Reborn as a lotus, she initially refuses to hand it over to the state.

He stood up and said in a deep voice, "This thing is neither a demon nor a ghost, but something that came out of an ancient seal."

Su Wan's expression changed: "Ancient seal?"

Zhang Xuanling nodded: "That's right, and the incense ash is just a medium; the real source isn't here."

Lin Qingxue immediately replied, "The west."

Zhang Xuanling looked at Lin Qingxue: "You saw it too?"

Lin Qingxue nodded: "I see a gray line extending from here, heading west."

Without hesitation, Zhang Xuanling took out an old compass from his pocket. As soon as the compass was taken out, the needle began to spin wildly.

A few seconds later, the pointer suddenly stopped, pointing exactly in the direction of the western suburbs.

Zhang Xuanling's expression grew even more serious: "It really is in the west."

The old policeman next to him seemed to remember something, and his expression suddenly changed.

Su Wan noticed his expression and asked, "Do you know what's there?"

The old policeman swallowed hard and said in a low voice, "There used to be a temple in the western suburbs."

Chen Xueli asked, "What temple?"

The old policeman hesitated for a moment: "It's called Kutuo Temple. When I was a child, my grandmother took me there to burn incense. Later, I don't know what happened, but the temple was suddenly closed down."

"Later, the development of the western suburbs bypassed that area, and Kuto Monastery was abandoned."

Zhang Xuanling's eyes flickered when he heard the name Kutuo Temple.

He seemed to have thought of something, and quickly opened his wooden box, taking out a tattered ancient scroll.

After flipping through a few pages, his finger stopped on a line of small print.

"Kuduo Temple, formerly known as Zhengu Temple."

"Bone-soothing treatment?"

Su Wan's face darkened: "What bones are you referring to?"

Zhang Xuanling looked up, his voice deepening: "I also hope I'm mistaken, but judging from the ancient records, that place is very likely not an ordinary temple, but a sealing point."

Chen Wuji frowned and asked, "Is there something buried beneath the sealing point?"

Zhang Xuanling nodded: "Very likely, and judging from these incense ash, what's buried underneath is probably a piece of contaminated Buddha's bone."

Buddha's relics.

Upon hearing Zhang Xuanling's words, everyone in the room fell silent.

The blue lotus mark on Lin Qingxue's palm lit up again. Her face paled slightly, and she whispered, "That gray line has gotten thicker."

Su Wan immediately ordered: "Notify the branch to seal off the Kudo Temple in the western suburbs, and evacuate all civilians within a five-kilometer radius."

"No one is allowed to approach the temple without orders."

Zhang Xuanling shook his head: "Five kilometers isn't enough."

Su Wan looked at him.

Zhang Xuanling said in a deep voice, "If it is indeed mental pollution, distance is not the most dangerous thing. The most dangerous thing is the person who hears the sound, or even dreams about it."

"Notify everyone that from now on, anyone who dreams of a temple, sees incense ash at the entrance, or hears the sound of a wooden fish drum should be immediately quarantined."

Chen Wuji looked at the old man still struggling on the ground and suddenly took a step forward.

Su Wan quickly said, "Old Chen, be careful."

Chen Wuji waved his hand: "I'll give it a try."

After he finished speaking, his feet sank, and he stood as tall as a mountain, with a surge of intense heat emanating from his body.

The old man's voice suddenly stopped.

Chen Wuji placed his hand on the old man's shoulder and said in a deep voice, "Wake up!"

The sound wasn't loud, but it felt like a heavy punch to everyone's hearts.

The old man's body trembled violently.

A sliver of clarity returned to his greyish-white eyes.

He opened his mouth, his voice trembling, "Help...help me..."

Chen Wuji's eyes narrowed: "As expected, he's still conscious."

Zhang Xuanling immediately took out a yellow talisman and stuck it on the old man's forehead.

As soon as the talisman was pasted on, a puff of gray smoke rose up.

