Chapter 392

Chapter 392: The Gate Gods Are Also Gods

Li Hui rubbed his forehead, feeling the impact on his spiritual sense. If he hadn’t cultivated the exceptional Divine Bird Technique and had various methods to enhance his spiritual sense, he would have faced calamity in an instant due to the intensity of the other party’s spiritual sense.

“Refining the heart also refines the spirit; the female cultivators in the Heart Refining Branch are not simple!” Luckily, he had retreated in time, shaking off his pursuers; otherwise, he would have been labeled a peeping tom.

“Uh, let me think for a moment. Oval face, high nose bridge, lush bosom, quite tall. Yes, that’s her, the chance to refine External Transformation fell to this woman.”

Recalling the scene earlier made his stomach warm, and he felt pleased: “Not bad! The second adulthood; spring is the season of revival and also the peak time for partners to cultivate together!”

“Focus, what am I thinking?” Li Hui bade farewell to the two female demons and gracefully left the Scripture Hall.

He strolled around the market, casually exchanging some talisman-making materials. His pockets were rather empty, leaving little to trade.

Li Hui found a secluded small temple to rest and spoke to the two statues: "Why do you two gate gods stay here in such a desolate place? I happen to have some precious incense and want to stay for a few days to cultivate good relations."

“Daoist, you are too polite!”

As he lit the precious incense, the two gate gods were exceptionally excited, exclaiming, “Two hundred thirty-six kinds of spiritual materials made this precious Dao fragrance! Such a grand gesture from you, Daoist! What merit do we brothers have to enjoy this?”

This precious incense came from the River God of Li River, who possessed a substantial amount of wealth. Now it belonged to Li Hui; by burning this incense to strengthen ties, he began to inquire about news: “Thank you, brothers! Just a small offering for your hard work. I have some fate with a female cultivator in the sect, but unfortunately, I don’t know her current situation. I hope you could guide me.”

“Hehe!” The gate god brothers smiled; having a request meant they could enjoy the incense.

After Li Hui sketched the woman’s portrait, the two gate gods were startled. The left statue looked distressed and said, “Why is it her? She is Yang Bixie, under the Grand Princess. The Heart Refining Branch is divided into southern and northern houses, but aside from them, there’s also a courtyard dedicated to royal practice. Those deposed consorts and princesses, those from previous generations that fell from grace, and degraded female officials are all sent here, prohibited from male cultivators approaching.”

The right statue continued, “This Yang Bixie was initially a disciple of the northern house. Somehow, she caught the attention of the Grand Princess and was brought under her guidance two years ago for secluded cultivation. She usually treats other cultivators coldly, very hard to get along with and rarely seen, but she is fiercely loyal to the Grand Princess.”

“The Great Xia cold palace?” Li Hui didn’t expect the Heart Refining Branch to be so complicated.

The gate god brothers sighed, “Isn’t that the Great Xia cold palace? The Heart Refining Branch was originally built around the cold palace. What does the name have to do with refining minds? It was originally responsible for guarding the cold palace! In its early years, there were some incidents; the consorts who were sent to the cold palace caused a ruckus, and the royal family had to invite disciples from the Jin Tian Sect to suppress them. Over time, it became the Heart Refining Branch.”

“Such a reason?” Li Hui scratched his head, realizing that the opportunity lay with Yang Bixie, but she was in the cold palace. Although she wasn’t a strictly confined member of the royal family, meeting her was not easy.

Through their conversations, he learned that to guard the cold palace, the Great Xia royal court had deployed numerous deities in addition to the northern and southern houses. Deities such as gate gods, kitchen gods, mountain gods, and road gods were all categorized as “informants” in the Heart Refining Branch, constantly keeping an eye on the cold palace to prevent any infractions.

Simply put, the women of the cold palace were not allowed to flirt with men; they could only linger until they died, fell ill, or waited for death.

