I am about to die of old age, and I have awakened the character of longevity.

Chapter 195: Annual Sacrifice, Faith Explodes!

Since Xie An's longevity character was upgraded to the second level, Xie An became particularly sensitive to the word "spiritual".

Whether it is sensing exotic beasts and spiritual objects, or obtaining spiritual energy to improve the integration of destiny... everything is inseparable from the word "spiritual".

But such a long time had passed, and apart from the Seven Treasures Box and the Spiritual Mirror, Xie An had not sensed any other spiritual objects.

Now I sense the first strange beast.

Nine-life fox!

Xie An felt that anything detected by fate was a top-tier treasure. The bloodline of the Nine-Life Spirit Fox was probably even higher in rank than that of the Nine-Tailed Red Fox.

I originally thought that the little white fox was just a little fan of Master Huang, and the two might have deep feelings for each other, so he fled in times of trouble.

Now Xie An felt that things were not that simple.

He continued to think along these lines, and finally came up with a more plausible hypothesis: Was Master Huang fleeing to protect the white fox?
If that's the case, then Master Huang is hiding something very well.

quack.

The white fox bared its teeth in resistance, using gestures to show that Xie An was too strong. Xie An loosened his grip a little, and the white fox actually tried to run away. Xie An then held it down and said, "Stop making noise, or I'll flick your head!"

Faced with Xie An's vicious "reminder", the white fox was finally scared and lay there motionless.

Xie An continued to check the panel information in his mind.

There was only one line of text, with no indication of its purpose or efficacy. It was the same as the previous induction of the Seven Treasures Delicate Box and the Spiritual Mirror.

This made Xie An very unhappy.

There are treasures in front of you, but you can't use them.

It’s like in the previous life, when you went to a place to play, they arranged a row of girls to sit next to you, but the rules were that you couldn’t touch them, you could only look.

This is very mind-blowing...

Fortunately, Xie An had a good ability to adjust himself. Although he did not dare to call himself a genius, he was definitely not a person who gave up on himself. Since the fate did not clearly provide a method for use, Xie An began to think about it based on his own experience and thinking:

First of all, since the fate can sense strange beasts and spiritual creatures, it is definitely useful.

The word "ling" has two meanings: one is spirituality, which means a bright and active mind that can always think of things that others can't think of; the other is aura.

As for fate, the spirit that is sensed should mean spiritual energy.

So here comes the question: Mingge did not sense any spiritual energy from the Nine-Life Fox...and its name contains the word "ling".

"Is it possible that the Nine-Life Spirit Fox is too weak and still in its developmental stage? Once it grows fully...will spiritual energy grow within its body?"

If spiritual energy grows in the body of the Nine-Life Fox in the future, won’t I be able to improve the degree of integration of my destiny?

When this idea came to his mind, Xie An was shocked.

He picked up the white fox with both hands and brought it closer to look at it. The more he looked at it, the more he liked it. Even when the white fox bared its teeth at him, he still thought it was cute.

"What a wonderful thing! I wish Master Huang would give it to me."

Master Huang...

Xie An started to think of something again.

Or they are weak, otherwise they could just start snatching...

It is obviously not possible now, so we can only take it step by step.

Thinking of this, Xie An put the white fox down. In order to gain a favorable impression in front of the white fox, he said to the white fox earnestly: "I pinched you earlier, but it was actually out of kindness. I wanted you to restrain your temper so that you would not suffer any harm when you go out in the future."

hiss.

The white fox lay on the long table, turned its head to the side, and clearly looked disdainful.

Xie An: “…”

It seems that this little white fox has a lot of resentment towards me.

Upon closer inspection, Xie An discovered that this white fox was very similar to an Arctic fox, so he changed the question, "Do you want to eat lemmings?"

Upon hearing this, the white fox immediately perked up, stood up straight, looked at Xie An eagerly, and nodded continuously.

