Chapter 256: Getting Rid Of The Hidden Threat
“The Demon Body Longevity Art?”
Li Yan was startled as well. This was now the second time he had heard of it since entering Ezhou.
The first time had been in Shangjin City, where an evildoer from the Heavenly Saint Cult had used the Fox-Heart Art from the evil path to cause trouble, slaughtering an entire family simply to obtain coal essence.
Of course, Li Yan had also received a mission from the Underworld at that time. There had even been black well blood-water, and he had summoned a divine general of the Underworld to suppress a wisp of demonic qi that had escaped.
Could they have been mistaken? Was this actually the work of the Heavenly Saint Cult?
Looking to the side, Li Yan saw that not only had Feng Huazi’s expression changed drastically, even Lu Faqing was staring in shock, fear written all over his face.
Li Yan frowned. “Seniors, judging from your expressions, have you encountered this art before?”
“That’s right.” Lu Faqing said solemnly, “This Demon Body Longevity Art has long circulated among the evil paths of Ezhou. Its poison has lingered here since ancient times.
“In the first year of Taiyuan during the Eastern Jin, Xue Daoxun of Anlu County in Jiangxia suddenly went mad and disappeared. He then transformed into a tiger and began killing and eating people.
“A year later, he returned to human form and went home, eventually even becoming a high-ranking official. While chatting with others, he mentioned that he had once fallen ill, gone mad, turned into a tiger, and spent a year eating people. He even listed the appearances of those he had eaten and the places where it happened.
“As it happened, one of those present had a relative among the victims. The man burst into tears and had Xue Daoxun seized and handed over to the authorities. In the end, Xue Daoxun starved to death in prison.
“This was the first recorded appearance of the Demon Body Longevity Art, and the incident was even written down in the Southern Dynasties work Records of Qixie.
“In truth, the disasters it caused went far beyond that. For many years afterward, outbreaks would occur from time to time throughout Ezhou. The worst periods were during the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, the chaos at the end of the Tang era, and the era when the Ghost Sect flourished under the Great Song.
“The Demon Body Longevity Art uses a human body to cultivate a demonic form, borrowing it to obtain all kinds of secret arts. There are many varieties, making them extremely difficult to guard against. Many practitioners do not even seek longevity. They cultivate it solely for the immense power of those evil arts, causing all manner of disasters.”
Feng Huazi also rose to his feet, his expression ugly. “I finally understand. No wonder the mountain-guarding formation and guardian deities noticed nothing! When Xue Daoxun was afflicted by this art, he seemed deranged and then disappeared. He believed that he had transformed into a tiger and gone around eating people, but in reality, his body had already been transformed into a demonic form.
“Similar cases occurred repeatedly afterward, yet no trace of ritual techniques could ever be found. At the time, Guo Pu happened to be traveling through Ezhou and was asked to investigate.
“He eventually discovered that this evil art was extremely unusual. It caused the victim to suffer what appeared to be an ordinary severe illness, allowing it to evade the investigations of ritual practitioners. Every victim of the art had someone manipulating them from behind the scenes.
“Only after tracing the mastermind did they learn that the art originated from the Demon Body Longevity Art, but no one ever learned its specific name. It is not recorded in the Immortal Longevity Treasury either.”
Li Yan glanced at the two of them and said solemnly, “I know a little about it, but I can’t say anything yet.”
Feng Huazi frowned. “Oh? Why?”
Li Yan said coldly, “You two will understand soon. Find me a pair of scissors and one chi of yellow silk.”
Although Lu Faqing did not understand what he intended, he immediately gave the order. “Quickly, go get them!”
A disciple soon brought over scissors and yellow silk. Enduring the stench of decay, Li Yan crouched beside the dead Zhushan Sect disciple and cut off all the yellow hair growing from the brain. He wrapped it in the yellow silk, set it alight, and burned it to ash. After collecting the ashes in a container, he formed the Yang Seal and took a sniff.
Then he suddenly stood, drew his long saber with a clang, pointed at two Zhushan Sect disciples, and said solemnly, “Seize them!”
The two Zhushan Sect disciples immediately panicked.
“What are you doing?”
“We’re not evildoers!”
