Removing the Demon-Sealing Nails

Chai Lan, is she Chai Lan?

In the cellar, Xu Qi'an suddenly opened his eyes, almost losing control of the rats.

So this is where Chai Lan disappeared to be? Was she secretly imprisoned by Chai Xing'er in a secret room in the ancestral hall?

He steadied himself, manipulated the mouse, and said, "Was it Chai Xing'er who imprisoned you here?"

The disheveled woman nodded.

So Chai Lan's disappearance really had nothing to do with Chai Xian; it was all Chai Xing'er's doing. I understand now; I've finally figured things out. Xu Qi'an sighed and let out a breath. Then, he crawled to Chai Lan's side, up her smelly body, and up to her shoulder.

Finally, I could see the beautiful face beneath her disheveled hair, though it was also dirty.

Just like in the portrait, it really is Chai Lan. I understand now, I understand everything. Xu Qi'an said:

"Don't worry about who I am. Someone will come to rescue you later."

Chai Lan shook her head, making "woo woo woo" sounds, as if she wanted to say something, and didn't believe the rat's promise.

"I have no reason to lie to you," Xu Qi'an added.

Chai Lan slowly stopped speaking, and after a while, nodded slightly.

The mouse nodded and grunted in agreement. The next second, the fat mouse looked around in terror, not understanding why it had suddenly ended up there.

He glanced at Chai Lan and quickly slipped away.

"Amitabha, so that's how it is."

Zen Master Jingxin recited a Buddhist chant with deep emotion, accompanied by a sigh, and said:

"Benefactor Chai Xian, your obsession runs too deep, and your hands are laden with murder. Death is not enough to atone for your sins. Let this humble monk take you back to the Western Regions and into the Buddhist order."

"Wait!"

Chai Xing'er stepped forward, rejecting Jingxin's suggestion, and said:

"Master, Chai Xian murdered his father first, and then slaughtered his fellow martial artists in Xiangzhou. He must be handed over to the government for punishment, and all the martial artists in Xiangzhou must deal with him together. How can you just take him away as you please?"

Jingyuan also stepped forward, stirring up the energy.

Chai Xing'er felt a jolt in her chest, staggered backward, and fell into Li Lingsu's arms.

The martial monk Jingyuan said calmly, "The affairs of Buddhist School are not open to interference from benefactors. Chai Xian has committed numerous sins and should be dealt with by Buddhist School."

"Arrogant!"

Li Lingsu was furious, and coldly snorted, "This is the territory of the Great Feng Dynasty, not the Western Regions. Chai Xian has a lot of murder cases on his hands, and the government will naturally handle them. Since when has it become up to you Western Region Buddhist School to decide?"

Jingyuan spoke coldly, her gaze fixed straight ahead, refusing to look at Li Lingsu:

"You may inform the authorities; this humble monk will not stop you. Go and ask the prefect of Xiangzhou if he dares to snatch someone from the hands of Buddhist School. Go and ask the martial arts figures of Xiangzhou if they dare to snatch someone from this humble monk."

Li Lingsu's face was gloomy, clearly angered by the arrogant attitude of the Buddhist School.

Chai Xing'er took a breath. "Masters, Chai Xian is a member of my Chai family, and it is my family's responsibility to handle this. Please, Masters, show mercy and hand him over to me!"

She suddenly screamed in agony, her body flying backward as she vomited blood.

Jingyuan loosened his fist, his face cold and stern.

Jingxin shook his head and said, "We will leave Xiangzhou after dawn. Before that, we do not wish to cause any trouble. Benefactor Chai Xing'er, why summon walking corpses and invite unnecessary trouble?"

As he spoke, he glanced towards the window and said calmly:

"Chai Xian is of utmost importance to us, and it's impossible for us not to take him away. Benefactor Chai Xing'er, don't try to stop us. We have already informed Uncle Du Nan, and he will arrive in Xiangzhou by dawn. Not to mention the Chai family, even in the entire Zhangzhou, no one dares to stop him."

Anxin, the orange cat under the window, felt a sinking feeling in her heart.

Did the Vajra of Salvation arrive at dawn?

I have absolutely no chance against a third-grade Vajra, not to mention, I don't even know if he has any Arhats by his side. In other words, once it's light, I'll have no chance of reclaiming the Dragon Qi host.

