The Primordial Creation Art

Foreword:

There will be times when the wind and waves will be strong, and we will set sail to cross the vast ocean.

--Li Bai

[Part 1: Digging Your Own Grave]

A small fruit knife took eight lives.

One after another, beautiful young women entered through the door, Zhang Congfeng asked them the same questions again and again. He heard so many of their questions that his ears were calloused and his head was spinning, yet not one of them was willing to speak the truth, do the right thing, understand the truth, or act like a genuine person.

Jianxiong, relying on his brute strength, together with his benefactor, used their hands to subdue the demons, and then killed them one by one with their swords. He was brave for the first few, but gradually calmed down. They moved the corpses to the bedside in the bedroom, and the canopy bed was almost overflowing.

At this moment, Jiang Xueming called out, "Next."

Wu Xiuwen hurriedly got up and walked towards the door in a panic.

At first, he thought Zhang Congfeng was just joking. But if he killed all the "beautiful daughters" sent by the Buddha Sculptor and really broke off relations, how could he continue the matter?

As time went on, Wu Xiuwen became increasingly alarmed. In Zhuzhou County, the weather was favorable and the people were healthy, with only one murder case occurring every month or so. But with Zhang Congfeng, he was killing nine people a day?!

Thinking this through, Wu Xiuwen decided to follow the esteemed person's wishes and hurried towards the main hall. Upon seeing the physician, he immediately called out in a low voice.

"Please welcome the next young lady."

The doctor was getting impatient. The girls went into the room one by one, and when they didn't come out, he wasn't allowed to gossip behind their backs and find out the truth—which one did this Foreign Doctor actually like?

"Please, Brother Xiuwen, help urge them to tell Zhang Guiren that there are only two daughters left."

These last two "women" are Gu Ling and Jingguai.

The doctor placed them at the end of the procession, fearing that the two immortals might be tempted by mortal desires. Although the spirits of the mountains and fields possessed spiritual power and seemed more pleasing, they also had some wild nature—if things didn't go well and they were displeased, they would truly eat people. If they were to think of mortals, they would open their mouths to bite, gnaw on bones, and tear flesh from flesh.

Wu Xiuwen bowed his head and replied, "Yes! I'll definitely pass on the message!"

Just then, a white-haired, red-eyed woman emerged from the back door of the stage. It was Gu Ling. This wolf demon had changed into an elegant long dress, which, combined with her red lips and white teeth, made her look like a fairy from another world.

She followed Wu Xiuwen and sensed something was wrong as soon as she stepped into the bedroom corridor.

--The smell of blood is so strong!

The wolfhound had a very keen sense of smell, and upon becoming alert, it immediately grabbed Wu Xiuwen by the shoulder and neck.

Xiuwen felt as if his collarbone had been bitten hard by a ferocious beast, and a burning pain shot through the soft flesh of his shoulder and neck. He immediately screamed in agony.

"Grandma! Grandma, why are you grabbing me? Grandma, spare my life!"

"There's a bloody smell in this room! Tell me! What happened?!" Gu Ling demanded in a trembling voice.

With only ten steps or so to the bedroom, Wu Xiuwen's voice couldn't reach Jiang Xueming's ears. He felt a sudden sense of despair, filled with regret—if only he had confessed to the Buddha Sculptor from the beginning and joined forces with these demons and monsters to deal with this strange foreign doctor, he wouldn't have suffered the pain of having his shoulder pierced by sharp claws.

Crimson blood seeped from his shoulder and neck. A chilling wind howled through the courtyard, and the wolf demon's eyes glowed with crimson ghost fire. Two fangs protruded from its mouth as it roared fiercely.

"If you can't give me a straight answer, I'll eat you!"

Wu Xiuwen deeply regretted his past actions; on this path of slaying demons, he was the most wronged, the most innocent, and the most aggrieved.

At first, he invited the Yuzhen the Immortal to Zhuzhou. He had gone to great lengths and traveled a long distance. In the county town, he was a little tyrant who was respected by everyone. But when he arrived in front of the immortal, he had to kneel and kowtow three times and bow and scrape. He only wanted to do good deeds and make good connections.

