The villagers in attendance listened to the old man's words, nodding repeatedly as an excited flush crept onto their feverish faces.
A youth who had come for the first time asked, "Master Tianji, does believing in Shenxian Dao really work?"
The old man addressed as Master Tianji stirred slightly, a bizarre smile surfacing on his lifeless face. "Of course it works."
"Da Niu, come here."
An expressionless, burly man stepped before Master Tianji. Master Tianji pulled out a woodchopper's billhook and viciously plunged it twice into Da Niu's chest and abdomen. Yet not the slightest trace of pain showed on Da Niu's face, and not a single drop of blood seeped from the wounds.
"Ever since Da Niu consumed Shenxian Dao's Elixir of Immortality, he no longer fears pain, cares naught for injury, and never needs to eat or drink. This is Great Freedom! Absolute Emancipation!"
Seeing this display, fervent excitement welled in the eyes of every villager present.
***
Chu Qiguang and Hao Yongtai stood on a hillside not far off, accompanied by the helper Chu Qiguang had enlisted—Daoist Fayuan.
The Heavenly Master Sect had always been hunting down and slaying evil cultists across the realm. Now, with silver gifted by the Hao family and the chance to earn merits by capturing Shenxian Dao fiends, Fayuan took the matter very seriously.
Behind them stood over thirty guards from the Wu and Hao families. Five were in the second stage of martial arts, while the rest were in the first stage, all clutching sabers, spears, clubs, and staves, brimming with murderous intent.
After all, Second Master Hao and Wu Wei attached great importance to this capture, dispatching the finest fighters in their households.
Chu Qiguang observed the scene below with quiet amazement. In his mind, he communicated with Qiao Zhi, who was lurking in the nearby thicket. "Master Qiao, what is the story with that man?"
Qiao Zhi had shadowed Chu Qiguang stealthily the entire way; neither Hao Yongtai nor Daoist Fayuan had noticed him in the slightest.
At this moment, Qiao Zhi adopted a rare somber look and said, "The injuries on this Da Niu haven't healed at all. He must have failed after taking the Elixir of Immortality. Instead of becoming an undying human, his body began to stiffen. In ten to fifteen days at most, this Da Niu will completely turn into a living corpse—living in name, but truly dead."
Worried the cult fiends might scatter and flee, Daoist Fayuan had already led men to circle around the rear, striving not to let a single one escape.
From a distance, Chu Qiguang and Hao Yongtai watched as the cultists hauled out a large vat. The clear water poured from it gave off waves of strange fragrance. Holding up a large bowl, Master Tianji proclaimed, "This is medicinal water steeped from the Elixir of Long Life and Immortality! One bowl swallowed, and you become an immortal! My fate is mine to forge, not Heaven's!"
The crowd erupted into an uproar. Sallow and emaciated from starvation, men and women, young and old, scrambled to partake of the Elixir of Immortality. Some village women even shoved their young children forward.
Witnessing this, Qiao Zhi sighed. "That isn't even a complete Elixir of Immortality. Its potency is insufficient... Anyone who swallows it will become a living corpse beyond any doubt."
Seeing the Elixir of Immortality about to be distributed, Hao Yongtai gritted his teeth and said, "We can't wait any longer..."
Seeing that the encirclement had not yet closed, Hao Yongtai moved to lead his men into the fray, but suddenly the crowd ahead fell into disarray.
On the other side, Chu Qiguang and Qiao Zhi had already dispatched cat monsters such as Baimi and Lulu to slip into the surrounding brush. Opening their mouths, they threw their voices to mimic humans, shouting from left and right as though several people were calling out in turns.
"Shenxian Dao is incredible! I once saw Master Tianji jump down thirty feet and only break both legs!"
"What's so impressive about that? Last time, I saw Master Tianji eat three jin of shit all by himself!"
"That's nothing! I once saw Master Tianji get so utterly furious that he stayed utterly furious for an entire day!"
Hearing these absurd cries, the gathering instantly plunged into chaos. Several simple villagers looked toward Master Tianji, their eyes rife with confusion.
Master Tianji fumed with rage, glaring fixedly at the crowd. "Who is making trouble? Drag them all out!"
Seeing the cultists search fruitlessly without figuring out what was happening, Chu Qiguang said, "Fayuan is in position. Strike!"
At Chu Qiguang's command, Hao Yongtai and Daoist Fayuan led the guards of the Wu and Hao families charging like wolves and tigers from front and rear, swiftly sweeping down upon the crowd.
