Netherworld Painted Skin Scroll

Chapter 295 Zhao Yu
Li Wuxiang was stunned, feeling speechless.

He didn't know if Li Guichen was imagining things or if he really had family in some Fuhe Town. But no matter what, he couldn't stop him now—as he said, Li Ye had made him into a spirit, and now that he was inhabiting this body, he could almost control it… He had almost lost his head just now!

then……

He sighed, recalling the scene when Li Guichen first appeared.

He showed up voluntarily that night, and I understood then that this "voluntariness" actually meant goodwill. And now, Li Guichen seems to still harbor that goodwill—waiting until we're out of the cave and away from the crowd before explaining things to me.

"Alright. You're right, I promised you this, and I should keep my promise. But we need to think of a way—if you leave, I'll really be skinned alive. You should know how painful it is to have this gold turban exposed. Can you give me a day or two, and I'll find a way?"

The tightness in his skin immediately disappeared, indicating that Li Guichen had relinquished control.

"That's to be expected. However, you need meat to re-refine your physical body. You can try to get some from the Thirty-Six Sects in the next couple of days. As for your cultivation, although you lost two of your three souls after I left, there are ways to remedy that."

When Li Guichen got to this point, he sighed, "Your idea is right. You should find a place to live in seclusion and hone your skills properly. Right now, you're like someone who's used a power-up package. After a flash, your skill bar is full, but when it's time to use them, you'll forget how."

He... said these things?

How could he so naturally reveal things that only he knew in his past life?

Li Wuxiang took two steps forward, picking up the gourd again as he did so, and couldn't help but ask, "What you just said... do you think you knew it yourself, or did you learn it from me?"

Li Guichen seemed to laugh inside his body: "What you want to ask is, I claim to be a person of this world, yet I know these things, so which one do I believe to be true?"

"Ah."

"It's all true. And I'll tell you something only you and I know—do you think atoms exist?"

……What?

These words left Li Wuxiang momentarily dazed, as if they had forcibly detached him from the present world. Now he stood beneath a grove of gourd vines, surrounded by quiet, deep darkness, with only the distant sound of flowing water. This scene made him feel as if he were still in his original world—he had been stranded in a wilderness while out on business, but just a few dozen kilometers further on, he would see wide, flat roads and brightly lit cities.

He knew what Li Guichen wanted to say.

"It depends on how you put it. I know what you're talking about: electrons are in a quantum state, and the interiors of neutrons and protons are also in a quantum state. At least before I came here, no one over there had ever seen an atom with their own eyes. So you could say that it doesn't actually exist."

Li Wuxiang spoke these words calmly. But he knew he had suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had finally done something taboo.

Since coming into this world, he had been forcing himself not to think about the past, not to think about his past life. This made him feel like he was exiled from the past and adrift in the present. But now, because of Li Guichen's frank and open words, he felt as if he had suddenly become less empty.

"You see, you know that too. So whether I am a person of this world or another world, or whether such a person as me even exists, who can say for sure? Or perhaps I could be both. You have experienced Taiyi's supernatural powers and authority, so you shouldn't be surprised by these things."

"Enough about me, let's talk about you. Sigh, you can't figure things out yourself, but I've figured it out for you. You are the sect leader of Ranshan, and you've mastered Ranshan's talisman techniques. Ranshan's talisman techniques can turn the illusory into the real. When you go back, practice these techniques diligently. You can turn your physical body into something real, and perhaps you can even turn your earthly soul and heavenly soul into something real?"

Li Wuxiang's mind lit up—what he said made perfect sense!

"That--"

But at this moment, Li Wuxiang suddenly heard a cry of surprise. It wasn't Lou He's voice, but rather a woman's voice—as if she had been frightened by something, and she let out a suppressed cry, but then immediately stopped.

People from the Thirty-Six Sects!?
We've gotten here!?
Li Wuxiang immediately left his Yin spirit and went straight to the place where the sound came from—the direction where Lou He had walked and the gourd vines had spread.

The forest was dark, but his spirit could see clearly—a ragged woman lay by a stream, and Lou He held a flying sword in his hand, seemingly about to unleash it.