Now, Zhang Guiren and the Buddha Sculptor are like two steel saws, trapping him, a nobody, in the middle. One wrong move and he'll be dead!

He gritted his teeth, enduring the sharp pain in his shoulders and neck, and answered in a low voice.

"Immortal. Immortal"

"Your beautiful daughter, like a Peeling Tree, can't fool Zhang Guiren's eyes. The Zhao Brothers killed all the pretty girls they sent you!"

Upon hearing the title "Immortal," Gu Ling knew that his true identity had been exposed, but he did not intend to kill Wu Xiuwen immediately, and repeatedly pressed for answers.

How did you know?

She didn't care about Wu Xiuwen's worthless life; instead, she was very concerned about her own identity, her cultivation techniques, and the divine power of the Peeling Tree.

Wu Xiuwen breathed a sigh of relief, finally having escaped the clutches of Gate of Hell. As long as the wolf demon was willing to talk, he would talk for as long as it wanted.

The lineage of Guanyin Cave at Black Wind Ridge, including the techniques passed down by the Lingguang Buddha, is all called the Hunyuan Creation Technique.

--The six magical artifacts of the Buddha Sculptor are tools for transmitting spiritual power.

These monsters are very particular about rankings, cultivation levels, ranks, and power within their sects.

Wu Xiuwen's words just now struck a nerve with Gu Ling.

How could a frail Foreign Doctor see through the peeling technique of the precious tree, a skill personally taught by the Buddha Sculptor, at a glance? Is it because my cultivation is insufficient? -- Gu Ling thought to herself, and workplace anxiety suddenly surged into her heart. If she couldn't even handle such a small matter, her rank would drop two levels when she returned to Black Wind Ridge.

"Tell me! How did you know? Did that foreign monk who reads those weird scriptures say it?!" Gu Ling cursed, "You bastard! What did you call me? Am I a daughter of the Mu family? Or the Azure Wolf Immortal?"

"A daughter of the Mu family! It's a daughter of the Mu family!" Wu Xiuwen almost kowtowed, enduring the pain as he hunched over and nodded repeatedly, praising, "A stunning beauty of unparalleled grace!"

If you find Gu Ling's behavior hard to understand, or wonder why this idiot would think that way, then take a look at the various aspects of life in the workplace.

People are always superstitious. When something is not done well, targets are not met, and the task is about to fail, people will always look for reasons and find a scapegoat to take the blame, superstitiously believing that disaster will not befall them—Gu Ling absolutely does not want to be that scapegoat.

The deaths of the eight farmers before her were nothing to her; she wasn't thinking of revenge, nor of reporting to the Buddha Sculptor and the doctor. Instead, she was concerned with preserving the seniority and ranking established by Hundred Eyes Great King. She turned a blind eye to what had already happened, and even with the precedent set before her, she felt no fear—she was used to the ruthlessness of Black Wind Ridge and couldn't tolerate anyone saying "no."

Once inside the bedroom, all they could do was fight a few brute-force battles with some country bumpkins. If they went back to see the doctor empty-handed, the two "wolf sisters" would probably be sent to Guanyin's belly as a medicinal ingredient when they arrived at the Buddha Sculptor.

We must get this done properly, perfectly, turning this disobedient Foreign Doctor into a subservient tool before Gu Ling dares to go back and report. At that point, the eight furnace vessels will die, and the Buddha Sculptor won't hold it against them. Guling and Jingguai will have done the greatest service, and the matter of Goddess Zhuzhu's childbirth will be settled. When the Great Buddha of Spiritual Light arrives at Black Wind Ridge, the two sisters will surely receive a real human skin! A truly meritorious deed!

"Go! Take me to see Zhang Guiren!" Gu Ling said viciously.

Wu Xiuwen exclaimed in surprise, "Ah, that room is dangerous!"

Gu Ling retorted, "What's so dangerous about it?"

Wu Xiuwen quickly explained, "Eight are already dead."

