Food gives me an entry, I will be invincible if I stay alive

Chapter 460 Clearing the Fog: An Interrogation

The underworld, on the left bank of the long river.

Chen Xu was already so familiar with the underworld that it was like his own backyard.

But aside from him, for any other newcomer to this place, the Netherworld is practically synonymous with terror.

The red-robed Taoist priest was quite skilled, having just entered the Core Formation stage.

However, back then, Chen Xu was only at the Meridian Opening Realm, yet he was already able to kill a pseudo-River God evil cultivator at the Core Formation Realm.

Now his cultivation level is many times higher than before, so this red-robed Taoist priest is naturally even less likely to cause any trouble in his hands.

The reason it took so much effort to capture the person was mainly because that secret room had a special nature and was particularly beneficial to the red-robed Taoist priest.

Now that they were out of that secret room, Chen Xu realized that the red-robed Taoist was pitifully weak.

He slammed the man to the ground, and before he could do anything, the chaotic mist that was everywhere in the underworld surged toward the red-robed Taoist.

In the mist, there was an endless stream of soft murmurs.

Like a continuous drizzle, it was noisy and complicated, and even more like a demonic sound that disturbed one's mind.

"I hate it! I hate it! I hate it so much..."

"You lied to me! You lied to me again! You liar! Why wasn't it you who died?"

"Heavenly Venerable One, please take this wretched child away!"

The chaotic, demonic sounds were initially noisy and disorderly.

The red-robed Taoist priest fell to the ground, his face showing a look of shock and horror.

"Where is this? This...this is the Netherworld?"

"Get out of here! You insolent brat, how dare you disturb my Dao heart, you mere little devils! Behold my Soul Refining Gourd, I will take you little devils to the boundless purgatory!"

As he spoke, he opened his mouth and immediately spat out a delicate, dark red gourd about the size of a thumb.

The gourd grew taller as it was carried by the wind, and by the time it was about to fall into the hands of the red-robed Taoist, it had already changed to the size of a normal gourd.

He landed with a somersault, grabbed the gourd with one hand, and looked back at Chen Xu, intending to distance himself from Chen Xu first.

But as soon as he turned around, a faceless, ghostly figure appeared in the mist.

The shadowy figure appeared abruptly, close to the face of the red-robed Taoist. Its face, devoid of features and painted white, emitted a voice identical to his own.

"Who are you? What's your name?"

The red-robed Taoist priest paused, his hand holding the gourd involuntarily making a response:
"I am the immeasurable, eternal, and unborn Dharma Master under the Heavenly Venerable, and I am ordered to take charge of the thirty-sixth Longevity Elixir Furnace of the Jia character."

I possess great magical power and great merit, and I will guide people out of greed, anger, ignorance, and desire, helping them to escape their predicaments and ascend to the realm of immortals as soon as possible.

I……"

He kept proclaiming his identity, and as he spoke, blood flowed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, but he was completely unaware of it.

The faceless shadow clinging to him merely asked in a low voice:

"You are the Dharma Master Wuliang Wukalpa Wusheng, this is your Dharma name and code name."

But what is your name... what was your original name?

The low, eerie voice seemed to come from another distant time and space, seeping into the heart and soul of the red-robed Taoist through his bleeding mouth and nose.

Unbeknownst to him, it awakened his long-forgotten memories.

Those were every road he had taken on his way here.

He opened his mouth, his voice very soft, with a slight tremor, and said:

"My name, my original name was... was Lin... Lin Jichang?"

He seemed somewhat unable to believe that his original name was Lin Jichang, his tone hesitant, questioning, and filled with deep reminiscence.

But just as he was dredging up those old memories, trying to confirm his name, he said, "Yes, my name is Lin Jichang..."

Clinging to his faceless, ghostly shadow, he countered with a question:
"Is your name really Lin Jichang? If your name is Lin Jichang, then who am I?"

The red-robed Taoist priest was taken aback, and followed up with his question, "Who are you?"

"I am Lin Jichang." The faceless shadow smiled. Although he had no facial features, his pale face seemed to be smiling at this moment.

"I am Lin Jichang, I am the real Lin Jichang... I am the real one, hehehe..."

Amidst laughter and chatter, the faceless shadow plunged headfirst into the red-robed Taoist's head!

Yes, the two heads collided, but there was no actual repulsion. Instead, the faceless shadow, like a phantom, went straight into the red-robed Taoist.

From the head, to the torso, to the limbs.

Just as the faceless shadow had mostly merged into the red-robed Taoist's body and was about to completely take over him.

Chen Xu, who had been observing this scene, suddenly reached out and used his Spirit Control Technique to pull the head of the faceless shadow gently backward.

Chen Xu certainly didn't want to save the red-robed Taoist.

He still had many questions to ask the red-robed Taoist, so he prepared to tear open the shadow and reward the red-robed Taoist with a truth-revealing talisman.

Given his current weakened state, a truth-revealing talisman should be enough to make him reveal the truth.

