Start slaying demons from the proficiency panel.

The Yin gods who manage the underworld are, to put it bluntly, evil spirits, but they are evil spirits controlled by the royal family.

The Shang Dynasty has always forbidden anyone from secretly setting up an underworld; this is a very serious crime.

Distributing the Avici Sutra, building the Ten Thousand Buddha Cave, establishing the Underworld... You wouldn't know unless you knew, but investigating the hidden secrets within Yunxia Mountain is truly astonishing.

The problems are simply too great.

"Brother Shen, could you teach this technique that conceals one's true cultivation level to others? I am willing to exchange it for an equivalent technique or gold and silver." After understanding the matter of the Yin Soldiers, Ning Xiu asked about the matter he cared about most.

Shen Congyun is clearly not a ninth-rank musician, but he is able to hide his true strength very well. If one were not a fifth-rank musician, one would not be able to see his flaws.

If Ning Xiu could learn this technique for concealing his strength from him, it would be very beneficial to him.

"Oh, no problem. Since you're interested, I'll just tell you the cultivation method. But please keep it a secret and don't tell anyone else that I'm actually hiding my strength." Shen Congyun casually revealed the cultivation method.

Ning Xiu listened attentively, then summoned his proficiency panel and saw that a brand new cultivation technique had indeed appeared.

……

[Spiritual Vision Technique: Level 8 (711/6000)] (+)

【Burning Sun Taiyao Scripture: Level 5 (12/6000)】(+)

[Heavenly King Vajra Skill: Level 6 (8/7000)] (+)

【Fivefold Hammer Force: Eight Layers (34/6000)】(+)

[Concealing Qi Technique: Beginner (0/100)] (+)

General Proficiency: 6300

……

The ability to discern someone's strength relies entirely on their aura. Once you can conceal your aura, others will no longer be able to see your true strength at a glance.

Obtaining this concealment technique from Shen Congyun was a valuable gain for Ning Xiu during his trip to Yunxia Mountain.

Having eliminated many evil spirits in the mural world, Ning Xiu accumulated some general proficiency, which he then used on the Concealing Qi Technique.

According to Shen Congyun's confession, the Concealing Qi Technique has a total of twenty levels. If one can cultivate it to perfection, even a first-rank expert standing in front of you will not be able to see through your true strength.

Consuming 5100 points of general proficiency, Ning Xiu directly upgraded the Concealing Qi Technique to the sixth level.

[Concealment Technique: Level 6 (0/3000)]

Returning to their original seats inside the temple, Ning Xiu and Shen Congyun resumed their cultivation, and the night passed without incident.

……

Yunxia Mountain in Yunze Prefecture is far from Chaotian Capital in Jingzhou. Even if the official courier were to send a message by express courier, it would still take several days to reach Chaotian Capital.

According to the personnel allocation of the Demon Subduing Division, each state government is required to have at least one Silver Tiger Demon Subduing Captain in charge of overseeing the situation.

So after leaving Yunxia Mountain, Xia Yunsi went directly to Nanjiang City, the capital of Yunze Prefecture, intending to seek help from the Silver Tiger Demon-Subduing Commander who was stationed there.

Upon learning of the tremendous changes that had occurred within Yunxia Mountain from Xia Yunsi, Meng Fang, the Silver Tiger Demon-Subduing Commander of Nanjiang City, immediately became restless and ordered the governor of Nanjiang City to mobilize an army, which marched towards Yunxia Mountain in a grand procession that very day.

We are determined to nip all potential threats in the bud.

After staying in the temple for several days, Ning Xiu and his two companions finally received the reinforcements brought back by Xia Yunsi.

Looking at the army of at least ten thousand men, the group immediately felt relieved.

With Yin Hu Fumowei leading the team and a large army entering the mountains, no matter what kind of crooked tricks Master Chan Hui has been up to while hiding in Yunxia Temple, he will surely have to surrender today.

When the army appeared, the villagers panicked instantly. They had lived in Yunxia Mountain for many years and had never seen such a scene before.

However, the purpose of this army's arrival was not them. Although these people chanted the Avici Sutra, causing the village to be filled with evil spirits, they were ultimately misled and could be forgiven.

