Chapter 21: The Innate Defiled Sacred Body

Wu Xian was momentarily stunned.
"It's not over yet?"
Shi Ji nodded grimly. "Yes. If I go to the bathroom, some evil spirit will come after me."
Wu Xian narrowed his eyes, sensing a blind spot.
When he himself was cursed before, he only encountered one evil spirit belonging to Mr. Wang.
Although Shi Ji was afflicted with the "Bestowed Evil," it was the same level of negative effect, so the influence should have been limited to one evil spirit. Why then would multiple evil spirits be targeting him?
"Shi Ji, Shi Ji, I think you’re hiding something from me."
Seizing on this anomaly, Wu Xian suddenly recalled that there had long been many peculiarities surrounding Shi Ji.
Wen Chaofang’s income wasn’t low, so it was normal for him to stay briefly at an inn to avoid delaying their journey. But Shi Ji was merely a janitor responsible for cleaning toilets—why would he be so extravagant as to rent a room by the hour just to wait for a ride?
He was an ordinary person; how did he manage to escape the grasp of a hungry ghost that interfered with perception? Was that ghost’s appetite really that poor?
And after his first day of attack, why would he have any reason to hide the incident from everyone?
Moreover, the little household spirit that attacked last night should have assaulted every room, so why was there not a single palm print on Shi Ji’s face?
...
In truth, many doubts surrounded Shi Ji, but his simple appearance and sincere demeanor caused everyone, including Wu Xian, to overlook them.
Shi Ji showed a troubled expression and was reluctant to answer Wu Xian’s questions.
Wu Xian sneered coldly:
"Fine. You accuse me of playing the fool to hide my strength, but it turns out you’re the one with the deepest secrets. If you don’t want to talk, that’s fine—we’ll part ways here. I’ll find my own lodging tonight!"
Shi Ji immediately panicked and helplessly pulled something from his clothes: "Alright, I’ll confess. I’m not a rookie in the Blessed Land. I’m actually a Devotee."
A Devotee!
Wu Xian’s eyes gleamed.
When he entered the Blessed Land, his passbook had shown that he was also a Devotee. It seemed Shi Ji might hold crucial information.
"Tell me everything you know."

Shi Ji, desperate for Wu Xian’s help, dared not conceal anything and began recounting his experience in the Blessed Land.
"My first journey to the Blessed Land, don’t laugh, was just pure luck. If I hadn’t blown up a cesspool by chance, I wouldn’t have survived."
Wu Xian was shocked—this guy’s first time in the Blessed Land was that dirty?
"After that, I was blessed by the ‘Imperial Purple Toilet Deity,’ gaining the plague of the ‘Innate Filth Sacred Body’..."
From Shi Ji’s words, Wu Xian finally understood the concept of a Devotee.
Those favored by celestial or divine beings are called Devotees.
Some are noticed by gods even before entering the Blessed Land, like Wu Xian, while others, like Shi Ji, gain divine favor through outstanding performance within the Blessed Land.
Only Devotees are true participants in the Blessed Land. Ordinary people, even if they survive to the end, lose all memory of the Blessed Land if not favored by the gods.
Though Devotees retain their memories, they cannot reveal any information about the Blessed Land to the uninitiated by any means.
Each Devotee receives a passbook.
Only the Devotee can see the information recorded within it.
It contains fundamental data, including talismans, divine powers, magical artifacts...
Moreover, after leaving the Blessed Land, the passbook notifies the Devotee of the time and location of nearby Blessed Lands, allowing them to participate voluntarily or avoid dangerous ones.
But this doesn’t mean Devotees can forever avoid danger.
If they evade too often, the passbook’s notifications may become commands, which, if disobeyed, will bring consequences worse than death.
Soon, Wu Xian extracted almost all the information Shi Ji had, then focused on the crisis Shi Ji faced.
It was simply a matter of bad luck for Shi Ji.
His bestowed blessing, called the "Innate Filth Sacred Body," made him more likely to encounter filth-related incidents in the Blessed Land.
Talismans, divine powers, magical tools, and the evil spirits he encountered all had a higher chance of being associated with filth.
Though the blessing sounded degrading, its effect was actually powerful.
Devotees’ divine powers tend to be random, but Shi Ji’s blessing made it easier for him to obtain systematic abilities, enabling him to activate combination effects and reducing the chance of acquiring useless items.
But this time, the trouble came from that blessing.
After praying to the Heavenly Official, Shi Ji was "Bestowed Evil" by the same deity, carrying the filth-tainted evil aura that increased the likelihood of attracting filth-related evil spirits.

The combination of Bestowed Evil and Bestowed Blessing triggered a chain reaction—Shi Ji ended up attracting several filth-related evil spirits, with his passbook warning that six evil spirits would attack him!
That fat toilet spirit was merely the vanguard.
If Wu Xian hadn’t appeared, Shi Ji’s fate would have been to drown in some cesspool. He shamelessly knelt down, wiping his tears and snot on Wu Xian’s pants.
"Brother Wu, I’ve told you everything I know. Please, save me."
Wu Xian closed his eyes in thought, weighing the risks and benefits. After a moment, he opened them.
"Alright, I’ll save you. But this time in the Blessed Land, you must obey me completely. Even the distribution of spoils is up to me!"
"I agree!"
...
"Ah... what have I done... why did I agree to this!"
Outside, darkness fell, sunlight withdrew from the city, and the evil spirits lurking in the shadows reclaimed the streets. The living could only hide behind their doors, hoping the danger would pass.
Inside Room 402 of the Peaceful Inn, Wu Xian looked helplessly at Shi Ji.
Shi Ji had discarded his mop handle and was awkwardly clutching a katana with a red scabbard, forcing a sheepish smile toward Wu Xian.
According to Wu Xian’s plan, rescuing Shi Ji was simple—he just needed to wait in the bathroom, killing each evil spirit as it appeared. One spirit, one kill; two spirits, a pair killed.
Fight fire with fire—this method wouldn’t be a loss but would instead grant stronger divine blessings.
But unexpectedly, an entire day passed without a single attack!
If Shi Ji’s passbook wasn’t mistaken, then this "Bestowed Evil" was not sending spirits one by one to die but was instead accumulating evil energy to unleash a massive assault on Wu Xian and Shi Ji at once!
Worse still, they wasted so much time waiting for evil spirits that they had no time to search for divine statues. They had to let Shi Ji quickly use the divine favor gained from killing the strangling spirit and hurried back to the inn.
Returning in such a rush, everyone had already gone back to their rooms; no one waited for them in the lobby.
At this point, Wu Xian knew he could no longer abandon Shi Ji.
They could only squeeze together in Room 402, stomachs growling, waiting anxiously for whatever might happen that night.