Then let me apologize to you first.

Chen Baiqing stepped into the ancestral hall, her gaze fixed directly on Ancestor Zhou before shifting to the other statues.

The statues all had beast heads and human bodies, each holding different weapons.

Compared to Ancestor Zhou, whose aura was weak and unstable, these statues possessed more substantial power—around the mid-stage Foundation Establishment level.

Chen Baiqing walked to the center, carefully examining the ritual formation and the red wisps of incense smoke.

Before coming, her Master and Chen Mouguang had speculated that they were likely using some method to convert faith energy into seals or other objects.

This trip was primarily for reconnaissance.

Now, it seemed this was not a formation for gathering faith energy but rather one for absorbing it.

The people here were attempting to either amplify the effects of faith energy or compensate for its weaknesses—ensuring that even after losing faith energy, their cultivation wouldn’t drop below their current realm.

Chen Baiqing had read the "Compendium of Basic Cultivation Knowledge," which contained a brief annotation on faith energy.

Perhaps because the book was written by orthodox cultivators, it treated those who cultivated faith energy with superficial respect but underlying disdain.

The respect was because most who genuinely accumulated faith energy were, at least in behavior, decent people.

The disdain stemmed from the fact that, in the eyes of orthodox cultivators, faith energy cultivation was a path taken only by those with no other options.

The biggest reason was that faith energy could cause a drop in cultivation realms, and the higher one’s cultivation, the more faith energy was required to sustain it.

Human faith and conviction were inherently unstable and easily shaken, making it extremely difficult to maintain a vast supply of faith energy.

Among all practitioners, only the Buddhist sects managed to barely hold their ground.

Hmm… though orthodox cultivators generally looked down on Buddhists as well.

But if it were truly possible to prevent faith energy cultivation from causing a drop in realms, the situation would reverse entirely—this could indeed reshape the landscape.

Chen Baiqing memorized the layout, the formation’s structure, and the flow of spiritual energy before turning her attention to the motionless Ancestor Zhou.

The ritual formation was somewhat unique, but the ancestral hall itself held nothing extraordinary.

If her guess was correct, this was merely an experimental site for testing the feasibility of the Incense God Path, not a critical stronghold.

Otherwise, security wouldn’t be so lax.

Lax to the point where Chen Baiqing found it eerie—everything had gone too smoothly, without even a single sweep of divine sense.

Even if they had sent her fifth junior brother, the arrangements shouldn’t have been this careless.

Knocking out Uncle Zhou had been Chen Baiqing’s way of testing whether anyone was truly monitoring this place.

The results were clear: either she had already been discovered, or the security here was just that perfunctory—or perhaps they simply didn’t care.

Otherwise, Chen Baiqing wouldn’t have entered the hall herself and would have sent Zhou Ping back first.

So… should she abduct this person?

Chen Baiqing didn’t believe her presence in the ancestral hall would go unnoticed. While she could deceive the formation, she couldn’t fool people.

This might be her only chance to come here.

Abducting Ancestor Zhou might help her Master better understand the Incense God Path, and she could potentially force one of his thoughts into dormancy to extract more information.

After a brief deliberation, Chen Baiqing decided to act. The initial plan had included disrupting their arrangements, and if she could take Ancestor Zhou, it would count as completing a critical intelligence-gathering mission.

With her mind made up, the Qingtian Treasure Ring in her hand began to glow faintly.

Her spiritual energy, channeled through the ring, turned transparent and colorless, weaving into the surrounding faith energy before coiling around Ancestor Zhou.

Even if the security here was laughable, caution was still paramount—the quieter, the better.

"Whose girl is this? Leave now."

A somewhat aged voice echoed from above the ancestral hall: "I’ll pretend you took a wrong turn, and I never saw you."

Faced with the sudden interruption, Chen Baiqing remained calm. Compared to everything going smoothly, a little turbulence was more reassuring.

Otherwise, she’d have to worry about whether this was a trap.

Since she’d been discovered, Chen Baiqing didn’t bother concealing her divine sense, sending it toward the source of the voice. But her probing met an impenetrable wall, unable to advance further.

