Once his mind was made up, Daoist Zhen grew calm instead. In a mere instant, he had already devised a way out. He knew that under no circumstances could he show fear right now. On the contrary, he had to put on an imposing show, appearing as if he intended to wage an honorable, dignified contest of magic against that person—only to slip away when everyone least expected it. Whatever karma followed after that would have nothing to do with him!
Daoist Zhen tapped Wei Taiping's chest several times with his hand. Only after listening carefully to the sounds of his lungs did an enlightened expression appear on his face. He chuckled. "So that's how it is. It's nothing more than the art of the Three Corpses and Nine Worms."
"The Three Corpses and Nine Worms?" Wei Lecheng raised his eyelids slightly. "Isn't that the physical manifestation of turbid, gloomy, and foul qi formed from the accumulated yin qi of the seven corporeal souls, dwelling within the human body to harm one's form and spirit?
"Cultivators purge the hundred worms and shed turbid yin during Foundation Building. Shouldn't the nine worms have long been eradicated? Why would my son's mind be clouded and his physical form harmed by the Three Corpses and Nine Worms?"
Daoist Zhen explained, "The Supreme Yellow Court Classic states that the human body possesses deities residing in the various orifices. This is because the human body corresponds externally to heaven and earth; its many physical orifices can transform into internal landscapes, and its various essences and qi can manifest as deities. Therefore, when the human body accumulates yin qi—fears, greed, jealousy, and grasping; nightmares and tooth-grinding that cause one to say one thing and mean another; nocturnal emissions and lust that foster longing for luxury and debauchery; harm to external things rooted in the heart, secretly burying poison and making harming others one's foundation... such evil roots can also transform into ghosts.
"Of the ghosts guarding the corpse, the most harmful are the Three Corpses, while the rest are the hundred worms.
"The turbid qi within the human body forms a hundred worms that hide within, called corpse worms. If these hundred worms grow extraordinarily strong, they can leave the body and become sprites. For instance, a lover of wine develops a wine worm born of his thirst for drink; an avid reader fosters a bookworm; a drowsy man breeds a sleep worm. Even a woman fond of gossiping can nurture a busybody, a discord worm. And a lustful man can even breed Dengtuzi sprites, eye-pleasing imps, and other such creatures..."
Daoist Zhen explained further, "The hundred worms are evil roots that take shape upon absorbing the primordial qi of heaven and earth. So long as the evil roots are not extinguished, the hundred worms will never cease.
"Shedding turbid qi and evil roots to eliminate the Three Corpses and Nine Worms during Foundation Building merely slays the corpse worms of turbid qi accumulated while in a mortal body of flesh, keeping them from harming the physical orifices. It is a method for cultivators to maintain purity of body and mind so that the hundred worms do not breed. However, if turbid qi invades the body, or external heterodox evils stir the cultivator's own evil roots, they will still find themselves plagued by the hundred worms."
By this point, Wei Lecheng had regained his inscrutable composure. Hearing this, he merely asked in a flat tone, "Then does Mister have any method to purge the worms within Taiping's body?"
Daoist Zhen nodded. "The toad that the boy coughed up was surely created by that wicked sorcerer, who used the various accumulated yin qi, nightmares, and panic from when the child was bewitched to transform it into a lung-foulness worm. This worm took physical form as a vicious toad... Cursed by that sorcerer, it was mistakenly swallowed by my disciple. That sorcerer then used the worm as a conduit to cast a spell driving the evil qi of heaven and earth to invade Taiping's Dao body, causing the hundred worms to flourish.
"Purging this worm is actually simple enough. Among the spirit medicines that prolong life and extend years, many spirit pills suppress the souls of the yin corpse and eradicate the hundred worms. In this way, by calming the five passions and ingesting the pill formula, they will be powerless to do harm!"
Daoist Zhen smiled. "I need only refine a single furnace of spirit pills, and the affliction of the hundred worms will naturally be cured as soon as the medicine arrives!"
Wei Lecheng held his hands behind his back and remained silent for a long time before speaking slowly. "Mister, you intend to hold a pill assembly three days from now, do you not?"
Daoist Zhen said with utter confidence, "What harm is there in switching to a different spirit pill at the assembly? My Hundred Spirits Azure Coagulation Pill takes several hundred kinds of spirit medicine as its foundation, supplemented by nine types of spirit insect molts. It can mend the Dao foundation, transform the cauldron vessel, drive away and slay the hundred worms, and prolong life and extend years... A single Hundred Spirits Azure Coagulation Pill will be enough to restore Taiping to complete health.
"As for the servants in the manor suffering from festering sores, those should be mustard-seed micro-worms. They gather in swarms of tens of millions, as fine as rapeseed, causing the skin to ache and itch. They bring on severe leprotic sores, malicious ulcers, ringworm, fistulas, yin maggots, and damp itch, and can even eat away a person's teeth!
"One need only dissolve the Hundred Spirits Azure Coagulation Pill in water and wash their bodies with the elixir water to wipe them out completely!"
"Good..." Wei Lecheng finally showed a smile. "Then I shall await the successful refinement of Mister's spirit pill, when this heaven-sent scourge shall be wiped away as easily as turning a palm!"
***
"So this is the county seat under my jurisdiction?" Cui Dan rode in a fragrant carriage, lifting the curtain to scan both sides of the streets in Jiaobu Town with utter boredom. He had not the slightest interest in those jianghu wanderers carrying blades and wearing swords. Although Jiaobu Town could be considered an important waterway junction within Jiuzhen Commandery, compared to the central plains—the very heart of the Great Jin—or the flourishing prosperity of the Jin capital, it was nothing more than a rustic backwater town.