"I'm afraid they're arrogant and disrespectful to Zhang Guiren." The wolf demon was quite adept at convincing and hypnotizing himself, much like the young master player who keeps sending signals to blame you for not coming to help, only to be relentlessly killed. They both firmly believed they possessed extraordinary strength, only bad luck. "I'll go serve him and make him obedient and docile! Wu Xiuwen, you're close to Senior Brother Yu Zhen, but are my skills inferior to Senior Brother Yu Zhen's?"

Wu Xiuwen nodded hurriedly, "No problem, no problem!"

Gu Ling retorted angrily, "Not bad!?"

Wu Xiuwen quickly changed his tune. "Completely different! How could Yu Zhen the Taoist be a match for an immortal? It must be that Hundred Eyes Great King listened to slander, otherwise the chief disciple would definitely be you!"

At this point, Gu Ling finally released Wu Xiuwen, no longer bothered by the smell of blood, Bu Liuxing towards the bedroom.

She gently knocked on the door and called out in a sweet, coquettish voice—

"--My esteemed guest! I've arrived!~"

[Part ② - Dare]

No one responded to Gu Ling, so she pushed the door open and went in. She saw Jiang Xueming and Zhao Jianxiong guarding the door. One was a hot-blooded young man with bloodshot eyes, and the other was a burly man with cold, ruthless eyes.

Hehehe

Gu Ling finally realized that something was wrong, but she still wanted to finish what she had to say.

"Did the younger sisters slight our esteemed guest? I suppose so."

"The Buddha Sculptor summoned several uncouth farmers to serve the distinguished guest, but these good-for-nothings inadvertently revealed their true forms, which may have frightened the guest."

"Me, me."

When Gu Ling saw clearly the corpses in the canopy bed, all of them had been skinned, their bones removed, their inner cores extracted, and their bellies ripped open to destroy their inner elixir, she finally understood: the owner of this room wasn't a doctor at all; he was clearly the King of Hell!

Jiang Xueming: "Tell me the truth, and I won't kill you."

"Hehehe," Gu Ling chuckled, sweat beading on her forehead, and continued the argument, covering her mouth. "My lord, I'm here to arrange a marriage. Why are you trying to kill me?"

Xue Ming rolled her eyes and pulled Jianxiong aside to take refuge. This demon had sharp teeth and a sharp tongue; it was not something an ordinary person could deal with.

In an instant, spiritual energy surged, Inspiration a powerful surge of true essence, a torrent of spiritual power rushing towards him—

Her face turned deathly pale, and her mouth and nose protruded forward, trying to reveal her true form in an attempt to save her life.

Suddenly, a pair of gleaming steel fists stabbed towards the foreign monk's chest!

The moment Fragrant Dream left its body, it punched the Ancient Spirit Wolf Demon hard in the face, causing blood to flow from the wolf's mouth and nose, its head to smash through a corridor pillar, and its body to slump to one side.

"My lord! Spare me! Spare me!" Gu Ling screamed pitifully, coarse white hair sprouting from her slender arms, her gentle female voice turning into a beastly growl, "Spare me!"

This time it was the wolf demon's turn to beg for mercy. It first climbed onto the ridge, then Fragrant Dream grabbed it around the waist and slammed it onto the stone path in the courtyard, breaking its spine and letting out a series of mournful howls.

"Immortal! Spare my life! Spare my life! I'll be your guard dog!"

It begged for mercy as it crawled toward the hall, its legs numb, pus oozing from its mouth and blood from its eyes, and its jaw broken.

That bizarre and strange avatar was as swift as the Lightning Speed, with the might of a tiger. Its silver-gleaming iron helmet and steel armor brought up a strong wind as it rushed to Gu Ling's side, grabbed the wolf monster's head, dragged it back to Jiang Xueming, and punched him again in front of several people.

The claws twisted into a heavy hammer, which was then slammed onto the wolf-like monster's head, rendering it speechless.

The rat doctor sat in the hall waiting, when he felt a layer of dust fall from the roof beams, and then he heard Sister Guling shout something like, "I want to be your dog!" from the courtyard.