They collected all the Avici Sutras from the village and burned them, after which the army stopped paying attention to them.

They simply sent people to keep watch from house to house to prevent anyone from secretly tipping off Yunxia Temple.

"Greetings, Your Excellency." Ning Xiu and the other two approached Meng Fang, clasped their hands in greeting, and bowed.

"Your discovery this time has been invaluable. If it weren't for your report, who would have imagined that Yunxia Mountain, where Master Chanhui was stationed, would have become such a chaotic and polluted place?" Meng Fang said with emotion, looking at the black lotus platform above the village.

“My lord, when we stayed at the temple a few days ago, we saw ghostly soldiers passing through. Master Chanhui is probably not just someone who has fallen from grace and bewitched the villagers. He may have secretly set up a ghostly court deep in Yunxia Mountain for some unknown purpose.” Ning Xiu then recounted what he had seen that night.

"A privately established underworld!" Meng Fang's expression changed drastically.

If Master Chanhui had simply fallen from grace halfway through his journey, it would only evoke feelings of regret and lament.

But if he also touches on the line of setting up a private underworld, then the matter becomes much more serious.

"Proceed! Surround Yunxia Temple!" Meng Fang ordered solemnly. Tens of thousands of troops marched along the mountain road towards the next village.

Ning Xiu and his group followed the army through the eighteen villages in Yunxia Mountain, finally arriving at the location of Yunxia Temple.

This is a Buddhist temple built against the mountainside. The temple has two main halls, a pagoda, and five side rooms. The layout looks extremely simple.

This place was once the greatest support for the eighteen villages of Yunxia Mountain, but now it has become a malignant tumor in the territory of the Great Shang Dynasty.

Those who fall from grace halfway through their journey are guilty of an unforgivable sin.

Compared to the previous eighteen villages, and compared to the evil aura in Yunxia Temple, it was nothing but a drop in the ocean.

In Ning Xiu's eyes, Yunxia Temple was no different from a source of evil energy. Ordinary people's bodies wouldn't last a day living in such a place.

The army surrounded Yunxia Temple, arrayed and ready to attack. Unless Master Chanhui could fly, he would have no chance of escaping Yunxia Mountain today.

"Follow me into here to arrest them." Meng Fang took the lead and headed straight for the gate of Yunxia Temple, with Ning Xiu and the others following closely behind.

Master Chan Hui was always a very frugal person who loved tranquility.

Therefore, in the temple he built deep in Yunxia Mountain, there were not many unrelated monks, but all of them were his disciples.

The moment Ning Xiu stepped into Yunxia Temple, he felt a very oppressive aura enveloping his entire body, as if an invisible, dangerous, and mysterious powerful figure was locking onto him with their aura.

Every move you make is seen and understood by the other party.

Strangely, the temple was unusually quiet. The group entered without encountering any attack or receiving any welcome, as if it had long been an abandoned, deserted temple.

Meng Fang stared intently at the only main hall in Yunxia Temple. He could sense that Master Chanhui himself was inside the hall.

Upon entering the main hall, three rows of lampstands filled with red candles are placed along three walls inside the hall.

Eight gray-robed monks of different ages were sitting cross-legged beneath a stone platform where a Buddha statue was placed, chanting the Avici Sutra with their palms clasped together. They showed no reaction whatsoever to the arrival of Ning Xiu and his companions.

Ning Xiu looked at the stone platform and his heart skipped a beat; his expression was one of extreme surprise.

The statue on the stone platform was no longer the golden statue of Buddha, but an old monk with a mortal body.

He wore a bright red kasaya, had Buddhist prayer beads around his neck, long eyebrows that reached his chin, and a kind face.

Although Ning Xiu had never met Master Chan Hui in person, he could guess that this person must be the eminent monk of Dalingyin Temple that Zheng Wu had mentioned.

“Instead of placing the Buddha statue in the main hall, you’ve replaced it with your own. Master Chanhui, are you planning to become a Buddha and an ancestor?” Meng Fang said.

"Why not?" Chan Hui, who had been keeping his eyes closed, slowly opened them. The moment he opened his eyes, his kind and gentle appearance changed dramatically.