Xie An was delighted and immediately called the Demon-Suppressing Guards. He gave them two hundred taels of silver and asked them to run errands to buy live lemmings.

Money makes things easier. After a while, the demon-suppressing guard came over with a cage of lemmings. The white fox was so happy that it raised its paw towards Xie An for the first time, and then ran over to eat.

Seeing the white fox chewing the food excitedly, Xie An felt very happy: This white fox is easy to raise.

Too bad it's not my own...

Putting aside his distracting thoughts, Xie An sat down cross-legged and began to practice.

He had recently gained a lot of information and treasures. Even the Demon Court had come out. Xie An knew that he needed to continue to grow his strength in order to have a chance to get a piece of the pie.

An afternoon passed quickly.

When it was time to leave the office, Xie An was not in a hurry to go home.

Instead, he asked the Demon-Suppressing Guards to buy a few lemmings for the white fox to eat.

After two meals, the white fox's attitude towards Xie An improved a lot, and it would occasionally act coquettishly and cutely in front of Xie An.

The emotional value provided is quite a bit.

Xie An asked, "Do you miss Master Huang?"

The white fox pointed at the empty cage and shook his head, indicating that he didn't miss Master Huang.

Xie An couldn't help laughing when he heard this.

A real foodie.

Xie An sat cross-legged until late at night before returning to Xie Mansion.

I thought Master Huang would be worried about Baihu because I came home late.

Xie An found that he was overthinking.

Master Huang was still sitting in the east wing playing with the bronze mirror, so much so that Xie An stood outside the gate for a long time without Master Huang noticing.

"Master Huang."

Master Huang finally woke up from his dream and returned the bronze mirror with great reluctance. "Master Zongsi is a man of integrity and righteousness. I wonder if I could come and admire the ancient mirror again tomorrow?"

Xie An glanced at the little white fox lying on his shoulder, "That white fox?"

Master Huang said, "Of course, the General Manager will continue to take care of it."

Xie An held the mirror tightly, pretending to be reluctant to let it go.

Master Huang was deeply concerned when he saw Xie An's expression. He practiced with the help of the magic mirror for a day, and his injuries had improved considerably. In another three or four months, he should be fully recovered and at his peak.

Naturally, I don't want to delay any longer. Restoring my strength as soon as possible is safer than anything else.

"Master General, please feel free to ask for anything you want. As long as I can agree to it, I will do it without hesitation."

Xie An wanted to say, "Why don't you just give me the white fox?" But that was obviously not an option. He feigned generosity and said, "I consider Master Huang a friend. How could I ask for anything more from him? Master Huang, just come back tomorrow."

Master Huang was overjoyed and, for the first time, he bowed to Xie An and said, "Master General, you are so righteous. Xiaobai, let's go."

Master Huang instinctively walked forward. As usual, Xiaobai would definitely follow him. However, when he reached the door of the hanging flower, he didn't notice Xiaobai following him. He couldn't help but look back at Xiaobai, "Huh?"

Xiaobai lay on Xie An's shoulder, shaking his head. The delicious taste of lemmings came to his mind.

Finally, Xiaobai was forcibly dragged away by Master Huang with a "woosh". "Go back and be punished by the family rules!"

Xie An looked at Xiaobai's reluctant eyes and shook his head.

Xiaobai is such a pitiful foodie.

Clearing away his distracting thoughts, Xie An returned to the living room and carefully examined the mirror.

"Look at how much Master Huang values ​​this magic mirror. It's not just for fun. Who knows, he might be using it for something else. Otherwise, he wouldn't..."

The next day, Xie An got up early, found Yuhe, and asked Yuhe to trim the flowers and plants in the courtyard during the day, taking the opportunity to secretly observe Master Huang's actions.

Su Yuqing would be the most suitable person to do this.

There was no other way. Xie An ordered that no action be taken. He could only let Yu He do it for him.

I had just finished breakfast and when I went out, I saw Master Huang waiting outside the door with the white fox in his arms.

