Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

As usual, the two began with the Eight Pieces of Brocade, switching to the Vajra Skill after one round. After two rounds, Cheng Mo was enveloped in a steaming heat, while Xia He was shrouded in a faint red mist.

Both of them slowly came to a stop.

Xia He held her breath, turned around abruptly, and exhaled the stale air towards Cheng Mo, who was taking a deep breath.

Cheng Mo inhaled sharply, his expression instantly changing drastically: "Oh no! I'm poisoned! Girl, did you act like a dog last night?!"

Xia He: "...How come it's completely ineffective? That shouldn't be the case."

Cheng Mo: "??? This stench is considered ineffective? If it were effective, would I have to faint on the spot?"

Xia He suddenly realized what he had said earlier, and angrily reached out to scratch him: "You stinky Taoist! You're just insulting me!"

Cheng Mo nimbly dodged, chuckling, "Hehehe, Xia Xiaogou's reaction is really slow~"

Xia He: "Ah!!! You stop right there!" The two immediately started chasing and playing around in the backyard.

Grandpa Bi Yuan happened to be passing by. He watched the two young people playing around in the courtyard with a smile, shook his head, and swayed as he headed toward the Cultivation Hall.

Inside the Cultivation Hall, Ma Xianhong was sitting at the table, intently drawing blueprints and adjusting the structural details of the Cultivation Furnace, unaware that Bi Yuan had entered.

Bi Yuan chuckled and said, "The two young men you found this time are quite good. They know their limits, don't mess around, and are also quite diligent."

Ma Xianhong shuddered, snapping out of his reverie, and turned around: "Grandpa Bi, you went to monitor them?"

Bi Yuan maintained his smile: "It wasn't exactly surveillance, I just glanced at them a few times. They're two good young men. If possible, it would be even better to have them become promising talents in the village."

Ma Xianhong shook his head: "I will not force anyone; it is all voluntary."

Bi Yuan smiled and nodded: "Of course, of course it's voluntary. If you can help that young man Cheng become an extraordinary person, they will be grateful for this favor and will not refuse your invitation."

Ma Xianhong paused for a moment: "...Grandpa Bi, aren't you just asking me to take advantage of your kindness? Besides, Brother Cheng just can't sense Qi; to be honest, he's stronger than most other superhumans."

"Oh?" Bi Yuan became even more curious. "Can I see his test report?"

Ma Xianhong pointed to a corner of the table: "That's it, feel free to look around. Don't bother me for now, I need to draw something."

Bi Yuan grunted in agreement, walked over, and picked up the report.

He initially just browsed casually, but the more he looked, the wider his eyes widened, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to freeze. He looked exactly like Ma Xianhong yesterday, dumbfounded.

Holding the report, he wanted to ask Ma Xianhong about the specifics immediately, but seeing his serious and focused expression and gaunt face, he decided not to bother him any longer.

However, he made a copy of the report and took it with him.

Such a person... we should inform the president. It seems we need to urge the president to expedite the next stage of testing the Body-Cultivating Furnace...

……

After a quick breakfast, Cheng Mo and Xia He went out together. After two days, it was time to get to know the villagers properly.

Biyou Village has only about twenty households, scattered among the mountains and forests.

Cheng Mo and Xia He went on a spring outing, visiting each house and door from near to far.

The process went surprisingly smoothly. The barbecue was like an invisible pass, and with Ma Xianhong's attitude and the introductions from Qiu Rang and Ding Ziheng, most of the villagers responded with smiles.

Cheng Mo's gaze swept across each face, silently memorizing the expressions of those who were enthusiastic, dull, or immersed in their own worlds, along with their names.

He saw people fiddling with mechanisms, tending to flowers and plants, polishing parts, and drying strange seeds...

Beneath the seemingly leisurely daily life, there are traces that are more or less different from those of ordinary mountain people.

One of them particularly caught Cheng Mo's attention, and he silently made a mental note of her. Then he watched as Xia He smiled radiantly and started chatting with the women in the village.

