Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 181 The First Night. (Second Update!)

As Zheng Licheng listened, he gradually realized that this Forget-Worry Inn was probably an "oddity".

The three rules that Shi Shaoshan mentioned seemed easy to follow, but out of the sixteen people in the group, fifteen died... It's unclear whether it was because they didn't know the rules at first and used human lives to test these taboos, or whether the other party was hiding some crucial information.
Furthermore, the specifics of how Shi Shaoshan escaped from the Forget-Worry Inn were not mentioned at all...

At this moment, Yuan Zhi nodded slightly and immediately said, "The gathering I happened to attend is a little different from the Forget-Worry Inn that Fellow Daoist Shi encountered."

"At that time, we were following Senior Wei Changyang on our journey through Baozhen Valley. At first, everything went very smoothly, but as we walked, we inexplicably entered a bamboo forest."

"In that bamboo grove, an elegant gathering is being held, and the place is filled with scrolls of different styles, as if they are appreciating the paintings."

"At an elegant gathering, one should not wipe one's face or sweat."

"You cannot lend your clothes to others, nor can you take off your own clothes."

"If it rains, you must find shelter immediately. Ordinary spells are useless for avoiding rain!"

"Besides that, the most important thing is not to attract the attention of the host of the gathering!"

At this point, Yuan Zhi immediately stopped talking, as if he had finished saying what he needed to say.

Shi Shaoshan frowned and immediately asked, "Then, how did you escape back then?"

Yuan Zhi smiled slightly and said, "That's thanks to Senior Wei. I didn't know anything at the time, and I just followed him out."

As he spoke, he looked at Zheng Que and loudly reminded him, "Fellow Daoist Zheng, it's time for you to fulfill your promise."

Zheng Que nodded, but he understood that neither Shi Shaoshan nor Yuan Zhi had revealed all the information he knew.

The reason these two were willing to say so much was because of his promise of six ghost servants in the "Tongue-Pulling Prison".

Thinking of this, he calmly said, "Please wait a moment, both of you."

After leaving those words, Zheng Que immediately led Niannu out of the barrier, then found an open space and took out the wooden boat from his storage bag.

He infused the wooden boat with some spiritual power, and the boat immediately expanded, transforming into a magical boat capable of carrying many people in just a few breaths.

Upon seeing this scene, some cultivators nearby turned to look, their eyes flashing thoughtfully.

Zheng Que ignored him and boarded the Dharma Boat directly, entering the top cabin.

Bang.

After closing the door, he immediately took out the Soul-Summoning Banner and casually summoned two ghosts at the sixth level of the [Tongue-Pulling Hell].

Both of these ghostly creatures were strangely shaped; one was covered in stitches, as if pieced together from various parts; the other resembled a human form formed from pooled blood.

Zheng Que quickly used the [Ghost Control Technique] on them, successfully controlling the two ghost servants. He then put away the Soul-Summoning Banner, left the cabin, returned to the camp, and put away the magic boat.

Next, he walked up to Yuan Zhi and Shi Shaoshan, opened the Soul Nourishing Bag, and released the two ghost servants he had just subdued.

After the two ghost servants appeared, they stood there dumbfounded. When they sensed the presence of a living person so close by, they subconsciously let out a few threatening roars and made a move to pounce. They were only subdued after Zheng Que made a hand seal to control them.

Such behavior clearly indicates a low level of taming, and the density of yin energy around it is not much stronger than that of a typical wandering ghost at the sixth level of the [Tongue-Pulling Hell], and it is completely incomparable to Nian Nu, who is as lifelike as a living person and has a powerful aura, beside Zheng Que.

Yuan Zhi and Shi Shaoshan, who had been full of expectations, now frowned as they looked at the two ghost servants.

Zheng Que calmly said, "The [Tongue-Pulling Prison] has six levels, one head per person."

"Please divide it among yourselves." The information these two provided was incomplete, vague, and even its veracity was uncertain. It was only worth two ordinary [Tongue-Pulling Hell] level six ghost servants.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Zhi snapped out of his reverie, glanced at the two ghost servants Zheng Que had provided, and although they fell far short of his expectations, he still smiled and replied, "Alright."

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Zheng."

As he spoke, he took out a red ceramic "Yin Vessel" from his storage bag and put the ghost servant, whose body was covered in stitches and looked like a patchwork, inside.

Seeing that Yuan Zhi did not argue, Shi Shaoshan did not hesitate either. He also took out a black jar-like [Yin Vessel] and, with Zheng Que's help, put the ghost servant formed from blood into it.

Compared to the group of rogue cultivators who participated in the last Shujiabao mission, the cultivators who participated in this tax escort mission were clearly all well-off. These two had each obtained a ghost servant at the sixth level of the [Tongue-Pulling Prison], and they both had an attitude of "better than nothing". After putting away the [Yin Vessel], they dispersed.

After that, the three of them remained silent and quietly stood guard by the "Geng" shaped car.

Time passed slowly, and in the darkness, ghosts gradually sensed the presence of living beings and began to converge on the camp, probing for an attack.

Ping Pong Pong...

A flurry of attacks, saturated with a dense aura of yin energy, descended upon the camp. A hazy, clear light shone from the perimeter of the camp, transforming into a pale blue barrier that trembled like flowing water, blocking wave after wave of attacks.

The monks in the camp stood guard by their respective vehicles, alert and ready to strike at any moment.

This situation did not last long. Lu Maohong in the "A" chariot quickly made his move. After a series of subtle noises, the formation manifested a huge array diagram in mid-air, which then scattered into a sky full of arrows, covering the wilderness outside the camp like a storm.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh...

Amidst the sharp wind, ghostly wails echoed incessantly. All the attacking ghosts were instantly wiped out, and the few surviving ghosts retreated in terror, their howls quickly fading into the distance.

Soon, as night fell, the camp returned to calm.

※※※

The next day, at the crack of dawn, Linghu Yuniang and Miao Xirong finished their cultivation and, together with Yuan Zhi, Shi Shaoshan, and Zheng Que, the five of them arrived at the door of the "Geng" shaped carriage.

As the convoy was about to depart, Yuan Zhi manipulated the array plate in front of the four people, opened the car door, and found the [Bottle Woman] inside was exactly the same as the one he had seen yesterday, with no difference in number.

Each of the "Bottle Woman" is in a normal state.

Each exquisitely shaped head of a girl, a child, or a young girl smiled as it looked at the monks outside the carriage.

Looking at this scene, Yuan Zhi nodded slightly: "Taxation is proceeding normally."

With that, he closed the car door and shouted loudly, "Car with the character 'Geng' on it, ready!"

At this moment, the cultivators from the other teams had also finished checking the taxes and reported in succession: "The 'Ji' chariot is ready!"

"Train with the character '戊' on it, ready to go!"

"The car with the character '癸' on it..."

Soon, the entire convoy, except for the "A" class car, was ready.

Lu Maohong's voice came from the Class A vehicle: "Let's go!"

(End of this chapter)