Han Zheng had heard of the Smell Fragrance Sect.
The neighboring Huainan Road was almost entirely occupied by the Smell Fragrance Sect, and now the great fame of the sect echoed throughout the entire Great Zhou.
The Smell Fragrance Sect worshipped "The Sovereign of the Nine Heavens, Supreme in Compassion and Mercy, the True Spirit Master who wondrously ferries the masses across," also known as the Compassionate Mother of Life.
All believers of the Compassionate Mother of Life were required to ignite their incense with fresh blood, resulting in a red smoke billowing to the sky, which was a hallmark of the Smell Fragrance Sect.
In Han Zheng's view, the Smell Fragrance Sect was a standard cult.
Not because of their bloody incense-smelling method.
But because any religion that worships a living god is definitely a cult.
A living person must not claim to be a god.
One can be a messenger or son of a god, but never a god on earth.
Li Feng approached Han Zheng with a solemn expression and said, "A few years ago, when I went to Huainan Road to procure spiritual medicines, I had seen those veteran believers of the Smell Fragrance Sect.
Aside from eating and drinking, they would bleed and smell incense whenever they had the energy, allegedly seeing the nine layers of bliss and the eternal hometown after inhaling the incense.
According to the Smell Fragrance Sect, sincere worshippers of the Compassionate Mother of Life would enter the eternal hometown after death, where there is neither life nor death, nor sin nor calamity.
In the end, some believers bled to death, still in that intoxicated state before passing away.
At that time, the Smell Fragrance Sect had not yet taken over Huainan Road on a large scale, and I felt that this Smell Fragrance Sect was not to be trifled with."
Han Zheng spoke in a low voice, "If we can't afford to provoke them, we can avoid them. Let the caravan detour and we can rest once we return to Black Stone County."
The great strength of the Smell Fragrance Sect, that could occupy one of the nineteen roads of Great Zhou and shock the world, was evident.
Whether a cult or an orthodox sect, an organization powerful enough to wreak havoc in a road was not one that Han Zheng and his group could afford to provoke at the moment.
Under the command of Han Zheng and Li Feng, the caravan began to detour.
However, because of the size of the group, their movement was somewhat noticeable and was eventually detected by the people of the Smell Fragrance Sect.
The adherents of the Smell Fragrance Sect, leading many villagers in recitation, noticed the caravan's commotion. The two looked at each other, each holding a stick of incense, and quickly approached the caravan.
These two people were plain-looking, probably in their forties or fifties, with faces bearing traces of years of sun exposure and labor, looking like simple and unadorned old farmers.
But their white robes were spotless, dazzlingly white, providing a stark contrast to their ordinary appearances.
"Kind gentlemen, to meet is fate. How about smelling a stick of incense and offering incense to the Compassionate Mother of Life?" the leading adherent said. He was slightly chubby and presented the incense to Han Zheng with a sincere smile.
His attitude was very polite, but his tone seemed to brook no refusal.
Li Feng's expression changed subtly, and he took two steps back instinctively, looking to Han Zheng.
"Sorry, the caravan has to hurry on its way and we do not have the convenience to bleed and smell the incense," Han Zheng replied apologetically.
The other, a tall and thin adherent, narrowed his eyes and his tone grew slightly unfriendly.
"Bleeding to steep the incense is an act of devout faith from believers. How could you call it 'bleeding'? Do you have any objections to my Smell Fragrance Sect if you refuse to even light a stick of incense?"
Han Zheng said firmly, "We have no opinion regarding your sect. It's just that the caravan really is in a rush and we don't have the time."
That chubby adherent laughed and retorted, "If you're in a rush, you can't be lacking the time for just one stick of incense."
As his words fell, the chubby adherent stepped forward and in an instant, was already in front of Han Zheng.
The hand with the incense was half-clenched into a fist, with blood energy surging and changing, seemingly like a Child Holding Incense, but the overwhelming Fist Intent was already charging straight at Han Zheng's face!
He had to accept this stick of incense whether he wanted to or not!
Han Zheng stood still, the muscles and blood in his arms roiling, his hands formed a Seal Technique, and he struck down from above.
Vajra's Angry Eyes, Subdue Demon!
Child Holding Incense collided with Vajra Demon Suppression.
A violent thud resounded between the two.
The incense in the hands of the chubby adherent dropped due to the fierce shock in his tiger's mouth.
Han Zheng caught it and offered it back with both hands.
"There's only the wait for people, not for time.
We promised our employer to deliver the goods on time; we really cannot afford to wait."
The chubby adherent gazed deep into Han Zheng's eyes, the sincere smile on his face gradually fading away.
After a moment, he reached out to take back the incense and said expressionlessly, "If the gentlemen are indeed in a hurry, then so be it. But as fate has brought us together, we will meet again."
"Farewell."
Han Zheng gave a formal bow and immediately signaled for the caravan to leave.
Watching the caravan's retreating figures, the tall thin adherent frowned and said, "Big brother, why did you let them go? The Compassionate Mother of Life favors the incense offered by martial artists the most, and the incense lit with the blood from a Postnatal Middle Stage martial artist is stronger than that from a hundred ordinary people."
"That young man is not a simple character," the chubby adherent replied, looking at his own fist that was red all over, clearly suffering from the aftermath of the blood energy impact.
"Although his cultivation hasn't reached the Late Stage Postnatal realm, his strength is truly astonishing.
Especially that Seal Technique he used—it was exceedingly exquisite and must be an Innate Martial Skill!
We cannot squander time on them and delay the sect's significant matters. We need to move on to other villages for preaching, and don't forget the task the Scent Master entrusted to us.
