Chapter 135: Why Must Fellow Daoists Pursue to the End?

Boom—

The sky rumbled with heavy thunder, and the torrential rain masked all other sounds in the mountains and wilds.

Inside an abandoned mine cave several li from Xiaohe Town, an old poison master from the Gu Du Pai, having built a bonfire, held a roasted rabbit skewered on a wooden stick, yet even now his heart still trembled with fear.

For disciples of the Gu Du Pai, making a living in the Jianghu of the Great Qian was no easy task; this identity, to put it nicely, was neither wholly righteous nor wholly evil, but to put it poorly, it meant the government office would come to deal with them, and evil cultivators would also come to deal with them—hated by men and dogs alike.

In the afternoon, having stopped at the Iron Lady Inn, the old poison master thought that in the Jianghu lands, surely he could at least get a bowl of hot noodles?

But what happened instead? First, seven ruthless figures wearing dog skins came to kill, and then, on Tieji Ridge, a murderous aura surged toward the heavens; it was clear that celestial officials were besieging an ancient evil patriarch.

To avoid being caught in the crossfire, the old poison master displayed the Gu Du Pai's specialty—cowering and scurrying like a rat!

Now hiding inside a rat hole, the old poison master finally found a shred of the warmth of home, and even secretly worried about the fate of that fellow Daoist from his sect who had surrendered.

Poison masters excel at area damage; even entry-level apprentices can poison an entire village or fortress to extinction, killing more efficiently than demon cultivators, but they truly lack one-on-one combat ability. In normal exchanges between cultivators, a poison master either hides until there is no chance to emerge, or emerges and dies first, just like Du Qingyi, another disciple of Tai Shu Dan.

Just as he was lost in such wild thoughts, a faint sound suddenly came from the rain curtain outside the mine cave:

Plop, plop, plop~~

The old poison master turned to look and saw a lost mountain sparrow emerge from the rain curtain, landing at the entrance of the Shi Dong, its body soaked with rain, staring straight at him.

"Eh?"

The old poison master looked slightly puzzled, glanced it over a few times, and pulled out a few grains of dried food:

"Tsk, tsk, tsk~~"

The sparrow made no response, merely staring into the old poison master's eyes; soon, the bird's pupils flipped to reveal a faint scarlet glow, like a bloody abyss that snatched souls and stole spirits, carrying a strange infectious power.

Tap, tap, tap...

The rice grains in the old poison master's hand fell, his expression instantly becoming vacant as he stared fixedly at those red pupils; deep within his eyes, one could see horror, fear, and struggle, yet his wooden expression did not change at all.

On the fist-sized sparrow, black mist gradually surged forth, transforming into a wisp of black smoke that slowly drifted toward the poison master's brow.

The old poison master had already been bewitched; before his eyes, he could see a ghostly figure nearly a zhang tall, floating with black flames all over, its face like a hideous fierce ghost, staring at him with a pair of scarlet pupils, its left hand slowly reaching toward the crown of his head, even speaking words:

"Lend this Daoist your body for a moment; after the fact, I shall give you a grand burial, hisss—?!"

The old poison master was just wondering why the evil ghost before him would suddenly gasp in cold air when, at his ear, a sound suddenly rang out from outside the cave:

"Clang—"

A clear eagle cry rang out like a world-shaking alarm bell.

The old poison master almost instantly snapped back to his senses; the illusion before his eyes vanished like smoke, and he fell to the ground, rolling and scrambling backward:

"This Daoist begs for mercy..."

Meanwhile, the sparrow at the cave entrance suddenly turned its head, only to see a black cannonball dive down from the sky, its speed so great that only a trailing afterimage remained, sweeping past the cave entrance.

Swish—

The old poison master hadn't even seen what flashed past before the sparrow was already gone without a trace, leaving only two scattered feathers on the spot and a bird call rapidly fading into the distance:

"Chirp—~~~"

Soon, the rainy night fell into dead silence.

?

What the devil was that?

The old poison master was terrified; a moment later, his eyes turned blank again. He touched his chest and head, realized he was still alive, then flipped over, got up, and scurried away like a rat...

——

Tieji Ridge.

Not long after the Yin Sha Qi appeared on the ridge, the Eight Directions Bright Tower of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau received a warning; a First-Rank Ghost Cultivator was far too rare, so the celestial officials of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau almost all poured out, and by the time Xie Jinhuan and the others withdrew from the ridge, high-ranking celestial officials had already arrived at the scene.

Nangong Ye, wearing a black-and-white Daoist robe and carrying a yellow-brown sword case, hovered above the night sky; the pouring rain descended from the heavens but, before it could reach his head, split left and right, forming an invisible rain shield.

Below, the Iron Lady Inn was brightly lit; one could see a large group of Constables and righteous Jianghu figures rushing in from the towns, loading the injured onto carriages.

