Several days later, in the Fragrant Incense Pavilion.
Using his divine sense to move objects, Li Ling held an ornamental stone motionless in the air and discovered that his strength had already grown to a full three and a half jin.
"What wonderful stuff! Just refining this improved Spirit-Communing Incense saved me over a year of effort!"
"And this is still nowhere near the limit."
"If the devil finger wood successfully forms incense resin, or if whole trees can even be shipped over from another continent and cut open for kyara, the effects might be even more astonishing!"
Setting down the ornamental stone, Li Ling turned his attention back to himself.
He had made some progress in refining baleful intent by now, and naturally began considering Gang Condensation.
The soul was inherently yin. Once it reached a certain level, the yang vigor of the physical body could be used to balance it, before continuing to refine baleful intent with the soul's power.
It was like walking: one foot supported the body while the other stepped forward, alternating in turn. Within this lay the profound principle of yin and yang giving rise to each other.
"It's time for Gang Condensation. Only when Gang Baleful Energy is complete, with yin and yang complementing each other and merging into the mind, can they transform into dharma power."
"This is the road to Foundation Establishment."
In the theoretical foundations of Qi Refining, the spiritual energy of the five elements was divided into yin, yang, Gang Baleful Energy, and baleful intent, all belonging to the external.
Their counterparts were spiritual consciousness and divine sense, one intangible and one tangible, likewise balanced between yin and yang, both belonging to the internal.
Only when the internal and external flowed through each other, with yin and yang complementing each other like the primordial chaos of taiji, could dharma power be cultivated.
Li Ling deliberately chose a daytime opportunity to enter meditation in his physical body and circulate his cultivation method, completing his first true Gang Condensation.
He did not know whether it was his imagination, but his mind seemed a little clearer-and yet it also seemed that nothing had changed.
Suddenly, Li Ling froze and carefully examined himself again.
"No, that's not right!"
Previously, he had possessed no frame of reference and known nothing about this. Now that he had something to compare against, he immediately noticed how his own condition differed from the Jade Scroll's account.
"Incense essence actually seems to possess the complementary properties of yin and yang simultaneously, without needing any further conversion. No wonder it's so easy to refine!"
Pleasantly surprised, Li Ling could not help speculating about the cause.
It might have something to do with burning incense to refine it, a process that already contained yang properties, but it was more likely related to the peculiar nature of his own soul.
Incense essence was merely a catalyst that stimulated it, rather than the incense spiritual energy he had previously believed it to be.
Li Ling left his room and went to the rear of the courtyard. He looked around, found no one nearby, and once again focused on the gang qi formed from his mental power.
Mixed with incense baleful force and refined anew, this power possessed a more solid nature.
Clang!
As his thoughts shifted, sword light seemed to flash in the air, and a gleaming blade appeared at his fingertip.
It had the appearance of a translucent liquid, like a sword made of water. Yet as vital energy flowed through it, it radiated a keen edge, entirely lacking the softness of an ordinary liquid.
Li Ling formed a sword seal with his hand and unleashed it with all his strength, sending it attacking the ground like a flying sword.
After a muffled thud, a deep hole appeared in the earth, as though pierced by a sharp sword.
This power was already sufficient to pierce mortal flesh, showing a little of a sword cultivator's prowess. Sword cultivators, however, needed to refine sword qi with the five elements' Gang Baleful Energy to enhance its might; those who did not cultivate the sword had no need to be so particular.
Li Ling was secretly thrilled. Gang Baleful Energy transformed into a sword! My means of attack have truly taken shape!
That night, Li Ling's soul soared through the air, savoring the exhilaration of unfettered freedom.
Then he visited the Unusual Events Bureau as usual, arriving to read its case files as though reporting for roll call.
He had recently browsed many of the Unusual Events Bureau's files and felt he had gained a great deal, making him increasingly diligent about showing up.
Suddenly, a clamor arose. Someone seemed to be arguing outside, their voices vibrating through the air and disturbing even Li Ling, who had been absorbed in reading.
He put away the file and floated outside, only to see several people hurrying along the corridor by the entrance. "If you won't go save them, I'll go myself! At a time like this, why are you still wasting breath?"
"Hundred-Household Commander Zuo, please don't act rashly!"
"Yes, Heaven watches over good men like Hundred-Household Officer Yuan. He'll be all right."
"We should wait for orders from above before making any plans."
Their overlapping chatter left Li Ling confused, but he recognized the man in front: Zuo Zhongliang, a hundred-household officer of the Unusual Events Bureau.
Zuo Zhongliang snapped, "Are you ever going to shut up?"
"Anyone with guts can come with me to Lianhe County to save them. If our superiors blame us, I, Zuo Zhongliang, will take full responsibility! If you've got no guts, at least stop prattling and getting in the way, you disgraceful bastards!"
Only then did Li Ling gain some understanding. Zuo Zhongliang actually intended to head out and rescue people without authorization.
Normally, the local branch or mobile personnel should have responded, but something seemed to have gone wrong over there.
