Chapter 256: Sugar Figurine

The young Daoist priest did not take long from the moment he appeared until he left, and since the Spell he used was not visible to Mortals, it did not affect the Mortals on the street.

At most, they only felt a gust of cold wind blow past.

However, there were still far fewer pedestrians on the street, mainly due to Xu Tao's collapse and vomiting of blood.

Xu Tao's old home had already moved out of this street eight years ago, so few people recognized his identity now.

Wang Lin sighed, walked slowly with his hands behind his back toward a nearby general store, and upon entering, the store's shopkeeper immediately bowed and stepped forward.

Wang Lin pointed at the unconscious Xu Tao not far away and said, “Shopkeeper, please find two assistants to carry this man to my shop.”

The shopkeeper of the general store hesitated, looked around, and seeing that no one was paying attention, stepped forward and whispered, “Shopkeeper Wang, we don't know if this person is alive or dead. I think it's better to report it to the authorities, otherwise, you might invite trouble upon yourself.”

Wang Lin smiled, patted the shopkeeper's shoulder, shook his head, and said, “It's fine. Just find someone to send him over to me.”

With that, he turned, put his hands behind his back, and slowly walked away.

The shopkeeper watched Wang Lin's retreating figure, sighed, and muttered to himself, “What a good man. Shopkeeper Wang is truly a good person!” After muttering this, he immediately turned around and shouted, “Xiao Er, Xiao San, come out here! Carry the man lying outside to Shopkeeper Wang's shop!”

Almost at the same time Wang Lin returned to his shop, two young assistants wearing coarse cloth clothes had already carried Xu Tao back and, at Wang Lin's direction, placed him on the shop floor.

Wang Lin casually took out some silver, dismissed the two assistants, then closed the shop door and sat silently beside the stove, deep in thought.

If Xu Tao was not rescued, he clearly would not survive. Wang Lin sighed inwardly, and considering that the man had consistently shown filial respect for over ten years, he took out the lowest-grade Medicinal Pill from his Storage Pouch and flicked it into the man's mouth.

He then picked up his wine pot, drinking while waiting for the man to wake up.

As for the young Daoist priest, he sped away, caring nothing for shocking the world. Finally, he even threw out his Flying Sword, transforming into a long rainbow, and rushed toward the east side of the city.

Near the suburbs on the east side of the city stood a Daoist Temple. The surroundings of the temple were quite serene, featuring a clear pool where pink lotus flowers grew in the water, and pieces of emerald-green lotus leaves floated atop. Some fish gently nudged the lotus leaves in the pool, causing the leaves to drift slowly while drawing circles of ripples across the surface, creating a truly transcendent setting.

A small path paved with cobblestones wound down from the Daoist Temple. Willow trees were planted along both sides of this path, and whenever a gentle breeze blew, the willows would sway and dance, making a rustling sound, possessing a certain elegance.

Although the breeze arrived at this moment, the rustling of the swaying willows was covered by the sound of something tearing through the Void Realm. The young Daoist priest, having transformed into a long rainbow, suddenly landed outside the Daoist Temple gate. Immediately upon landing, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his face pale. He pushed open the temple door with one hand and stumbled inside.

Several Cultivators meditating cross-legged inside the Daoist Temple suddenly opened their eyes. One of them, seeing the young Daoist priest's disheveled state, immediately stood up and stepped forward, asking in surprise, “Junior Brother, how could a mere Mortal inflict such severe injuries upon you?”

The young Daoist priest shoved the person aside and shouted sternly, “I need to see Master! Master!!!”

“What are you panicking about!” A middle-aged man walked out from inside the Daoist Temple. This person had a wide face and small eyes, but his large ears were quite noticeable. At first glance, he possessed a rather imposing demeanor.

Once this person appeared, the several meditating Cultivators all stood up and respectfully stood to the side.

When the young Daoist priest saw the middle-aged man, he immediately plopped down onto his knees and said, “Master, someone destroyed my Natal Rakshasa, and my mind was damaged. Master, please avenge me!”

The Big-Eared Cultivator glanced at the young Daoist priest, flicked his sleeve, and stretched out his right hand to grab through the air. Instantly, streaks of black Qi suddenly appeared in the Void Realm, quickly condensing together to form a gigantic skull.

The Big-Eared Cultivator then lightly tapped his right hand, grabbed the skull, and without a word, slammed his palm onto the young Daoist priest's heavenly spirit. The young Daoist priest immediately trembled slightly, a look of pain appearing on his face, which quickly became covered in streaks of black Qi. After a long time, he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of black blood. Subsequently, the black Qi on his face slowly dissipated, revealing a hint of color, and the injuries caused by the destruction of his Natal Rakshasa instantly recovered.

“Explain in detail!” The Big-Eared Cultivator raised his right hand and said slowly.

The young Daoist priest took a deep breath and quickly recounted his entire journey, greatly exaggerating the details. The young Daoist priest was quite articulate, making his story vivid and lifelike. The Big-Eared Cultivator listened quietly, while the Disciples around him kept their heads bowed in silence, though their eyes revealed strange expressions.

Before long, the young Daoist priest finished speaking, hatred flashing in his eyes, and he added, “Master, I already reported your name, but that person was too arrogant! Master, we must go teach him a lesson!”