As the sun began to set, Qiu Rang and Ding Ziheng, carrying several large fish, happily ran to Cheng Mo and Xia He's cottage to begin the most wonderful dinner of the day.

As night fell, after seeing off Qiu Rang and Ding Ziheng, who had come to freeload, the two sat in the courtyard counting stars.

"Little Mozi, what should we do tomorrow?" Xia He was a little bored. The village was only so big, one day was enough. "How about we go hunting in the woods? I've never eaten tiger meat before!"

Cheng Mo glanced at her and nudged her: "Let's see if anyone's watching us tonight."

Xia He perked up: "Should we turn the tables on them tonight?"

Cheng Mo: "If the other party doesn't have any malicious intent, there's no need to worry. But if they really have some ulterior motives, hehehe~"

Xia He mimicked him, "Hehehe~"

After laughing twice, Xia He suddenly stopped and looked at Cheng Mo: "Little Mo, you laugh like a villain."

Cheng Mo retorted expressionlessly, "As if you weren't laughing just now."

Xia He: "That was a coquettish laugh, unlike yours, which is a standard villain's laugh."

Cheng Mo: "..."

Cheng Mo got up angrily and walked into the house without looking back.

Xia He followed him in with a grin, tugged at his sleeve, and tilted her head to look at his stern face: "Oh, it was just a joke, Xiao Mozi, you're not really angry, are you?"

She leaned closer, her hair almost brushing his chin. "You're so stingy~"

Cheng Mo glanced at her sideways, too lazy to even reply, and walked straight to the center of the room. He assumed a stance and began practicing his martial arts, raising his hand, drawing his bow, and lifting his arm, completely immersed in the rhythm of the technique.

Xia He pouted and stopped making a fuss. She stood opposite him and started practicing seriously.

Soon, the Qi in the room began to surge, and a pale pink halo flowed with her movements, while Cheng Mo remained calm, but their breathing gradually synchronized.

As night deepened, the lights in Biyou Village were extinguished one by one, and silence returned.

In the moonlight, a shadowy figure slipped out of the house and quickly disappeared into the shadows of Cheng Mo and Xia He's little hut.

He squinted slightly, staring at the outline of the dark house, as if silently channeling his inner energy, trying to penetrate the walls and glimpse the scene inside.

After a long and fruitless struggle, his eyes ached from staring so much that he had no choice but to sheepishly give up.

If we can't use sophisticated methods, we have to resort to the brute force.

He crouched down and scurried to the window that emitted a dim yellow light, carefully peering through the crack in the window sash, holding his breath as he looked inside.

Inside the room, Xia He was practicing at a crucial point when she suddenly noticed the gaze from outside the window, and her movements involuntarily paused slightly.

"Calm down," Cheng Mo said calmly, without stopping his movements. "This technique is most vulnerable to agitation and restlessness."

Xia He took a deep breath, her eyes quickly meeting Cheng Mo's, suppressing the strange feeling in her heart, and focused again.

Outside the window, Zhao Guizhen only watched for a short while before cold sweat covered his back.

There's no mistake, these two are definitely practicing the authentic Taoist methods!

But in his decades-long career with the Maoshan Shangqing School, he had never seen such a strange training method! It was neither Shangqing, nor Quanzhen, nor the style of Longhu Mountain or Wudang...

Could it be, could it really be those legendary reclusive disciples of the Punishment Hall who specialize in purging their own sects?

In his early years, Zhao Guizhen thought such rumors were just the imagination of ignorant people. But ever since he secretly cultivated the Seven Fiends Body, he has always felt terrified and fled down the mountain in a panic. This fear is like a bone-deep affliction.

It's better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't!

Even if the two were not from the Punishment Hall, as long as they were associated with the Daoist sect, they would be destabilizing factors in his peaceful life.

If they return and mention what they saw in Biyou Village to their superiors, and happen to mention their own story, the news will then reach the Shangqing Sect...

A ruthless glint flashed in Zhao Guizhen's eyes. He had to get rid of these two people, and do it cleanly and efficiently, leaving no trace...

He decided to spend a few days figuring out the details before finding a foolproof opportunity to strike and kill the target in one fell swoop!