Seven Yuan Corpse-Summoning Return-to-Mountain Secret Manual

Seven Yuan Corpse-Summoning Return-to-Mountain Secret Manual "...Greedy Wolf breeds sin, and turbid murk floods the eight wastes; it shakes the Purple Palace and throws the immortal astral winds into chaos. The Great Gate runs rampant with cruelty, and resentment qi soars; it blots out the imperial radiance and stops up the light of heaven. Lu Cun hoards filth, sinking and rotting the land's borders; the earth's veins wither and decay, and the Nine Provinces fall to barren waste. Wen Qu spins illusion and falsehood..." "...The seven constellations howl as one, together spitting baleful light; above, they assail the highest heavens; below, they strike fear into the courts of Fengdu. They gather up the pure qi of the Ninth Heaven and gnaw at the lingering glow of the seven luminaries; they annul the star-measures of the celestial round and breach the golden ramparts of the Five Mountains. The Northern Dipper loses hold of its pivot..." Liu Xiu silently watched the wisps of demonic qi wreathing his body vanish, and with knitted brows he studied a demonic art named the Heaven-Burial Earth-Destruction Great Demonic Art that had somehow lodged itself in his mind. What, so the dowry-giving starts already? Glaring at the "Seven-Star Demon Kings' World-Destroying Calamity" written in the demonic art's general outline, Liu Xiu snarked inwardly—though what puzzled him more was where his Heaven-Burial Earth-Destruction Great Array had gone. Surely he hadn't comprehended it on his own?! No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than Liu Xiu saw the characters of the Heaven-Burial Earth-Destruction Great Demonic Art in his mind twist all at once, and then a formation called the Heaven-Burial Earth-Destruction Great Array was born. "...Damn, nice!" Liu Xiu was still marveling that the demonic art could deduce things on its own when the narration cheat's voice suddenly rang out. [Heh heh heh. That the paltry tricks of mere Seven-Star Demon Kings would dare to be laid before your eyes—you gaze at the Heaven-Burial Earth-Destruction Great Array that has surfaced in your mind, and a wave of scorn rises in your heart. This technique is no dowry at all; it is plainly bait the Seven-Star Demon Kings laid by way of their daughter. Dare to cultivate it, and your spirit and flesh will become a vessel for them. But this petty scheme is not worth a mention in your eyes, for in your heart you never once meant to cultivate this demonic art. You plan only to look, never to practice—clinging to the resolve of merely skimming it, extracting its subtleties to shore up your own foundation, and with that sweeping across every Daoist sect under heaven to make yourself overlord of the cultivation world!] "As expected of my cheat—it really does understand me!" Liu Xiu nodded to himself. Right—the narration cheat thought just as he did. From the very start, he had only meant to look, never to practice. Fine—he'd lied! He just hadn't expected the old devil to be this devious! "Just you wait—if I get the chance, I'll go give your daughter a beating!" Liu Xiu muttered to himself. Listening to the sounds coming through the White Jade Cicada, he confirmed that Caiyi and Bai Min'er wouldn't be contacting him for a while. He put the White Jade Cicada away and rose to leave the guest room. There was no hurry about reading the technique. Liu Xiu decided to first let his Crimson Firmament Sword absorb some Moonlight Essence in the first-floor hall. And while he was at it, he'd treat those people to a little radiation! "Speaking of which, there's a moon tonight... and there really is one!" So... his narration cheat could foresee the future? Coming down to the inn's first-floor hall, Liu Xiu cast a glance at the moonlight spilling across the ground outside the door. Then, under the watchful eyes of Daoist Qianhe's group and Vice Minister Wu's group, he took the finger-length Crimson Firmament Sword from his pocket, enlarged it, and set it on the table by the window. "Whatever you do, don't disturb my magic treasure while it's absorbing Moonlight Essence! It's a very sinister thing—touch it and it can kill!" With a solemn face, Liu Xiu gave the warning, then turned and headed upstairs. He wasn't worried that Daoist Qianhe and the others would touch his Crimson Firmament Sword. Because he knew they wouldn't lay a finger on it. As for whether they might be hurt by the Crimson Firmament Sword's radiation—Liu Xiu