Lang was overjoyed. Was the marriage finally arranged? Did all foreigners go for such a big gamble?

"Jianxiong, you kill it." Jiang Xueming carried the dying wolf demon and, following the same procedure, sent it to Zhao Jianxiong to go through the slaughter process, wanting this kid to finish the job.

Jianxiong glanced at the wound on Wu Xiuwen's shoulder, but fearing the power of the demon, he dared not step forward for the time being.

Jiang Xueming casually remarked, "Xiuwen, you did a good job. You managed to lure this monster here with just a few sweet words."

"Huh?!" Wu Xiuwen pointed at the wolf demon, then at himself. "It? Me? Liar?"

Jiang Xueming gritted her teeth, spitting out a few words as she leaned close to Wu Xiuwen's ear, whispering something to this treacherous, two-faced scoundrel. "Do you think I can't hear you? Didn't you trick me into this? Were you really speaking your mind to this monster heiress in the corridor? You're my precious darling! Xiuwen, you can't let these demons and monsters get away with this!"

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Wu Xiuwen suddenly realized, as if struck by a thunderbolt, "It was exactly what I tricked them into giving me!"

As he said this, he winked at Jianxiong and put on airs, just like a peacock spreading its tail feathers.

"Kill!" Jianxiong gripped his dagger tightly and thrust it at the weakened and powerless demon.

With a "poof," the half-wolf, half-human monster completely transformed back into a white wolf. Its eyes lost their luster, and its belly deflated, soon becoming an empty sac. From its mouth and nose emerged plump, fleshy White Lady, all of which were crazed larvae that would die upon exposure to light.

When the matter was finished, Jiang Xueming used an oil lamp to clean up, set Wu Xiuwen's bones and treated his injuries, and then asked him to go and invite the last girl.

In that short time, Zhao Jianxiong squatted beside his benefactor, serving him tea and soup. Seeing the way his benefactor treated the illness and saved his life, he felt admiration in his heart. A few days ago, Zhang Congfeng had set his finger. At that time, his eyes were blurry and he couldn't see clearly, so he didn't think there was anything magical about it.

Even now, he still didn't understand his benefactor's intentions, so he asked.

"My benefactor, why must I be the one to kill?"

Jiang Xueming: "I don't kill people, and I mean what I say."

Zhao Jianxiong: "But you broke their arms and legs, broke their bones, they won't live long, and then you send them to me to be slaughtered, isn't that just pointless? Besides, you were the first girl to come in."

Jiang Xueming interrupted, "Is that a person? Is that a girl?"

Zhao Jianxiong remained silent at first.

However, he quickly broke the silence and pressed for more information.

"My benefactor. I am but a wild man. When I stab these demons, I also feel my heart tremble and my limbs go weak."

Jiang Xueming casually made up a story. "I used to do that too, just kill more and you'll get used to it."

Here I need to clarify that Xue Ming is talking nonsense. His earliest kill record was against [Outlaw] in the Dead Puppet Agency. At that time, he was just scared and did not show any mercy. As for his heart trembling, that is even more absurd.

Later, by slaughtering the Skull and Bones Society's henchmen at the Hot Spring Market, he had overcome this psychological barrier.

"Is my benefactor an immortal?" Zhao Jianxiong asked proactively, "Can he impart immortal techniques to me?"

Xue Ming did not reply immediately. The two Zhao brothers had excellent elemental structures. If they possessed spiritual energy talent, they would be among the best in the battle group.

After a while, Wu Xiuwen led the little monster sister back.

Jiang Xueming said to Jianxiong, "Let's survive first. Jianxiong, live first—you know what I'm going to do. Do you dare to fight demons? Do you dare?"

Zhao Jianxiong replied, "Of course I dare! My benefactor is right! You get used to it after killing so many!"

Seeing that the pillars outside the porch had broken and the bloodstains in the courtyard could no longer be hidden, Jiang Xueming simply rushed to the corridor to greet the last "Young Miss of the Mu Family". He walked out the door and turned back to ask Jianxiong.

"If one day I'm no longer here, would you still dare to..."