Chapter 64: What is Sought

Fuhu Altar, back mountain, a refined and elegant bamboo cottage.

Chen Ci had not expected that the burly Hutou Daoren would live in such an elegant place.

But as soon as he stepped inside, Chen Ci retracted his previous assessment; the Blood Qi in this bamboo building was so thick it could drown a person, nearly manifesting into substance. Even as an Apprentice of the He Mountain Sect, Chen Ci felt a sense of nausea after accidentally inhaling a few breaths.

Cannot vomit, hold it in.

In the innermost part of the bamboo building was a quiet room. Hutou Daoren was lying on his side on a low couch, draped in a tiger-striped crimson Daoist robe, his chest exposed, hair disheveled, eyes slightly closed, as if taking a nap.

Hanging on the wall were the four characters: "Great Virtue Carries All Things."

Chen Ci truly could not help but want to complain; for a He Mountain Sect Apprentice to hang these words, was it not truly a slap to his own face?

On the left side was a Five Tigers Fighting Ghosts Painting.

On the right side was a Five Ghosts Devouring Tiger Painting.

It was unknown whose handiwork this was; with only a few sparse strokes, the painting was very crude, yet it made one look again and again, wanting to know whether the tiger defeated the ghosts or the ghosts devoured the tiger.

"You are Chen Ci?"

Chen Ci had looked for a few moments and had become somewhat mesmerized. Only when a rough voice entered his ears did he suddenly wake up, collect his thoughts, and bow: "Sanyin Temple Apprentice Chen Ci, greets Lin Shixiong."

Hutou Daoren did not rise, nor did he let Chen Ci sit. He only squinted his eyes and asked indifferently: "What is the matter? If it is because you refined Essence Refining and corrupted the He Mountain Sect's reputation, provoking the Daoists of Longhu Mountain, I will not take you in either. After exchanging for merit points, you should just run for your life."

Chen Ci: "."

Damn it, sure enough, people lack what they hang; no wonder capitalists in his past life liked to hang this kind of stuff in their offices, ptooey!

This guy wasn't even saying he couldn't protect him, but rather he "would not take him in"; his heart was truly black enough.

Chen Ci's heart instantly turned cold, and even the words "I have performed meritorious service for He Mountain, I have shed blood for He Mountain" could not be spoken.

If he were to take out the Longhu Three-Piece Set, who knows what kind of face this guy would show.

Chen Ci sighed slightly, but since he was already here, he could only explain: "Lin Shixiong, it is not about refining Essence Refining; the matter is like this..."

Blah, blah, blah.

When he took out the Longhu Three-Piece Set, Hutou Daoren actually became a bit interested. He sat up, looked at the damaged Dharma Artifact robe for a few moments, and chuckled: "You say that the Ge Daoren of Nine Springs Temple perished together with that Xuepo Motou, is that right?"

"It is absolutely true, heaven and earth can bear witness, and there is also the official document from the Changping County Yamen as proof."

Although Chen Ci did not know why this Hutou Daoren had suddenly changed his attitude, it seemed there was a chance, so he hurriedly took out the case file and official document.

Hutou Daoren did not look at them, only waving his hand: "He was just an Outer Sect Disciple on Quanshan; whether he was on the Longhu Mountain roster is still up for debate. If he died, he died, it is nothing."

Ah?

Wait, your attitude just now was not like this, was it?

Chen Ci had not even managed his career well in his past life, and now that he had stepped onto the Dao path, he always felt he could not grasp the core of things.

Why was it that when he refined Essence Refining and provoked Longhu Mountain, this guy told him to run for his life?

Yet when an Outer Sect Disciple of Longhu Mountain died, he said it was nothing; it was somewhat baffling.

Chen Ci looked at the case file and official document in his hand, feeling as if he had understood, yet also as if he had not.

As if understood.

"Since you have handled the beginning and the end well, there is no major issue. Go back and do your work well. Just give this case file, official document, and the relics to the Deacons in the temple; they will know what to do."

Hutou Daoren lay back down, but with a hook of his finger, he pulled the Dharma Artifact robe over, looked at it for a moment, and crushed it into fragments: "This item is somewhat superfluous."

After speaking, Hutou Daoren closed his eyes, clearly intending to see his guest out.

The major matter he had been worried about for so long was actually just a minor matter for a superior to dismiss with a single sentence?

Chen Ci was silent for a moment, somewhat understanding.

Some matters, as long as they did not rise to the level between two sects, could be easily suppressed; no one cared about the death or injury of a few Outer Sect Disciples.

Since Ge Zhou, the old Daoist of Nine Springs Temple, was dead, apart from a few friends and relatives, probably no one cared.

