Chapter 273: Taking the Blame

“Your Fate Token is gone.”

A voice suddenly spoke, it was Daoist Qiu’s voice. The tone was calm, almost like a reminder. Chen Luo frowned, turned around, and was about to speak when he froze.

At his feet lay a perfectly intact Fate Token, its inscription facing him. The words “All Evil Devours the Moon” seemed to mock him, unchanged from before.

It was as if his earlier act of discarding the Fate Token had never occurred. When he scattered his Divine Sense, the house he’d crushed with the token now stood whole and unbroken.

Was it returned? When did this happen?

Chen Luo narrowed his eyes at Daoist Qiu and asked, “What did you just say?”

“Ah?! I… I didn’t say anything.”

“I was standing here the whole time.”

The Daoist looked bewildered, unsure why Chen Luo was asking such a question, but answered truthfully.

He didn’t move?

Chen Luo bent down and picked up the Fate Token from the ground.

Within the External Brain, all three Core Formation brains were activated. Even the Mummified Brain was attempted to be mobilized. Such methods clearly surpassing those of Foundation Establishment cultivators meant there was no need to bother the hundred-odd Foundation Establishment brains. The focus was primarily on the perspectives of these advanced brains.

The three Core Formation brains simultaneously provided feedback. The third-rank Pill Master’s brain was the most ordinary, lacking significantly in combat experience. The Immortal Sect Leader and Cave of White Immortal Core Formation brains’ feedback was much clearer. These brains’ extensive ‘memories’ were largely due to Chen Luo’s frenzied accumulation of knowledge over recent times.

As the accumulation of knowledge increased, the ‘memories’ of the Core Formation brains from their previous lives became more complete. Their angles of thought and reaction also became increasingly clear. Among them, the Immortal Sect Leader’s brain reacted the fastest and most completely.

While Chen Luo was considering the feedback from the three Core Formation brains, the Mummified Brain was finally activated. Compared to their deductions, the Mummified Brain’s feedback was simpler, immediately beginning to ‘recall’.

Chen Luo’s ‘memories’ were activated, recalling his ‘recent’ experience.

From the same vantage point, he witnessed an entirely different scene unfold.

In his recollection, he held the Fate Token and studied it briefly. Then, he stood motionless as if deep in thought. The group of escorts nearby also froze, casting anxious glances around while occasionally stealing furtive looks at him. Finally, his grip loosened, and the Fate Token clattered to the ground.

The moment the token hit the earth, the words “All Evil Devours the Moon” flickered unnaturally. A figure clad in armor materialized from the token - the same spear-wielding assailant who had attacked him earlier. His appearance went unnoticed; he even passed through Chief Shen’s body as if a holographic projection, his form shimmering with ethereal instability.

The armored figure moved behind Chen Luo and spoke in Daoist Qiu’s voice:

“Your Fate Token has fallen.”

As the words faded, Chen Luo found himself abruptly awake. He turned to ask Daoist Qiu a question, which was met with the Daoist’s response:

“The minor deity from Iron Spear Temple?”

Chen Luo’s index finger traced the grooves on the Fate Token. The bamboo’s natural texture told him this was an ordinary stick, not even a Magic Artifact.

“The destruction of your temple was the Monster’s doing,” Chen Luo tried to explain. “I was merely passing through.”

His words fell on deaf ears. With communication failing, Chen Luo decided to find the entity himself and offer a proper ‘explanation’ face-to-face.

The street stretched endlessly, offering no escape.

“Doesn’t this look familiar?” Daoist Qiu pointed at a wooden door. The group turned to see they’d somehow returned to the Iron Spear Temple’s entrance.

Chen Luo approached and gently pushed against the door.

Creak.

It swung open to reveal the temple interior. This wasn’t the dilapidated structure he’d fought the Lizard Demon in, but a complete, pristine sanctuary.

The familiar bluestone floor greeted him as he stepped inside. The severed heads that had hung from the iron spear were gone. The weapon’s black lacquer gleamed, a stark contrast to the rusted state he’d seen before.

The escorts followed Chen Luo into the Iron Spear Temple.

“Wasn’t this temple destroyed?” The group stared in bewilderment at the scene before them.

“Are we being haunted by ghosts?” Lao Qian’s voice trembled. They were merely ordinary people trained in martial arts, lacking spiritual roots, and thus couldn’t comprehend such an inexplicable sight.

“Nonsense! With our senior here, no ghost would dare approach us,” Daoist Qiu declared. As a Qi Refining realm Immortal Cultivator, he understood better than anyone Chen Luo’s true strength.

