Malevolent Spirit

Evil, a hundred infants!

Li Kefu and the others felt their blood run cold. There were rarely evils in the city, and while most of them had only heard rumors of evil spirits haunting the countryside, they had rarely witnessed such eerie, monstrous beings!

Only a few yamen runners who frequently ventured into the rural wilderness had ever heard of this creature. Rumor had it that the hundred infants roamed at night, excelled at imitating human voices, liked to linger outside villages, and hid in the moonlight-drenched woods, emitting the wails of a baby.

Should anyone from the village go out to investigate, they would be caught and eaten by it, leaving behind nothing but a human skin still wearing clothes.

The hundred infants would then control the human skin, imitate the person's voice, trick even more villagers into coming out to investigate, and consume yet more people.

Once, a place called Jianyang Village in Xinxiang County had been plagued by the hundred infants. Relying on deception, the creature had lured sixty percent of the entire village out and devoured them, leaving behind only some of the old, weak, sick, and disabled.

Yet the hundred infants were extremely rare, standing among the more formidable monsters of evil. Li Kefu and the others never expected that on their very first time walking the rural night, they would actually run into a hundred infants.

"Kill it!"

Someone shouted with a great roar, and the remaining yamen runners and Li Family experts hastily unleashed their spells. The air right in front of them rippled slightly, and a flurry of crisp, clanging strikes and flying sparks erupted across the hundred infants' body—it was the sword Qi of the Zi Wu Zhan Xie Sword landing on the monster and cleaving through its scales!

The Zi Wu Zhan Xie Sword was invisible to the naked eye, condensed from true Qi and divine power to strike opponents when they least expected it.

Several other beams of the Zi Wu Zhan Xie Sword missed their mark, hacking into the trees beside the hundred infants. One after another, tree trunks as thick as water vats were cleanly severed by a single sword stroke, displaying terrifying might!

Yet a spell of such might only sliced off a few scales from the hundred infants' body, failing to inflict any real injury.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

As the crowd unleashed spell after spell, the hundred infants was too massive and took hit after hit. The sword Qi carved deep into its flesh, instantly sending blood spraying in all directions.

Some of its swords struck the neck, severing the head entirely. Once it hit the ground, the infant's limbs scrambled frantically as it scurried swiftly toward them, howling at the top of its lungs.

Yet the further it crawled, the slower it grew, until it gradually lost all breath, transforming into a heap of rotting, foul-smelling flesh.

The surrounding trees met with immediate disaster, crashing down one after another with a thunderous rumble.

Finding itself outmatched, the hundred infants abruptly lowered its limbs and bolted, tearing through the trees at an angle as it fled deep into the mountain forest, leaving a trail of green blood in its wake.

The crowd slowly recovered from their shock, each nursing lingering fears.

Li Kefu cast his gaze around. After this ordeal, their group of over fifty people had somehow lost more than ten.

Qu Ji said in a low voice, "Milord, shouldn't we find a place to make camp..."

Li Kefu shot him a dark, gloomy look, and Qu Ji dared not continue.

"Keep moving! We must reach Huangpo Village tonight!" Li Kefu barked.

The crowd thronged around Li Kefu, pressing on in the direction of Huangpo Village.

The few yamen runners walking at the very rear felt a growing sense of unease. They cast anxious glances left and right, suspecting that some other evil spirit was lurking in the mountain forests, or perhaps wondering if something was trailing right behind them.

"Old He, stop being so paranoid and constantly looking back."

One yamen runner laughed at the veteran runner beside him, "When you keep glancing back, you're making me feel creeped out, too..."

Before he could even finish his sentence, he saw the veteran yamen runner turn his head with an abrupt crack, his neck snapping as his head drooped limply backward!

His neck seemed devoid of bones entirely, his head hanging backward with the back of his skull pressed flat against his spine.

Seized by terror, the yamen runner let out a piercing scream. In a panic, he whipped his head around, only to suddenly feel as though a pair of immensely powerful hands had clamped around his neck.

"Snap!"

His neck broke, and his head slumped backward against his spine!

The other yamen runners grew even more panicked. Each of them activated their Divine Shrines, mobilized their divine embryos, prepared their spells, and looked back.

Yet the moment anyone turned their head, their neck instantly snapped and their head drooped backward!

Evil, the Head-Breaking Dish.

"No one look back!"

Covered in cold sweat, Qu Ji barked, "This must be another kind of evil! As long as you don't look back, your neck won't be broken! Just keep facing forward and you'll be fine!"

Trembling with fear, the crowd huddled close together and pressed forward. Sure enough, nothing happened.

One man let out a breath and smiled, "Lord Qu really didn't--"

"Swish—"

He was suddenly hoisted into the air by a tremendous force. The crowd looked up, only to hear a scream echoing down from the sky as he soared upward at an astonishing speed.

Evil, the Thread-Pulling Worm.

"A third kind of evil!"

Cold sweat drenched the crowd. Even though Li Kefu was an expert of the Nascent Soul stage, he couldn't help but feel a quiet surge of regret at that moment.

"What kind of damned place is this Xinxiang countryside? Why is it crawling with evil everywhere?"

