Chapter 325

The newcomer wore a yellow outfit, the hem loose, sleeves like a robe, holding a Three-Five brand cigarette, puff-puffing away.

As soon as he appeared, Pangzi and I felt as if a fishbone that even Nine Dragon Water couldn't dissolve had lodged in our throats; we stared at him for a long while, unable to snap out of it.

You say, a young man in his twenties holds a cigarette, looks down at you with his eyes turned up, purses his lips, and bears the whole demeanor of an old woman selling vegetables on the street; even his way of speaking is exactly the same as that of a market auntie haggling over vegetables. To be precise, that voice is completely a woman's.

Pangzi and I stared at each other, unable to utter a word for a long while.

Pangzi swallowed his saliva and whispered to me, 'Could this person have just come back from Thailand?'

I nodded; it was the first time I agreed with Pangzi.

"Cough cough, I say, Xiao Xinzi, could you change the flavor of this herbal roll next time? This one really chokes the throat; Grandma I can't get used to it." The youngster muttered to himself, completely unaware of others, and his voice was unmistakably that of an old woman.

Immediately after, within the same body, a second voice appeared.

"Grandma, just bear with it a bit; this herbal roll was given to me by someone else, and this is all I have left. Let's hurry and take this wild cat away, otherwise we won't be able to explain ourselves to Grandfather Chang."

That voice was robust and powerful, unmistakably a man's.

Pangzi and I exchanged a glance, and from each other's eyes we read the same message: Northeast, the Horse-Riding Immortal Sect.

Nowadays, the world can be said to be divided among four powers: the Buddhist Sect, the Daoist Sect, the Plowshare Witch Sect, and the Horse-Riding Immortal Sect.

Among the four, the Buddhist Sect is the most flourishing, spreading Buddhist scriptures everywhere under the banner of saving all beings. Although its supernatural powers are not obvious, it is the most adept at deceiving people among the five, and it has the most followers.

Next comes the Daoist Sect, whose foundation is the deepest among the four, the oldest cultural heritage of the Chinese civilization over five thousand years. Yet today, the Buddhist Sect's development faintly shows a trend of surpassing the Daoist Sect. The reason for this lies in Daoist thought, which emphasizes going with nature and non-action. Believe it or not, that's that; just don't come disturb my cultivation. If I were to take on disciples, I would accept them when fate brings them, and I would reject those who come uninvited when fate is absent.

After the Buddhist and Daoist Sects come the Plowshare Witch Sect and the Horse-Riding Immortal Sect. Do not think the witch sect is merely a heretical path; as the saying goes, existence justifies itself. Although the Plowshare Witch Sect remains hidden in Yunnan, just like poison masters hidden among ethnic minorities, outsiders regard it as a minor witchcraft.

But insiders know that in ancient times, the title "wu" (shaman) was highly respected, referring to a group capable of communicating with spirits; only those who could perceive heaven and earth and invite down spirits deserved the title. Although the witch sect mainly transmits only talismanic witchcraft, do not forget that the witch sect, Lu Ban's Teaching, and the Yin Mountain Dharma are together known as the world's three supreme teachings; any sect bearing the character "supreme" has produced figures that make the mystical gates tremble at the mere mention, and none should be underestimated.

Next is the Horse-Riding Immortal Sect, a religion born from Northeastern regional culture. Although the immortals are cultivated by animal spirits, just like the Dharma, they have no fixed temples or fixed lineages of transmission, yet insiders know that the inheritance of the Northeastern immortals is in no way inferior to that of the Buddhist and Daoist Sects. If we trace back to the roots, the Northeastern Horse-Riding Immortal Sect, like the Plowshare Witch Sect, is also a product derived from ancient shamanic culture.

Although I have never personally encountered the Horse-Riding Immortals, I have also heard some things about them from Master Li Feng and QingSongShu.

Among the Horse-Riding Immortals, the fox (hu), yellow weasel (huang), snake (chang), and python (mang) four immortals are the most common, highest in cultivation, collectively called the Four Great Masters of the Horse-Riding Immortals, and also the most common animal immortals. Besides these four, there are also wild immortals cultivated from rats, hedgehogs, toads, and tigers. Some are incorporated into the four great masters, becoming one of the eight beams under their doors; others feed on cloud dew, wander the four directions, and live as free and unbounded scattered immortals (wild immortals).

Those who seek favor, steal vitality, and cultivate by drilling into corpses are also often these unbound wild immortals.

Listening to the tone of the yellow-robed youngster's speech and judging slightly by his actions, Pangzi and I can easily see that he is a northern disciple of the Horse-Riding Immortals, and at present a fox immortal is possessing his body.

The reason is simple: when immortals possess a body, they often show certain traits. Fox immortals like to smoke, calling cigarettes 'herbal rolls'; yellow weasel immortals prefer alcohol, calling liquor 'spicy liquor'.

The yellow-robed youngster before us goes through a cigarette every three to five minutes; if he were human, he'd have smoked himself to death by now. Aside from a fox immortal, who else could have such a nicotine addiction?

However, this yellow-robed youngster is truly strange. Although I have never crossed hands with the Northeastern Horse-Riding Immortals, I have heard that when an immortal possesses a person, the horse (the medium) loses reason. Yet someone like this youngster, who remains rational while possessed, is something I have never heard of.