If one talisman is not enough, that's fine too. Chen Xu can draw ten or a hundred more talismans to distinguish truth at any time.

Aside from the All Things Transformation Talisman, the Truth-Discerning Talisman is the second most magical item among the talismans that Chen Xu possesses.

However, just as Chen Xu was pulling the shadowy head out of the red-robed Taoist's head, another unexpected turn of events occurred.

The red-robed Taoist priest's eyes widened, and he suddenly regained consciousness for a moment.

He yelled, "You body-devouring demon, how dare you harm me, your Daoist master! You little devil, you're dead..."

Amidst the shouts, he raised the dark red gourd in his hand and roared, "Demon-devouring creature, come in!"

Whoosh!
The gourd flew up, but its tiny mouth was pointed directly at him, suddenly emitting a huge suction force.

The red-robed Taoist priest let out a miserable scream, and his body instantly transformed into a streak of light, flying into the gourd in an instant.

Only the faceless shadow remained, its face vaguely resembling facial features.

The gourd fell from the sky, and the faceless shadow happily reached out to catch it—

The scene before him was quite strange, but Chen Xu saw it clearly.

These faceless phantoms in the underworld are called Devouring Ghosts, and are among the most terrifying monsters in the underworld.

It appears invisible at first glance and is most adept at attaching itself to the back of living beings.

When a living person is on the path to the underworld, it's better not to look back. Once they do, they will immediately be possessed and devoured by a ghost that devours their body!

Especially when the ghoul asks your name, if you answer...

Your name will be taken away, and the Corpse Eater will take your place.

In other words, the red-robed Taoist's name "Lin Jichang" had just been taken by the Devouring Demon, while the name "Devouring Demon" had been replaced by the red-robed Taoist.

The red-robed Taoist's gourd was made in imitation of an ancient treasure, capable of sucking away enemies by calling their names.

The moment Chen Xu dragged the Devouring Ghost away and the red-robed Taoist regained consciousness, he immediately spat out the gourd, intending to retaliate against the Devouring Ghost.

Unexpectedly, he and the Devouring Ghost had already exchanged names, and the gourd's suction instead sucked the red-robed Taoist away.

This turn of events was truly unexpected and completely beyond Chen Xu's expectations.

But he reacted extremely quickly. In the blink of an eye, just as the gourd was about to be taken away by the Devouring Ghost, Chen Xu immediately made a hand seal and activated the Spirit Control Technique once again.

A powerful suction force was released, and the gourd flew backwards towards Chen Xu.

The demon turned its head, its face gradually growing outwards, and suddenly turned towards Chen Xu, letting out a shrill scream: "Who... are you again? Give me back my gourd!"

The cry reverberated, causing the surrounding mist to ripple in concentric circles, which then surged toward Chen Xu.

Chen Xu waved his sleeve, creating a miniature hurricane that deflected the incoming ripples. At the same time, he grabbed the gourd with his left hand.

With a flick of his right hand, bursts of karmic fire, compressed to the size of marbles, roared through the air like shooting stars, hurtling towards the Devouring Demon.

Whoosh whoosh!
In the Netherworld, karmic fire is almost invincible.

Any ghost that comes into contact with this fire will be turned into firewood and burned fiercely in a short time.

The body-devouring demon instinctively tries to hide, but it can't hide or escape.

He was unaware that Chen Xu had recently traversed the Netherworld Path.

On that occasion, Chen Xu also encountered a body-devouring demon.

The ghoul merely patted Chen Xu's shoulder lightly from behind, but was repelled by the blessing left by the great Confucian scholar's spirit on his body.

He died instantly, leaving behind only a wisp of ashes.

Compared to its counterpart, this current body-devouring demon is clearly much stronger.

But it's hard to say which one is luckier or more unlucky.

The ghoul died instantly upon first sight, though it was a quick death, it was thankfully not painful.

The current ghoul is being pierced by karmic fire and is suffering immense pain.

Flames roared, and the body-devouring demon let out a shrill scream from within the fire: "Who...who are you?"

Chen Xu retorted, "Who are you?"

The ghoul screamed weakly amidst the flames:

"I am Lin Jichang. I lost both my parents at a young age and was persecuted by corrupt officials. My master saved and protected me, taught me magic, and allowed me to take revenge."

"I...I...I...Ah!"

He screamed in agony, but didn't have time to say anything more.

The karmic fire eventually burned his ethereal body into ashes. As the ashes fell, Chen Xu flicked his sleeve and collected them into the kitchen.

【Mutated evil spirit ashes, which are formed by being burned and refined by karmic fire.】

Influenced by the karmic forces of heaven and earth, it is made by mixing snow from the previous year into the Three-Turn Calamity Ash Pill. After taking it, it can eliminate certain calamities in a short period of time.

Note: The degree and extent of elimination are affected by the specific size of the disaster.

Do not rely on this item excessively, otherwise you may suffer a backlash.