To Cui Dan, who had long resided in the capital surrounded by fine clothing, gourmet delicacies, horse racing, and dog fighting, only a few traces of exotic local flavor were still worth praising.
Yet what local flavor could truly be called charming without beautiful women?
After casting a glance around, finding that the Dengtuzi sprite in his eye had no reaction whatsoever, Cui Dan's interest waned entirely. Ever since receiving Qian Chen's enlightenment, although he practiced cultivation diligently for four hours each day, outside of his designated cultivation time...
He still reverted to his old ways—or rather, he had never changed at all.
Driving the carriage in front, the old servant Uncle Wu sighed softly at the sight and comforted himself, "At least the young master knows to cultivate now. That counts as an acceptable account to give to the matriarch!"
Uncle Wu had originally hoped that after receiving enlightenment from an expert, his young master's temperament would undergo a drastic transformation, turning him into a hardworking, diligent paragon of a great family just like the eldest young master. Who could have guessed that a change in his perspective on cultivation would not affect his attitude toward life in the slightest? After mending his Dao foundation, the young master had indeed become a bit more grounded in his cultivation, yet he had actually imitated the cloud seat bestowed by that expert that day and had a soft couch installed inside the carriage.
Every day during his leisure hours, he reclined high, lounging lazily upon the carriage.
He had even arranged singing and dancing inside for entertainment... And whenever they passed through various places, he would still poke his head out to search for beauties to feast his eyes upon.
If not for the fact that a deeply respected expert was waiting in Jiuzhen Commandery, who knew how much time would have been wasted along the way?
Just as the carriage arrived at the government yamen, the Wei clan sent over an invitation card. It stated that at tomorrow's pill assembly, they wished to host a banquet for the newly arrived superior official while appraising spirit pills and admiring the grand spectacle of the pills' completion... Holding the card, Cui Dan made a great fuss of astonishment. "So Senior has already made a name for himself in this town? Look at this—slaying a serpent to save people, subduing a dragon-alligator with a single finger. This is truly the conduct of a reclusive expert. While cultivators from great families possess some moral character, they have always prided themselves on their status and refuse to associate with common mortals.
"To perform such deeds of punishing evil, promoting good, and aiding those in distress and poverty... along with such profound alchemy... Senior must surely have grown fed up with the petty calculations of those great families. That is why he is openly making his name known, intending to hold a pill assembly to exchange spirit pills for maps!"
Uncle Wu took the opportunity to instruct his young master. "Young Master, do you see? How tactful and perceptive this Wei clan is!
"Both were manifestations of divine presence in the mortal world, yet the Wei clan knew to publicize the expert's deeds. Even the newly appointed county magistrate received an invitation, and they are holding a pill assembly for the expert to spread his fame and make things convenient for him... Meanwhile, that expert slew a wicked sorcerer right before your eyes and transformed a land of yin balefulness into auspicious harmony, leaving lingzhi mushrooms that never wither wherever he set foot.
"Yet Young Master never once thought of spreading the expert's fame...?"
Cui Dan said in astonishment, "That senior expert is indifferent to fame and fortune, and has always loved quietude and shunned worldly affairs. Wouldn't such grand fanfare displease him?"
Uncle Wu urged, "The expert may not care about fame and fortune, but we cannot fail to show our regard!
"Besides, if the expert is truly so indifferent, he will not blame you for spreading his name. And if he happens to take pleasure in it, wouldn't you be catering to his tastes? In this world, is there really any Primal Spirit figure who remains completely unknown? Where did those legends of immortals come from in the first place? Those old Primal Spirit monsters of the Great Jin haven't stepped into the world for centuries, yet hasn't the imperial court been proclaiming their formidable renown at all times?
"Doesn't our own clan constantly offer sacrifices to the Great Evolution True Person, Master Zou? How long did the various sects dispute over the orthodoxy of the Five Elements theory, and how many Core Formation figures from our Cui clan and the Da Yan Five Elements Sect perished for it?
"Even the Three Dao Ancestors have Daoist Academies to bring honor to their gates and proclaim the ancestors' sacred miracles and scriptures. Which sect or faction doesn't help blow the trumpet for their own founding patriarch?
"Who in this world doesn't love fame and fortune? Even if one truly doesn't care for them, once a person's status rises, they naturally still want face..." Uncle Wu painstakingly tried to impart some worldly wisdom to his young master.
Cui Dan laughed. "Uncle Wu, you are entirely mistaken on this! My father, for one, has never cared for people flattering and fawning over him..."
Uncle Wu glanced left and right, then lowered his voice. "The master doesn't dislike it; it's just that those people's methods were too clumsy. Once, an ancestor thought to guard against petty men flattering their way into power, so he selected dozens of family-born servants skilled in this art to flatter and fawn over the family head inside a dark chamber... thinking that this would help him see through such petty men in the future and remain unswayed by manipulation."
Cui Dan lifted his teacup, took a sip, and smiled. "That is actually quite a clever method. What happened after that?"
"After that, the master also had such a dark chamber. Every day after returning from the imperial court, he would first go there to enjoy himself for a few moments..."
*Pfft...* Cui Dan spat out a mouthful of tea. "Are you saying my father... he also...?"
"This old servant said nothing at all!" Uncle Wu replied respectfully.
Cui Dan pondered for a long time. Thinking back to his own days of wandering, having a crowd of fair-weather friends cheering him on had indeed felt exhilarating. How could a dignified expert lack a hype man? If one manifested greatness before others without that, wouldn't it be far too lonely?
"We have to organize this properly!" Cui Dan slapped the table. "At this pill assembly, we must shock all of Jiuzhen and make the entire commandery submit in awe!"
"This old servant shall see to the preparations at once!" Uncle Wu bowed.
Chapter 60