Chapter 56

According to Zhao Gou, "Bone-Carving and Life-Harvesting" is not an organization, a sect, or a faction, but a collective term for practitioners of various evil arts and methods. Internally, they each have their own strongholds, are not subordinate to one another, and even have conflicts among themselves.

However, their largest gathering place and power base 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 Bone-Carving and Life-Harvesting."

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

Regardless, he is an Imperial Prince; even if not the Crown Prince, royal education is indispensable. He knows music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and understands the political situation and the imperial court. It is just that he usually has no opportunity to display these skills, yet 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 treacherous Yin spirits, and the other is the blood-brave baleful Qi. Our Great Song naturally masters the blood-brave baleful Qi, gathering the masses to specifically break evil and treachery. 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 resist."

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

Zhao Gou realized and said: "That is right, the three of you are disciples of immortals, naturally not subject to this restriction... 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 suffering within."

"After a person dies, there is a soul. The soul carries obsessions—good or evil, it does not matter. Once the body dies, the soul's obsession will be distorted. If the obsession is too strong, it will turn into a zombie or a wandering soul, which is what the world calls a lonely ghost."

"After a ghost dies, it turns into a 'Zhen' (a spirit of a ghost); this 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 Yin-attributed powers and are the foundation of all cultivation in the world. Whether it is the three religions and nine schools, or heterodox paths, all must use their own soul and intent to connect with Yin-attributed power to cast spells, and they must also accommodate Yin-attributed power within themselves to forge and increase their own magic power. If there is no righteous or virtuous method, a person will be influenced by the Yin-attributed Qi. Over time, evil thoughts will grow, righteous thoughts will fade, and they will all turn into demons."

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

Zhao Gou smiled bitterly: "It is all like this. The three religions are like this, the nine schools are like this, and heterodox paths, demons, and ghosts are all like this. However, the three religions have righteous and virtuous methods, so they can dissolve the influence of absorbing this Yin-attributed power. Although the nine schools lack righteous and virtuous methods, they also have some methods of dissolution to delay the influence. But heterodox paths, demons, and ghosts do not have these methods, or rather, they feel that this influence can instead strengthen the power of their magic and demonic arts, so they are actually happy to do it."

Wu Pifu roughly knew that the three religions referred to Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. He was not very clear about the nine schools, but he could tell the difference between heterodox paths and demons and ghosts just by hearing the names.

Zhao Gou continued: "It is precisely because of this that, apart from the three religions, the imperial court only confers titles upon 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 as for those other things, since the founding of this dynasty, we have been exterminating them without stop. 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 people of the world are bitter."

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

After Zhao Gou said all this, he actually did not feel embarrassed, just smiling and saying: "So if the three immortal disciples can exterminate the Ghost Fan Tower and the Worry-Free Cave located under Bianliang, this is undoubtedly a blessing for all living beings. I thank the three of you on behalf of all living beings in the world."

So that was it?

The three of them were muttering in their hearts.

He had talked for half a day without explaining why the headquarters of Bone-Carving and Life-Harvesting was located under Bianliang, the capital of the Zhao Song.

However, the three of them could imagine the reason: it was likely official compromise, some kind of benefit, or collusion between officials and private interests. Zhao Gou naturally could not proclaim it aloud.

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 arrived. Do the three of you want to see them now?"

The three naturally nodded. Soon, several officials came into the main hall. They were stunned when they saw the three, and then flattering smiles naturally appeared on their faces. They each bowed to Zhao Gou first, and then bowed to the three.

Immortal disciples, Great Song Imperial Preceptors—these identities were not something such small officials and clerks could ignore.

Soon, dozens of drawings were laid out on the round table in the hall. Wu Pifu and Xu Shilan immediately gave way to Amadai, letting Amadai lie on the paper to watch carefully.

"Very strange..."

After Amadai had a rough look, he pointed to several of the drawings and asked: "Why do these drawings clearly depict the same area, yet the internal structures are completely different?"

There was no need for these terrified officials to answer; Zhao Gou spoke first: "This is also the reason why the Ghost Fan Tower and the Worry-Free Cave have never been exterminated. Because the underground structures, rooms, caves, and layouts are constantly changing every moment. This place has become a Yin land due to the long-term existence of Bone-Carving and Life-Harvesting, and has even crossed from a Yin land into a dead land or a forbidden land. The blood-brave baleful Qi is greatly suppressed and offset within it, and 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 had not expected that this was the reason why the Zhao Song imperial court had not suppressed it.

The expressions of the three immediately became serious. Xu Shilan used lip-reading to say two words to Wu Pifu.

Nightmare!

Wu Pifu nodded slightly and said to Zhao Gou: "Today we have been entertained by the Prince of Kang, and have obtained information about the location of these demons. We are truly grateful. The night is deep, and it is truly inconvenient to disturb further. We also need to go back to discuss the plan to slay demons and eliminate evil, so we will take our leave." Zhao Gou clasped his fists solemnly and said: "The three of you must also be careful and meticulous. Although Bone-Carving and Life-Harvesting are all evil arts that cannot be brought into the light, 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 tools bestowed by your elders, you are after all here to experience the mortal world, so you must be careful and more careful."

The three said their goodbyes, and on the way back, they discussed their next steps in the carriage.

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

Xu Shilan said first: "We have five years for the trial 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 did not speak, but Amadai 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 Metal Refining Record, and Little Brother Wu's Chinese Martial Arts and Human-Immortal Martial Dao. After five days, we will return to Gaia, and then we will go to explore a dream world with a baseline reality of 0.8 to establish a shelter. Given our strength, a 0.9 world would waste a shelter quota, and a 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."

Amadai did not 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 reckless advancement, but I'm afraid that the tree wants to be quiet but the wind will not stop."

Xu Shilan and Amadai both frowned, then looked thoughtful.

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

Amadai nodded, and Xu Shilan frowned: "It's also possible he is hiding far away."

!

Wu Pifu shook his head: "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: "Indeed, we cannot gamble on whether the other party is hiding or wants to fight back. If we assume the greatest danger from a comprehensive perspective, then what we need to guard against most is Guo Jing taking action in secret."

"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 Amadai were both puzzled. Wu Pifu explained: "I don't know where nightmares come from, but I have indeed heard from seniors, and I have encountered it myself, where ordinary grotesques or evils in certain dream worlds, after encountering us maintainers, quickly become stronger and evolve 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-plus days. By then, I will be in the light and the enemy in the dark, and we might be wiped out!"

Xu Shilan and Amadai both felt a chill in their hearts.

Suddenly, at this moment, Wu Pifu's face changed. He stood up abruptly from the carriage, stepped on the floor, broke through the roof of the carriage, jumped at least three meters high, and exchanged a palm strike with a black shadow sweeping in from the sky. At the same time, an object fell from the black shadow toward the carriage.

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

Xu Shilan and Amadai looked at the sky at the same time and saw a human skin with eyebrows and eyes, revealing a strange and terrifying smile, floating away in mid-air.

"Three days later, the Ghost Fan Tower grand auction house will open its doors to guests. We respectfully invite the three immortal disciples to arrive on time."

A gloomy and strange voice traveled far in the night sky, accompanied by faint moans, roars, weeping, and... chilling laughter.

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

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

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

"Since you've come..."

"Then don't leave!"

Wu Pifu let out a roar toward the sky, moving his blood and Qi, and circulating his human-immortal martial arts blood energy. In just one or two seconds, he jumped up more than four meters high, his claws grabbing toward the human skin!