Chapter 377

Nantong Corpse-Retrieving Li, taken from his great-grandfather's surname and profession.

Before he was officially "lit" to walk the river, when he came into contact with some people in the underworld outside, and the other party introduced which pier they were stationed at, Li Zhuiyuan took this name for himself so he could have an appropriate response.

When walking the river, in order to conceal his identity as a successor to the Long Wang Gate, he also often used this.

It wasn't until he set up an altar in the small room at his great-grandfather's house that this identity was officially registered; once the Daoist field in the rice paddy behind the house was built, it meant he had completely embarked on the right track.

After this, this identity was gradually used separately; when not on the waves, he used Nantong Corpse-Retrieving Li.

Before the three groups of people set out this time, Li Zhuiyuan specifically gave instructions, letting Chen Xiyuan and Zhao Yi fly the banner of Corpse-Retrieving Li, which counted as completing the formal separation in terms of usage.

People walk on the river, while people on the shore remain still; but if you change to another perspective, it can also be that the river water is calm, while the people on the shore are moving rapidly.

By the same token, combined with the special nature of Li Zhuiyuan's own inability to obtain much merit from the river, the youth could only passively exert the effect of "merit" outside the waves; thus, one could also consider that Li Zhuiyuan's waves are on the shore.

Others walk the waves arranged by the Heavenly Dao on the river, while he walks the waves he creates himself on the shore.

The latter is clearly simpler and easier than the former, and the initiative is held even more firmly in his own hands.

In the past, walking the river was work, and the time between two waves was life; now, walking the river is life, and the time between two waves is instead work.

The shadow of the Great Emperor of Fengdu once spoke bluntly to the youth: The Heavenly Dao will not allow you to live to adulthood.

Li Zhuiyuan naturally could not just wait for death like this, continuing to live step by step.

At present, the Heavenly Dao's constant targeting and oppression of the youth had ultimately forced the youth onto another path.

This river,

Li Zhuiyuan wanted to try a different way of walking it.

And on this river, there is no competition, no other forces, only him—Nantong Corpse-Retrieving Li.

From the little girl's perspective, she clearly believed the youth was deliberately teasing her; whether it was Runsheng's casual shovel earlier or Lin Shu You's direct glare, both meant that the identities of this group of people were extraordinary.

Deliberately taking a nickname was just to extract the pleasure of abusing prey from her; such things she had often done in the past, including the manipulation and arrangement of this family and this Daoist priest, which was also a savoring of this pleasure.

But she was indeed wrong. First, the youth himself did not possess this kind of low-level pleasure; second, in the youth's eyes, she was very serious and solemn, even carrying a bit of piety toward a first-batch test subject.

After "this wave" ends, according to the youth's consistent, rigorous habit of summarizing and analyzing after the fact, she would be detailed in the youth's writing and put into textbooks.

It's just that, this was after all his "first wave" on the shore, so writing it into the "Code of Conduct for Walking the Jiang Shui" clearly wasn't appropriate; he would definitely have to start a new book.

At this moment,

Li Zhuiyuan smiled.

In Wei Zhengdao's works, the "Record of Subduing Demons on the Righteous Path" was a dumpling feast specifically wrapped to introduce the various evil arts he had studied and realized.

Then, as his introductory reading, which he also regarded as an encyclopedia of evil spirits, what was the true purpose of the "Record of Strange Tales in the Underworld"?

With Wei Zhengdao's personality, would he be willing to write a basic reader for future generations? And, using the incomparably precious and hard-to-find Buddha-skin paper?

The cases recorded in the "Record of Strange Tales in the Underworld" were simply too many—strong and weak, low and high, of all shapes and sizes; it clearly did not conform to the law that one wave is harder and stronger than the last under normal river-walking conditions.

Therefore, the "Record of Strange Tales in the Underworld" was, in essence, a book Wei Zhengdao used to record his own "walking the river on the shore."

It seems that such a book, he must also write one specifically.