However, not only did the men from the Military Surveillance Department raise their bows and crossbows, the other Zhushan Sect disciples also drew their swords and pointed them at the pair.
The two did not dare move and could only protest their innocence repeatedly.
Lu Faqing had no intent to show mercy anymore. Killing intent flashed through his eyes. “Fellow Daoist Li, are you certain?”
Li Yan replied calmly, “They may have nothing to do with the plot itself, but they have already been afflicted by the evil art. They must be hiding something.”
The moment they heard this, the two men’s faces turned deathly pale.
Lu Faqing said coldly, “Speak! What have you concealed?”
One Zhushan Sect disciple said with a pale face, “These past few days, this disciple has often dreamed of an immortal transmitting teachings to me. But when I wake, I remember nothing, only a feeling of immense joy and absolute freedom.”
“This disciple too.” The other man’s voice trembled. “Lately it has become even worse. I often see hallucinations, and feel that my senior brothers are all demons. That immortal also occasionally appears before my eyes.”
Li Yan questioned, “What does he look like?”
“He seems to be a scholar, but I can’t make out his face.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“This disciple was afraid everyone would think I had gone mad…”
Lu Faqing angrily rebuked them. “Foolish! Lock them up!”
Li Yan had no time to pay attention to that. He handed the box of ashes to Captain Zheng. “Have the mountain-guarding dogs search again!”
Captain Zheng hurriedly nodded. “Yes!”
This trip up the mountain had truly opened his eyes. All these stories of demons, monsters, ghosts, and strange entities were simply unbelievable. As for Young Hero Li before him, no wonder commander Yuan had ordered them to follow his commands.
Before long, the mountain-guarding dogs found something. They had sniffed out many silver needles in one of the side rooms, along with a large jar containing a rotten tiger hide soaking in murky medicinal liquid.
“These belong to Wang Falin.” Lu Faqing said solemnly, “He was skilled in acupuncture and medicine. Whenever disciples were injured during training, they would go to him for treatment.”
“Mm.” Li Yan wasted no words. “Let’s go. Back to the temple!”
The entire group hurried back to the Daoist temple. Because the Military Surveillance Department men had kept watch, news of what had happened at the Zhushan Sect had not leaked outside. When the temple disciples saw the large force returning, their hearts immediately sank.
Feng Huazi naturally guessed what Li Yan intended.
Before anyone could ask questions, he ordered solemnly, “Everyone, assemble in the front courtyard!”
At his command, every disciple in the temple had gathered before them. Even Wang Daoxuan and the others were called out. Seeing the look Li Yan gave them, they immediately moved behind him.
“Woof! Woof! Woof!”
Before anyone could even begin questioning them, several mountain-guarding dogs suddenly began barking furiously at one person. It was Feng Gangzi, the man who had protested his innocence earlier.
His expression changed. Hidden force erupted beneath his feet, and he turned to flee.
Feng Huazi immediately flew into a rage. “Traitorous disciple, where do you think you’re going?!”
Earlier, he had believed he had wronged this disciple and had felt guilty, even thinking that once everything was over, he would teach Feng Gangzi some ritual arts as compensation. Now, all that guilt transformed into killing intent.
He nearly disappeared as he lunged after the traitor. He was, after all, the master of a temple stationed within a secret realm and blessed land.
The difference between them became obvious at once.
Both men cultivated the boxing art known as Wudang Pure Yang Boxing. This boxing style had been passed down by Ancestor Lu and emphasized an unbroken movement. Its movements were light, agile, and graceful.
Wudang martial arts were naturally extraordinary. Hidden force erupted from both men as their Daoist robes billowed, making them look like cranes dancing. Their toes barely touched the ground. It somewhat resembled Li Yan’s Shrinking the Earth, but was far more graceful, making them appear almost as though their feet never touched the earth.
It was one of the defining features of Pure Yang Boxing. It imitated the white crane and spirit tortoise, cultivating through the special methods of inhaling while stepping and exhaling while suspending the foot.
Feng Gangzi was extremely fast. In the blink of an eye, he had reached the courtyard wall and was about to leap over it
But Feng Huazi was even faster.
The old Daoist’s face was filled with rage. He descended like a crane spreading its wings, twisting his shoulder as his right hand gently slapped forward. The strike looked as though it had landed in a pool of mud, without the slightest sense of force.
