"The existence of the Holy Cult was told to me by Gu Heng. He once also asked me about the whereabouts of spiritual beasts or demonic beasts. He even advised me not to be too hasty and radical, and told me not to force others to destroy the idols...
At that time, I thought it was because he was gentle by nature and didn't want me to get involved in those complicated matters, nor did he want me to make enemies because of my impulsiveness. But now that I think about it, he might have been sent by the Holy Cult to stay by my side from the very beginning."
Daoist Qingyun stood there blankly, sorting out his thoughts bit by bit.
In that instant, all the questions that had once puzzled him suddenly found answers.
Once this assumption was made, all the little things between him and Gu Heng seemed to make sense.
In fact, the existence of the Holy Cult was extremely hidden. If you were to ask around now, most Taoist sects probably wouldn't even know that such a cult existed in this world.
He had been traveling far and wide for five or six years at that time, and it was only from Gu Heng that he first heard the name of this cult.
After that, all his knowledge about the Holy Cult was gathered through bits and pieces of information he collected over time.
Even when he searched with great determination, he only managed to find some scattered words and phrases.
Gu Heng's repeated attempts to stop him and his warnings that were akin to admonitions seemed to be out of his own self - interest.
Putting these two things together, there was only one answer.
The idols were the evil creation of the Holy Cult.
And Gu Heng came because he had destroyed too many idols, which had caught the attention of the Holy Cult.
"So, the idols were indeed made by the Holy Cult. Then, is the Hu family related to the Holy Cult? Do they know where the Holy Cult's lair is?"
In that instant, Niannian also had a sudden realization. He quickly put down the milk bottle and stood up, his eyes shining with uncontrollable excitement.
If they could really follow the trail of the Hu family and find the Holy Cult's lair, and wipe them out once and for all.
Then everyone could finally breathe a sigh of relief!
"Don't daydream. If things are really as we've guessed, the Holy Cult might have given the idols to them, but they definitely aren't core members of the cult. Among the few cult members we've encountered so far, is there really no one who can solve the problem of the evil and resentful qi leaking from the idols?
They deliberately left a loophole to reap the lives of those who worshiped the idols, which in itself proves that the Holy Cult regarded those who worshiped the evil idols as expendable pawns."
Shen Weixun couldn't help but pour cold water on Niannian.
The originally excited little guy immediately became dejected.
Children always showed their emotions on their faces, which was really quite cute. Shen Weixun couldn't help but smile and said, "But you're not completely wrong. Although the Hu family is unlikely to be core members of the Holy Cult, among those who worshiped the idols, the Hu family must be the most special one. Maybe if we follow the trail, we can really find out something."
"Huh? Aren't they all just abandoned people? What can we find out from them?"
Senior Brother Shen's words kept changing, and Niannian was really confused.
"The soul lamps."
Shen Weixun pointed at Niannian's bulging little satchel and continued, "The Hu family has a blood feud with the Tu family. Back then, that ancestor of the Hu family, who was a traitor, even dug up the Tu family's ancestral graves. He even had the ability to extract the spiritual souls of all the Tu family's ancestors. Couldn't he have the ability to make their souls vanish completely? Even if we take a step back, he held the soul lamps of all the Tu family's ancestors in his hands. It would have been just a thought for him to kill them. So why did he keep those soul lamps, the souls of those people, and the ancestral hall?"
These words woke everyone up.
Niannian immediately understood the key to the problem.
"Yes! As long as the soul lamps don't go out, the souls won't disperse, and there will be a continuous stream of vitality coming from them. The evil idols will erode vitality. To some extent, they might also absorb the lives of others. With the existence of the red - lit soul lamps, the evil idols will first absorb the power of the soul lamps, so that the worshipers won't be affected!"
At first, they thought that the Hu family had left so many souls in order to cultivate the soul - restoring grass.
As a result, they miscalculated. Although the soul - restoring grass was cultivated, they couldn't take it out.
Now that they thought about it, they had really been wrong.
Cultivating so much soul - restoring grass was just an accidental gain.
The real reason the Hu family had kept so many soul lamps was to worship the evil idols.