The youth discovered that the more he progressed and improved, the more deeply he could understand Wei Zhengdao.

Regarding this, the youth felt not the slightest discouragement, nor did he think he was merely imitating and replicating.

One must know, his own situation was much harder than Wei Zhengdao's had been; being able to embark on the same rhythm as Wei Zhengdao under even more difficult conditions was, in itself, a success.

Without Li Zhuiyuan's order, Runsheng and Lin Shu You did not continue to strike.

The little girl was already suffering from the torment of unknown pressure, and seeing the smile that appeared on the youth's face, she finally could not hold back.

A sharp shriek issued from the little girl's mouth; the living room floor tiles cracked, and branches shot out, wrapping around the girl and rushing toward the door.

Runsheng took a step forward, blocked in front of Xiao Yuan, gathered his Qi and strength, raised his Yellow Jiang Shui Shovel, and slapped it downward.

Last time in the pond at the Yu family's ancestral home, Runsheng absorbed a large amount of resentment; now, every time he exerted his strength seriously, his skin would present a dark copper color, giving people an even stronger visual oppression.

When your strength reaches a certain level, miracles that are inconceivable to ordinary people appear.

Before even touching the surface of the Yellow Jiang Shui Shovel, just by being torn by the wind force, those menacing branches were ground into powder.

When the little girl rushed in front of Runsheng, the means and defenses around her body had all been dissolved.

Next, it was equivalent to using her own crown to catch Runsheng's shovel.

"Bang!"

The little girl's crown was indeed very hard; her head did not explode directly, but cracks appeared.

However, the floor tiles beneath her body exploded first, and half of her body was slapped into the cement floor by the shovel.

Lin Shu You wanted to fish for an opportunity to strike.

Having played too many high-end games, he also wanted to have some side dishes to whet his appetite occasionally.

Having been companions for so long, they still had that bit of tacit understanding; Runsheng took half a step back.

Lin Shu You's double maces arrived.

One mace hit the evil spirit's neck, causing its head and body to separate; the second mace followed, taking advantage of the momentum to lash out at the head tumbling in the air.

"Slap."

What was meant to explode, in the end, still exploded.

A pool of black wood shavings and powder scattered, indicating that the people harmed to death by this evil spirit only left behind a layer of human-like skin, while the inside had long been eaten clean.

Runsheng stabbed the Yellow Jiang Shui Shovel downward, and a Qi barrier rose, helping Xiao Yuan block all the wood shavings.

Blood light circulated in Lin Shu You's vertical pupils; he opened his mouth and spat out a fire snake, wrapping the remaining part of the evil spirit.

"Crackle, crackle" crisp sounds continued to emerge, and in the dark, bursts of howling and wailing came.

In the end, the evil spirit completely turned into ashes, just happening to fill the pit she had just smashed.

"Hoo..."

Lin Shu You let out a sigh of relief.

He had struck, but there wasn't the kind of satisfaction he had expected; instead, there was a sense of emptiness.

Along with the resolution of the evil spirit, the evil oppression shrouding this place dissipated instantly; the three people beside the offering table quickly shattered, turning into wood shavings piled under the table.

"Brother Xiao Yuan, shall I go and tidy up the room?"

Even though no corpse was left, the room indeed needed cleaning, especially the Daoist priest's relics.

Not to mention that the things were all broken, even if they were as good as new, they weren't of a quality that one would bother packing up to take back to inherit his legacy.

However, although the Daoist priest's cultivation wasn't high, he had after all died in the process of slaying demons and eliminating evil; out of respect, one had to build a cenotaph for him no matter what.

Lin Shu You had been with Brother Xiao Yuan for a long time, so he had figured out Brother Xiao Yuan's habits.

But this time, Li Zhuiyuan did not answer, but instead turned around and walked toward the edge of the dam.

Runsheng also turned around and walked quickly to the front-left of Xiao Yuan.

The dam at this house was far from having the area of the great-grandfather's dam, and out of cost considerations, it was only paved with cement without building a wall around it.

