Chapter 699: Zhao Qingxu

How utterly ridiculous!

Seeing these paper figures, Li Yan suddenly understood, feeling absurd and ironic.

All that talk of eating “peach of immortality” to regain youth…

Was nothing but a complete fraud!

This is the trick of “yin body debt”!

In Xuanmen teachings, “yin body debt” refers to the unfulfilled wishes of a soul in life.

Whether emotional entanglements, broken promises, acts of slaughter and sin, deception, or neglect of ancestral rites and desecration of spirits, these debts bind the soul in the liminal space between yin and yang, preventing peace and disturbing the living’s fortune.

Wang Daoxuan had once explained this to him in detail.

But more often, it is merely a reflection of the human heart.

Failing to filially care for one’s parents, owing a friend over some matter, unintentionally harming another…

Those unresolved heart knots and guilt gnaw at the soul day and night.

In this mortal world, who is without regret and heartache?

Some can let go; others are trapped, convinced they bear “yin debt.”

Heart knots require heart medicine to heal.

Those of deep Xuanmen cultivation might perform rites to soothe the soul.

But most Jianghu sorcerers use it as a means to fleece the gullible.

Yet sometimes, “yin debt” is not illusion.

The demonic art of the “Peach Banquet,” which steals the primordial qi of children, exacts this real “yin body debt” as its price!

One peach grants fleeting youth, yet costs many young lives.

This is a forbidden art, defying the Dao—how could it escape retribution?

Even Qin Shi Huang and Han Wu Di failed in their quests; how much more so mortals?

After consuming the “peach,” a “face wound” grows inside the organs, piercing the marrow with agony.

Only fushou ointment can dull the pain slightly.

Worse still is the “yin body debt” incurred.

The Jianmu demon priests bear no consequence—they shift the burden onto others.

Even after death, these nobles’ souls remain bound here, tormented, devoured by the vengeful spirits of children.

The yellow talismans pasted behind them are “name-registration slips.”

Like common folk who register their names in wild, lewd shrines—claiming to seek protection, but actually offering their souls and incense to demonic deities.

The price these nobles pay for “registration” is eternal bondage after death!

Li Yan can “hear” the wails emanating from within the paper figures.

Their agonized screams are even more desperate and piercing than those of the children.

At this sight, a fire of fury and icy killing intent exploded instantly in Li Yan’s chest.

Though he knew the demonic art was cruel, witnessing this hellish scene—the naked cruelty and distortion—still shattered his composure.

At the same time, the Rabbit God’s palanquin ahead came to a sudden halt.

The vermilion curtain lifted without wind.

The plump white figure, clad in golden chainmail and a tiger-skin cap, drifted slowly from the palanquin door.

Its long ears trembled faintly; its dignified bearing carried an inexplicable, eerie festivity.

“Ding ling lang lang…”

The Rabbit God pulled a string of celadon bells from its bosom, shuffled forward, and slowly shook them.

Though its movements were clumsy, the bell tones were like clear mountain springs, tinkling through and dispersing the thick gloom around.

Almost simultaneously, its monkey “servants” responded in kind.

Each small creature pulled out gongs, drums, and suona horns, shaking their heads and blowing wildly—noisy and grating, yet forming a strange, unified rhythm.

Whoosh!

Amidst the clamor of strings and pipes, the massive, sinister peach tree shuddered violently, its branches and leaves thrashing.

Li Yan saw clearly: the children’s faces embedded in the gnarled bark twisted suddenly, contorted in agony!

Seeing this, the Rabbit God seemed to summon its fury.

It lumbered in a circle around the giant peach, stepping the Seven Stars, shaking its celadon bells ever faster!

Crack!

A sharp sound—the face of a little girl at the tree’s base, along with half her neck, was violently torn from the bark by an invisible force.

Blood-tears gushed from her hollow eyes; her mouth split open in an impossible, grotesque grin.

Her tongue had long been ripped out—only a bloody, gaping cavity remained.

The scene before him felt like a nightmare plunging into the abyss.

“Ee—ya—!”

The Rabbit God let out a piercing, shrill chant, its plump body dancing the Seven Stars, spinning wildly around the peach wood.

Finally, the tormented remnant of the girl’s soul was fully stripped from the tree, becoming faint glowing sparks struggling upward into the dim sky.

Correspondingly, a large “peach” in the canopy withered instantly and fell.

Liberation!

Li Yan finally understood, carefully suppressing his qi, not daring to disturb.

Yet this liberation was far from easy.

The Rabbit God’s smooth, porcelain-like body first dimmed, then began peeling away, revealing gray, lifeless clay beneath.

Its surface glaze visibly faded, cracks spreading like spiderwebs.

Li Yan watched, stunned.

This sight resembled the Dalaofashen so closely!

Was there some connection?

Before he could ponder further, another transformation erupted in the scene!