However, Feng Gangzi’s spine shattered with a crack. His entire body smashed through the wall and tumbled to the ground amid a cascade of bricks and stones.
“Hmph!”
Feng Huazi’s anger had yet to fade. He flicked his wide sleeve as though shaking a handful of sticky mud from his hand.
Wudang Yellow Mud Palm!
The corner of Li Yan’s eye twitched slightly. This old Daoist had seemed rather timid and unimpressive. Who would have thought he could be so ferocious?
The Wudang Yellow Mud Palm was one of the True Martial Palace’s supreme martial arts. Its force penetrated to the bone and could split stone tablets and crack boulders, a martial technique that pushed yin force to its extreme. Once struck by this move, Feng Gangzi was bound to be crippled.
Sure enough, Feng Gangzi lay among the rubble. He was not dead, but the entire lower half of his body had been paralyzed. He gritted his teeth, his face covered in cold sweat.
“Woof! Woof! Woof!”
The Military Surveillance Department guard dogs soon identified three more people. These three disciples were clearly victims as well. Their faces were full of confusion, but when they saw the murderous look in Feng Huazi’s eyes, all three collapsed to the ground in fright.
“Temple Master, we’ve been wronged!”
“We really didn’t collude with any evildoers!”
Of course, after some questioning, they obediently admitted that they had indeed been dreaming recently, with immortals appearing to instruct them in ritual arts. Their symptoms were still mild, however, so they had simply thought they had been dreaming.
Afterward, a rotten tiger hide soaking in murky medicinal liquid was also found inside a hidden compartment in Feng Gangzi’s room. Feng Gangzi had originally tried to kill himself, but the experienced Captain Zheng had stepped forward immediately. He had dislocated his jaw, pulled out a tooth containing hidden poison, and had him taken into a room under guard.
Only then did Li Yan explain, “This is called the Tiger-Form Art.
“The Demon Body Longevity Art is not a single technique. It gathers the power of a hundred demons, completely transforms one’s body into that of a demon, then repeatedly sheds its shell and transforms back into human form.
“The Tiger-Form Art, Fox-Heart Art, Serpent-Scale Art… All these different techniques may harm people, but that is secondary. Their ultimate purpose is still to serve the demonic body. However, this longevity art is extremely dangerous. One wrong step means utter ruin. Xue Daoxun and the later victims were probably all experimental subjects…”
Feng Huazi looked surprised. “None of this is recorded in the Immortal Longevity Treasury. Where did Fellow Daoist Li learn it?”
Li Yan replied solemnly, “From the Underworld!”
He had learned all of this from the book manifested by the Underworld when he had first accepted the mission to suppress demonic qi. That had also been the first time the Underworld had provided him with explicit information. The book had recorded the characteristics and weaknesses of the various techniques within the Demon Body Longevity Art, but the actual cultivation methods had not been passed down.
Feng Huazi’s gaze sharpened. “Liu Gang?”
Liu Gang had been a living yin emissary. Since he had been able to pass down the Northern Emperor Mountain-Climbing Technique, perhaps he had also obtained the cultivation method of the Demon Body Longevity Art.
Li Yan had been wondering the same thing. Could it have been precisely because of Liu Gang that the Underworld had become wary, mentioning only the characteristics and weaknesses while deliberately concealing the cultivation method?
Of course, all of this was merely speculation. Interrogating Feng Gangzi was what truly mattered. At first, the man remained stubborn, acting as though death did not frighten him at all, closing his eyes and waiting to die.
Orthodox sects and ritual lineages did not possess techniques capable of searching souls, and Feng Gangzi’s cultivation was at the second level, so ordinary mind-confusing arts were useless against him.
Unfortunately for him, the Military Surveillance Department men were present. When it came to interrogation and torture, the only people in the world who could compare with them were the veteran jailers in the Ministry of Punishments’ great prison, whose entire profession revolved around such things.
Feng Gangzi had lived a pampered life for years. After being dragged into a room and thoroughly dealt with, his spirit immediately collapsed, and he began sobbing as he recounted everything.
“They had leverage over me. They blackmailed me again and again. Master, this disciple has wronged you, but I truly had no choice…”
“What leverage?”
