I changed the world.

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How about... we let Xu Hanzhang try again?

After pondering for a while, Yu Huai came up with an idea.

To others, he was a "master" possessing mysterious powers, but Yu Huai himself knew that he had only encountered a fortuitous event by chance, a self-taught individual. He didn't even know how many people like himself existed in the world, or whether there was any power that could control him. Were there any hidden masters within the Xuanmen (mystical sects)?

If taking Xu Hanzhang as a disciple was partly to complete Mr. Wei's plan, and partly to use Xu Hanzhang's resources to cultivate a ghost child, so that after the matter was over, he could take over the ghost child for himself, then he should know that the money and resources required to cultivate a ghost child are not something that a wandering sorcerer like Yu Huai can easily obtain.

More importantly, this secret technique has significant side effects, and Yu Huai has already realized the risks involved. This is another reason why he was willing to take Xu Hanzhang as his disciple; he also wanted to try to have someone else bear the risks for him...

Seeing Xu Hanzhang in this state, he was both surprised and relieved. If he hadn't taken this disciple and had acted directly, would things have turned out differently...?

"Teacher, since that ghost child disappeared, I've felt really unwell..." Xu Hanzhang said in a low voice, his tone anxious, and he coughed a few times as he spoke. His current haggard appearance was definitely not normal. He could feel the weakness within his body; even walking a short distance made him cough and wheeze. However, what worried him even more wasn't this weakness, but whether his aunt and uncle would simply send him home to "recover." If that happened, by the time he recovered, he would have no place in the group...

Furthermore, those executives in the group who were already wavering, but whose attitudes were ambiguous due to their previous secret affair with him, will probably lose faith in him after seeing his "terminally ill" state...

At such a critical moment, "being unwell and needing to recuperate" could very well be the last straw that breaks the camel's back... Originally, this straw was meant for his cousin, but now it's on his side...

Yu Huai glanced at his cheap disciple, who clearly didn't understand what he had given up.

But it's better not to understand, it's better not to understand...

Yu Huai frowned and pretended to think for a moment before slowly saying, "Tell me again exactly what you did that night, without omitting anything."

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“Teacher, that’s how it happened that night…and then I fainted…” Xu Hanzhang said urgently.

After Xu Hanzhang recounted what he had done that night, Yu Huai pondered for a moment, then frowned and said, "To break this Ghost Child's spell, either you need a powerful expert to oversee it, or you need a treasure to protect you. Of course, it's also possible that you made some mistakes when you cast the spell..."

"Then, teacher, which possibility do you think it is?" Xu Hanzhang asked, frowning.

“An Jiaqun didn’t talk about any Japanese masters sitting in the cold, so this mountain is definitely not safe.” = Chief Physician Yu Huaiqi ruled out this point first, which is also obvious. If there were any masters, they would have invited him to be the abbot of Yanfu Palace.

"As for the error in the spellcasting... based on what you just said, there shouldn't be any errors..."

"The most likely explanation is that the An family possesses a treasure..." Thinking this, a greedy thought welled up in Yu Huai's mind. He naturally knew that certain treasures with magical powers existed in this world; for example, the golden infant statue he had once found was such a treasure. Who knows, there might be other similar treasures as well?

After much deliberation, Yu Huai felt this was highly likely, and a greedy thought involuntarily welled up in his mind...

"Teacher, what treasure are you talking about?"

"Oh, there are also some items in this world that can counteract the power of the demon child. You can think about whether the An family has any antique items, especially those related to religion..."

Xu Hanzhang frowned, racking his brains, but in his haste, he couldn't think of anything. In the end, he could only shake his head: "It seems there's something related to religion, but I can't think of what it is right now..."

Yu Huai thought about it and felt it was normal. After all, the An family was a wealthy household with countless rare and precious items, including at least eighty or a hundred religious objects...

“You can keep a close eye on it…” Yu Huai thought for a moment, but couldn’t come up with a good solution, so he could only give the order. Fortunately, in his opinion, neither he nor Xu Hanzhang had revealed their intentions, so they wouldn’t arouse suspicion. They still had enough time to find that “treasure”…

"As for your current body..." Yu Huai sighed, "The Ghost Child you cultivated has been broken, which has caused a backlash and damaged your vital energy..." Yu Huai did not tell Xu Hanzhang the truth at this time. The breaking of this secret technique was not just a matter of damaging vital energy; it damaged... lifespan.

While this method of refining the ghost child is extremely effective and fast-acting, its side effects are also quite sinister, to the point that it seems unlike any righteous method. Yu Huai had ulterior motives when he accepted Xu Hanzhang as a disciple, and he certainly wouldn't have told him about those side effects; now he's even less likely to.

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 751 The Majestic Gaze in the Sky

Seeing that his teacher stopped halfway through his sentence, Xu Hanzhang immediately understood what the other party meant and hurriedly said, "I also own a two-bedroom apartment in Xinyuan Garden. It seems that you do not have a place to live in Jin'an yet. I was thinking of giving it to you to support your family. I hope you will accept it..."

