Spirit-Devouring Thought Search
In the following days, Jiangyin County became increasingly turbulent as the Soul-Calming Office Constable's officers searched everywhere for the murderer of Pang Tong, which also affected many other people.
Lin Qing, caught in the Whirlpool, showed not the slightest sign of panic.
He faced whatever came his way, and he simply worked even harder than usual to improve his strength.
Aside from collecting corpses, patrolling the Dungeon, and eating and sleeping, he spent all his other time practicing the Tathagata Fist Manual.
He had been waiting for a corpse possessing superb Lightness Skill, but he never found one.
However, he remained calm, because in this situation, various forces were constantly clashing and fighting openly and covertly, and many experts would die. There would always be a chance to get the corpses he wanted.
At the same time, Han Shantong was also preparing for the worship of the Spirit-Devouring Demon Child.
Seven days after Pang Tong's death, outside the Han Family Ancestral Hall, Lu Xingmin lay on a chair, his gaze shining through a double carved wooden door into the dark and gloomy interior of the ancestral hall. He could vaguely hear the sound of a baby crying coming from inside.
"Brother Han, are you really going to take this risk? There are only eighteen babies, and most of them are stillborn. The success rate won't be very high." Lu Xingmin said, his fat jiggling as he spoke.
Han Shantong stood to the side, his gaze icy. "Taking a gamble might offer a way out; not taking a gamble means certain death. I just received news that the Han Family I sent to the Prefectural City have gone missing. My son Han Rong and the retainer Han Qi are both missing, their fates unknown. Now, the Han Family is standing on the edge of a precipice. Lu Xingmin, you and I are in the same boat. If the Han Family's boat sinks, you will not escape death either."
Upon hearing this, Lu Xingmin frowned, feeling a strange sense of irritation.
"You think it was done by the Prefectural City Soul-Calming Office?"
"Apart from the Soul-Calming Office, my Han Family has never offended anyone in the Prefectural City," Han Shantong said.
"Damn it! It's all over, Old Devil Han, what do we do now? Should we run away? Run away from Jiangyin County!" Lu Xingmin said, casually tossing the braised beef bone in his hand. He was already in a state of agitation and had no appetite.
"Escape? Where can you escape to? I have already informed the Yinyuan Sect, and they will be sending people here soon. Until then, do everything you can to improve your strength. In this chaotic world, everything is illusory; only strength is fundamental!" Han Shantong said coldly.
"Damn the Soul-Calming Office! You're right, strength is the key. From today onwards, I will spare no effort to search for the baby and hold the Hundred-Child Feast as soon as possible." Lu Xingmin went mad. Since he couldn't keep his County Magistrate anyway, all he wanted now was to become stronger and survive.
"That's not enough. Speed things up and get all the major powers in the city on our side. Those who don't obey, get rid of them as soon as possible." Han Shantong said, already stepping into the ancestral hall.
"The Ma Family, the Mount Tai Martial Arts School —if these forces don't cooperate, then they can all die!" Lu Xingmin's face was contorted with rage as he slammed his palm down, shattering the stone table beside him. The maids around him were so frightened that they all knelt on the ground, trembling in fear.
Inside the ancestral hall, Han Shantong's face was sinister, his gaze fixed ahead. On the offering table was a statue of a Spirit-Devouring Demon Child, a ghost child whose entire body was wreathed in eerie blue flames, its skin also being bluish-gray. Its slightly open mouth revealed two sharp teeth, and above that were a pair of empty eyes, with only the whites of the eyes showing, no pupils.
On the open ground next to the statue, there are eighteen infants, fourteen of whom are stillborn and four are stillborn.
He obtained these live babies from poor people in the Outer City through various means, either by theft or by forced purchase.
He wouldn't have dared to do this before, but now, the Han Family is on the brink of disaster. He's gone mad, so mad that he'll stop at nothing for power.
Han Shantong took out a piece of cloth from his bosom. This was the Spirit-Devouring Demon Child Visualization Method that he had obtained from Yin Muhua. It contained two parts.