Li Zhuiyuan stood at the very edge facing south; below was the vegetable plot, and further ahead was a whole stretch of farmland.

Admittedly, with their current strength, it was normal to easily crush these goods that couldn't be brought to the table in A Li's dreams.

But they were, after all, evil spirits once solved and suppressed by the Long Wang Gate; even if they hadn't recovered well and were far from their former ferocity, they shouldn't have died so cleanly.

At the very least, you should have thrashed a few more times, trying hard to create some waves.

If it were other righteous people with sufficient strength, they would probably have been fooled by this.

But Li Zhuiyuan had discovered her true hiding place on the road over from the field path.

In the youth's eyes, she had always been transparent in one direction.

In "this wave," she was far from having cultivated well, her strength was already insufficient, and coupled with no river water to help her add drama, all her thoughts and means looked like a joke to the youth.

"A You."

"Here."

"Let those three pigs out."

"Yes."

Lin Shu You walked to the pigsty, smashed it lightly with his golden mace, the iron wire on the fence broke, and the three pigs ran out.

Without going anywhere else, they charged straight toward the farmland in front of Li Zhuiyuan.

"Brother Runsheng."

"Mm."

"Remember the positions where these three pigs stayed for a long time."

"Good."

The three pigs in the farmland kept rooting the soil with their pig noses; after rooting for a while, they went to the next location to continue rooting.

Finally, three shrill pig squeals were issued, and all three pigs fell to the ground and died miserably.

"Brother Runsheng, give each position a forceful shovel."

"Understood."

Runsheng glanced at Lin Shu You and jumped off the dam.

Lin Shu You stood at Runsheng's previous position to protect Brother Xiao Yuan.

Next, every time Runsheng's shovel pierced in, it caused the tremor of a whole piece of farmland; at first it was still slight, but later, the vibration amplitude became larger and larger, and small areas of subsidence appeared in some regions.

"A You."

"Mm, Brother Xiao Yuan?"

"If this were a normal wave of river water, how do you think it should be arranged?"

"Arranged?"

"Make the process more tortuous, the experience more complex, like what is recorded in the 'Code of Conduct for Walking the Jiang Shui'."

"If I were to arrange it... I wouldn't let the clues we obtained be so accurate at the beginning."

"Be specific."

"For example, this family that was harmed, or this Daoist priest, should have had their interpersonal relationships come into contact with our interpersonal network before they died.

When we arrived, they might not have died yet, or, they died just before we arrived; we could even experience this evil spirit's chaos together with them. At first, we wouldn't know the little girl had long been occupied by the evil spirit, and we would still have to fight side-by-side with this Daoist priest, discovering the crisis step by step and recognizing the crisis.

If we were still very weak at the time, like in the first few waves, then this Daoist priest should be able to teach us some means and skills.

Serving as an enlightening teacher."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded: "Anything else?"

"Also, the appearance of this evil spirit alarmed the Bai family town; on the way to find this evil spirit, we might have a conflict with the Bai family Niangniang.

After the conflict, we would reconcile, and finally, after going through hardships, we would come before this evil spirit.

Brother Xiao Yuan, that's all I can think of for now."

"Very good."

Lin Shu You, who received praise, was somewhat surprised, and his heart was also very pleasantly surprised.

The boy's excited voice came from the bottom of his heart: "Jitong, he is teaching you, he is teaching you how to do things!"

Lin Shu You: "I think Brother Xiao Yuan is just borrowing my brain to think about problems, because Brother Xiao Yuan is too smart, he needs to lower the dimension."

Master Master Tongzi: "Jitong, you have disappointed me too much, how can you be so unpromising?"

Lin Shu You: "What promise did you have in the past?"

Master Master Tongzi: "..."

At this time, Li Zhuiyuan spoke again: "However, A You, there is a problem here: how to control the scale of the conflict between Bai family town and us. Before you knew us, Brother Liangliang had already become the son-in-law of Bai family town.

