"Get out!"
The little fox's face turned red with anger. She crouched down, unsure of what to do. Going back meant being deceived again, but carrying Feng Menglong's smelly socks was simply too disgusting.
Jingle!
Suddenly, the Vajra Bell rang. The sound was loud, and Feng Menglong yelped, covering the bell with all his might. The bell's sound was even louder than their shouting. If it continued to ring, it would attract the followers of the Incense Cult!
Seeing the Vajra Bell ring, the little fox was immediately astonished, "The Vajra Bell can help people open their wisdom, calm their minds, eliminate grudges, and purify ghosts. It only rings when there is heavy Yin energy, or when ghosts or Yin-heavy demonic creatures appear."
With both of them pressing down on the Vajra Bell, it finally quieted down. Meanwhile, a group of fox Taoists appeared in the county town. These Taoists even carried out the statue of the Nine-Lotus Fox Ancestor from the temple.
On the other side, the gamblers who were being chased by Milong scattered and fled. Some of the gamblers, after reacting, gathered together, armed with farm tools or cleavers, and engaged in a fierce battle with the mortal followers of the Incense Cult. Blood and severed limbs flew everywhere, and the streets were filled with shouts of killing.
"Hey! Those foxes are out, did you see them!"
"What?"
"I mean, they're out, so we can sneak into the temple and steal our things back! My eyes are very sharp. These people didn't bring that North Emperor Heavenly Peng Ruler with them. That's a treasure that reveals demons. Such a weapon against oneself wouldn't be carried around."
The little fox pondered. These fox spirits mainly relied on strange scents to confuse people, and it seemed that ordinary mortals were also being confused...
Huh?
"Right, I remember, you weren't confused by that incense. Why?"
The little fox found it strange at this moment. Feng Menglong had entered the temple with her before, so why was he unaffected?
Could this penniless scholar who frequented brothels be a hidden master?
The little fox was slightly wary, blinking her eyes, while Feng Menglong spat, "How should I know? I just smelled their incense and knew it was fake. It all smelled like fox musk, so foul and unbearable!"
"I don't know if those people are crazy or what, such a stinky incense... and they can still be confused? You're a fox immortal, so I can understand, after all, you're also a fox. Males are easily tempted by females..."
"Huh? So, I have righteous energy?"
In Confucianism, those who truly comprehended the teachings of the sages possessed righteous energy, which made them invisible to ghosts and gods, and their minds impervious to demonic influence. They could even achieve "investiture of the gods" with this righteous energy.
Wen Tianxiang's "Song of Righteousness" states: "Heaven and Earth have righteous energy, which is endowed with myriad forms. In man, it is called vast and mighty, filling the boundless firmament."
Righteous energy in creation is the ultimate, most powerful energy that permeates heaven and earth.
In man, righteous energy is the spirit of uprightness, magnanimity, and unyielding integrity.
Similarly, Wen Tianxiang was revered as a Confucian sage in the Ming Dynasty, truly a pillar of heaven, while Lu Xiufu was a supporter of the sun.
However, such righteous energy is extremely rare. It originates from the heart, nurtured by the cultivation of a vast and mighty spirit, thereby condensing the righteous energy of heaven and earth, and activating it. It is not something that can be cultivated by simply reciting scriptures and then seeking pleasure in brothels.
And the high-ranking officials in the imperial court, although they were the leaders of countless scholars in the world, precisely because they were long immersed in scheming and intrigue, could not possess such righteous energy.
The reason why sages are sages is mostly because they were not in high positions, thus having the leisure to write books, contemplate the principles of heaven and earth and the philosophy of life, and in certain matters, they would never compromise. The reason they were demoted or not given important positions was mostly due to this very point.
Therefore, if one is constantly thinking about how to please the emperor and the powerful, and likes to oppress others with authority, how can one cultivate righteous energy?
The little fox also found it strange, "Didn't you say you often go to brothels? Do people who frequent brothels also have vast righteous energy?"
"You're not saying it right. Although I've been to brothels many times, I've always gone with an appreciative eye. Have you heard of Liu Xiahui, who sat by the river without being tempted? I am that kind of person."
"Brothels can temper one's will. Those women sell their smiles, but do you know what hardships they have endured? Behind those smiles are all heartaches, and I don't go for their bodies, but to comfort their wounded hearts..."
"When reading the books of sages, one should worry about the country and the people, and love the country and the people. Don't these women in brothels deserve love?"
Feng Menglong's expression was serious, firmly believing that it was precisely because of his past good deeds that he had ignited his righteous heart, condensed the vast righteous energy of heaven and earth, and therefore was not confused by the strange fox odor of the Incense Cult.
The little fox scratched her head, recalling the reason why these foxes had come here, and suddenly hit her small head:
"Right! I remember now. They told me before that when the brilliance in the Seven Treasures Terrace all flew up, I should return to this place and welcome the Old Fox Nine-Lotus with them!"
"We have to hurry, otherwise, when that female fox arrives, I'll be confused, and your smelly socks probably won't work anymore! This old fox, I remember, they said this fox started cultivating after the Tumu Crisis, so it has a hundred and several decades of cultivation now!"
"But what do we do now? If I go into the temple, I'll be confused too... Huh, what is this?"
Suddenly touching herself, she felt a flat little object in her innermost pocket. It was about the size of her palm. The little fox took it out and saw that it was a magical artifact.
This small magical artifact had always been kept inside her. In the little fox's memory, she seemed to have never used it. Perhaps her grand-master had forgotten about it when searching her, or perhaps he hadn't found it.
And when she was controlled before, she hadn't told those Incense Cult fox spirits about this item, so she had forgotten about it herself.
The little fox thought, after all, her grand-master had a lot of magical artifacts, how could she remember such a small, unused item?
"What is this?"
Feng Menglong looked at the object, which was no bigger than his palm, flat, like a small box that could be opened, with a hollowed-out lid.
"A copper wire brazier. This is something my grand-master took from the Wanli Emperor's treasury."
"Wanli... You, what did you say?! You've been to the Emperor's treasury?"
Feng Menglong was greatly shocked, "How could you have been to the current Emperor's treasury!"
The little fox chuckled, "That means my grand-master is amazing! You don't know, Emperor Wanli and my grand-master are friends. I've also stayed in the Forbidden City for many days! Ha, you poor scholar, you haven't even seen the bricks at the entrance of Shuntian Prefecture, have you!"
Feng Menglong's mood suddenly became very complicated. He couldn't pass the imperial examinations, so he naturally had no official position. After all, passing the examinations was the first step to becoming a candidate official. A rural scholar was at most a rustic scholar-official, only a bottom-tier member of the scholar class.
"I heard from my grand-master that this copper wire brazier seems to have the function of containing incense, but when my grand-master encountered enemies with incense, he would just eat all their incense in one gulp, so this thing was useless..."
"Always useless..."
The little fox mumbled, but her eyes lit up.