Chapter 112: The Impact of Venue on Hand Feel for Tossing Ashes
"Brother Qiyuan, there's a question, forgive my ignorance..."
In the depths of Lin Dong City, two figures huddled together, groping their way through the darkness, searching for a glimmer of light in this cruel and desolate world.
The short Taoist priest, Jiu Wu, led the way, wielding a sheathed sword in his hand.
'Qiyuan,' also known as Li Changshou's paper puppet, followed closely behind Jiu Wu, gradually approaching the large flower building where the hidden demonic aura lurked.
Jiu Wu turned his head and transmitted his voice, "Normally, ambushes should be done under the cover of darkness, when the night is dark and the wind is high. But here we are, in broad daylight, right at noon. Why don't we just storm in directly?"
"Brother, you're mistaken," Li Changshou mimicked his master's voice, transmitting his response, "In places like this, there are fewer customers during noon, as most ordinary folks are resting. We saw last night how lively it gets here after dark."
Jiu Wu nodded in agreement, chuckling, "I didn't expect you, Brother Qiyuan, to be so familiar with this place."
"Longevity mentioned it a few times," Li Changshou sighed inwardly, sacrificing himself to uphold his master's reputation.
Jiu Wu chuckled softly, "Your big disciple has a heart as dark as the bottom of a furnace! Once he starts scheming, even Immortal Yuan couldn't escape his plots. If he faces the Immortal Tribulation later, I bet he'd dare to outwit even the Celestials."
Li Changshou: ...
I'll stab you with my sword!
"Cough," Li Changshou continued to transmit his voice in his master's tone, "I've heard Longevity mention a few times how much he admires you, Brother. He believes that your ability to balance cultivation and internal affairs has greatly contributed to the stability of the Daoist Door."
"Sigh, let's not talk about it. Every day is filled with tasks, running around everywhere. In some places, things just wouldn't function without me..."
Seeing Jiu Wu about to unleash his complaints, Li Changshou quickly interrupted, "Brother, it's probably best if we do more reconnaissance later. Once we've dealt with these demons, we can chat by candlelight."
"Right, it's not the time for chitchat," Jiu Wu chuckled awkwardly, continuing to move forward.
Because Jiu Wu hadn't delved deeply into the art of Earth Escaping, he couldn't move completely silently. While both of them concealed their auras, Li Changshou covertly masked their presence once again...
This situation made Li Changshou deeply nostalgic for his previous experiences with Senior Wan Linjun.
Having quietly arrived beneath the flower building, the two began to carefully investigate above, quickly pinpointing the sources of seven demonic auras.
"Two Grand Demons in the True Immortal Realm," Jiu Wu frowned in the dark, "They've been occupying this place for some time. Why hasn't anyone noticed?"
Li Changshou replied, "In such a lively place, ordinary Qi cultivators probably rarely come here."
Jiu Wu chuckled knowingly, transmitting, "So, Qiyuan, why did you come here before?"
'Qiyuan' sighed lightly, saying, "I just wanted to find a place to drink and relax. I received two letters recently... Brother, let's not dwell on this for now. Let's deal with the demons first."
Letters? Jiu Wu's curiosity was piqued, but he didn't press further.
However, Li Changshou secretly observed Jiu Wu's changing expressions, knowing that he had successfully planted a seed. Later, he could naturally continue discussing this matter with his senior.
[Setting a trap, hiding intentions in plain sight. —Excerpt from "Strategies and Tactics" by Li Changshou, Disciple of the Dao, Leader of the Sea God Sect]
Having figured out the background of the demons above, Jiu Wu pulled out a long sword, ready to quietly attack and kill the two Grand Demon-level demons.
One of these Grand Demon-level demons was the charming shopkeeper they had encountered before.
This demoness was currently in a small wooden house, practicing playing the zither and flute while looking at two beautiful girls...
"Brother Qiyuan, you cover me here," Jiu Wu said, indicating he didn't want Qiyuan to join the fight.
However, Li Changshou's paper puppet quickly reached out and grabbed Jiu Wu with murky Immortal energy.
Did they share the same passive skill of their sect, "Authority"?
"Brother, since we already have the advantage in secret, why not maximize it? I have here some longevity-preserving and self-defense poison pills. Why don't you quietly use them here to silently kill the demons and then leave with the treasures?" Li Changshou suggested, taking out two bottles of drugs and explaining how to use them.
In the dark and narrow underground rocks, Jiu Wu looked at 'Qiyuan' with a hint of suspicion.
Jiu Wu chuckled, "So, Brother Changshou, you're this cunning all because of your junior brother's teachings. A true master of deception, Brother Qiyuan."
"Alas," 'Qiyuan' sighed, "times are hard, and my skills are shallow. I have to be careful."
"Right," Jiu Wu smiled and continued to release the drug's effects.
The flower building's shopkeeper, holding a cigarette holder, couldn't help but touch her forehead and take two steps back, leaning slowly back in her chair. The jade cigarette holder fell to the ground, and she fell into a deep sleep, looking somewhat seductive.
Without needing Li Changshou's reminder, Jiu Wu began to search carefully...
Overall, Jiu Wu was more cautious than Wan Linjun. Not searching carefully was fine, but with this careful search, both of them widened their horizons.
