Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 144 Three Capitals, Five Lords, and Eighteen Heads

As Fang Shu walked along Toad Street, the scene of Hua Xiaqing's death kept replaying in his mind.

He slowly stood still in the crowd, while the servants passing by flowed past him like water.

At the same time, Fang Shu also thought of the attitude of the waiter Tong Cou that he had seen since he came out of the pass, as well as the repeated attempts by Steward Sun to curry favor.

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly: "No matter how much you flatter and fawn, if that's all you do, it's still not as good as breaking through Qi Refining and planting a spiritual root."

Today, Hua Xiaqing has used her own life to prove this truth to Fang Shu in a stark way.

With a mixture of relief and caution in his heart, Fang Shu tightened his robe and continued striding forward.

He returned to Fang Lu's hermitage just before night fell.

Standing at the door, Fang Shu sighed helplessly and muttered to himself, "White deer is not a deer, elder sister is not an elder sister, lead me into the house."

He didn't understand why Senior Sister Fang Lu would leave him with such a strange incantation.

With a creak, the door shook, disrupting his thoughts.

He saw the magnificent house in front of him open its doors, and inside, one by one, the bright pearls lit up, emitting a ghostly glow, as if welcoming him home.

Fang Shu stepped inside and once again felt a rich spiritual energy, his expression becoming comfortable.

The spiritual energy in this refined dwelling is abundant and rich. Cultivating in such a place for a long time, while not necessarily increasing the cultivation effect by two or three times, will definitely increase it by several times.

This is undoubtedly very important for disciples who do not have true spiritual roots!
In addition, the higher the spiritual energy of the environment, the better for daily magical research, nurturing magical artifacts, breeding insects and beasts, and cultivating spiritual herbs.

Fang Shu really wanted to buy herself a similar elegant house!
However, when he thought about the price of this exquisite house, even a disciple like Senior Sister Fang Lu, who had been a disciple for a long time and had advanced to the Fifth Tribulation Immortal Clan, had to borrow money to buy a house and was still repaying the loan.

Fang Shu, an outer disciple who had just reached the Qi Refining stage and was burdened with a huge debt, probably couldn't even afford to rent it. He should give up on the idea as soon as possible.

Shaking his head, Fang Shu shook off the distracting thoughts in his mind.

Being able to stay in this elegant residence for a few days while Senior Sister Fang is away is already considered lucky.
Immediately after checking the room for any abnormalities, Fang Shu stopped wandering around and sat down cross-legged to begin his cultivation practice, no longer wasting time.

The night passed.

The next morning, there was a knock on the door of the study.

Fang Shu went outside out of curiosity and saw a servant dressed in a gray robe standing respectfully at the door.

"Greetings, Immortal Master Fang! I have come on the orders of Steward Sun to invite you to come over."

The gray-robed servant continued:
"Manager Sun said that you are quite lucky, Immortal Master. Recently, a few old servants have broken through to the Qi Refining stage and can go to the Household Affairs Office together to complete the formalities."

Fang Shu understood immediately. He didn't have much to pack, as he carried everything with him. He nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

He gestured to the other person, "Thank you for your trouble, fellow Daoist, please lead the way."

When the servant saw that Fang Shu was so easy to talk to, his expression relaxed visibly, and he quickly lowered his head and walked ahead.

Walking down the street, Fang Shu, as if possessed, asked, "How was Fellow Daoist Hua's body disposed of?"

"It's been handed over to the Puppet Hall," the gray-robed servant added.
"I heard that Hua Xiaqing's body was relatively intact, making it a rare find in the temple. It was especially useful for making corpse puppets and such, so it was taken away last night."

Although Fang Shu had already anticipated this answer—his stomach wouldn't waste the corpse of a human immortal—hearing this outcome still made him feel slightly uneasy.

Suddenly, the gray-robed servant raised his head, looked at Fang Shu obsequiously, and said with a smile:

"Master Fang, we all want to thank you. If it weren't for you, we would have been living in fear for several more months."

Fang Shu smiled for a moment: "Why thank me? Is it because Hua Xiaqing is so disliked by you?"

The servant shook his head and quickly offered a low explanation.

It turns out that in the Five Stomachs Temple, people like Steward Sun, although they have the power of life and death over the servants under their command, can take action as soon as they find a reason, and they don't need to pay for killing people.

However, the amount of miscellaneous wear and tear on the temple each year is finite.

Once the penalty is exceeded and there is no conclusive evidence of a crime, the person who committed the act will have to pay a considerable sum to redeem themselves. If the loss of laborers affects their work, people like Steward Sun will also be punished.

Yesterday, to do the seller a favor, Manager Sun took Hua Xiaqing, which was equivalent to using up a "free loss quota".

For the next six months or so, the group of servants in the quiet shop only needed to be careful, and their lives would be in much less danger than usual. They wouldn't have to be on edge all the time. Fang Shu pondered for a moment, then glanced at the servant with a half-smile: "I see. Then I'll trouble you to thank Manager Sun for me when you get back. Thank you for your expense."

