Chapter 60

Once his resolve was set, Zhen Daoren grew calm; in an instant, he had already planned his escape, knowing he must not show any fear—on the contrary, he must act boldly, as if preparing to engage that man in a proper magical duel, then slip away at the moment no one expected, so that any future karmic consequences would have nothing to do with him.

Zhen Daoren tapped lightly on Wei Taiping’s chest, listened to the lung sounds, then his face brightened with understanding. “So that’s it—I thought it was something else, but it’s merely the Three Corpses and Nine Worms technique.”

“Three Corpses and Nine Worms?” Wei Lecheng raised his eyelids slightly. “Isn’t that the turbid, foul, and impure qi formed from the accumulation of yin in the Seven Souls, dwelling within the human body to harm its form and spirit?”

“Cultivators eliminate all worms during Foundation Establishment, shedding turbid yin. The Nine Worms should already be eradicated—so why is this child mentally confused and his physical form damaged by the Three Corpses and Nine Worms?”

Zhen Daoren explained: “The Supreme Scripture of the Yellow Court says: the human body houses spirits residing in all orifices, aligning externally with heaven and earth, where countless bodily orifices manifest internal landscapes, transforming essence and qi into visible deities. Thus, accumulated yin qi in the body gives rise to greed, envy, jealousy, and arrogance. Nightmares cause teeth-grinding and hypocrisy; nocturnal emissions and lust foster obsession with luxury and debauchery. The root of heart damage lies in harming things; poison is buried in the yin realm, harming others as its foundation… these evil roots can also manifest as ghosts.”

“The most harmful of the corpse ghosts are the Three Corpses; the rest are the Hundred Worms.”

“Turbid qi in the human body forms the Hundred Worms, hidden within the body, called corpse worms. If these worms grow abnormally strong, they can leave the body and become spirits: wine lovers cultivate wine worms; book lovers cultivate book worms; the sleep-addicted cultivate drowsiness worms. Even gossipy women can cultivate long-tongued women and quarrel worms. Even lustful men can cultivate lecherous fiends and eye-candy spirits…”

Zhen Daoren explained: “The Hundred Worms are roots of evil, forming from exposure to cosmic primordial qi. As long as the evil roots remain, the Hundred Worms will never cease.”

“Foundation Establishment sheds turbid qi and evil roots, eliminating the Three Corpses and Nine Worms—this merely cuts down the turbid corpse worms accumulated during the mortal body’s existence, preventing them from damaging bodily orifices… it is the cultivator’s method of maintaining mental and physical purity to prevent the Hundred Worms from arising. But if turbid qi invades the body, external evils stir the cultivator’s own evil roots, the Hundred Worms will still cling to him.”

Wei Lecheng had now regained his impassive composure. He replied coolly: “Then, Master, do you have any method to remove the worms from Taiping’s body?”

Zhen Daoren nodded: “The toad this child coughed up must be the demon’s doing—using the child’s bewitched state, he transformed accumulated yin qi and nightmarish terror into lung stench worms. These worms took physical form as evil toads… the demon cast a spell, causing my disciple to ingest them unwittingly, then used these worms as a conduit to summon cosmic evil qi and attack Taiping’s Dao body, causing the Hundred Worms to multiply.”

“Removing these worms is simple. Many longevity-enhancing elixirs contain pills that suppress the yin corpse’s soul and annihilate the Hundred Worms. With tranquil emotions and proper ingestion of pills and elixirs, they cannot harm.”

Zhen Daoren smiled: “I need only brew one batch of spiritual pills—the Hundred Worms’ affliction will vanish at once.”

Wei Lecheng remained silent, arms crossed, for a long while before speaking slowly: “Master, you are to hold your pill-brewing assembly in three days, correct?”

Zhen Daoren replied: “Why not substitute another pill at the assembly? My Hundred Spirits Numbing Green Pill is made from hundreds of spiritual herbs, refined with the molts of nine spiritual worms—it can complete the Dao foundation, transform the cauldron, expel and kill the Hundred Worms, and extend life… just one pill of the Hundred Spirits Numbing Green Pill will cure Taiping.”

“The retainers in your household suffer from toxic sores—these must be caused by mustard-seed worms. These worms number in the millions, finer than mustard seeds, causing skin itching and pain, leading to severe wind sores, malignant ulcers, tinea, hemorrhoids, vaginal maggots, and damp itchiness—they can even eat human teeth!”

“All you need is to dissolve the Hundred Spirits Numbing Green Pill in water and bathe the body in the pill-water—it will kill them all.”

“Good…” Wei Lecheng finally smiled: “Then I shall wait for your spiritual pills to be brewed—this heavenly punishment shall be swept away in the blink of an eye!”

………………

“Is this the county I govern?” Cui Dan rode in a fragrant carriage, lazily scanning the streets of Jiaobu Town through the curtain. The martial artists with swords and knives lining the roads held no interest for him. Though Jiaobu Town was a key waterway in the Nine True Prefecture, to the prosperous heartland of Great Jin and its capital, it was merely a backwater village.

