Chapter 113: Activating the Mind and Spirit

In the darkness, upon the altar, the statue covered in countless strange, varying-sized eyes was suddenly enveloped by a mass of dark red mist. This mist was saturated with the power of witchcraft. Shang Lu surmised that the sorcerers of the Discipline Division had begun their ritual. Under the influence of this witchcraft, the bizarrely shaped statue seemed to come to life. Despite being made of clay, it suddenly took on the texture of living flesh, and all the strange eyes upon its body turned in unison to stare at Shang Lu.

Mysterious and eerie incantations began to echo in the room. The chanting was so faint that had Shang Lu’s hearing not been significantly enhanced, he would never have detected it. Though he could not understand the words, he memorized them in his mind; one never knew when such things might prove useful. Under the power of the chant, the dark red mist surged into the interior of the statue. Shang Lu watched as the eyes on the statue began to crawl out one by one. With each eye that emerged, a trail of blood flowed down the statue’s surface. In an instant, the statue was drenched in blood, yet it emitted no foul, iron-scented odor.

Once detached, the strange eyes moved like insects, scurrying rapidly toward Shang Lu and crawling all over his body. Strangely, he felt absolutely nothing, as if the eyes had no weight at all. Had his eyesight not been sharp enough to witness this uncanny scene, he would have remained unaware of what was transpiring in the side hall. Shang Lu feigned ignorance, keeping his guard up in silence.

Soon, his entire body was covered in the strange eyes. A bizarre sensation washed over him—as if, in the presence of these eyes, he stood completely undefended, stripped bare to his very core. At that moment, he felt a change within his "Temple of the Five Viscera." Using his inner vision, he saw a mist rising within the temple, obscuring it and the various "offerings" kept within. The eyes covering his body thrust their protruding pupils into his skin. Again, Shang Lu felt nothing. Once embedded, the pupils released strands of divine light, scanning his internal organs, meridians, blood vessels, muscles, bones, and even his soul.

At first, Shang Lu was tense, but he soon discovered that the divine light emitted by the pupils could not penetrate the mist shrouding his Temple of the Five Viscera; it could not even detect the presence of the mist. His heart, which had been hanging in his throat, finally settled. But the next instant, it jumped again. He saw that the Liver Deity statue had intercepted some of the divine light released by the eyes. *Damn it, again? You really are a thief who never leaves empty-handed, aren't you?*

It was said that the liver was the "thief of the five viscera," but that usually referred to how liver trouble could affect other organs—not that it literally became a thief, one that played such high-stakes games and targeted divine entities! Shang Lu was nervous, fearing the eyes crawling over him would notice the theft. However, it seemed his worries were unfounded. Whether the Liver Deity had learned from its previous experience or these eyes were simply less vigilant than the Mountain-Cleaving Berserker, they remained completely unaware that their divine light had been pilfered.

The Spleen Deity within the temple was particularly proactive, immediately converting the light intercepted by the Liver Deity. This gave Shang Lu a strange feeling: his organs were working hard, while he was just slacking off. Yet, slacking off was all he could do; any sudden movement would alert the eyes and draw suspicion from the sorcerers. Soon, the Spleen Deity finished converting the light, and the resulting life force was not sent to the small intestine to separate the pure from the turbid, but was instead delivered directly to the Heart Deity statue nearby.

The mist shrouding the Heart Deity dissipated. In this unexpected manner, the Heart Deity had been awakened. Shang Lu, not being a man of high culture, desperately wanted to shout a profanity, but his reason eventually overcame the impulse. He never expected that an interrogation would bring him such an unexpected windfall.

Soon, the eyes that had been scanning his body and soul finished their mission. Instead of crawling back to the statue, they burst silently on his skin, turning into puddles of blood. Shang Lu saw it happen, but felt nothing. Honestly, had the Liver Deity not intercepted the light to clear the mist from the Heart Deity, he would have suspected this was all just an illusion. As the eyes exploded, new ones grew on the blood-soaked statue, just as protruding, eerie, and strange as the last.

Suddenly, a voice resonated through the side hall: "How exactly did the ghost of Qiu Haishan die?"

The voice seemed to descend from the heavens, carrying immense authority while harboring a power that could bewitch the mind, compelling one to obey and answer whatever was asked. Shang Lu instinctively wanted to reveal that Qiu Haishan's ghost had been suppressed by his Temple of the Five Viscera and transformed into a Taiji-like orb. Just as he was about to speak, a burst of fire surged from the Heart Deity statue, rushing to his consciousness and burning away the distracting thoughts and external influence. Shang Lu regained his sense of self.

*Damn!* Shang Lu’s scalp tingled; he had nearly fallen into a trap. But he did not hesitate to speak, recounting how he had used the divine power of the Mountain-Cleaving Berserker to destroy Qiu Haishan's ghost, carefully omitting any mention of the Temple of the Five Viscera or the orb. After hearing his story, the mysterious voice sounded again: "Do you know where the Dragon Pearl swallowed by Qiu Haishan went?"

"I don't know." Shang Lu’s answer was concise.

The mysterious voice did not return. Shang Lu was in no rush; he took the opportunity to examine the Heart Deity statue. The statue bore his own face, but beneath its feet swirled a raging fire, as if it had been born from the flames. The light radiating from the Heart Deity was a fiery crimson. The heart was the "Fire Organ," the source of the most potent yang energy, hence its appearance. Furthermore, the heart was responsible for housing the spirit and governing clarity of mind. That was why it had been able to wake him when the mysterious voice tried to influence him.

He also noticed that no incense or candles had been offered at the Heart Deity's altar, meaning its functions were not yet fully activated. Judging by the experience, although he appeared to be alone in the hall, there were countless eyes watching him from the shadows. If he were to take out incense and candles now, he would immediately draw the attention of the Discipline Division. The interrogation that followed would be far more difficult than this one. He decided to wait until he returned; there was no need to rush.

After sitting for a while longer, the door to the side hall finally opened, and sunlight dispelled the darkness. Only then did Shang Lu realize that despite the many eyes that had exploded on him, there was not a trace of blood left, nor was his clothing stained. A sorcerer from the Discipline Division, wearing a beast-bone mask, stood at the door. He beckoned to Shang Lu: "Chief Constable Shang, thank you for your cooperation. You may leave."

*Look at that, he even wants to thank us!* Shang Lu thought, feeling the sentiment was perfectly appropriate for the moment. *I should be the one thanking you!* he mused internally. *If it weren't for this investigation, I wouldn't have been able to steal that divine light, and I don't know when I would have found the opportunity to clear the mist and awaken the Heart Deity.*

As he left the hall, Shang Lu made a request: he wished to offer a stick of incense to the strange statue. The sorcerer was clearly stunned for a moment. They had interrogated many people and heard many requests, but this one was truly rare. He did not refuse and gestured for him to proceed. Shang Lu took out the incense he carried, lit it, bowed, and placed it in the censer before the statue, whispering in his heart:

"Courtesy demands reciprocity. Now that I’ve offered the incense and candles, we are square..."