"Why are you saying such things between us, master and disciple..." Yu Huai was delighted to hear this. He knew that his disciple, backed by the powerful Qianluo clan, had amassed a considerable fortune over the years and had also offered him substantial tributes. To be honest, he was somewhat reluctant to part with this disciple. However... he also vaguely understood the background of Mr. Wei. Even though Mr. Wei possessed secret techniques, he was still just a mortal and couldn't afford to offend him. He also knew that if he failed to accomplish this, Mr. Wei would likely not let him off easily...

Xu Hanzhang, of course, had no idea that the teacher in front of him had so many hidden thoughts, and once again expressed that his filial piety came from the bottom of his heart.

Thus, the master and disciple were on good terms. Yu Huai no longer declined and continued, "After this secret technique was broken, it backfired on you. If you want to recover your body in a short period of time, you will have to start over with the secret technique. Alternatively, if you are willing to rest for a period of time, you should be able to gradually recover..."

Yu Huai deliberately gave Xu Hanzhang two choices, but he actually knew that Xu Hanzhang had no choice.

As expected, Xu Hanzhang made his choice without even considering it: "Please tell me how to retake the course, teacher? The affairs of the group are complicated and numerous, and I really don't have time to rest and recuperate slowly..."

Yu Huai knew what Xu Hanzhang was worried about, but he didn't point it out. So he continued, "Since you want to start over, you should know that breaking the spell and starting over in a short time is much more difficult than when you first started cultivating the spell..."

"Your body has not yet recovered from the backlash, and you may not be able to withstand the corrosive power of the secret technique used to refine the ghost child. However, you are eager to cultivate and restore your body, which is inherently contradictory..."

"Teacher is all-powerful. Since you say so, there must be a way to solve this," Xu Hanzhang quickly chimed in, trying to play along.

"Of course, but this method... is inevitably contrary to the principles of Heaven and Earth, alas..."

"I hope my teacher will instruct me that if there is any retribution, I will bear it all!"

"Since you say so, and considering our past relationship as master and disciple, I will not hide anything from you and will tell you. As for whether you will do it or not, you can think about it for yourself..."

"This method doesn't involve using a dead infant for the ritual; instead, it requires finding a pregnant woman..."

Just as the master and apprentice were speaking in increasingly soft voices, and Xu Hanzhang's expression grew ever more gloomy, a sudden clap of thunder echoed across the sky...

"Boom..." This stopped Yu Huai, who was discussing shady topics, from speaking. He instinctively felt that something extremely important had happened...

With a vague feeling in his heart, he frowned and first looked around the room, then his gaze fell on a window in the corner of the room that was completely covered by curtains. The curtains were extremely thick and blocked out all the light from outside, so that no sunlight could shine through them.

Thunder rumbled incessantly outside the window, its booming sound filling Yu Huai with an unconscious sense of fear, unease, and resistance. He reached out and grabbed the curtains, carefully tearing open a crack to peek outside. He saw that the once cloudy and clear sky was now dim, filled with dark clouds. The leaden-gray clouds blocked out the sunlight, as if a heavy rain was about to fall.

Jin'an City is a coastal city, and the weather at sea is like that—it changes in an instant. If it were just this kind of weather, Yu Huai wouldn't find anything unusual about it.

However, at this moment, both the thunder in the sky and the dark clouds all around made Yu Huai feel a strong but indescribable sense of unease.

He frowned and looked toward the place that made him most uneasy. It was high in the sky, about southwest of his current location, where dark clouds gathered and grew thicker. A bluish light shone through the clouds, turning that part of the sky blue...

He subconsciously followed the gaze and looked towards the blue clouds...

Then, as if electrocuted, he averted his gaze and slammed the curtains shut. He was breathing heavily, and in that short time, his forehead was covered in sweat!

What is that?!

Just now, as he looked up at the blue clouds in the sky, he clearly sensed that high above, through the ever-lowering clouds, a lofty, somber, and majestic gaze seemed to pierce through from another world, looking down upon this world…

The power of the demon child that Yu Huai possesses is essentially "demon," which is yin and represents the power of the dead.

Therefore, he could feel even more strongly the oppressive force contained in that gaze piercing down from the heavens, the fear that emanated from the depths of his heart, as if it were death itself!

If he had been complacent about his power until now, just now he clearly felt that his demon child was afraid, terrified, and crying...

What exactly is that?

Could it be a deity?!

Gods! Could they really exist?!

When Yu Huai first obtained his extraordinary powers, he had pondered this question. He was even hesitant to approach statues of gods or pagodas, fearing he might attract the attention of some deity. After all, he knew that the power he had gained was not exactly "orthodox".

However, as time went by, he gradually discovered that gods and spirits seemed to be non-existent. Whether in the islands of Southeast Asia or after arriving in Jian'an, he had never experienced the existence of gods and spirits. This was also the reason why he dared to flaunt his identity as a Taoist priest.

But now, does it seem like I've been wrong all along?!

"Teacher, what's wrong?" Xu Hanzhang, perhaps because he had lost his ghost child and was back to square one overnight, was not as perceptive as Yu Huai and did not realize that there was a problem.