The gray-robed servant nodded vigorously, his face beaming with joy.

Keep walking, and say no more.

Before Fang Shu reached the quiet room shop, he ran into Manager Sun on Toad Street. The man was carrying the ghost-face lantern and was waving it at him.
"Over here, over here!"

However, he didn't see the other old handymen who had reached the Qi Refining stage beside Steward Sun. It seemed that those people were being cared for by someone else.

"Manager Sun, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"Where is it."

The old man and the young man exchanged a few pleasantries. Then Steward Sun led Fang Shu toward the territory where the "Household Hall" was located.

After walking for a long time, Fang Shu finally saw the entrance to the Five Internal Organs Temple.

It stands on a mountain path that resembles a narrow, winding trail. It is made of ancient materials and has the four characters "Five Internal Organs Temple Gate" written in the middle, with couplets carved on both sides.

The first line is: "I devour the essence of all things to refine my five internal organs."

The second line is: "Eating the Qi of the sun and moon strengthens the six internal organs."

The mountain gate is small and not very grand, but the couplet on the gate is quite boastful, giving people a playful feeling of "a young child with an old-fashioned air".

along the way.

Manager Sun introduced the situation of the temple to Fang Shu. What Fang Shu cared about most was the situation of the various halls in the temple as described by the manager.

“The five immortal sects on Mount Lu follow the ancient rules of palaces and temples, and have a total of ‘three capitals, five masters and eighteen heads’. If we include the temple master, then it is one temple with three capitals, five masters and eighteen heads.”

Manager Sun spoke eloquently:

“‘Three Du’ refers to the head of the temple, the head of the lecturer, and the head of the kitchen. ‘Five Masters’ refers to the head of the hall, the head of the temple, the head of the scriptures, the head of the transformation, and the head of the tranquility. As for the eighteen heads, they are the heads of the eighteen halls in the temple, who are also called hall masters.”

These eighteen halls are different from those in ancient times, namely the Miscellaneous Hall, Household Hall, Beast Hall, Medicine Hall, Gu Hall, Weapon Hall..."

Seeing that Fang Shu was listening attentively, Steward Sun recited a list of dishes before changing the subject and saying:

"However, you don't need to memorize them right away. You just need to know that these twenty-seven immortals are the greatest foundation of our Five Organs Temple. For example, the head of our Miscellaneous Hall is one of the eighteen heads. He is a Seven Tribulations Foundation Establishment Immortal with a name and surname in the temple."

Fang Shu asked the other party a few more questions and quickly got a general idea of ​​the apparent strength of the Five Internal Organs Temple.
The Five Organs Temple Master is a genuine Golden Elixir Immortal, rumored to be a Twelve-Kalpa True Immortal, that is, a late-stage Golden Elixir Immortal. He is a figure who has the potential to refine his primordial spirit and become an immortal, and he rarely shows himself.

The Three Capitals are all Ninth Tribulation Foundation Establishment Immortals, responsible for wielding true power within the Five Internal Organs Temple. The Five Lords are all Eighth Tribulation Foundation Establishment Immortals, obeying orders and sharing power among the Three Capitals.

As for the eighteen heads and others, they are all seventh-stage Foundation Establishment Immortals, holding the title of elder and wielding more specific power within the temple.

However, Manager Sun did not say exactly how many cultivators were in the temple, so he probably didn't know either.

The other party only knew that the "Eighteen Heads" were the main ones. Anyone who could become one of the Eighteen Heads had exquisite skills and was among the most powerful in the temple.

Suddenly, the man felt a pang of envy and sighed:
"If one can become a disciple of eighteen masters, then one has embarked on a good path, which is better than becoming a disciple of a Foundation Establishment Immortal who is not one of the eighteen masters."

Upon seeing this, Fang Shu couldn't help but ask, "Steward Sun is in the miscellaneous hall. Is your master perhaps not the master of the miscellaneous hall?"

Manager Sun hesitated, not giving a direct answer, but instead smiled and said:
"To be honest, being able to become a disciple of a Foundation Establishment Immortal is already quite good. Outside, even if wild cultivators have reached the Qi Refining stage, how many can achieve this?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Shu immediately understood the other person's answer. It turned out that this person was just working in the miscellaneous hall and was not the apprentice of the hall's master; he was most likely on loan.

During their conversation, the two soon arrived at a palace. The palace had flying eaves and brackets, green bricks and tiles, and there were quite a few people coming and going. Everyone looked reserved and acted with composure.

Fang Shu followed Steward Sun around the main hall, busying himself for a while before finally getting his indenture and his identity documented.

After finishing these chores, he finally saw the other newly promoted Qi Refining disciples that Steward Sun had mentioned.

Everyone was waiting for the Second Master of the Household Hall to appear and assign them a master.

Fang Shu arrived at the door, his heart filled with excitement, eagerly anticipating becoming an apprentice.

(End of this chapter)