Seeing this, Master Tianji let out a wild, owl-like screech. "Someone has come to steal the Elixir of Immortality! Stop them together!"
The villagers clamored at once, preparing to form a human wall to block Hao Yongtai and his men.
Chu Qiguang sneered and bellowed, "The county yamen and the Heavenly Master Sect are here together to arrest evil cult fiends! Uninvolved commoners, withdraw at once, or be struck down on the spot—dead or alive!"
The prestige of the county yamen and the Heavenly Master Sect was evidently very effective. Though Chu Qiguang had invoked the county yamen off the cuff, these humble commoners hesitated immediately. Seeing Daoist Fayuan leading the charge in the vestments of the Heavenly Master Sect, they lost all will to resist.
Seeing the commoners part ways, Master Tianji flailed his hands wildly. His hideous face contorted into an inhuman grimace as he muttered a bizarre incantation under his breath.
As the strange chant sounded, five men behind him, including Da Niu, gave inhuman roars and surged toward Hao Yongtai and the others.
Once the five men plunged into the fray, they paid no heed to blows from sabers, spears, clubs, or staves. Even with broken or severed limbs, they fought on with desperate ferocity, lunging with bared teeth to bite the guards.
"They're living corpses of Shenxian Dao!"
"Careful, don't let them bite you!"
Just as the martial artists scattered, Daoist Fayuan produced a solid crimson pill from a medicine bottle and swallowed it. His entire body instantly turned bright red, like a boiled shrimp.
Drawing the purple elm ritual sword from his back, he launched forward with a resounding bang that fractured the earth beneath his feet, plunging into the midst of the five living corpses.
The ritual sword in his hand unfurled a web of blade shadows. Every living corpse struck by the sword tip was jolted as if hit by lightning; as their bodies stiffened, Daoist Fayuan shattered their brains with another strike, sending them collapsing limply to the ground.
Chu Qiguang asked in his mind, "Master Qiao, explain what's happening."
Qiao Zhi said, "What Fayuan swallowed must be the Heavenly Master Sect's Blood Bath Pill, which can sharply boost physical strength for a short period. The sword he's using is a purple elm ritual sword. The Heavenly Master Sect's ritual swords are very particular, crafted for different kinds of monsters. This purple elm ritual sword has wondrous effects against the living corpses of Shenxian Dao."
With Daoist Fayuan shattering the living corpse formation, the morale of the other martial artists surged, and they charged forward en masse.
Although Master Tianji had martial arts to rely on, he was merely in the third stage. Besieged by dozens of men, he soon had his arms and legs broken and was dragged before Chu Qiguang.
Under interrogation and torture, though Master Tianji remained half-crazed and rambling, he confessed to murdering a xiucai in Qingyang County and turning him into a living corpse—an act that had nothing to do with the demon soldier pay case.
Hao Yongtai was invigorated. "Handing him over to the Demon Suppression Bureau will prove that the demon soldier pay case is unrelated to the corpse transformation case! The Demon Suppression Bureau will have no reason to meddle in Qingyang County's affairs anymore!"
And so, the party escorted Master Tianji to the county yamen.
Once Wu Wei learned of the capture, fearing Magistrate He might employ underhanded tricks, he summoned Daoist Fayuan, the county vice magistrate, the registrar, and even brought over a prefectural judge from Beiyue Prefecture overnight to interrogate Master Tianji together.
All of this was done to nail the case shut, cleanly decoupling the demon soldier pay case from the corpse transformation case, and drive the Demon Suppression Bureau away for good.
***
Outside the interrogation room, Hao Yongtai paced back and forth in agitation. A pageboy beside him offered reassurance. "Rest easy, Young Master. With so many officials present, He Wenyan is merely a seventh-rank county magistrate; he can't play any tricks."
Just then, heavy footsteps echoed. Li Changqing, Chiliarch of the Demon Suppression Bureau, led a squad barging right into the county yamen.
Hao Yongtai said in shock, "Li Changqing! What do you think you're doing?"
Li Changqing snorted coldly and struck Hao Yongtai away with a single palm blow, then strode straight into the interrogation room.
Li Changqing barked, "The corpse transformation case and the demon soldier pay case have already been merged into a single case under the Demon Suppression Bureau's jurisdiction! This Shenxian Dao fiend will be interrogated by me!"
Chapter 82