Chapter 66

Five days later, little Jiang Shang, who had just been given a big name, was hopping and skipping towards the back of the village. His weak and unconscious state a few days ago had scared his whole family. Now, although he had been cured by the immortal, he had still been strictly guarded for a few days. Seeing him able to run and jump, even sturdier than before, his family finally let him out today...

Little Jiang Shang had long wanted to go back and see that big plum tree, which had died and come back to life, was said to have been saved by the immortal's magic, and had also saved his life.

So as soon as he was let out of the house, he found an opportunity and ran in that direction...

The big plum tree had become a scenic spot for all the nearby villages. In the past few days, after the villagers had kowtowed, they had originally planned to build a temple under the big plum tree to worship that immortal, but were stopped by the village head, who knew the weight of karma. But in the past few days, there were still people burning incense and kowtowing under the tree.

When Jiang Shang arrived under the big plum tree, the people burning incense were gone, but he saw a beggar, filthy and disheveled, lying beside the tree, looking like he was on the verge of death. Jiang Shang was indeed a kind-hearted child, so he stepped forward and shook the beggar, saying: "Wake up, wake up!"

The beggar opened his eyes, but everything in front of him was blurry and he couldn't see anything clearly.

As soon as he opened his mouth, a foul stench hit him. Jiang Shang was choked and coughed twice, but he still insisted on helping the beggar sit up. He looked around a few times and found that there were no adults nearby, so he asked: "You are so sick, did you come to pick plums?"

Jiang Shang: "These plums can really cure diseases... I was also very sick before, and later my father asked for plums from here, and I got better!"

He stood on tiptoe, looking at the towering canopy, and said blankly: "So high! I can't climb up!"

Little Jiang Shang lowered his little head, seriously thinking about how to pick a plum to cure this person's illness. He saw a branch of the big plum tree slightly drooping, and a slightly yellow plum fell silently from the tip of the branch, landing in front of Jiang Shang.

Jiang Shang picked up the plum and opened his mouth, looking at the big plum tree in front of him.

He was also a bit confused, so he had to wipe the plum with his hand, bow to the big plum tree, and say: "Thank you!" Then he fed the yellow plum to the beggar...

Daoist Zhen, in a semi-conscious state, sucked on the sour juice in his mouth and suddenly felt a burst of strength return to his body. He didn't know if it was a flash of light before death or if the sour taste had invigorated his spirit.

Daoist Zhen forced himself to pull himself together, opened his eyes, and wanted to see who was feeding him.

His vision cleared a little, but he saw Jiang Shang's familiar little face... Daoist Zhen was stunned. He stared blankly at Jiang Shang, and only after a long time did he reveal a bitter smile...

"Retribution?"

"The Supreme One says: Calamity and fortune have no gate, only people call them upon themselves. The retribution of good and evil follows like a shadow."

"It is so! It is so..."

At this moment, Daoist Zhen sensed that his time was near. He struggled to sit cross-legged and leaned against the big plum tree to support himself so he wouldn't fall. Daoist Zhen took out a yellow bag from his bosom with difficulty and said to Jiang Shang: "This thing... is for you!"

Jiang Shang foolishly took the yellow bag, not knowing what the beggar wanted to do.

"I have worked hard for half my life and ended up in this state, most of which I brought upon myself. But my lineage is passed down through one person, and it cannot be broken in my hands. If you are willing to learn my magic, just kowtow to the portrait of the ancestor in the universe bag... If you are unwilling to join my sect, you can also learn the magic within, as long as you find a successor for me."

"After I die... the ghost thing in my body will come out... You should get away from me quickly!"

Daoist Zhen waved his hand to drive away Jiang Shang, who was still confused and didn't know what had happened. Little Jiang Shang looked back three times with every step, still not knowing what was going on...

Zhen Chengjiao gradually calmed down and smiled: "Half a life ground into dust, one morning entering extinction with a free heart... Go... Go!"

At the end of his words, his head gradually drooped, and his last breath was slowly exhaled, with no more life left.

