"Fairy, do you know where the Three-eyed Ghost Child went?" Lu Yang asked. They were supposed to stage a play with a little ghost, but even after the play was over, and they’d captured two Nascent Soul old ghosts, there was no sign of the Three-eyed Ghost Child.

"Just before you started fighting, the Cui Family’s little girl turned on a light, which burned the little ghost to death."

"Ah?"

Lu Yang realized it was the Sun Power from the solar lamp that killed the Three-eyed Ghost Child.

"I heard from the Yaoyang Sect that their lamps have some special abilities."

"A small fry like the Three-eyed Ghost Child, only daring to appear at night and never during the day, can’t withstand the exposure to a solar lamp."

"According to Master Duanchen, there are quite a few evil spirits here in Buddha Country, it seems solar lamps could sell well here."

Lu Yang estimated that his share of Spirit Stones from the Yaoyang Sect would increase again.

"I don’t even know how many Spirit Stones I have now."

Lu Yang had income from Flying Car royalties, a share from the Jiuyou Sect’s grill shop, and a share of the Yaoyang Sect’s solar products; he would occasionally receive a large sum of Spirit Stones, which he typically just accepted in full, too lazy to count.

Regardless, he couldn’t use them all up.

"Forget it, as long as it’s enough."

"You two benefactors rest. I can handle the interrogation of these two evil spirits myself," Master Duanchen said, smilingly looking at the Three-eyed Ghost Monk and the Hollow Shadow. According to these two ghosts, they’d been lurking in Kaihuang City for over fifty years, plotting who knows what.

He had worked hard managing Kaihuang City, and it had nearly been destroyed by these two ghosts.

Fortunately for him, the two benefactors helped him root out the trouble, and Master Duanchen was extremely relieved.

"Then we’ll leave it to the master," said Lu Yang. They left the matters of Kaihuang City to Master Duanchen without interfering.

The next day, news that Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had arrived in Kaihuang City to help Goodman Cui rid his family of evil spirits spread throughout the alleys and streets.

In the teahouse, a fellow mysteriously told his friends, "Do you guys know what happened in last night’s battle?"

His friend, intrigued, quickly asked, "What happened, tell me quickly."

Upon hearing this, others perked up their ears to eavesdrop, and the noise in the teahouse lowered significantly.

"I have a friend at the Kaihuang Temple, he said that last night’s big battle involved two cultivators, Sword Immortal Lu and Buddhist Meng!"

"Is it that Sword Immortal Lu who went to the Fairy Palace and after which many people in the palace ended up pregnant?"

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

"Sheesh, I’m envious."

"Last night’s enemy was formidable as well, according to Sword Immortal Lu and Buddhist Meng. These enemies were Great Cultivators in the Body Integration Realm, lurking in Goodman Cui’s house, unbeknownst what their purpose was. They originally wanted to remain anonymous and just help Goodman Cui solve his family’s evil spirit problem and then leave, but they ended up uncovering such big enemies."

"They also said that they entered last night’s battle with a mindset of perishing together, and fortunately, they narrowly won with one move, defeating those two," people nearby couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration, "Divinity Transformation Stage challenging the Body Integration Realm?! How impressive?"

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

The man continued, "Last night, after Master Duanchen brought the two back to the temple, he took great care of them. They’re now out of danger. They also said they’d stay in Kaihuang City for a few more days to attend the upcoming Buddha Bathing Festival."

"That’s good news," his companion rejoiced.

After leaving the tea shop, the man, his companion, and others gathered secretly, removed their fake hair, exposing their shiny bald heads.

As Master Duanchen instructed, they’d completed their mission, now all left was to wait for the news to ferment.

"We didn’t lie just now, did we?"

"No, all the lines were prepared by the master, every word true."

"Were they prepared by the master, or did I hear that Benefactor Lu came up with them?"

Monks have many restrictions, and not lying is a major one. But now that Kaihuang Temple had guidance from a higher-up, it was no longer an issue.

Just as Master Duanchen had anticipated, the news of Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou’s demon-removing feats not only spread quickly through Kaihuang City but also reached the surrounding cities in a very short time.

"Sword Immortal Lu and Buddhist Meng are attending the Buddha Bathing Festival in Kaihuang City?"