"A family that has worshiped the evil god for a hundred years without it being destroyed and can even provide a continuous stream of vitality for the evil idols is extremely precious to ordinary people. Even if they are just expendable pawns and nourishment, they must be the most special ones. So they must have maintained long - term contact with the cult members. Even if they haven't, they should have a way to get in touch with the Holy Cult."
Shen Weixun's analysis was very on point, but all of this analysis was based on the premise that the evil idols were the evil creation of the Holy Cult.
If the evil idols were made by another organization or another person, all their speculations would be in vain.
Fortunately, before leaving, he had told the ancestor of the Tu family to leave one or two survivors.
After the ghosts of the Tu family came back, if they could somehow pry the mouths of the Hu family members open, they would get the answer.
"Finally, if it is really confirmed that the Holy Cult is related to the evil idols, we must go to the fourth senior brother's home after we get back."
Daoist Qingyun's expression suddenly became extremely serious, his eyes full of worry.
Liu Chuchen?
How did this matter suddenly become related to the fourth senior brother?
Niannian was very confused. "What's wrong with the fourth senior brother?"
"Do you know why the fourth one came to the Taoist temple on the mountain back then?"
Daoist Qingyun reminded them in a deep voice.
The two little guys nodded in unison.
Among their senior brothers, Niannian, Zhang Zicheng, and Mu Yanchen were all picked up.
While Shen Weixun and Liu Chuchen were sent by their families.
Different from Shen Weixun, who wanted to escape from his family and actively asked to be apprenticed and stay in the Taoist temple.
Liu Chuchen was forcibly sent to the Taoist temple by his mother.
The Liu family was a prominent and well - known family in the local area, but the family relationship was far from harmonious.
The power relations within it were extremely complex, just like a small society.
Liu Chuchen and his mother were at the center of the storm.
His mother and uncle were twins. Although they had the same parents, their relationship was not good.
Liu Chuchen's mother was a strong - willed woman. She was determined to break the feudal ideology of the old master of the Liu family, who favored sons over daughters, and kick out her brother to become the head of the Liu family.
She didn't want to get married and managed to gain a foothold in the family with her own abilities. After careful selection, she chose a son - in - law who would move into the wife's family.
But it was this son - in - law who caused the problem. That man was arranged by her uncle from the very beginning and met all her mother's expectations.
In the end, naturally, Liu Chuchen's mother was defeated because of the betrayal of her husband.
But before her father could enjoy the glory and wealth promised by Liu Chuchen's uncle, he died one night.
His death was extremely tragic and strange.
Liu Chuchen still didn't know how his father died until now. And because of his father's death, Liu Chuchen's mother found Daoist Qingyun and learned about his Taoist temple.
Daoist Qingyun originally sent his eldest disciple, Mu Yanchen, to solve the problem, but halfway through the investigation, Liu Chuchen's mother said she didn't want to continue the investigation.
Without any explanation, she directly stuffed Liu Chuchen into the Taoist temple.
Daoist Qingyun still remembered the scene when Liu Chuchen's mother sent the boy there, kneeling in front of him and pleading.
Because of her plea, even though Liu Chuchen didn't show much talent in Taoism, he still took the child as his disciple.
Liu Chuchen's mother forced him to stay on the mountain and not leave for three years.
He was an obedient child. Although he was dissatisfied in his heart, he still stayed on the mountain and didn't take a single step out for three years.
Three years later, when Liu Chuchen went down the mountain again, he received the news of his mother's death.
In fact, less than a month after sending him up the mountain, his mother was beheaded, and her death was exactly the same as his father's.
Liu Chuchen firmly believed that it was his uncle who did it. So after going back to the family this time, he was determined to bide his time and fight for power with his uncle.
He also had many kinds of talismans given by Niannian and Daoist Qingyun, so ordinary demons and ghosts couldn't possess him. This was also the reason why Daoist Qingyun, although knowing that that family was rather unusual, still agreed to let him go back home.
Mainly because this child was so stubborn that he refused to accept others' help and said that he must avenge his own hatred.
Among the list Xu Nuannuan gave last time, there was a name that belonged to Liu Chuchen's uncle.
Now, putting all these things together, the way Liu Chuchen's parents died seemed to be the result of their vitality being instantly drained.
If their deaths were really related to the evil idols, then a few talismans wouldn't be enough to protect him.