1017: Chapter 628_2 1017: Chapter 628_2 Eryao, listening to his master’s words, first chose to use Invisibility.
In broad daylight, he did not immediately go to destroy the wooden tokens and large statues!
If this place is the headquarters, then who exactly is the Sect Hierarch, the Young Master, or something like a Hall Master?
Upon seeing the grand hall, the abilities of these Taoists did not seem very high, perhaps they knew a bit of Talisman Drawing; their power was merely at the Qi Cultivation Stage!
Eryao, while invisible, hid his Qi completely and searched the entire Taoist Temple, inspecting one room after another!
People worshiping in the grand hall might not necessarily have donated money, received wooden tokens, made wishes, and then left immediately; after all, many people wish to come here to make wishes.
They all come from faraway places, perhaps staying for a day or two, or perhaps even longer, although they would need to pay extra for that!
Among the people making wishes outside the grand hall, some left and some stayed; lining up from the three gates to the front of the hall, there were so many people, mostly from wealthy families, all dressed in bright and beautiful clothes, bringing people along!
Those who came to make wishes were not necessarily wealthy people; there were also poor individuals, as long as they were willing to pay, even a smaller amount of incense money, the Taoists would let them make wishes as they pleased, as long as they were qualified.
As for what qualifies one?
There is a saying and rule here: people of fate, or rather, you are sincere enough after making a wish!
Eryao observed each guest room, some courtyards; the Taoist Temple was very large, with distinct areas for the guests and the Taoists.
From above, one could see that both the guest rooms and the Taoists’ residences were built with blue bricks and large tiles, and the pathways inside were paved with bricks, not mud roads!
The rooftops even had sculptures, and the supporting pillars everywhere were made of thousand-year-old timber.
They were so large that two people together could not embrace them, and the pillars were even carved with designs!
With so many houses and pillars in the Taoist Temple, one could tell the expenses of the temple just by looking at the pillars!
Apparently, the expenses here were maybe comparable to the Imperial Palace, except that unlike the palace, which has many gardens, the glittering Taoist Temple did not have a variety of flowers but had planted quite a few locust trees inside!
The biggest of these trees, more than ten people could not embrace it!
The tree was lush with leaves, and through Eryao’s eyes, he could even see faint Spiritual Energy on the tree!
Could this be a Tree Elf?
And from underneath the tree, strong Black Mist could be seen, suggesting that many Ghosts were hidden within this tree!
Eryao had no particular study of trees and had no spare time to look more, as his most important task right now was to unravel here!
If the tree had become a spirit, he felt he could ask his master to take control of this tree!
But not now!
Eryao continued his search.
Apart from the individual rooms of the Taoists which belonged to the proprietors of the Taoist Temple, there surprisingly were several large courtyards!
These courtyards were not for guests to stay in; these were the residences of the higher-ups of the temple!
Eryao speculated that, if this was the headquarters of the Guandi Cult, then these courtyards might be where the Sect Hierarch or Hall Masters lived!
Previously when searching the Taoists’ residences, many rooms were empty, with signs of habitation, perhaps because they were busy receiving guests and working!
Eryao first went to examine the largest courtyard, different from the others, where many white chrysanthemums were planted!
Eryao…
those here are steeped in wickedness, so these white flowers will come in handy then!
There was no one in the courtyard, but inside a room where work was being done, there were people, all dressed in glamorous outfits, regardless of whether they were maids, and they were all very beautiful!
No one was in the living room, but in another room, capable of accommodating hundreds of people, there was a bed, a water bed that could fit about ten people.
A man with a mask was sitting on it, enjoying the services of several beautiful women surrounding him!
Eryao…
sheer eye-sting, it’s hard to tell how old the masked man was, but he had a tall and robust body, and his ability had entered the Golden Core stage!
These women weren’t without cultivation, they all had the aura of cultivation!
Eryao didn’t want to look at this eye-scorching scene, and his eyes drifted to another courtyard.
This courtyard was different from the previous one, especially notable for the beautiful roses, and it was solely served by handsome young men.
In the sweltering summer, they wore light clothing, looking dashingly handsome, yet they were just servants.
In the largest bedroom, she saw a very large bed, and most surprisingly, there was a swimming pool in the bedroom that could accommodate more than ten people!
There was a woman wearing a mask and dressed in a sheer gown, staying in the swimming pool, surrounded by more than a dozen men, either serving her fruits or attending to her other needs!
Eryao found it even more eye-scorching.
He never thought that women could be so provocative!
Not wanting to look at that woman, his gaze could only shift through transference to another courtyard where peonies were planted, similarly serviced by dedicated persons.
The servants in this courtyard were all exceptionally beautiful women.
There was nobody in the living room, but in the largest bedroom, there was a massive bed fitting dozens of people.
A man was on the bed, also wearing a mask, enjoying the services of numerous women!
Eryao…such lack of humanity!
So eye-scorching that he couldn’t bear to watch further, then he examined these courtyards and discovered that each courtyard had a secret chamber, and these chambers weren’t located above the courtyards!
Instead, underneath the bed of each large bedroom, opening a window reveals a secret passage leading down into a secret chamber!
Eryao could observe without entering; the arrays inside couldn’t block his Divine Sense, perhaps they could block ordinary cultivators!
Eryao was already a Divine Dragon, more powerful than the person who designed the arrays, so naturally, they couldn’t block his Divine Sense.
In that large secret chamber, bigger even than the courtyard, there were passageways leading outside, perhaps meant as an escape route!
They constructed the building this way perhaps also from the fear that there are always greater powers beyond them.
When they initially established this Taoist Temple, they were afraid that individuals from the Righteous Sect would eliminate them.
Now that their power has grown, they no longer harbor such concerns!
In this country, it’s well-known that the mightiest amongst them is their Sect Hierarch, at the Golden Core level of cultivation!
Already at the Great Perfection stage of Golden Core, just a bit more resources needed to advance even stronger!
The Sect Hierarch of the Guandi Cult has been cultivating here, having settled in this country only this past year with his trusted aides and his children, primarily for upgrading.
We reside here still hidden, so much so that some Hall Masters do not know they have come here, thinking they are in another country!
This is also just a precaution, in case there really emerges someone more formidable than them!
After all, their adversaries, the people of Bald Sun Country and Buddhism, would all seize the opportunity to target the key figures of their Divine Sect!
Eryao saw in the secret chamber a large statue, akin to those wooden tokens, worshipping a great golden body!
Having located the passage of their secret chamber, it leads to the outside of the mountain, and behind the mountain is a field full of peach blossoms!
On the other side of this mountain is a Monk Temple!
It’s also unknown if this passage connects to the Monk Temple!
Eryao followed the underground secret passage, observing that it didn’t lead towards the back mountain but rather to the other side towards the foot of the mountain, eventually to a wealthy, bustling city!
This passage extends all the way to the bustling streets and some houses, it’s really long, and it’s unknown how many houses it leads to!
The passage is too deep, even deeper than a sewer, it seems these people are first-class at digging tunnels, were they hired by tomb robbers?
Just how many followers does the Guandi Cult have?
Beside this Taoist Temple, there must definitely be some below the mountain as well, otherwise why would the tunnel be so extensively long?