Chapter 74: Skin Three

It took Ma Si-shu a long while to calm down, then he sighed helplessly: “Even if you die, Xu Yuan’s troubles won’t be fully resolved.”

“If I’m going to kill you, your illness must grow even worse.”

Chen Master said: “Then why bother...”

But Ma Si-shu wasn’t speaking to him—he was muttering to himself: “But I’m furious, you old bastard, constantly sending people to kill Xu Yuan.”

“Xu Yuan is the boy I carried on my shoulders since he was little.”

“Even if it costs me a few years of life, I’ll destroy you, you old bastard!”

Chen Master flew into a rage: “Do you really think I’ve read the sages’ books for nothing?”

He swiftly pulled out a large brush and raised it to write a character in midair—when he saw Ma Si-shu pull a wooden gourd from beneath his umbrella, pull the stopper, and upend it. A silver-helmeted, silver-armored yin general crashed down with a thud before the bamboo hut.

Chen Master froze: “You’ve already forged a general?!”

He was no match for him, no matter what...

Since Master Ji had retreated, he hurried back to the Chen residence at top speed.

He rushed back to the Chen residence’s rear garden, backsword slung over his shoulder, only to see that the old master was already dead.

Ma Si-shu coughed as he used ink threads from his ink-drawing box to wrap around Chen Master’s soul’s neck.

With a light tug, the soul slipped into the wooden gourd—immediately, loud sounds of feasting echoed inside!

Ma Si-shu turned around and saw Master Ji.

Master Ji’s face was as cold as water; he slowly raised his right hand and gripped the sword hilt behind him.

His entire posture stood firm as a mountain, poised like a crouching tiger—his aura surged to its peak.

Once he drew the sword, it would strike like thunder—until one of them was dead!

But Ma Si-shu merely glanced at him indifferently, packed away his tools, slung them into his ragged shoulder sack, shouldered it, opened his umbrella, and stepped slowly out of the rear garden.

Every two steps, he coughed once.

Yet Master Ji’s sword never left its scabbard.

The moment Ma Si-shu stepped through the small gate of the rear garden, Master Ji’s aura collapsed completely.

Not only did his aura drain—he slipped in rank, falling from between sixth and seventh stream, plunging fully into seventh stream, and only stabilized at the very bottom of seventh stream.

Master Ji’s face turned ashen.

The infantile ruddy glow he once had vanished entirely.

He examined himself internally—and found the “five-organs qi” he had cultivated as a sixth-stream Wu Xiu had vanished completely.

Master Ji looked up to the sky and sighed long and deep, then shuffled slowly toward his own courtyard.

Pack your belongings—when the rain stops, return to the countryside and retire for good.

Xu Yuan was brought back to River Worker Alley by Wang Shen; everyone could tell his condition was terribly off.

“Auntie, take me back to my room,” Xu Yuan’s voice trembled.

Wang Shen quickly carried him inside.

“You go outside first—close the door for me...”

Wang Shen hesitated: “Xu Yuan...”

“Don’t worry, I have a way. Please leave quickly.”

Wang Shen gritted her teeth, turned, and closed the door.

The moment the door clicked shut, Xu Yuan scrambled up against the bedpost...

Just after Shen Hour, the heavy rain ceased entirely.

Half an hour after the rain stopped, Lin Wan returned.

She entered the courtyard and saw Shen Daye and the other two men there; seeing Xu Yuan’s door tightly shut, her face changed instantly as she rushed over: “Has Xu Yuan been hurt?”

Shen Daye raised his pipe to block her: “Don’t go in.”

Lin Wan ignored him, shoved aside the pipe, and pressed forward.

Shen Daye said: “If you go in now, you might harm him.”

Lin Wan finally stopped, turned to Shen Daye, eyes red: “What happened?”

Shen Daye briefly recounted what had occurred.

Lin Wan held back, held back again... then couldn’t hold back—she stormed into the main hall and berated the ancestral tablet: “You told Xu Yuan to choose for himself? Choose what? He’s just a child—he needs elders to decide for him!”

“Now that this has happened, you’re hiding on the Yellow Springs Road while I, a weak woman, suffer in fear here in the mortal world!”

“I’m telling you—if Xu Yuan dies, when you enter the ancestral shrine, I won’t let you rest!”

“Even dead, you won’t find peace!”

Shen Daye walked in, puffing his pipe, and asked: “Feeling better? If not, I’ll call Ma Si in to temporarily bring Xu Huanyang back so you can scold him.”

“Hmph!” Lin Wan sulked.

Shen Daye had supported Xu Yuan’s contact with the Purification Office; Lin Wan blamed him too, but he was her elder, so she couldn’t lash out.

Shen Daye said: “Ma Tianshou came here himself just now—he was badly wounded, carried here on a stretcher.”

Lin Wan stayed silent; the old man rubbed the back of his head, thinking: This girl is truly furious.

But he still had to speak.

“I sent them away—there are things about Xu Yuan they shouldn’t know.”

“Ma Tianshou has been kind to Xu Yuan—he came to visit the moment he was injured...”

Lin Wan was about to snap at the old man when a door opened outside—she shot out like an arrow, nearly knocking the old man over.

Two hours ago, Xu Yuan had completed his molting—but he was too exhausted and collapsed into sleep.

Now awake, he picked up the shed skin and examined it closely.

This was the third time Xu Yuan had molted.

But in truth, it was only the second.

The first shed skin bore large purple-black patterns, like tattoos.

This time, the patterns were deep red—like cloud motifs or swirling patterns.

The first skin could strip the “traits” of cultivation from any disciple of the Seven Gates.

But this skin was different... Xu Yuan tugged at it—it had excellent elasticity.

In the room stood a wooden basin filled with well water.

Xu Yuan immersed the skin in it; the moment it touched water, it shrank.

Soon, it absorbed all the water in the basin, shrinking to the height of a three-year-old child!

The “Hunger Devour” spell was primed to activate!

In its juvenile form as the evil entity of Fu Dong Tianwang, it now possessed the corresponding abilities.

Xu Yuan sensed the strength of the “Hunger Devour” spell and thought to himself: “The more water it absorbs, the stronger the spell becomes.”

“But I don’t know what level of cultivator this skin’s spell can affect.”

Xu Yuan pulled the skin out and wrung it dry.

It returned to its normal size.

Xu Yuan blew air into the skin—and impossibly, it swelled, quickly filling the room to its limits.

Xu Yuan understood: “Maximum size: ten zhang!”

“It’s the complete form of Fu Dong Tianwang’s evil entity—and possesses its full power: immense strength, capable of splitting mountains and filling seas!”

And it required no iron sword, iron horse, or iron hat to unleash its full might.

Though it certainly couldn’t match the terror of a ten-zhang evil entity, it was far stronger than Xu Yuan’s current true combat power.

Xu Yuan released the air and stroked his chin: “These two abilities are easy to understand—the corruption from this molt came directly from that evil entity.”

“But the third ability...”

“Where does the third ability come from?”

Hmm, I think this chapter might better be called “Skin Two.”

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(End of Chapter)