Even if they brought in Senior Brother Sun, they still wouldn't be able to deal with the Arhats and Vajras of Buddhist School.

The opportunity is tonight.

"Tsk, Buddhist School is indeed my greatest enemy on my journey to collect dragon energy."

The orange cat looked serious.

Then it heard Jingxin laugh again:

"It is said that the Supreme Master of the Heavenly Sect is detached from worldly affairs, and that the holy sons and daughters of past generations, when traveling the world, always only made casual encounters. How come it is you, Benefactor Li, who has become so infatuated with women that you cannot extricate yourself?"

"The two benefactors from the East Sea Dragon Palace, Wenren Qianrou from the Leizhou Chamber of Commerce, and Chai Xing'er from the Chai family of Xiangzhou are all benefactor Li's confidantes. Is this how you cultivate the supreme state of detachment from emotions?"

Upon hearing Jingxin's words, Chai Xing'er, Li Lingsu, and the orange cat An under the window in the hall were overwhelmed with astonishment.

Li Lingsu was exposed? Since Jingxin and the others recognized him, they must have guessed my presence as well. No wonder they said Du Nan Jingang would arrive by dawn. Chai Xian was only captured tonight; even if they notified him immediately, he couldn't have arrived so quickly. It turns out they had already guessed I was in Xiangzhou through Li Lingsu and thus notified Du Nan Jingang in advance. Wait, how were they sure Li Lingsu had been with me the whole time?

Xu Qi'an suddenly tensed up and quickly analyzed the situation in his mind.

Li Lingsu's inner monologue was similar to Xu Qi'an's, mostly filled with shock and confusion, followed by terror.

Chai Xing'er's focus, however, was on two matters: her "confidante" and the "Holy Son of the Heavenly Sect," especially the former. She abruptly pushed Li Lingsu away, breaking free from his embrace, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears, and said angrily:

Who are the Dongfang Sisters? Who is Wenren Qianrou?

"Ah, this is your good friend!" Li Lingsu coaxed softly, "Xing'er, now is not the time to talk about this. I'll explain to you later."

In Chai Xing'er's tear-blurred eyes were emotions of disappointment, sadness, anger, and desolation, like a wife who had caught her husband cheating on her. But in the next moment, all these emotions vanished.

She took a breath and said in a deep voice, "What do you two masters wish to do?"

Her response was the "precepts" of purification, and a rope woven from gold thread. "Colorless!"

Once Chai Xing'er and Li Lingsu's various emotions subsided and they were completely clear-headed, even the flying ropes couldn't arouse their "survival" instincts, and they were instantly bound together.

The monk Jingyuan slowly walked up to the two men and said expressionlessly:

"Benefactor Li, you conspired with Xu Qian to steal a Buddhist School treasure, a crime unforgivable. Logically, this humble monk should kill you here. However, you are a holy son of the Heavenly Sect, your status is different, so the Vajra of Salvation will deal with you."

Li Lingsu's eyes darted around, and she immediately begged for mercy:

"Master, Xu Qian and I met by chance and didn't have much interaction. We parted ways after leaving Leizhou. I know nothing about the Buddhist School treasures. By the way, I heard from Xu Qian that he plans to go to the North."

He cleverly distanced himself from Xu Qian and randomly pointed in a direction, attempting to distract the Buddhist School monks.

Jingxin said calmly, "No need to say more. Benefactor Li should first think about how to deal with Uncle Dunan tomorrow."

After he finished speaking, he heard Jingyuan transmit his voice, "He's gone, should we go after him?"

Jingxin shook her head slightly and transmitted her voice:

"That's not the real body, so there's no point in chasing it. We captured Li Lingsu and controlled the host of the dragon energy. We also hinted that Uncle Du Nan would arrive in Xiangzhou at dawn. It was all to lure him out."

Jingyuan transmitted his voice in a deep voice. "This might scare him away."

Jingxin nodded and said:

"But it's more likely to provoke him into a desperate gamble. For us, if the Buddhist monk is scared away, we can just find another opportunity to capture him. But for him, once Benefactor Chai Xian is sent back to the Western Regions, he will completely lose this crucial dragon energy."

