Pure Fire Sect [II]

Upon hearing what the other party said, Hu Long's gaze flickered.

The reason he knew this person's real name was not through the use of any computer technology to conduct a search.

The name he had previously found in the records regarding the other party's personal information was Liu.

And the reason he knew it so clearly was because of the light screen floating before his eyes.

[Target: Liu Lingge]

[Skill 1: Green Bag Fragment: Soul Guiding Chapter (Proficient) Size: 1M (Status: Downloadable)]

[Skill 2: Sutra Chanting and Oral Transmission (Proficient)]

[Size: 2M (Status: Not Downloadable)]

(Description: Mastery of Buddhist and Taoist terminology, folk prophecies, and simple moral precepts, including chants, verses, and scripture fragments. Capable of healing, praying for blessings, and dispelling misfortune according to different occasions.)

The moment he touched these two people just now, their names and skills had appeared before his eyes.

The other party also possessed the Green Bag Fragment skill, and it was even more profound than that of Xue Wu.

As for Xue Hai, who was standing to the side, he did not possess this skill; he only had an ordinary skill at the proficient level.

It was called Observing Words and Expressions.

Therefore, Hu Long did not pay him much mind, knocking him unconscious directly and focusing all his attention on this Liu Lingge.

The other party possessed two skills, but the second one was not of much use.

It was merely the standard equipment of a shamaness, a trinket used to fool people.

As for the first one.

A proficient-level skill download only requires one megabyte?

Hu Long's heart stirred, feeling somewhat surprised.

He knew from his observations over this period that even purely knowledge-based proficient-level skills required at least two megabytes.

What was before him was clearly and abnormally low.

However, he soon had a realization.

Perhaps it was because he had already downloaded the introductory-level skill from Xue Wu.

The two were originally the same skill.

It was like learning; if one person had no foundation and the other did, setting aside other factors, it was obvious that the latter would find it easier to learn.

The skill download should follow the same logic.

Thinking of this, Hu Long's heart stirred.

He downloaded it directly.

In an instant, the content regarding the Green Bag Fragment in his mind increased, and some of the more obscure parts became clearer.

Unfortunately, this proficient-level skill contained no records regarding the problems he was facing.

However, he was not disappointed by this.

Withdrawing his thoughts, he cast his gaze upon Liu, who wore a deathly pale expression before him.

In a certain sense, this skill prompt also served the purpose of verifying a person's identity.

Hu Long had originally intended to use this to bluff the other party.

Then, he would proceed with the interrogation.

He had not expected such a result.

As for what the other party said, she must have mistaken him for someone from another faction.

Regarding her misunderstanding, Hu Long's eyes flickered.

He did not explain, nor did he directly answer her question, instead speaking a vague, ambiguous sentence.

"As long as you know, confess honestly, and I might just spare your life..."

"Spare me?"

Liu's expression seemed to snap back to reality.

"I stole the Green Bag Fragment from the Pure Fire Sect; do you really think they would let me go?"

Her tone clearly betrayed her disbelief.

"You have no choice."

Hu Long said indifferently.

Suddenly, Liu fixed her gaze intently on Hu Long, a smile appearing on her face.

"You aren't from the Pure Fire Sect, you're lying to me! You don't have a Sacred Mark on you at all."

She knew all too well what kind of lunatics the people of the Pure Fire Sect were; they had plenty of ways to force a confession out of her and would never waste so much breath.

The flaws in this person's performance were simply too glaring.

Hearing this, Hu Long's expression remained largely unruffled.

He was an old fox, and given the asymmetry of information between them, it was only natural that he would slip up and be discovered.

But that didn't matter.

"So what? I can still kill you just the same. You can scream and shout all you want, but I will kill you afterward."

"Now, tell me the origin of the Blue Bag Residual Scripture, and what exactly this Pure Fire Sect is!"

Hu Long said calmly, as if stating a mundane fact.

As he spoke, he casually recited some of the information recorded within the Green Bag Fragment.

This left Liu somewhat silent.

For a moment, she couldn't be sure of this man's identity.

The Green Bag Fragment was a possession of the Pure Fire Sect.

Only its core members could possibly know its contents.

Yet, this man clearly didn't even know what the Pure Fire Sect was, so how could he know the contents of the Green Bag Fragment?

