Chapter 67

66, Emperor’s Edict Chain

BOOM!

The phantom airflow, filling the coffin chamber and covered in scales like a serpent’s tail, thrashed violently as the Jian corpse clutched and savagely bit it.

In that instant, the serpent’s tail lashed out and shattered the coffin chamber where Zhou Chang stood.

Vast quantities of grain poured in like snowflakes into the broken chamber.

Amid the grain piles, sparsely covered in fungal threads, the Jian corpse emerged, still clutching the phantom, multicolored serpent’s tail.

The offering qi surged like an ocean, swirling throughout the wine cellar.

Zhou Chang stood within this tidal wave of offering qi, and in a daze, he saw countless multicolored serpent tails gliding between the void and the grain mounds—scales slick and shimmering, coating every corner of the cellar, even sprouting from the air itself!

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

He tightened the ghostly death robe on his body, each thought-thread sinking deep into the Jian corpse’s flesh and bones, siphoning every strand of offering qi it had absorbed, forcibly controlling its movements until the Jian corpse abandoned its gnawing of the offering qi serpent tail—

Zhou Chang regained the initiative!

His bony, gaunt body swayed unsteadily as he crawled out of the cellar pit.

Zhou Chang opened his eyes—before him stretched countless multicolored serpent tails of offering thoughts, winding through every tier of the cellar pits, coiling around the wildly growing fungal grain mounds!

A rich, mellow wine aroma drifted constantly before Zhou Chang’s nostrils.

As he inhaled the scent, he suddenly turned—and saw that from the bottom of the cellar pit, liquid was spurting forth!

The gushing liquid was the source of the cellar’s intense wine fragrance.

The water from the living spring had been fermented into wine.

What drew Zhou Chang’s attention most was not the wine gushing from the living spring, but at this moment, a golden, non-corporeal chain erupted from the spouting wine.

This chain, seemingly formed entirely of radiant golden light, stretched upward through the upper levels of the cellar.

Zhou Chang studied the glowing gold—and saw stacked Chinese characters within it:

“By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:

The Qingyi Wen family has for generations tilled the land and studied the classics, passing down poetry and books. Though none have yet passed the imperial examinations, they remain the foremost virtuous household in the region.

I bestow upon Wen Yongsheng, ancestor of the Wen family, the divine banner ‘Cao Tou Long Chang.’

After receiving this divine banner, Wen Yongsheng vows to offer his headless corpse to aid Emperor Shizong’s grand strategy!

So ordered!”

Of course!

Wen Yongsheng, the Wen ancestral elder, had indeed struck a deal with the golden skull of Emperor Shizong buried in the Bai family tomb!

He received from Emperor Shizong’s golden skull this single ‘Cao Tou Long Chang’ divine banner; in return, Emperor Shizong, after obtaining the banner, used his headless body for some grand scheme.

All the water in the living spring had turned to wine.

Emperor Shizong’s golden skull’s scheme was almost certainly tied to the entire Yongsheng Wine Workshop.

Zhou Chang’s mind raced.

He saw that the golden chain forged from the emperor’s edict stretched from the living spring upward to a towering grain mound, its other end still buried deep within the spring.

What did this golden chain connect to?

The instant this thought arose in Zhou Chang’s mind, the emperor’s edict chain snapped taut.

From the gushing wine spring, an arm covered in honeycomb-like holes emerged—pure spring water flowed through its countless pores, instantly transforming into intoxicating wine.

As the arm emerged from the spring, its shoulder, the other arm, and lower body followed, crawling out of the living spring.

The ‘man’ wore a tattered dark blue official robe.

But the robe bore no rank badge—‘he’ had held no official post during the Qing dynasty, merely purchased this robe without rank insignia by paying vast sums.

The ‘man’ in the robe had no neck.

The smooth, severed neck cavity was likewise pockmarked with honeycomb-like holes.

His entire body was riddled with these chilling, nerve-shattering holes!

One end of the emperor’s edict chain was now deeply embedded in the neck of this headless body.

“This is Wen the Elder’s body!

It has been submerged in the living spring all along!

These holes on its body—”

Zhou Chang’s mind flashed with realization.

At that moment, he saw every multicolored serpent tail swirling through every tier of the cellar converge instantly upon Wen Yongsheng’s headless, hole-riddled body!

WHIR!

Countless multicolored specks condensed into each of Wen Yongsheng’s countless pores.

At this sight, Zhou Chang suddenly felt dizzy, his mind reeling.

His pupils trembled.

“Offering qi, deluded thoughts!

The offering qi and deluded thoughts, accumulated over countless years, collected by Wen Yongsheng’s headless corpse—now all converged!

This headless body is likewise a ‘thought-aggregate,’ just like the Imperial Consort in the Bai family tomb!

The offering thoughts it holds are even more terrifying than those of the Imperial Consort!”

The oceanic tide of offering thoughts gathered into Wen Yongsheng’s headless corpse through its countless pores; from its empty neck, multicolored offering qi rose in mist, gradually forming a hazy set of facial features.

The head, still bearing the rat-tail braid, swayed slightly—and the golden emperor’s edict above it swayed with it.

The other end of the golden chain plunged deep behind a high grain mound; as the edict swayed, faint, disparate voices emerged from behind that mound.

Zhou Chang’s expression darkened instantly upon hearing them.

He heard many voices chanting a secret mantra—he had once heard it from Zhou Eryang:

“Om! Be ye! Sa wa na ye! So ha!”

This was a mantra linked to the ‘Treasure King’!

This mantra pointed directly to the ‘Treasure King’!

Who was chanting this mantra?

Who had taught the ‘person’ in the grain mound this mantra?

“Om! Be ye! Sa wa na ye! So ha!”

Zhou Chang broke into a sprint—first to escape the terrifying thought-aggregate of Wen Yongsheng’s headless body, second to see who lay hidden behind the grain mound connected by the emperor’s edict chain!

Bai Ma’s words echoed repeatedly in Zhou Chang’s mind.

“For this Jian corpse to complete its gestation and grow into the form the Treasure King favors, it needs more ‘food’ to replenish its nourishment.

Qingyi Town is the farmland that can grow the food this Jian corpse needs…”

To make the Jian corpse grow, the Treasure King would arrange for more food—

The Jian corpse first consumes deluded offering qi, then ghosts, and finally the limbs of the Thought Demons!

Now, this Jian corpse’s vessel is severely depleted; offering qi alone cannot satisfy its gestation needs—it must consume minor ghosts and Thought Demon limbs to grow wildly and become an Elder Jian.

Could the being chanting the mantra behind the grain mound possess the power to spawn ghosts, causing Qingyi Town’s farmland to sprout countless ghosts?

Zhou Chang glanced back at Wen Yongsheng’s headless body still in the cellar pit—

If all the offering thoughts gathered in this thought-aggregate were scattered across Qingyi Town…

Zhou Chang’s pupils contracted sharply.