From the eyes of the Queen Mother demon statue, thick black fluid began oozing steadily.

The gnarled roots of the peach tree writhed like living serpents, snatching up several frozen paper figures and shoving them violently into the hollow left by the child’s soul’s escape.

In an instant, the cavity was plugged with new “filling.”

The twisted faces of the Peach Banquet nobles!

Li Yan knew: these peach-eaters had become “debt stakes,” nailed into the peach wood, replacing the children’s vengeful souls to endure the soul-stripping punishment.

These bastards deserved every bit of it.

But the Rabbit God’s condition was now critical.

After such brief exertion, its porcelain glaze had peeled away in large patches.

Not only was its clay core exposed, but its divine radiance was nearly extinguished.

Clearly, liberating these souls had drained this worldly deity severely.

Li Yan hesitated, his gaze growing grave.

He had intended to hunt down the Jianmu demons and destroy this demonic place entirely—but that would scatter the children’s souls.

Now, seeing the Rabbit God sacrifice its very essence to save even a faint remnant, how could he stand idle?

Thinking this, he no longer delayed, revealing his form and moving closer.

“Ya ya ya—!”

The monkey minions noticed the disturbance, dropped their instruments, shrieked shrilly, and rushed forward to block Li Yan from the peach tree.

“May I try?”

Li Yan bowed solemnly, his gaze passing the monkeys to meet the Rabbit God’s cloudy, weary clay eyes.

The Rabbit God swayed, dust crumbling from its cracked clay surface, finally stopping its bell-shaking, its hollow sockets deeply “gazing” at Li Yan.

Seeing no resistance, Li Yan no longer hesitated—he tapped his toe, leapt into the air, and landed beneath the peach tree.

His hand seals shifted, his steps traced the Heavenly Gang, and he chanted the “Northern Emperor’s Exorcism of Misfortune” at speed.

“Qing Jia! Heaven grants salvation, sternly subduing the Northern Feng! The Divine Lord receives the Mandate, sweeping away all ill fortune! Eight Warnings spew poison—”

As the incantation began, Li Yan sensed something wrong.

He had built his fourth-level pavilion and could roam yin spirits, but here, his magic felt like sinking in mud—its power drastically weakened.

An indescribable suppression permeated the air, far stronger than in the Corpse Forest.

There was no time to think—he forced his spirit, shaped his fingers into a sword-point, and stabbed sharply at the peach tree.

“Chi!”

Primordial yin sha qi from the underworld was drawn forth.

Unlike the mortal realm, the anomalies here were glaringly clear.

Patches of darkness surged from the void, drawn by the sword-seal, landing upon the peach tree.

“Zhi—zhi!”

As if plunged into a red-hot iron, the tree shuddered violently, emitting a piercing, teeth-grating screech like venomous insects.

Boom!

Several pale, lingering souls of children were violently torn from the tree by the Northern Emperor’s divine might, becoming faint phosphorescent sparks rising into the air.

But Li Yan’s face changed drastically!

A vile, poison-laced curse, brimming with hatred, struck instantly—too fast to react.

Crack!

A searing pain spread through his entire body.

Li Yan’s face darkened; his already battered Luofa Body now cracked open further and wider.

One more second’s delay, and one of his soul flames would have been extinguished.

He forcibly broke his incantation, staggered backward, and his gaze locked onto the monstrous Queen Mother statue.

The source of the curse was this very thing!

Its malevolent divine intent had fused with the Soul-Devouring Blood Peach.

This method of grafting a divine statue’s essence onto a cursed wood exceeded his understanding.

Huh—!

At that moment, a bone-chilling wind rose without warning from behind.

Li Yan’s hairs stood on end; he spun around sharply.

Before him, a dark shadow Guoxie ing thick, dead energy shot forward like an arrow and halted in midair!

Its entire body was wrapped in a rotting, tattered black cloak; beneath the hood, no face could be seen—only a pair of pale, withered, joint-protruding giant claws extended, gripping a thick, rusted iron chain caked with dried blood.

The Gou Diao in Li Yan’s arms suddenly grew scorching hot.

It was a Night Walker corrupted by demonic energy!

“Squeak-squeak~”

The monkey spirits scattered in panic, frantically shouldering the faintly breathing Rabbit God.

Clatter-clatter!

The corrupted Night Walker instantly swung his iron chain.

This object was none other than the Luofa Technique: “Soul-Grabbing Chain.”

Against yin spirits and divine souls, this method was most formidable.

The iron chain rapidly extended through the air, but just as it neared the Rabbit God, another iron chain whistled in.

It was Li Yan’s “Soul-Grabbing Thunder Chain,” now manifesting its true form.

Unlike his opponent’s, Li Yan’s chain ended in a black iron claw.

This was a fossilized spiritual treasure left by an ancient night owl, refined into his Soul-Grabbing Chain to enhance its power.