In the distance, Qian Chen held a peach wood bow, bent the peach tree branch, tied a bowstring with hemp thread, and then flattened three jujube wood sticks, simply making a bow and arrow. He pulled the peach wood bow and shot an arrow at the big plum tree in the distance. The tail-less jujube wood arrow slanted and slid for dozens of feet, shooting towards the corpse of Daoist Zhen under the big plum tree.

At this moment, a red qi shaped like a small child suddenly crawled out of the nostrils of Daoist Zhen's corpse. Before it could escape, it was pinned under the big plum tree by the jujube wood arrow, emitting a harsh scream.

Another green qi and a Bai Qi also scurried out from Daoist Zhen's mouth and ears like small children, and were all shot and killed by Qian Chen one by one.

The red qi is called "Ju".

The green qi is called "Zhi".

The Bai Qi is called "Qiao".

It was precisely the Three Corpses God transformed and split into three to escape. For Qian Chen, the biggest gain from refining such a fierce object as the Three Corpses God for the first time was becoming familiar with a part of the demonic path's methods during the pill refining process and realizing the method of reverse-controlling demons.

It is said that demonic methods are easy to obtain, but methods to control demons are hard to find. Because demonic sects often spread various demonic techniques widely, but methods to control demons with demons, to control one's own Yin demons, and even to restrain various external demon lords, are the secret methods of the demonic sects.

Therefore, loose cultivators who practice demonic techniques often find themselves controlled by true demonic sect disciples when they encounter them. Even if they don't encounter demonic sect disciples, when they reach a profound level of magic, they will inevitably be harmed by the demons hidden in the magic.

It was not very difficult for Qian Chen to refine the Three Corpses God. What was difficult was that when he was refining the demon with various gloomy and turbid evils in the human heart of heaven and earth, he always held a heart of controlling demons, and realized the techniques to restrain the Three Corpses God. Therefore, he was able to imprison and impeach the Three Corpses God in Daoist Zhen's body as soon as it was born, preventing it from harming others.

After Daoist Zhen died, Qian Chen was worried that the Three Corpses God would become a demon and do evil after stealing Daoist Zhen's cultivation base, so he appeared here again, witnessing the final karma between Daoist Zhen and Jiang Shang, and also shooting and killing the Three Corpses that had left Daoist Zhen's body...

With the Three Corpses slaughtered, Daoist Zhen's cultivation base dissipated.

That big plum tree became even more verdant. Most of Daoist Zhen's cultivation base was absorbed by the jujube wood arrow. The jujube wood arrow pierced into the big plum tree, leaving three scars, but also transferred the cultivation base into the plum tree.

Qian Chen put away the origin of the Three Corpses God demon that had turned into primordial qi... This can also be considered a secret magic of the demonic sect. If it were refined into the Seven Killings Banner, even if it couldn't be refined into the Seven Emotions Secret Demon Banner that best fits its essence, it could still be refined into the Three Corpses Seven Killings Banner... The power would not be inferior to the former, just slightly less spiritual.

But Qian Chen taking this demon was not for refining magic treasures, but for other uses.

That white bone relic had been a thorn in his side for a long time.

Previously, Qian Chen only wanted to find an opportunity to grind it away. Now, after refining the external pill and further improving his strength, he had other ideas... Perhaps he could use this to scheme against Miaokong.

On Jiang Shang's side, after discovering that the beggar was dead, he had already screamed and run home, calling the adults in the village.

Qian Chen had no intention of meeting the villagers, so he put down the peach wood bow and turned away...

Three months later... The villagers of Sanyang Village were surprised to find that the big plum tree had blossomed again. After being scolded several times, little Jiang Shang still liked to play under the tree. Sometimes he seemed to see a figure looming in the falling flower rain, bowing gracefully in the direction where Qian Chen had left in the past.

"Are you a monster?" Jiang Shang asked quietly to the big plum tree.

A small yellow bag fell from the plum tree and hit Jiang Shang on the head. He touched his head and picked up the bag. Jiang Shang realized that it was the small cloth bag given by the sloppy beggar that he had hidden under the plum tree before—Jiang Shang had risked being beaten to bring the villagers to let the old beggar be buried in peace!

A fallen plum blossom landed on the bag, and Jiang Shang found that the mouth of the cloth bag, which he could not untie no matter what, suddenly loosened...