Chapter 898: Exorcising Evil

Inside the study of the Gu family master, Gu Shouyan.

Gu Shouyan sat as still as a mountain, his brows tightly furrowed.

Gu An and Gu Quan lowered their heads, hands clasped, and reported:"...The Dao Court Division was carrying out a mission in a barren mountain three hundred li west of third-grade Ma Ling City. They were surrounding and annihilating a Demon Sect stronghold but fell into an ambush...""Fortunately, the Young Master was cautious and had made meticulous preparations in advance. During the battle, he personally led the charge and, together with Deputy Director Xia, suppressed the opposing Golden Core great Demon Cultivator, stabilizing the situation.""After the reinforcements arrived, after a fierce battle, they were finally able to completely annihilate this branch of the Demon Sect. But that Golden Core great Demon Cultivator, before dying, actually..."Gu An paused for a moment, gritted his teeth, and said, "Actually, he disregarded everything and pounced towards the Young Master, even self-detonating his Golden Core to perish together with the Young Master...""A Golden Core self-detonation has immense power.""The Young Master did not retreat, directly blocking the Golden Core Demon Cultivator's self-detonation, saving the Gu family disciples and most of the Dao Court Division cultivators, but he, however..."Gu An and Gu Quan wore expressions of guilt and extreme pain.

Gu Shouyan listened without any change in expression, only nodding and saying, "I know. You all go down and recuperate properly."Gu An hesitated and said, "Then, the Young Master..."Gu Shouyan waved his hand.

Gu An and Gu Quan dared not say more. They bowed in礼 and then retreated.

Only Gu Shouyan was left inside the study.

With no one around, he finally let out a deep sigh."He's a good sapling, ah... What a pity, there are also many tribulations. Whether he lives or dies depends on his own fate..."

Inside the Gu family's Dan Pavilion.

The inner room door was tightly shut. Several Elder Dan Masters were inside, rescuing the heavily injured and near-death Gu Changhuai.

Elder Gu Hong was waiting outside.She was not a Dan Master and could not help, so at this time, she could only guard outside.

After a while, a gentle woman in palace attire rushed over in a hurry, her expression anxious. She saw Gu Hong, grabbed her sleeve, and said with a slightly pale face:"Aunt, where is Changhuai?"Elder Gu Hong sighed and said, "The elders are already saving him.""Then he..."

Wenren Wan's expression was worried.Elder Gu Hong originally wanted to say some comforting words, but thinking of Gu Changhuai's injuries, and the thick blackness between his eyebrows, she finally shook her head, sighed, and said, "It depends on heaven's will..."

Wenren Wan's face turned pale, and her heart was as painful as if being gouged by a knife.This younger brother, she had raised him by her side since he was small. She watched him grow up.

After a moment, she almost pleaded as she looked at Elder Gu Hong and said with a trembling voice, "Aunt, Changhuai, he, he won't..."

Elder Gu Hong patted her hand, her mood somewhat sorrowful, and sighed, saying:"All disciples of the Gu family share this fate.""For generations, my Gu family has served in the Dao Court Division, arresting criminal cultivators, suppressing demons and evil, exterminating the Demon Dao. All of us are licking blood from the edge of a knife. Injuries and even sacrifices are common occurrences.""As a child of the Gu family, this awareness is necessary. Changhuai is also the same.""Now that things have already happened, anything said is useless. It just depends on Changhuai's own fortune..."

Wenren Wan tightly pursed her lips, her fingers clenched until they were white.

Elder Gu Hong's heart was also aching.Although she said this, when her own close nephew suffered such heavy injuries, lying on the bed bleeding profusely, and his life and death were unknown.As his aunt, she still felt the pain.

Time passed. Elder Gu Hong and Wenren Wan stayed outside the entire time, guarding.The atmosphere became increasingly oppressive, their hearts increasingly anxious, and time also became increasingly difficult to bear.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, the inner room door opened, and several Gu family Elder Dan Masters walked out.Elder Gu Hong immediately stood up, her voice also slightly trembling: "How is he?"

Several Elder Dan Masters frowned, unsure of how to speak for a moment.Elder Gu Hong then said somewhat angrily, "Speak, ah!"

One Elder Dan Master smiled bitterly and said, "It's hard to say... The bleeding has stopped, and his life is temporarily hanging on, but the root of the illness cannot be dealt with..."

Elder Gu Hong frowned, "What do you mean?"