For Cui Dan, long accustomed to the splendor of the Jin capital—fine robes, exquisite food, racing horses, and fighting dogs—only a few exotic local flavors remained noteworthy.

But what exotic flavor could exist without beautiful women?

After scanning the crowd and seeing no reaction from the lecherous stares, Cui Dan lost interest. Though he had diligently cultivated two hours daily since Qian Chen’s enlightenment, outside his self-imposed cultivation time…

He reverted to his old ways—or rather, he had never changed.

The old servant Wu Bo drove the carriage ahead, sighing silently to himself: “At least the young master now knows to cultivate—this much satisfies the mistress’s expectations.”

Wu Bo had hoped that after being enlightened by a high master, his young master would transform his character, become diligent and hardworking, a model worthy of his noble family like the eldest son. But changes in his view of cultivation did not alter his life attitude. After completing his Dao foundation, the young master became more grounded in cultivation—but he had even copied the cloud-seat bestowed by the high master, installing a soft couch in the carriage.

Every day, he lounged lazily atop it.

He even installed music and dance in the carriage for entertainment… and still peered out at every town to search for beautiful women.

Had it not been for a highly respected master awaiting him in the Nine True Prefecture, this journey would have wasted far too much time.

As the carriage arrived at the government office, the Wei family sent a formal invitation, stating that tomorrow’s pill-brewing assembly would host the county magistrate, with tasting of spiritual pills and celebration of the pill-making spectacle… Cui Dan held the invitation in astonishment: “So the elder has already gained fame in this town? Look at how he slew the serpent, saved lives, and subdued the crocodile with a single finger—truly the deeds of a reclusive master. Though some noble families cultivate, they always uphold their status and avoid contact with commoners.”

“To perform such acts of punishing evil and rewarding good, aiding the weak and relieving the poor… and possessing such profound pill arts… surely the elder has grown weary of noble families’ petty calculations, hence openly revealing his name, holding this pill assembly to exchange pills for favors!”

Wu Bo seized the chance to instruct his young master: “Master, did you see? The Wei family understands propriety and tact!”

“While others manifest divine power in the mortal world, the Wei family knows how to spread the high master’s deeds—even the newly appointed county magistrate received an invitation, and they host a pill assembly to glorify the master, facilitating his work… yet the high master stood before you and slew the demon, transformed the local yin miasma into harmony, and wherever he paused, lingzhi mushrooms never withered.”

“Yet you have never thought to promote the high master’s name…?”

Cui Dan exclaimed in surprise: “The high master is indifferent to fame and fortune, fond of quietude and avoiding worldly affairs. To make such a grand display—wouldn’t that displease him?”

Wu Bo urged: “The high master may not care about fame and fortune, but we cannot show no respect!”

“Besides, if the high master truly is indifferent, promoting his name won’t offend him—if he secretly delights in it, wouldn’t that please him? In this world, has any True Spirit ever remained utterly unknown? Who spread the legends of the immortals? The Great Jin’s True Spirit elders have not appeared for centuries, yet the imperial family still constantly proclaims their glory!”

“Doesn’t our own clan still regularly worship the Great Expansion True Person Zou Zi, fighting for centuries over the orthodoxy of the Five Phases? How many of our Cui clan’s Core Formation cultivators have died in these disputes?”

“Even the Three Dao Ancestors have Dao academies to glorify their doors and spread their sacred deeds and scriptures. Which sect does not promote its own ancestral masters?”

“No one in this world truly dislikes fame and fortune—even if one claims indifference, once one’s status rises, one must still maintain dignity…” Wu Bo patiently explained to his young master.

Cui Dan laughed: “Wu Bo, you’re wrong! My father has never cared for flattery…”

Wu Bo glanced around, then whispered: “The master doesn’t ignore flattery—he simply finds the methods too crude. Once an ancestor believed he must prevent sycophants from rising, so he selected dozens of household-born servants skilled in flattery, locking them in a secret chamber to praise the master daily… thinking he could later expose these sycophants and avoid being deceived?”

Cui Dan sipped his tea, smiling: “That’s a clever idea. And then?”

“Then the master also had such a secret chamber. Every day after court, he would go there to enjoy a few moments…”

“Pfft…” Cui Dan spat out his tea: “You mean my father also…?”

“I never said anything,” Wu Bo replied respectfully.

Cui Dan pondered long. He recalled how enjoyable it had been in his wastrel days, surrounded by a circle of sycophantic friends. How could a true high master lack a single supporter? To manifest divine power before others—wouldn’t that be too lonely?

“We must organize it!” Cui Dan slammed his hand on the table. “This pill assembly must shock the Nine True Prefecture and make the entire region bow in reverence!”

“I shall prepare at once!” Wu Bo bowed deeply.