As Ji Yuan and the others focused on refining pills and recovering from their injuries, Zheng Wanrong finally returned, bringing a group of people to the vicinity of Xuan Tian Temple.
These individuals were all robust and wore uniform black robes, with long swords hanging at their waists. Simply standing there exuded a deadly aura.
A total of twenty black-clad men stood in two rows in the alleyway in front of the temple gate. Their gazes were fixed straight ahead, and not a sound was uttered.
In addition to these twenty, a middle-aged man accompanied Zheng Wanrong into the temple, arriving at the side courtyard where everyone was gathered.
"Senior Brother!"
Zheng Wanrong called out softly, then stepped aside to reveal the middle-aged man behind her.
Upon seeing this person, even Zhao Yuansong was somewhat surprised, not expecting the other party to come in person.
"Brother Zhao, I didn't expect to meet again so soon."
Xu Liuqing clasped his fists and smiled, just as he had when they first met last night. He carried no pretense, instead appearing very approachable. It was hard to imagine that he was the new leader of the San Dao Hui and a figure who had roamed the martial world and underworld for twenty to thirty years.
Zhao Yuansong returned the gesture, then briefly introduced the visitor's identity to the surrounding constables and Zhao family guards.
When his words fell, everyone in the side courtyard was shocked. They quickly clasped their fists and bowed to the Third Leader of the San Dao Hui before them, lest he be displeased.
Although the San Dao Hui claimed to be a martial arts sect in Qianyu City, it was essentially an underworld force. Various gangs within a radius of hundreds of miles pledged allegiance to them.
Even within the county town, the San Dao Hui controlled industries such as the docks, brothels, gambling houses, and underground banks. The leaders of most gangs were essentially their nominal members.
Let alone the three leaders, even a single hall master of the San Dao Hui was a figure that ordinary gang leaders dared not offend. Even the constables of the county yamen would treat them with utmost respect in normal times.
The peace and tranquility of a city often relied on the local county yamen and government, but in some less common instances, the assistance of these gangs was indispensable.
"The area around Baiyun Temple has been sealed off. Ordinary civilians absolutely cannot get close."
Xu Liuqing went straight to the point, "The demon in the temple has shown no movement for now. It should be waiting for an opportune moment."
Hearing this, Zhao Yuansong's expression grew pensive. "Brother Xu, do you think it's possible that with our strength, we could try to kill this demon?"
As soon as these words were spoken, all eyes turned to Xu Liuqing. Especially Huixin in the corner, his eyes held both anger and worry, and his face showed a look of wanting to speak but holding back.
However, he also knew in his heart that once one fell into the path of demons, there was no possibility of regaining humanity. His own thoughts were merely a laughable wishful thinking.
"I'm afraid it's not possible. That person is at least at the second realm of cultivation. Furthermore, Shen Lang mentioned that Baiyun Temple has likely been enchanted, turned into an unholy land."
Xu Liuqing shook his head, negating the suggestion.
Zhao Yuansong's expression also became solemn after hearing this.
The so-called unholy land did not simply refer to a place where demons resided. It usually meant that in addition to being filled with demonic energy, such existences, by establishing themselves there, could receive a boost, increasing their cultivation level.
The degree of this increase depended on the scale of the unholy land. At most, it could directly raise a major realm.
Moreover, in addition to the boost in cultivation, unholy lands of a certain scale could also manifest numerous incomprehensible divine abilities, enhancing the means of the demons dwelling there.
"If there were five or six Confucian or Buddhist cultivators, we might not fear the influence of this unholy power."
Zhao Yuansong mused, "Besides that, the divine power of the City God Temple, or the great seal in the county yamen hall, could break through an unholy land."
It was a pity that, no matter which option, it had become a distant hope for them at this moment.
It was currently autumn in August, and the triennial imperial examinations had just completed the provincial tests. Most scholars had already gone to the prefectural city in advance to prepare for the prefectural examinations in October. In the entire Qianyu City, Shen Lang was probably the only Confucian scholar.
As for Buddhist cultivators, only Huixin remained, the rest having been massacred by Master Wuhai.
