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墨書 Inktalez
Human Sacrifice
After the Taoist's Primordial Spirit leaves the body, free from the constraints of flesh, it can perform many unexpected feats, such as floating and flying.
However, the Primordial Spirit cannot stray too far from the physical body or remain detached for too long. If it does, the body will become a lifeless shell without the support of the Primordial Spirit. When the Primordial Spirit wishes to return to the body, it may find it impossible to reattach, akin to a ghost possessing a corpse; even if the soul is within its own body, it is effectively dead.
Just like Zhou Manman, whose soul resided within her own body, yet she was essentially a dead person.
The Primordial Spirit of a Taoist can exert powers that cannot be manifested while in the physical form because it is as light as a feather and does not require Dao Qi to circulate through Meridians. The downside is that it has no defensive capabilities; even a grain of sand could shatter the Primordial Spirit.
I cautiously followed Song Qianqiu, suppressing my presence. When he reached the entrance of his Cave, he looked around before entering.
I waited at the Cave entrance for quite some time without seeing Song Qianqiu come out. Feeling puzzled, I decided to step inside to check.
Inside Song Qianqiu's Cave was uniquely designed; the space was quite spacious, and some furniture appeared antique and simple. However, each piece had a dust-repelling pearl hanging beneath it, indicating a strong preference for cleanliness.
Yet after wandering around his Cave for a while, I still did not see any sign of Song Qianqiu.
It was still late at night; stars twinkled in the sky. A few ancient-looking oil lamps were lit inside Song Qianqiu's Cave, making it feel particularly desolate in the deep night.
"Where could he be?" I reached his bedroom door but saw no one. I hid behind a bookshelf at the front of the Cave and waited. After some time, I heard a clanging sound as if some mechanism had been activated. Song Qianqiu emerged from behind the wall of his Cave, his expression grim and filled with a fierce anger that radiated malice.
I never imagined that the usually gentle and refined Song Qianqiu could display such ferocity. After he closed the Cave door behind him, only I and a few oil lamps remained inside.
I walked toward the wall behind me where various Dao Books were displayed on the bookshelf, accompanied by a strong medicinal scent. As I opened them one by one, I found several torn and disheveled Sword Manuals, scattered elixirs within the cabinet, Qi Gathering Pills strewn everywhere, acupuncture diagrams of human bodies, and some blood-stained cloths.
All signs indicated that Song Qianqiu was a person with a very volatile temper. He seemed to be studying the Sword Manual, as if he were also modifying his own Acupoint. As I gazed at the blood-stained cloths in the bookshelves, I suddenly recalled the time in Futu Ridge Mingyue Village when I saw Guo Huaiyi through the Zhou Compass. He had carved terrifying runes into his own body with a knife to exchange for a power that did not belong to him.
The scattered Qi Gathering Pills around had long lost their Spirit Energy, covered in dust. It appeared that Song Qianqiu had dismissed the efficacy of Qi Gathering Pills many years ago.
I lowered my head, observing the faint traces visible on the Bluestone Slab floor, and tapped on the nearby floorboards.
"The two floorboards are not perfectly aligned; the sound is slightly hollow. It seems there is a hidden passage here," I thought to myself as I looked around.
There were several vases on the bookshelves and stone table. I picked each one up, finding no mechanisms. Lowering my gaze to the bottom of the stone table, I spotted an eight-sided Taiji Stone Carving. The carving protruded and seemed capable of rotation. I gently twisted the Taiji Stone Carving, and with a clang, the Bluestone Slab beneath my feet shifted, revealing a dimly lit hole.
Inside the hole was a staircase. As I descended, a sudden burst of firelight illuminated the area, and a man's voice echoed from within: "Song Qianqiu, if you're a man, just kill me! You've exhausted all your methods; you think you can get the Martial Dao Classic? No way! Hahaha."
I reached the bottom of the staircase, entering a brightly lit area where braziers burned with flames. The braziers were filled with branding irons; it looked like a dungeon.
On an iron rack in the dungeon lay a bloodied man.
His face was smeared with blood, his hair disheveled, and several patches seemed to have been forcibly torn out. His eyes were covered with scabs, oozing pus and blood—he was blind.
"Zhang Jianzi?" I could hardly believe it; the tall and somewhat handsome man Zhang Jianzi had been tortured into a state that resembled neither man nor ghost.
Zhang Jianzi seemed to recognize that my voice did not belong to Song Qianqiu. He asked, "Who are you?"
I replied, "I am Yang Hao."
"Yang Hao?" Zhang Jianzi's expression became agitated as he repeated my name, "Yang Hao! I've finally found you!"
"Looking for me?" I didn't understand what Zhang Jianzi meant.