Where once they saw beautiful figures amidst the dim lights last night, now they saw the harsh reality of aging and years passing by in the daylight.
These mortal women were not bad, but without the rouge, powder, and dim candlelight, their faces appeared slightly changed.
The five "flower girls" in this place turned out to be three toad demons and two fox demons in the realm of True Immortality.
A true Phantom Tank, custom-made for the desolate wilderness.
Jiu Wu shook his head and sighed, "How could those mortals stomach this?"
"They were just misled by appearances," Li Changshou replied. But he was busy monitoring the surroundings for any suspicious movement.
Jiu Wu decisively took action, using Immortal poison to quietly kill the five "little fairy demons".
They relied on the flower building for cultivation, absorbing the essence of mortal men to practice. With their demonic powers now exposed, they couldn't resist the toxicity of the pills and perished instantly.
Their method of cultivation in the flower building was actually quite clever. They entertained many customers, and usually didn't harm the mortals too much. Like the "Young Master Xia" who was driven out yesterday, while he lost his vitality and wealth, his life wasn't taken; he just lost some of his lifespan.
"Killing a few demons unexpectedly brings merit," Jiu Wu muttered softly before continuing his actions.
This time, he would deal with the two true Immortal-level demons.
One of the centipede demons immediately kicked up a fuss.
"But the flower shopkeeper who had never shown her true form, a faint golden light appeared around her...That light condensed into the form of a snowy white fox, with six tails, resisting the invisible and colorless toxins around her.
Joowoo frowned, about to increase the use of poison, when Li Changshou suddenly said: "Brother, retract the poison. This creature can't be solved so easily!"
"Oh?"
Although Joowoo was somewhat puzzled, he stopped in time.
He also noticed that the faint golden light was not simple, emitting a little merit power.
The merit and purity they had perceived before seemed not to be treasures, but the merit of this flower shopkeeper herself.
Or perhaps, the treasure was on this flower shopkeeper...
The Daoist was also very cautious, first retracting the surrounding toxins, using immortal power to bind them, carefully putting the porcelain bottle in a discarded storage artifact, and then slightly relaxing.
Joowoo frowned: "Qi Yuan, what do you think is going on? Is this demon clan opening a flower shop and doing good deeds again? They've actually accumulated so much merit!"
Li Changshou asked, "Do you have a magical tool to collect living people?"
"I didn't bring one..."
"No problem, I brought one."
"You brought... hmm?"
Joowoo looked at 'Qi Yuan' and said with a wry smile, "What exactly are you here for? You have tools for collecting people and poison pills..."
Li Changshou sighed, "Helpless, I'm just a murky immortal, I don't expect to confront them head-on."
"Understood, understood."
Joowoo looked embarrassed, realizing he shouldn't have said those things, hitting a sore spot for Qi Yuan.
Li Changshou took out the beast skin bag given by his master, and instructed:
"Give this demon a bit more sedative. We'll figure out how to deal with it later. You take the demon away temporarily and head to the edge of the East Sea. I'll arrange things here to avoid being discovered."
"Alright."
Joowoo quickly flew out of the ground, using the beast bag to capture the charming landlady; Then he flew straight towards the East Sea.
As soon as Joowoo left, a barrier formation enveloped the flower building, and several figures emerged from the ground.
—Naturally, they were all original paper Daoists.
Li Changshou deliberately distracted Joowoo to avoid exposing them.
He carefully searched the area several times, quickly transporting the corpses of several demons to a secluded backyard.
Several paper Daoists acted quickly and efficiently.
Reciting scriptures, knocking gongs and shaking bells, capturing souls and consolidating souls;
Then, with a blow of the suona, raising demons and white spirits, mourning sounds and yellow paper lonely souls...
In no time, there were only a few ashes left in the area.
Most of the ash dispersal before was in deep mountain forests; it was the first time in this elegant and culturally rich flower building.
Li Changshou, with the appearance of his master, shook his sleeves, and the ashes immediately scattered, turning into mud in this place.
The feeling was quite different.
"Since you came to the human world to do evil and encountered this disaster, it's your own fault."
With that, Li Changshou put away the paper people and the formation here, leaving a bit of hangover powder in the air, turning the drowsiness of the ordinary people here into light sleep.
With his divine sense, Joowoo had already taken the demon beauty hundreds of miles away;
For the harmony of the wine word nine immortals, Li Changshou followed closely behind...
Xiao Qiong Peak, grass hut.
Li Changshou heard the movement outside the grass hut, opened his eyes, and saw his master and junior sister playing on the lake.
Previously, he hadn't felt it too obvious, but after walking around the secular flower building twice, he now saw...
His master was not only broad-minded, but also of superior physique, with a slender waist and beautiful appearance;
His own junior sister was even more delicate and charming, with a slender figure and exquisite beauty, beautiful but not vulgar...
For a moment, Li Changshou was also full of emotion.
Whether one cultivates or not really makes a big difference.
Most of his attention quickly returned to the paper Daoist, and he frowned when he looked at the soul-capturing bead. As he was displaying the earth-escape technique, he was surprised.
The centipede demon he had just killed was actually related to his arrival in Linyang City!
This time, he hit the mark unexpectedly.