Another Dan Master sighed and said, "Young Master Changhuai's injuries are both in his flesh and blood, and in his mind. The injuries to his flesh and blood require replenishing blood, repairing meridians, consolidating foundation and nourishing essence, and washing away demonic qi... These,倒, have ways to handle.""But inside the Young Master's brain, it seems to also be invaded by an... unknown evil spirit. This evil spirit is extremely ferocious and has polluted the Young Master's Sea of Consciousness. We, as Dan Masters, fundamentally cannot...""At this time, we can only use some methods to first preserve the Young Master's life.""But even if the external injuries are cured, if the evil spirit cannot be removed, then..."

This Dan Master paused for a moment, somewhat hesitant, and did not continue.

Elder Gu Hong was impatient, "Don't avoid taboos when discussing illness. Just say what needs to be said!"

The Dan Master hesitated for a moment, then sighed and said, "If the evil spirit cannot be removed... Once the evil spirit completely pollutes the Sea of Consciousness, even if his life is preserved, it will be useless. He will be gone in no more than two or three days..."

When Elder Gu Hong and Wenren Wan heard this, their faces instantly turned deathly pale.

Elder Gu Hong hurriedly asked, "Then how to remove the evil spirit?"

The Dan Master said, "Removing evil spirits is something somewhat mysterious. It does not belong to the category of flesh and blood or spiritual power, nor does it belong to the path of Dan medicine.""We, as Dan Masters, can at most refine some Dan medicines that clear the heart and calm the spirit.""These Dan medicines can only clear the heart and calm the spirit. They cannot fundamentally solve the problem. To deal with truly ferocious evil spirits, they are useless."

"Then who can cure him?" Elder Gu Hong asked.

The Dan Master frowned and said, "I've only heard that this kind of 'evil spirit' on the divine sense needs to be dealt with by cultivators who specially cultivate the path of divine sense, such as some Fangshi, Tianji cultivators, wandering strange people, etc...""But these are all 'cold doors' of cultivation. They are mixed in quality, and few people learn them. Truly high-level practitioners are even more elusive.""And the path of divine sense is obscure and profound. When subdivided, there are also numerous categories: Tianji seeking the Dao, tracing cause and effect, derivation calculation, divination, asking the road, judging auspiciousness, breaking ominousness, witchcraft, curse killing, inviting gods, exorcising evil, etc., etc...""If you have this kind of connection, you can go seek them. Perhaps there will be someone who can remove the evil spirit and exorcise evil, saving Changhuai."

Elder Gu Hong heard this, her eyebrows tightly furrowed.In her impression, the Gu family had few cultivators in this aspect and basically no connections.At this time, even if they wanted to invite someone, they wouldn't know where to invite them for a while.

"Are there no sectarian forces that specifically cultivate the path of 'removing evil spirits'?"

The Dan Master said, "According to what I know, divine sense has no merit law to cultivate, so the forces that cultivate divine sense law methods, from ancient times to now, have either declined, or hidden, or directly vanished without a trace. Now, the only ones with some reputation should be... Xuanji Valley."

"Xuanji Valley?" Elder Gu Hong's eyebrows were still tightly furrowed. "My Gu family and Xuanji Valley also have no friendship..."

Wenren Wan, however, had her eyes light up. She pondered and said, "The Shangguan family knows people from Xuanji Valley. I will go through the Shangguan family's channels and ask around to see if we can invite someone..."

"Shangguan family?"

"Um," Wenren Wan said, "Several years ago, when Yu'er was lost, they invited a Xuanji Valley... it seems he was called Master Mei, to come and calculate a bit. Only this Master Mei did not calculate it out and also calculated himself crazy..."

"Calculated himself crazy?" Elder Gu Hong was astonished.

The Dan Master on the side sighed and said, "This line is like this. Dangers are heavy, and there are many terrible causes and effects hidden in the dark. Touching them just makes one go crazy. Sudden death is also not impossible to happen..."

Elder Gu Hong and Wenren Wan nodded, half-believing and half-doubting.

The Dan Master said again, "Of course, these are all things I've heard from various fellow Daoists over the years. Whether they are true or false, I am not in a good position to assert.""And..." The Dan Master hesitated for a moment, sighed, his tone somewhat solemn, "I must say this upfront. Cultivators who cultivate the path of divine sense specialize in different things. Not everyone understands the methods of 'removing evil spirits, calming the spirit, exorcising evil, and saving people'.""Although Xuanji Valley walks the path of divine sense, what they are proficient in should be the derivation calculation of Tianji cause and effect. Whether they can 'remove evil spirits' is also hard to say..."

Elder Gu Hong looked at Gu Changhuai lying in the inner room, his life and death unknown. She frowned and pondered for a moment, then sighed and said:"Things have come to this point, there's no other choice..."