"Furthermore, I deliberately didn't specify what punishment Li Lingsu would face, which was also to put pressure on him. The Buddhist monk is a man of great loyalty and righteousness; as long as there is still a glimmer of hope, he will do everything in his power to try and rescue her."

Jingyuan turned to look at the door and said, "Everyone, come in."

The martial monks and Zen masters guarding the gate all entered the inner hall.

Without needing to communicate verbally, they seemed to already know what they were going to do. The Zen masters sat cross-legged on the ground, forming a large circle that surrounded Li Lingsu, Chai Xing'er, and Chai Xian.

Jingxin followed and entered the circle, a smile on her face, "When listening to the sutra, one should sit cross-legged."

After he finished speaking, he closed his eyes and began reciting scriptures.

The group of Zen masters chanted along with him.

Chai Xing'er frowned slightly. At first, she only thought the monks chanting sutras was noisy and annoying. But before long, she gradually became engrossed in listening and felt an urge to listen to Buddhist teachings.

She felt a chill run down her spine and forcefully dispelled this imposed "understanding."

"This is a scripture used by Buddhist School Zen masters to guide people. Those who hear this scripture will gradually come to agree with the Buddhist School ideals and will join the Buddhist School regardless of everything."

Li Lingsu explained in a low voice, "Holding onto your true self, constantly emphasizing your own nature, and recalling our pleasant experiences can effectively resist the scriptures."

As he spoke, he glanced sideways at Chai Xian, the executioner whose hands were stained with blood, his face full of arrogance and disdain, his brows only slightly furrowed.

Li Lingsu withdrew her gaze and said, "The deeper a person's obsession, the harder it is to dispel. Xing'er, do you love me?"

Chai Xing'er turned her head away in a huff, her tone cold. "I don't love you!"

cellar.

In the low-oxygen environment, Xu Qi'an lit a candle. He stared at the candlelight, his pupils gradually dilating, and his thoughts drifting away.

"We must reclaim the dragon's energy before dawn, or there will be no more chances. Now even Li Lingsu has been captured by them. Alas, Holy Son, it is my fault that you have been implicated."

"No, it's you, you scumbag, who's being punished by heaven. I'm being dragged down by you. This is a bit difficult. If I make a move tonight, I'll be facing two peak fourth-rank cultivators and a group of monks with considerable strength."

"How did Jingxin and Jingyuan know Li Lingsu's identity? And when did they find out? If they knew a long time ago, then perhaps Du Nan Jingang has already infiltrated Xiangzhou, just waiting for me to walk into his trap. We need to take that possibility into account."

"That's easy. I'll disguise Hengyin and have him impersonate me to test the waters. If the Vajra of Salvation doesn't come, I only need to deal with Jingxin and Jingyuan."

In the dim candlelight, Xu Qi'an's expression was uncertain. After a long while, he seemed to have made a decision.

He took out the fragment of the Earth Book and retrieved a palm-sized pagoda from the mirror. The pagoda flashed with golden light, and Xu Qi'an entered it.

He went straight to the third floor, where he first saw Mu Nanzhi and the little fox playing happily. The reincarnation of the Flower Goddess held a silver ingot in her hand, tossing it to the left and to the right.

The little white fox leaped high, caught the silver ingot in its mouth, and returned it to Mu Nanzhi's hand.

The human and the fox were having a great time.

"Oh, Xu Yinluo is back."

The little white fox immediately ignored the silver ingot, its tail swaying as it darted over, its small head raised, its black button-like eyes gleaming with hope.

"Can we get out now?"

"You can leave after tonight. Alright, go to your aunt's." Xu Qi'an gently kicked it towards the princess.

Mu Nanzhi quickly reached out and caught it. The little white fox complained pitifully, "He bullied me."

"You're so delicate. If it were Lingyin, you'd ask to be kicked again." Xu Qi'an nodded to the old monk Taling, and without stopping, walked to Shenshu's severed arm and shook the prepared anklet.

Ding ding ding.

Amidst the clear, ringing sound of bells, a divine consciousness awakens, filled with malice and madness.

"It feels like summoning a pet dog, "Xu Qi'an thought to himself, then said, "I'll help you break the first seal; you unseal the demon-sealing nails on my Baihui acupoint and Dantian."

Shen Shu chuckled and said in a condescending tone:

Aren't you afraid I'll change my mind?