We brothers only need three hundred more people to accumulate enough incense, and then we can exchange for two Heavenly Fragrance Breaking Realm Pills, and step into Innateness in no time.
Seeing their direction, it seems they are heading toward Black Stone County on Southern Mountain. The sect must have made arrangements there. It's about time to enter Southern Mountain."
"Remember this person; when we spread our teachings to Black Stone County in the future, he will kneel and beg us for a stick of incense."
The slightly plump believer's smile gradually disappeared, turning cold and grim.
At that time, on the merchant caravan's side.
Li Feng let out a sigh of relief, patting his chest and saying, "I was really scared to death just now, thankfully Brother Han, you stood up to them."
Han Zheng shook his head and said, "Those two individuals are quite strong, having opened more acupoints and meridians than myself, and I had to exert my full strength just to deter them.
They must have had other matters to attend to; otherwise, if they insisted on making us smell the incense, we would have had no choice but to bleed or face a bitter battle.
Most importantly, once we made a move, we would inevitably offend the Smell Fragrance Sect, and then it would be unknown whether we could safely return to the county town."
Li Feng sighed and said, "Yes, the Smell Fragrance Sect's growth over these years is like a rolling snowball, its power truly terrifying.
Those two in white clothes are actually just the lowest ranking members of the White Clothes Sect, responsible for preaching to the common folk.
After one year of becoming a member of the White Clothes Sect, one can then paint a golden Holy Mark on their garb.
How many of these lowest-ranking members does the Smell Fragrance Sect have, countless? Heaven knows how they manage to cultivate so many postnatal martial artists."
Hearing what Li Feng had said, Han Zheng gained a deeper understanding of the foundation of the Smell Fragrance Sect.
Although the realms of those two believers were slightly higher than Han Zheng's, when it came to the application of strength and martial skills, they were far inferior to Han Zheng.
Han Zheng may not have come from a great sect, but the disciples taught by Li Jingzhong all had solid foundations and could utilize their full strength.
However, the Smell Fragrance Sect believer could only exert at most seven or eight parts out of ten of his strength, which is why he was repelled by Han Zheng's Vajra Demon Suppression Seal.
But those two were just the lowest-ranking white-robed members, and according to Li Feng, they might have joined the Smell Fragrance Sect for less than a year.
Before that, they might not even have been exposed to Martial Arts, possibly just farmers tilling the soil.
For them to have such cultivation levels in such a short time, no wonder the development of the Smell Fragrance Sect was so terrifying.
"Brother Han, that move you just used seemed to be the Vajra Fist, yet not quite, it felt really powerful."
Wang Bao approached, somewhat curiously inquiring.
Vajra Demon Suppression Seal was a breakthrough technique from Vajra Fist, so naturally, there were similarities.
Wang Bao did not suspect anything, but just felt that his technique was not the same as Han Zheng's.
But he was aware of Han Zheng's strength, so he was also worried that he himself might have practiced it wrongly.
"The hall master once said that actual combat is not like the sparring within the Martial Arts Hall where everyone takes their stance, you punch and I kick by the book.
As long as you can output the essence of the Fist Intent of Vajra Fist, even if you use the palm, it's still the Vajra Fist."
Saying this, Han Zheng suddenly thrust his palm towards Wang Bao.
The force of the wind howled, resembling the Demon-Subduing Pestle thunderously descending, halting just before Wang Bao, giving him quite the scare.
Han Zheng's skill level in Vajra Fist had already reached perfection, displaying the essence of Fist Intent with ease, effortlessly fooling Wang Bao and the others.
"Brother Han is indeed the leading figure among our group of disciples, I have learned much."
Wang Bao looked on in admiration.
Their time of entry was the same, how did he practice to become so excellent?
Worried that Wang Bao would ask further questions, Han Zheng walked over to Li Feng's side, instructing him to ask the caravan to quicken their pace.
Actually, there was no need for Li Feng to urge them on.
Because of the incident with the Smell Fragrance Sect, the caravan dared not rest and continued through the night, finally seeing the walls of Black Stone County the following morning.
Once inside the city, Li Feng was visibly exhausted, letting out a sigh of relief.
"This journey was indeed full of twists and turns, fortunate to have returned to Black Stone County safely."
Li Sancheng also had dark circles under his eyes, heaving sighs of relief.
"Yes, the world outside is far too dangerous; it's safer at home, and earning silver is surely not easy."
Li Sancheng had already made up his mind that in the future, he would rather be a Protector than an Escort Master, even if it meant working for someone else.
He knew that money was hard to earn and shit was hard to eat.
Eating shit was bearable, but if it cost one's life afterwards, it wouldn't be worth it.
Meanwhile on the other side of the street, Chen Baiqing had already brought over a dozen Shenghe Hall workers to receive them.
Right before entering the city, Li Feng had already sent someone to send a message.
"You all have worked hard."
Chen Baiqing came forward, his face beaming with joy.
With the merchant team returning safely, he felt at ease; the batch of Spiritual Medicine was enough to keep him supplied for quite some time.
"Where's Manager Chen? Why do I not see Manager Chen?"
Han Zheng pulled down Manager Chen, who was tied up from head to toe and whose mouth was stuffed with god knows whose stinky sock, from the carriage.
"Here."
"What... what does this mean?"
Li Feng walked over, pulling Chen Baiqing aside to recount the whole journey's events in great detail.
At the end, Li Feng hesitated for a moment and then said, "Store Manager, all of these things were witnessed by our workers with their own eyes, you can ask them again if you wish."
"No need, I believe you."
In contrast to the previous joy, Chen Baiqing's expression had already become gloomy, as dark as the bottom of a pot.