Therefore, you don't know how fierce these Bai family Niangniangs were back then, and how ruthless their means of retaliation were against those who offended them."

"I think, since it's walking the river, the river water should be able to control..."

"The river water can only push; it has its rule limitations."

"Yes, Brother Xiao Yuan, I have remembered."

"Do you think, if Bai family town came out in full force, could they solve this evil spirit?"

Lin Shu You thought for a moment and answered: "If they paid a certain price, given the current recovery of this evil spirit's strength, Bai family town would certainly be able to do it."

"Therefore, Bai family town can be involved in this wave, but before this wave, one must first pull out a new wave, letting another group of stronger river-walkers face Bai family town first.

Either destroy Bai family town, or Bai family town destroys this group of lamp-lighters.

In short, Bai family town must be severely damaged, damaged to the point that even if they discover this evil spirit hidden for who knows how many years, they still wouldn't dare, and wouldn't be willing, to go head-to-head with her.

Only this can make it so that in the experience you mentioned, we can have friction with Bai family town; otherwise, Bai family town would instead become a protective barrier for this evil spirit."

Lin Shu You nodded thoughtfully.

Li Zhuiyuan: "This is also the reason why forces like Bai family town are so obedient and submissive to us now, and also the reason why the spirit beast in Brother Binbin's body is so keen on joining the Long Wang Gate.

Existences like them, with unclean foundations and quality, will have a natural sense of crisis; unless they are willing to hibernate forever and live silently, sooner or later they will be dug out and encounter so-called righteous liquidation.

Heaven indeed has eyes; lamp-lighters have heavy karma, and ordinary people who come into contact with lamp-lighters before and after walking the river will often respond in time to 'good is rewarded with good, evil with evil,' just because its attention is on the lamp-lighter.

But at other times and in other places, it might not be that it's too late to see or can't see, but that it saw it, but felt it wasn't the time to unseal or enable it, so it just left it there.

This is perhaps: it's not that there is no retribution, it's just that the time hasn't come."

The boy who had just fallen silent earlier shouted loudly in A You's heart again at this time; this time, there was terror in his tone:

"My God, what exactly is he comprehending, what exactly is he realizing!"

Lin Shu You: "My God."

Master Master Tongzi: "..."

Lin Shu You: "Master Master Tongzi, don't be so jumpy, fortunately my heart is very healthy."

Master Master Tongzi: "Do you know, what he just said, the feeling it gives me, makes me recall the occasional words revealed by the Bodhisattva when I listened to the Bodhisattva lecturing on scriptures back then.

What he is realizing now is something that only the Bodhisattva level can touch!"

Lin Shu You: "Occasional words?"

Master Master Tongzi: "Because the Bodhisattva wouldn't speak so bluntly, nor would he take the initiative to tell us too much, like he is doing with you, being open and honest."

Lin Shu You: "Oh, I thought it was because you were sitting too far away and couldn't hear it all."

Master Master Tongzi: "..."

Li Zhuiyuan stretched out his hand and pointed forward; as Runsheng kept stabbing the Yellow Jiang Shui Shovel forcefully toward the points, this large piece of farmland was already on the verge of "boiling."

"So, this time, my means were still a bit rough.

I spent money, bought a ticket, entered an amusement park, but only played one project.

Although it was worth the ticket price, I could have pulled the cost-performance ratio higher, and even, could have played some projects for free."

Lin Shu You didn't know how to respond, so he could only nod and say: "Mm, Brother Xiao Yuan, you are right."

In Li Zhuiyuan's perspective, the waves were paid for by his own merit, equivalent to spending money to buy a ticket.

Simple and straightforward, getting straight to the point, was indeed an advantage, but the advantage wasn't exerted to the extreme; he still had to find a way to plan and design the path well, reaping the benefits while doing other things, and under the premise that his conditions allowed, achieving the maximization of benefits.

Sure enough, practice is the source and test standard of theory, and theory originates from the summary and sublimation of practical experience.

