Xie Shan felt a headache coming on as a large group of villagers wailed and cried on the ground. In his previous life, he was a highly accomplished Daoist monk, but with his memories sealed, he became a Loose Cultivator in this life, secluding himself for cultivation in a hermitage he built at the perilous peak of Wuyi Mountain, called Qianshi Fan Chao Yin. He rarely ventured outside to interact with others.

Now faced with such a situation, he was at a loss about what to do.

In his view, those children had not cultivated good fortune in their past lives and were destined to have short lifespans in this life, doomed to die young. Because his two daughters were involved, creating karmic consequences, it was only right that they should save and guide these children's reincarnated souls one by one in the future. This was the only solution.

But these ignorant countrymen and women, unable to see past and future lives, only cared about the present one, merely wanting their children back. He tried to explain, "Your sons and daughters are like creditors who have come to collect debts. Your ties with them were never deep to begin with. Now that the bonds have reached their end, it is time to part ways..."

Upon hearing Lord Xie's words, the villagers wept even louder and more sorrowfully, "I don't care about any of those ties, I just want my child back, my poor, suffering child."

Xie Shan found himself unable to clarify for them and felt that continuing this was meaningless, so he simply rose into the air and, looking down from the clouds, sighed, "Love leads to separation; hatred brings together; the troubles and suffering of the human world are nothing more than this."

Li Jingxu also flew up into the sky and asked him, "How do you plan to resolve this matter?"

Xie Shan replied helplessly, "I have already calculated the causes and consequences in detail. This affair originally stemmed from the Wutai Sect's Demon Path sorcery harming people, which was the root of the disaster. My two daughters got involved because they happened upon a battle between a Demon Dragon from Dinghu Peak and a Sword Immortal. They rushed to the scene after noticing the commotion, and without taking proper stock, too readily believed the words of the sorcerer, unleashing their Flying Swords to strike the Demon Dragon, which led to all these complications.

According to the Gua Xiang I deduced, those children had already died long ago, their souls harvested and infused into three side-door Magical Treasures. One of them was destroyed in a swordfight with the Emei Sect, and the involved souls have gone on to reincarnate. When my children attain enlightenment and join the Buddhist faith in the future, once they possess Wisdom and Divine Skills, they will be able to retrieve the remaining two Magical Treasures, destroy them, rescue each soul, and help them escape suffering to find joy. Even those who have reincarnated into beasts or hungry ghosts will be given the chance to regain human form."

He felt this was the best arrangement, but the villagers couldn't understand or accept it, which left him somewhat depressed.

"Even so, you must address the fault of not disciplining your daughters properly. Bearing this burden, they will not leave you in peace. They will either continue to pray to you or curse you, making it difficult for you to find peace in your future meditative state," shared Li Jingxu with some emotion, "Since I mistakenly accepted a disciple all those years ago, I've been burdened through hundreds of years, repeatedly reincarnating, leading after lead, and still they amount to nothing! If not for my firm immortal root, I would have almost been dragged down into a fallen tribulation. Now I still have one more karmic obstruction and another tribulation waiting in the future. If his heart remains firm and his resolve strong, able to withstand external demon influences, then all is well. But if he fails to hold on, he will have to reincarnate a few more times."

This was a matter concerning Xie Shan himself, or rather, the matter of the two daughters from Immortal City. Li Jingxu did not presume to interfere, nor was he the type to meddle unnecessarily, especially because he also had other matters to attend to. After chatting with Xie Shan for a bit, they parted ways.

Thus, Xie Shan found himself entangled with the villagers' prayers.

Originally, Shi Feiyang sent birds to tell the villagers that their children had been taken by the two daughters from Immortal City. The villagers, unable to fully comprehend the situation and after collective consultations and divinations by local fortune-tellers and geomancers, mainstream beliefs painted Xie Shan as a high monk and living Buddha. They understood that his two daughters, who two lives ago were his own children, had become yaksha devils in this life, specializing in eating young children. Subdued by their father, they converted under his tutelage. Although they no longer consumed children, they retained the habit of stealing them.

A variety of versions circulated, and eventually, some literati even turned the story into an opera to perform, in which Lord Xie was hailed as the third son of the Heavenly Emperor...

The villagers couldn't be sure which version was true, but in any case, they were content with their prayers being answered. Especially now that Lord Xie had descended from the heavens, exuding Immortal Energy, which convinced them even more of the truth of the story, leading them to pray and supplicate with even greater fervor. The offerings became more lavish, and Xie Shan could smell not only the scent of half-cooked pig heads charred by fire when he meditated but also that of goat heads, ox heads, and an assortment of steamed meats.

After several months of this, a figure emerged, similar to Yao Suxiu from years before, claiming to have dreamt of Lord Xie and been led to the Heavenly Palace, where they met the two Holy Demon Witches and saw the abducted children. The villagers were told to pool their resources to build a larger and finer temple for Lord Xie, which would benefit them all.

So, in the course of two or three years, the original temple was razed and expanded. It now had three courtyards—the first called Dragon King Hall, enshrining a Black Dragon with turtle-and-snake generals, widely reputed to be the protector of Lord Xie. The second was called the Holy Maiden Temple, enshrining sisters Xie Ying and Xie Lin, one body with two heads and four arms—one face lovely and beautiful, the other fierce and terrifying, surrounded by many children. The last, called Xie Wang Hall, was dedicated to Lord Xie Shan.

The Black Dragon was also enshrined within, a consequence of Shi Feiyang's past actions. However, he had not made an appearance for many years, having wandered far over the seas, and even when he occasionally heard the prayers of the villagers in his meditative state, he did not respond. Gradually, people stopped worshipping him because he had never shown himself in his human true form to anyone nor had he ever revealed the name "Shi Feiyang." The connection between them was not strong.

