Chapter 1 The Construction

The construction of a Taoist temple doesn't take much time, especially for the Special Affairs Bureau.

With Bai Hu's order, in the middle of winter, after a heavy snow, a Taoist temple with three courtyards and thousands of square meters of land was built in front of Li Qingyuan's eyes in just one week.

All the facilities for the Taoist temple were delivered immediately, without An Qisheng having to worry about a single thing.

"Please inspect, Chief!"

In the biting cold wind, a young man in work clothes stood straight, every move showing the demeanor of a soldier.

Behind him, many people stood neatly, with undisguised curiosity in their eyes as they looked at An Qisheng.

These young men were all reserve talents of the Special Affairs Bureau, all-rounders who could handle various matters. Each of them had also cultivated internal martial arts and military combat skills, making them first-class elites.

"Thank you for your hard work."

An Qisheng stood in front of the Taoist temple and nodded slightly.

He had underestimated Bai Hu's determination to 'send away the plague god'. Even in this freezing winter, they had sent people to work hard.

"This is really, this is really..."

Li Qingyuan kept shaking his head, quite incredulously.

The Taoist temple didn't need to be luxurious, but the fact that it was built in just a few days was still amazing to him. This wasn't just building a house. Although the Taoist temple wasn't large, there were many facilities inside.

Red walls, yellow tiles, glazed bricks, and intricate carvings, everything was complete, showing their dedication. An Qisheng had nothing to criticize. After a general scan, he let everyone go down the mountain.

"This carving is extremely meticulous, the cost is not small."

Li Qingyuan touched the carved patterns and sighed slightly:

"These years, the theory that martial arts is useless is popular, but they should really take a look."

Compared to this Taoist temple, his own Taoist temple, separated by a mountain, was far inferior even after renovations. He rarely envied others in his life, but at this moment, he was a little envious.

"Every skill has its use, and none is omnipotent. It all depends on personal cultivation. Putting aside other things, this carving skill alone can earn a living in the world."

An Qisheng stroked the railing, feeling the patterns.

He didn't care how much the Special Affairs Bureau had spent, but they themselves wouldn't dare to think that way.

In Bai Hu and others' view, they had forcibly 'invited' An Qisheng out. If they didn't put in some effort and expend some energy, they were afraid that it would leave a trace of displeasure in his heart.

Otherwise, An Qisheng hadn't specified a construction period, so why did they have to start construction in this freezing winter?

It was nothing more than doing it for An Qisheng to see.

"That's true, but there are few who have perseverance. Most people are fickle, with a three-minute heat. They are excited at night, but forget about it when they wake up and brush their teeth."

Li Qingyuan shook his head, put his hands behind his back, and was about to leave: "Alright, I've seen it. I won't stay any longer. I'm old, and my mind is small. If I see too much, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep at night."

An Qisheng smiled dumbly and sent him out. Before leaving, Li Qingyuan glanced at the altar on the Taiji pattern in the center of the Taoist temple as if unintentionally:

"Fellow Daoist An, how do you plan to deal with this... 'Zombie King'?"

This was the real reason he came along this time. He had inadvertently seen the video online and was shocked and very worried.

Having such a powerful monster as a neighbor was like sleeping with a nuclear warhead. No matter who had the button, he would always feel uneasy.

He couldn't understand why the Special Affairs Bureau would hand this monster over to An Qisheng, even if he had stepped out of the path beyond Seeing God, it was still too dangerous.

"It's just making the best use of everything."

An Qisheng didn't say it directly, for fear of scaring the old Taoist.

But he also knew the worry in his heart and reassured him: "Daoist Priest doesn't need to worry about him escaping. If he really escapes, whether it's close at hand or far away, it's the same for you."

"...Then, I'm relieved."

Li Qingyuan was speechless at first, but when he thought about the power of this 'Zombie King' in the video, he had to admit it.

If he really escaped, whether he was in front of him or in Antarctica, it seemed to make no difference.

He had too many questions in his heart, but he didn't say anything more. He shook his head and left An Qisheng's Taoist temple. An Qisheng watched him go.

Li Qingyuan walked through the mountain pass, stepping on the snow. Looking back, he felt that the Taoist temple was perfectly integrated with the mountain, and the surrounding Feng Shui Qi field was extremely harmonious.

It seemed not to be built by humans, but created by heaven and earth.

"Beyond Seeing God, huh..."

Li Qingyuan muttered silently in his heart, as if in a dream.

The young man who once asked him if there were really cultivation methods in the world had actually stepped onto the path that Laozi, Sakyamuni, Pengzu, Chen Tuan... and other great masters and saints of the past had never set foot on, just a few years later.

