resentment.

This was the aura of the Rising Beings that Li Xiuyuan had sensed within Zhi Zhen!

However, this giant bird did not truly exist; it was merely a residual projection of consciousness that vanished in an instant.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side of Phoenix Temple, the battle continued. Zhi Zhen, eroded by resentment, was no longer recognizable as human, and even with Gu Xiao and Lu Xingyun joining forces, they were actually losing ground.

At first, the two of them hadn't used lethal force, intending to knock Zhi Zhen unconscious and bring him back to the Jiantian Bureau for interrogation, but they never expected this old monk to become increasingly valiant, to the point where they couldn't defeat him even when they finally did use lethal force.

Just as Lu Xingyun was preparing to expend his own vitality to draw a Divine Thunder Talisman, Zhi Zhen's movements suddenly slowed, and he collapsed as if all his strength had been drained away.

The black energy wrapped around his body began to dissipate bit by bit, and his scarlet, mindless eyes gradually regained clarity.

Gu Xiao withdrew his fists, watching him vigilantly, while Lu Xingyun formed a sword seal with his hand, ready to bite his finger and draw a talisman at any moment.

Zhi Zhen suddenly began to tremble uncontrollably; the black energy had finally dissipated, but he looked as though he had been drained of all his blood, his entire body deathly pale.

"Old monk?" Lu Xingyun tentatively picked up a stone and tossed it at him.

Zhi Zhen stared up at the sky as the experiences of his life flashed before his eyes. In that moment, he finally understood: if he and his senior brother had been swapped, and it had been his senior brother who went to Nanhu Temple, his senior brother would never have had a single complaint.

His master had been right all those years ago to say that he was impetuous.

Furthermore, life at Nanhu Temple hadn't been so unbearable; when he had first arrived, the senior brothers there had yielded to him in everything as the new junior, even letting him carry only half a bucket of water.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but only a wheezing, bellows-like sound escaped his throat before he fell silent forever.

Only when Zhi Zhen completely stopped moving did Gu Xiao and Lu Xingyun cautiously step forward to check his breath.

"His breathing is very weak; he's not going to make it," Gu Xiao said.

At this moment, Zhi Zhen's face was deathly pale, his eye sockets deeply sunken and his cheekbones protruding, making him look like a skeleton wrapped in skin—a far cry from the fierce figure he had been moments ago.

Lu Xingyun panted heavily and sat down on a rock. "This old monk looked like he was drugged. There is definitely a monster at work here; I could smell such a thick stench earlier."

"We need to have the bureau investigate this." Gu Xiao picked up his phone, dialed the Jiantian Bureau, and reported the situation at the scene.

Just then, Li Xiuyuan slithered over from the backyard. "I just saw a giant red bird; it must be the Rising Beings that was controlling the resentment."

"A giant red bird? Could it be the Red-clothed Bird from Shouyue Mountain? Describe its appearance for me." Lu Xingyun frowned and swallowed hard, his expression grave.

With a thought, Li Xiuyuan pulled in a swirl of white mist and used his Mirage Qi to vividly recreate the appearance of the giant bird he had just seen in the air.

Upon seeing the giant bird's ferocious appearance, Lu Xingyun exclaimed, "It really is that beast!"

Gu Xiao, who was still on the phone, also cast his gaze over, staring at the giant bird in the Mirage Qi, and said to the person on the other end, "Li Xiuyuan just saw that giant bird, and it looks exactly like the Red-clothed Bird from Shouyue Mountain."

The superior on the other end of the line replied, "Shouyue Mountain and Nanhu Temple are indeed not far apart; I will arrange for people to investigate."

"Report the casualties at the scene."

Gu Xiao scanned the chaotic scene and said, "Zhi Zhen is dead. There is also an old monk wearing glasses—it seems he was from Mile Temple—who had his neck snapped by Zhi Zhen."

"Aside from that, there is only building damage; there are no other casualties for the time being."

After reporting the casualties, Gu Xiao hung up the phone.

Then, he suddenly remembered something. He picked up his phone again and called out to Li Xiuyuan, who was preparing to leave, "Li Xiuyuan, wait a moment."

Li Xiuyuan, who had been about to leave, turned back, his golden slit pupils showing a hint of confusion. "What is it?"

"Work must be documented," Gu Xiao said solemnly.

"You've been a huge help this time. This is a solid achievement, and it will give you quite a few bonus points in the evaluation a month from now."

Li Xiuyuan thought it over for a moment, decided it made sense, and promptly stayed behind.

Thus, a bizarre scene unfolded amidst the ruins of Phoenix Temple: a majestic White Flood Dragon, cooperating with two human men, posed in various "heroic battle" stances for the camera. Flashes went off one after another, capturing this absurd yet real moment in time.