As for the City God Temple and the county yamen, there was no need to mention them further. Both places had become dragon's dens and tiger's lairs, and in terms of danger, they were even worse than Baiyun Temple, which had been transformed into an unholy land.
With this thought, everyone fell into silence, and at the same time, they felt a great headache. They felt as if they had walked into a dead end, and then the path behind them had been blocked.
Moreover, in this blocked dead end, they were like wolves in front and tigers behind. If they could not think of a solution, they could only meet their end.
The county yamen, the Zhao family, and Baiyun Temple had all experienced upheavals successively. It seemed that the other party did not care about revealing themselves, clearly having unfathomable schemes.
Furthermore, anyone with eyes could see that the person secretly planning and orchestrating this grand scheme would not let go of anyone who knew about it.
"What did the Zhenshan Sect and Yuanshan Escort Agency say?"
As everyone remained silent, a voice suddenly came from the side.
As gazes converged, a group of people saw Ji Yuan, who had been meditating and healing his injuries, open his eyes at some unknown time.
He waved his hand, signaling everyone to sit down, then looked at Xu Liuqing with a grave expression.
Seeing this, Xu Liuqing sat down on the ground and replied, "The other two leaders of the San Dao Hui went to visit last night. When I came, I also instructed my subordinates to deliver the situation at Baiyun Temple."
"With eyewitnesses and evidence, and considering that both sides will surely send people to the City God Temple and the county yamen, the chances of convincing them to act are not low."
However, as he spoke, Xu Liuqing suddenly shook his head. Although they could indeed persuade these two factions to act, the outcome would ultimately be individual battles, making it difficult to truly threaten the enemy.
But regardless, the Zhenshan Sect and Yuanshan Escort Agency were among the three major sects of Qianyu City, and their strength was on par with their San Dao Hui, so their strength would naturally not be weak.
With their participation, the situation would at least become less difficult.
"It's still not enough..."
However, Ji Yuan shook his head, his expression becoming increasingly heavy.
The guards and constables were confused. In their eyes, with the strongest three martial arts sects in Qianyu City assisting them, even if the opponent was powerful, they might still have a chance to fight.
Even upon hearing that the Zhenshan Sect and Yuanshan Escort Agency might act together with the San Dao Hui, they felt that the crisis had already passed. Even if there were some twists and turns along the way, the final outcome would not change.
Only Xu Liuqing, Zhao Yuansong, and a few others understood Ji Yuan's meaning immediately.
Indeed, although these three martial arts sects would provide assistance, and even serve as the main force against the secret schemer, it was still not enough.
In terms of the number of people in the three sects, it was indeed sufficient, even far exceeding the strength currently displayed by the enemy.
But these three sects had a crucial drawback: they had no cultivators or warriors above the second realm to anchor them!
Based on the clues currently in their possession, the enemy had at least four individuals in the second realm: the old locust tree of the Zhao family, Wu Hai of Baiyun Temple, the mastermind in the county yamen, and the City God of the City God Temple.
Three of these were second-realm cultivators, while it was temporarily unknown whether the one in the county yamen was a cultivator or a warrior.
And this did not even include the person secretly plotting. Theoretically, the number of beings above the second realm would only be greater.
On their side, however, there was only Zhao Yuansong with second-realm cultivation. As for whether Song He from Luohun Slope could arrive, even Ji Yuan himself was not sure.
Although many days had passed, and he had provided medicine, Song He's injuries should have healed, but unexpected situations could not be ruled out.
Furthermore, some of the enemy's methods could indeed have a restraining effect, but they were not as obvious as those against evil spirits, making it difficult to rely solely on methods to kill across realms.
Calculating all this, even with the assistance of the three sects, it would be difficult to change the final outcome due to a severe shortage of top-tier experts.
"I heard that the Zhenshan Sect has an ancestor who is a second-realm warrior. He is now one hundred and sixty years old and usually lives in seclusion within the sect."
Xu Liuqing's expression was thoughtful as he revealed a rarely known secret.
However, upon hearing this, Ji Yuan could not be happy at all. Instead, his brow furrowed.