Without a doubt, the speaker was at least at the Nascent Soul stage.

Still, Chen Baiqing’s expression remained unperturbed as she continued her actions:

"I’m just looking around. You can pretend you didn’t see me."

"Heh… that won’t do." An old Taoist in a Daoist robe flipped down from above the hall, his eyes settling on Chen Baiqing.

"If I pretend not to see you, this one here would be taken away by you."

As he spoke, the old Taoist flicked his right hand, releasing a pulse of spiritual energy that dispersed Chen Baiqing’s colorless strands.

"I have no intention of killing you, but you won’t be taking him today either." The old Taoist smiled faintly, clasping his hands in a polite gesture that belied his higher status.

"Fellow Daoist, know when to stop?"

"Your actions hardly reflect restraint, yet now you lecture me?"

Chen Baiqing sneered, and the Qingtian Treasure Ring erupted with light.

In an instant, the night over Zhou Mountain Village was replaced by daylight, the sun rising as if hours had passed in a blink.

Zhou Ping, who hadn’t dared enter the ancestral hall, stood outside and witnessed the abrupt shift. Under the sunlight, his skin warmed noticeably.

This immortal was playing for keeps?

First a sneak attack, now this?

Could she control the sun and moon?!

The old Taoist narrowed his eyes at the blazing sun but detected nothing amiss with his divine sense.

What an impressive illusion… a Golden Core cultivator dragging a Nascent Soul into her spell?

Or was it her treasure that was extraordinary?

His gaze returned to Chen Baiqing:

"Impressive, but you still won’t take him. My fellow Daoists aren’t as accommodating as I am. Leave now, and my offer still stands—you can even take the boy at the door with you."

Chen Baiqing raised her hand slightly, and the Qingtian Treasure Ring flared again. The sun, previously the size of a disk, now loomed as large as a cartwheel, its scorching heat pressing down on them.

"How about I leave the boy and take the old man instead?"

The old Taoist sighed softly. "If I call for help, your exit won’t be so smooth."

Chen Baiqing didn’t flinch. "If you call for help, none of you will leave smoothly either."

Calling for reinforcements? Her Master was right outside, and Sister Bai wasn’t far either.

In a contest of numbers, she had nothing to fear.

The old Taoist’s expression turned slightly resigned as he took a step forward. A surge of spiritual energy erupted, spreading outward to form an eight-trigram formation.

With a wave of his hand, golden chains shot from the formation, sealing off all escape routes around Chen Baiqing.

At the same time, the approaching sun was pushed back by the rotating trigrams.

Chen Baiqing tried to dodge, but the earth beneath her swallowed half her body. By the time she broke free, the golden chains had already locked her in place.

The old Taoist shook his head.

Too young, too impulsive. A mere Golden Core cultivator, yet daring to challenge a Nascent Soul.

It’s unclear which immortal sect this belongs to, but indeed, unrighteous deeds stir up dust.

Cultivating shortcuts instead of refining oneself is not the true path.

Harming living beings and disrupting reincarnation is not righteousness.

Has the sect leader… truly changed?

The Old Taoist’s expression dimmed slightly—he knew full well what was right and wrong.

Though not a single life had been taken, and though Zhoushan Village, once plagued by hunger, no longer had a soul starving—even Ancestor Zhou had agreed to participate willingly.

Yet, to recklessly manipulate the desires of mortals was still a sin.

No amount of self-righteous good deeds could cover up that wrong.

But now, the Old Taoist wondered if this so-called "good" was merely the sect leader’s way of making him compromise.

Perhaps even his own heart had been clouded.

Maybe… it was time to ask the sect leader why he insisted on these actions.

The Old Taoist raised his eyes. Chen Baiqing was already tightly bound by chains.

"Forgive me, fellow Daoist, for keeping you here for two days. Once this is over, I will personally apologize."

He clasped his hands in a slight bow, and the golden chains tightened, dragging Chen Baiqing underground. But before his words fully faded, a voice spoke from behind.

"Then let me apologize first."

The Old Taoist turned, his eyes widening in an instant.