This was a Foundation Establishment cultivator capable of slaying great demons!

Chen Luo remained silent, sensing that peculiar force again. His vision distorted as an armored figure holding an iron spear materialized before him.

The armored man’s face was deathly pale, his bloodshot eyes radiating palpable resentment.

Strangely, none of the others seemed to see this armored figure. They continued discussing ghost legends nearby.

“Who knows? With his limited skills, what kind of monster could he possibly face? He might not even be able to protect himself!” The escort standing next to Daoist Qiu suddenly wore a peculiar expression.

Pfft!

As the crowd turned in confusion, a bloody line appeared on the Escort’s neck. His head rolled across the ground with a clatter, the headless body collapsing in a crimson pool. The metallic stench of blood filled the courtyard.

“Old Lu!” A familiar voice cried out from the crowd. They stood frozen, completely unaware of what had transpired—what Old Lu had done, or why he’d met such a sudden, inexplicable death.

Chen Luo faced the gun-wielding deity before him, attempting to reason. “Just a temple. I’ll have it restored. Let’s consider this matter closed. How about it?”

The figure remained motionless, like a statue carved from resentment. His eyes burned with tangible hatred—ancient, unyielding fury.

Buzz.

Chen Luo raised his hands. Purple lightning crackled between them, arcs of energy stretching outward like stretched silk.

When words failed, only force remained. This being proved unlike anything he’d faced before. Chen Luo chose the Yin Thunder Spell Technique—safe, reliable, and deadly.

Boom!

The Lightning Arc struck, carving out a massive crater. Yet its target remained unscathed, the arc piercing through the figure as if it were nothing but air.

“Senior?”

Daoist Qiu and his companions, already trembling with fear, watched in confusion. To their eyes, Chen Luo had suddenly unleashed a barrage of lightning techniques… at empty space.

“Has this senior been bewitched?” Chief Shen’s voice trembled with uncertainty. The sudden death of their escort had shattered his confidence. His martial prowess proved useless here, and now their supposed savior had gone mad, channeling divine abilities at thin air. If he could strike the void now, what would stop him from striking them next?

“We should retreat,” Daoist Qiu said, his voice steady despite his Qi Refining realm limitations. He couldn’t discern the true nature of the threat within. Better to withdraw than risk everything.

Thud!

The moment they stepped outside, the Iron Spear Temple’s gates slammed shut with such force it seemed a giant hand had pulled them shut from within.

Inside the Iron Spear Temple…

After exhausting his lightning techniques, Chen Luo switched to his Five Elements divine abilities. Various energies struck the phantom before him, but none proved effective. He then tried curses, Soul Banner, and sword qi! Yet every attack failed to reach his opponent, while the armored warrior with the spear drew ever closer. Chen Luo finally understood the nature of the Lizard Demon’s earlier outburst—he’d likely faced this very armored figure himself.

The words on his Fate Token—“All Evil Devours the Moon”—seemed to come alive. The character for “evil” began emitting black mist with a gurgling sound. Through the haze, Chen Luo could almost hear ancient voices from the past.

The voices of countless prayers filled Chen Luo’s ears. He heard the accumulated wishes spanning millennia—joyous and sorrowful, martial and civilian—all directed toward this very armored general holding the spear.

Boom!

A thunderclap flashed. Under Chen Luo’s watchful gaze, blood suddenly flowed from the gun-wielding figure’s crimson eyes. Those once-vengeful eyes, now weeping blood-tears, turned to vacant emptiness.

The prayers faded, the pedestrians departed.

The city that had once surrounded Iron Spear Temple vanished. A battle between two Immortal Cultivators had destroyed everything. Centuries later, grasses grew tall, plants swallowed all, yet Iron Spear Temple stood firm.

Alone in the ruins, it waited for those who had once worshipped it to return.

One year, two years.

Ten years, a hundred years.

The general of Iron Spear Temple was forgotten.

Those who had worshipped him gradually became mountain insects and birds. Their prayers transformed into natural sounds. The spear-bearing general changed too, slowly losing his past like his followers, until only the memory of those two Immortal Cultivators who had destroyed the small city remained.

An unforgettable hatred.

Chen Luo’s battle with the Lizard Demon replayed this ancient scene. They had destroyed Iron Spear Temple, awakening the ‘general’s’ memories, so he sought revenge.

The Lizard Demon was likely already dead. That left only Chen Luo.

“This is a huge pot I’m carrying now.”