was certain they wouldn't be! As long as the exposure was brief—no more than half a month—there'd be no real harm to the body, unless someone went and cut themselves on the blade. "Nephew..." Daoist Qianhe hurriedly called out and gave chase with a nervous look. This was no act between him and Liu Xiu—he was genuinely anxious! After all, the Crimson Firmament Sword was a magic treasure capable of size-at-will—not that he owned one himself—and besides this blade being a magic treasure, Daoist Qianhe had not forgotten that the two characters "Crimson Firmament" were inscribed on it in large seal script. To be frank, Daoist Qianhe was sure Liu Xiu's surname, Liu, must be the same Liu as Emperor Gaozu of Han's. How else could there be a sword inscribed with the words "Crimson Firmament"? "What is it?" Liu Xiu, already on the stairs, turned back with a puzzled look. Daoist Qianhe glanced at Vice Minister Wu and the others, who were stealthily sizing up the Crimson Firmament Sword, then looked helplessly at Liu Xiu—who was either truly dim or putting on an act—and said, "Nephew, I observed the sky and saw that the weather won't hold tonight. I think this magic treasure had better not absorb Moonlight Essence after all..." "It's fine. It can absorb Dark Cloud Essence too!" "..." Hold on—is your magic treasure really that amazing? Daoist Qianhe was still blankly wondering what sort of power "Dark Cloud Essence" was supposed to be; by the time he snapped back to his senses, Liu Xiu was already gone from sight. At this, he could only resolve to instruct the four—Dong, Nan, Xi, and Bei—later to keep a good eye on the Crimson Firmament Sword, so it wouldn't be lost or damaged. Dong, Nan, Xi, and Bei nodded gravely at his words, vowing they would certainly keep watch over the Crimson Firmament Sword. Unfortunately, their "certainly keep watch" was about as reliable as the wicker gate of widow Liu's house—guarded closely enough in word, yet others still strolled in just the same. Among the four who took turns on night watch, Xi at last succumbed to drowsiness and sank into deep sleep. The three imperial palace experts guarding the bronze-cornered golden coffin at once exchanged glances and perked up... The night passed without incident. The next day, the thirty-first of May, early morning. In the inn's guest room, Liu Xiu—who had stayed up all night fleecing the demonic art—climbed out of bed with two dark circles under his eyes. "A bountiful haul!" Having pulled on his shoes, Liu Xiu muttered to himself and glanced at the demonic art in his mind, which seemed a little deflated. He thought to himself that he'd keep at it tonight. He didn't know if it was his imagination, but he felt the demonic art give a tremble, which made him rub his chin and think that he'd keep at it tomorrow night too. "Hm? Why isn't it trembling anymore?" Liu Xiu said "keep at it" a few more times. When he found the demonic art unresponsive, he began taking stock of last night's gains. Last night, besides studying the Heaven-Burial Earth-Destruction Great Array that had been derived from the Heaven-Burial Earth-Destruction Great Demonic Art... ...he had also converted the Heaven-Burial Earth-Destruction Great Array into other techniques and divine abilities—among them the arts of fate and fortune, feng shui and other schools of calculation, and the martial methods of saber, spear, sword, halberd, axe, battle-axe, hook, and pitchfork, to name but a few—and gained some insight into them. All in all, the gains were considerable! So considerable that his spiritual power had condensed four wisps in a single night, and the talent that would have needed fifty days to complete Foundation Establishment now needed only forty-nine. This was no rise in talent! It was an increase in his accumulated reserves!! But come to think of it, it was a little strange—compared with the orthodox path's methods, Liu Xiu felt the demonic path's methods seemed far simpler. "Could it be that my talent for the demonic path is even more formidable?" Musing thus, Liu Xiu took out the White Jade Cicada and checked it. Finding only the sound of breathing, he put the jade away and began to wash up. Finished washing, Liu Xiu came to the window in the inn's first-floor hall. He picked up the Crimson Firmament Sword from the table—not a drop of blood upon it—then raised an eyebrow at the few drops of dried blood on the floor beside the table and said, "Tsk—how did this end up drawing blood? Which of you touched