Ouch!

Seeing Xie An's extraordinary enthusiasm, Xiaobai grinned excitedly and finally jumped onto Xie An's shoulders. Xie An then welcomed Master Huang to the east wing of the courtyard and gave him the mirror. He then went out to the Demon Suppression Division.

After arriving at the Demon Suppression Division, Xie An had a couple of cups of tea with Chen Tie before leaving to retreat to the Southeast Courtyard. During this time, he inevitably had to spend money to buy lemmings for the white fox.

After returning home from the court and seeing off Master Huang, Xie An immediately went to Yu He to ask, "Did you find out what Master Huang is doing?"

Yuhe said, "Master Huang seems to be using that mirror to heal his wounds."

That's it!

Xie An suddenly realized that it was no wonder that Master Huang was so keen to come to the courtyard and even entrusted the white fox to his care.

Master Huang is still dishonest...

But Xie An thought about it and realized that he was not honest either...

If we can convert Master Huang and take in the white fox at the same time, we will make a lot of money.

In the next few days, life returned to peace again.

Every day Master Huang came early in the morning, handed the white fox to Xie An for care, and stayed in the courtyard to heal his wounds with the magic mirror.

The two sides gradually became familiar with each other and relaxed their guard. Master Huang would also eat the lunch sent by Chunlan at noon.

Three days later, Xie An brought some aged wine and had a drink with Master Huang. During the meal, he did not hide his admiration for Master Huang. He talked about their good friends and suggested that Master Huang live in the courtyard and study mirrors for him at night.

Master Huang was extremely grateful and was so delighted that he was incoherent for a while. He praised Xie An for his noble character and generosity.

So, Master Huang moved into Xie's house and used the magic mirror to heal his wounds day and night.

Two martial arts masters suddenly moved into the small Xie Mansion.

You know, there are only two martial arts masters in the entire Nanzhou.

This Xie Mansion… was already comparable to the entire Nanzhou. Xie An's life was also relaxed and comfortable, taking Bai Hu with him from nine to five, eating out all over Qingwu County. Bai Hu became more and more fond of Xie An, almost obeying his every word. If he could speak, he would definitely call Xie An "big brother".

That night, Su Yuqing called Xie An to the backyard and handed him a letter.

The reply from the Martial Saint Canglong.

The above article discusses a major speculation: the red spider lily may be the totem of the demon court, representing its civilization. However, this is just speculation, without any solid evidence.

In addition, the letter also mentioned that the information on the manuscript and the scattered information obtained by Wu Sheng were not much different.

Xie An breathed a sigh of relief.

It can be confirmed that the Demon Court exists.

But in the end, the old Martial Saint also made a suggestion: If you can find out the exact location of the Demon Court and verify it, it will be considered a great achievement. You can be granted the title of Duke.

After reading the letter, Xie An felt a little numb on his scalp.

The old Martial Saint spoke in a domineering manner and conferred the title of Duke on him without any hesitation.

It's a bit like the tone of His Majesty.

But it makes sense when you think about it.

The Jingtai Dynasty had only one Canglong Martial Saint, and the Jingtai Dynasty was able to establish its own nation thanks to this old man's martial arts. His status was so high that even the Jingtai Emperor had to respect him. He could easily be granted the title of Duke.

Xie An returned the letter and thanked him, then went back to his room, leaned back in the Drunkard's Chair and rubbed his temples.

"Duke... that means he's on par with Wei Haoran's father. That's great, but finding the Demon Court won't be easy..."

"We still have to rely on Master Huang."

Now that the reply from the capital had arrived, Xie An should return the mirror. However, Xie An did not intend to return it so soon.

At least I have to get closer to Master Huang and study the Nine-Life Fox first.

Even if Master Huang still left with the Nine-Life Fox in the end, he still had to figure out how to use spiritual objects and exotic beasts, so that he could make a lot of money.

The days passed by.