Right at that moment, the sound of trumpets and suonas drifted from ahead, sounding quite cheerful. Following the sound, the crowd looked over to see numerous foxes standing upright in the moonlight, playing instruments and singing while dancing bizarrely as they marched toward them.

Behind them, a blood-red sedan chair drifted through the air, swaying in time with the music.

The sedan curtains were lifted by the wind, revealing a bride seated inside wearing a phoenix crown and embroidered robes. Beside her sat a terrified scholar—likely some unlucky soul who hadn't managed to hide inside a village before nightfall.

When the sedan curtains were lifted by the wind once more, the bride inside remained as alluring as ever, but the scholar had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a bare skeleton.

The bright red sedan chair seemed even more crimson than before.

"It's a sui!"

Panic seized the crowd, and all manner of spells rained down upon the foxes and the sedan chair.

A sinister wind blew, causing various streams of sword Qi to dissolve into the breeze. Suddenly, the sedan curtains were blown wide open, and Chief Inspector Qu Ji appeared inside the sedan, sitting right beside the Ghost Bride with an expression of sheer terror.

Li Kefu let out a cold snort and activated his Divine Shrine. The divine embryo within the shrine instantly swelled to a massive size, reaching out a hand to grab at the bright red sedan chair.

Suddenly, the music swelled, the foxes playing with all their might. Li Kefu's body gave a slight jolt, his Qi scattering, and the divine embryo's giant hand could no longer press its attack.

The crowd surrounded Vice-Prefect Li Kefu as they fled in a panic. Yet no matter where they ran, the sound of trumpets and suonas always drifted from ahead; the fox troupe and the bright red sedan chair remained directly in their path.

Every time the sedan curtains were flipped open, another person vanished, reappearing right inside the sedan.

The number of people around Li Kefu steadily dwindled. By the time they fled near a stretch of yellow clay mounds, the piercing blare of the trumpets and suonas abruptly ceased, and the fox troupe and bright red sedan chair gave up the chase.

They seemed to harbor a deep dread of the village up ahead.

Slowly recovering from his terror, Li Kefu took a quick headcount and discovered that only three people remained by his side!

Over fifty people had set out, yet before they even reached Huangpo Village, only the four of them had survived!

"The hearts of the people in the countryside have rotted, which is why they breed such evil monsters!" Li Kefu remarked with deep sentiment.

At that moment, a deep voice rang out from nearby: "The appearance of evil objects is related to the bright moon in the sky. What does it have to do with the hearts of us country folk? Lord Li should not vent your anger blindly."

"Who's there?"

The three yamen runners hurriedly urged the Divine Shrines behind their heads, sending beams of divine light shooting out to sweep across the source of the voice.

They saw a tall old man standing upon Huanggang Slope, his pale-blue beard fluttering in the wind. Only his eyes gleamed red in the moonlight, resembling those of a starving wolf.

Li Kefu let out a huff, radiating full official prestige as he demanded, "Who are you? How do you know that evil objects are related to the bright moon in the sky?"

The tall old man's gaze was peculiar, as though he were speaking to them and yet also muttering to himself: "Because I have sensed a strange power within the moonlight, one that makes me unable to help wanting to feed every single night..."

He stopped himself, cupped his fists, and said, "Chen Yindu, talisman master of Huangpo Village, greets Lord Li."

"Talisman master Chen Yindu? You are Chen Yindu?"

A sharp glint flashed in Li Kefu's eyes as he stepped forward and shouted, "Did you kill my son, Li Xiaoding?"

The tall old man shook his head. "It wasn't me."

Li Kefu was slightly taken aback.

"It was my grandson."

The tall old man stated, "I merely watched from outside the camp, guarding against any experts he couldn't handle. I watched him make his move, and I was quite gratified; he finally possesses a shred of self-preservation strength."

Murderous intent surged in Li Kefu's eyes.

To have his son killed, yet hear this old man describe it as self-preservation strength!

To him, this was blatant humiliation to his face!

The tall old man continued unhurriedly, "Lord Li has come here in a murderous rage—could it be to kill my grandson to avenge your son? Since ancient times, killing a life requires paying with one's life, and paying off debts is only right and natural. It is entirely proper for you to want to kill my grandson, and it is equally justified for me to kill you in order to protect him."

Li Kefu let out a furious roar and stepped forward. The Divine Shrine behind his head emitted a humming vibration as its light flared brilliantly. The shrine looked like a divine temple hall, with the divine embryo seated right in the center, its divine might towering and vast like a boundless ocean!

Yet before he could even prepare his spell, a ball of fire the size of a thumb came hurtling straight at his face.

While channeling his Qi to fend it off, Li Kefu activated the Li Family's ultimate art, the Six Yin Jade Wheel. Six strands of Yin Energy shaped like wheels spun and sliced toward the tall old man!

The Six Yin Jade Wheel was likewise formless and invisible to the naked eye; one could only vaguely perceive six wheel-like shapes spinning in the air without seeing them clearly.

The arms of his divine embryo flew and its ten fingers danced as it manipulated the Six Yin Jade Wheel, pushing its might even further!

