Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

Qiu Rang hesitated for a moment: "But... these people were all personally invited by the sect leader."

Ding Ziheng chimed in from the side, "I told you we have to be selective. The cult leader never picks people; he accepts anyone who comes. Now he's probably discovered a problem."

Qiu Rang glared at him: "Say less."

Ding Ziheng was displeased: "I'm telling the truth. Didn't you say it before? The leader is too trusting."

Qiu Rang didn't respond to that question, but turned to Cheng Mo: "So what do we do now?"

Cheng Mo said, "Of course, we should continue to contact Lao Ma, and then send people to look for people. In short, we should mobilize everyone in the village. Then, either of you can guard the Xiu Shen Tang and see if anyone is causing trouble."

Qiu Rang looked at Ding Ziheng: "Old Ding, you stay here and keep watch."

Ding Ziheng glared: "Why should I? I'm going to find the cult leader and have Grandpa Bi guard him."

Qiu Rang said, "Grandpa Bi can't fight. If he finds out someone with problems, Grandpa Bi might be finished."

Ding Ziheng retorted, "Then you stay here. I don't know anything about weapon crafting. What if the sect leader tries to contact me using the Body Cultivation Furnace? I won't understand how to receive the message!"

Qiu Rang was silent for two seconds, then sighed: "...I'll stay!"

Ding Ziheng turned and ran.

……

In a corner outside the village.

A person climbed up the tree, using both hands and feet, and moved very nimbly.

He found a tree branch to sit on, took out his phone from his pocket, and waved it back and forth in the air, looking for a signal.

The signal bars on the phone screen went from zero to two, then back to one, repeating this several times.

Finally, the signal stabilized at two bars.

He quickly dialed a number.

beep - beep - beep -

connected.

"President!" His voice was low, but couldn't hide his excitement, "Something big has happened in the village!"

On the other end of the phone, Qu Tong's voice was calm as still water: "Are you still happy about something so serious?"

The man quickly composed himself and cleared his throat: "I mean, Ma Xianhong discovered our little secret! We're gone!"

Qu Tong asked, "What little secret do we have?"

The man paused for a moment, then quickly corrected himself: "No, boss, it's—"

The call was disconnected.

"Feed? Feed?" The person held up the phone and shook it. The signal bars dropped from two to one, and then from one to zero.

"This damn signal, why is it gone again?"

He was adjusting his position on the tree branch, holding his phone up, when a voice came from below.

"You don't even have a communication device, and you're here looking for a signal report?"

The man was startled and looked down.

I couldn't see anything clearly.

He was hit on the back of the head, his vision went black, and he slumped down from the tree branch.

Cheng Mo reached out and caught him, gently placing him on the ground. She then took the phone from his hand and glanced at the screen.

The call has been disconnected; the duration is 47 seconds.

Cheng Mo jumped to the treetop, looked for a signal, and dialed.

Beep—Connection complete.

"President!" Cheng Mo's voice became exactly the same as the person's before, even the tone and pauses were perfectly imitated, "Ma Xianhong is missing! We—"

Snapped.

Cheng Mo jumped down from the tree, put the phone back on the person, and dusted off his hands.

Xia He peeked out from behind the tree: "Are you sure Qu Tong will come over if you do this?"

"Not sure." Cheng Mo searched the man's body and found a token, about the size of a palm, with the character "曜" engraved on it, along with several runes. It should be the identity mark of the Yaoxing Society.

He examined the token from all angles before placing it back on the man: "But Old Ma is one of her most important pawns. He's gone missing, and she even received a phone call like this. She should at least send someone to check on him."

Xia He thought for a moment: "But the Devouring Sac can only hold things that are not conscious. Once Village Chief Ma wakes up, he will be automatically kicked out of the Devouring Sac."

Cheng Mo nodded: "Yes, so now we need to go and see the place where the food sacs are stored."

Xia He asked excitedly, "Do we release Village Chief Ma and then knock him unconscious?"