"No...it's nothing..." After all, he couldn't show weakness in front of his disciple. Yu Huai said this, but he was still a little scared. He subconsciously moved away from the window and then asked Xu Hanzhang, intentionally or unintentionally, "Guanyun, do you know of any religious sites in that direction?"

Although he hadn't seen what kind of building was beneath the blue clouds, Yu Huai instinctively felt, based on that fleeting glimpse, that it was inextricably linked to the gods.

“There…” Xu Hanzhang looked in the direction with some surprise, then frowned and pondered for a moment, saying uncertainly, “It seems… Yongquan Temple is over there… Oh, right, the City God Temple is over there too!”

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 752 The Return of the Gods

"What's wrong, teacher? Is there a problem there?" Xu Hanzhang asked, while reaching for the curtains, as if he wanted to see what was wrong outside the window and why his teacher was acting this way all of a sudden.

"No, don't pull him..." Yu Huai quickly reached out and stopped Xu Hanzhang, then thought for a moment: "Yongquan Temple... City God Temple..."

Yu Huai was not a native of Jin'an and had not lived there for very long before, so he was not familiar with the area and naturally could not make any connection at the moment. So he simply asked again, "Do you know anything special about these two places? Are there any rumors of them being particularly efficacious?"

Xu Hanzhang was momentarily bewildered, but since he needed someone's help, he had no choice but to patiently consider the matter. He then said somewhat uncertainly, "Yongquan Temple is said to be a Buddhist temple built in the previous dynasty, and it's been in Jin'an for several hundred years. Its incense offerings have always been good, but I've never been inside before, so I can't say whether it's effective. As for the City God Temple…"

He thought about it again, then shook his head, indicating that he had not looked into it and did not know whether it was effective or not.

"If the teacher wants to know, perhaps I can have someone inquire about it later..."

"Alright, remember not to go there alone..." Yu Huai instructed. The strange feeling in his heart was gradually fading, and he was becoming calmer, which helped him recover from his initial tension. After a while, he carefully went to the window, drew back the curtains, and looked outside. Although the sky was still overcast, the thunder had stopped. He cautiously glanced towards the southwest, only to find that the previous bluish light had disappeared, and the strange gaze had vanished as well, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.

Yu Huai felt a sense of relief. Although he didn't know what had just happened, the pressure he felt was unprecedented. Now that it had disappeared, it was a good thing.

But... what exactly is it?

This still stirred a sense of awe in Yu Huai, making him realize that the waters of this world are actually very deep, much deeper than he had imagined...

Well, I don't intend to provoke those temples and monasteries, so I shouldn't worry about provoking those kinds of beings...

Jin'an is still too dangerous. After finishing this job, I'll go back to Southeast Asia... I have enough money for myself. Whether I want to splurge or find a place to cultivate myself, there are many cities to choose from in Southeast Asia...

Thinking this way, Yu Huai became increasingly anxious about the current situation...

"Think about what we just talked about again. If you're sure, then start preparing as soon as possible..." he finally instructed Xu Hanzhang.

"As you say, Master, I will prepare everything needed for the ceremony as soon as possible..." Xu Hanzhang said through gritted teeth, without any hesitation.

* * *

承和三十七年 2016年4月6日11:23 建安省晋安市城隍庙

Located in the southwest of Jin'an City, the City God Temple boasts a long history. Legend has it that during the turbulent period at the end of the Qi Dynasty, a temple was built here to worship the City God. Later generations continuously rebuilt it on the original site, gradually forming the temple we see today. Jin'an residents have a tradition of holding a City God procession every spring and autumn, and the temple fair outside the temple is also a fixed annual folk activity. Therefore, the Jin'an City God Temple is an integral part of the folk culture in the memories of Jin'an residents, and has always been a place of great religious significance.

However, despite its long history, the Jin'an City God Temple is actually not very large, surrounded by old-style residential buildings. The temple has two main halls, one in front of the other, both with a two-story structure. The front hall enshrines the City God and other underworld deities, while the rear hall enshrines the Three Pure Ones and other Taoist deities.

Jin'an is the capital of Jian'an Province. The City God Temple there, by custom, falls under the regulations for a prefectural City God. The City God enshrined there is Li Yuanlong, a famous general who resisted the Qian dynasty at the end of the Qi dynasty. He repeatedly defeated the Qian army with his navy. Later, when the Qian army marched south, they twice tried to persuade Li Yuanlong to surrender, but he burned their letters and executed their envoys on both occasions. Finally, because his subordinates surrendered to the enemy, Li Yuanlong was captured and died of starvation during transport. Later generations deeply respected his righteousness and erected his statue in the City God Temple to worship him, a tradition that continues to this day.

Zhang Jing was standing in the pavilion outside the City God Temple, gazing thoughtfully at the four characters "明辨忠奸" (clearly distinguish loyalty from treachery) inscribed on an ancient stele. After a moment, he turned to look at a middle-aged man with a long beard behind him. The man was wearing a simple and elegant military officer's armor, with an exquisite beast-head belly guard that was particularly eye-catching, making him look like an ancient military general who had stepped out of history.