His heart was far from as calm as it appeared.

"Celestial Master..."

As if seeing the light of day again, Zhu Shang opened his eyes again and saw An Qisheng, who was carving an unknown statue in the midst of flowing light and shadows.

It seemed no different from before. If there was any difference, it was that he had changed into a Taoist robe with a Taiji pattern in the front and a Bagua pattern in the back.

Even now, he still couldn't believe that he had been caught in such a strange and desperate situation and had encountered the first generation Celestial Master of the Taiji Taoist temple.

According to legend, the source of all the magical powers of the human race in later generations came from him?

'What does he want to do?'

As soon as he woke up, Zhu Shang noticed something was wrong. His own power was disappearing rapidly.

This land of spiritual exhaustion was constantly devouring his spiritual energy, making every move he made cost an unimaginable amount of strength. But at this moment, the rate at which his power was disappearing was ten times faster!

This feeling of being devoured alive made Zhu Shang struggle uncontrollably, but no matter how hard he struggled, he was as if he had grown into this altar and couldn't move at all.

Zhu Shang's awakening didn't disturb An Qisheng at all.

His mind was focused, and his fingers were like knives, slowly carving this top-quality 'white marble' that the Special Affairs Bureau had spent a lot of effort to obtain.

His carving was different from any international carving master, because to some extent he wasn't carving, but 'drawing talismans', the 'talismans' of talismans.

Sa Wuling was the master of the 'talismans' path for millions of years in the human world. This could be seen from the fact that the 'talismans' he drew could still retain their spiritual light after a long period of time and after undergoing cosmic replacement.

If the disciple was like this, the teacher would naturally be even better.

An Qisheng's attainments in talismans were no higher than Sa Wuling's, but they weren't much lower either.

And at this time, he was using extremely profound talisman techniques to carve his own statue. The power naturally came from Zhu Shang.

A complete talisman needs to have four processes: 'absorption', 'storage', 'operation', and 'release'. If any one of them is missing, it won't be a top-notch talisman.

And in Xuanxing, not to mention other things, the first hurdle of 'absorption' can't be passed. Therefore, all the talismans that have been passed down in Xuanxing throughout the ages cannot possibly possess extraordinary power.

The heaven and earth are devoid of spiritual energy, and there is no trace of intake. None of the four processes of 'absorption', 'storage', 'operation', and 'release' can be realized. How can talismans be cultivated?

Zhu Shang!

This 'Zombie King' who was born from the gathering of resentment and evil energy, and whose potential even surpassed the Huangtian Ten Fiends, was the best source of energy before his 'Qi Seed' replaced the Xuanxing magnetic field and turned the martial artists within into 'Qi Refiners'.

Of course, it needed to be converted by the 'Responsive' altar.

Roar~~~

In Zhu Shang's low roar, An Qisheng's fingers moved like dragons and snakes, extremely fast. Wherever they passed, there was a rustling sound, and stone powder piled up a thick layer on the ground.

When Zhu Shang's eyes were bloodshot to the point of almost exploding, An Qisheng slowly stopped his movements.

Hoo~

He opened his mouth and blew, and the huge breath swept across the stone powder and dust like a gust of wind, turning into a gray dragon and throwing it outside the Taoist temple.

Looking again, the huge white marble pier had been carved into a statue.

The statue seemed to be an old man with white hair and a haggard face. He was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, with his five hearts facing the sky, and a long sword lying across his knees.

"You..."

Zhu Shang hissed, only feeling that the statue was emitting a detached and distant aura, vast as the sky, and as boundless as mountains, seas, and stars.

The artistic conception was so profound that it far surpassed any statue he had seen.

Even though he was sealed, his eyesight was not comparable to ordinary people. At a glance, he could see that countless talisman patterns were carved into this statue.

These countless talismans were connected to each other and generated each other, rotating like living creatures, seemingly absorbing and exhaling the invisible Qi field between heaven and earth.

No, it was absorbing and exhaling his own power!

"Kill me if you want to, what do you want to do?!"

Zhu Shang roared, only to find that he could already speak. Just as he was about to vent his anger, he saw the statue suddenly open its eyes and look at him indifferently.

Buzz~

At the same time, a sword cry that was inaudible to human ears, like a thunderous explosion, exploded in his heart!

In the next instant, Zhu Shang's heart trembled wildly.

He only felt that his power was being frantically devoured by this altar like a flood that had been released.

"Ah!"

The pain of having his power drawn away alive was unimaginable. Zhu Shang only felt as if his blood and bone marrow had been sucked out in one gulp.

