Chapter 56: Invitation

According to Zhao Gou, "Folding and Harvesting" (Zhege Caisheng) is not an organization, a sect, or a faction, but a collective term for numerous practitioners of evil arts and sorcery. Internally, they each have their own strongholds, are not subject to one another, and even have conflicts among themselves.

However, their largest gathering place and base of power lies within the two organizations located in the underground drainage system of Dongjing Bianliang: the Ghost Fan Tower and the Worry-Free Cave!

"……Since the founding of our dynasty, we have always been hunting and exterminating the three evils of the world: Shadow Puppetry, Witchcraft and Gu-poisoning, and Folding and Harvesting."

When Zhao Gou spoke of serious matters, he truly looked the part.

Regardless of anything else, he is an Imperial Prince; even if he is not the Crown Prince, royal education is indispensable. He knows music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and he understands the political situation and the imperial court. It is just that there are usually no situations for him to display his talents, but now, as he speaks of these things, he is quite articulate.

Zhao Gou said: "It is just that there are only two types of true manifest powers in this world: one is the strange and eerie Yin spirits, and the other is the bloody and courageous killing aura. Our Great Song naturally masters the bloody and courageous killing aura, gathering the masses to specifically break evil and strange things. Under the battle formation, regardless of whether you have ten years of cultivation or fifty years of cultivation, as long as you have not exceeded one hundred years of cultivation to trigger the first qualitative change, wherever it passes, no one can be an enemy."

Wu Pifu asked in a deep voice: "The first qualitative change?"

Zhao Gou realized suddenly: "That's right, the three of you are disciples of immortals, so naturally you are not restricted by this…… The mortal world is bitter, and mortals are also bitter. The three of you have lived in the Penglai Immortal Realm for generations, so naturally you do not know the bitterness within this."

"After a person dies, there is a soul, and within the soul, there is obsession. Whether it is good or evil, once the body dies, the obsession of the soul will be distorted. If the obsession is too strong, it will turn into a zombie or a wandering ghost, which is what the world calls lonely ghosts and wild spirits."

"After a ghost dies, it turns into a 'Zhen' (a ghost of a ghost), which is the root of the birth of Yin lands and ghost lands."

"After a 'Zhen' dies, it turns into a 'Xi', after a 'Xi' dies it turns into an 'Yi', and after an 'Yi' dies it turns into a 'Wei'. These 'Xi', 'Yi', and 'Wei' are all powers of the Yin attribute. They are the foundation of all Dharma cultivation in the world. Whether it is the Three Teachings and Nine Schools, or the side-door and left-path, all must use their own soul and intent to connect with the Yin attribute power to cast spells, and they themselves must also accommodate the Yin attribute power to temper and increase their own magic power. If there is no righteous Dharma or good Dharma, people will be influenced by the Yin attribute energy. Over time, evil thoughts will grow stronger, righteous thoughts will fade, and they will all turn into demons and monsters."

The three of them were listening carefully. When Wu Pifu heard this, he frowned and asked: "Are they all like this? What about the righteous sects like Daoism and Buddhism?"

Zhao Gou smiled bitterly: "They are all like this. The Three Teachings are like this, the Nine Schools are like this, and the side-door, left-path, demons, and monsters are all like this. However, the Three Teachings have righteous Dharma and good Dharma, so they can dissolve the influence of absorbing this Yin attribute energy. Although the Nine Schools have no righteous Dharma or good Dharma, they also have some methods of dissolution to delay the influence. But the side-door, left-path, demons, and monsters do not have this method, or rather, they feel that this influence can actually strengthen the power of their spells and sorcery, so they are actually happy to do it."

Wu Pifu roughly knew that the Three Teachings referred to Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. He was not very clear about the Nine Schools, but he knew the difference between good and evil when he heard about side-door, left-path, demons, and monsters.

