The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 314 Ancient Fragrance
The three of them were the most skilled in martial arts among the group. Even in their sleep, they would wake up at the slightest unusual noise outside the tent.

They then pursued the trail, tracing the clues, and finally found the place at a crucial moment.

Xiao Feng then went over to support Xu Zhu and touched him repeatedly, but Xu Zhu did not respond and remained drowsy, seemingly fast asleep.

He turned to Zhao Ti and said, "Your Highness, I wonder what kind of sorcery this monk is using. Even after releasing Master Xuzhu's acupoints, he still hasn't woken up."

Zhao Ti squinted at the two rows of flesh-colored incense sticks stuck in the ground, then glanced at the Lingmen, which seemed to be trembling and struggling inside the ice block, and said, "We'll find out by torture!"

Upon hearing this, Kumārajīva went over and used his finger technique, which, through the frost, sealed several major acupoints on his spiritual gate. Then, he shattered the ice, revealing his spiritual gate. Although his body could no longer move, he looked at the three of them with a sinister gaze.

Zhao Ti asked, "Lingmen... why did you fake your death decades ago, and what were you doing just now?"

The Lingmen acupoint, though not closed, gave a cold laugh and remained silent.

Zhao Ti said calmly, "Is faking death a tradition in the Murong family? Ancestors faked their deaths, sons faked their deaths, and you faked your death too. You even faked your passing to deceive the monks of Shaolin."

Lingmen looked slightly puzzled upon hearing this, then a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes, but it disappeared in an instant, and he remained silent.

Zhao Ti quickly noticed the change in his expression and couldn't help but feel a little puzzled. After a moment of silence, he asked, "What did you do to Xu Zhu just now? Why isn't he awake even after you released his acupoints?"

Kumārajīva looked at the flesh-colored incense on the ground and suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Benefactor Zhao, this, this seems to be the legendary incense of the womb."

"Hmm?" Zhao Ti also looked at the incense: "What is 'Womb-Infused Incense'?"

Kumārajīva carefully extinguished all the incense sticks and said, "It is said that this incense can resolve the mysteries of the womb, can induce the spirit to leave the body, and can also stabilize the soul. However, it was lost in esoteric Buddhism long ago. It is recorded in some classics, and I saw it many years ago."

"Can it resolve the mysteries of the womb, guide the spirit out of the body, and stabilize the soul?" Zhao Ti frowned and asked, "Can you be sure this is the incense?"

Kumārajīva said, "It's just a guess. After all, it was lost long ago, but its shape and aura are extremely similar."

Zhao Ti nodded, his expression somewhat strange. He looked Lingmen up and down, and a peculiar guess arose in his mind.

"Your Highness!" Xiao Feng suddenly spoke up, "Master Xuzhu has woken up."

Xu Zhu slowly opened his eyes, but his gaze was somewhat dull, as if he had lost his soul.

Kumārajīva said, "Benefactor Zhao, this Tibetan incense has a drowsy effect when lit, but this little monk is currently..."

Zhao Ti said, "When the incense in the womb was extinguished, he woke up. It's highly likely that it was related to the incense. But he looks dazed now, so he may have been affected by some other vicious methods. It's also possible that he has become one with the incense."

Xiao Feng gently shook Xu Zhu's shoulder and said after a moment, "It seems that I have been affected by some kind of evil technique called Soul Transfer Technique. More than ten years ago, I met a sorcerer in Xiangxi who was skilled in this kind of technique. His martial arts skills were not particularly outstanding, but this kind of evil technique was strange and seemed to make people's souls leave their bodies."

Zhao Ti asked, "Is there any way to treat this?"

Xiao Feng said, "If the poisoning is mild and the duration is short, feeding some mild medicine to strengthen the Qi and harmonize the spirit can alleviate the symptoms. However, if the poisoning is too deep and the duration is too long, it will eventually lead to complete dementia. Although the person is still alive, they will not know themselves or the things around them, just like a fool."

Zhao Ti frowned and asked, "Is it that serious?"

Xiao Feng said, "However, Master Xuzhu has not been affected by this method for long, and it doesn't seem to be too severe. We can try feeding him medicine."

As he spoke, he took out a small cloth bag from his bosom, which contained various pills sealed with wax, in all sizes.

"I have two pills here that can strengthen the mind and energy. They were used to help me when I was practicing the Dragon Capture Technique. I'll give them to my young master to try."

Zhao Ti nodded, and Xiao Feng broke the wax seal, then broke the pill into several small pieces and fed them to Xu Zhu.

