Book 1, Chapter 44 - Soul Enchanting Incense

Daoist Yi Qing and Money Rat were currently scheming against Zhao Jiuge and Su Su.

The two of them, besieged by their emotions, were still not sleepy. Although the incense coming from the bronze incense stove filled with valuable spices were quite good but neither felt sleepy.

Their rooms were right next to each other. After many days of escaping and injuries, the two of them didn’t cultivate but chose to lie in their soft beds, quietly thinking. The little beggar was sleeping soundly and breathing smoothly. Looking at the little beggar sleep made Zhao Jiuge smile.

After an unknown amount of time, due to all the fatigue built up over the days, Zhao Jiuge fell asleep.

The second day.

Knock, knock, knock… Knock, knock, knock...

A knocking sound came from outside the door. Zhao Jiuge was awakened and he opened his eyes, feeling very lazy. The early morning sunlight was shining on the little beggar and Zhao Jiuge.

Being awakened so early, Zhao Jiuge revealed a look of helplessness. He saw that the little beggar had not awakened yet and revealed a gentle smile. He got out of bed and opened the door to see Chang Feng standing there.

Zhao Jiuge moved his bones as he stretched his hands and yawned.

Chang Feng bowed slightly and respectfully said, “My teacher told me to wake you guys up and call you to his room.”

Zhao Jiuge gently nodded. “I know. When the little beggar gets up, you’re responsible for getting him something to eat.”

Chang Feng, who had his face down, showed a wave of disgust in his eyes. However, seeing how his teacher treated Zhao Jiuge, he could only endure. Yesterday, he guessed that his teacher had also found the little beggar repulsive. If not for Zhao Jiuge, the little beggar would have been kicked out.

Chang Feng agreed and turned to leave. This left Zhao Jiuge by himself, and he stretched a bit outside because he was afraid of waking up the little beggar.

He looked at the door next to him. Although it was closed , the noises inside Su Su, should have gotten up already.

Creak.

Just as he was thinking of Su Su, she opened her door. Zhao Jiuge was about to say a few words of greeting, but who knew that Su Su would have a stiff and cold expression on her face. She didn’t even look at Zhao Jiuge before she started walking toward Daoist Yi Qing’s room.

She left him with a face of embarrassment, and he was surprised about what was going on with her. How could someone as inexperienced as Zhao Jiuge, who had never interacted with the opposite gender, understand what a girl was thinking?

He felt helpless and quickly followed Su Su to Daoist Yi Qing’s room. Along the way, Zhao Jiuge tried talking to Su Su, but Su Su acted like she didn’t hear him. She remained silent and still didn’t look at him.

Along the way, Zhao Jiuge saw that there was a lot of bamboo planted here, and outside the courtyard was a small, artificial lake. There were some fake mountains around the lake, giving it a quiet atmosphere. Zhao Jiuge felt like he was falling in love with this comfortable environment.

They arrived at Daoist Yi Qing’s room. They opened the door and saw Daoist Yi Qing sitting on a mahogany table. The table had tea, cups, and snacks. When Su Su and Zhao Jiuge arrived, Daoist Yi Qing laughed. “Come and sit, this is good spiritual tea. Drink it and it will refresh your mind. When ordinary people come, I am reluctant to serve this tea.”

Zhao Jiuge revealed a smile when he heard this and quickly sat down. He picked up the cup and had a taste. Su Su didn’t seem to care. She sat down but didn’t drink the tea. As for spirit tea, what kind of good things had Su Su not seen at home?

After Zhao Jiuge finished drinking the tea, he smacked his lips. A fragrance came from his mouth—it was slightly tart.

After seeing Zhao Jiuge finish drinking the tea, Daoist Yi Qing asked with a smile, “How is it? Not bad?” However, that smile looked a bit cunning today.

As Zhao Jiuge drank the spirit tea, he chatted with Daoist Yi Qing. He sniffed and noticed that something was off. He looked around and saw a bronze incense pot that was giving off a smell that was different from yesterday. It smelled very good and subconsciously made one want to smell more.

“Ah, Jiuge, who else do you and Su Su have in your family?” Daoist Yi Qing asked a question with an intriguing light in his eyes.

Zhao Jiuge’s brows furrowed a bit, wondering why Daoist Yi Qing had asked him this. However, he still held back and answered, “We don’t really have any family, we have just been traveling around. Why is Daoist Yi Qing asking this?”

Daoist Yi Qing quickly shook his head and said, “Oh, nothing, just wondering about your family’s situation. For you two to be traveling at such a young age, you guys are quite good.” After pondering a bit, he continued, “Then, are you guys in any sects?”

After hearing the word “sect,” Su Su couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Zhao Jiuge and let out a cold snort. When Zhao Jiuge heard the word “sect,” he became interested. “Not yet. In a few days, we will leave and go see if there is any sect or holy land accepting disciples.”

