Chapter 198: Seven Lamps

All the orifices spewing mucus snapped shut instantly.

The mucus suddenly stopped increasing; the members of the Purification Office exhaled a collective sigh of relief.

They could not see those orifices, only the mucus gushing forth from the darkness.

Xu Yuan hurried to Fu Jingyu's side—only Xu Yuan could approach Fu Jingyu.

Fu Jingyu's entire left arm was bent into a peculiar shape.

Seven small white porcelain bowls were arranged along the arm, each filled with lamp oil and wicks twisted from three yarrow stalks.

His right hand had just grasped a peach-wood sword…

He was casting a spell.

"Give me all the silver you have," Xu Yuan said.

Fu Jingyu shifted his waist: "Dig in your own pockets."

Xu Yuan reached into the pouch hanging at his waist and pulled out all the silver notes and loose silver.

Fu Jingyu chanted incantations under his breath, pointing the sword at each lamp bowl in turn; the wicks ignited one by one.

No one knew what spell he was casting.

Xu Yuan took a few more steps to Song Lu's side; Song Lu, for once, was clever—he shoved his purse straight into Xu Yuan's hands: "Take whatever you need."

Xu Yuan sorted through it: between these two men, they carried a total of six thousand four hundred taels of silver!

Xu Yuan flicked his finger; the Jin Dan shot out, stretching into a long rope that linked everyone together.

"Hold onto the rope and follow me!"

Xu Yuan tied the rope around his wrist, then walked toward one end of the flesh cavern.

In truth, Xu Yuan didn't know which end was the way back—he picked one at random.

Large masses of flesh clustered together, blocking the path completely.

Xu Yuan reused his old trick: he selected two thousand taels in silver notes, processed them via the commercial method as "toll money," and tried to shove them directly into the flesh.

But this time, the flesh had grown rigid—he found he could not push them in.

Before, he had shoved them directly into the orifices.

Even if the other side had accepted the payment.

Xu Yuan hurled the silver notes straight at it: "I'm inside your belly—should count as you accepting payment."

But the commercial method failed to activate.

Xu Yuan helplessly picked up the silver notes again.

"Then don't blame me!"

Xu Yuan spat—and a sword pellet shot out.

During this time, Xu Yuan had already smelted five of Wang Sheng's "Ten Pellets" into his own.

This was now his absolute limit.

The sword pellet transformed into a small blade and slashed with a whoosh toward the fleshy wall.

The surrounding flesh walls surged, and countless long fangs protruded from within.

Several fangs worked in tandem, surprisingly agile—they clanged, clanged, clanged, deflecting the sword pellet back!

Xu Yuan manipulated the sword pellet, locked onto one fang, and slashed at it seven or eight times in succession.

The fang cracked with a snap.

But immediately, a new fang grew in its place!

Worse still, long fangs sprouted throughout the entire flesh cavern, and the cavern began to contract inward, squeezing.

The space shrank rapidly; the fangs loomed, about to pierce everyone's bodies.

To Fu Jingyu and the others, the terrifying darkness around them suddenly became a vast mouth, lined with fangs, ready to crush and devour them whole!

Xu Yuan pulled out a clay mask and pressed it over his face.

He tried disguising himself as one of the malevolent entity's "kin."

But the malevolent entity showed no favor to "kin"—countless fangs continued to stab relentlessly.

Xu Yuan removed the mask, then suddenly had an idea: he took out the silver notes again and pried open one orifice.

The mucus gushed out with a boom.

Xu Yuan wrapped his hand in his Pi Dan and shoved the silver notes straight into the orifice!

These two thousand taels bought the malevolent entity's entire set of fangs!

Whoosh—

All the fangs fell away, pattering down like hail.

Fu Jingyu finished reciting the incantation, took a few steps, then stomped thrice hard on the ground and roared: "Exorcise and retreat!"

With a whoosh, the seven lamps on his left arm erupted into three-foot-tall crimson flames.

The "illusion" in the surrounding void was dispelled.

Everyone could now see the true scene.

Just in time to see countless fangs burying my lord…

"My lord!"

His subordinates surged forward in a frenzy.

Xu Yuan leapt up from between the fangs: "I'm fine!"

Xu Yuan no longer needed to hold the rope, so he reeled it in and wrapped it around his sword pellet.

Swoosh—

The sword pellet finally pierced through the flesh and burrowed inside.

Although Xu Yuan had bought away all the long tusks, this evil spirit slowly grew new teeth again.

Only this time, they were all newly grown, so the speed was much slower.

The Sword Pill cut through flesh and blood all the way, drilling deeper.

With this wound, Xu Yuan felt his "Ghost Doctor Steals Life" ability strengthen greatly.

The theft of the opponent's "lifespan" increased by more than double.

What was returned to himself was only about two tenths.

In the future, as his Life Cultivation level increases, both the theft and the return will continue to grow.

But Xu Yuan also felt that this stolen "life" seemed not to be as simple as "lifespan."

How much lifespan exactly increased in himself through the return, Xu Yuan could not perceive accurately.

But he did feel the enhancement to his own physical qualities.

Clearly, this return could also be used to treat injuries sustained in battle.

Yet suddenly, Xu Yuan lost all perception of the Sword Pill!

The Sword Pill had already drilled ten zhang deep into the flesh and blood.

Even with ten zhang of distance, with only rock separating them in between, Xu Yuan could still freely control the Sword Pill.

Xu Yuan immediately retracted the beast-tendon rope.

The beast-tendon rope, tied to the Sword Pill, was pulled back only three chi before it would not move anymore.

Something unknown had "grabbed" the Sword Pill.

And the wound opened by the Sword Pill had, without anyone noticing, been bleeding continuously.

At first, it seeped outward, then drop by drop, individual blood pearls fell down.

Now, as Xu Yuan pulled the beast-tendon rope outward, it gushed out with a roar, like a small stream!

The foul-smelling fresh blood, like the slime just now, accumulated in this space, already nearly reaching everyone's ankles!

Xu Yuan suddenly felt a wave of dizziness.

Looking down, he saw the red rashes on the back of his hand had spread all over his arm, each one the size of a soybean!

At the tips, dark-white pustules had condensed; inside, whether insects or some other strange thing, they were wriggling, seemingly trying to drill out!

"There is evil poison in the blood!"

This was not simple poison; within it lay a strange, evil nature!

Xu Yuan's medicinal pills could no longer cure this poison.

Xu Yuan tore open the clothes on his chest; these terrifying red rashes had already spread to his chest and were growing toward his neck and face!

Looking at the others, the dark-green shadows that had previously floated in their eyes had now grown out from their eyes, becoming two huge shadowy hand-claws.

They tightly covered their mouths and noses!

Those few people, unable to breathe, writhed and convulsed in agony all over their bodies.

They desperately tried to tear away the things blocking their mouths and noses, but every grab came up empty.

On those whose faces were crawling with black blood vessels, those blood vessels had already grown out like thorny vines, forming a cage covered in sharp spikes, locking them inside.

The moment they moved, they would be pierced, creating many wounds.

Fresh blood dripped from the wounds, carrying away threads of soul power; mixed with the blood below, their eyes gradually grew vacant.

Their feet began to merge with the bloodwater below, becoming part of this evil spirit!

On those whose necks had grown polyps like worm-beards, their entire necks had turned octopus-like; those disgusting tentacles with suckers were desperately drilling into their nostrils, mouths, eyes, and ears...

(End of this chapter)