Straw Effigy Technique

After waiting in line for a while again, Jiang Yan reached his turn and offered twenty Spirit Stones with both hands.

The Jade Bottle Daoist did not reach for them. Instead, she frowned slightly.

The instructors had an agreement among themselves: every technique they taught cost ten Spirit Stones per lesson.

Since Jiang Yan had offered twenty Spirit Stones, she naturally would not accept them.

"What favor are you asking of me?"

With utmost respect, Jiang Yan lowered his head and answered softly.

"This disciple would not dare conceal it. I wish to learn the Straw Effigy Technique you taught during your last lecture. Please grant my request, Instructor."

"Hmm?"

The Jade Bottle Daoist looked thoughtful, understanding dawning in her eyes as she regarded Jiang Yan.

Her smile remained gentle, but a trace of appreciation entered her gaze.

She casually took out a new Jade Tube and tossed it to him, then took ten Spirit Stones herself.

Afterward, she waved him away.

Having set the price at ten Spirit Stones, she naturally would not break her rule for the flyspeck profit Jiang Yan offered.

Jiang Yan caught the Jade Tube and bowed again before returning to his cushion.

Several disciples nearby had heard his request and cast strange looks his way.

The Straw Effigy Technique belonged to the Witchcraft and Gu Ritual Path. It was a kind of Curse-Subduing Technique, famed specifically for killing others through curses.

His purpose in seeking this technique went without saying.

Jiang Yan paid no mind to the stares of those beside him and calmly began studying the Straw Effigy Technique in the Jade Tube.

He had already checked: Li Shun and his companions had not come to hear the lecture today, so he did not need to worry about word leaking out.

Before long, the information in the Jade Tube sank into his mind, and today's lecture came to an end.

Without pausing, Jiang Yan mounted Jinbao and hurried home.

From his haste, it was not hard to guess what he intended to do once he returned.

Several disciples behind him exchanged glances. This was someone they must not provoke!

Naturally, Jiang Yan knew nothing of their thoughts. In fact, some of what he had just done had been a deliberate display.

Being guarded against was better than having to guard against others.

On his way home, Jiang Yan stopped by the Market and bought the materials needed to practice the Straw Effigy Technique.

This time, he encountered that woman Zhang Yunhong at the entrance, but she was sitting there, leaning against the door, and paid him no attention.

Naturally, Jiang Yan did not take the initiative to speak to her. He pushed open his door and went straight inside.

After closing the door, he first turned and sent out a paper talisman to provide a warning.

Only then did he take out a pile of spiritual materials, including straw, silver needles, red cord, and spirit ink. He also cut a sheaf of low-grade spirit paper especially for the task.

After buying these things, Jiang Yan had only a dozen or so Spirit Stones left in his pocket.

Had the Dao Academy not given each disciple twenty Spirit Stones at the end of last year, he might truly have been unable to afford them.

However, he had already worked out a way to earn money, so he was not worried.

As before, Jiang Yan first used the Stone Book to thoroughly master the Straw Effigy Technique.

Only after working everything out in his mind did he pick up the materials on the table.

First, he plucked several hairs from his head and twisted them together with the red cord into a single strand.

Then he grabbed several stalks of straw. After a few deft movements of his fingers, a small straw effigy wrapped in red cord appeared on the table.

The effigy was about the size of a finger joint and looked quite delicate. Jiang Yan squeezed another drop of blood from his fingertip.

He pressed it squarely onto the effigy's head, turning the entire head red.

Only then did he begin reciting the Register Script. As Jiang Yan chanted, the blood on the effigy's head slowly evaporated, becoming a wisp of red smoke that dissipated.

At the same time, in Jiang Yan's room, on the streets of the town, at the Preaching Plaza, and elsewhere-

Everywhere Jiang Yan had been and left traces such as hair or flakes of skin-

Those traces of hair and skin silently dissipated, turning into specks of dust.

Jiang Yan tried plucking a hair from his head. While it remained in his hand, it showed no change.

But the moment he released it, the hair drifted toward the floor and turned to dust before it could touch the ground.

