CHAPTER 559: CHAPTER 285: THE CROWN PRINCE’S STRUGGLE—IT’S ALWAYS BEEN THIS WAY (PART 2)

Corpse? Spirit Wind Daoist felt the passing of life and urgently said, "Friend, why deplete the pond to catch all the fish? A mere corpse is of no benefit to me. If the king desires, I can capture a thousand... no! ten thousand blood offerings for the king and send them to the Yin River."

Xu Qing’s head throbbed; he maintained his Consolidation Skill with one hand while drawing the Treasure Sword from his waist with the other, once again cleaving the head of Spirit Wind Daoist.

He was not the Ghost King of Many Tribulations! This demonic daoist trying to beguile him was hopelessly delusional.

Seeing that Spirit Wind Daoist could not be saved, the shadow entrenched upon him became fiercely daring and opened its bloody mouths one by one, attempting to bite the shadow of Xu Qing falling on the river’s surface!

However, a few shadows seemed to bite onto an iron plate, unable to harm Xu Qing in the slightest.

The zombie’s soul and body were indistinguishable, long since merged as one; that shadow was akin to Xu Qing’s own body. Spirit Wind Daoist’s shadow attacking his was akin to gnawing on a golden-armored Hidden Corpse.

If it bit Xu Qing’s left hand, it would be like biting the Undying Bone.

In broad daylight, even though it was a few shadows biting, it emitted a squeaking sound, akin to metal grinding as if an iron rod was gnawing on teeth.

Narrowing his eyes, Xu Qing swung the Tiger Seal Dragon Form Fist with his reflection in the river following his action. When the illusion of a fierce tiger and black dragon appeared, those shadows were promptly beaten back into Spirit Wind Daoist’s body.

In the span of half a tea’s time, a mere moment from exiting the Yin River, one more of the seven disciples of the Celestial Master’s Mansion was gone.

Once the last wisp of life of Spirit Wind Daoist dissipated, Xu Qing immediately collected his body into the Box Garden. Simultaneously, he dived back into the water, sensing the current, and retrieved the body of the Puppet Daoist.

When all settled, the water’s surface at the Baisha River’s mouth regained its tranquility.

Fearful that the earlier corpse howl might attract unwanted attention, Xu Qing submerged deeply along the riverbed, guiding the water and moving along the waterway until reaching the mouth of Tanggu River via the Baisha River’s tributary, then surfaced.

By this time, the oil paint on Xu Qing’s face had been washed clean by the river, and he had already changed into green clothes and a white robe in the water.

Walking on the street, nobody could tell that this fair-faced youth was any different from an ordinary person.

...

Meanwhile, at the Celestial Master’s Mansion.

The Celestial Master Lü was meditating with eyes closed. Behind him, nine shadows were projected on the wall, like phantoms dancing wildly.

But for some reason, today, the Celestial Master Lü felt restless, and his eyelids twitched fiercely.

He wanted to divine the omens but recalled being injured thrice consecutively by heavenly tribulations, delays that cost him several years of cultivation, making him hesitant to perform divination lightly again.

In today’s world, the heavenly secrets are chaotic and unclear. Only by finding a way to shape life promptly and cultivate to the Primordial Spirit realm can one roam unhindered with confidence.

Decaying and shaping life could grant a millennium lifespan. Advancing further to Primordial Spirit is an unmatched realm of eternal insight in the mundane world.

If the Heaven-Reaching Road were to open, there might be a chance to be led by colorful radiance, achieving immortality on the spot...

The Celestial Master Lü, his heart swaying, pondering his thoughts, with the nine shadows behind him in various states of joy, sorrow, madness, and obsession, as if they too were immersed in the delusion of immortality.

Yet, just as the Celestial Master Lü was striving to calm his errant thoughts, a sudden commotion erupted outside the hall.

The Celestial Master Lü frowned and summoned a boy to inquire about the matter.

Before long, the boy ran back into the hall, panic-stricken, saying, "Celestial Master, the boy guarding the Celestial Longevity Hall says that a life lamp inside has extinguished..."

"Life lamp?" The Celestial Master Lü immediately sensed something was amiss. He urgently demanded, "Stop stammering, just tell me, whose life lamp has gone out?"

"It’s... it’s Spirit Wind senior brother."

Spirit Wind! The Celestial Master Lü felt his vision darken. Out of his Seven Stars Disciples, only five remained; Spirit Wind was the second-ranked and a highly esteemed disciple in the Celestial Master’s Mansion.

Spirit Wind was adept in managing affairs deftly and efficiently, handling all matters within the Celestial Master’s Mansion in an orderly manner. Most importantly, Spirit Wind possessed exceptional talent, second only to the head disciple, Meng Yongzhen.

For such a true disciple to vanish just like that made the Celestial Master Lü’s heart ache.

The old daoist retrieved a brand new treasure mirror to perform divination but suddenly stopped himself.

"If I remember correctly, didn’t your Spirit Wind senior brother go to Jin Sect?"

The boy nodded, "Spirit Wind senior brother was tasked by the Emperor to assist the Eight Banner Marshals at the Yin River, and the entrance to that Yin River is within Jin Sect..."