He had heard of the Zhenshan Sect's ancestor in the past. He was indeed a formidable figure in his youth, feared by both the underworld and the righteous paths for hundreds of miles around, and even had a considerable reputation in the prefectural city.
Unfortunately, the man was now one hundred and sixty years old. Coupled with the martial warrior's inclination for battle, although he was of second-realm cultivation, his physical foundation was severely depleted due to many old injuries sustained in his youth, making it difficult to retain much combat power.
If one were to truly count, that Zhenshan Sect ancestor was at most half a second-realm individual. Unless he were willing to risk his life and shorten his lifespan by several years, it would be difficult for him to exert the killing power of a true second-realm expert.
"The ghost in the Hundred Flower Tower should also be of second-realm cultivation."
At this moment, Shen Lang, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly spoke.
He looked at everyone, his eyes filled with thought. "Perhaps we can make a deal with it, and pull it to our side."
Hearing this, Ji Yuan's face immediately showed a thoughtful expression. Then, under the puzzled gazes of everyone, he slowly recounted the matter of the Hundred Flower Tower.
Two days ago, Shen Lang coincidentally discovered a ghost in the Hundred Flower Tower and pretended to be a patron of a brothel to infiltrate it, secretly investigating the ghost's depth. However, he ended up clashing with a hall master of the San Dao Hui.
After Ji Yuan found Xu Liuqing and got him out of the hands of the San Dao Hui, they encountered the events of last night.
Otherwise, they would have found an opportunity to investigate the ghost's strength in the Hundred Flower Tower in the past two days.
Now, Shen Lang's words, in Ji Yuan's opinion, seemed plausible. As for the so-called deal, he only pondered for a moment before understanding its general outline.
"You mean to use the Bone Marrow Rejuvenation Pill to entice it to our side, to jointly fight against the person secretly plotting?"
He looked at the scholar beside him and said thoughtfully.
The Bone Marrow Rejuvenation Pill, as its name suggested, had miraculous effects, capable of growing flesh from bones. It was a top-tier immortal elixir, extremely difficult to refine. Even great alchemists could not guarantee more than one successful pill in ten furnaces.
The ghost hidden in the Hundred Flower Tower, according to Shen Lang's investigation, seemed to be a skeleton. The importance of this pill to it was self-evident.
"First, we don't have the Bone Marrow Rejuvenation Pill. Second, how can we guarantee that it won't betray us at the crucial moment?"
Zhao Yuansong frowned. "Furthermore, making such a deal with a ghost feels rather unacceptable."
If it were according to his nature, a mere ghost, if it did not cooperate, it would be killed. However, the current situation in the city did not allow for such actions. Otherwise, he would have gone to their doorstep, directly placed several restrictions, and forced it to serve them.
Otherwise, as disciples of a prestigious righteous sect, fighting alongside a ghost would somewhat tarnish the sect's reputation.
"Brother Zhao, your thinking is flawed. In extraordinary times, one must use extraordinary means. If it can save the citizens of a city, what does it matter if you fight alongside a ghost?"
Xu Liuqing shook his head.
Hearing this, Zhao Yuansong's expression became serious, clearly having learned a valuable lesson.
Indeed, compared to the lives of the city's citizens, such a matter was almost negligible. Even if it spread, no one could fault them.
"However, in this case, where can we find the Bone Marrow Rejuvenation Pill? We can't just give that ghost an empty promise, can we?"
He looked at everyone, his smile tinged with helplessness.
The value of one Bone Marrow Rejuvenation Pill was enough to exchange for three or four reasonably good magic artifacts, and it was priceless. As soon as a whisper of its existence spread, it would be snapped up in the shortest possible time.
At this moment, how could they find it? They couldn't possibly offer an empty promise of delivering it later, could they?
If they did so, even if the ghost did not turn hostile on the spot, it would definitely betray them at the critical moment.
Hearing this, Shen Lang quietly turned his head and looked at the young Taoist priest beside him.
At this moment, Ji Yuan's expression was somewhat strange. Seeing everyone's gazes turn to the scholar, he hesitated for a moment before giving an embarrassed smile, "That Bone Marrow Rejuvenation Pill... I seem to have refined a few?"