Saving lives was like fighting a fire; not a moment could be wasted. He could wait no longer.
Zuo Zhongliang's impassioned speech instead persuaded those trying to dissuade him. "Fine! To hell with all that. I'm going for broke!"
"Let's go, let's go! Hurry!"
Li Ling thought, Lianhe County is a hundred and twenty or thirty li from here. By the time you get there on fast horses, their bodies will already be cold.
But he had underestimated the Unusual Events Bureau's resources. The men went outside to fetch their horses, then promptly pulled paper talismans from their pockets and stuck them to the horses' heads.
"Those are... Swift Movement Talismans!"
As light shimmered into being, the men vaulted into their saddles. Their warhorses neighed and galloped away, hooves drumming as they sped past like fleeting light and shadows.
They must have been traveling at over a hundred li an hour, a speed worthy of the finest steeds.
Li Ling checked the sky. It was not yet the third watch, so he decided to go take a look.
As the saying went, with a sharp blade in one's keeping, the urge to kill arose of its own accord. Having just mastered true power that day, he felt no particular desire to kill, but instinctively wanted to test his skills.
The Unusual Events Bureau was fighting demons and monsters. Was this not an opportunity?
He did not intend to travel with Zuo Zhongliang and the others, however. Instead, he flew straight across the countryside, following the map in his memory.
This allowed him to avoid the main roads and arrive as quickly as possible.
Horses enhanced with Swift Movement Talismans were still ordinary horses and had to obediently follow the roads. How could that compare with the convenience of flying over mountains and ridges himself?
Lianhe County was nominally over a hundred li from the Royal City, but the actual straight-line distance was less than eighty. After rushing on his way, Li Ling indeed arrived considerably earlier.
Heaven and earth stretched vast around him, shrouded in night like a deep black abyss, and he had no way to distinguish the precise location.
However, after spending so much time reading the files, Li Ling had some understanding of the Unusual Events Bureau personnel's customary practices. He also knew that when confronting enemies, they would try to avoid residential areas and head for open ground on the outskirts.
Thus, he searched along the city's edge and indeed discovered some traces.
He also saw several decapitated figures lying on the ground. They were not humans, however, but hideous monsters, their entire bodies a ghastly green.
Green Stiffs!
These were finished zombies that had already developed some fighting strength!
"Very fresh blood and the stench of rotting corpses. Someone fought here earlier!"
After traveling another few li, he saw several dark figures rising and falling, blades flashing as they darted about.
The two sides were fighting by moonlight on an open stretch of riverbank. One side consisted of three martial artists dressed as Unusual Events Bureau officers; the other consisted of Green Stiffs.
The Green Stiffs knew no martial techniques. They tore and bit purely on instinct, without any method whatsoever, but their advantage lay in their tremendous strength-and there were fully six of them.
More troublesome still, they had no true vital points. Cuts and thrusts merely drew a little rotten pus and blood that soon dried up, without severely affecting their fighting strength as such wounds would a mortal's.
The leader on the human side was a hundred-household military officer, apparently the Hundred-Household Officer Yuan whom Zuo Zhongliang had mentioned.
He wore gleaming regulation leather armor and hacked repeatedly with his saber, nearly severing one Green Stiff's neck.
Yet it still reached for him with its head lolling to one side. Even when his blade turned and sliced away half its rotten flesh, it remained unmoved, entirely heedless of pain.
The Green Stiffs Li Ling had seen earlier bore marks from flames and explosions. He therefore knew the officers had almost exhausted their talismans and firearms. Even their breathing had grown extremely labored; clearly, they could not hold on much longer.
"My sword qi has only just been refined, and I haven't learned any killing moves. Monsters like these won't be easy to handle."
A magical artifact flying sword could easily chop off such a monster's head, its blade striking with tremendous momentum. But this newly formed sword qi really could not manage that.
Most low-level cultivators used physical swords, and even high-level cultivators possessed treasure swords ranked as magical treasures. There was a reason for that.
However, probing with his spiritual consciousness, Li Ling soon discovered another presence lurking nearby: a demonic lackey hunting the officers in the darkness.
He seemed to be only a half-baked cultivator, with dim spiritual light around him. He did not leap out to join the battle, but merely concentrated on controlling the monsters.
Without hesitation, Li Ling pounced. He manifested physically behind the man, his spirit body seeming to don a shell condensed from Gang Baleful Energy.
"What?" The man blanched and instinctively tried to turn around, but Li Ling struck first. The sword qi he had gathered pierced the man's neck in an instant.
With a ripping sound, muscle tore and blood gushed like a spring. The demonic cultivator died on the spot.
With his death, all the controlled Green Stiffs froze at once. The yin baleful intent within them surged chaotically, and they roared and scrambled about like headless flies.
Given time to settle, they would recover and indiscriminately attack nearby living beings out of their hunger for fresh flesh and blood.