The iron claw whirled and wrapped itself around the opponent’s chain.

Instantly, Li Yan felt a tremendous force surge from above, as both chains tightened.

“Hmph!”

Li Yan let out a cold snort and spurred his will.

Zizz-zizz!

Lightning crackled across the chains.

The corrupted Night Walker stiffened instantly, black smoke billowing from his body.

“Go!”

Li Yan barked; the monkey spirits immediately fled with the Rabbit God.

Above, the “Night Walker” slowly broke free of the lightning, exhaled a wisp of black mist that crept along the Soul-Grabbing Chain.

Li Yan knew demonic energy was immortal—pure thunder techniques could not destroy it.

Seeing the Rabbit God’s figure vanish, he gripped the Gou Diao and spoke firmly:

“Heaven has its order, Earth its law; the Nether Bureaucracy seizes souls; the living must retreat!”

Instantly, fierce winds howled; yin qi of the underworld surged forth, plunging the surroundings into darkness.

But this time, the Nether Bureaucracy’s troops did not appear.

Li Yan sensed a terrifying presence suddenly descend.

To capture demonic energy, a Nether Bureaucracy divine general must have arrived.

Though he kept his eyes shut, he felt the divine descent stood at least one zhang tall.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The ground trembled with heavy footsteps.

Then, a piercing, resentful shriek echoed through the air, followed by the sound of shattering chains.

The gale howled; darkness rapidly receded—the demonic energy and the corrupted Night Walker vanished entirely.

Li Yan glanced at the peach tree behind him, frowning slightly.

He had assumed the Nether Bureaucracy’s divine general would take away the evil artifact behind him—but the general ignored it entirely.

It seemed he himself would have to rescue the children’s souls.

Performing the rites of transcendence would inevitably trigger the Queen Mother statue’s curse in return.

Directly attacking would make it impossible to preserve the children’s souls.

He didn’t know what other method there might be…

As Li Yan pondered, the sense of mortal peril returned.

He looked up and saw four more streams of black mist hurtling toward him from all directions.

The remaining four demonic energies!

Li Yan gripped the Gou Diao again—but did not utter the incantation.

The four dark shadows now occupied the four corners of the sky, surrounding him completely.

On the broken ruins opposite, a new figure had appeared.

He wore a green robe, his posture elegant, holding a folding fan—but his face was masked in white.

Whoosh!

The opponent flicked his wrist; the fan snapped open, revealing a massive character: “Money!”

More crucially, his left hand held a yellow silk scroll.

It was the “Precious Litany of the Earth Official’s Pardon!”

With this, even if the Nether Bureaucracy’s troops were summoned, they would be temporarily banished.

“Zhao Qingxu?”

Gazing at the figure’s silhouette, Li Yan’s expression turned grim.

“Just a name…”

A clear voice came from behind the mask: “Zhao Changsheng called you a grave threat and issued a kill order. Now I see—he was right. You found this hidden spot, so remote.”

He glanced around. “I’m curious—what did Heaven and the Nether Bureaucracy offer you to make you work so hard? Those Gang orders, perhaps?”

Li Yan replied coldly: “None of your damn business!”

“Of course it is.”

Zhao Qingxu didn’t anger; he waved his “Money” fan. “All under heaven hustle for profit. With your talent, serving those Luofa Realm bastards as a dog is a waste. Join me instead.”

Li Yan laughed mockingly: “You’re not even worthy!”

“Hahahaha…”

Zhao Qingxu reached into his robe and pulled out another object.

Another “Precious Litany of the Earth Official’s Pardon!”

He teased: “Money makes ghosts turn mills—even immortals and gods.”

“This item is rare—but we can get it easily. Do you really think those above Heaven are all pure and desireless?”

Seeing the two “Precious Litany of the Earth Official’s Pardon!” scrolls in the opponent’s hands, Li Yan’s heart sank.

No wonder this demon dared show himself.

Even if he delayed by summoning Wen Lingguan with the Bingding Spirit Summoning Talisman, the man could simply evade.

Li Yan gritted his teeth: “If you have these, why waste words?”

He had decided to fight to the death—transform into the Thunder God via Divine Transformation.

“Not yet.”

Zhao Qingxu’s tone held a sly edge. “How about a deal?”

Li Yan growled: “What deal?”

Zhao Qingxu looked at the peach tree behind him. “I can’t hold you here. This place suits me fine—I have no desire to leave. Just pretend you never noticed this setup, and I’ll hand you Kong Hui as your prize.”

Li Yan stared in shock. “Aren’t you allies?”

“Allies? Hahahaha…”

Zhao Qingxu laughed. “Human hearts are selfish. With enough price, anyone can be sold.”

“Even Zhao Changsheng… isn’t beyond negotiation…”

(End of Chapter)