A somewhat strange but good thing.

Chen Xu simply put it away immediately, without having time to examine it in detail.

The instant the Devouring Demon died, a scream came from the gourd.

Immediately, the entire gourd began to tremble violently.

Chen Xu gripped the gourd tightly, immediately forming a hand seal with his right hand, and began to use the refining secret technique he had learned from the Divine Mechanism Sect—

As a sect specializing in weapon crafting, Shenji Sect not only excels at crafting puppets and inner armor, but also naturally possesses some secret techniques related to weapon crafting.

For example, there is a technique called Star-Stealing Technique, which describes how to seize treasures that already belong to someone and then use them to refine other people's magical artifacts.

The Star-Seizing Technique was also recorded in the cultivation booklet that Master Mao gave to Chen Xu, which Chen Xu had already learned.

Once used at this moment, this secret technique immediately exerted its miraculous effects.

The gourd, which had been trembling just moments before, quickly quieted down after being attacked by the Star-Stealing Technique.

The tremors gradually stopped, and the gourd began to emit a faint light in Chen Xu's palm.

Chen Xu probed into it with his mind and naturally established a connection with this magical artifact.

Through contact and interaction, he quickly understood the effects of this magical gourd.

This treasure is a replica of an ancient artifact. Its main function is to call out the enemy's name. As long as the name is called correctly, the enemy can be immediately captured and put into the gourd.

Once inside the gourd, there is a large amount of Blood-Melting Powder inside, which can quickly refine the enemies inside the gourd into essence blood liquid.

This essence of blood and vital fluid, condensed from the enemy's entire being, can be used as an excellent material for refining the Eternal Rejuvenation Pill after being poured out.

These effects are a perfect match for the red-robed Taoist lineage.

It can be described as an extremely powerful magic weapon.

So, if the red-robed Taoist priest had such a powerful weapon, why didn't he use it to deal with Chen Xu earlier?
This is because although this treasure appears powerful, it is ultimately a counterfeit with inherent deficiencies.

First, this treasure can only be used three times in total; after that, it will disintegrate on its own.

Therefore, every use of this product must be handled with care and cherished.

Secondly, this treasure can only contain those with lower cultivation levels than oneself; otherwise, not only will it fail to contain the other party, but it will also waste a chance to use it.

Third, Chen Xu guessed that the red-robed Taoist priest did not know his name, so naturally he had no way to call out to him.

As for why he didn't ask Chen Xu's name—

Perhaps it was because Chen Xu's cultivation was clearly higher than that of the red-robed Taoist, and the other party did not want to waste the opportunity to use the gourd?

Of course, there could be other reasons as well.

Chen Xu wasn't some kind of fortune teller; he couldn't guess it.

Since you can't guess, why not ask the other person directly?

Inside the gourd, the red-robed Taoist's body had been melted into pieces.

In addition, when the Devouring Demon died, he was also involved in some strange causal thread, so at this moment, he truly only had one last breath left.

Chen Xu manipulated the gourd to release the person inside upside down.

A very faint cracking sound was heard, and a very shallow crack appeared on the bottom of the gourd.

boom!
The red-robed Taoist priest rolled to the ground, while Chen Xu examined the bottom of the gourd and saw that two cracks had appeared on it.

This means that the magic gourd has been used twice, and after one last use, it will disintegrate.

Chen Xu casually put the gourd into the kitchen, planning to study it more carefully when he had time.

Try it out and see if you can replicate it when you forge weapons in the future.

Right now, he cast a truth-verification talisman and, while the red-robed Taoist still had his last breath, asked all his questions.

The Taoist priest in red was so badly injured that he was practically on the verge of death.

He rolled to the ground, most of his muscles melting away.

Its bloodshot eyes stared blankly at the dim sky of the underworld, utterly powerless against the Truth-Discerning Talisman.

When Chen asked, he answered weakly in a hoarse voice:

"I... my name is Lin Jichang. I was saved by my master when I was young and have been cultivating diligently in the Taoist palace..."

Through questioning, Chen Xu gradually learned that Lin Jichang was indeed from the Qingxu Dao Palace!
Qingxu Dao Palace has always enjoyed an excellent reputation in Dali, and can be regarded as the foremost righteous cultivation sect in the world.

Many of the pillars of the Dali Town Prison are from the Qingxu Dao Palace.

The second-ranked star-picker on the Heavenly Ranking also came from the Qingxu Dao Palace.

Secretly, the Qingxu Dao Palace was refining evil pills like the Myriad Tribulations Rejuvenation Pill, which was unexpected by Chen Xu.

He discovered that the case of Wen Daoyuan's disappearance was becoming increasingly complicated, and that the forces involved behind it were actually quite extensive.

According to Lin Jichang, Qingxu Dao Palace is so powerful that there are as many as 36 alchemists of the Core Formation stage like himself on the Jia-level line alone!

There were many more secrets that followed, which Chen Xu inquired about one by one.

(End of this chapter)