His eyes were completely black, and his whole being exuded a sinister aura.

If you look closely, you can also see a gray swastika slowly rotating in his eyes.

Ning Xiu's vision blurred for a moment, and the world seemed to spin around him. He quickly used his supernatural ability, Blood Qi Furnace, and his vision returned to normal.

In contrast, Ren Qianxing, Zheng Wu, and Xia Yunsi swayed unsteadily, and could fall to the ground at any moment.

Meng Fang shouted, and Master Chan Hui's strange pupil technique vanished instantly. When Ren Qianxing came to his senses, he found that his whole body was covered in cold sweat.

In that one exchange of glances, if Meng Fang hadn't been present, Master Chanhui could have killed them in the blink of an eye.

"I will soon achieve perfect merit and attain Buddhahood. Now that you have discovered my secret, I will not allow you to leave this temple today."

Chan Hui stared at Ning Xiu and the others, then reached out and grabbed them.

This simple action contains terrifying power.

Ning Xiu's heart trembled. Although he couldn't see anything, he could feel a death crisis enveloping him.

"Danger." In an instant, Ning Xiu grabbed Xia Yunsi and dodged to the side.

Shen Congyun reacted quickly, carrying Zhengwu in one hand and grabbing Ren Qianxing in the other, instantly using the Shrinking Earth to an Inch technique to disappear from the spot.

boom!

The entire area where the main hall's entrance was located was shattered, with the blast spreading from the door frame all the way up to the roof.

With such a simple strike, the main hall collapsed in two, with one half of the hall beginning to crumble, sending billowing smoke soaring into the sky.

The soldiers surrounding Yunxia Temple were stunned by what they saw. The conflict had happened so suddenly that if the army had rushed into the temple, there would probably have been countless casualties.

Amidst the dust and smoke, Meng Fang stood unharmed, but apart from where he stood, the ground around him had been sheared several feet lower.

A blue talisman floated in the air in front of Meng Fang, radiating an unusual light. It was clearly this talisman that had just blocked all the damage for Meng Fang.

“Zen Wisdom has actually reached the second level of Buddhism and Taoism…” Meng Fang frowned and thought to himself, “Could it be that he was willing to fall halfway through because he obtained some kind of opportunity in this area?”

He never expected that Chan Hui had already reached the second rank, which was completely different from the information he knew.

I remember that Chan Hui was only at the fourth rank of Buddhism and Taoism. Even if he had made some breakthroughs in recent years, it was impossible for him to have directly achieved the strength of the second rank in such an exaggerated way.

"The soul of a third-grade Immortal Demon Subduer should be able to accelerate the conversion of my Buddha body." Chan Hui reached out to grab Meng Fang again, completely disregarding demon subduers like Ning Xiu who were only third- or lower-grade.

Once the Mongol side is dealt with, none of the people who came to Yunxia Temple today will escape.

Bringing Xia Yunsi outside the hall, the residual force of such a battle between two upper-rank officials was something even I couldn't withstand, let alone Xia Yunsi, a lower-rank Demon Subduing Officer.

Ning Xiu quickly retreated out of the main hall area to avoid being caught in the crossfire of the two men's fight.

The wooden hall couldn't withstand the onslaught of two top-tier experts. After only a few moves, it collapsed completely, turning into ruins in an instant.

Just then, Ning Xiu noticed that as the main hall collapsed, the eight monks who had been sitting cross-legged under the stone platform quietly ran out of the main hall and sneaked into the pagoda not far away.

There was something fishy about this. The old woman in the village mentioned that Master Chanhui built a cave for ten thousand Buddhas at Yunxia Temple. Could it be that the entrance to the cave for ten thousand Buddhas is located inside that pagoda?

Taking advantage of the chaos and the fact that no one was paying attention to him, and knowing that he couldn't be of much help in a conflict of this magnitude, Ning Xiu immediately ran towards the pagoda and slipped inside after following several monks.

【056】Great Opportunity and Great Fortune

"I cough cough!"

"Shen Congyun, your shrinking-the-ground technique is quite different from what I've seen before. Shouldn't we have just emerged from underground? How come we're stuck halfway through?"