Cheng Mo sighed, "Hey, don't be so violent."

Xia He mimicked his tone: "You talk so rudely."

The two walked deeper into the woods, laughing and joking.

When they arrived at the big camphor tree, Cheng Mo took out the food pouch from the tree hole and shook it gently.

whoosh-

Ma Xianhong appeared out of thin air, lying on the ground, breathing steadily, still unconscious.

Cheng Mo squatted down and patted Ma Xianhong's face: "Old Ma, Old Ma."

Ma Xianhong did not respond.

Cheng Mo increased his pressure: "Old Ma! Wake up!"

Ma Xianhong's eyelids twitched, and he slowly opened his eyes, his gaze unfocused, his pupils taking a long time to refocus.

"Brother Cheng? Miss Xia?" He looked at the two of them groggily. "What are you doing here? No, where are we?"

Cheng Mo took a bottle of water out of his pocket, unscrewed the cap and handed it to him: "Don't say anything yet, Lao Ma, you've been unconscious for three days, have some water."

Ma Xianhong took the water bottle and gulped down a few mouthfuls.

He had just swallowed the water when his eyelids started to droop. His hand loosened, the water bottle fell to the ground, water spilled everywhere, and he fell backward and passed out again.

Cheng Mo took the water bottle back and put Ma Xianhong into the food bag.

Xia He asked curiously, "Little Taoist priest, I remember Village Chief Ma has many protective magic treasures, right? Why didn't he attack you?"

Cheng Mo put the Devouring Pouch back into the tree hole: "Most of Old Ma's magical treasures require him to activate them first, and only a very small portion will automatically attack when they sense a threat or hostility. How could I possibly be a threat or hostile to him?"

Cheng Mo put the Devouring Pouch back into the tree hole: "Most of Old Ma's magical treasures require him to activate them first, and only a very small portion will automatically attack when they sense a threat or hostility. How could I possibly be a threat or hostile to him?"

Xia He recalled how fast Ma Xianhong slept: "Little Taoist, you're too cunning."

Cheng Mo clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Thank you for the compliment."

……

Time slowly passed.

one day.

Two days.

Three days.

Ma Xianhong is still nowhere to be found.

The people of Biyou Village started to panic.

Those who had not yet been transformed into Outcasts were becoming increasingly agitated.

They came to Biyou Village specifically for the cultivation furnace, but before they could even use it, the village chief disappeared.

Under the big locust tree in the center of the village, seven or eight people gathered together, their voices growing louder and louder.

A middle-aged man in a gray jacket threw his cigarette butt on the ground: "Where did Village Chief Ma go? We've been waiting here for so many days, and we haven't even received an explanation."

A tall, thin man nearby chimed in, "That's right. They promised they'd help us convert people once they arrived. Where are they now?"

A young man in his early twenties wearing a floral shirt said, "I don't think he can do it. All that talk about the body-cultivating furnace and transforming superhumans is just bragging. He lures people in, drags things out one day at a time, and then runs away when he can't drag it out any longer."

The man in the jacket became increasingly agitated: "If you can't do it, don't give me hope! I quit my job back home to come here! I left my wife and kids behind!"

The tall, thin man sneered, "He's the village chief. He can come and go as he pleases. What business is it of ours whether we live or die?"

The young man said, "I shouldn't have come in the first place! At least I could earn a living by farming at home. Here I am, waiting every day, and all I get is nothing!"

Those who have already converted but are still not stable are also complaining.

A woman in her early thirties was both angry and anxious: "Is he any good or not? It's been half a month since I finished my transformation, and I still get dizzy all the time, and my legs go weak if I stand for too long. Just give me a definite answer."

A girl with a ponytail next to me said, "Me too. I was fine for the first few days after the transformation, but I've been getting weaker and weaker these past few days."

A burly man with a buzz cut stood up and said, "If you ask me, don't make promises you can't keep. Do you know how much trouble that will cause others?"

More and more people gathered under the big locust tree, chatting excitedly as they spoke.