Xu Qi'an said calmly, "To me, you are just one of my choices. You can back out, and I can return the pagoda to Buddhist School. Think it over yourself."

Shen Shu said fiercely, "You dare threaten me? You think you can?"

"Enough with the nonsense. Either cooperate with me, or be sent back to Buddhist School. The choice is yours. This is your only chance in five hundred years. Consider the pros and cons carefully. No matter how powerful you were before, you're just a prisoner now. Don't try to put on airs."

The pressure from the Chai family made Xu Qi'an lose his patience. He was no longer willing to tolerate Shen Shu's severed arm and confronted him directly.

Shen Shu sneered:

"You must have run into trouble outside, otherwise you wouldn't have come in to trade with me. First, you must break the seal on the supervisor. I need to break free of some of the reaction before I have enough power to unlock the Demon-Sealing Nail."

"However, let me state beforehand that the nine Demon-Sealing Nails are a single entity; moving one will affect the whole thing. Hey, the process will be quite painful. I hope my accumulated power will be enough to pull out two of them."

Could it be more painful than when the Demon-Sealing Nail was pierced? Xu Qi'an nodded. "Okay!"

He was speaking from the heart. If Shenshu went back on his word and refused to remove the Demon-Sealing Nails, Xu Qi'an would find a way to send the Floating Pagoda back to Buddhist School so that he could never leave.

This was not merely revenge for the severed arm, but also because the arm possessed evil attributes. By severing the seal on the Supervisor, he would be reborn decades later, and Xu Qi'an's choice was to prevent it from ever emerging again.

If all of Shen Shu's other remains were this evil, then I cannot keep my promise to the Princess of Ten Thousand Demons. This thought flashed through Xu Qi'an's mind. He gently tapped the fragment of the Earth Book, and a small sword that was neither iron nor stone fell out of the mirror.

He channeled his limited energy into the small sword and manipulated it to slash at the iron chains.

With a series of clanging sounds, the sword flashed, and the nine chains snapped in response.

"Ah, that feels so good!"

Shen Shu burst into wild laughter, causing the Floating Pagoda to tremble violently. Mu Nanzhi immediately squatted down, holding the little white fox.

After a while, Shen Shu said, "Take off your clothes and come here! My power has partially recovered; I can try to pull out the Demon-Sealing Nail."

Xu Qi'an took off his robe and clothes, leaving his upper body bare, and walked up to the severed arm, only to be blocked by an invisible, pale golden barrier.

"Ah"

Mu Nanzhi gasped softly, staring blankly at Xu Qi'an's well-defined muscles, noticing the dark gold nails embedded in his spine, heart, chest, and Dantian.

The flesh around the nail couldn't heal, yet it desperately tried to heal itself, seemingly becoming one with the nail.

Although Mu Nanzhi had seen the nail in Xu Qi'an's heart before, she had never seen it anywhere else; this was the first time she had ever seen it.

The little white fox raised its head and saw that Mu Nanzhi's eyes were red. "Auntie, why are you crying?"

Mu Nanzhi denied it. "It's because you shed so much fur that it got into my eyes."

"I don't shed fur, you're just crying," the little white fox Qi Ingestion.

Then, after Mu Nanzhi shaved its head a few times, it Qi Ingestion and weakly said, "It's because I'm shedding fur."

Shen Shu's left arm was covered with bulging veins and bulging muscles, indicating that he was exerting force.

Xu Qi'an could feel a terrifying power reviving from this arm and rapidly converging towards his index finger.

Suddenly, he raised his index finger, pointing it at Xu Qi'an's lower abdomen. A beam of dark golden light shot out, but it was blocked by a pale golden barrier.

"Senior."

Xu Qi'an turned his head and looked at the old monk Ta Ling from afar.

The old monk remained silent, his hands clasped together, but the next moment, a beam of dark golden light broke through the barrier and "shone" on Xu Qi'an's Dantian.

Immediately afterwards, he heard a buzzing chanting sound coming from the void, omnipresent and dense, the language of which he could not make out.

Xu Qi'an looked down and saw that the nail sealing his Qi Sea was shining with a dazzling light, slowly being pulled out of his flesh.