But the Unusual Events Bureau officers were no wooden posts. They were martial experts hardened by a hundred battles, and immediately seized this perfect opportunity to attack together. Within moments, they joined forces to cut down four Green Stiffs, greatly easing the pressure.
Seeing that victory was assured, Li Ling left them alone. Instead, he took the opportunity to steal the demonic cultivator's pack and quietly circled to the opposite bank to inspect his spoils.
Before long, he shook his head helplessly.
"Another penniless wretch. Nothing but junk in his pockets, not even a token. He hadn't even made it to registered disciple..."
By now, he knew that people like Special Envoy Mu were core members, all at mid-stage Qi Refining or above, dispatched to spread their traditions and gather cultivation resources.
Ordinary token holders were registered disciples, mostly organizational members recruited locally and developed in secret.
People like this man were newly recruited peripheral members, ranging from ordinary folk to rogue cultivators. If they proved themselves through experience, or even reached Foundation Establishment, they would be brought to another continent.
This, too, was a form of cold war between the immortal and demonic paths.
He simply did not know how long these people had been lurking here, or how much manpower and influence they had accumulated.
If they all mobilized and fought a great battle against the righteous immortal sects, they might truly cause considerable upheaval.
After a while, the hundred-household officer and his two subordinates indeed finished off the remaining Green Stiffs.
They were wounded and so exhausted they could barely move, yet dared not linger. After a cursory inspection of the scene, they departed in a state of nervous tension.
Judging by their expressions, the inexplicable turn of events seemed to have startled them as well.
Li Ling had never shown himself, but by killing the demonic cultivator controlling the Green Stiffs, he had already left some traces, letting them know that an unidentified third party had intervened.
An idea occurred to Li Ling, and he simply flew after them.
By then, he had withdrawn the Gang Baleful Energy transformation and returned to his spirit body. The men noticed nothing as they reached the city gate and continued inside.
Not long afterward, a man covered in wounds emerged from a street corner on the other side and collapsed to the ground with a thud.
The men hurried over to support him. "Old Guan, how are you?"
This man wore the Unusual Events Bureau's leather armor and was also their colleague. He had been wounded earlier and hidden nearby.
"Thank... thank goodness..."
"You're... all right."
Old Guan's face was deathly pale, as though he had lost too much blood, and he was visibly fading.
"You have to hold on!" The hundred-household officer searched his clothes, pulled out a medicinal pill, and pushed it into the man's mouth.
But Old Guan's gaze grew increasingly unfocused. His arm went limp, and his life ebbed away.
"Chief..." One of the officer's subordinates glanced at him.
The officer lowered his head in dismay, but soon raised it again. "Dispose of his body."
The men set to work, using a kind of incendiary oil to burn the corpse right there in the street.
Watching from nearby, Li Ling noticed wounds of varying sizes on both the survivors and the dead man. They had been inflicted by zombie claws and teeth, and the worst were already festering and oozing pus.
These wounds contained corpse poison with a degree of infectiousness. No wonder they had to deal with the body promptly.
Clip-clop, clip-clop...
The sound of hoofbeats gradually approached from afar and soon drew near.
It was curfew, and, unsurprisingly, the arrivals were Zuo Zhongliang and his companions.
Seeing Hundred-Household Officer Yuan and the others, Zuo Zhongliang jumped down from his horse. "Old Yuan, you're alive! Thank goodness! Where are the others?"
Hundred-Household Officer Yuan shook his head. "We split up to act separately. I don't know either."
Zuo Zhongliang asked, "What happened? Didn't we agree to form a large formation and fight as one, avoiding separate battles as much as possible?"
An attendant beside Hundred-Household Officer Yuan explained for him, "The demonic forces have been releasing zombies all over the place."
Zuo Zhongliang said, "I see. Where's Attendant Huang?"
Hundred-Household Officer Yuan said, "The enemy has a special-envoy-level cultivator. Huang lured that cultivator out into the wilderness downstream."
At this point, he glanced over Zuo Zhongliang and his companions, and his expression shifted slightly. "Why are there so few of you?"
One of the men beside Zuo Zhongliang said, "Hundred-Household Officer Yuan, Hundred-Household Commander Zuo came out on his own."
Hundred-Household Officer Yuan sighed. "Old Zuo, you fool!"
Zuo Zhongliang said, "At a time like this, what's the point of talking about that?"
"Hahahaha!" Just then, a voice suddenly rang out overhead nearby. A figure floated through the air and descended like a great bird. "Exactly! You're at death's door, so what's the point of talking about that?"
"It's the Corpse Immortal Sect disciple hiding in this city!" Hundred-Household Officer Yuan's expression changed drastically. "Could it be..."
"I've already killed that attendant of yours!"
"You cost me the Green Stiffs I painstakingly accumulated, and those new recruits too. Unless I refine every last one of you into zombies, the hatred in my heart will never be quelled!"
The demonic cultivator was none other than the special-envoy-level cultivator Hundred-Household Officer Yuan had mentioned earlier. Savage light blazed in his eyes as he glared viciously at the men.