Chapter 52: Spirit-Staining Method

Chen Ci thought about it the entire way, unable to fathom why the corpse-sewer in the county would want to mess with him.

First of all, there was no reason for it.

Secondly, this bizarre ability did not seem like a heritage that a miscellaneous rogue cultivator from a remote place could possess.

Trades that deal with the underworld, such as executioners, corpse-sewers, and coroners, though they often have some strange people with unique skills, do not have very good inheritances and have many restrictions; let alone cultivating Qi for Longevity, one careless move could result in a shorter life than an ordinary person.

If it were truly a good inheritance, who would do this kind of work?

Chen Ci carefully snuck into a remote shop next to the vegetable market; the outer hall of the shop was filled with paper figures, paper horses, gold ingots, and candles, which felt quite eerie when the cold wind blew.

Eerie as it was, it was still considered normal, but as he walked further in, reaching the bedroom, the style suddenly changed.

Five viscera as offerings, corpses and bones as incense, with a Golden Boy and Jade Girl serving on either side, and a believer kneeling in worship on the ground.

What caught the eye most was the statue of the deity being worshipped.

Chen Ci had originally thought this statue of the Divine Lord would look strange and grotesque, after all, the bizarre ability the corpse-sewer had displayed did not look upright at all.

Yet the statue before his eyes, which was hard to tell if it was wood or clay, was the image of an old man wearing red and white robes, a high-crowned longevity hat, with long eyebrows and white whiskers, and a face full of kindness.

He held a dragon-headed cane, had a dharma register and medicine gourd at his waist, and the statue's face even had a layer of rosy blush applied to it, making one feel a sense of intimacy just by looking at it.

"Is this a mistake?"

Chen Ci rubbed his chin and couldn't help but look closely; the more he looked, the more he felt this was an upright deity, mysterious and possessing wisdom.

Chen Ci would even believe it if someone said it was the Star of Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity.

"Under the seat of an upright deity, how could that corpse-sewer turn himself into that state? Neither human nor ghost, and still worshipping these shameful things; he doesn't even know how to worship a god—a wild boar cannot appreciate fine bran."

"It's hard enough to encounter an upright deity; as long as one worships piously and chants the name of Shengsi Qihuang Shenjun, one can obtain the method of Longevity, right?"

"I just said, how could someone with Shengsi Qihuang as a divine title be an evil god?"

Thinking this, Chen Ci pressed his palms together, very much in agreement; it was not the Divine Lord who was wrong, but that corpse-sewer.

If he were to worship, the result would surely be different.

Thinking of this, Chen Ci took two steps forward and kicked the believer kneeling before the statue away; who was this, having no sense of propriety at all, not seeing that Master Chen had arrived, and not moving aside?

You don't even have a head, what are you still worshipping for? Is it possible to grow a head back?

Oh, the head is gone, is it.

The head is gone.

Hmm, the head.

"Damn it!"

Chen Ci came to his senses; the one kneeling there was none other than that corpse-sewer, so he hurriedly slapped a few Soul Fixing Talismans onto his body and turned to run.

This ghostly thing is too evil!

He had only looked at this statue for a few moments, so why was there a voice in his heart telling him that worshipping the god could grant the method of Longevity?

But strangely enough, as soon as Chen Ci turned his head away from the statue, the thought of worshipping vanished from his heart; he had the intention to summon the Five Yin Black Evil to destroy this evil statue, but fearing any side effects, he simply lowered his head to watch his path and prepared to retreat.

Anyway, if the sky falls, Longhu Mountain will be there to hold it up.

"Eh?"

Chen Ci had just retreated two steps when he looked down and saw a small booklet fall from the arms of the headless corpse he had kicked aside; after a moment's thought, he used True Qi to snatch it over, and without time to flip through it, he ran out like a dog being chased.

"You worship your evil god, why come and mess with me for no reason? Now look, your head is gone."

Chen Ci sighed a little; it was time to invite an expert from Longhu Mountain to subdue the demons and eliminate the evil.

Wait, where did that Ge Laodao live again?

Chen Ci looked at the sky; it wasn't even dawn yet, so where was he supposed to find someone?

"Forget it, find a place to wait; when it's dawn, go to the government office to report the case."

Finding a spot, Chen Ci steadied his mind and carefully opened the small booklet he had picked up; just reading the first page gave him a feeling of being struck with awe.

"Why does a person die without a head? If one could change heads and not die, could one obtain Longevity?"

"It seems a person really will die without a head; perhaps my stitching technique is not refined enough, maybe I should start practicing from hands and feet."

"No, no matter how well it is stitched, if the recovery power is insufficient, it is useless; could it be that I got it wrong?"