This was one of the Straw Effigy Technique's remarkable uses.

Many witchcraft, Gu, and curse-subduing techniques required something from the target's body to be performed.

With this straw effigy, any hair, skin, flesh, blood, or other such matter that inadvertently left Jiang Yan's body would turn to dust.

The threat such curse-subduing techniques posed to him was now greatly diminished.

After putting this straw effigy close to his body, Jiang Yan began making a second one.

He followed a similar process, but this time he recited a different Register Script and dyed the new effigy entirely red with his blood.

This effigy served a different purpose from the first: it was specifically for protection.

If anyone used witchcraft or Gu techniques to curse Jiang Yan to death, it could block the attack.

It would remain effective even inside a Storage Law Artifact carried on his person.

Jiang Yan made two more, placing them separately in the Thumb Ring and with Jinbao.

It was not that he did not want to make more, but the Straw Effigy Technique had its limits. Three was already the maximum.

Otherwise, Jiang Yan would certainly have made ten or twenty.

Only after securing his own safety with the Straw Effigy Technique did Jiang Yan turn his attention back to Li Shun.

However, this was not the right moment. Private fighting was strictly forbidden in town, and Jiang Yan had no desire to challenge the Prefecture Academy's rules.

But Li Shun and his companions often left town to explore. Jiang Yan could simply perform the technique then.

It was already late today, and he probably would not catch Li Shun and his companions, so Jiang Yan simply sat cross-legged on his bed and began cultivating.

Three days later, at the edge of the town's main street, the morning mist was still thick.

Xiao Li frowned at Li Shun and Xiao Sheng as they hurried over late.

"Why are you so late today?"

Li Shun grinned and laughed it off.

"I was chatting with Brother Sheng on the way and lost track of time."

Seeing Xiao Sheng nod, Xiao Li's brows knitted even tighter.

Since when had her younger cousin become so close to Li Shun?

Without dwelling on it, Xiao Li turned and walked ahead side by side with Li Yunshu.

She did not know that behind her, Li Shun and Xiao Sheng exchanged a glance and signaled to one another with their eyes, both looking at Xiao Li ahead with a hint of malice.

But it lasted only an instant. Before Xiao Li or Li Yunshu could notice, Li Shun and Xiao Sheng followed as though nothing had happened.

All four rode spirit beasts, and their figures soon vanished down the road outside town.

Only once sunlight had dispersed the mist did a figure in a black Daoist robe and a bamboo hat flit past a street corner, seemingly by chance.

Daoists dressed like this were common in town. Since this person was not riding a spirit beast either, no one paid any attention.

Choosing less-traveled routes along the way, Jiang Yan walked through several alleys before entering the Market.

When he emerged, he had not only changed his black robe for a blue-green gown but was also riding Jinbao.

Back home, Jiang Yan shut the door securely and took the sheaf of spirit paper from the Thumb Ring.

More than a dozen lifelike portraits were clearly imprinted on the paper, though at a glance, there were only the faces of Xiao Li, Li Shun, and their two companions.

He had obtained these by performing a technique from his hiding place earlier, and they carried a trace of each person's presence.

These portraits would not last long. Carefully following their outlines, Jiang Yan cut out three portraits each of Li Shun and Xiao Sheng.

After some thought, he left Xiao Li's and Li Yunshu's portraits on the paper for now.

He took out the straw effigies he had prepared earlier and pasted the portraits onto their fronts.

Jiang Yan then took out two strands of hair.

He had followed Li Shun and Xiao Sheng in secret for three days and only obtained these with great difficulty, thanks in no small part to a trick recorded in the Straw Effigy Technique.

After arranging three effigies on either side, Jiang Yan first wound red cord several times around their necks and tied the respective hairs in place.

Then he took out a silver needle. He recited the Register Script, and his law power surged into the needle.

Jiang Yan poured an entire strand of law power directly into it, filling the needle until it trembled slightly.

Holding the silver needle between two fingers, he pressed it forcefully toward one of the effigies representing Li Shun, aiming straight for its head!

At the same time, outside town.