On the difficult official road.
"Jiangshi driving isn't that easy! You don't really think refining the corpse with jiangshi-driving arts is enough, do you? Wrong, wrong, wrong……"
"……Once the corpses are refined, you must write corpse-controlling talismans according to their birth eight characters, then load them into the soul-calling bell and set it on the soul-calling lamp……" Daoist Qianhe said.
Of course, although he called it the soul-calling lamp, strictly speaking it should really be called the soul-pale lamp, since jiangshi have po but no hun. Calling it the soul-calling lamp is just a habit—everyone calls it that, so they got used to it.
The same goes for the soul-calling talisman!
Looking at Liu Xiu nodding in understanding, Daoist Qianhe glanced at Dong, Nan, Xi, and Bei listening attentively beside him, then continued.
"Moreover, having the soul-calling bell and soul-calling lamp isn't enough. You must first draw a corpse-suppressing talisman and stick it on the jiangshi's forehead, in case something goes wrong with the bell and lamp and the jiangshi escapes……"
Daoist Qianhe paused here, then continued: "Just escaping is bad enough. If it harms people and grows into a serious threat, that would be calamity……"
Changing the subject to Liu Xiu: "Of course, if you're only controlling corpses, there aren't so many particulars."
Liu Xiu nodded and asked another question: "Martial Uncle, besides Copper-Armored Corpses and Gold-Armored Corpses, are there other special jiangshi?"
"Naturally there are……"
Daoist Qianhe continued, first explaining jiangshi ranks from the lowest White Jiangshi to Black Jiangshi, then Purple Jiangshi.
And the virtually unseen Flying Jiangshi!
After saying these, he introduced: "Besides Copper-Armored Corpses and Gold-Armored Corpses, there are also Silver-Armored Corpses and Iron-Armored Corpses, relatively common. I mean common compared to Flying Jiangshi. Also, this type of jiangshi can be artificially refined because they are influenced by the metal qi beneath the earth……"
Daoist Qianhe didn't explain carefully before switching to another topic, which made Liu Xiu think Qianhe didn't know much either.
"For example, if a corpse is buried in a miasma-heavy mountain hollow and subterranean rot-toxin invades the flesh year after year, if it undergoes corpse transformation it's called a Green Jiangshi. Then there's one who died a violent death, with undried fresh blood filling the coffin, the tomb beside an underground dark river, the blood soaking the body for a long time—such a jiangshi is called a Blood Corpse……"
Qianhe listed over a dozen types in one breath and kept going, reciting so textbook-like that Liu Xiu felt the man was reciting a memorized lesson.
"However, metal qi……"
Liu Xiu's gaze fell on the bronze-cornered golden coffin being pushed forward by a crowd of lackeys, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
Meanwhile,
the narration cheat's voice rang out.
【I'm Liu Xiu. By the time you see this, I am already dead. I am you from tomorrow, telling you future information through some special means……】
"……"
Are you made of jade?!
Liu Xiu trembled all over, feeling powerless to retort. He only heard the narration cheat's voice continue: 【……Your first plan failed. The imperial-clan jiangshi is not something you can handle…… of…… of…… crackle crackle crackle……】
The narration cheat's voice stuttered, then continued: 【……Kekeke, you thought this time was certain! After this passes, you will surely dominate the cultivation world!】
"???"
Didn't you just raise a death flag?!
And didn't you leave out a few sentences?!
The little person in Liu Xiu's heart knit his brow, feeling the narration cheat's program had errored during operation.
During the heavenly secrets calculation, no useful information had been read, causing the earlier situation.
Huh? Wait, an error?
Heavenly secrets……useless information……
Liu Xiu didn't dwell on it—not because he didn't dare, but because Daoist Qianhe, displeased, waved his hand before Liu Xiu's face.
"What are you thinking about?"
Please, give him some face!
He was lecturing! What does it mean that you suddenly zone out? Qianhe grumbled inwardly, feeling Liu Xiu was giving him no face at all.
"I was wondering if there are any jiangshi nearby. I suddenly wanted to practice the Seven Yuan Corpse-Summoning Return-to-Mountain Secret Manual, and see if my jiangshi can beat the one in the coffin!"
"……"
You think wishes come true!
Does this place look like somewhere with jiangshi?!
Qianhe rolled his eyes, about to speak, when he frowned and looked ahead. Liu Xiu didn't follow his gaze, because his Divine Perception had already seen it first.
Before him, directly ahead of Vice Minister Wu and the others, a group of bandits blocking the road to rob appeared—dozens in tattered clothes. Some were yellow and emaciated, some lame, some with short arms. Few had proper weapons. Most were bandits wielding farm tools!
To be honest, it was pretty shabby!
That was Liu Xiu's first thought!