Yet that ball of fire, which appeared to carry little might, slammed into Li Kefu's protective true Qi and exploded in an instant. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a fireball encompassing an area of roughly an acre, and the surging shockwave blasted a crater three to four feet deep into the ground, melting the surface soil!

The other three men didn't even have time to let out a single groan before they were torn to pieces, their flesh evaporating within the blazing light.

The Supreme Eight Trigrams Body Protection Talisman, the Supreme River Diagram Life Preservation Talisman, the Supreme Longevity Life Preservation Talisman, and other talismans upon Li Kefu's body all triggered simultaneously.

These three types of talismans were engraved onto iron scrolls by the clan elders of the Li Family through the mobilization of their Nascent Soul realms, serving as precious treasures for protecting the lives of important disciples of the Li Family.

Any single one of these talismans could withstand a blow from a Nascent Soul expert.

Triggered all at once, the three talismans managed to hold out for only a fleeting moment amidst the flames before shattering one after another!

Amidst the raging inferno, Li Kefu let out a miserable scream, instantly reduced to ashes. His Divine Shrine and divine embryo were thoroughly scorched and melted away, leaving not the slightest trace behind!

His spell, the Six Yin Jade Wheel, dissipated of its own accord with no one to control it.

"So hungry. I must destroy the corpse to keep myself from succumbing to this growing desire to eat people!"

The tall old man raised his head to gaze at the moon beyond the heavens, a look of wariness crossing his features. With a sudden flash, he vanished from beneath the tree.

"This moon is getting stranger and stranger..."

Within the Desolate Mountain Temple, Chen Shi stood in the temple courtyard, his knees half-bent and neither fully squatting nor standing, his shoulders sinking and elbows dropping, his torso upright and crown-suspending posture maintained as he slowly regulated his breathing.

All around him, starlight, sunlight, and moonlight drifted down in a flurry, swirling around him like fireflies before gradually melting into his physique to temper and strengthen his body.

Ever since the Moon Festival, whenever he had free time, Chen Shi would come to practice in the Desolate Mountain Temple. Cultivating the Three Lights Righteous Qi here could attract the dual lights of the sun and moon, allowing him to make rapid progress.

Suddenly, Chen Shi felt as though he had crossed some wondrous threshold, and he noticed that the three kinds of radiance pouring down from the sky had multiplied significantly!

The starlight and the dual lights of the sun and moon gradually coalesced around him, forming seven stars arranged in the shape of a ladle!

"Are these the Big Dipper Seven Stars mentioned in the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art?"

Chen Shi was greatly astonished as he gazed at the seven stars.

He had never seen the Big Dipper Seven Stars before—let alone the Big Dipper, he had never even seen the stars in the sky!

Ever since he could remember, the night sky had held nothing at all besides the moon!

When he followed Scholar Zhu in reading ancient books and came across the line, After getting drunk, I forgot the heavens were in the water; a boat full of clear dreams weighed down the starry river, he used to wonder what on earth this starry river actually was.

When reading, These stars are not those of last night; for whom do I stand in the wind and dew through the middle of the night, he would likewise stare blankly at the sky, having no idea what stars were.

Reading the Thousand Character Classic, he couldn't comprehend how the constellations in the stars and lodges are spread out should be interpreted either.

And now, the Big Dipper Seven Stars had actually appeared clearly all around him!

These Big Dipper Seven Stars were not true celestial bodies, but rather transformed stellar power, yet it was more than enough to fill Chen Shi with inexplicable excitement!

"So the books didn't lie to me! So there really are stars beyond the heavens, and there truly is a Big Dipper!"

Suppressing his excitement, he gently shifted his footing, only to find that the positions of the Big Dipper Seven Stars shifted right along with his movement!

As the Dipper turned and the stars moved, Chen Shi felt streams of air—some warm, some cool, some hot, some cold—sweep across his body, tempering every inch of flesh and bone.

"Hoo—"

Chen Shi exhaled a breath of turbid air, sounding just like a bellows stoking a steel-smelting furnace. A gust of wind whipped up before him, sending dead leaves scattering in all directions.

He drew in a long, deep breath, resembling that same bellows inhaling, and actually formed a small swirling vortex of air right around his body.

Amidst his breathing, there was even a foul, gamey odor—it was the impurities within his bodily flesh and bone being refined and purged through the process of exhaling the old and inhaling the new!

"Hark, this is..."

Chen Shi felt as though his body had entered an entirely brand-new realm. Along with his breathing, a mass of Qi and blood inside him was moving in tandem with his will; whenever he concentrated his mind, that mass of Qi and blood concentrated as well.

With a slight stir in his heart, he guided the Qi and blood with his mind toward his arm, watching his right arm grow thicker at a rate visible to the naked eye. His fascia bulged, all the blood vessels on his arm concealed beneath thick, solid flesh, while the muscle and skin grew coarser, thicker, and harder than iron.

He swung his arm and smashed it with a boom against the thousand-jin boulder blocking the doorway, shattering a corner off the rock.

Chen Shi was startled; this single strike of his was actually capable of splitting monuments and shattering stone!