As the Demon-Sealing Nail was removed, the other Demon-Sealing Nails on his body resonated at that moment. The wound in his heart cracked, the wound in his middle Dantian cracked, and the eight nails seemed to be pulled out together.

In just a moment, Xu Qi'an was covered in blood, sweat and blood mingling and flowing down his face, his expression contorted in pain.

He clenched his teeth, biting his lip until it bled, enduring the inhuman torture.

Bite!

Finally, the nail in his Dantian fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

The remaining eight nails settled down again.

The moment the nail was pulled out of the body, a terrifying surge of energy erupted like a flood bursting its banks, causing the pagoda to tremble once more.

"So he's just a third-rank martial artist."

Shen Shu chuckled, "Such powerful energy, your foundation is quite solid."

His voice sounded tired, as if he had been greatly exhausted.

Huff, huff, huff. Xu Qi'an collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. The lingering pain was still tormenting him, but the powerful vitality of a third-rank martial artist had begun to heal his injuries.

The flesh and blood writhed, leaving not a single scar.

"Master, actually, a year and a half ago, I was still at the Peak Essence Refining," Xu Qi'an said, panting.

Shen Shu scoffed at it.

They rested for a while, and after half an hour, the veins in Shen Shu's arm bulged again, the muscles swelled, and he gathered strength.

This time, the time to gather strength was twice as long as before.

As Shen Shu said, pulling out the Demon-Sealing Nail would deplete his power.

The grotesque arm raised its index finger and shot out a beam of dark golden light, this time striking Xu Qi'an's brow.

The latter sensed the abnormality in his brain; the nail inside loosened slightly and then began to slowly "rise," trying to crawl out of his head.

The remaining seven Demon-Sealing Nails resonated with each other, reopening the wound once more.

Boom!

Xu Qi'an felt as if his soul had exploded into countless fragments, all his thoughts vanished, and his consciousness plunged into boundless darkness.

This time, he didn't even feel any pain.

After a long time, the "soul fragments" reassembled, and he awoke, his face twitching and his body convulsing.

After a while, he finally recovered and exclaimed, exhausted, "Pain may be late, but it will never be absent."

Two nails lay on the ground. Xu Qi'an first retrieved them, then closed his eyes and concentrated, sensing the changes in his body.

"The seal on the Dantian has been broken, and the qi can be mobilized. Although several acupoints in the upper Dantian and the Ren and Du meridians are still sealed, and the qi will encounter obstacles when passing through these acupoints, at least some of the strength has been restored."

"My Primordial Spirit has been completely unleashed, and my proud 'image capture' ability has been restored. As a result, if the Vajra of Salvation is nearby, I can immediately sense the danger."

"Hmm, the power of physical Qi and Blood cannot be used yet, otherwise there would be no need for qi at all; one punch would be enough to smash a fourth-grade cultivator to pieces."

Xu Qi'an opened his eyes, exhaled, and smiled, "It's a pleasure working with you."

The divine spirit did not respond; its power was exhausted, and it fell into a deep sleep while Xu Qi'an was unconscious.

Xu Qi'an summoned the puppet Hengyin on the second floor, disguised him as "Xu Qian," and the two left the Floating Pagoda and appeared in the cellar.

The two walked through the night and soon arrived at the inner hall, which was brightly lit by candlelight, with only two warrior monks guarding the outside.

Xu Qi'an glanced at Heng Yin, who gave a military salute. "Yes, sir."

This is the interaction with the corpse, which can fully satisfy the needs of the Corpse Gu. In the future, when there are more puppets, Xu Qi'an can also manipulate them to perform crosstalk, Errenzhuan, and stand-up comedy.

Wearing a blue robe, Hengyin strode out of the darkness and into the inner hall.

Who goes there!

The monk on the left shouted.

Just as he was about to step forward to stop him, the light from the lanterns under the eaves illuminated the face of the newcomer, who was none other than Xu Qian, whom he had met in Leizhou.

With a "thud," the two monks fell straight down, their limbs paralyzed.

Then, Hengyin kicked open the door to the inner hall and saw the Zen master sitting in a circle, chanting scriptures, and six martial monks guarding both sides; he saw Li Lingsu and the other two who had been tied up; and he saw Jingxin and Jingyuan, who looked excited.

"You really came!" Jingyuan laughed.