Two young Constables, completely wrapped in quilts, were obviously severely frostbitten and had not yet awakened, lying on stretchers.

Two Wang Fu Wu Zu, protected by Mo Lin light armor, had no external injuries but were also frostbitten and needed support to walk.

Xie Jinhuan, wrapped in a blanket with an unknown woman, had sleeves and pant legs riddled with holes, having lost a significant amount of primordial energy and vital blood; his complexion was slightly pale, but his hands and feet were only superficially injured and already bandaged, so overall he appeared to be in no major danger.

His good disciple Seeing Mo Mo, however, was completely unharmed, merely exhausted from excessive consumption, showing a few signs of weakness.

Nangong Ye glanced briefly, found no serious casualties, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Xie Jinhuan's group had suffered too many losses, almost losing all combat capability; they definitely had to return for treatment now and could not continue the mission, but the Mingshen Sect still clearly needed to be investigated.

After seeing the convoy depart at high speed under escort, Nangong Ye's gaze crossed Tieji Ridge and landed on a town dozens of li away.

The county town was not large in scale but relatively prosperous; by night, it was already brightly lit, and in the mountains outside the city, scattered lights formed a huge ring, marking an open-air quarry.

Nangong Ye's figure passed through the rain curtain, flying toward the direction of Hongzhang County; as she passed Tieji Ridge, she could see three high-ranking celestial officials standing on the not-yet-fully-melted ice plain, searching for clues.

Having spent years slaying demons and exterminating evil in the wastelands beyond the pass, she had seen many Ghost Cultivators and knew that before a Ghost Cultivator acted, they usually left behind a temporary vessel nearby, connected to each other with their soul as a guide; once the main body died, the soul would immediately return to the vessel, making it extremely difficult to eradicate unless one was above the Super-Rank.

And even above the Super-Rank, one had to quickly capture the location at the moment of killing; if one waited until the soul returned to the vessel, it would be nearly impossible to find traces again.

However, Ghost Cultivators also had weaknesses: acquiring resources was incredibly difficult, and their strength depended entirely on the vessel.

Without a vessel, even the most skilled cook cannot make a meal without rice; even as powerful as the Corpse Ancestor, they could only possess an extraordinary soul perception and forcibly seize another's body to revive; if they seized a Sixth-Rank nobody, their upper limit would only be casting a Sixth-Rank curse technique.

While pondering thus, Nangong Ye soon arrived at the Hongzhang County quarry; looking up, she could see hundreds of soldiers holding torches, patrolling around the perimeter of the vast quarry, which from above looked like a ring of fire.

With the heavy rain falling from the sky and night having arrived, no convicts were working in the open-air quarry; everyone was concentrated in the prison on the side of the quarry, where celestial officials were already patrolling inside.

Outside the explosives depot on the halfway slope, two celestial officials were inspecting the overturned wooden crates, exchanging words:

"It used to hold Zui Gu Xiang; it must have been moved in advance when the anomaly appeared on the ridge; it was quite hasty, and quite a few items were left behind..."

"Bewitching the entire population of the quarry was likely done by that Ghost Cultivator controlling the formation; now it seems they can no longer cause trouble..."

"It has only been a few days since the incident in Danyang, yet preparations here are nearly complete; this group of demon bandits truly has connections reaching the heavens..."

"Eh? This paper... it depicts the mine maps of Hongzhang, Lanhe, and Zhen'an counties?"

"It really does seem so..."

……

Nangong Ye, having overheard this, immediately tracked southward, hoping to catch the demon Daoist transporting supplies to the second or third destination.

But after flying merely a dozen li, while passing through a mountainous wild area, a strange sound rose from the forest below:

Crackle-crackle—

"Gek-gek-gek..."

"Gu Ji?!"

……

It sounded like two birds of prey fighting, and quite ferociously!

?

Nangong Ye had not intended to pay attention, but in the dead of night, with rain pouring down, two birds dueling in the forest?

Who could resist taking a peek...

Nangong Ye's figure halted abruptly, drifting silently toward the treetops; as soon as her view was unobstructed, her phoenix eyes trembled slightly.

Below the treetops lay a deciduous forest; the ground was now covered in weeds and scattered leaves, littered with over a dozen bloodied corpses of birds and beasts—sparrows, rabbits, snakes, hedgehogs, and even a leopard cat—a veritable landscape of corpses!

A wild pheasant with crimson feathers stood in the open deciduous forest, most of its plumage shed, its body covered in scars.

And on the fallen leaves two zhang away lay another, larger black bird, its feathers dyed as if in an ink pool, its amber eyes gleaming with spiritual light; the two stood in distant standoff, still:

"Gu Ji?"