Part of it is the Heart Sutra, which requires repeatedly visualizing the Spirit-Devouring Demon Child in your mind until the image of the Spirit-Devouring Demon Child is deeply engraved in your mind.
The second part is the Sacrificial Prayer, which needs to be recited during the worship.
Han Shantong closed his eyes slightly, took several deep breaths until his mind was calm and only the "image" of the Spirit-Devouring Demon Child remained in his mind. Only then did he recite the Sacrificial Prayer with a devout heart.
"The abyss is dark and gloomy, wind blows from every opening, shadows weep, and bones are hollow. Now, with a hundred infants as offerings and resentment as incense, we respectfully offer sacrifices to the Venerable Spirit-Devouring Demon Child..."
Outside the ancestral hall, Lu Xingmin waited anxiously. He heard the baby's crying suddenly stop, and knew that the ceremony had begun.
He prayed incessantly that the ceremony would succeed. If it failed, Han Shantong might go mad. Alone, he had no courage to stay in the city any longer, but he didn't know where to run if he tried to escape.
Time flew by, and although not much time had actually passed, it felt like an eternity to him.
An hour later, the door creaked open, and Han Shantong stepped out.
Lu Xingmin's eyes lit up. At first glance, Han Shantong seemed unchanged, but as he got closer, he found that Han Shantong seemed to be exuding a cold aura, and his eyes were even more indifferent and ruthless.
"It worked?"
"The Spirit-Devouring Demon Child has planted Divine Seed deep within my soul. Now I possess its evil technique, Spirit-Devouring Thought Search!" Han Shantong said in a deep voice.
"Great, that's wonderful!" Lu Xingmin laughed heartily, his fat trembling even more violently.
"Now that I have reached the Major Mastery of my Transforming Force and have the help of the Spirit-Devouring Demon Child, I am confident that I can fight even if the experts from the Prefectural City suddenly attack." Han Shantong clenched his fists, a cold glint in his eyes.
The Bai'e Cult follows the path of Evil-Incorporation into the Soul, which can grant people some of the abilities of Evil Spirits. They can also devour people's essence and soul to strengthen themselves, just like Evil Spirits. This not only greatly increases the combat power of Martial Artist, but also indirectly prolongs their lifespan. Therefore, even though the Soul-Calming Office Division tries every means to suppress them, the number of believers remains extremely large.
However, the downside is that once Evil Spirits possess the body, one needs to continuously improve their martial arts level to achieve a delicate balance.
Once the balance is lost and the body is completely possessed by Evil Spirits, one will go mad and cause great turmoil.
"Old Devil Han, I knew you weren't an ordinary person," Lu Xingmin said with a smile.
Han Shantong did not respond, but took out a small dark green bottle from his pocket.
"This contains Pang Tong's blood, which I had collected from Swallow-Return Ward. Now let me test whether this Spirit-Devouring Demon Child's magic is effective."
As Han Shantong spoke, he drank the blood in the bottle in one gulp, then closed his eyes slightly and silently recited the incantation from the Spirit-Devouring Demon Child Visualization Method.
The Visualization Method states that there are many ways to use the method of Spirit-Devouring Thought Search. One of them is to track down the murderer by devouring the blood of the dead and replaying the scene before their death.
At this moment, Han Shantong was testing this move. He closed his eyes tightly, and soon fragmented images appeared in his mind.
He seemed to possess Pang Tong's body, experiencing the battle that night intermittently through his eyes, and also seeing the appearance of his opponent: a young man of average build, with a black cloth covering his face, and unparalleled domineering boxing skills.
A moment later, the image disappeared, Han Shantong frowned slightly.
"So, have you identified the murderer?" Lu Xingmin asked.
"It wasn't Ran Hongxia. The killer was young, a man, and highly skilled in concealed weapons and fist techniques. His eyes are the biggest clue. Someone, quickly summon Painter Mu!" Han Shantong shouted.