"Damn it, that guy surnamed Chen messed things up, and now I have no materials to practice on. Forget it, there's no progress anyway, resting for a while is also quite good."

"Shengsi Qihuang Shenjun? Master of alchemy and medicine, healing limbs and saving the world... is it true? Peiyuan Yangshen Pill?"

"Shengsi Qihuang, the Divine Lord bestows blessings, the Divine Lord bestows blessings! I've succeeded, haha, I've succeeded!"

This...

After finishing the booklet, Chen Ci sighed inexplicably.

He was also a pitiful person on the road to Longevity.

A miscellaneous rogue cultivator without an inheritance, wanting to find another way to research the method of changing heads for Longevity; this was no mere corpse-sewer from the underworld, this was clearly a practitioner of the medical path in the cultivation world.

It's just absurd.

It's a pity he didn't know where he worshipped an evil god.

Worshipping is one thing, but you had to kill people to practice your method.

Practicing is one thing, but you couldn't keep a low profile and had to come and mess with him.

Well, to this, Chen Ci could only say, good riddance.

"All kinds of spells and thousands of supernatural powers are not as good as the question of Longevity; even a miscellaneous rogue cultivator has a dream of Longevity."

Chen Ci's expression was complex; on the road to Longevity, it is hard to say what is right or wrong, but if you take the wrong path, you will die miserably. The outcome of worshipping an evil god should be kept in mind and serve as a constant warning.

Si Hour.

The vegetable market suddenly became lively; a group of yamen runners surrounded a shop, and the Changping County Venerable was also wiping the sweat from his forehead.

An Immortal reporting to a mortal that they had discovered an evil spirit and asking them to deal with it quickly was simply absurd.

But fortunately, the County Assistant was clever and immediately went to invite the old Daoist Ge Zhou over.

"Yin Demon? Heh, Daoist Chen, you certainly have impressive methods. Yesterday in the hall, even I, an old Daoist, didn't notice anything unusual, yet in just one night, you've managed to eliminate it."

Ge Laodao looked at the severed head on the ground, his expression indifferent: "The Yin Demon has been removed; just get some kerosene and burn this place down."

There was more to his words than met the eye.

However, Chen Ci did not mind, instead asking curiously: "Daoist Ge, there is a divine statue inside called the Shengsi Xuanhuang Shenjun; what kind of path is that?"

"Did you worship it?"

Ge Laodao's expression was somewhat playful as he suddenly asked in return.

"How could that be? In life, I am a person of the He Mountain Sect; in death, I am a ghost of the He Mountain Sect. It is absolutely impossible for me to defect to another sect."

Chen Ci shook his head vigorously, denying it repeatedly.

"Hehe."

Ge Laodao stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and then offered an explanation: "That is a Spirit-Infection Method set up by a powerful spiritual cultivator. Those powerful beings love to create such little trinkets and toss them out at random; whoever picks one up can only blame their own bad luck."

"It is just like how your He Mountain Sect refines Dharma Artifacts. If some miscellaneous rogue cultivator gets tainted by the Spirit-Infection Method, they will refine themselves into a type of Yin spirit or demonic entity. They toil in cultivation day after day, thinking they have obtained a great divine art, but the moment they encounter the original powerful owner, they will be harvested in the blink of an eye, becoming the owner's cultivation resources."

Chen Ci: "." It's a scam; there's someone running a scam here!

"Is it really that easy to trick people? That shouldn't be."

Chen Ci couldn't help but ask in return. Although it is often said that there are too many fools and not enough swindlers, those who have embarked on the path of cultivation usually have a few extra wits about them; those who are truly stupid likely wouldn't get very far.

A technique that refines oneself into a Yin spirit or demonic entity—if one were to look at it for more than a few seconds, one should be able to spot that something is wrong.

This isn't just selling oneself and helping the other person count the money.

This is turning oneself into a dish and then serving oneself onto someone else's plate.

"The methods passed down through Spirit-Infection are nine parts true and one part false."

Ge Laodao cast a glance, said no more, and drifted away.

Good heavens, so it was a fishing technique.

If you fish without baiting the spot, you won't have much of a harvest; if you bait the spot well, a bountiful harvest goes without saying.

Chen Ci sighed with emotion; the cultivation world has too many traps. How is an honest person like him supposed to get a foothold?

It is too difficult.

However.

Chen Ci touched the small booklet in his sleeve. Whether the 'Peiyuan Yangshen Pill' formula inside is a nest or bait, he really must distinguish it carefully. He shouldn't let his guard down, or he might just get reeled in by someone.

(End of chapter)