The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 417 - 253 Divine Hall Conceals a Demon

Chapter 417: Chapter 253 Divine Hall Conceals a Demon

Li Yan did not expect the old Daoist to be uncooperative.

However, what he said was correct, the City God Temple was responsible for the security of various cities, and it really had no jurisdiction over the Taoist Temple of the Cave Heaven Blessed Land.

Gu Hanzi initially intended for him to pose as a pilgrim and secretly investigate by blending in.

But since things had come to this point, there was no possibility of turning back.

Li Yan slightly narrowed his eyes as he looked toward Households Commander Zheng beside him.

Households Commander Zheng immediately understood, stepped forward, and coldly taking out a token from his chest said, "Yichang garrison, ordered to investigate the rebellion of the Heavenly Saint Sect, would any of you Daoists still dare to obstruct?"

These words immediately caused the old Daoist’s face to sour.

The Captain Bureau was directly under the Great Xuan Emperor, supervising everything from high-ranking officials to the pugilistic world. Although the Mystical Sect was special, it was still within their supervisory scope.

Especially concerning the demon of the Heavenly Saint Sect.

Any further objection would probably be quite inappropriate.

The old Daoist, Feng Huazi, his eyelids trembling slightly, had his face turn cold, "Since it is so, please come in."

Saying this, he threw his sleeves back and ignored everyone, directly entering the Taoist Temple. Meanwhile, he coldly said, "Open all the divine halls, let the lords investigate thoroughly to see if they can find any demons!"

"Yes, temple master!"

Many disciples of the Taixuan Orthodox Sect also showed faces full of anger.

Although most of the highly skilled were called away and they were merely disciples who had just entered, every person respected them as officials and they had never suffered such humiliation before.

"Hmph!"

With a cold snort, Li Yan strode into the Taoist Temple.

He was someone who responded better to soft approaches than hard, and this old Daoist staying in the mountains must have become muddled; despite such a significant issue arising, he was still putting on airs.

This Taoist Temple was subordinate to the Zhenwu Palace, with the main hall naturally enshrining the Emperor Zhenwu, and the fore hall enshrining Wang Lingguan.

Additionally, there was the Sanfeng Hall enshrining Master Sanfeng and the Xiao Xian Pavilion enshrining Ge Xianweng.

Li Yan arrived inside the main hall and looked up.

He saw a divine statue towering high, adorned in a golden locked armor, with loose flowing hair, standing astride a five-colored spiritual tortoise, sword in hand, eyes sparking like lightning.

Beside him stood the turtle and snake generals, along with the Golden Boy and Jade Maiden.

It was indeed Emperor Zhenwu.

The Divine Astral was awe-inspiring, also suppressing his Divine Skills, rendering them unusable.

Of course, the Hook Paper showed no reaction either.

Li Yan had anticipated this, his being a living Yin messenger doing Yin Bureau’s work; encountering some minor gods or Mountain Gods, he might communicate.

But such major gods completely disregarded him.

Li Yan did not care; he lit three sticks of incense, held them with both hands, and prayed, "Emperor, lend your divine discernment; I borrow this place to investigate the case, hoping your mighty divine power reveals all demonic evils leaving none hidden."

"How dare you!"

"How disrespectful!"

A few disciples of Zhenwu Palace immediately scolded in anger.

Li Yan ignored them, carefully inserting the three incense sticks into the incense burner, bowing three times, then suddenly turned around, sternly said, "What? Am I wrong?"

"Dangyang County is plagued by evil, you are tasked to guard this area, yet you perform poorly, and also dare to obstruct, what are you afraid of?"

These words immediately made the disciples’ faces turn deep red.

They certainly knew about the situation in Dangyang County.

And there was no way to respond to those words.

Hurriedly trying to explain, would only show their unease.

Among them, one older Daoist was relatively calm and calmly said, "Fellow Daoist, there are hidden details about Dangyang County’s issue, plus several of our disciples have also perished."

"If you wish to investigate, we will cooperate, no need to recklessly sling mud."

"Good!"

Li Yan directly took out a booklet from his chest, glanced at several people, and asked, "Where is Feng Lingzi?"

Feng Lingzi was Gu Hanzi’s close junior, who initially wrote the secret letter informing Gu Hanzi that there was trouble at this Taoist Temple.

As expected, hearing about Feng Lingzi, the faces of the Daoists in the hall changed instantly.

Still the calm older Daoist spoke first, his voice deep, "Fellow Daoist, what do you need with Feng Lingzi?"

Li Yan grew more suspicious and coldly asked, "Where is he?"

Inside the big hall, the Daoists looked at each other, wanting to speak but hesitating.

Suddenly, an angry voice sounded from outside the hall.

"That traitor has already run away!"

The temple master Feng Huazi appeared with a grim expression, striding forward.

He looked at Li Yan and sternly asked, "Are you Li Yan? The one who found the Blood Jade Cong?"

Earlier outside, he was too engrossed in his anger, and only just now he remembered the name Li Yan, which sounded somewhat familiar.

"Indeed!" Li Yan nodded in response.

"Oh."

Feng Huazi’s expression eased slightly, "The other day, news came from Wudang Mountain, I just learned about this matter. You and our Zhenwu Palace have had good relations, why would you bring troops up the mountain and be so aggressive?"

Li Yan spoke with a grave tone, "With a great disaster before us, rudeness is necessary."

"A great disaster?"

Feng Huazi felt a sudden jolt in his heart, yet didn’t rush to inquire further but said, "Feng Lingzi stole a Magic Artifact from the mountain, and has already fled; his whereabouts are unknown. How did you come to know his name?"

Li Yan’s eyes slightly narrowed, "This Venerable Feng had written a secret letter to the City God Temple in Yunyang Prefecture, stating that people were continuously dying in the Taoist Temple, but the reports were all normal."

"He noticed something odd, conducted his secret investigation, so how did he suddenly become a traitor? Could you explain this, elder?"

Feng Huazi, taken aback, "Is that so?"

He had now calmed down, pondering, "Since Fellow Daoist Li is asking, I need not conceal. Since last year, indeed a few disciples died within the temple, but all were from diseases, nothing unusual."

"I worship Ge Xianweng, and am somewhat knowledgeable about the Daoist Doctor arts. If there were any irregularities, how could I not have noticed?"

Li Yan pondered for a moment, "Then what about Feng Lingzi?"

Feng Huazi shook his head, "Earlier, I was in seclusion practicing Alchemy, and only upon leaving seclusion did I come to know of this matter."

"In Xiao Xian Pavilion, originally enshrined were the Colorful Cloud Shoes, a Treasure Magic Artifact left by immortals, capable of navigating dangers as if walking on flat ground."

"He stole this treasure and descended the mountain. I dispatched people to search all the docks but found no one."

"As Feng Lingzi was a disciple of my fellow brothers, I also planned to find him early to persuade him to turn back. But now that things have come to this, I had no other choice and was about to report to the Law Enforcement Hall to issue a wanted notice."