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Seeing the hesitant demeanor of the Great King of Western Rats, Lu Qingshan couldn't help but be stirred by a trace of curiosity.
He turned his head to look at the uneasily standing Taoist Priest Bai Piao beside him and said, "I will settle this matter for you, and in return, you will give me a Peach Wood Sword as remuneration, and we will be even."
Taoist Priest Bai Piao nodded hurriedly.
Lu Qingshan was satisfied as he caressed his sword. A Sword Cultivator needed a sword to cultivate, and at last, he had acquired his very first Sword Artifact.
After giving instructions to Bai Piao, Lu Qingshan turned to the Great King of Western Rats and said, "Lead the way, for I must see what peculiar thing has made it so difficult for you to describe."
The Great King of Western Rats, having been thoroughly subdued by Lu Qingshan's treatment, obediently got up upon his command. Ignoring the wounds he had just received from Lu Qingshan, he sprang up onto the courtyard wall with a push of his legs.
Lu Qingshan followed closely behind.
The rat and the man quickly disappeared within the courtyard.
Watching Lu Qingshan's figure vanish, Taoist Priest Bai Piao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Having just witnessed Lu Qingshan summon a bolt of thunder with a swing of his sword, Bai Piao was so frightened that he hardly dared to breathe, fearing that the young Cultivator might turn around and strike him with his sword without a moment's pleasure.
Unlike the rat demon, Bai Piao wouldn't be able to hop around alive after taking two sword slashes.
"Without the Peach Wood Sword, I suppose I can't continue this exorcism business. No, I must make a big score this time to compensate for my loss."
Bai Piao looked at the slightly disordered scene before him, his thoughts stirring as his gaze wandered. After a brief contemplation, a plan formed in his mind.
Bai Piao took some ash from the incense burner and placed it on the corner of the wall that had been slashed by Lu Qingshan's thunderous sword light, then he took out cinnabar used for drawing talismans from his bosom and smeared it at the corner of his mouth.
Having feigned an injured appearance, Taoist Priest Bai Piao then opened the tightly closed gate and stumbled out, pale-faced and weakly said to the gathered villagers, "The mighty King of Western Chu was ferocious indeed! Poor Taoist I almost got devoured by the ghost instead of vanquishing it."
Hearing the noises from the courtyard and feeling uneasy, the villagers rushed forward to support Taoist Priest Bai Piao upon seeing his frail state.
The homeowner, Second Li, was particularly uneasy, rubbing his hands nervously, he stepped forward and tentatively asked, "Taoist Priest, may I ask what has become of the King of Western Chu?"
Bai Piao looked at Second Li and displayed a tragic expression on his face, "This King of Western Chu is no common fierce ghost, extremely cunning, beyond control by ordinary means.
Left with no choice, this poor Taoist had to sacrifice his lifespan to employ the forbidden Thunder Technique of our sect and only then was I able to slay it!
This time, my Essence Blood has been greatly drained, and I need a thorough rest. From this day forth, I will accept no more matters of exorcism!"
Bai Piao looked up at the villagers and added, "Although it was a costly endeavor, ridding demons is an innate duty of those who practice cultivation. This poor Taoist is fortunate to have fulfilled his mission.
The King of Western Chu has been reduced to ashes, and his spirit dissipated. You may go inside and gather the ghost's ashes, seal them in a jar, and all will be well.
From now forth, you shall encounter no more trouble from evil spirits; you have my assurance."
Hearing the Taoist's words, the curious villagers could no longer hold back and squeezed into Second Li's house, eager to witness the ashes of the formidable King of Western Chu.
Hiss—
Upon entering the backyard and seeing the charred ground beneath the courtyard wall, the villagers couldn't help but gasp in shock.
Goodness, this Taoist Priest's methods are impressively fierce; even the ground has been split like this. The King of Western Chu, no matter how savage, surely couldn't have withstood this.
Seeing the villagers' astonished expressions, a sense of pride swelled in Bai Piao's heart.
That young man tricked me out of my family's inherited Peach Wood Sword, but Taoist Priest Bai Piao is no fool; I shall siphon off his glory for myself.
The villagers were both afraid and amazed.
Upon seeing this scene, Second Li hesitated for a moment but finally stood out and loudly suggested to the villagers, "The Taoist Priest sacrificed so much to help our village rid itself of the ghost. We have received such a great kindness and have little with which to repay it. I propose each household contributes a little more silver taels as remuneration for the Taoist Priest's ritual, to express our gratitude. What do you say?"
The onlooking villagers echoed their agreement.
The "weakened" Bai Piao, upon witnessing this scene, then contentedly nodded his head.
Second Li, not bad, you catch on quick. I haven't misjudged you!
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...
Lu Qingshan followed the Western Rat King along the mountain path that led into the city for nearly an hour.
Finally, at the base of a small hill, the Western Rat King stopped, turning and taking Lu Qingshan with him inside.
They walked for a while longer.
An open area filled with a forest of chaotic stones appeared before them.
Lu Qingshan looked at the Western Rat King, waiting for it to explain.
"That Li Lao'er has business dealings with a tavern in Yuanshan City, so every now and then, he transports a cart of wine there."
"One day, I couldn't resist my craving and sneaked some of the wine. I was so drunk that I ended up on the cart.
Following the cart halfway, I suddenly smelled a strange fragrance. Instinctively, I jumped off and followed the scent until I stumbled upon this place.
Back then, there was a blood pool here, filled with crimson blood."
Upon closer inspection, I found the blood in the pool thick and rank, with many red bead-like things tumbling around in it.
Strangely, the fragrance was coming from these red beads, and I couldn't help but eat one.
Oddly, the bead didn't look big, but after eating one, I felt incredibly full.
After that, I left in a daze, and slowly I started to develop intelligence and the ability to speak human language, transforming into what I am now."
"Later, I tried to follow my memory back to find the blood pool again, but it had turned into the Chaotic Stone Forest that we see now.
It's as if everything was a dream, but the changes that occurred to me clearly tell me that what happened was not an illusion."
The Western Rat King cautiously glanced at Lu Qingshan, afraid that he wouldn't believe its story.
Lu Qingshan stood motionless, his expression as still as water while looking at the Chaotic Stone Forest before him.
The scene described by the Western Rat King was not only familiar to him, but he understood it all too well.
Blood Pool Reincarnation!
Collecting countless human essence blood and pooling it into a blood pool, then using the blood pool to reincarnate demons with demon bloodlines!
This was also the ultimate goal of Demon Cultivators launching the Corpse Puppet Chaos.
But wasn't this something that only appeared after the stirrings of the Corpse Puppet Chaos?
Lu Qingshan's heart sank.
What was going on?
Lu Qingshan understood that the current Chaotic Stone Forest was actually an illusion manifested by a high-grade Illusion Array.
However, with his current level of cultivation, he was unable to see through the formation and enter it.
That day, the illusion array must have encountered some problem, temporarily losing its effect, which allowed the Western Rat King to discover the blood pool and even steal a Blood Spirit Bead, awakening the phantom mouse bloodline within it.
"Let's leave here first," Lu Qingshan said to the Western Rat King.
Although he didn't know why such an important thing as a blood pool would suddenly be left unguarded, allowing a giant rat to come and go without losing a single hair,
Nobody could predict if a Demon Cultivator would suddenly return.
With Lu Qingshan's current cultivation, if he were to encounter the Demon Cultivator who established the blood pool, it would be certain death.
Not willing to take the risk, he dared not linger here any longer.