Nangong Ye had traveled the desolate regions and seen many demon beasts and spiritual beasts fight, but a common bird taking positions and striking poses was indeed a first; she could even discern the intent from the large black bird's tone—Is that all?

What terrified her even more was that the pheasant opposite replied with two "Ge-ge—" calls, utterly exhausted; if her guess was correct, the meaning was—Fellow Daoist, why pursue to the bitter end...

But the two combatants probably could not understand foreign languages anyway.

Heh?!

Nangong Ye sensed these two were no ordinary birds; thinking she had stumbled upon a great opportunity, she hid in the shadows to observe, fearing to startle them.

Yet these two birds brimming with spiritual energy nearly scared her to death when they fought!

The pheasant's footwork was extremely seasoned, leaping left and right through the forest, seemingly trying to lure its opponent into attacking.

The large black eagle, having witnessed countless battles, struck with a goshawk reaching claw, followed by a wild eagle tail-sweep with its wings, then a headbutt—Black Eagle Strikes the Pillar...

The pheasant actually knew how to sidestep, seizing the momentum by flapping a wing to send the black eagle tumbling over...

Puff-puff-puff~

Feathers flew wildly through the forest, bushes rustled, and the very Dao of Birds was worn away by the fighting...

??!

Nangong Ye stood dumbstruck, thinking inwardly:

Such counter-moves and footwork—could the Ancestor of the Bird Dao be vying for the title of Number One Under Heaven?

Who could possibly defeat either of them?

No wonder a row of innocent birds and beasts were accidentally killed...

Nangong Ye was initially bewildered, but soon realized that after the pheasant was clawed to death by the black eagle over a dozen times, a wisp of black smoke rose from its body; then a watching squirrel darted down, lunging with a Black Rat Heart-Extraction move, only to be pinned down and killed by a single claw...

Nangong Ye's expression changed abruptly; she immediately understood: this was no spiritual beast, but a ghost cultivator borrowing a shell to return his soul, trying to flee but caught by the mountain's fierce birds!

Though slightly puzzled why the ghost cultivator did not directly possess the black eagle's shell, Nangong Ye had no time to ponder; she flashed forward, and while flying, raised her right hand slightly; light patterns surged from the sword case on her back, followed by:

Clang-clang-clang—

Seven sword shadows of different forms detached from the sword case, darting through the forest like flying shuttles and wandering butterflies, carrying seven sword lights that all shot toward a rabbit just poking its head out.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh—

Amidst the ear-piercing sound of tearing wind, a terrifying, mountain-overturning pressure appeared above the forest.

The rabbit sensed something amiss and immediately leaped into the forest, but alas, Kui Yunya was only early-stage Rank 1; even if his true body were present, he could not withstand two strikes, let alone a useless shell that could not even defeat a bird.

Boom-boom-boom—

A string of falling leaves and flying sand exploded within the forest!

The rabbit was engulfed by sword lights, feeling as though swept by a machine gun; in an instant, seven circular pits appeared in the forest, its body exploding into fine powder on the spot, not even a single feather remaining.

The seven swords landed, forming a circular array at their ends; arcs of blinding lightning surged between the blades, instantly becoming a lightning net that formed a two-zhang-square Lei Chi of greenish-white thunder.

Crackle-crackle—

And within the previously empty Lei Chi, a flickering human silhouette suddenly appeared, its face grotesque, emitting a mournful ghostly wail, yet no sound could be heard.

Nangong Ye used the Lu Xian Array to lock the ghost cultivator's true body, preventing him from borrowing another shell to escape; she had intended to capture that rare spiritual bird.

But in the blink of an eye, she discovered the large black eagle had vanished without a trace; she could only land before the Lei Chi and gaze at the shadow within:

"Trapped in the Lu Xian Array, you will not die, but will be imprisoned in the Thunder Box, suffering the torment of ten thousand thunderbolts day and night until your primordial energy is exhausted and you re-enter the cycle of rebirth. With your cultivation, you will endure punishment for at least half a year. Reveal the identity of your hidden agent, and I will grant you a swift death."

Kui Yunya's figure flickered within the Lei Guang, his face grotesque like a vengeful ghost; he responded shrilly:

"If not for that evil beast relentlessly pursuing me, could you have captured this old man? Even if I re-enter the cycle of rebirth, I would enter the animal realm; living half a year longer might give me a chance to escape. Kill me if you wish!"

"..."

Seeing this, Nangong Ye said nothing more and lightly raised her right hand.

Hum~

The seven precious swords embedded in the forest emitted a hum, then rose uniformly from the ground, dragging the wandering soul toward the sword case on her back!

Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang...

After seven sounds of swords sheathing, the sword case closed left and right, showing no further anomaly!

But Nangong Ye herself let out a stifled cough, gritted her teeth, and swiftly departed the mountainous wild area...

……

(End of this chapter)