Chapter 989: Transferring Information Quickly

"Immortal, do you know where the three-eyed ghost child went?" Lu Yang asked. They had originally intended to find a minor ghost to put on a show, yet now that the play had concluded and two Soul Formation old ghosts had been captured, the three-eyed ghost child was nowhere to be found.

"Before you two started fighting, that little girl from the Cui family turned on a light, and the sun bleached the little ghost to death."

"Ah?"

Lu Yang quickly realized that the solar power lamp's solar energy had killed the three-eyed ghost child.

"I think I heard the Yaoyang Sect mention that their lamps possess some unique abilities."

"A minor ghost of no consequence like the three-eyed ghost child only dares to appear at night and wouldn't dare show its face during the day; it couldn't withstand the radiance of a solar power lamp."

"From what Master Duanchen implied, there are quite a few evil spirits here in the Buddhist Kingdom. It seems solar power lamps will sell marvelously well here."

Lu Yang estimated that the spirit stones the Yaoyang Sect allocated to him would be increasing once again.

"I wonder how many spirit stones I have now."

Lu Yang received flying car copyright royalties, a share from the Jiuyou Sect's barbecue joint, and dividends from the Yaoyang Sect's solar products, receiving a hefty sum of spirit stones from time to time. He usually accepted them entirely, too lazy to count.

In any case, he could never use them all up.

"Forget it, as long as it's enough."

"Rest, you two benefactors. This poor monk will handle the interrogation of these two evil spirits," Master Duanchen said with a beaming smile as he looked upon the three-eyed ghost monk and the hollow shadow. From the words of these two ghosts, they had been lurking in Kaihuang City for over fifty years, plotting who knew what.

He had painstakingly managed Kaihuang City, yet it had nearly been brought to ruin by these two ghosts.

Fortunately, the two benefactors had rooted out the trouble for him, leaving Master Duanchen profoundly relieved.

"Then we shall trouble you, Master." It was best to leave the matters of Kaihuang City to Master Duanchen himself; neither Lu Yang nor Meng Jingzhou had any intention of meddling.

The following day, the news of Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou visiting Kaihuang City and helping Old Virtue Cui eradicate the evil spirits spread like wildfire, becoming the talk of every street and alley.

In a teahouse, a man spoke to his friends with an air of great secrecy: "Do you know what the situation was with the battle last night?"

His friends' interest was instantly piqued, and they hurriedly asked: "What was the situation? Tell us, tell us quickly!"

Hearing this, the bystanders immediately pricked up their ears to eavesdrop, and the noise within the teahouse quieted down significantly.

"I have a friend in Kaihuang Temple. He said that in the great battle last night, two of the cultivators involved were Sword Immortal Lu and Buddha-Son Meng!"

"Is that the Sword Immortal Lu who visited the Immortal Palace, after which a great many people in the palace became pregnant?"

"Who else could it be but that Sword Immortal Lu?"

"Hiss, how enviable."

"The enemy last night was even more extraordinary. According to Sword Immortal Lu and Buddha-Son Meng, the adversary last night was a grand cultivator of the Body Integration Stage who had been lurking in Old Virtue Cui's home for unknown purposes. They originally intended to remain anonymous, intending to leave after helping Old Virtue Cui resolve his family's evil spirit issue, never expecting to uncover such a formidable foe."

"They also said that they entered last night's battle with a mindset of mutual destruction. Fortunately, they won by a hair's breadth and defeated those two."

A bystander could not help but exclaim in astonishment: "A Soul Formation Stage challenging a Body Integration Stage across realms?! So powerful?"

Realizing he had spoken too much, he hastily covered his mouth, pretending he had said nothing.

The man continued: "Last night, after Master Duanchen brought the two back to the temple, he tended to them with the utmost care. The two are finally out of mortal danger. They also expressed that they will linger in Kaihuang City for a few more days to participate in this Bathing the Buddha Festival."

"That is a joyous thing indeed," his companion said merrily.

Upon stepping out of the teahouse, the man, his companion, and the bystander secretly gathered together, removed their wigs, and revealed their brilliant, clean-shaven bald heads.

According to Master Duanchen's instructions, they had completed their task; all that remained was to wait for the news to gradually ferment.

"We didn't lie just now, did we?"

"No, the lines were all devised by Master. Every word is true."

"Was it devised by Master? How is it that I heard it was thought up by Benefactor Lu?"

Monks faced many restrictions in their conduct, and refraining from falsehoods was the greatest restriction of all. However, now that a master strategist had arrived at Kaihuang Temple to guide them, it was no longer a problem.

Just as Master Duanchen had anticipated, the news of Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou subduing demons and eliminating monsters not only spread rapidly through Kaihuang City but also reached several surrounding cities within an incredibly short span of time.

"Sword Immortal Lu and Buddha-Son Meng are going to participate in Kaihuang City's Bathing the Buddha Festival?"

