Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 179 Inventory. (Third update!)

“...Xiao Bingjia..."

“…Xiao Pingyi…”

"...Jiang Youshan..."

Zheng Que glanced at the names and quickly realized that these were the ghosts that the caravan had killed during the day.

Although the caravan's battles during the day ended quickly, the names on the Book of Life and Death indicated that the caravan had encountered a considerable number of ghosts that day.

As he pondered, he looked at his own name again.

Lifespan: 16 years, 8 months, and 28 days.

His lifespan remains unchanged, and he has less than a month left before his next tribulation.

Zheng Que was immediately puzzled. When he was in Changfu Town, the calamity was forty-nine days later. Later, when he arrived in Taiping County, the time of the calamity did not change. Now that he was going to the prefectural city, the calamity was still the same...

Is this calamity caused by some extremely powerful ghost that has its eyes on me?
Wherever I go, the ghost follows me there.

Or……

If I stay in the ruins of Changfu Town, a calamity will befall the ruins of Changfu Town when the time comes.

If you live in Taiping County, different calamities will befall Taiping County at the same time.

If I go to the prefectural city, there will be corresponding tribulations waiting for me there.

Or perhaps, the calamity that awaits me will extend to the entire Taiping County and the prefectural city?
Thinking of this, Zheng Que frowned and immediately decided to go and see if there was anything in the ghost bride's dowry that he could use now.

So he reached out and slowly touched the tongue-pulling pattern on the first page of the Book of Life and Death.

The next moment, a change occurred beneath the steps, and nine spiraling, descending portals quietly emerged from the darkness.

Zheng Que picked up the gavel and walked towards the gates of the Tongue-Pulling Hell.

The situation in this hell was still the same as before: a crimson dome, a dark red mud floor covered with thick dust, scattered instruments of torture, sleeping ghosts... Zheng Que soon arrived at the gate of Shujiabao, entered Shujiabao, and came into the ghost cellar.

The ghost cellar was filled with various festive chests and boxes, one of which had been opened, revealing traces of his previous actions.

Zheng Que walked directly to the second box, which was decorated with a large red silk ribbon and silk flowers, raised his gavel, and smashed it down on the silk flowers.

Bang!
The silk flower was instantly smashed to pieces, and together with the silk ribbon and clasp, it dissipated into a strong stream of yin energy, leaving only the now unrestrained box.

Zheng Que opened the lid, and a chilling aura immediately rushed out. Inside the box were many brand-new lanterns, bright red and dazzling, with huge "囍" characters and rows of red candles underneath. The lanterns and candles were filled with a strong aura of yin, and just standing by the box, one could feel the chill.

After observing for a while, Zheng Que tried picking up a lantern and channeling spiritual energy into it, but the lantern did not react at all.

He shook his head slightly; this did not seem to be an object used by a living person.

He put the lantern back, and then used the gavel to break the seals on the remaining boxes one by one.

After a cursory inspection, Zheng Que found that the contents of these boxes were a mixed bag, mostly household items and decorative objects. Apart from the heavy yin energy that made them unusable by the living, he couldn't discern anything unusual at the moment.

However, there were several very special chests inside. Their exteriors were almost undecorated, quite different from the intricately carved chests in the ghost bride's dowry. Moreover, there were hidden patterns in the corners that read "Under the jurisdiction of Bozhou". Inside were individual compartments, and in each compartment was a neatly cut strand of hair.

These strands of hair varied in quality; some were jet black and glossy, while others were dry and yellowish. However, they were all carefully tied with bright red ropes and coiled in a grid. A folded strip of red cloth was tied between the strands of hair.

Zheng Que casually unfolded a strip of cloth and found a line of words written on it in cinnabar: "Bingxu Xinchou Xinchou Renchen".

This is someone's birth date and time! He frowned slightly, quickly flipped through it, and found that the entire box was filled with the same strands of hair, each strand with an identical strip of cloth, each bearing a different birth date and time.

Unlike other dowry items that exude a chilling aura, this chest emanated a faint vitality.

Zheng Que didn't know what the hair was for, so he put it back, closed the lid, and walked to the next box.

He quickly learned about the contents of the boxes in the Ghost Cellar. He couldn't use eight or nine out of ten of them, but there was one box that looked like a jewelry box, containing a dozen or so colorful pills.

Each pill contains a strong amount of Yin energy.

These are all the inner cores of ghosts!
Only ghosts of the [Scissors Prison] level or higher can condense an inner core.

The Ghost Bride has slain many ghosts from the [Scissors Hell]!

In addition, there was another box containing many jade slips.

These jade slips varied in color, shape, and style. Zheng Que picked one up at random, placed it between his eyebrows to examine it, and found that there seemed to be some kind of seal on the jade slip, preventing him from directly accessing its contents.

He frowned slightly. If it were a seal on something else, he could break it with a gavel, but the seal on this jade slip... He was worried that if he slammed the gavel down like that, he would smash the jade slip to pieces.

As he was thinking, Zheng Que noticed that the black aura between his eyebrows was rapidly thinning.

Soon, the last wisp of black energy disappeared into the Book of Life and Death. Just like last time, the Book of Life and Death did not condense a new decree. The surrounding scenery trembled, and he quickly returned to reality.

Night had fallen, with a few stars dotting the sky; it was now completely dark.

Intermittent ghostly howls drifted from afar, interspersed with faint chewing sounds.

Niannu knelt beside him, intently protecting the Dharma.

Linghu Yuniang and Miao Xirong, who were on night watch, got up and quietly walked around the "Geng" shaped carriage.

Further away, the other vehicles in the camp were also clearly divided into groups, and the entire camp was well-organized.

At this moment, Yuan Zhi, who was standing next to the "Geng" shaped carriage, suddenly opened his eyes, looked at Linghu Yuniang and Miao Xirong, and said, "It's almost time. Fellow Daoists, go and rest. The three of us will keep watch from now on."

Linghu Yuniang and Miao Xirong nodded slightly, then found a corner to sit cross-legged and began to circulate their internal energy to recover.

Yuan Zhi glanced around and his gaze quickly fell on Zheng Que. Zheng Que did not hesitate and immediately took Nian Nu and walked to his side. At the same time, Shi Shaoshan also finished his cultivation and got up to come to Yuan Zhi's side.

Yuan Zhi glanced at Zheng Que, then at Nian Nu, and asked, "Is this your ghost servant?"

Zheng Que nodded and said briefly, "Yes."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Zhi looked at Nian Nu with some confusion. This woman's aura was at the sixth level of the [Tongue-Pulling Prison], which was below his cultivation level, but for some reason, he vaguely felt that this woman seemed extremely dangerous!

Just then, Zheng Que suddenly asked, "Fellow Daoist Yuan, how long will it take to reach the prefectural city?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Zhi snapped out of his reverie and immediately replied, "If all goes well, it should arrive in half a month."

"If something unexpected happens along the way, the time could double."

"However, the leader of this team is Senior Lu. This senior is very strong and skilled in setting up formations. He is one of the strongest retainers in Taiping County."

"The taxes escorted by Senior Lu have never had any problems..."

(End of this chapter)