136: Chapter 136 A Flash of Inspiration

Su Mu knew in his heart that the person Wang Lin hated most must be himself.

Every night, he slept fitfully, always feeling as if dark shadows were drifting past the window and faint, indistinct sobbing was echoing in his ears.

He felt that sooner or later, he would die at the hands of Wang Lin's ghost.

He couldn't just sit there and wait for death.

So, carrying a large sum of money, he sought out the abbot of a temple a hundred miles away that enjoyed quite a lot of offerings.

"Master, as long as you can solve the problem of the village being haunted, I, Su Mu, hereby swear to donate and build an even larger and more magnificent temple for your esteemed monastery!"

Su Mu feigned tears as he painted Wang Lin as an evil spirit who had invited disaster upon himself by lusting after the princess's beauty and continued to cause trouble even after death.

The abbot was initially moved by the generous reward and personally went to Qingniu Village to investigate.

This look was no small matter; the old monk's face turned pale on the spot, and he repeatedly chanted Buddha's name:

"Amitabha... Benefactor Su, this matter... this matter is extraordinary!"

"The weight of this resentment and the depth of this hostility are beyond what we ordinary monks can resolve."

"An expert from a cultivation sect must be invited to take action in order to suppress this fellow!"

Thus, the abbot used some of his connections to contact his Superior Sect—Jinguang Temple, a true Buddhist cultivation site.

Jinguang Temple sent several young disciples.

Su Mu had already prepared his story.

He threw himself down before the monks, crying with such sincerity that he completely twisted the truth.

He described Wang Lin's family as demons who had brought chaos to the village.

While he himself was the hero who had endured humiliation to rid the people of a great evil.

With his earnest words and perfect performance, he successfully tricked these inexperienced Jinguang Temple disciples into trusting him.

"Masters, you must rid my Qingniu Village of this evil!" Su Mu kowtowed until a red mark appeared on his forehead.

The Jinguang Temple disciples were filled with righteous indignation, declaring they would definitely slay the demon and restore peace to the world.

But they also felt the matter was tricky, fearing that the power of a single Buddhist sect might not be enough to completely suppress it.

So, they invited disciples from the nearby Qingyun Sect and Haoran Academy to assist them.

The disciples of the three sects gathered at Qingniu Village and, after deliberation, decided to set up a Three Talents Demon Suppression Grand Formation, which combined the strengths of Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism!

This formation was extremely overbearing and also extremely cruel.

Using the entire body's essence blood of a Qingyun Sect disciple who had volunteered to sacrifice himself as a catalyst, they carved the formation patterns to channel the spiritual energy of all things in heaven and earth.

Using the physical body of a Haoran Academy disciple who had volunteered to suppress the evil as the Formation Eye, it would carry the Haoran Righteous Qi.

Finally, the head of the Jinguang Temple disciple with the highest cultivation was connected to the body of that scholar disciple, and he sat at the core of the Formation Eye.

With the blessing of supreme Buddhist dharma, the evil spirits were suppressed!

On the day the formation was completed, the winds and clouds changed color, and the entire Qingniu Village was enveloped by a powerful energy field.

At the moment the formation was activated, it was as if the unwilling roars of countless vengeful spirits could be heard.

But in the end, that sky-piercing resentment was indeed forcibly suppressed.

It was primarily confined to the vicinity of the Old Wang Residence and that ancient well.

The village finally regained its long-lost peace.

But this "inviting the gods" to suppress the spirits had almost drained most of the wealth Qingniu Village had accumulated over the years, and the village's population had been halved due to previous deaths and escapes.

This caused Su Mu's hatred for Wang Lin to increase rather than diminish.

He often went into the dungeon to vent his anger and emptiness by intensifying his abuse and beatings of Princess Zixia and her three daughters, who were chained up and had long since become numb.

As time passed, Su Mu also began to feel a bit bored.

Through the years of abuse, Princess Zixia had actually become pregnant and given birth to a boy, whom he named Su Chen.

This child had half royal blood and half the blood of an enemy flowing through him.

Su Mu looked at him with mixed emotions, but mostly viewed him as his own property and continuation.

After all, Su Mu was ugly, and no girl was willing to be with him.

Now that he had an heir, he was also very happy.

With the birth of the child, Su Mu's interest in Princess Zixia and the others gradually faded.

He felt that women were just like that.

But the village's current population was sparse and labor was insufficient, which affected his income and rule.

One day, as he looked at the haggard but still undeniably beautiful Zixia and her three daughters, who were growing up to be increasingly lovely, another poisonous scheme came to mind.

He once again invested a huge sum of money to renovate the dilapidated Qingniu Village.

He created some exquisite scenic spots nestled against the mountains and near the water.

He packaged Qingniu Village as a "Peach Blossom Spring" far from the bustle of the world, with its own unique charm.

And Princess Zixia and her three daughters with Wang Lin became the most special and attractive "service" of this "paradise."

Su Mu specially built an exquisite pavilion named "Spring Breeze Pavilion" for them.

Once the news spread, it indeed caused a sensation.

A princess of the dynasty and the daughters of the top scholar reduced to prostitution...

This kind of taboo excitement attracted countless men who considered themselves romantic but had dark hearts.

Some did not hesitate to spend a fortune just to get a taste of their beauty and experience the pleasure of humiliating royal blood.

Even some local officials or wealthy merchants passing through who recognized Zixia's identity chose to remain silent; some even visited in secret because they themselves could not resist such a depraved temptation.

Su Mu took this opportunity to make a large group of "friends" from both the legal and illegal worlds, and his network grew larger and larger.

Qingniu Village rapidly "prosperous" in a twisted way, built upon the blood and tears of innocent people.

Another dozen or so years passed.

Years of inhuman torture and the life of entertaining guests had long since broken the bodies and spirits of Princess Zixia and her three daughters.

They had contracted severe venereal diseases, their appearances withered like candles in the wind, on the verge of death.

By this time, Su Mu was very old, and his son Su Chen had grown into an adult.

Su Mu felt that these four women had lost their utility and had instead become a burden.

So, he ordered Su Chen to throw all four of them into the deep well in the backyard of the Old Wang Residence and drown them alive!

As for Su Chen, he did not know that his biological mother was the very Princess Zixia whom he regarded as a lowly prostitute.

This secret was taken firmly to the grave by Su Mu.

After Su Mu's death, Su Chen naturally wanted to inherit the position of village chief.

But in Qingniu Village, many who knew the inside story or were dissatisfied with the Su family did not accept it.

They whispered among themselves:

"Why should a little bastard born of a prostitute be our village chief?"

"Exactly! His mother was a piece of goods that anyone could have a go at; is he even worthy?"

"Back then, Wang Lin's family died such a wrongful death... Su Chen even has the blood of Wang Lin's wife flowing in him; it's truly a sin!"

...

Su Chen was unaware of these words.

He only thought he was young and lacked sufficient prestige.

He was eager to establish his authority, just like his father.

In this world, sometimes a villain racking their brains isn't as effective as an idiot's sudden inspiration.

Su Chen was that "inspired" idiot.

He knew the village used to be haunted and that his father, Su Mu, had found a way to "solve" it.

So, late one night, he sneaked into the village's ancestral hall.

That was precisely where the Formation Eye of the Three Talents Demon Suppression Grand Formation was located!