The two were immensely popular among both mortals and cultivators. Mortals wished to glimpse the legendary figures they frequently heard of in storytelling performances, while cultivators wished to participate in the festival's martial tournament to receive guidance from the duo.

"The two greatest geniuses of the contemporary world, existences comparable to the Body Integration Stage."

"More than just comparable—did you not hear that they dealt with two Body Integration ghost cultivators last night?"

"Utterly terrifying."

To ordinary cultivators, Lu Yang and his companion were existences far beyond their reach; to receive even a word or two of guidance would already be a tremendous stroke of fortune.

"Brother Zou, are you going to participate in Kaihuang City's Bathing the Buddha Festival?"

"Naturally. However, such an opportunity is rare, and I fear the number of cultivators heading to Kaihuang City this time will far exceed the past."

...

Master Duanchen sought out Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.

"Master, is something the matter?" Lu Yang wondered, noting the master's downcast and worried expression. "Was the promotion ineffective?"

"That is not the case. The results of the promotion were unexpectedly magnificent. It is rather that the results of the soul-searching on the two ghosts have come to light."

"What do they say?" Meng Jingzhou inquired, deducing that the issue lay within the soul-search.

"These two possess some connections to the Heartless Sect, though they are not members of it, but rather pawns of the Heartless Sect."

"The Heartless Sect used Soul-Concentrating Pills as remuneration to have them lurk within this city and perform certain tasks on the sect's behalf."

"For instance, the phenomenon of numerous individuals abandoning their families to become monks in recent years was orchestrated by the Heartless Sect behind the scenes."

"The Heartless Sect developed a type of medicinal pill known as the Emotion-Forgetting Pill, which dissolves upon contact with water. Once consumed, it causes a person to temporarily lose their emotions for up to several years. The consumer becomes heartless and devoid of affection, often misinterpreting this change as entering the empty gate of Buddhism. Once the medicinal effects fade and the desire to remain a monk vanishes, they wish to return to secular life."

"These two ghosts secretly drugged people and observed the effects of the medicine."

"So that's how it is." Lu Yang recalled asking the Immortal Goddess to check if the third pilgrim possessed any abnormalities. Presumably, the pilgrim's medicinal effects had already passed by then, which was why no abnormality was detected.

"Then do we know who their superior is?" Meng Jingzhou asked, noting that they hadn't quite warmed up the previous night.

Master Duanchen shook his head: "We only know it is a Body Integration Elder of the Heartless Sect, but they have never seen the true face. It was always a single-line contact by this Elder. After last night's events, that Elder will likely not contact them again."

"This poor monk also learned from their memories that cities akin to this one throughout the eastern region of the Buddhist Kingdom harbor similar individuals. This poor monk suspects that a branch of the Heartless Sect resides within the Buddhist Kingdom, and its influence is by no means small."

"To think such a matter exists." Lu Yang frowned. No wonder Master Duanchen was fraught with anxiety; this was no trivial affair.

"This poor monk will naturally report this matter to the Western Heaven Temple. However, this poor monk hopes that the two benefactors might write a letter to inform the Great Xia as well. Perhaps the two forces can join hands to eradicate the Heartless Sect's influence within the Buddhist Kingdom?"

Lu Yang pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "Very well."

"Excellent."

Seeing Lu Yang agree, Master Duanchen felt a weight lift from his mind. Considerably eased, he departed from the guest room.

"What do you plan to do, write a letter to the sect?" Meng Jingzhou asked. Sending a letter would take at least half a month to reach the Wandao Sect, and if any mishaps occurred along the way, the letter might even be lost.

"No need for such trouble, I have a method."

"What method?"

Lu Yang did not answer. Under Meng Jingzhou's bewildered gaze, he lay peacefully upon the bed, his breath ceasing entirely.

...

Dai Bufan let out a yawn, reclining inside a water sphere, leisurely and content, so comfortable that he wished to drift into slumber.

Suddenly, his junior brother, Gu Junye, burst into the room in a state of utter panic: "Senior Brother, disaster has struck! Senior Brother Lu Yang's soul lamp has gone out!"

"What?!"

Upon hearing the news, Dai Bufan choked violently on a mouthful of water. Seized with dread, he rushed frantically to the soul lamp chamber to check the state of Lu Yang's lamp.

When he arrived at the chamber, rows upon rows of soul lamps were burning, illuminating the entire room with brilliant light—save for Lu Yang's, which was completely dark.

Suddenly, Lu Yang's soul lamp flickered back to life, only to extinguish again, and then light up once more, behaving exactly like a malfunctioning solar-powered light.

Dai Bufan's expression grew increasingly bizarre; he recalled Lu Yang once mentioning that if the flickering of a soul lamp followed a certain pattern, it could form characters to transmit messages.

Though he was somewhat prepared for this, watching Lu Yang's soul lamp blink rhythmically in the dark still felt deeply uncanny.