Li Zhuiyuan initially only thought about using up the merit he couldn't spend, and his initial goal was to catch evil spirits to use as raw materials.

Unexpectedly, as he walked this road, he pushed open a new door.

On the river, he only needed to ensure he didn't die, and then he could carry out exclusive harvesting in the intervals between waves, not to mention that he now had two great generals, Zhao Yi and Chen Xiyuan, under his command, equivalent to hiring two wheat-reapers who were extremely good at harvesting wheat.

One with brains and considerable overall strength, one with very strong strength.

In the future, he could even be lazy and let them "walk the river on the shore" for him, while he only needed to sit at home and collect a commission.

Li Zhuiyuan stretched out his hand and patted his head.

Rarely, the youth's head was burning hot.

"Boom!"

The farmland ahead, under a loud noise, finally collapsed completely.

Runsheng also fell along with it and disappeared.

But soon, along with a huge old tree rising up, Runsheng, wrapped in roots, was hoisted up.

"Bang!"

Exerting strength with both arms, he broke free from the restraints, and Runsheng landed steadily, as if he had taken a free elevator.

The old tree didn't have many branches, but the roots below were very dense; in its central position, there was a woman, whose lower body was integrated with the tree roots.

The woman was very old, her skin was severely damaged, and her whole body was filled with a deathly aura.

At this time, she slowly raised her head and opened her eyes; besides exhaustion and vicissitudes, there was also a touch of unwillingness in her eyes.

Back then, in order to successfully escape, she only successfully "threw" one sapling out.

After experiencing various coincidences, she took root again; that is to say, for a long time, she was no different from an ordinary tree.

With great difficulty, she managed to recover a tiny bit of supernatural means, trying to rely on absorbing human essence and blood to replenish herself, but before she had started for long, she encountered such a powerful and terrifying opponent.

This made her feel that her past resilience and waiting had all turned into a joke.

If she had known today would come, she would have wished to burn herself to death directly in the sealing array, or after becoming a tree, erase all her consciousness and just be a tree, passing through the spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

"Ah!!!"

Endless bitterness, anger, and injustice turned into a shrill, crying scream.

Li Zhuiyuan, standing on the dam, looked up at the sky.

If the Heavenly Dao were to arrange all this, it should have given the woman a little more time, allowing her to recover to a strength that could match the difficulty of the waves; at the very least, the river water would not have pushed his current self to solve this simple wave.

The youth let out a sigh of relief; today's harvest was already overflowing, and now, it could end.

Looking at the sun, he should still be able to make it back at night, and before A Li went to sleep, play two more games of chess with the girl on the terrace under the starry sky.

"Hum!"

A thick root bound and lifted another woman; middle-aged, wearing ancient clothes, with many accessories, this was a Bai family Niangniang.

She had been sent by Bai family town to investigate the source of the movement here, but ended up being caught by the evil spirit.

"You, and that group of white mice, are in the same gang. Give me a way out, otherwise, I will kill her!"

The evil spirit was using this Bai family Niangniang as a threat.

This Bai family Niangniang's face also revealed pleading.

Facing such a hostage threat,

Li Zhuiyuan raised his left hand and waved it forward:

"Kill."

The youth ignored the hostage threat and intended to solve the hostage as well.

In Li Zhuiyuan's eyes, the fact that Bai family town could exist in the Nantong region was all thanks to Brother Liangliang having signed the unequal treaty too quickly back then.

This belonged to a historical legacy problem, and one could only tacitly allow them to be retained.

In the entire Bai family town, the only one who could be pulled out and qualified as a hostage to negotiate with him was that one; according to Brother Liangliang's statement, she was the only "living person" among the group of Bai family Niangniangs because she had warmth.

Runsheng's Qi gate opened, holding the Yellow Jiang Shui Shovel, and he leaped down toward the location of the old tree roots.

All the roots that attempted to intercept him were smashed to pieces by his strength.