“A year ago, I helped a wealthy household exorcise an evil spirit. The master’s concubine seduced me, but the matter was exposed. During the struggle, I accidentally killed her. I was afraid, so I drove ghosts to slaughter the entire household, then reported that a vicious ghost had gone berserk. They used that incident to blackmail me.”
“You… You deserve death! Who are you talking about anyway?!”
“I only know they’re from the Earth Immortal Cavern. The person who contacted me each time was an old man dressed like a woodcutter.”
“What exactly are they plotting?”
“I don’t know! At first, they only had me investigate the Overturned Well. Later, they said they needed Xuanmen cultivators, and ordered me to poison those disciples. The poisoned disciples all became strange and erratic, as though someone was controlling them. Afterward, they would fake their deaths. Once I dug open their graves and coffins, the disciples would leave on their own like people possessed.
“Later, I discovered Feng Lingzi was secretly investigating the matter, so I poisoned him as well. But he chose to kill himself in order to escape their control. That was when I realized something had gone wrong. Coincidentally, they wanted the Rainbow Cloud Shoes, so I had the person hiding within the Zhushan Sect cooperate and framed Feng Lingzi for the theft.”
“You were also the one who brought that person into the Zhushan Sect?”
“No, they had already compromised someone within the Zhushan Sect. His name was Wang Falin. But that man was even greedier. He turned around and threatened to expose them, demanding to learn the longevity art, so they eliminated him.
“That night, I personally saw someone from the Earth Immortal Cavern use a secret technique to shrink his bones and alter his appearance, transforming himself into Wang Falin. His main purpose on the mountain was to keep watch over me. Later, because they feared poisoning too many disciples on one side would draw suspicion, they began acting within the Zhushan Sect at the same time…”
“What do they want those disciples for?”
“I don’t know. Oh, right. They also ordered me to investigate the location of a tiger demon, and to blow up the Ghost Soldier shrine during the Guanling temple fair.”
“You… You are completely deranged!”
The full story nearly sent Feng Huazi into apoplexy.
Beside him, Captain Zheng could not help sighing. “Many people are like this. They make one mistake, fear the consequences, and then commit even greater wrongs to cover it up, sinking deeper with every step.
“One of the commanders in our Yichang garrison was turned by the Rising Dragon Army in exactly the same way.”
Li Yan comforted him. “Senior, there’s no need to ruin your health with anger. No matter what, at least the hidden danger on Mount Zigai has now been removed. It appears their target really is the Overturned Well.
“Troublemakers also appear frequently around Yuquan Temple, and the time they intend to act is during the Guanling temple fair. There are still more than ten days left. That is enough time to settle this matter!”
Clearing the hidden danger on Mount Zigai was already the greatest victory from this trip. With the ghost soldiers of the Zhushan Sect and Taixuan Orthodox Sect assisting them, Li Yan could finally act with confidence in many matters.
Just then, Wang Daoxuan spoke. “We found some clues as well.”
He took out an ancient book and said solemnly, “The Biographies of Divine Immortals records that Liu Gang and his wife entered Mount Siming. But it also mentions that they encountered a tiger along the road. Whenever the tiger saw Liu Gang, it immediately lowered its head and dared not look up. His wife tied the tiger with a rope beneath the foot of the bed.
“This incident is also recorded in the Taiping Guangji. We originally paid it no attention, but then we found a travel account written by a Daoist during the Tang Dynasty, which recorded what happened after the Old Woman Xiang slew the white soft-shelled turtle.
“Old Woman Xiang had left with her disciple Xiaoyao. Along the road, they encountered a fierce tiger blocking their path. The Old Woman Xiang sighed and asked, ‘Why bring such suffering upon yourself’?
“‘After speaking, she and her disciple mounted the tiger and rode away.'”
Li Yan frowned. “The tiger demon returned from the dead as well?”
He found it almost unbelievable. Just what kind of loophole existed in the Underworld that allowed so many people to secretly return to the world of the living? Could there be some kind of secret technique behind it? If that were true, would yin and yang not fall into complete chaos?
Wang Daoxuan shook his head. “I also found it strange. But the people of the Earth Immortal Cavern are searching for this tiger demon as well, so there must be a reason.
“Perhaps once we find it, all these mysteries will finally be answered!”