Chapter 76: Old Star of the South Pole

Until he used up the last Flying Blade Incantation.

Wu Xian finally stopped.

Wen Yong's body appeared mostly intact, but covered in dense, fine red lines.

It had been cut into pieces.

Then Wu Xian's headless body picked up its own head, aligned it with the empty neck, and instantly a faint white smoke spread.

After the smoke dispersed, the head reattached itself.

"The Old Star of the South Pole oversees killing talismans… Could this old man be the strongest of the Five Celestial Officials of Fortune, Prosperity, Longevity, Joy, and Wealth?"

But if I crawl in here…

The first bark alerted Wu Xian that Dr. Xu's house was abnormal.

But how could Wu Xian be thin enough?

Not understanding should be enough, right?

When the big black dog saw him come out, it wagged its tail, then turned and ran off, slipping through a dog hole in the wall corner.

"Then, how do we explain this big black dog?"

Just as Wu Xian was at a loss, he suddenly heard a dog bark.

Wu Xian first shoved his clothes in, then tested with fragments of the headless corpse, confirmed it was safe, and extended his arm inside—surprised to discover the gap indeed contained space; perhaps this was the passage out of the Flesh Corridor.

The talisman governed by the Old Star of the South Pole is the 'Incantation'—an offensive talisman!

On the giant snake's tail were two deep tooth marks: one like a dog's, the other a serpent's bite.

The one that let Wu Xian lose his head yet still move freely was the very talisman he had called useless.

According to the possession procedure described by the Goldfish Lady.

A cloud of pure white vapor spread, revealing three Treasure talismans.

Wu Xian then studied Wen Yong's corpse again, a flash of understanding in his eyes.

On the Silver Throne it read: Celestial Official—Old Star of the South Pole

Previously, Wu Xian thought this talisman was useless, so he'd casually insulted it.

If the existence of Jin Mo Ancient Pavilion, the Goldfish Lady, the Chief Inspector, the perverted neighbor, and others all served to sustain the cycle…

…

"Am I really going to be trapped here until I die?"

The razor is the barber's trademark—this may symbolize Wen Yong's killing urge; guarding the cycle is a dull job, and he needs to kill occasionally to indulge himself.

They were the Five Thunder Incantation, True Fire Incantation, and Boil-Life Incantation.

"His appearance… hah, he must have participated in previous cycles too."

Wang!

Wang Wang!

"Forget it, crawl in!"

Is this big black dog an ally?

After two uses, four of the Eight Trigrams on the Eight Trigram Mirror had blurred; each activation of the 'Exorcise Evil, Shatter Hex' effect consumed two Trigram patterns—this effect could still be triggered at most two more times.

Wu Xian shook his head, moved his cervical vertebrae, and felt his cervical spondylosis had improved considerably after this reattachment.

"So I've been inside this giant snake all along—Xianwei City is an illusory space created by this snake, and the endless Flesh Corridor is its internal cavity… Now I've truly entered this Blessed Land!"

Wen Yong's corpse gradually rotted, and the yin spirit energy within coalesced into a silver-colored Sui Incense; the wall behind him rotted too.

Perhaps…

Finally.

Also, the black dog blood it provided was exceptionally potent—comparable to the dog blood pouch from the previous Blessed Land, belonging to the Jia family, which had played a significant role in the cycle.

Also the inspiration for the Decapitation Regeneration Technique.

Although he had destroyed the possession demon and acquired new talismans, Wu Xian's predicament remained unresolved—he was still trapped in the endless Flesh Corridor.

Wu Xian gritted his teeth and lunged into the gap, crawling desperately forward like moving through a tightly constricted pipe; foul-smelling slime soaked his clothes.

If only I could get more monthly votes—I'm currently eleventh on the Suspense Monthly Vote List; this position is awfully awkward…

The second bark made Wu Xian realize the existence of the cycle.

Then he noticed with slight surprise that the big black dog had always been remarkably present throughout the cycle.

Finally, the Five Thunder Incantation.