Without changing expression, I slipped the command flag behind my back and sent the injured old ghost back to the Yin Realm. Then Pangzi and I stood together, looking at the yellow-robed youngster and asked, 'May I know who you are? What instructions do you have, Grandma Hu, for suddenly appearing?'

The yellow-robed youngster clasped his fists and said, 'Great Unity Hall, Fang Xin.' Then his tone shifted, reverting to that sharp, shrill old woman's voice.

"Not bad, kid, you actually recognize me, Grandma Hu." She gave a giggle that made gooseflesh rise on everyone.

Immediately after, within the same body, a second voice appeared.

I pointed at the old cat on the ground and said to the person and immortal before me, 'Let's speak plainly, Fox Immortal—what exactly do you mean by doing this?' The implication was naturally to question why she had suddenly appeared, wounded my soldiers, and rescued this old cat.

Fang Xin, possessed by the Fox Immortal, took a puff of his cigarette and then said, 'I'm taking this cat immortal away.' His tone was firm and unyielding, leaving no room for doubt.

Upon hearing that, I immediately flared up. I had spent half a day's effort to catch this wild cat, and now you waltz in, snatch a hot pancake with cold hands, and try to steal my prize. Even if I didn't have a mortal enmity with this old cat, I could never let you take it so easily.

I gave a cold laugh, showing no weakness: 'This cat immortal killed my friend; I must kill her to offer sacrifice for my friend's soul. If you want, wait until I've slain her, then come collect her corpse.' My tone was equally firm, leaving no room for compromise.

The Fox Immortal's pupils contracted, and she said coldly, 'That being said, there is no room for negotiation.'

I let out a cold snort, responding with a hardened stance: 'Anyone who dares to seize something from my Yin Mountain Dharma is the first. I just don't know if you have the ability.'

The Fox Immortal laughed heartily: 'If it were before that clash in the Yunnan gorge, I would have made your Yin Mountain Dharma people flee at the sight of me. But now… tsk tsk, I wonder which surnames among your Yin Mountain Dharma's masters—Ou, Chen, Tong, Li, or others—are still around.'

Ou, Chen, Tong, and Li refer to the four fierce figures of the Yin Mountain Dharma after the late Qing. However, in the battle over a hundred years ago against the Thai head-hunting masters and the Mystic Gate, two of them had already died. The remaining two masters, Chen and Li, are also no longer among the living, and it is unknown whether they left any inheritance. Undeniably, with the passing of these four seniors and the consumption of that battle, the Yin Mountain Dharma has long since lost its former glory.

"Even if an elephant dies, you ants cannot shake it. Even if the four masters Ou, Chen, Tong, and Li of the Yin Mountain Dharma have passed away, my Yin Mountain Dharma is not something you, a beast, can insult." I said coldly: 'Since this fox shows no respect for my Yin Mountain Dharma, let me now learn what your Northeastern Horse-Riding Immortal Sect is capable of.'

I turned my hand, drew the command flag from behind my back, pinched my thumb against the first joint of my middle finger, and clamped the flag. The meaning was clear: since talks failed, we'd settle it with force—let's fight first and talk later.

"Ah, Hai Sheng, can't we first sit down and have a proper talk?"

"Grandma Hu, I think there's still room for negotiation on this matter; please don't rush to act, Elder—whatever happened, we were at fault first."

"Shut up."

"Shut up."

Pangzi and Fang Xin tried to mediate between me and the Fox Immortal, but we immediately shouted them down. The Fox Immortal thought I had insulted the dignity of her immortal sect, while I felt she had insulted the orthodoxy of my Yin Mountain Dharma.

"You've lived too comfortably for too long, forgetting what you are, actually thinking yourself some great god or immortal—bottom line, you're just a cultivated beast." I spat fiercely, activated the Summon Yin Finger, and prepared to call forth the troops once more to clash with that fox spirit.

After I finished speaking, the Fox Immortal jumped up as if her tail had been stepped on, pointing at me and shouting, 'Yellow-haired brat, how dare you insult my Shamanic Immortal Hall? Believe it or not, Grandma will knock your soul out of you right away!'

Although her mouth showed no mercy, her other hand quietly moved behind her back, apparently preparing to inform the other immortal sects and call for reinforcements.

Among the four, although the Fox Immortal holds the top position and oversees all the altars, the fact is that foxes are cunning and value wisdom; after possession, they can only treat illnesses and dispel misfortune for people, not excel in combat. Of the Four Great Horse-Riding Immortals, the strongest in battle are the Snake and Python Immortals, akin to the enforcers of a gang; if someone provokes the immortals' dignity, it is usually these two who step in to punish.

"The soul-summoning child, the soul-summoning lad, hidden in the Yinjian Difu, cannot be born…"

This technique, part of the Yin Mountain Ghost King's Dharma, is a method to scatter a person's spirit; in plain terms, it summons the five ghosts to torment someone, causing their essence and spirit to separate, ultimately driving them mad to death.

Since the Fox Immortal is possessing the medium Fang Xin's body, I choose to counter a soul with a soul, summoning the troops to contend with her for Fang Xin's body.

However, before I had finished chanting the incantation, something occurred that no one anticipated.

I actually staggered, stepping back several paces in a row, and amid everyone's astonished gazes, I collapsed to the ground, twitching uncontrollably.

The Fox Immortal was stunned, Pangzi was stunned, and even I myself was stunned.