Zhang Jianzi said, "Half a year ago, I was being hunted by the Serpent Cult. I fled towards the mountains and buried Douding's body in the Snow Mountain Ice Lake. After that, the Serpent Cult chased me again, and I had no choice but to continue fleeing. I made it to the Central Plains, hoping to seek refuge at the Sword Pavilion, but who would have thought they were in cahoots with the Serpent Cult? I was almost captured. At that moment, I suddenly sensed that someone had mastered the Martial Dao Classic; it was guiding me to find that person."
"How could the Martial Dao Classic guide you to find someone? Isn't it just a Dao Book?" I asked, puzzled.
Zhang Jianzi smiled and said, "The Martial Dao Classic is not a book; that's why no one can track it down. It is a sentient entity. It is said that those who master the Martial Dao Classic will become the nemesis of the Underworld Sect. If I truly mastered it, why would I fear these treacherous people? The Martial Dao Classic cannot be actively cultivated; it waits for someone who truly understands it. The Martial Dao Classic chooses its master rather than being chosen! Many have access to its beginning chapters, but only you have truly mastered it!"
"How do you know I've learned the beginning of the Martial Dao Classic?" I asked again. Initially, Mr. Chang had passed down the Entry-Level Realm from Qingliang Temple to Wu, and Wu then passed it on to me; Zhang Jianzi wouldn't know.
Zhang Jianzi replied, "During my escape, I met a remarkable person named Guo Daozhen. He helped heal my wounds and calculated where to find the person I was looking for. I intended to pass the Martial Dao Classic to him, but he already had someone who mastered it. This meant that the Martial Dao Classic already had a master and could not accept another. He told me that the person I was looking for was in the Qinling direction, so I kept fleeing toward Qinling. I was constantly being watched by the Serpent Cult and couldn't afford to stop. Eventually, I reached near Azure Cloud Mountain, but I was severely injured and couldn't reveal myself. However, when I saw you from the shadows, I realized that the person the Martial Dao Classic led me to was you. But I never expected that after being discovered by Song Qianqiu in that cave, this hypocrite would deceive me into thinking he had a good relationship with you and would arrange for us to meet. Instead, he locked me in this dungeon and tortured me; death would be better than this suffering. He is a complete hypocrite!"
I was surprised that Zhang Jianzi had encountered Guo the Blind; his original name was indeed Guo Daozhen. Even more shocking was that Song Qianqiu was actually hiding Zhang Jianzi while pretending to protect me—his facade was merely a cover for his true intentions. I even considered that perhaps the death of the Elder was related to him.
Regardless of why the Elder was killed, if he knew that the Martial Dao Classic had chosen me, then eliminating me would mean it would choose another.
"Brother Zhang, let me rescue you first," I said as I prepared to unlock the chains binding Zhang Jianzi.
Zhang Jianzi replied, "No need; I'm already useless. Song Qianqiu shattered my Qi Sea out of fear that I'd escape."
"I will help you take revenge," I vowed through gritted teeth. "But right now, we need to escape first. I'm currently in my Primordial Spirit form and can't stay here for long; if we're discovered, we won't be able to leave."
"That's why I felt something was off about you," Zhang Jianzi said. "I didn't expect that in just half a year, you would become a master of the Divine Transformation Realm. Poor me, I've trained for over ten years and I'm only at the later stage of the Divine Transformation Realm. I have no Dao Qi left now. If you cut open my chest, you'll find a stone beneath my second rib on the left side. That stone is the essence of the Martial Dao Classic."
As soon as Zhang Jianzi finished speaking, a clanking sound suddenly echoed from above the dungeon.
"Oh no, Song Qianqiu is back! Quickly take the spirit stone; I'll teach you the soul-retrieving method," he urged.
I nodded and pointed to Zhang Jianzi's left rib. A stone that looked like a blue star emerged from his flesh and fell into my hand.
A few breaths later, Song Qianqiu stormed down the stairs, cursing loudly. I stood in front of Zhang Jianzi, watching this tall man hunched over, his expression a mix of pain and relief as he was bound before me.
I silently recited the soul-retrieving incantation and suddenly vanished from the dungeon.
In the iron cage on the back mountain of Azure Cloud Mountain, I opened my eyes while sitting on a stone. The seven or eight Azure Cloud Disciples had silver needles embedded in their necks, flying back into my sleeve.
The few of them exchanged glances and then glared at me angrily. "How dare you ambush us!"
I flicked my index finger, and a silver thread wrapped around it shot out, instantly piercing through the skulls of those seven or eight disciples. Their eyes bulged with blood as they clutched their heads and collapsed to the ground, dead.
I stood up, broke free from the handcuffs and shackles, then pried open the iron bars in front of me and walked out.
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