The old man let out a painful scream.

The pile of incense ash at the entrance seemed to be stimulated and suddenly began to wriggle.

A blue lotus light appeared in Lin Qingxue's palm.

A ray of blue light shone over.

The pile of incense ash was instantly pressed down.

Zhang Xuanling breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, there is the suppression of the azure light from Benefactor Qingxue, otherwise, with my meager talismanic techniques alone, it wouldn't have lasted long."

Chen Xueli stood to the side, unable to help but clench her fists.

She used to think that by practicing boxing with her grandfather, she could eventually be of help.

But this time she realized that fists alone were not enough to deal with this strange contamination.

Chen Wuji saw through her thoughts and said in a deep voice, "Girl, don't overthink it."

"Fists aren't useless, but a steady mind is what makes fists effective. From now on, when you hear the sound of a wooden fish, don't be afraid. Stand firm and don't let your breathing become erratic."

Chen Xueli nodded earnestly: "Grandpa, I'll remember."

At the same time.

The headquarters of the Ninth Bureau in Beijing.

Mr. Ye also received a report from Linjiang City.

His expression was more solemn than ever before when he reported on the Kudo Monastery.

Wang Jun stood to the side and whispered, "Elder Ye, besides the reports from Linjiang City, there were a few more urgent reports just now."

Old Ye looked up: "Speak."

Wang Jun said in a deep voice, "Several fourth-tier snake demons have gone missing on the outskirts of the Southern Crimson Cloud Ridge, and they are suspected of moving towards human cities."

"An unusual ice fog appeared on the border of Changbai Mountain in the north, freezing a village overnight. The number of casualties is currently unknown."

"Outside the East China Sea port, a large number of mutated fish have come ashore, and the sea monsters are approaching the port's defenses."

Old Ye fell silent.

After a moment, he said in a low voice, "After the second spiritual energy tide, it wasn't that a certain disaster became stronger, but rather that all the forbidden zones began to test humanity."

Wang Jun's face darkened: "So what do we do now?"

Elder Ye stood up and said, "Notify the Spiritual Energy Research Lab to release the trial version of the Martial Arts Furnace System ahead of schedule."

Wang Jun's expression changed: "Elder Ye, isn't this too hasty?"

Old Master Ye shook his head: "We have to hurry. The fact that Director Zhou was able to step into the fifth rank proves that this path is viable. Blood and Qi are the furnace, spirit is the fire, and spiritual energy is the fuel."

"From today onwards, we can't rely solely on Awakened Ones. Ordinary martial artists also need a path to continue moving forward. Only in this way can we have the resources to resist all changes in the future."

Wang Jun immediately stood up straight: "Yes!"

Elder Ye added, "Furthermore, have the Longhu Mountain, Wudang, Shaolin, and Bajiquan sects compile all their publicly available visualization techniques, standing meditation methods, and breathing techniques."

"The contamination of Buddha's relics is a spiritual disaster, and there will only be more of this kind of thing in the future. Humanity must learn to guard its mind and spirit."

Wang Jun took a deep breath: "Understood."

Linjiang City, outside of Kutuo Temple.

Several cars were parked outside the abandoned mountain road.

Su Wan, Lin Qingxue, Chen Xueli, Chen Wuji, Zhang Xuanling and others got off the car.

In the distance, a dilapidated temple is hidden among weeds and withered trees, its gate long since decayed.

On both sides of the gate stand stone Buddhas with their eyes closed, their heads bowed and their surfaces covered with moss.

But for some reason, as soon as they got closer, they felt as if the stone Buddhas were looking at them.

Chen Xueli couldn't help but shiver: "This place is too eerie."

Chen Wuji glared at her: "Stand still."

Chen Xueli quickly took a deep breath and stood in the stance as her grandfather had taught her.

Sure enough, the feeling of unease in my heart lessened a bit.

Zhang Xuanling held the compass, his expression growing increasingly grim.