And even if these roots changed their strategy quickly, even weaving into a form similar to an array, Runsheng could still move and dodge among them; it was nothing more than being a bit slower, but he was still advancing firmly toward the location of the old tree roots.

For Runsheng, the means used by these roots were simply not worth mentioning compared to those Xiao Yuan had him experience in the Daoist field.

Seeing that threatening with the Bai family Niangniang was useless, the evil spirit smashed the Bai family Niangniang heavily into the ground, freeing up roots to focus on dealing with Runsheng.

Li Zhuiyuan: "A You, you go up too."

"Yes!"

Lin Shu You jumped off the dam; after a short run-up, his figure leaped high. Roots lashed at him, and he smashed them while borrowing their force to continue bouncing.

Runsheng advanced from below, and A You chose to raid from above.

The evil spirit was already unable to cope, and the woman on the tree roots revealed despair in her eyes.

Li Zhuiyuan sat down on the dam, spread his palm, and the spirit of the flood dragon emerged. After it circled the youth's palm a few times, it submerged into the dam below, as if it had been let out to play.

He took a can of Jianlibao from his backpack, opened it, and drank a few mouthfuls.

He touched his forehead again, feeling it was still very hot.

Li Zhuiyuan decided that next time he went out with equipment, he could consider bringing a larger thermos; as long as conditions allowed, he would keep storing ice cubes in it.

Runsheng and Lin Shu You were both about to approach the old tree roots, and the ending was about to arrive.

"Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!"

Behind the youth, the cement on the dam first cracked, and then exploded.

The Bai family Niangniang who had been used as a hostage earlier and then smashed into the ground by the tree roots in anger when it was seen to be useless, had actually sneaked here at this time and launched a sneak attack.

At the same time, the woman on the old tree roots shrank and withered rapidly.

This Bai family Niangniang's gaze changed, turning into the same expression as that evil spirit.

This meant that the main body of that evil spirit was inside this Bai family Niangniang at this time.

Ordinary people were not suitable to be her carrier; the special constitution of the Bai family Niangniang, who was like dead but not dead, was more convenient for the exertion of her power.

She stretched out her hand toward the youth.

Cannot kill, must capture alive; killing him could only vent anger, and those two would still smash her to pieces. Only by controlling this youth would she have the possibility of continuing to live.

Li Zhuiyuan did not dodge, did not turn around, and not even a drop of the Jianlibao he was holding in his hand shook out.

When the enemy attack appeared behind him, the youth just snapped his fingers.

"Boom!"

With Li Zhuiyuan as the center, red square grids appeared around the dam, and the faint sound of a flood dragon chanting could be heard.

The array, activated!

When the youth chose to sit down on the dam, he was actually choosing a faster way to end it.

"Plop!"

The Bai family Niangniang's hand had just been raised when the terrifying power of the array crushed down on her, causing her to kneel directly toward the youth's back, unable to move.

All other emotions in her eyes vanished, leaving only the purest despair.

Whether it was hard power or soft power, she was crushed by the youth before her.

She didn't understand, why did this youth have to lower his status and specifically run here to deal with her, who was now so disheveled and miserable?

Was he that bored, that full of leisure?

How was I worthy of you specifically bringing people to run here?

Runsheng and Lin Shu You noticed the movement behind them and quickly looked back; seeing that the Bai family Niangniang had already knelt, the two did not return to defend, but instead joined forces to start digging and breaking the old tree roots.

Li Zhuiyuan took out a black array flag from his backpack unhurriedly; there was a ferocious face on the flag surface, which was the "Three-Phase Beast Resentment Curse" Li Zhuiyuan created with evil arts.

He made three, originally intending for Runsheng, Tan Wenbin, and Lin Shu You to have one each.

But Tan Wenbin had a spirit beast, and Lin Shu You had a boy, so they didn't really need this kind of spell-based apparatus; it would be better to give Runsheng two, and take one out himself to try the effect.

The youth stood up, facing the Bai family Niangniang who was kneeling toward him.