After hearing Zhao Jiuge’s answer, Daoist Yi Qing relaxed a bit as the most critical matter was resolved. Today, he had invited them here to ask about their situation, if they had any family or sects. Now it seemed like these two youngsters had merely gotten lucky and had a fortunate encounter. Thinking about this, Daoist Yi Qing unwittingly smiled.

However, it would still take a while for the Soul Enchanting Incense to take effect, so he might as well continue and try to get a better understanding of their situation. He resisted his excitement and happily asked, “You two are so young yet have such good cultivation and magical treasures, not bad. If you have no sect or family, what do you two rely on?” Even his speech became a lot lighter due to his relaxed mood.

After hearing Daoist Yi Qing ask about this and even mention cultivation methods and magical treasures, Zhao Jiuge felt like something was wrong. His brows wrinkled and he felt like Daoist Yi Qing had a purpose today. “It's nothing, it's nothing, I was just lucky, so my cultivation increased rapidly. As for magical treasures, even I’m desiring for some, haha.”

Although Zhao Jiuge was naive and not very old, he was not a fool. He had already noticed that Daoist Yi Qing had a purpose, so he could only play with the snake and walk around the topic.

At the same time, he felt that Daoist Yi Qing was different from the last two days they had been in contact. As for what the difference was, Zhao Jiuge was secretly shocked.

Zhao Jiuge smiled. “Daoist Yi Qing, yesterday, you were holding a blue-yellow jade gourd that seemed extraordinary. Can you tell us the name and history of it?” Zhao Jiuge cleverly turned the attention back to the other party.

Daoist Yi Qing revealed a faint smile. He didn’t seem to care and spoke with pride. “That gourd is the Purple-Gold True Fire Gourd. It contains the three true fires of a daoist. It is very good against evil and ghosts, and it is my favorite treasure.” He stroked his beard as he spoke.

However, Daoist Yi Qing had left out some details. He had stolen the Purple-Gold True Fire Gourd from someone else. It was a young man who came out to practice, even now, he didn’t know what sect that young man was from. The young man had come to Qing Rong, and at the beginning, Daoist Yi Qing invited him to stay at the Qing Xuan Temple. Then he took the opportunity to kill the young man for his treasure and even destroyed the body.

At this moment, Su Su finally left her dazed mood and silently listened to Zhao Jiuge talk with Daoist Yi Qing. However, she couldn’t help but interject, “Daoist Yi Qing, other people accept disciples to teach cultivation and spells, as well as have a certain degree of cultivation. I observed the temple and found that among your disciples, aside from having pretty good bodies, they have no spirit force fluctuations at all. Also, I hope Daoist Yi Qing won’t take it the wrong way, but your cultivation is a bit lacking.”

Zhao Jiuge also nodded. Normally, Foundation Realm cultivators would not deal with worldly affairs. They would focus on cultivation.

After hearing Su Su’s inquiries, Daoist Yi Qing’s expression became a bit ugly. He swallowed and explained, “Daoists like us rely on pills to increase our cultivation levels, and they haven’t reached the time for them to learn yet. As for my cultivation, although it’s not powerful, it can be considered pretty outstanding around here.”

After Daoist Yi Qing spoke, he couldn’t help but feel annoyed. He thought that after such a long time, the Soul Enchanting Incense should have taken effect. Especially after Su Su asked such an embarrassing question that made him look bad he could no longer hold back his temper.

With a cold snort, he stopped smiling. “As for why, if you two follow me, you’ll know.”

At this moment, Daoist Yi Qing completely tore apart the facade he had put up. He was in no mood to fake it anymore. The kind warm smile he had when they met was long gone, the only thing that remained a gloomy and profound expression.

He ignored Zhao Jiuge and Su Su’s surprised eyes and arrived next to the bronze incense holder. He took out the remaining half of the incense and threw it out. This Soul Enchanting Incense cost 500 to 600 spirit stones on the market. He could still use the remaining half later.

This shocked Zhao Jiuge and Su Su. They stared at the half a stick of incense in Daoist Yi Qing’s hand. Their eyes widened and they asked, “Daoist Yi Qing, what is that?”

Half an incense stick that was completely black and was a thumb thick. Even after it was blown out, Zhao Jiuge could still smell the same strange fragrance he had smelled when he entered the room—a smell that made one feel intoxicated.

At this moment, Daoist Yi Qing was careful not to smile as he half-squinted his left eye and said, “It's called the Soul Enchanting Incense. As for its effect, follow me, then you will know everything.”

Ignoring the two people, he walked straight toward the cultivation room.

Zhao Jiuge and Su Su looked at each other. They saw the doubt and shock in each other’s eyes. Right now, Daoist Yi Qing clearly revealed a strange aura, and something named “Soul Enchanting Incense” couldn’t be good. The two of them had been inhaling it for a long time. They decided that since they were already here, they would find out the truth before making a decision.

At this moment, the two of them thought that Daoist Yi Qing had also inhaled incense and were curious about how things would develop. They don’t have much experience and didn’t know that Daoist Yi Qing was planning to take their lives. He was willing to rely on his cultivation and would even dare to break into the dragon’s pool or tiger’s den.

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