The Imperial Preceptor, Guo Jing!
He was the greatest enemy the three of them faced right now, bar none.
Thanks to Chu Minghao's deterrence as an "immortal" and his promise of a reward five years from now, neither the Zhao Song emperor nor his officials, civil or military, would likely turn against them. They would even offer them some assistance, so long as it didn't put their own lives or fortunes at risk. That much was certain.
Aside from the Nightmare, who was bound to be their enemy, only Imperial Preceptor Guo Jing was their sworn foe—and an absolutely irreconcilable one at that. Even Chu Minghao's deterrence wouldn't be enough to stop him. That was why the first part of Chu Minghao's trial for them was to kill Guo Jing.
Xu Shilan asked, "Wu, do you know anything about Body-Splitting and Harvesting?"
Wu Pifu nodded. He searched his memory as he spoke. "Body-Splitting and Harvesting, also called Harvesting and Body-Splitting, was a horrific practice common in the old days... in feudal societies or during times of chaos. It was usually practiced by human traffickers or beggar gangs. They used cruel methods to break the bones and cut the skin of kidnapped women and children, and sometimes even frail adult men, deliberately turning them into cripples or monsters to beg or swindle money."
Xu Shilan and Yamadai took these lost fragments of knowledge from before the Third War seriously. After listening closely, Xu Shilan said, "The description of Body-Splitting and Harvesting in my technique is even more terrifying and... bizarre."
"There are evil arts like Beast-Crafting, Vase-Crafting, and Skin-Painting, then bizarre arts like God-Invoking, Corpse-Raising, and Yin-Folding, and sinister arts like Spirit-Worshipping, Soul-Summoning, and Sacrifice. According to the description, combining Vase-Crafting, Corpse-Raising, and Soul-Summoning can create something resembling Artificial Intelligence."
Wu