It was just like if he died, the He Mountain Sect would not care either; it was the same principle.

Because it was not important.

Therefore, one must still strive for advancement!

"Lin Shixiong, I obtained another item during this trip, but I do not know much about it. Could I ask Shixiong to appraise it?"

Chen Ci whispered his request, then took out a small black altar and handed it up.

"Hmm?"

Hutou Daoren's nose twitched suddenly, his eyes widened, and True Qi began to swirl around his body, as if blood mist were surging out from his pores.

Chen Ci's body stiffened, a cold sweat broke out on his back, and he dared not move.

On Hutou Daoren's back, a head that looked like both human and tiger emerged, its eyes filled with murderous intent, as if it wanted to devour someone.

Then two, three, four, five—a full five heads, plus Hutou Daoren himself made six, looking like a six-headed tiger demon, staring fixedly at Chen Ci and the black altar in his hand, truly terrifying.

This was a manifestation of Yin spirits entering the body.

After a long while, the strange phenomenon on Hutou Daoren's body faded away, and he said leisurely: "I did not expect you to have obtained an altar of Blood Soul; that is good fortune. However, this item is not something that can be crafted by small means; it has always only circulated among Spirit Sect cultivators. This is interesting."

Five Ghosts Possession Great Method?

Chen Ci had not expected that this Hutou Daoren was actually practicing this Great Method of the He Mountain Sect.

This Five Ghosts Possession Great Method was ranked much higher in the He Mountain Scripture than the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag. It was one of the few techniques in the He Mountain Sect that did not require crafting a Dharma Artifact but instead involved refining one's own body. It was very powerful, but few people practiced it.

As for the reason, it was difficult to refine, painful to use, many went mad, and many died quickly.

However, the five ghosts raised by this Hutou Daoren were slightly different from those recorded in the sect; it was unknown why they looked like they were leaning toward being demon-beasts, yet they still had the foundation of Yin spirits, which was truly strange.

Now was not the time to think about this in detail. Chen Ci slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and offered the black altar: "It is excellent if Shixiong can make use of it."

"Haha, you are quite interesting. This item is indeed of great use to me. I will record one hundred merit points for you, how about that?"

Hutou Daoren laughed heartily, sounding like a tiger's roar, and reached out to take the Blood Soul.

This Blood Soul was more effective for the Yin ghosts he raised than Essence Refining. With this item, his chances of forging an Upper Grade Dao Foundation increased by two parts, so Hutou Daoren was naturally in a wonderful mood.

Come to think of it, it was also his good fortune that he happened to be resting and had free time today; otherwise, he would not have come out to see Chen Ci. After all, most Outer Sect Disciples who came to his door were basically there for some trivial, annoying matters.

"Fortune is with me!"

Thinking this, Hutou Daoren's confidence grew even stronger, and the Qi flow around his body became two parts more Perfected.

One hundred merit!

That would be ten thousand drops of Essence Refining; it seems the villagers of Qingquan Village are all more or less in this jar.

"Do you have anything you wish to exchange? I am in a good mood today, so even if you are short on merit points, I will grant it to you."

Hutou Daoren clapped his hands lightly, feeling very cheerful.

Here is one hundred merit, today there is thirty-two merit, plus the original eleven merit points.

A total of one hundred and forty-three merit!

Listening to the tone of this cheap senior apprentice brother, he estimated that he could even exchange for three Tiger Sha Breaking Aperture Pills.

A bloody profit!

Countless thoughts surged in Chen Ci's mind, thinking about how he could maximize the advantage he had gained.

But after pondering for a long time, Chen Ci did not know why a flash of inspiration welled up in his heart, and he suddenly bowed: "I want to exchange for Longevity, can Senior Apprentice Brother teach me?"

These words, naturally, were not about exchanging for Longevity.

Rather, it was asking Hutou Daoren for guidance on how to walk the path of Longevity; he was struggling greatly exploring it all by himself, and he did not even have a Superior Grade Qi Refining Method.

"Hahaha, hahaha, hahaha, wanting to exchange for Longevity, how wonderful!"

Hutou Daoren seemed not to have expected this Outer Sect Disciple to be so interesting; with a cultivation of a mere thirty apertures, he actually wanted to exchange for Longevity, and he could not help but laugh with a sound like a tiger's roar.

"You are indeed a bit different from those idiots, though not by much."

Hutou Daoren glanced at Chen Ci a few times and laughed: "Forget about Longevity; with you cultivating this Three Yin True Qi, I fear you will have no hope of a Dao Foundation in this life, so you had better give up."

(End of this chapter)