Zhao Gou continued: "It is precisely because of this that, apart from the Three Teachings, the imperial court only confers titles on righteous gods and righteous beliefs. If there are no great evildoers among the Nine Schools who have contributed to the people and can protect a region, the imperial court will also acknowledge them. But for those other things, our dynasty has been exterminating them non-stop since its founding. Alas, the power of this world is just like this. Exterminate one, and ten appear; exterminate ten, and a hundred appear…… The mortal world is bitter, and the world's people are bitter."

The three of them watched Zhao Gou perform, all three of them drinking tea and watching the show without saying a word.

Zhao Gou said this, but he did not feel embarrassed. He just smiled and said: "So if the three immortal disciples can exterminate the Ghost Fan Tower and the Worry-Free Cave located under Bianliang, this will undoubtedly be a blessing to the common people. I thank the three of you on behalf of the common people of the world."

So that was it?

The three of them were muttering in their hearts.

He had talked for half a day, but he hadn't explained why the main headquarters of Folding and Harvesting was under the Great Song capital of Bianliang.

However, the three of them could imagine the reason; it was probably official compromise, some kind of benefit, or collusion between officials and private interests. Zhao Gou naturally could not declare it out loud.

Just then, several officials appeared from outside the main hall, and the Prince's steward walked over and whispered a few words in Zhao Gou's ear. Zhao Gou smiled and said to the three: "The underground survey maps collected by the Ministry of Works over the generations have been delivered. Do the three of you want to see them now?"

The three naturally nodded. Soon, several officials arrived in the main hall. They were stunned when they saw the three, and then naturally showed flattering smiles on their faces. Each of them first saluted Zhao Gou, and then saluted the three.

Immortal disciples, Great Song National Preceptors—this kind of status was not something that small officials and clerks like them could neglect.

Soon, dozens of drawings were placed on the round table in the main hall. Wu Pifu and Xu Shilan immediately gave up their seats to Amida, letting Amida lie on the paper and watch carefully.

"Very strange……"

After Amida looked over it roughly, he pointed to several of the drawings and asked: "Why do these drawings clearly depict the same area, but the internal structures are completely different?"

There was no need for these terrified officials to answer. Zhao Gou said first: "This is also the reason why the Ghost Fan Tower and the Worry-Free Cave could never be exterminated. Because the underground structures, rooms, caves, and layouts are constantly changing every moment. This is because the long-term existence of Folding and Harvesting has turned this place into a Yin land, or even crossed the Yin land into a dead land or a desperate land. The bloody and courageous killing aura will be greatly suppressed and offset here. Even the Golden Dragon of National Fortune can only limit it from spreading and can only suppress it underground."

This actually stunned the three of them. They did not expect that this was the reason why the Great Song imperial court had not suppressed it?

The expressions of the three immediately became grave. Xu Shilan said two words to Wu Pifu using lip-reading.

Nightmare!

Wu Pifu nodded slightly, and he said to Zhao Gou: "Today we have been entertained by the Prince of Kang, and we have obtained this information about the location of the monsters and evils. We are truly grateful. The night is deep, and it is really inconvenient to disturb you further. We also need to go back to discuss the plan to slay demons and eliminate monsters, so we will take our leave." Zhao Gou solemnly cupped his hands and said: "The three of you must also be careful and meticulous. Although Folding and Harvesting are all evil arts that cannot be brought to the table, they are extremely vicious. If you are not careful, you will fall into their trap. Although the three of you are immortal disciples and must have magic weapons and immortal artifacts bestowed by your elders, after all, you are here to experience the mortal world, so you must be careful and more careful."

The three said goodbye, and on the way back, the three discussed the next steps in the carriage.

"Exploration is definitely necessary, but we don't have to go immediately."

Xu Shilan said first: "There is a five-year time limit to kill Guo Jing. What we need is growth, growth, and growth. We have laid a good foundation in this Dream World, but we are still too weak, and our mastery of our skills is not enough. So I don't suggest going to the underground of Bianliang recently. It's too risky."

Wu Pifu didn't speak, but Amida asked: "So what is your idea?"