The woman must have fallen earlier, and was now propping herself up and raising her head. Lou He was stunned when he saw her face, and Li Wuxiang was also slightly taken aback. His Yin spirit immediately returned to his body, and he leaped over and rushed over.

When they reached the stream, Lou He had just sheathed her flying sword. Li Wuxiang rushed in front of her, getting a clearer view of her—

"Zhao Yu!?"

In such darkness, Zhao Yu couldn't see anything. But upon hearing Li Wuxiang's voice, she paused for a moment, then immediately rushed into his arms like a fledgling returning to its nest, her voice trembling with tears: "...Master!"

Li Wuxiang's frail body was nearly knocked over, thankfully he was wrapped in some elm bark. He grabbed Zhao Yu's shoulders and took half a step back to examine her closely. He saw that her exposed skin was covered with scratches from the grass and trees, some of which had scabbed over, while others were still fresh and bleeding.

He realized something was wrong after just one glance.

Zhao Yu had previously cultivated her skills, and later acquired the Yi Jin Jing (Muscle/Tendon Changing Classic). While her physical body certainly wasn't made of copper or iron, it shouldn't have been scratched to this extent by grass and trees. What was also unusual was her breathing and heartbeat—her breathing was short and rapid, and her heartbeat was extremely strong. It was not only unlike that of a cultivator, but even surpassed that of a martial arts practitioner in the marketplace.

What she is doing is—

"What's wrong?" Li Wuxiang tightened his grip on her shoulders slightly, but his tone softened. "What happened to you? Where did you escape from?"

At this moment, Lou He had already released his flying sword again, but he did not unleash its light. He simply waved to Li Wuxiang and hid under an elm tree, keeping watch in all directions.

Li Wuxiang pulled Zhao Yu over as well—but after she called out "Master," her expression immediately turned frightened again. She turned to look at the dark forest across the stream and said in a hoarse voice, almost in a whisper, "Master, there are corpse demons! Corpse demons are chasing me! They're coming soon! Let's go!"

"A ghoul?"

Li Wuxiang turned to look at Lou He. What the hell?

Lou He was slightly taken aback when he heard this word, and shook his head.

Li Wuxiang patted Zhao Yu's arm: "Don't panic, I'm here, don't be afraid. What is a corpse demon?"

"I...I can't explain it clearly. The people from the Thirty-Six Sects have turned into corpse demons, it's just...it's just...Master, let's hurry up and leave. Corpse demons eat people, they eat spiritual energy, and they..."

Zhao Yu, usually so dull-witted, was truly flustered at this moment, and her words became even more incoherent. Li Wuxiang interrupted her: "What level of cultivation does a Corpse Demon possess?"

"……what?"

"Are there Nascent Soul and Yang Spirit realms?"

"Ah...yes, but those who used to chase me were Golden Core cultivators, Master, and the Corpse Demons—"

Li Wuxiang nodded to Lou He: "Elder Lou, protect your niece."

Lou He nodded. Li Wuxiang immediately released his spirit from his body, ascended into the dense canopy of trees in the darkness, and flew towards the other side of the stream.

Crossing the stream, they disappeared back into the dense foliage. The Yin Spirit of the Sword Sect looked no different from a real person, but it was also formless and intangible, usually using supernatural powers to manipulate objects, so it made no sound when moving through the foliage.

His eyesight was excellent. While talking to Zhao Yu, he noticed that the stream was muddy from top to bottom, and knew that she must have been fleeing downstream. So he hid in the tree canopy by the stream and went upstream.

Zhao Yu said that the "corpse demon" was at the Golden Core stage, and she appeared to have lost all her cultivation. Logically, the corpse demon should be nearby. However, after Li Wuxiang flew a distance away, he saw that the stream had become clear, but he still couldn't find any trace of the so-called corpse demon.

Perhaps she's disappeared and gone somewhere else, or perhaps she's currently—

—A roar. Extremely faint, like the wind.

It gradually started to ring out and lingered in his ears.

Li Wuxiang immediately stopped in the tree canopy and released his divine sense to sense everything around him.

He first tried to listen. But all he heard was the rustling of trees in the real wind, and a slight hissing sound—he couldn't tell where it came from, as if the sound was the wind itself, and he had just misheard it.