After a short while, Xu Zhu slowly closed his eyes, but then opened them again, spitting out a mouthful of black, blood-like substance, and cried out in panic, "Master, Master, don't hurt me!"

Seeing this, Xiao Feng exclaimed joyfully, "It's done, it's done!" He grabbed Xu Zhu's arm tightly, preventing him from moving. Xu Zhu gradually regained his senses. He first saw Zhao Ti, then glanced at Xiao Feng and Kumārajīva beside him, and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, saying, "Your Highness, Your Highness has saved me..."

Zhao Ti told him to calm down for a moment before speaking, "What exactly happened? We saw you being taken away by the Spirit Gate and came after them, only to find you sitting unconscious on the ground, with the Spirit Gate standing upside down above your head..."

"Upside down on my head?" Xu Zhu looked horrified upon hearing this: "I don't know about this. I only remember my master asking me if I could give him the seed of the Yaksha King's inheritance. I answered yes, and then I became drowsy as if I had fallen asleep."

Zhao Ti nodded, thinking that it was indeed related to the Buddhist Kingdom's heritage. But since the divine and Buddhist heritage had already chosen a candidate and planted the seed, how could it be transferred to someone else? Perhaps only some strange and bizarre methods would be possible.

He glanced at the incense sticks on the ground, then looked at Kumārajīva, who looked at him with a strange and shocked expression. He blurted out, "Could it be that he is trying to seize a body to obtain the inheritance?"

Zhao Ti frowned upon hearing this. He had the same guess in his heart, but the matter of possession was too terrifying. Even though the world had changed so much that cultivation was possible, the word possession still sent chills down one's spine.

He looked at Lingmen, whose lips curled into a sinister smile.

Kumārajīva stepped forward: "You wicked monk, are you trying to possess this little monk?"

Lingmen gave him a disdainful look, but remained silent.

Kumārajīva said, "It must be a possession, otherwise how could you seize the inheritance? I read in the classics that the incense in the womb can protect the soul from leaving the body and returning to the body, and can also stabilize the soul and body's harmony. You must have mastered the method of possession and want to exchange bodies with the little monk... no, not exchange bodies, but annihilate the little monk's soul and usurp his place!"

Zhao Ti asked, "Is this a method used in esoteric Buddhism?"

Kumārajīva shook his head: "I have only heard of it in records, but I have never seen anyone master it. This evil monk must not have learned it from Tantric Buddhism."

Zhao Ti said, "He is a Shaolin monk, and Shaolin doesn't have such a method."

Kumārajīva said, “Benefactor Zhao, I think he is a demonic monk in disguise. He is not a member of the Spiritual Sect at all. He only calls himself that to deceive the young monk. After all, we have never seen the Spiritual Sect before.”

Zhao Ti nodded. Logically speaking, even if the Spirit Sect faked their death, they wouldn't use such a mysterious method. However, besides impersonating the Spirit Sect, there is another possibility.

He looked at Lingmen and suddenly said, "Murong Qing, do you know that your son Murong Bo and grandson Murong Fu have both been executed by the imperial court!"

Lingmen's expression didn't change much upon hearing this; he remained the same as before.

Zhao Ti raised his eyebrows upon seeing this. If Lingmen had faked his death, it was probably only for the sake of restoring the Yan Kingdom. Before he faked his death, he had instructed Xuanci to take care of Murong Bo. Hearing that his descendants had been cut off, he couldn't possibly be so indifferent. This Lingmen in front of him was not right.

This is not the Spirit Gate, or even if it were, the soul within the body would no longer belong to the Spirit Gate.

He pondered for a moment and said, "Take him back for questioning."

Upon hearing this, Kumārajīva stepped forward and grabbed the other man's arm, trying to lift him up.

"Wishful thinking!" At this moment, Lingmen revealed a strange smile: "Don't waste your energy. I'll remember you and come back to find you."

After saying this, a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. He somehow managed to break open the acupoints that had sealed Kumārajīva's heart blood, and died by severing his own heart meridian.

"Ah..." Kumārajīva's expression changed. He checked the other person's pulse and looked at Zhao Ti.

Zhao Ti stared blankly at Lingmen's corpse for a moment: "Search it. If there's nothing there, burn it."

Xiao Feng and Kumārajīva searched together and found that the monk's clothes were empty; he hadn't carried anything with him.

Then Xiao Feng took out a flammable object and ignited it. A moment later, the corpse turned to ashes.

Afterwards, the group left the cave. Xu Zhu had not yet recovered his strength, so Xiao Feng carried him on his back and headed back to the camp.

(End of this chapter)