They could only pin their hopes on Xuanji Valley.

Elder Gu Hong turned her head, tightly grasped Wenren Wan's hand, and said solemnly:"Don't delay, Wan'er, I'll trouble you with this matter.""I'll also go find the family master and have him write a letter. You take it with you. I hope we can invite cultivators from Xuanji Valley, and I also hope they will have a way to save Changhuai..."

Wenren Wan nodded solemnly.

Afterward, Wenren Wan, taking the letter from Gu family master Gu Shouyan, personally returned to the Shangguan family. Through the Shangguan family's channels, she contacted several Xuanji Valley cultivators who served as family guest officials near the border of Qian Xue State.These cultivators cultivated the technique of cause and effect and also learned some methods of "removing evil spirits".Since human life was at stake and the situation was urgent, everyone rushed day and night, arriving at the Gu family within a day.

Gu family Dan Pavilion.

Several Xuanji Valley Golden Core cultivators gathered and greeted each other.In addition, there were two other Golden Core cultivators who also cultivated some divine sense techniques. This time, they were invited by the Gu family and came together.The path of divine sense is treacherous. One more person means one more point of insight and one more point of strength.

And after seeing Gu Changhuai's injuries, the expressions of several people also became extremely solemn."Forehead as dark as ink... This must not be an ordinary evil spirit...""I have never seen this before...""Golden Core Demon Cultivator self-detonation to perish together... Truly ruthless and resolute heart, somewhat strange... Fear is that he was bewitched by some evil thing and fell into a frenzy, only then daring to cut off his own path and self-detonate his Golden Core.""Golden Core can also be bewitched? Looking at it this way, the origin of this evil spirit is quite terrifying... Its original evil thing... I don't know if it's a corpse, a ghost, a demon, or a devil?""No matter what, it's a 'hard bone'. We probably need to plan thoroughly and proceed slowly...""There's no way to proceed slowly," someone sighed and said, "Look at Young Master Gu's appearance. The evil spirit has entered his brain, and his forehead is deeply sunken. These are signs of his divine sense being devoured...""This situation cannot be endured. I'm afraid... he doesn't have many days left...""If we don't act, it will be beyond salvation.""Right, we can't delay...""Receiving others' entrustment means being loyal to others' affairs. Everyone should unite their efforts and think of ways. If we can truly save Young Master Gu, it will also be a good karma.""That's for the best..."

Afterward, several people secretly discussed for a while, exchanged their respective divine sense methods, avoided some taboos, and set the process for "removing the evil spirit". They then elected one Golden Core cultivator from Xuanji Valley, who had the most profound attainment in the path of divine sense, to preside over the removal of the evil spirit.This Golden Core cultivator's surname was Mei. People called him "Mister Mei". He was a Golden Core mid-stage cultivator and was a clan brother of the "Master Mei" who was initially a guest official of the Shangguan family. They had quite a connection.This time, "Mister Mei" was to remove the evil spirit.

The other several divine sense cultivators also did their utmost.Some offered plans, some lent treasures, some gifted some Dan medicines and wine. Finally, everything was summarized and handed over to Mister Mei.

Everything was discussed properly. Mister Mei put on his evil-repelling Daoist robe, wore his heart-protecting mirror, took out his copper coin sword, set up his Eight Trigrams board, lit his heart-protecting lamp, burned his clear heart incense, and then heated a cup of extremely yang and extremely fierce realgar wine that drives away evil and repels filth.This realgar wine had an extremely strong and fierce taste.Mister Mei drank it in one gulp, only feeling as if he had drunk a cup of fierce fire. His throat, mouth, and tongue felt as if they were burning. Afterward, his yang qi wandered through his hundred bones, and his courage filled his chest.

The others had already set up some evil-repelling formations inside the inner room beforehand.The formations protected Gu Changhuai's physical body while also preventing the overflow of evil qi.

Mister Mei opened the altar and set up the ritual. Afterward, holding the copper coin sword in hand, stepping on the Eight Trigrams board with his feet, wearing the evil-repelling robe, and emboldened by the realgar wine, he stepped into the inner room.

Then the inner room door was tightly shut.The matter of "removing evil spirits" was secretive and dangerous and did not allow outsiders to spy.This was to prevent the leakage of divine sense methods and also to prevent the evil spirit from harming people.

Outside the inner room, Elder Gu Hong and the elders from Gu Changhuai's branch were all gathered together, their expressions nervous.Wenren Wan, hugging Yu'er, was also uneasy in her heart.Yu'er looked at his mother and asked worriedly, "Mother, Uncle Gu, he, won't have any problems, right..."Although he felt that Uncle Gu usually had a cold, icy, and fierce face, he was still quite good to him. He always thought of him when there was good food and good fun. He also did not want Uncle Gu to have any problems.

