Chapter 974

“Teach!”

The crow’s expression was grave, with a hint of shame: “One of the disciples sent to observe the Shaman Sect has returned!”

“He…”

The crow found it harder to speak, lowering its head: “Please, Teach, save him.”

“What happened?”

Qian Chen rubbed his temples: “I’ve been in a bad mood lately, and I’ve been taking it out on others. Never mind—I won’t ask. Let me see for myself.”

With that, Qian Chen rose and descended the stairs.

As he stepped down from Wanghai Tower, the scenery around him shifted from the brightly lit pavilion to a pile of charred ashes.

Qian Chen stood amidst the ruined, half-collapsed building, gazing down at the people below. A disciple of the Xuanzhen Sect stood at the foot of the stairs, glancing around, and only looked up when he heard footsteps coming down.

Gazing at the man, Qian Chen’s expression slowly changed.

The disciple hung his head, his movements stiff and unnatural. He tilted his head at Qian Chen and mumbled: “Are you the Xuanzhen Sect Master?”

Qian Chen turned to look at the crow.

The crow’s feathers trembled slightly; it bowed its head and whispered: “I dispatched him to maintain the talismans at the bridges of Zhigucheng. He’s a new disciple, with weak cultivation, and I never imagined the Shaman Sect would be so shameless—using brute force against a mere novice…”

“Did he take the Black Tai Sui?” Qian Chen asked directly.

“He did!” the crow hurriedly replied.

“Then that’s good…” Qian Chen said coolly. “Your original cultivation was already low, and your experience insufficient. I’ve let things slide these past days—maintaining Zhigucheng is a huge task, and mistakes were inevitable.”

The crow dared not speak further, only bowing his head, silent.

“Hehe…”

Below, the disciple laughed eerily, covering his face as he mimicked human manners and bowed to Qian Chen: “Reciprocity! Grandma heard Zhigucheng had an Xuanzhen Sect, and that its master had stirred up quite a commotion—first killing one of our Huang family members to establish dominance.”

“What great power the Xuanzhen Sect Master wields!”

The disciple flailed his arms and laughed: “With the blood of our Hu family, we warned the seventeen martial academies—the yellow blood talismans crushed the aura of the Zhenwu Dao path. Today, Grandma Huang learns from you, Master, and returns the favor!”

The disciple bowed deeply, hands clasped: “First blessing: May your entire family be blessed!”

Above, Qian Chen raised his hand and pointed down.

The disciple’s clothes instantly peeled away, revealing his naked body. His belly swelled, then split open under the point of Qian Chen’s finger, revealing a curled white-furred weasel inside.

The weasel’s eyes glowed green; exposed to the crowd, it squealed shrilly.

Seeing its corpse-controlling spell broken, it could no longer even use the minor trick of ventriloquism. It frantically tried to flee, but was tightly bound within the corpse’s flesh.

The broken ribs slowly regrew, forming a cage that trapped the weasel inside.

Qian Chen smiled: “They say weasels are the most vengeful—I’ve finally seen it for myself.”

The weasel stared at Qian Chen with its emerald eyes, squealing in a piercing, wailing cry.

But its gaze carried a malice that chilled the soul—a spiritual intensity that unsettled all who beheld it.

“It’s no wonder you failed. Aside from the crow, you few stewards were barely at the Fourth Realm—or even on its threshold. The Huang family is one of the Five Immortal Houses of the Out-Marching Sect; their matriarch has already attained immortality, standing on the threshold of the Seventh Realm. And now, with the Shaman Sect Master entering the pass together, they’re surely watching each other’s backs. Expecting you to hold the line was too much.”

Qian Chen kept making excuses for them, but the stewards dared not speak a word.

They merely bowed their heads, not daring to breathe.

“But this isn’t an animal coming to insult us.”

Qian Chen’s voice turned cold: “Weasels hold grudges. Foxes hold grudges. Snakes hold grudges. Rats hold grudges. Hedgehogs hold grudges. So many beasts hold grudges—and all of them became Immortal Houses beyond the pass.”

“But you must make them understand: the most vengeful of all are humans.”

“The Shaman Sect is the state religion beyond the pass, officially sanctioned by the imperial court. Now, their Master has come south to scout ahead for the demons and spirits in the capital, clearing the way.”

“It’s getting cold. The north is freezing—don’t let them go back.”

Qian Chen raised his hand again and pointed. From the body of a nearby steward, a scroll of human skin flew out and draped itself over the disciple.

The tattoos on the skin writhed, wrapping him completely like a giant blanket.

Slowly, the corpse’s pale, bloodless face gained a flush of color; the disciple’s complexion returned to normal, and his eyes slowly opened.

Behind the vacant gaze, the piercing, ghoul-like soul within gradually stabilized.

Inside the disciple’s body, the weasel shrieked in agony.

Something inside his chest thrashed wildly; the sound of claws frantically scratching bone echoed from within—but the hollow skin grew tighter and tighter. The disciple pressed his hands to his belly, feeling the thing inside.

Gradually, the commotion ceased. He bowed low before Qian Chen: “Disciple Du Xiaoling, Minor Flag of the Kan Altar, bows before the Teach!”

Qian Chen nodded: “Reciprocity.”

“Du Xiaoling, since the Huang matriarch herself sent you to me, go return the favor—deliver my regards to the Shaman Sect Master, and see off the Five Immortal Houses beyond the pass.”

“Crow!”

“Your servant is here!” the crow bowed deeply.

“And you other stewards—the Shaman Sect Master has five Immortal Spirits of Immortality. You may use four talismans.”

“I temporarily bestow upon Du Xiaoling the ‘Ten Thousand Ghosts, Moon Demon, Embroidered Skin Secret Scroll.’ Let him wield it himself; you others assist with the remaining three talismans.”

“In the past, when I refined elixirs, the Six Ding swept the floor, the Six Jia fanned the wind; the Five Poisons served as guardians atop the furnace. The Five Immortals stoked the coals, while the Supreme Below watched. Celestial essence descended… In the netherworld, a hundred ghosts stole and offered medicine; demonic immortals came to stoke the fire. Thus was the Three Corpses, Ten Thousand Poisons Elixir forged!”

“Now I think of it, this elixir still holds merit. Let these beasts beyond the pass be granted a chance at immortality…”

The tattooed human skin crawled over Du Xiaoling, its patterns writhing.

Burnt human bones crackled on the fire, their cracks inscribed with oracle script…

Ropes twisted, faces twisted in grotesquery.

Most of the Xuanzhen Sect’s stewards set out, each carrying a dreadfully sinister talisman, heading north. The crow flapped its wings overhead, gazing down at the Three Forks River mouth.

On the distant river, a willow-branch boat, adorned with colorful ribbons, rested at the mouth of the North Canal, before the last stone bridge.

The Shaman Sect Master tilted his head slightly, gazing at the stone bridge before him, his gaze slowly rising—until it fixed on a crow flying overhead beneath the evening glow.