Neither Xie Ying nor Xie Lin had been seen by the villagers. Only Xie Shan had been clearly witnessed by all; the original statue of him, which looked like a man in his thirties, was knocked down and replaced with one resembling a handsome young man identical to him. Now the connection was strong; whenever Xie Shan entered his meditative state, he could smell the offerings and hear the prayers of the villagers.

He simply ignored them; eventually, the prayers turned into curses. Stories in plays said that Prince Xie was being punished by the Heavenly Emperor for his mistakes, banished to the Human World, and now, with a heart of stone and no intention to mend his ways, he had become petrified, waiting for his two demon daughters to repay all the accumulated sins of the past before he could be restored.

As he was cursed over time, Xie Shan showed signs of deviation...

When Ye Bin learned of this, she was so irate that she wanted to set out to sea to seek revenge on the Demon Dragon.

Xie Shan stopped her: "That Black Dragon was originally trying to save those children, but was thwarted by my two obstacles of karma. They didn't distinguish between the wise and the foolish, the good and the evil, resulting in the innocent children all being harmed. What right do we have to seek vengeance on that dragon? What vengeance?"

Ye Bin said, "At least, we must retake those two Sword Qi and the Cave Spirit Zither!"

"That is a matter for the children to handle. It was lost from their hands, and they themselves should retrieve it in the future. It wouldn't be proper for us to intervene."

Ye Bin calculated that the Demon Dragon had, by then, taken refuge under Geng Kun's wing in the East Sea, knowing that the Geng brothers had forged the "Chi You Three Disks Scripture" and were capable of the Great and Small Twelve Heavens Great Method, with many demon species under their command. Although she did not fear them, Geng Kun had a very small heart and a vengeful nature; if she went alone, not only was there uncertainty in capturing the Black Dragon, but offending that person meant never having peace unless she could kill him outright.

So she put the matter aside, instead visiting Immortal Mountain and Spring Valley several times to see Xie Ying and Xie Lin. The two daughters, clinging to her legs, called her "auntie" and pleaded for her to intercede with their father to spare them from decades of prison, promising they would not wander elsewhere and would just travel between Immortal Mountain and Wuyi Mountain, willing to serve their father.

The first few times, Ye Bin refused and even scolded them harshly but over time, she softened and truly interceded with Xie Shan on their behalf. Xie Shan didn't agree. On subsequent visits, seeing how pitifully confined the daughters were, she couldn't bear it.

This time, upon noticing movement on the Forty-Seven Islands, she deduced that the Demon Dragon had actually come nearby, right to Outer Heaven Divine Mountain at her doorstep, so she crossed the Aurora Fire to enter.

She was so incensed at the villagers' harassment of Xie Shan, who had several times almost crossed into demonic deviation, that she wanted to personally destroy Xie Wang Temple with her Ice Soul Divine Light Sword, leveling it to the ground, grinding it into rubble. The villagers, not knowing the cause, dared not rebuild the temple, but Prince Xie was their only straw to cling to for finding their children. Moreover, many still believed that their children were taken by the two saintess to play in the Heavenly Palace, hoping one day they would return them. Thus, privately, they cast small statues, some half a foot, some two to three feet tall, to worship at home; still a Prince Xie with two saintesses.

Initially, only families who had lost children did so, but soon others followed suit. The legendary tales of Prince Xie continued to be updated, now saying he could cure diseases, control epidemics, attract wealth, and grant fortunes and blessings. They even created a family tree for him, claiming he was the son of Xie Xuan, a famous general from the Eastern Jin, and that he married a daughter of Li Yuan, the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty. In his hands, he wielded a Purple Lightning Gun, rode a Lightning Chasing Wind Horse, kept an Immortal-beating Golden Brick in his bosom, and four Demon Slaying Sabers on his back. He fought alongside the Tang King to conquer great territories and, once his achievements were recognized, he ascended to heaven. In terms of Dao Level and power, he surpassed even the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing.

This made Prince Xie and the two ladies from Immortal City unwelcome in countless households. He became seen as a god of wealth and a god of medicine. Many claimed that praying to him was exceedingly effective, and there were continuous accounts of him showing up and saving people in times of disaster.

Over the span of ten years, new Xie Wang Temples started emerging throughout the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, each more splendid and magnificent than the last, and various theatrical stories like "Prince Xie Single-Handedly Defeats Eight Generals," "Prince Xie Greatly Breaks the Black Water Formation," and "Prince Xie Stirs the Underworld to Save His Mother" were added.

Xie Shan was left miserable by all these developments, and because of this, Ye Bin also came to despise the Black Dragon, having long wanted to slay him both for avenging Xie Shan and retrieving the Cave Spirit Zither.

Before entering Outer Heaven Divine Mountain, she sent a Flying Sword Transmission to Xie Shan, informing him that she had located the Demon Dragon who was in the midst of his Tribulation, urging him to come quickly to join her in exterminating the demon and avenging their wrongs. Then she entered the Aurora Fire herself.

Little Antarctic was millions of miles from Central Earth, and her Flying Sword Transmission would take some time to reach its destination, anticipating a half-day journey each way. With Xie Shan's Flying Escape speed, he would surely arrive before the Aurora Fire revived. Xie Shan possessed the Buddhist treasure Heart Lamp Flower Lamp; shaking out just a few lamp flowers would be enough to eradicate their enemies. He was also most adept at capturing Primordial Spirits. No matter how much a demon changed or ascended, none could escape the illumination of the Heart Lamp. Once captured within the lampwick, unless its bearer showed great compassion and granted forgiveness, complete annihilation was the only outcome!

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