Then, one uses perception—releasing one's divine sense and merging it into the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth, observing its changes. Cultivators practice breathing exercises, which actually resemble tiny, inconspicuous vortices within the spiritual energy, but should be quite noticeable to the perception of the Yin spirit.

But I still didn't feel anything, except that the sound became clearer and louder, as if the wind was gradually getting stronger.

They… the corpse demons Zhao Yu spoke of, they should be nearby. What kind of evil things are they that even his own spirit can't sense?
But he had another way—to observe, to see the connection between everything around him and Mount Ling. He hadn't used it before because he wasn't sure if it would disturb them, but now—

have a look!?
He can't see anything!
In the past, what one would have seen were countless intricate connections, all extending from the living things of the world. But now there is nothing here, only utter darkness!

But the sound grew louder, so loud that Li Wuxiang could gradually hear it clearly—it wasn't a meaningless roar, but rather like many people whispering, which then merged into one.

But those words, those voices, that tone, were full of a crazy and bizarre meaning, which even made him feel agitated and his mind wavering, and he was about to become manic!
They couldn't see or sense them, yet Li Wuxiang knew they were hiding all around him... How could the Thirty-Six Sects possess such sinister methods?
He decided to stop hiding and called out from within the tree canopy: "What are you playing tricks on me? Come out here!"

The roars disappeared for a moment, but then grew louder, and Li Wuxiang heard them clearly—there was indeed more than one!
"We are not gods..."

"Ah...it's not a ghost..."

"...It's an immortal!"

"Yes, yes, we've become immortals! Hehe..."

"...What is this?"

"……nice one!"

"...Yes, it's good stuff, really good, really good...it's delicious..."

"...Come on, let's become immortals together..."

The sound no longer resembled the wind; Li Wuxiang could hear where it came from—it was right around him!
"Let's become immortals together..."

They're getting closer and closer, like many people surrounding you, and that encirclement is slowly closing in!
"Let's become immortals together!"

One of the voices suddenly became shrill, and the entire canopy of trees, centered on Li Wuxiang's Yin spirit, abruptly tilted outwards. Leaves, like blades, stood up at an angle, their verdant green fading, turning to withered yellow in the blink of an eye, and then crumbling into dust in the next instant, as if life had been snatched away by an invisible force in a split second—

With a loud bang, the leaves of the tree he was standing on, and dozens of trees around him, all exploded into a cloud of dust, creating ripples of air!

Li Wuxiang soared into the sky amidst the shockwave, raising his hand to unleash a golden light towards his former hiding place. The surge of true energy immediately dispersed the dust and smoke, revealing below a vast, completely withered forest of trees. And within those trees—

It was hard to describe what it was... It looked like it was made up of many pieces of flesh stuck together. It wasn't human-shaped or any other natural shape, but rather as if a massacre had just taken place here, many people had been dismembered, and then those pieces of flesh and organs were scattered among these giant trees, drooping on the trunks and branches, surrounding the spot where I had just stood.

They are interconnected—sticky tendons or meridians, like tattered fishing nets on the beach or dirty hair in a sewer, binding the lumps of corpse together, making them what can barely be called a whole.

It's also hard to describe the color of this thing... because its surface has no skin, but is a mixture of fresh flesh, rotting flesh, organs, hair, and bones, covered with branches, soil, and gravel. Red, brown, black, white, yellow, and green are mixed together, and a viscous liquid slowly drips to the ground, like serum or pus.

There were also heads among them.

There were probably dozens of heads.

The heads were embedded among these things, yet their facial expressions were remarkably lifelike.

Their expressions were eager, excited, expectant, and thirsty, their eyes shining brightly, as if they felt no discomfort or regret at all for having become such terrifying and disgusting monsters, as if they had truly become immortals and attained enlightenment.

Then Li Wuxiang saw a familiar face.

That familiar face was also looking at him, and was lifted up by a long, serpentine neck made of broken bones, fascia, flesh, and pus, speaking to him: "Fellow Daoist Li, Fellow Daoist Li, it's you? Hehe, that's great! Where's Zhao Yu? You two, master and disciple, come and become immortals with us!"

(End of this chapter)