The Celestial Master Lü’s beard and eyebrows twitched, holding the treasure mirror used for peering into the heavenly secrets as if it were a hot potato, repeatedly hesitating to make a firm decision.

That very day, sounds of breaking tables, chairs, and window mullions could be heard from the Celestial Master’s Hall, accompanied by a rather eerie aura that flashed in and out...

"These scoundrels are too outrageous; even if they possess some skills in concealing heavenly secrets, how dare they act so!"

Although the Celestial Master was extremely angry, he never entertained the idea of personally going to the Jin Sect.

The Capital City had the protection of the national fortunes’ great dragon, and the Celestial Master’s Mansion was guarded by artifacts left by successive Celestial Masters. If he were to go to the Jin Sect and truly encountered an unparalleled sage or monster, how should he handle it?

Thus, on that day, the Celestial Master’s Mansion established a new regulation.

"By the decree of the Celestial Master, from this day forth, disciples of the sect are not to go to the Jin Sect without the Celestial Master’s decree..."

...

In Jin Sect, Linjiang County.

Xu Qing was staying in the Funeral Shop, piecing together and stitching the body of Spirit Wind Daoist.

When the broken body formed a human shape, the Sutra of Salvation began to flip through its pages, and at the same time, Xu Qing saw the revolving lantern of Spirit Wind Daoist.

The incident occurred during the Qianyuan year, when outside the Capital City, there was a Landlord Huang.

Landlord Huang had a wife and a concubine. The wife, Mrs. Yuan, was dignified and graceful; the concubine, Mrs. Qin, was intelligent and gentle in disposition.

This Mrs. Yuan bore the Landlord a pair of twin sons, the older called Gao Yuanxing, the younger Gao Yuanlong.

Yuanlong had been a fool since childhood, also suffering from deafness, always silly and ignorant, only recognizing Yuanxing, to whom he clung without letting go, like a tail.

Yuanxing, on the surface, played the role of a brotherly friend, but secretly he was sinister and deceptive, constantly finding ways to bully others.

"Don’t follow me! You fool, deaf, unwanted fool!"

However, no matter how much Yuanxing cursed, Yuanlong always followed him, grinning, drooling.

Over time, Yuanxing got used to this attachment, and even discovered many entertaining ways to use Yuanlong.

After all, who would bother with a fool!

After Mrs. Qin entered the household, she bore a son, Gao Qin.

By this time, Yuanxing and Yuanlong had grown into young men. Yuanxing’s mind was crooked, often hiding in secret, watching Second Mother Qin breastfeed the younger brother.

Seeing Second Mother’s voluptuous and enticing figure, he could no longer suppress his wicked thoughts.

One day, when Landlord and Mrs. Yuan were out on business, Yuanxing seized the opportunity, sending away the maids and servants, and sneaked into Qin’s room, intending to force himself upon her!

Mrs. Qin was strong-willed. In the critical moment, she bit Yuanxing’s arm, drawing blood instantly.

When the Landlord returned, Qin tearfully recounted the incident, but in the dark, how could one identify the thief? She could only say it was someone from the household.

The Landlord, enraged, immediately gathered everyone in the household, lining them up to examine their wounds, determined to catch whomever had a wounded arm with bite marks, for that would be the one attempting to defame the family!

However, after examining all the servants and guests, not one person had an injured arm.

At this moment, only Gao Yuanxing and Gao Yuanlong remained unexamined.

Seeing everyone’s attention on the two sons, Qin’s face turned pale.

Mrs. Yuan had treated her well. If it truly involved Mrs. Yuan’s children, once the truth was unveiled, how could she sustain herself in the future?

In the silent parlor, Qin hesitantly said, "Master, perhaps let’s not examine further, it might have been an outsider thief..."

The Landlord’s face was as dark as water, and he forced out a word through gritted teeth: "Examine!"

Gao Yuanxing seemed unafraid of shadows, facing his father’s authority, he instead smiled and said, "My brother and I have always respected Second Mother and would never commit such disgraceful acts. But since Father doesn’t believe, then Yuanlong and I will examine each other!"

"Only, Yuanlong surely won’t!"

As he spoke, Gao Yuanxing casually lifted Yuanlong’s sleeve.

And there, under the sleeve, was a row of bite marks!

Gao Yuanxing was initially shocked, then incredulously said, "This is impossible! How could Yuanlong be like this? Oh! I’ve heard since ancient times there’s always been conflict for inheritance. Second Mother, could it be that after having Qin, you wish for Qin to monopolize the family business, and so framed Yuanlong and me!"

Good heavens! This maneuver of his directly left Qin at a loss for words.

She, soft-hearted and pitying Yuanlong’s foolishness, could only tremble and plead, "Children’s ignorance is not a crime, perhaps this child did it unintentionally, I beg you, Master, please don’t blame him."

The Landlord trembled with anger, yet saw Yuanlong only foolishly laughing and scratching his head, while Yuanxing appeared righteous, in contrast to Qin’s tearful eyes, which were irritating.