Chapter 55: Integrity First

Qingquan Village.

Spirit Spring Medicine Field.

As the most core location in the village, it was never open to outsiders in the past, but now, let alone living people, there wasn't even a moving thing in the entire Qingquan Village; Chen Ci followed behind those worldly experts and entered the core area without any alarm or danger.

So, even though this Ge Laodao is cautious, it was all for nothing.

And it wasted quite a lot of time.

However, just as they entered the location of the Spirit Spring Medicine Field in the village, everyone noticed something was wrong.

A thick scent of Blood Qi wafted from the direction of the Medicine Field.

On the left were six sacrificial pillars, each hung with one complete human skin after another; some wore the attire of mountain folk, some wore brocade robes, and some wore tattered clothes.

The only commonality was that they all looked like air-dried salted fish, eyes wide open, staring fixedly at the direction the group had come from.

The wind blew past, and their eyes rolled white, swaying back and forth.

In the middle of the sacrificial pillars was a bronze tripod burning with firewood; it was unclear what was being stewed inside.

Further to the right were rows of medicine sheds surrounding a pool of spirit spring water; one could even see fire basins remaining at the four corners of each shed, presumably used to maintain the temperature.

However, inside the medicine sheds were not medicinal herbs, but rows of human-shaped objects planted in the ground, their chests and abdomens covered in greenish-blue mushroom caps?

If one stared for a long time, it seemed as though one could see the chests and abdomens of those human-shaped objects moving slightly, as if breathing.

Damn, Chen Ci truly felt like he had lost face as an Apprentice of the He Mountain Sect for not being perverted enough.

He had originally thought that as an Apprentice of the He Mountain Sect who refined yin spirits, extracted Essence Refining, and sucked marrow from bones, there was no grand scene he hadn't seen.

But this kind of scene, he really hadn't seen before.

It wasn't fear, just a bit creepy.

"Come here, get the kerosene and burn all these filthy things."

Ge Laodao ordered in a cold voice.

Chen Ci opened his mouth but hesitated.

There was no need to guess; the things in the medicine sheds on the right were likely the Five Qi Peiyuan Mushroom that Lin Banshan wanted; an ordinary person really couldn't grow them.

Although one shouldn't give up money for the sake of one's bottom line, having to harvest them with his own hands really required some psychological preparation.

And he would have to charge extra.

Seeing a few bold yamen runners led by Wang Qingyuan about to pour the kerosene, Chen Ci was just about to tell them not to go to the right side when, suddenly, the medicine tripod on the left underwent a change.

"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle."

The inside of the tripod suddenly seemed to boil, and before long, a faint phantom walked out from within, drifting and flickering, its face vaguely resembling that of an old man.

The head and face of this figure were covered in a mass of Blood Qi, its facial features seeming to twist back and forth as it hissed something at the crowd.

They couldn't understand it; the problem was that they couldn't understand it at all.

After a long while, the figure calmed down, sucked a stream of blood-colored liquid from the tripod, and its features finally stabilized as it asked hoarsely: "Who are you people, and why have you come to my Qingquan Village!"

Chen Ci ignored it, subconsciously twitching his nose and sniffing a few times: "This is... Essence Refining? It seems to be mixed with something, a bit thin."

As an expert of the He Mountain Sect, Chen Ci now knew where the people of Qingquan Village had gone.

Just looking at the volume of the tripod, the Essence Refining within must be more than ten thousand drops.

Even if it had been diluted significantly, it was likely still in the thousands.

"I'm rich!"

Chen Ci spoke subconsciously, but was interrupted coldly by Ge Zhou: "Daoist Chen, please show some restraint."

Chen Ci: "..."

I really deserve to die; why didn't I just be reckless and charge in at the beginning?

It really is a gamble... forget it, safety first.

Chen Ci let out a turbid breath: "Daoist Ge, the medicinal herbs on the right are of some use to me; I will take them later, you shouldn't have any objections, right?"

Ge Zhou scanned the medicine sheds on the right, his brows furrowing slightly, but he nodded, effectively giving his tacit consent.

Calculated this way, it wasn't a total loss.

It was hard to estimate the weight of those Five Qi Peiyuan Mushrooms, but there seemed to be ten catties.

Moreover, Ge Laodao wouldn't find it easy to sell this Essence Refining; buying it at cost later would also be acceptable.

Chen Ci was still calculating his own little schemes and paid no mind to the figure inside the tripod.

A blood shadow with an aura of no more than twenty apertures—could it really turn the world upside down?

"I see, you are all evil people who have come to hinder my Longevity!"

The old voice of the blood shadow was filled with grievance and dissatisfaction: "I only wanted to live my life honestly and survive in peace; why, why must you come to force me!"

"I knew it, the path to Longevity is full of twists and turns; I harbor no harm toward others, yet others harbor intentions to harm me; this world simply does not allow a small person to live well!"

Chen Ci: "..."

Wait, isn't your script a bit off?

As the words fell, the blood shadow pointed into the tripod, and strands of blood-like things drilled into the human skins on the sacrificial pillars; before long, those human skins actually plumped up, no different from living people, and slowly jumped down from the pillars.

To be fair, this eerie supernatural ability was truly used in the wrong place.

There were eighteen human-skin puppets in total, the vast majority being at the level of worldly experts, with two having cultivation, the highest only having the cultivation of two or three apertures.

One even looked familiar; it seemed to be the swordsman who had followed the young master of the Wang Family at the banquet that day.

Chen Ci became slightly more solemn; if it were just this blood shadow, he estimated he would have a ninety percent chance of winning.