Xie An did not slack off, but continued to study diligently.

Mingyu Gong, Tiger Form Qigong and Water Drop Internal Energy Method are all slowly improving.

That evening, a sharp tiger roar was heard from the southeast branch of the Demon Suppression Division.

The white fox that was dozing on the long table was frightened and jumped up. Looking back, it saw Xie An sitting cross-legged on the cushion, his body wrapped in a vortex of hot air, and the faint sound of a tiger's roar could be heard.

The white fox was a little confused.

The sound of a tiger?
Upon closer inspection, after the heat slowly dissipated, a white light flashed on the right hand of Xie An, who was sitting there. His fingernails and knuckles were also shining with white light, as sharp as a tiger's claws.

call!
Xie An breathed a sigh of relief, slowly opened his eyes, and looked at the flashing white light on his right hand with great satisfaction.

"Sure enough, after reaching 10/100, Tiger Form Qigong has undergone a transformation. Just these claws are much sharper than a tiger's. If a pen needle is pushed out, a ninth-grade master will surely die under the sudden attack!"

Xie An had never seen the power of a ninth-grade master, but he felt that he could do it.

The premise is a raid.

If you do it openly, it definitely won't work.

Happy, Xie An opened the data panel.

The progress of Mingyu Gong has also reached 36/200 in Lidong.

Although the progress is not significant, it is visible to the naked eye.

"According to Su Yuqing, there are still six years until the end of the Centennial Agreement. I have to find a way to break through to the Grandmaster level in these six years!"

"I've made considerable progress with the Water Drop Internal Energy Technique. Although I haven't yet managed to turn my internal energy into tiny water droplets, my control over it is clearly becoming more refined. Once I can turn my internal energy into water droplets, I can go and claim the Eightfold Internal Energy Pill."

Thinking of this, Xie An began to practice the water drop internal energy method.

At this moment, there was a rush of footsteps outside the door.

Xie An had no choice but to stop, got up and opened the door, and was shocked to find Liu Chun and Chen He standing outside.

"Brother Chen He, come in and talk."

Chen He did not enter the room, but bowed and said, "Li Hongming...is dying. If General Manager Xie is not busy, Mr. Li would like to see you."

Xie An's heart sank, and the amiable old man appeared in his mind.

"it is good."

Xie An agreed immediately, "Captain Liu, please prepare two horses."

When we arrived at Li's house in Wuqiao Town, it was already late at night.

As soon as I entered the room, I smelled a pungent smell of medicine. The small room was filled with candles. Li Han was kneeling on the ground sobbing, while Chen Lei was sitting at the head of the bed, holding Li Hongming's hand tightly and comforting him.

"Thank you, General Manager, for coming."

Chen He hurried into the room to report.

Chen Lei quickly stood up and made way for Xie An, while bowing, "Thank you, Chief."

Xie An nodded and greeted him, then quickly walked to the bed and sat down, "Mr. Li, I'm here."

Li Hongming was already dying, his eyes were cloudy, and although he was looking at Xie An, his expression was dull, and he could not recognize Xie An for a moment.

Xie An knew that when a person is about to die, their memory will be interrupted and their five senses will fail. Even if they open their eyes, they can't see things clearly, and it is even more difficult to recall relevant memories.

Xie An leaned forward, moved closer, and raised his voice, "Mr. Li, it's me, Xie An. I'm Xie An."

Li Hongming's cloudy eyes brightened a little, as if he finally remembered, "It's Xie An, you're here, it's good that you're here."

He stretched out his hand tremblingly and grabbed in the air, as if trying hard to hold something.

Xie An reached out and held Li Hongming's hand tightly.

Li Hongming held Xie An's hand, a rare smile of relief on his face. He then stretched out his other hand and pried into the air, "Where's Chen Lei?"

"Mr. Li, I'm here."

Chen Lei hurried over, held Li Hongming's hands with both of his own, and said with a slight sob: "I'm here, Brother Li, I'm Chen Lei."

