Chapter 157: The Path Amidst the Bustling Streets

Although the town was not large, its market was currently bustling. People from the surrounding villages had all come to the bazaar, making the compact little town rather crowded.

Chen Jin walked through the crowd dressed in a Daoist robe, which he had bought in the previous town. It was inexpensive, costing only thirty copper coins.

Of course, Chen Jin had not come to this town to strut around in a Daoist robe like a model on a runway. He was here to look for ritual implements, as well as to resupply his talisman paper and cinnabar.

Earlier, Chen Jin had spotted a small Daoist temple from the sky above this town.

It was rather marvelous for a Daoist temple to be built right inside a town, and even more so that it was situated precisely at the center. Looking down from above, it appeared almost as if the town had been built around it.

Chen Jin slowly wove through the crowd and finally arrived in front of the Daoist temple.

The temple sat in solitary isolation at the intersection of all the town's streets.

No, it was not entirely solitary. Standing before its gates was an ancient locust tree. The tree was truly old—only about three stories high, with dark leaves tinged with withered yellow and a hunched trunk. At the fork of the main branches was a pitch-black tree hollow, and one could only wonder if anyone had ever poured out their innermost secrets into it.

Chen Jin stared at the old locust tree for a long time before shifting his gaze to the Daoist temple.

This ancient locust tree was not ordinary. When Chen Jin had been flying through the air earlier, he had not seen it at all; he had only seen the lonely temple standing like a stubborn boulder amidst the confluence of several rushing rivers.

However, now was not the time to study the old locust tree. The main focus was actually the old Daoist priest standing at the entrance of the temple.

The old Daoist was elderly, benevolent-faced, and hunched of back, complementing the ancient locust tree before the temple gate to perfection.

Chen Jin took three steps forward, cupped his hands in a salute, and said, "Thank you, Senior."

"Haha, you are welcome, you are welcome." The old Daoist stood on no ceremony; without reaching out to support Chen Jin's hands, he directly accepted the expression of gratitude.

"Senior suppresses the malevolent yin energies of this place. This is truly a deed of great virtue and merit," Chen Jin continued.

There was naturally a reason for Chen Jin to say this. When he had broken through his realm last night, he had originally wondered why there were no demons, ghosts, or monsters whatsoever within a ten-mile radius of that mountain recess.

Given the concentration of heaven and earth primordial energy in this era, it was virtually impossible for there to be a complete absence of spirits and anomalies, yet Chen Jin had encountered none.

Now, however, Chen Jin finally understood. This was all thanks to the old Daoist priest before him.

"What great virtue or merit is there to speak of? Every single blink of an eye is just accumulating bad karma," the old Daoist said with a smile, shaking his head.

"Huh?" Chen Jin was puzzled.

"I didn't understand either when I was at your age, but as one practices for a long time, one comes to understand. You will likely understand in the future, so there is no need to rush." The old Daoist was still smiling.

"What you say is true." Chen Jin nodded, offering no rebuttal.

"I observe that you practice the ancient methods. That path is certainly not easy to walk in this day and age," the old Daoist remarked after appraising Chen Jin for a few moments.

The ancient method the old Daoist spoke of was precisely the *True Scripture of the Mysterious Origin of the White Emperor* practiced by Chen Jin. Compared to the current era, this cultivation method was indeed an ancient one, and viewed from modern times, it would be considered even more archaic.

"Oh? This junior has often heard mention of ancient methods and modern methods, but I wonder what the difference between them is? I hope Senior can dispel my doubts." Chen Jin paused in deep thought before asking.

"No rush, no rush. Let's have a sip of tea first. I'm getting old; just saying a few words makes my throat dry." Smiling, the old Daoist gestured for Chen Jin to enter the interior of the temple.

"Understood." Chen Jin raised no objection, nor did he have the luxury of objecting, for he could distinctly sense a lingering threat emanating from the old Daoist.

Following closely behind, Chen Jin entered the temple grounds with the old Daoist.

The moment his foot crossed the threshold, Chen Jin's acute senses immediately perceived a tremendous transformation in the surrounding environment.

As for the nature of this change, the crux of it lay naturally within the heaven and earth primordial energy, as well as a profound sense of severance from the outside world. Chen Jin's spiritual sense had constantly been radiating outward, yet the instant he stepped into the temple, all perception of the outside world vanished entirely, and his spiritual sense was severed in a split second.

*Have I boarded a pirate ship?* Chen Jin thought to himself.

Although he inwardly cursed his bad luck, Chen Jin did not harbor the slightest intention of retreating—or rather, he could not afford to retreat.

Meanwhile, the old Daoist walking ahead of him did not appear uncanny in his eyes at all, remaining much the same as before. That back was still that same back, and Chen Jin sensed no malice, which kept his inner anxiety to a minimum.

Furthermore, the heaven and earth primordial energy within this temple felt entirely claimed and claimed as private property, as though it had already been absorbed and transformed into primordial breath or true essence by someone.

Thus, Chen Jin felt as though he were walking through a stranger's home—a home where surveillance cameras were hung everywhere, so densely packed that virtually every single wall was covered in them.

Consequently, every step Chen Jin took was cautious and circumspect, taking it one step at a time while keeping closely to the old Daoist's heels.

"This place was once the settlement of a barbarian tribe during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. The barbarians often drank blood and consumed raw meat, and they loved to slaughter humans for soul sacrifices and offer blood to evil spirits. Therefore, there are numerous white skeletons buried beneath the ground here. Before this temple was built, malevolent yin entities were rampant, gathering yin-sha energy to the exclusion of all living beings," the old Daoist recounted slowly as he walked ahead.

As soon as the old Daoist spoke, Chen Jin felt the surrounding heaven and earth primordial energy shift, as if the invisible cameras watching him had all been withdrawn.

With this sensation lifting, Chen Jin finally had a brief moment to scan his surroundings.

Enclosed by the temple's courtyard walls stood a single, solitary, low-roofed building. The courtyard surrounding the house was vast and empty, growing only gloomy black blades of grass and plants bearing purple petals.

"Those are Nameless Flowers. Consume a single blossom, and one can forget the dust of the past, leaving one nameless and faceless from that moment on," the old Daoist introduced.

"Nameless Flowers?" Chen Jin had never heard of such a miraculous plant.

"Haha, I jest. They are merely flowers I guided and ferried across from the Fengdu Ghost Realm. Though they are nameless, I rather like them, so I planted them in this courtyard," the old Daoist said with a smile.

Despite the old Daoist's casual tone, Chen Jin knew these flowers were far from simple; they seemed to be extracting something from the surroundings.

As for what they were extracting, however, Chen Jin could not discern it.

To be honest, Chen Jin felt that making this trip to the old Daoist's place had thoroughly shattered whatever slight complacency he had harbored after breaking through his cultivation realm.

Before long, Chen Jin followed the old Daoist into the humble dwelling.

Hanging on the front wall inside the room was simply a portrait of the Three Pure Ones, and nothing more.

The interior layout was extremely sparse: just a single table, three woven straw meditation cushions, and nothing else. It was truly a case of walls bare of all possessions.

On the table rested a teapot alongside three teacups.

These utensils were likely the most valuable items in the entire room.

The old Daoist poured tea into two of the cups and handed one to the visitor.

The tea served to Chen Jin was still rising with wisps of white steam.

Chen Jin was not surprised by this; after all, given the old Daoist's formidable abilities, such feats were mere trifles.

"The distinction between modern and ancient methods must begin with the dynastic transition from Shang to Zhou, concluding around the Spring and Autumn period of the pre-Qin era. It's rather a long story—I wonder if you care to listen?" The old Daoist took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and smiled.