A Night of Desperation

Chapter 343: Reconnaissance 1

Everyone stepped forward to congratulate him.

Cheng Shu and the others from the Mutual Aid Alliance stood a little farther away.

Their support was mainly on the grounds that Yu Hong had joined the Mutual Aid Alliance, and they came to provide assistance.

When questioned by the Temple Master and others, their responses were vague, just slurring over. They said everything would wait for Yu Hong himself to explain.

When Yu Hong was asked, he excused himself by saying that he would elaborate after he completely finished his Spiritual Sharpness enhancement.

At this moment, he had finally completed the enhancement and merged with the Five Spirits Spring.

After a round of congratulations, Yu Mo looked at him and finally lowered his voice to inquire about the Mutual Aid Alliance.

"Zheng Rou, be honest with me, what is this Mutual Aid Alliance for? Why are they willing to risk their lives and rush here to save us? Friendship alone is not enough."

The smile on Yu Hong’s face slowly settled.

"Actually, this relates to a secret technique I inadvertently discovered in a ruinous cave."

He had also considered imparting the Spirit Light to Qingchen Temple, but now, in such an adverse environment, any increase in strength matters. As long as he does not disengage or extract the Spirit Light, it can perfectly amplify anyone’s external power.

"Then there’s no need to say more." Yu Mo interrupted him, "Your own stuff doesn’t need to be explained clearly."

"What’s more pressing now is to clean up all the big and small cases that have erupted throughout Taizhou." Yu Hen quickly added from the side. "Furthermore."

His gaze turned towards Yu Hong, his expression solemn.

"Zheng Rou, whether in strength, talent, or temperament, you are now truly among the top of our sect. Your power has now surpassed us old folks in one fell swoop, hence... I intend to, right here, pass on the position of Temple Master to you."

"Ah!?"

As soon as these words were spoken, it was not the elders who reacted, but rather the disciples and people like Cheng Shu from the Mutual Aid Alliance who exclaimed in surprise.

Clearly, the elders had already discussed this but had not revealed this secretive news.

Yu Hong was not moved but seriously considered the current situation.

His original purpose was to infiltrate the upper levels of the Taoist Sect and obtain the method to completely solve the Black Disaster’s resurrecting ability, which he had now achieved.

In other words, it no longer mattered whether he entered the upper echelons of the Taoist Sect.

The only thing he wanted to do now was to warn the Taoist Sect about the horrific nature of the Black and Spirit Disasters.

Fundamentally, the people of this world had not realized that the Black and Spirit Disasters could completely destroy everything.

They only considered Black Disaster and Spirit Disaster as a kind of natural catastrophe with a wider range in classical books. They assumed that even if left untreated, it would eventually pass over time, entirely unaware of the extent of damage the Source Disaster could cause.

"How about it, Zheng Rou, do you dare to accept it!?" Yu Hen said in a deep voice, his gaze fixed on Yu Hong.

To appoint a disciple who joined less than a year ago as the Temple Master, despite the many trials and tribulations the candidate may have faced, was quite a bold move.

"...." Yu Hong fell silent, looking around the circle of people. "What’s there not to dare!?"

Now, his only remaining purpose was to stop the Black Disaster and Spirit Disaster from destroying this place and to leave a thought, a possibility to relocate here and live, for everyone in Hope City and himself.

Being able to succeed as the Temple Master means he has made his mark within the Taoist Sect, and he would also be qualified for direct dialogue with the higher-ups. Isn’t this exactly what he wanted?

"Good!"

Immediately, he nodded firmly.

*

*

*

After Qingchen Temple suffered a Spiritual Domain attack, it was greatly injured for a time. While no one died, everyone had consumed a huge amount of energy and more or less sustained injuries.

However, to everyone’s surprise, the other ordinary people around the Taoist Temple who were not affected did not suffer any injuries—it was just a scare. Many people who were sick also gradually got better, as if nothing had happened.

Only those who were unfortunately wrapped in the Spiritual Domain earlier had died, a small portion of them. The survivors were greatly frightened.

Fortunately, with the full support of the Taoist Temple, those frightened people recovered to their normal state in just a short week.

But once the calm was restored, everyone was greatly puzzled as to why the outbreak of the Spiritual Domain seemed to have only endangered Qingchen Temple in the surrounding area.

Inside the Quiet Room.

Yu Hong quietly took over the Purple Gold Lotus Crown representing the position of Temple Master and placed it gently on his head.

At this moment, he was dressed in a white and gold-threaded Daoist robe, with a large black and white Tai Chi Diagram on his back.

His long hair like a waterfall and his burly stature like a bear made the normally loose Daoist robe look quite snug.

Around him, Dao Seed Disciples of Qingchen Temple, a few disciples who had cultivated Daoist Skills to the Golden Jade level, and many managing Taoists and ordinary Taoists, gathered together to witness the occasion.

Beyond that, at a further distance, stood the high-ranks of the Taoist Association of Taizhou and local government officials.

To show respect, the government sent its second in command, the Mayor of Taizhou City, Mr. Liu Qingwen, to attend the ceremony.

The two special commissioners had returned and left early.

After passing the status-symbolizing Purple Gold Crown, Yu Hen recited a blessing and words of encouragement according to the ritual, before letting Yu Hong bow deeply to the ancestral masters and the enshrined Nine Palace Soul Devouring Venerable.

"Next, please welcome Mr. Liu Qingwen, the Mayor of Taizhou City, to the stage for his speech."

Liu Qingwen was a pale-faced, weary-looking middle-aged man.