The Big-Eared Cultivator's expression remained calm, showing no emotional fluctuation. He looked at the young Daoist priest and said plainly, “Are you certain that when you first saw this person, he had no spiritual power in his body, just like a Mortal?”

The young Daoist priest nodded quickly and said, “Master, absolutely certain. At first, I even thought he was a Mortal.”

The Big-Eared Cultivator's eyes revealed a strange light. His face was unreadable, showing neither joy nor anger, and he slowly said, “You will accompany me on a trip. Lead the way. No need to use Spells; we'll just walk there.”

The young Daoist priest immediately brightened, quickly led the way, and guided the Big-Eared Cultivator out of the Daoist Temple. As for the other Cultivators inside the temple, they wanted to follow, but seeing that Master had not summoned them, they exchanged glances. One of them sighed softly and said, “Master truly spoils Junior Brother too much.”

“This isn't the first time. There's no use being jealous of things like this. Given Master's wisdom, how could he not hear the exaggeration in Junior Brother's words? We should just ignore it.” A middle-aged Cultivator beside him gave a wry smile and said slowly.

“With Junior Brother's temperament, he will cause major trouble sooner or later, sigh!” Another person muttered this before falling silent.

“With Master around, even if Junior Brother causes major trouble, he probably won't suffer any consequences. If it were us, well, that's another story.” The person who spoke first said with considerable emotion.

“We've known about Master's favoritism for a long time. Even the Cultivation Technique that Junior Brother Cultivates is different from ours. Forget it, we just need to understand this internally. If we speak it out loud, it will only make us seem petty.”

“I wonder which School's Disciple is the one who provoked Junior Brother this time. Listening to what Junior Brother just said, why would this person be mingling among Mortals?” The middle-aged Cultivator asked, full of doubt.

“The Four Sects Alliance is vast; what kind of Cultivators aren't there? I think this person is likely at the Core Formation stage, which is why he could effortlessly destroy Junior Brother's Natal Rakshasa.”

“What good does it do for us to discuss this? Given Master's status in the Four Sects Alliance, never mind the Core Formation stage, even a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator would end up the same way!”

After a brief conversation, the few people stopped bothering with the matter and continued to meditate cross-legged.

As the young Daoist priest walked, waves of smugness rose in his heart. He had long known that Master treated him the best, perhaps because he was Master's Final Disciple.

Since childhood, whenever he encountered any trouble, he only needed to tell Master, and Master would immediately take him to eliminate the opponent. Over all these years, Master had never once refused.

He sneered internally, thinking that with Master personally intervening this time, that person would certainly be killed and left without a burial place, letting him know the consequences of daring to provoke him!

Thinking of this, he secretly glanced at Master beside him. On the surface, Master showed no emotion. The young Daoist priest was secretly delighted, as according to his understanding of Master, the more expressionless Master was, the angrier he was inside.

In his memory, every time Master took him to eliminate someone who had provoked him, Master almost always wore this expression. No matter what kind of enemy he had provoked, the moment they saw Master, they would immediately turn pale with fear, either kneeling to beg for mercy or instantly fleeing. Although a few attempted to resist, the final fate of all three types of people was the same.

The smugness in the young Daoist priest's heart felt as sweet as honey. He took a deep breath and quickly walked a few steps faster, thinking, “That person better not run away. I need to get there quickly.”

While they were walking, the Big-Eared Cultivator suddenly stopped. The young Daoist priest, having walked a few steps ahead, quickly turned back, only to see the Big-Eared Cultivator's gaze fixed on a nearby stall selling small sugar figurines.

A soft look appeared in the Big-Eared Cultivator's eyes. He stepped up to the stall and gently asked, “How much are these sugar figurines?”

The vendor at the stall, upon seeing the Big-Eared Cultivator for the first time, felt an inexplicable surge of goodwill in his heart and smiled, “One Copper Coin is enough.”

The Big-Eared Cultivator nodded with a smile, took out a Copper Coin, placed it on the stall, and carefully examined the vivid sugar figurines one by one before finally selecting one and picking it up.

The young Daoist priest was stunned. This was the first time he had ever seen Master buy a sugar figurine, and he felt a mix of amusement and disbelief. But he never expected the Big-Eared Cultivator to hand the small sugar figurine to him!

“Fu'er, when I first saw you as your Master when you were a child, you were fighting a group of street urchins for a sugar figurine. Perhaps you have forgotten…” The Big-Eared Cultivator's eyes showed a look of nostalgia.

The young Daoist priest was startled. He took the sugar figurine and involuntarily recalled his miserable childhood. If not for Master, he would likely be dead by now. Thinking of this, his eyes grew slightly red, and he whispered, “I haven't forgotten. Master brought me out and taught me Spells and Divine Abilities.”

The Big-Eared Cultivator patted the young Daoist priest's head and said, “Let's go. Take me to see that person.”

The young Daoist priest looked at the sugar figurine in his hand, and scenes from his childhood slowly surfaced in his mind. He took a deep breath and carefully placed the sugar figurine into his Storage Pouch. He planned to keep it for the rest of his life, because Master had bought it…