my sword? I told you that touching this blade could cost a life. Whoever touched it, own up now—if someone dies, don't say I didn't warn you!" Liu Xiu spoke with a chuckle. Not far off, Vice Minister Wu, who was attending to the Seventy-First Prince's meal, said with a look of contempt, "Hmph. Who would touch your sword for no reason? It's just a paltry ritual implement. My prince's household has as many as you could ever want..." "Oh..." Are you people really that rich? Liu Xiu suddenly very much wanted to know where this imperial-clan jiangshi's home was. Don't get the wrong idea—he simply wanted to check the feng shui of the place for the man. The three imperial palace experts near the bronze-cornered golden coffin, who had stopped wiping their weapons, knew nothing of Liu Xiu's thoughts. They merely frowned at one another, then looked at the hand each kept hidden behind his back. For some reason, they were beginning to feel a little panicked. It was just then that Daoist Qianhe, only now descending from the second floor, caught sight of the three imperial palace experts' manner and reactions. He frowned slightly and said nothing, only knitting his brows as he studied the hands of the three experts—hands that had shown no wounds or bandages the day before. Daoist Qianhe clenched his fists and drew a deep breath, shot the three imperial palace experts a cold look, then withdrew his gaze. As for that talk of it costing someone's life, he did not take it seriously. Though Liu Xiu's Crimson Firmament Sword looked rather demonic, he had examined it closely last night, and it was a sword of the orthodox path. True, it did not seem forged by any orthodox Daoist art of crafting, yet he could make out the righteous qi within it. It was just a bit strange—he felt the sword-light of this orthodox blade to be somewhat dazzling. He had only looked at it a few extra times last night, and today his eyes felt a little swollen! Of course, that might also have had something to do with his poor sleep. "Good morning, Martial Uncle!" Liu Xiu greeted Daoist Qianhe, then said to Vice Minister Wu and the others something to the effect of "if no one owns up, then never mind," and started on his breakfast. Breakfast finished, everyone set out again! It was just that the practiced, instinctive way the four—Dong, Nan, Xi, and Bei—moved to help push the bronze-cornered golden coffin made Liu Xiu frown slightly. Liu Xiu looked at Daoist Qianhe once more and launched into his "martial-nephew counsel." Daoist Qianhe felt only that Liu Xiu was lecturing him. But, knowing himself to be in the wrong, he could only endure it! What was more, he missed his senior martial brother! Daoist Qianhe listened, aggrieved, to the counsel of his "good" martial nephew Liu Xiu, wondering in his heart when on earth his senior martial brother would finally arrive! It wasn't that he meant anything by it— he simply missed his taciturn senior martial brother! Liu Xiu didn't say much more either. He only stopped once they had left the town—stopped, that is, because of the Seven Yuan Corpse-Summoning Return-to-Mountain Secret Manual Daoist Qianhe had given him. With a respectful smile, Liu Xiu said, "Thank you, Martial Uncle, for granting me this technique!" "...You are too kind, Nephew!" Should have handed it over sooner! If he'd known, he'd have taken it out long ago! Daoist Qianhe forced an unnatural smile onto his face as he looked at Liu Xiu, whose attitude had improved, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but twitch a few times. Just like before— he missed his senior martial brother! Meanwhile, the three imperial palace experts beside the sedan chair began to sense that something was off. The wounds on their hands had not only failed to close, they had started to itch faintly. The three imperial palace experts, faces slightly pale, exchanged a few looks, then as one turned to stare at Liu Xiu. Liu Xiu paid no mind to their stares. He simply leafed through the Seven Yuan Corpse-Summoning Return-to-Mountain Secret Manual in his hands—a manual of the corpse-driving craft—and then addressed the Heaven-Burial Earth-Destruction Great Demonic Art in his mind. "Come on—turn it into a demonic-path version of corpse-driving and let me see!" The demonic art's characters gave a faint tremble, then began to change at a pace several dozen times slower than the night before, leaving Liu Xiu with the distinct impression that it was slacking off. The demonic art: "............"