But with the addition of so many human-skin puppets, his winning chance plummeted to eighty percent; the danger had increased by a full factor!

"Hmph."

Ge Laodao gave a disdainful laugh, took out a handful of talismans, and threw them to everyone present: "These are Longhu Mountain Soldier-Slaying Talismans; stick them to your waist and you can tear apart tigers and leopards. Go and exterminate these strange things; deserters will be executed."

Even County Lieutenant Wang received one.

It is said that military orders are like mountains, and the hierarchy is strict.

The two words "strict hierarchy" are no joke; once the order from Ge Zhou was given, not one of the twenty-four men led by the County Lieutenant dared to retreat even half a step, sticking the talismans they had obtained onto their waists, forming a crude formation, and charging up.

In just one round, seven or eight men were cut down on each side.

The blood-floss within those human-skin puppets drifted back into the cauldron, as if they were leaking air; the casualties on the County Lieutenant's side were also quite heavy, as, after all, mortal flesh and blood are still far inferior to Evil Methods.

Seeing the friendly forces being pummeled, Chen Ci subconsciously wanted to lend a hand, but just as he pressed his hand onto the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag, he was slightly blocked by Ge Laodao: "Daoist, there is no need for you to act."

Chen Ci: "."

No, at a time like this, you are still being this cautious; isn't that a bit much?

"Daoist Ge, the effect of your Soldier Sha Talismans doesn't seem very good; is it that they are using the wrong method?"

Chen Ci watched for a while longer, and seeing the situation becoming increasingly dire, he couldn't help but ask.

"Soldier Sha Talismans? Those are just pieces of talisman paper with a thread of True Qi, slightly stimulating some potential, nothing of much use."

Ge Laodao said indifferently: "The cheapest talismans cost a hundred taels of silver each; I am so strapped for cash, how could I afford to use them? It is merely to boost their will to kill the enemy."

Chen Ci: "."

Is it really okay to pit your teammates like this???

Seeming to see the confusion in Chen Ci's eyes, Ge Laodao explained: "Daoist Chen, as a prestigious sect of the Immortal Dao, the most important point is to be honest and trustworthy, with a reputation known to all; otherwise, what difference would there be from the demonic and heterodox paths? You agree, right?"

No, the words are true and the logic is sound, but what does that have to do with pitting teammates?

"Since I told the fellow Daoists in Changping County that this battle was dangerous, then this trip must be fraught with danger, a narrow escape from death."

Ge Laodao shook his head slightly, his tone wistful: "If our group returned safe and sound as if we were on an outing, wouldn't that mean I was lying? I cannot ruin my reputation; I must let those fellow Daoists know the hardship and the tragedy of this trip, only then can it show that I, Ge Laodao, am honest."

"Integrity comes first; Daoist Chen, you must also keep these words in mind at all times within the He Mountain Sect so that you may walk the righteous path."

He paused, and seemingly seeing Chen Ci's enlightened expression, Ge Laodao added another sentence: "Besides, I cannot let you, Daoist, make this trip in vain; these victims are the compensation I am giving you, Daoist, which should be acceptable, right?"

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, seven or eight out of ten on the field were already dead, the stench of blood filled the air, and only seven men remained standing.

Two human-skin puppets that had entered the Dao.

The County Lieutenant, his three sons, and the only remaining skilled yamen runner.

Especially that human-skin swordsman, holding a precious sword, its cold light flashing; every move and stance left the few men sweating profusely, and even though a thick layer of Sha Qi surged from the County Lieutenant's body, comparable to the cultivation of a cultivator's ten-aperture True Qi, he could only remain at a disadvantage.

Suddenly, that skilled yamen runner desperately stuck a talisman onto another human-skin puppet, and the County Lieutenant took advantage of the pause to leap forward and slash it in two.

But the swordsman also struck twice, first stabbing the skilled runner to death, then spitting a mouthful of White Mist from its mouth, which circled the neck of a young man who was sneaking up from behind, and then it was retracted into its abdomen.

"Third Son!"

The County Lieutenant's eyes were bloodshot, but he could only hold his saber to cover the remaining two sons and widen the distance.

Chen Ci pondered for a moment, and ultimately, considering those four thousand taels of conscience money, he slapped the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag at his waist.

A stream of Five Yin Black Evil rolled toward the swordsman.

Having fought to this point, the human-skin swordsman, which had never made a sound, suddenly let out a light whistle, leaped several steps, and charged toward Chen Ci.

It spat a stream of golden White Mist from its mouth, carrying a sharp aura, and entangled with the Five Yin Black Evil, actually killing its way out of the Five Yin Black Evil with sword in hand; although its body was injured and oozing threads of blood-floss, its sharpness remained.

Chen Ci pointed a finger, and another stream of Five Yin Black Evil flew out, then he lightly clenched his five fingers, and in an instant, he twisted the human-skin puppet into fragments and rolled the precious sword in its hand over.

Baiyang.

Chen Ci looked at the two small seal characters on the hilt and suddenly explained: "Daoist Ge, a narrow escape from death; it seems about right now, huh."

Twenty-four alive, three left; that's not too bad.

Ge Laodao glanced at Chen Ci and said leisurely: "Daoist Chen is right."

"By the way, Daoist Ge, I won't become the price of integrity, will I?"

"How could that be? You and I are both of the prestigious Immortal Dao; naturally, we put integrity first."

The two looked at each other and both smiled.

"Heh heh."

"Ha ha!"

(End of chapter)