Wenren Wan touched Yu'er's head and smiled gently, saying, "He won't have any problems..."But her smile was somewhat forced.

Yu'er was a little sad.

Wenren Wan then said gently, "The break is over. You still need to cultivate. I'll have Uncle Wei send you back to Tai Xu Gate, alright?"

Yu'er gently shook his head, "I'm not at ease about Uncle Gu..."

Wenren Wan's heart was both comforted and a little heartache. She sighed softly and said, "Alright, then we'll just wait here."

Thereafter, Yu'er also stopped speaking.His pair of bright black eyes stared at the inner room door, both a little worried, and for some reason, a little scared...As if inside this room, something that made him fearful was hidden.Just like the demon in his nightmare, exactly the same, and moreover... more fearful...

Yu'er tightly pursed his lips. He didn't dare to stay here too much, but thinking of Uncle Gu just lying inside, he was also unwilling to leave.

Thus, it was quiet all around, so quiet that you could hear a needle drop.Everyone's expressions were all solemn and serious.

The passage of time also became slow and oppressive...

Suddenly, a wave of evil and strange fluctuations transmitted. A scream came from the inner room, followed by the sound of something breaking. Faintly, there were the roars of wronged souls, extremely noisy.The crowd outside the room's expressions changed upon hearing this.

The other two Golden Core cultivators from Xuanji Valley were horrified. They immediately stood up and exclaimed:"Not good, removing the evil spirit failed, quickly save him!"

They wanted to forcefully open the door, but the door broke open first.Amidst the flying wood chips, Mister Mei stumbled out the door, no longer able to suppress the evil qi, and his mouth gushed blood like a spring.His appearance was extremely miserable.The heart-protecting mirror was broken, there was a black-red scorch mark on his evil-repelling robe, and his forehead faintly showed a green color, which was actually gradually turning black.And at this time, Mister Mei's mouth also emitted a shrill shout that was neither human nor demon. He grabbed the ground with his hand, still struggling, his eyes looking about to lose control.

The other two Xuanji Valley cultivators' expressions sank. They immediately leaped forward, took out a yellow cloth with red patterns rope, and firmly tied him up.Then, with an Eight Trigrams plate, they covered the heart of the maddened Mister Mei.Another person took an emerald jade, placed it on Mister Mei's forehead, and then poured realgar wine into his mouth, driving away evil with the fierce wine.After struggling like this for a long time, the emerald absorbed the evil qi.Mister Mei then stopped struggling, the black qi on his forehead gradually dispersed, and his breathing also gradually stabilized.

The crowd slowly let out a breath, then all turned their heads to look towards the inner room.Inside the inner room, Gu Changhuai was still lying there, his life and death unknown.However, the surroundings were a mess.The set altar exploded, the incense burned dry, the heart-protecting lamp was extinguished, the copper coin sword broke, the copper coins were scattered on the ground, and the formation mediums set up for the formations were all cracked and lost their effect.Others only felt the scene was a mess.But the Xuanji Valley cultivators who were proficient in those ways, at this time, looked at each other, only feeling a chill running straight up to their heavenly spirits."Great ominous evil!""How could... this kind of thing be provoked?"

Their voices were cold. Just when they were still in shock, changes suddenly arose.Originally lying peacefully on the bed, his life and death unknown, Gu Changhuai seemed to sense something and actually suddenly opened his eyes. Like a "walking corpse", he slowly sat up.His eyes were polluted by evil qi, the whites of his eyes turned black, his pupils turned blood-red, and his gaze was阴寒. He swept over the crowd, and finally fixed on young Yu'er."Gu Changhuai"'s face was deathly white, and he slowly revealed a ferocious smile, his voice rough and hoarse:"Found... you, my..."

Gu Changhuai didn't finish speaking.And such a change also startled everyone.The crowd did not know what the meaning of this sentence was, but they also knew that things were strange and could not continue like this, otherwise, they feared a great disaster would occur.

One Xuanji Valley Golden Core immediately shot out several gold needles, sealing "Gu Changhuai"'s meridians.Another Golden Core then gritted his teeth and sacrificed a jade Ruyi. Taking advantage of the time when Gu Changhuai's actions were restricted, he pointed it at his forehead, suppressing his evil qi.Fortunately, "Gu Changhuai," although his evil thoughts were strong, his physical body was severely injured.And this jade Ruyi also seemed to be an extraordinary treasure."Gu Changhuai" was quickly suppressed. His physical body could not move, and his evil thoughts no longer surged. Finally, he took a deep look at Yu'er, then slowly lay down again, returning to an "unconscious" appearance.

