Chapter 76: Southern Elder Star

Until he exhausted the last flying-blade incantation.

Wu Xian finally stopped.

Wen Yong’s body appeared intact, but covered in countless thin 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.

When the smoke cleared, the head reattached itself.

“The Old Star of Longevity oversees killing talismans… Could this old man be the strongest of the Five Celestial Officials of Fortune, Rank, Longevity, Joy, and Wealth?”

But if I crawl in here…

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

But how could Wu Xian be weak enough?

Not knowing what to do should be enough?

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 dog barks.

Wu Xian first shoved his clothes in, then tested with fragments of the headless corpse; after confirming safety, he extended his arm inside—and was delighted to discover the gap indeed contained space, perhaps the very passage out of the Flesh Corridor.

The talisman governed by the Southern Elder Star is the ‘Incantation’—an offensive talisman!

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

The one that allowed Wu Xian to lose his head yet move freely was the very talisman he had called worthless.

According to the Soul-Seizing process described by Madam Goldfish.

A cloud of pure white vapor spread, revealing three premium 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—Southern Elder Star

Previously, Wu Xian had thought this talisman useless, so he’d instinctively cursed it.

If the existence of Jin Mo, the Ancient Pavilion, the Chief Investigator, 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 trait—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 Boiling Lifespan Incantation.

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

Woof!

Woof woof!

“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, Break Hex’ effect consumed two trigrams—this ability could still be used twice more.

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

“So I’ve been inside this snake’s belly all along—Xianwei City is its constructed mental space, the endless Flesh Corridor its internal cavity… Now I’ve truly entered this blessed land!”

Wen Yong’s corpse gradually rotted, its internal yin spirit energy condensing into a silver incense stick; the wall behind him rotted too.

Perhaps…

Finally.

Moreover, the black dog’s blood it provided was exceptionally potent—comparable to the dog blood pouch from the last blessed land, which had played no small role in the cycle.

Also the inspiration for the Decapitation Regeneration Technique.

Though he had destroyed the soul-seizing evil 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 plunged into the gap, crawling desperately forward like moving through a tightly constricted tube; foul-smelling slime soaked his clothes.

If only I could get more monthly votes—I’m currently eleventh on the suspense monthly vote chart; this position is awfully awkward…

The second dog bark made Wu Xian aware of the cycle’s existence.

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

Lastly, 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.

“Tch, just as I thought.”

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

The long tongue and bulging eyes are Madam Goldfish’s traits—symbolizing Wen Yong’s control over the cycle’s rhythm, ensuring Wu Xian would re-enter the cycle even if he escaped the Investigator’s pursuit.

But when Wu Xian searched long and hard here without finding the soul-seizing evil, 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 snake—six or seven meters long, over half a meter thick; he had just crawled out of its mouth.

The Boiling Lifespan Incantation was interesting: usable three times, it continuously drains the target’s yang lifespan—each use can boil away up to ten years.

Decapitation Regeneration Technique!

Sever the neck, cut the body, appear dead; body separated, yet limbs move freely; place the head back on the neck to restore.

Usable three times; effect: releases five small thunder incantations in the form of falling lightning.

Wu Xian had seen Su Huilan use the small thunder incantation before; three combined were only slightly weaker than True Fire Incantation—if five were stacked, their killing power might surpass even the premium True Fire Incantation.

Wu Xian muttered as he inserted the incense stick.

The Eight Trigram Mirror had not blocked that head—it was intentional; this gave his head a reason to fall off.

Following the dog barks, Wu Xian reached a wall; upon closer inspection, he found a half-meter-long fissure in the flesh wall—the barks came from behind it.

The statue was an old man in a white robe, bent over, leaning on a cane, with white hair and a long snowy beard; his head was abnormally large, the translucent scalp revealing a clear brain; on the cane hung a plump infant.

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

Wu Xian tilted his head slightly, mentally reviewing his experiences within the cycle.

Wu Xian squeezed out of the passage and opened his eyes to see a fat, muscular big black dog—very similar to the one he’d seen in the cycle.

For from the rotting wall emerged a statue!

Jin Mo, the Ancient Pavilion, Xue Ye, Ji Rou—these four corresponded to his robust body, used to forcibly enforce actions and keep Wu Xian from escaping the story’s framework.

“Thankfully these five headless corpses attack by slicing—otherwise I’d have to pretend I misfired the flying-blade incantation… that would’ve been too obvious.”

The soul-seizing evil needed Wu Xian’s self-awareness to weaken sufficiently before merging; its absence might be because Wu Xian wasn’t weak enough yet.

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

Thus, the big black dog’s presence seemed to be breaking the cycle!

Add to that the dog barks guiding Wu Xian out of the snake.

La la la, launch day! Launch day! Thank you, esteemed patrons, for your subscriptions—thank you, thank you.

Last time Wu Xian killed Wang Zhiwu, he used the True Fire Incantation; but now he had no other fire abilities to complement it, so he temporarily set aside the True Fire Incantation.

“Ouroboros… Xianwei City.”

“Cough, cough… cough…”

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

Light appeared.

A flash of delight crossed Wu Xian’s eyes.

But Wu Xian’s enemy was an evil spirit, which had no yang lifespan to begin with, so he set this one aside for now.

You Yang Za Zu. Strange Arts. Second section, rear portion.

Once, at a drinking party, he ordered someone to sever his head, nail his 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 trace remained.

(End of Chapter)