"Hold it, this mountain is mine, this tree is mine……"
The leader, a fierce-looking man holding a broadsword, spoke. Vice Minister Wu opened his mouth with a look of contempt.
"Charge!"
"……"×3
I want to charge you! ×3
The three imperial palace experts, faces slightly pale, endured bodily discomfort and hand pain, raised their weapons and charged.
The ten lackeys didn't want to move, but under Vice Minister Wu's glare drew their weapons and followed.
The fight wasn't anything like the evenly matched battle Liu Xiu imagined. It was only a one-sided cutting of melons and vegetables.
Too bad the vegetables were the bandits!
After a few exchanges, when the bandit leader was hacked down by an imperial palace expert wielding double axes, the remaining bandits instantly fled by half.
Dozens became a dozen. Of course, some didn't run, but they didn't fight the three imperial palace experts, nor tangle with the ten lackeys going through the motions.
They passed directly by Vice Minister Wu amid his cries, eyes gleaming, brandishing their tools and rushing toward the bronze-cornered golden coffin to hack at it, clearly targeted.
The scene was too realistic, making Vice Minister Wu—who had been ready to die heroically protecting the Seventy-First Prince—angry and ashamed as he said:
"Charge! Kill them for me! Don't forget your duty is to escort the prince back to the capital. If the prince comes to harm, none of you will escape……"
Vice Minister Wu's words were addressed to Daoist Qianhe and the others. Dong, Nan, Xi, and Bei instinctively looked toward Qianhe.
"Charge!"
Qianhe instinctively spoke, directly leading Dong, Nan, Xi, and Bei to charge. Liu Xiu didn't stop him.
After all, if the coffin was hacked to pieces, it would be the six of them losing face!
But Liu Xiu didn't follow, because he saw a man with a rusty sickle, eyes red, charging at him.
"Pretty boy, go die!"
"……"
Is it wrong to be handsome?
Liu Xiu muttered inwardly, thinking the man had no taste yet somehow did, as he leaned back slightly to dodge.
Whoosh~
The rusty sickle grazed Liu Xiu's neck by a hair's breadth, making the man's pupils shrink.
Uh oh, this is a pretty boy who can fight!
But the man didn't think to run. Seeing Liu Xiu's face—pale but still handsome—his eyes turned even redder: "I'll slash you to death, pretty boy!"
"Did your wife run off with a pretty boy?"
"Ahhh……I'm going to kill you!"
The man's eyes turned redder, like a cat whose sore spot had been poked, bristling as he raised his sickle again. Liu Xiu dodged once more.
"Oh, she really ran!"
"Ahhhhh, die……"
The man only felt pain and more pain as he swung his sickle at Liu Xiu again, but Liu Xiu was like a slippery loach, easily dodging each attack.
"It's over!"
Having concluded his experiment testing the power of the Three-Light Primordial Magnetism Body-Refining Art's Divine Perception, Liu Xiu said calmly. Facing the fleeing sickle-wielding man, he lunged forward, right hand turning into a palm strike!
"Heavenly Phenomenon——All Transformations Return to One!"
Palm out, wind rose. Hearing such a domineering move name, the man instinctively widened his eyes. And just as his eyes widened.
Fooled you!
Art·Profound Abyss Weapon-Condensing Water Method——Open!
Liu Xiu muttered inwardly, activating the water art. Water mist formed beads in his palm as he slapped toward the man's face, then precisely struck his eyeballs.
The man cried out in pain, instinctively closing his eyes. And just as he closed them, he felt a pain in his neck.
Whoosh~
Cold light flashed, a black line sliced the air. The sickle-wielding man, eyes open, clutched his throat, making hoarse sounds as he glared at Liu Xiu, who held a dagger in his left hand: "Despicable……pretty boy……"
Thump—
The man fell, dust rose, and screams followed. The scene reversed too quickly. Daoist Qianhe, worried all along, widened his eyes.
No, his martial nephew is this powerful!
And what art is All Transformations Return to One?
Does Maoshan have an art that makes people close their eyes?
"Martial Uncle, move aside!"
Liu Xiu's voice rang out. Qianhe instinctively moved aside, and the next moment he heard gunshot after gunshot.
After the gunshots, five bandit corpses lay on the ground, each shot between the brows. Qianhe frowned and said:
"Martial Nephew, you……they are also pitiable people!"
"I know. I can tell they were driven to banditry out of desperation. But wrong is wrong, right is right!"
Liu Xiu said while swapping in a new magazine, quietly aiming at the bandits watching from afar.
"They dared block the road and rob today. What about tomorrow? Will they burn, kill, and loot for a bite to eat?"
"……So, Martial Uncle, these people cannot be let go. If let go, future troubles will be endless. And besides, they aren't good people……"},
Chapter 41