However, faced with a certain death on one hand and a possibility of survival on the other, she had no choice at all.

"Fine, I can tell you, but I hope you will keep your promise and let us go."

After a moment of silence, Liu said in a somewhat hoarse voice.

"The Pure Fire Sect originated two hundred years ago..."

Soon, as the other party recounted the tale, Hu Long sorted out the basic timeline.

Pure Fire Sect—the name sounded normal enough.

But in reality, organizations with such names were rarely anything good.

And indeed, that was the case.

Its rise could be traced back over two hundred years.

At that time, the dynasty was in its twilight, the world was in turmoil, the people were starving and freezing, and the flames of war were endless.

Rebel armies rose everywhere, and cults proliferated, all hoping to take advantage of the chaos to overthrow the rotting old dynasty.

The Pure Fire Sect was one of the most prominent forces among them.

The doctrine it preached claimed that all people lived in a filthy, evil world, their bodies and minds tainted, and only by burning away all the sins of the world with "Pure Fire" could one attain purity.

The sect possessed some eerie methods, and since joining meant having enough to eat, it developed rapidly.

However, times changed.

The world gradually stabilized, and the Yu State was established.

For these cults and bandits that plagued the people, the state launched powerful suppression campaigns.

Having developed for over a hundred years, the Pure Fire Sect had a massive number of followers and was naturally one of the primary targets.

Facing those who resisted, the Yu State showed no mercy, leading to countless cultists dying under cannon fire.

The identity of the woman before him, Liu Lingge, was that of a follower of the "Pure Fire Sect."

She had taken advantage of the chaos to sneak into the core of the Pure Fire Sect, steal a portion of the Green Bag Fragment, and flee.

However, the Pure Fire Sect had not been completely destroyed; some members had broken into smaller groups and escaped.

To prevent retaliation from those within the sect, Liu Lingge had eventually been forced to live under an assumed name in Wu Mountain, calling herself Liu and marrying Xue Hai to start a family.

Afterward.

Liu opened a hidden compartment built from bricks beneath the bed.

Inside lay a rolled-up piece of yellowed parchment.

"This is the Green Bag Fragment!"

Liu said.

Hu Long reached out with his gloved hand and picked it up.

The unfurled scroll was filled with tiny, fly-head-sized characters written in the script of the previous dynasty, making it quite obscure to read, interspersed with a few simplified diagrams of the human body.

Even if an ordinary person obtained it, they would likely find it impossible to decipher.

However, for Hu Long, who had downloaded the skill, this posed no reading barrier; although some content remained cryptic, he could basically understand it all.

After cross-referencing, this item was indeed the Green Bag Fragment, though the contents were truly severely incomplete.

Yet, that was not what he cared about; his focus lay elsewhere.

Thinking of this, his gaze fell upon one corner.

[Curse: Blood Soul Guide]

[Materials: Take the bones of a maiden who died before marriage and harbored resentment for three years, and burn them into ash.

Next, take ten infants who have just been born and have not yet cried, prick their hearts to extract three drops of blood from the apex, and collect them in a bronze vessel.

Whenever casting this spell, one must choose a full moon, take a lock of the enemy's hair, grind it into dust with a stone pestle under the moonlight, and mix it with the bone ash and blood dew in the vessel, stirring with a willow branch to create the "Blood Soul Guide."

Those afflicted will have their spirits gradually eroded and be haunted by vengeful ghosts; they will surely perish within five years, beyond the reach of medicine or stone.]

[Annotation: This technique is sinister and shortens one's lifespan.]

This was the only complete curse recorded within.

Combining it with certain characteristics, it was not hard to guess that Hu Long had been afflicted by this very spell.

"...I have already handed the Green Bag Fragment over to you; I hope you will keep your promise."

Watching Hu Long pick up the parchment, a flicker of reluctance flashed through Liu's eyes.

Nevertheless, she still spoke up.

Hu Long glanced at her.

He placed the item into his backpack and stowed it away.

"Of course, but I have one last question: how is this Blood Soul Curse broken?"

Liu was taken aback.

She looked Hu Long up and down.

However, because he was currently wearing makeup and had altered his features, she could not discern anything.

She shook her head.

"This technique has no cure; those who are struck will surely die."