On the day when the Spiritual Domain erupted into chaos, he was the first to flee the city with his family.

Although he has returned, he is still listless from the shock.

After going on stage, he barely managed a few words before stepping down to buy talismans from the old Temple Master Yu Hen.

The rest of the people from the Taoist Association did the same; the so-called association was actually mostly composed of the Qingchen Temple and a few official Magicians. The official Magicians, despite not being affected by the unveiling of the Spiritual Domain, were also quite frightened.

Yu Hong surveyed the crowd and sorted them into different factions.

Government officials, civilian Magicians, the Mutual Aid Alliance, members of Qingchen Temple, and the recording Taoists sent by the Taoist Sect to bear witness.

An hour or so later, various cumbersome procedures were barely completed.

Guests slowly dispersed and returned, each carrying a Spirit Talisman gifted by Qingchen Temple.

The only certain effective ones now are three types of talismans: the Spirit Testing Talisman, the Catastrophe Spirit Talisman, and the Spirit Avoidance Charm.

These talismans each have different effects. The Spirit Testing Talisman can detect anomalies related to the Spirit Disaster.

The Catastrophe Spirit Talisman can identify the Spiritual Domain.

The last one, the Spirit Avoidance Charm, helps alleviate effects and slows down the condition after being affected.

The one given to people here is the Spirit Testing Talisman, which can detect irregularities and allow immediate escape to Qingchen Temple.

In the afternoon.

Most of the people had dispersed, leaving only those from Qingchen Temple. People from the Mutual Aid Alliance had also left early, quietly waiting for instructions.

Yu Hong took off his Temple Master attire, keeping only the small Taiji Gold Seal ring.

According to what the old Taoist Yu Hen had said, this ring is a medium that can open many secret vaults within the temple, very important.

"Now within Qingchen Temple, there are a total of four secret vaults, corresponding to talismans, Dao Artifacts, gold, and grains and oils. These are wartime reserve supplies, and can only be accessed by the Temple Master’s authority when urgently needed."

Yu Hen walked alongside Yu Hong, carefully explaining the old foundation of today’s Qingchen Temple.

"On the bank account, the temple still has around 4.3 billion in liquid funds. According to the earnings from various shops and mines, the monthly income is over 400 million, with expenses of 360 million, leaving little surplus. The incense money from the Golden Jade patrons amounts to 4 million monthly. Occasionally, there will be large donations at the end of the year, but it’s also possible to have none, so we don’t count on it."

"The overall management is overseen by Yu Fang. The financial management is overseen by Yu Zhong. The preservation of strategic supplies is the responsibility of your master Yu Mo, and he also oversees the transmission of skills to the disciples."

"In terms of personnel: there are four Dao Seed Disciples, 236 Golden Jade Disciples, 72 officiating Taoists, and 194 escort staff, all of whom require monthly salary and provisions. They form the key pillars supporting the entire operation of the Taoist Temple. There have been many accidents during this period, and we have incurred significant funeral and resettlement expenses, which may require some deficit spending," Yu Hen sighed.

"I understand," Yu Hong nodded. "Don’t worry about the money. What about the experts?"

"According to the Seventh Layer of Guanwu Skill as Temple Master Level, apart from you, there are five people close to Temple Master Level in the temple, which are us old folks. Two elite Dao Seed individuals, Zheng Ming and Zheng Ying. Although Zheng Ying has lost an arm, her Daoist Skills unexpectedly benefited from a misfortune, making a breakthrough to a new level, and her Fear Shadow has significantly increased in strength. I estimate she has a chance of trying for Spiritual Sharpness within two years."

"That’s too few," Yu Hong shook his head. This amount of strength is easily crushed by real experts. Without the temple’s main array, these people would have been wiped out countless times by now.

"We know it’s not enough and there’s nothing we can do..." Yu Hen said helplessly. "The Inheritance Dao Artifacts are not something anyone can take, and our Daoist Realms fluctuate so much, they’re utterly unstable... In fact, Qingchen Temple does have experts... Among the Yu Generation who left before, three of them could breakthrough to Temple Master Level at any moment. But they were expelled due to ideological differences," Yu Hen admitted somewhat embarrassedly.

"Where are they now?" Yu Hong asked.

"I heard they are acting as reclusive Taoists in some villages in the north, in Fuqing Province, helping people with geomancy and healing," Yu Hen replied.

"Is there a chance of inviting them back?" asked Yu Hong.

"It’s difficult..." Yu Hen showed a troubled expression.

Yu Hong pondered; if these experts who could breakthrough at any moment had the addition of Spirit Light, then they would be three solid Temple Master Level experts.

"In fact, my master once said that at Temple Master Level, his personal experience was that the main competition at this level lies in the profundity of Techniques and the strength of will. As for Dao Breath, actually, everyone is more or less on the same level, not much difference. This is also why the three of them left; they believed that my reforms to Qingchen Temple were not conducive to cultivating the will of the disciples, leading to a decline in the quality of successive generations," Yu Hen said helplessly.

"Your grandmaster does have a point," Yu Hong agreed.

"You all don’t know shit, what can you do without money? Without these funds, Qingchen Temple would already be finished," Yu Hen suddenly bristled.

"Uh-huh, your methods make sense as well, elder," Yu Hong nodded again in agreement.

"Whose side are you on exactly!?"

"I support both sides," Yu Hong said.

"But trying to earn money means no time to temper oneself, and tempering oneself leaves no time to make money, what to do?" Yu Hen said helplessly.

"Actually, there is a way," Yu Hong pondered.