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were welcomed by both common folk and cultivators. Common folk wanted to see the legendary characters they often heard about in storytelling, while cultivators wanted to attend the Buddha Bathing Festival and receive guidance from Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.

"Both are geniuses of this era, standing shoulder to shoulder with those in the Body Integration Realm."

"More than shoulder to shoulder, didn’t you hear that last night they took care of two Integration Ghost Cultivators?"

"Utterly terrifying."

For ordinary cultivators, merely receiving one or two pieces of advice from the duo of Lu Yang was a tremendous fortune.

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

"Certainly. However, given the rare opportunity, I’m afraid the number of cultivators heading to Kaihuang City will exceed previous times."

...

Master Duanchen found Lu Yang and his companion.

"Master, what’s the matter?" Lu Yang wondered, seeing the master’s troubled expression, "Is it about insufficient publicity?"

"That’s not it. The results of the publicity were unexpectedly good; it’s the results from the Soul Search of the two ghosts."

"What about it?" Meng Jingzhou asked, noting that the problem must have been with the results of the Soul Search.

"These two had some ties to the Ruthless Sect, but they weren’t members. Rather, they were pawns of the Ruthless Sect."

"The Ruthless Sect promised them Soul Condensing Pills as a reward to stay in this city and carry out tasks for the sect."

"For example, the numerous individuals who left their families to become monks in recent years, this was also the doings of the Ruthless Sect."

"The Ruthless Sect developed a type of elixir called the Oblivion Pill, which dissolves up meeting water. Taking it can cause someone to temporarily lose their emotions for several years. Devoid of emotions or integrity, affected individuals often misconstrue this change as a spiritual awakening; once the effect wears off, and their awakened state dissipates, they desire to return to secular life."

"These two ghosts secretly administered the drug to people and observed its effects."

"I see." Lu Yang recalled asking Immortal Fairy to check if the third visitor had any abnormalities, likely by then the effect of the pill had worn off, revealing no oddities.

"Do we know who their superior is?" Meng Jingzhou asked, seizing the opportunity from last night’s event.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Master Duanchen shook his head, "We only know it’s an Integration Elder from the Ruthless Sect, but they have never seen his true face. He only contacted them directly. After last night’s incident, I doubt this elder will contact them again."

"The monk has also learned from their memories that there are others like them located across the cities in the eastern region of Buddha Country. I suspect that the Ruthless Sect has a significant branch within Buddha Country."

"Such a significant issue." Lu Yang frowned, no wonder Master Duanchen looked worried; this was not a trivial matter.

"I shall report this matter to Western Paradise Temple, but I hope you, Benefactors, could write a letter. Perhaps inform Great Xia as well. Maybe both can join forces to eradicate the Ruthless Sect’s influence in Buddha Country?"

Lu Yang thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement, "It can be done."

"Amitabha."

Seeing Lu Yang consenting, Master Duanchen felt a weight lifted off his shoulders and left the guest room feeling much relieved.

"How will you handle it, write a letter to the sect?" Meng Jingzhou asked, conscious that mailing a letter to Seek Dao Sect would take at least half a month, and there might be mishaps causing the letter to be lost along the way.

"No need for that trouble, I have a way."

"What way?"

Without answering, Lu Yang lay back on the bed under Meng Jingzhou’s puzzled gaze and became still, as if lifeless.

...

Dai Bufan yawned, lying comfortably inside a water sphere, relishing the thought of sleep.

Suddenly, Junior Brother Gu Junye burst in, panic-stricken, "Senior Brother, it’s terrible! Elder Brother Lu Yang’s Soul Lamp has extinguished."

"What?"

Hearing this, Dai Bufan choked on a mouthful of water, then hastily rushed to the Soul Lamp Chamber to check on Lu Yang’s Soul Lamp.

Upon arrival at the Soul Lamp Chamber, rows of Soul Lamps were lit, making the chamber bright, but only Lu Yang’s Soul Lamp had gone out.

Suddenly, Lu Yang’s Soul Lamp flickered back on, then went out again and lit up once more, reminiscent of a malfunctioning solar-powered lamp.

Dai Bufan’s expression turned increasingly peculiar; he remembered Lu Yang telling him that if a Soul Lamp followed a particular pattern of flickering, it could form words and convey messages.

Although he was prepared, seeing Lu Yang’s Soul Lamp flickering on and off still felt eerie.