He flicked the array flag in his hand; in an instant, yin winds blew, ghosts cried and wolves howled, and beast shadows roared out, pouncing on her body, carrying out extremely terrifying biting on her body and soul.

In the sky, a mass of dark clouds gathered; there was no rain, but it spread a piece of gloom here alone.

Because the Bai family Niangniang was suppressed by the array and unable to resist, but looking at the biting efficiency of the beast resentment transformation, one could already see its terror; they were clearly large in size, but once they touched, they were like a group of maggots attached to bones.

Evil arts, truly worthy of being evil arts.

In future battles, if one could give the opponent this blow when they were seriously injured, then the opponent would almost have no possibility of successfully escaping, and perhaps they would kneel down and beg you to give them a quick death.

Lin Shu You and Runsheng completely destroyed the old tree roots; when the two returned to the dam, it just so happened that this Bai family Niangniang had also been gnawed into a pile of ashes. In the ashes lay a branch, on which there was only one leaf, and on the leaf, a woman's face appeared and disappeared.

Li Zhuiyuan pulled out a sealing talisman and used it to wrap the branch, which was equivalent to helping this evil spirit, who was about to be completely annihilated, temporarily stabilize its existence.

She was still useful; if she were completely gone, this evil art material would be wasted.

"Brother Runsheng, you take it."

"Mm."

"After going back, help me plant it under the peach forest first."

"Understood."

Not only could he not let her die, he had to raise a bit more flesh for her; placing her in the peach forest was most suitable. Anyway, the bit that leaked from the corner of Qing'an's mouth when he drank wine was enough for her to make a big supplement.

And, because of Chen Xiyuan, Qing'an's mood had been very good recently; asking him for a small favor now could even save a can.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Clean up, build a cenotaph for the Daoist priest, and build a grave for this family too."

The cleaning work was completed quickly; although the ashes were mixed with a large amount of wood ash, it was mainly to go through the motions.

The Daoist priest's ashes were scattered directly; people outside the world didn't care about the fleshly shell. His Daoist robe and broken apparatus were neatly stacked into the pit; after filling the soil, Li Zhuiyuan personally wrote a tablet for him.

Unable to find any objects regarding the Daoist priest's name, he wrote "Nameless Daoist Priest Fallen in Righteous Demon-Slaying" on the tablet, and added "Erected by Nantong Corpse-Retrieving Li" at the back.

No matter how small the cultivation, it was still real cultivation; and although this family had built a two-story building, one could tell from the decoration and exterior facade that they couldn't be called wealthy, and they might even have incurred debts to build the main body of this building.

One couldn't invite someone with real cultivation out of the mountains by spending only a little money; the Daoist priest being able to appear here must have been holding a heart of righteousness.

Li Zhuiyuan was clear that although he had fallen into being a heart-demon and separated from his main body, the guidance of his behavioral motivation was still filled with utilitarianism.

He didn't want to die, didn't want to be dealt with by the Heavenly Dao in advance, so he always adhered to the behavioral guidelines of the Long Wang Gate, not out of moral conscience.

But just like how he used to rely on his partners to set up fences in his inner desert, the youth felt that he could actually also set up a larger fence for himself through these people.

If these people didn't exist in this underworld, it would be quite boring.

"Alright, let's go back."

The three returned to the shore where they landed; Runsheng pushed the wooden boat into the river, and everyone got on the boat.

Just like when they came, Runsheng first used the Yellow Jiang Shui Shovel to row for a while.

Then, under the boat, the Bai family Niangniangs appeared again, acting as boatmen.

The boat moved very fast, without an engine, and without oars.

Halfway, they almost brushed past a ferry boat; a white mist rose from the Bai family Niangniangs, and people on the ferry boat couldn't see here.

Xue Liangliang's family appeared again, didn't speak, just stood on the river surface following and drifting, half-bowed.

Li Zhuiyuan: "All dead."

The woman nodded and began to perform a grand ceremony of gratitude.