“Ah! The desolate ancient palace, the palace flowers bloom lonely red. The old palace maids sit idly discussing the mysteries of the Dao.” Li Hui sighed, contemplating whether to give up when he suddenly heard an explosion overhead, followed by a voice: “Guard justice, guard danger, this year’s assessment is substandard. Punish with seventy percent of the salary.”

“What?” The gate god brothers shouted, “We’ve worked diligently; how could it come to this?”

There was no answer from above, clearly dismissive.

Li Hui understood that the supposed “salary” referred to the incense offerings, and he said casually, “During the dark moon calamity, everyone is concerned about survival; who has the mood to offer incense and worship?”

The gate god brothers snorted coldly at the sky, sighing, “Daoist, you may not know, but the stronger the situation, the stronger the will of sentient beings; it greatly benefits us deity cultivators. If we can eradicate the evil, we can protect a piece of land, and we could rise immediately. At the end of the day, it’s still due to not treating the gate gods as gods! Especially watching the cold palace’s entrance; it’s even less regarded! We’ve often been deprived of our offerings, and now it’s become even more severe!”

“Oh? I happen to know of three places; they are sort of my own territory. If you brothers are interested, you could escape this predicament.” Li Hui smiled slightly, sitting down to chat casually about the three homes he had helped the refugees find during the chaotic times.

Gate gods are indeed gods! Since they hailed from the Heart Refining Branch, they felt it wasn’t appropriate to undermine their own walls. However, since they were from the Great Xia government and treated poorly, they had no qualms about digging at the corners.

“Right! Daoist is correct; gate gods are also gods. Why should we be deprived of rations?”

At this moment, Li Hui smiled and advised, “People fight for a breath, and gods fight for a stick of incense. I’m sure plenty of deity cultivators share your situation. How about connecting quietly? Don’t assume the Heart Refining Branch is so safe; there’s too much resentment in the cold palace — a big problem could arise.”

He genuinely had this worry; others couldn’t see it, but through Bai Ze’s divine eye, he perceived that issues in the Heart Refining Branch were severe.

If the dark moon appeared a few more times, the dark energy would seep further into the dark soil, and the cold palace would surely boil over.

The two brothers nodded, “Daoist makes a good point! The accumulation of resentment in the cold palace is terrifying, and it can usually be suppressed. However, recently there have been signs of disaster. We are in charge of various entrances and are best at gathering intelligence and avoiding calamities. Other deities might be unaware; we feared voicing it would label us as spreading misleading talk, so we’ve kept quiet.”

Li Hui praised, “You two are wise deities; your statuses shouldn’t be like this. Come, let’s work together! If you disagree, I’ll have you brothers forcibly taken away!”

“Hahaha!” The gate god brothers thought the Daoist was joking, but they were already intrigued.

“Listen to me; before leaving, we must collect the salary you haven’t received over the years — we can’t let the Great Xia guard the cold palace without compensation, right? As the orthodox sect, I want to let off some steam in the cold palace, but I can’t do this under the identity of a Jin Tian Sect disciple; that won’t work!”

“How will we strategize?” the gate god brothers quickly engaged.

“It will require some sacrifice of appearance; we need to connect with the fellow deity brothers and let me sneak into the cold palace…” Li Hui whispered, and the gate god brothers nodded repeatedly, grinning mischievously.

The next day, as the sun reached its peak.

Numerous vendors cursed loudly, lamenting that today the divine observer was slacking off, making them miss their schedule. Furthermore, the gate gods acted outrageously; the spiritual birds had escaped from their circles and didn’t even inform anyone. Doors that should be opened were tightly shut, and they called for help for a long time.

A female official from the cold palace arrived at the Law Office to collect expenditures for the latter part of the month, which included very few materials for assisting cultivation. Years ago, the consorts had been confined; with nothing to do, they pushed for their cultivation, causing quite a stir afterward. Therefore, today, control was extremely tight; expenditures varied greatly, with no excess remaining. As a result, these women found alternative paths, leading to numerous methods within the Heart Refining.

“Hmm? Another female official demoted here?” The cold palace female official paused, opening the official document, only to see the stunning portrait of a beautiful girl.