The hanging hearts of the crowd slowly relaxed.But Yu'er's small face was deathly pale.He was startled by "Gu Changhuai"'s glance, his whole body trembling, and his small body instantly became cold and icy.In that glance, he seemed to see some "fate".In that fate, he was just an "empty shell," having nothing, no mother, no trace of everyone he cared about, everyone he missed.Only boundless emptiness and fear...Yu'er's body began to shiver and shrink, and cold sweat flowed profusely.

Wenren Wan, for the first time, discovered Yu'er's abnormality. She immediately stroked Yu'er's forehead with her hand and asked:"Yu'er, Yu'er, what's wrong? Are you uncomfortable?"

Yu'er nodded weakly.

A Xuanji Valley cultivator saw the situation and immediately stepped forward, pointing his finger at Yu'er's forehead. But he didn't detect anything, then frowned and said:"Perhaps just now the evil spirit's sudden change startled this young master. This is just a little soul out of place."

Wenren Wan felt some heartache.

Elder Gu Hong then said gently, "You take Yu'er to the side room to rest, alright? Yu'er is weak, and it's noisy here with many people. Avoid startling him again."

Wenren Wan looked at Gu Changhuai, then at Yu'er in her arms, and nodded. But just as she was about to stand up, Yu'er gently shook his head."Mother, I'll just stay here."There were many people here, and the human qi was a little stronger.Although the side room was quiet, it was also desolate, and it was easy for fear to arise in the heart.

Wenren Wan understood Yu'er's meaning and felt some heartache. She then kissed his forehead and said gently:"Then you close your eyes and sleep for a while. When you wake up, it will be fine..."

"Um..."

Yu'er slowly nodded. Afterward, he only felt his spirit was insufficient, then drooped his eyelids and gradually fell asleep.Wenren Wan stayed by his side, looking after him.

After comforting Yu'er, the disturbance also gradually calmed down. The crowd's expressions were then gloomy as they discussed the next steps.

The Xuanji Valley cultivator frowned and said, "Now what do we do?""This evil spirit is too strong. Even Mister Mei is not his opponent.""With your and my Dao, probably even less so.""The heart-protecting mirror is broken, the Eight Trigrams plate is cracked, and the evil-repelling robe cannot even block it...""Mister Mei also failed. I don't know if he can still preserve some reason...""The situation is severe, or... should we write a letter back to Xuanji Valley and invite the Great Elder, True Person Situ, to come over?""Too far. By the time True Person Situ comes over, it will be too late.""Moreover, since the blood change in Li State City several years ago, the Great Elder has been traveling outside all day, seldom returning to the valley. I don't know what he wants to hide..."

"What can the Great Elder hide?""What the Great Elder schemes, how can I know?""Then what do we do now?""Wait for Mister Mei to wake up, alright...""What if he doesn't wake up? Furthermore, even if Mister Mei wakes up, then what? Such a powerful and ferocious evil, who can withstand it?""This..."

The crowd was stagnant, frowning and silent.

Just at this moment, Yu'er, who was originally sleeping peacefully, had an increasingly painful expression, an increasingly pale face, and even more and more cold sweat."Could this be... another nightmare?"

Wenren Wan looked at Yu'er, her heart aching extremely.She wanted to wake Yu'er, but Yu'er was trapped in a nightmare and couldn't be woken up at all.Wenren Wan didn't know what to do.

Just at this moment, Yu'er, in pain and fear, struggled and mumbled: "Brother Mo..."

Wenren Wan was startled and then came to her senses. She hurriedly said to Wenren Wei:"Brother Wei, quickly, send Yu'er back to Tai Xu Gate, to Mo Hua's side."Only by Mo Hua's side would Yu'er not have nightmares.

Wenren Wei bowed his hands and said solemnly, "Yes!"Only for a moment later, he was a little hesitant and considered, "Or, should I go to Tai Xu Gate and invite Young Master Mo to the Gu family?"

Wenren Wan shook her head, "How can this be? Mo Hua is so busy, we cannot delay his cultivation. It's fine for you to send Yu'er back to Tai Xu Gate."

"No," Wenren Wei thought for a moment, and then finally said the words he had been wanting to say all along, "Please invite little Young Master Mo over to take a look at Young Master Yu'er, and conveniently also let him help take a look at... Young Master Gu's condition."

Wenren Wan was startled.