Without hesitation, Wu Xian reached into the vapor and took the Five Thunder Incantation; the statue dissolved into soft white clouds and vanished.

"Tsk. Just as I thought."

"Ah… I hope my coffin is rectangular, or at least a small box—not a flesh donut."

Long tongue and bulging eyes are the Goldfish Lady's traits—symbolizing Wen Yong's control over the cycle's rhythm, ensuring that even if Wu Xian escaped the Inspector's pursuit, he would re-enter the cycle.

But when Wu Xian searched long and hard here without finding any demon attempting to possess his body, he realized this talisman might have unexpected power.

According to the records in Qi Zhiyong's manual.

Wu Xian stood up, turned around, and saw a short, fat giant snake—six or seven meters long, over half a meter thick; he had just crawled out of its mouth.

The Boil-Life Incantation was interesting: usable three times, it continuously drains the target's yang lifespan—each use can burn up to ten years.

Decapitation Regeneration Technique!

Sever the neck, cut the body, appear dead, separate the limbs—yet the body remains fully mobile; place the head back on the neck to restore.

Usable three times; effect: simultaneously release five Minor Thunder Incantations in the form of falling lightning.

Wu Xian had seen Su Huijin use the Minor Thunder Incantation before; three combined were only slightly weaker than the True Fire Incantation—if five were stacked, their killing power might surpass even the Treasure True Fire Incantation.

Wu Xian muttered as he inserted the Sui Incense.

The Eight Trigrams Mirror did not block that head—it was deliberately let go by Wu Xian, so that his head had a reason to fall off.

Following the dog's barking, Wu Xian arrived at a wall; upon closer inspection, he discovered a half-meter-long crack in the fleshy wall, the barking coming from behind it.

The statue was an old man in a white robe, hunched over with a cane, his hair and beard snow-white, his skull abnormally large, the clear brain visible beneath translucent skin, and a fat infant hanging from the cane.

So when Wu Xian saw the five youths tempting him, he was very pleased—he finally had a chance to pretend to be dead.

Wu Xian slightly lifted his head and mentally replayed his experiences within the loop.

Wu Xian squeezed out of the passage and opened his eyes to see a large, well-fed black dog—very similar to the one he had seen in the loop.

For from the decaying wall, a statue suddenly emerged!

Jin Mo, Gu Ge, Xue Ye, and Ji Rou—the four corresponded to his robust body, used to forcibly enforce actions at certain times, keeping Wu Xian from escaping the story's framework.

"Fortunately, these five headless corpses attack by slicing—if not, I'd have to pretend I misfired the Flying Blade Incantation… that would be too obvious."

The soul-stealing malevolence needed to wait until Wu Xian's self-awareness weakened to a certain degree before merging; it had never appeared, perhaps because Wu Xian wasn't weak enough.

Wu Xian took out the Eight Trigrams Mirror and examined it.

Therefore, the black dog's existence seemed more like a disruption of the loop!

Added to that was the dog's barking guiding Wu Xian out of the giant serpent.

La la la, the novel's up for subscription! La la la! Thank you, great lords, for your subscriptions—thank you, thank you.

Last time Wu Xian killed Wang Zhiwu, he used the True Fire Incantation, but this time he had no other flame abilities to match it, so he temporarily set aside the True Fire Incantation.

"Ouroboros… Xianwei City."

"Cough, cough… cough, cough…"

His reaction to those youths held three-tenths sincerity, the rest pure performance.

Light appeared.

A flicker of delight passed through Wu Xian's eyes.

But the enemy Wu Xian faced was a malevolence, which had no innate lifespan to begin with, so he also set this aside for now.

You Yang Za Zu, Strange Arts, second half of the passage.

Once, at a drinking party, he ordered his head cut off, nailed by the ears to a pillar—no blood. His body sat at the table; when wine was poured, it flowed into the neck wound. His face flushed as he sang, his hands tapping the rhythm. When the party ended, he rose, picked up his head, and reattached it—no scar remained.

(End of Chapter)