He felt an unprecedented sense of emptiness, as if he had been completely榨干 (zhà gān - squeezed dry).

He couldn't help but shout loudly.

The sound waves were like thunder, exploding in the snowy sky. Miles away, Li Qingyuan, who was nestled in his room browsing the forum, shivered and almost dropped his phone on the ground.

This cry was too strange, like a sharp pebble scraping across glass at high speed, or like millions of female cats calling for spring at the same time, giving him goosebumps all over.

"What is this sound?"

Li Qingyuan shivered, got up and opened the door, looked up, and only felt that clouds were gathering in the distance, and there was a faint rumble of thunder.

Was it really thundering in the middle of winter?

Li Qingyuan was stunned for a moment, and seemed to have thought of something, he shook his head and closed the door.

Hoo~

In just a moment, Zhu Shang's screams had disappeared, his face was pale, and he was sealed back into the altar.

At the same time, the winter thunder that had exploded in the sky also dissipated.

Zhu Shang's physical strength far exceeded that of anyone in Xuanxing. His Qi field was too strong. Even though this mountain and this Taoist temple were built according to the 'disaster-avoiding Feng Shui formation' calculated by Bai Hu using 'Yinglong', they couldn't completely conceal it.

It was also because An Qisheng had grasped the timing just right. Otherwise, even if it was a few seconds late, this mountain would be flooded by lightning.

Although he wasn't afraid, he was afraid of scaring his neighbors.

"This consumption is too great..."

Looking at the 'Wang Quan Dao Ren' (Wang Quan Taoist) statue that had closed its eyes again, An Qisheng also frowned slightly, feeling a little shocked.

This 'Responsive' altar is only called the 'Transposition Balance' when exchanging with other worlds, and only then will there be the saying of 'one hair of mine, in exchange for one mote of yours'.

That is to say, the transposition that occurs in the same world will not reveal the world coordinates and is also lossless. One hair is exchanged for one hair, and one mote is exchanged for one mote, which can be said to be extremely fair.

This is the result that An Qisheng obtained from countless sacrifices in the human world.

But in Xuanxing, it is different.

This 'sacrifice' was more costly than he had imagined. Once the power flowed out of Zhu Shang's body, it began to leak frantically. The gains were not even one-tenth, let alone one-hundredth!

It was like being in a black hole, where any appearance of light would disappear at an unimaginable speed!

He had originally thought that Zhu Shang's power would be enough for him to 'carve' two statues. It seemed that if he didn't want to completely 'sacrifice' Zhu Shang, he could only temporarily keep this one 'Wang Quan Dao Ren' statue.

This doesn't seem like a normal loss...

An Qisheng's eyes flickered, and he cut off this thought again, his eyes fell on the 'Wang Quan Dao Ren' statue. After being transformed by the Responsive, and after infusing Zhu Shang's power, this statue faintly had a bit of humanity.

Faintly, it already had a bit of the aura it had in the Jiu Fu Realm.

"Can it be done?"

Looking at this statue, An Qisheng's mind moved, and then he smiled: "Whether it can be done or not, you'll only know after trying..."

While muttering to himself, An Qisheng took a step forward and pointed his finger on the forehead of the 'Wang Quan' statue.

The powerful divine will that had already condensed into a 'divine flower' poured out like a flood that had been released, and through the transmission of this finger, it entered into this 'Wang Quan' statue that had a bit of humanity.

Buzz~

Like a moment, and like a long time, An Qisheng's divine will suddenly shook.

'Open your eyes' and see a sea of talismans as vast as the starry sky. Countless talismans flowed along a mysterious trajectory, revolving around a 'white' ball of light.

What countless talismans were surrounding and embracing was none other than the world coordinates of the 'Jiu Fu Realm'.

"Jiu Fu Realm..."

An Qisheng's divine will moved slightly, and he could already feel the many pieces of information contained in that ball of light.

"May the Ancestor be eternal, may Wang Quan last for thousands of years..."

"Only by not competing can all things not compete with you... My Wang Quan has been established for thousands of years, only this!"

"The Ancestor has ordered that all my Wang Quan Taoist Sect members are not allowed to ascend. Li Taibai, even if you achieve Five Qi Unification and Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, how can you defy the Ancestor?... "

"What a pity, what a pity! I wasn't born two thousand years earlier to meet the Ancestor. You don't understand my ambitions, you don't understand my heart..."

...

Those were the words, thoughts, and ideas that countless people had spoken to his statue over the past three thousand years.

That was his, Wang Quan Dao!