Li Hongming finally felt relieved, then he moved his hands with difficulty and put Xie An and Chen Lei's hands together, saying weakly: "I am incompetent and have not been able to carry forward the Wu Temple. But the Wu Temple is the ancestral temple of 30,000 villagers in Wuqiao Town. It cannot be cut off with me. Please, run the Wu Temple well. Bring together the villagers of our Wuqiao Town... Well, unite people's hearts. We are all miserable people. When we grow old, we all return to our roots. We suffered in life, and we need a decent place to rest our souls after death."

After saying this, Li Hongming seemed to have used up his last breath. His body trembled, and then he became motionless, and his hands slowly dropped down.

"father!!"

Li Han fell to the ground and shouted.

Outside the door, the hysterical crying of the women and descendants of the Li family could be heard.

Chen Lei was already in tears, "Brother Li, you have suffered a lot in your life!"

Xie An was stunned for a long time before he tucked Li Hongming's hand back into the quilt. Then he stood up and bowed deeply to Li Hongming. "Mr. Li, you have worked hard for Wuqiao Town your entire life. Rest in peace. Chen Lei and I will continue to run the Wu Temple."

……

Xie An asked for seven days' leave.

He lived in the yard that Li Hongming had given him earlier for several days.

During the funeral, Xie An carried the coffin himself.

Compared with the death of Mrs. Li, the funeral of Li Hongming was much grander, with tens of thousands of people present and seeing him off for ten miles.

Three days later, New Year's Eve.

Wuqiao Town holds an annual sacrifice at the Wu Temple.

In previous years, the main celebrant was Li Hongming, but this year, it was presided over by Xie An.

As his deputy, Chen Lei was very familiar with the annual ritual process. He had already set up the memorial tablets and prepared the offerings and livestock. Then, he led the four thousand villagers to the large square in front of the ancestral hall.

"Press the paper and hang the ancestors!"

Following Chen Lei's loud roar, some villagers placed yellow and white papers, each with the life and age of their respective ancestors written on it, next to the spirit tablets in the ancestral hall.

After the subsequent process of drawing circles, burning paper, and offering sacrifices, Chen Lei shouted, "Please thank you, come forward and offer wine to worship our ancestors."

Xie An was already familiar with the procedure, so he walked to the front of the crowd, took the glass of wine from Chen Lei on the ground, came to the gate of the ancestral hall, and bowed to the heaven and earth.

Four thousand villagers outside the ancestral hall followed suit and bowed down.

Xie An spilled the wine on the ground in front of four thousand villagers.

"I worship Heaven and Earth, and pray for the protection of our Wuqiao Town, with favorable weather and abundant harvests."

Four thousand villagers repeated it.

Chen Lei brought the second cup.

Xie An held the cup in both hands and bowed to the ancestral tablets in the ancestral hall. After the four thousand villagers followed suit, Xie An spoke:
"Respect our ancestors, and bless the people of Wuqiao, may they live a peaceful life without illness or disaster!"

Pour wine on the ground.

Chen Lei brought the third cup.

Xie An took the hand, turned around, and bowed to the four thousand villagers present. "I salute the good men of Wuqiao. They work diligently on the farm, have virtuous wives and daughters at home, help the villagers, and continue to have descendants. They will ensure the prosperity of the Wu Temple for generations to come."

Sprinkle more wine.

The ceremony is over.

Next, the villagers lined up and entered the Wu Temple to burn incense.

However, at this moment, the white Taoist talisman in Xie An's mind moved, and bursts of white light appeared.

[4000 strands of faith energy detected. Absorb?]

Xie An was greatly shocked. Looking at the simple villagers who lined up to enter the ancestral hall and greeted him, his face showed no joy but relief.

Somehow, Xie An felt that he had established an indescribable connection with the Wu Temple and the local villagers.

It was as if I had roots in this world for the first time.

(End of this chapter)