Xu Shilan had nothing to hide: "Continue to maintain our current routine and practice our skills with peace of mind. My Shadow Puppetry, your Iron Refining Record, and Wu's Guoshu and Human Immortal Martial Dao. After five days, we will return to Gaia, and then we will explore the Dream World with a baseline reality of 0.8 and establish a shelter. Given our strength, the 0.9 world wastes shelter quotas, and the 0.7 world is too dangerous. So our best choice is actually to establish another shelter in a 0.8 Dream World to improve our strength and foundation, and then decide based on the situation."

Amida didn't speak, and both looked at Wu Pifu.

Wu Pifu was thinking about something. After a moment, he said: "My idea is different. It's not about rushing forward, but I'm afraid that the tree wants to be quiet but the wind won't stop."

Xu Shilan and Amida both frowned, then looked thoughtful.

Wu Pifu then said: "Think about it, Guo Jing and we are already in a life-and-death situation, and he faked his death to escape. Regardless of whether the Emperor helped or his evil arts were at work, he will inevitably harbor resentment and then try every means to kill us, right?"

Amida nodded, and Xu Shilan frowned and said: "It could also be that he fled far away."

!

Wu Pifu shook his head and said: "This is naturally the best situation, but what if it's not? What if he just wants to kill us?"

After thinking for a long time, Xu Shilan also nodded and said: "Indeed, we cannot gamble on whether the other party is fleeing or wants to fight back. If we look at it from a comprehensive perspective and assume the greatest danger, then what we need to guard against most is Guo Jing making a move in the dark."

"No."

Wu Pifu shook his head, his face gloomy: "Guo Jing himself is actually not worth worrying about. What I am truly worried about is that Guo Jing might turn into a Nightmare, or that the forces behind him might turn into a Nightmare!"

Xu Shilan and Amida were both puzzled. Wu Pifu explained: "I don't know where Nightmares come from, but I have indeed heard from my seniors, and I have encountered it myself. Originally, some ordinary grotesques or evils in certain Dream Worlds, after encountering us maintainers, quickly grew stronger and evolved into Nightmares."

"I am worried that Guo Jing or the forces behind him might turn into a Nightmare, and then ambush us in the remaining three days. By then, I will be in the light and the enemy in the dark, and we might be wiped out!"

Xu Shilan and Amida were both horrified.

Suddenly, at this moment, Wu Pifu's expression changed. He stood up abruptly from the carriage cabin, stepped on the roof of the carriage, broke through it, and jumped more than three meters high, trading a palm strike with a black shadow sweeping in from the sky. At the same time, an object drifted from the black shadow toward the carriage cabin.

With one exchange, Wu Pifu's expression changed, and he fell toward the carriage.

Xu Shilan and Amida looked at the air at the same time and saw a human skin with eyebrows and eyes, revealing a strange and terrifying smile, drifting away in the air.

"Three days later, the Ghost Fan Tower Grand Auction will open its doors to guests. We respectfully invite the three immortal disciples to be present on time."

A gloomy and strange voice traveled from afar in the night sky, accompanied by faint groans, roars, weeping, and…… chilling laughter.

Wu Pifu landed in the carriage. He raised his hand to look, and a faint black energy on his palm was corroding his flesh, and the skin of his palm was slightly red.

Xu Shilan and Amida both looked at him. He nodded to the two, and actually stepped out of the carriage again, jumping out to chase after the human skin.

The next moment, a faint silver-white light surged on Amida's body, and he also jumped out of the carriage. Although Xu Shilan sat still, if one looked closely, one could see that her shadow had disappeared.

"Since you've come……" 【60】 "Then don't leave!"

"Then don't leave!"

Wu Pifu let out a roar toward the sky, his Guoshu Qi and blood moved, his Human Immortal Martial Dao blood energy circulated, and in just a second or two, he jumped up more than four meters high, grabbing at the human skin with a single claw!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 57 =====