A life of idleness in the world of demons

Chapter 73, Section 72: No more worries, I've joined the Purple Cloud Holy Sect (5.1K words - Long chapter, please subscribe)
Lu Xuezhi said calmly, "Although it is outside our borders, the Shanmo Sect has already influenced Hanzhou. Those who invade our territory will be punished no matter how far away they are."

Chao Yinzi calmly said, "General Lu, I should first report this matter to His Majesty so that he can make a decision. Otherwise, it is normal for you to leave your fief, but if you leave the territory, it will be a big deal."

Lu Xuezhi said, "Then hurry up, His Majesty will agree. My husband and I, together with you and Fairy Yaozhen, will be enough to destroy that evil cult."

Chao Yinzi didn't press the matter further and said, "Of course, I also hope that you and General Ning will achieve more merits and become divine generals, so I will explain in detail. General, please wait for my news."

Lu Xuezhi nodded.

Chao Yinzi left again, without even glancing at Ning Xuan once.

Ning Xuan touched his forehead, facing his wife's watchful gaze, which seemed to be waiting for him to "take a stand and express his attitude," and said, "Miss Lu, you know me, I..."

Lu Xuezhi looked at him seriously, her pretty face hidden in her scarlet turtleneck, her eyes shining like stars.

Ning Xuan said, "I get tired of eating too much mutton, I need to have a cup of tea."

With that, he got up and left.

Lu Xuezhi shouted, "Stop!"

Ning Xuan asked, "Miss Lu?"

Lu Xuezhi sat upright with her legs crossed and arms clasped to her chest. She raised her head and said, "Let me ask you, do you think that we, along with Chaoyinzi and Fairy Yaozhen, can go to that Mountain Mo Sect to investigate?"

Ning Xuan answered without hesitation, "Yes."

When it comes to appeasing one's wife, who tells the truth?

Anyway, he felt that Chao Yinzi would definitely ruin things and prevent him and Lu Xuezhi from going to the Western Regions.

After learning about General Qin and the true stance of Zixia Temple, he was able to view many things from a relatively correct perspective.

Lu Xuezhi asked, "Why do you think we can?"

Ning Xuan said, "A martial artist should never lose heart and should always have the courage to move forward. You and I have experienced many storms. If we are still timid and hesitant when we encounter demons and monsters, and do not even dare to explore, then what kind of general are we?"

Lu Xuezhi said, "You can leave now."

Ning Xuan left.

He went to the side hall, drank tea, and watched the snow, feeling a bit of a headache.

After a moment's thought, he summoned the [Cryptoceros].

These days, he has actually been asking people out every now and then.

Now, he has brought it up again.

His heart was instantly consumed by burning desire.

'Melt him! Melt him! Melt him!'

This voice, which almost suppressed all reason, kept shouting in his soul.

He took a deep breath, fetched water to brew tea, and the aroma of charcoal wafted from the small charcoal stove as the water gradually boiled.

He looked at the boiling water
A scene gradually emerged from the boiling water.

A palanquin moved swiftly through the snow-covered landscape, with snowflakes as fine as salt falling from the sky.

As they were being carried, the middle-aged man with a purple face and goatee stared intently at each other, and the two exchanged another glance across the distance.

Ning Xuan retrieved the Heavenly Demon Talisman [Netherworld Ghost].

His desires remained.

He patiently brewed a cup of tea, then patiently sipped it, until the fire in his heart slowly died down, his reason gradually returned, and everything quieted down.

That's when he started to think.

'It's not snowing everywhere. The snow over there is almost identical to what I see here. He's already very close to me.'

'It's normal that he didn't bring a prison cart. The claustrophobic ghost is his biggest secret, and also the secret of Zixia Temple. He couldn't possibly allow anyone else to know.'

Ning Xuan's eyes were deep and unfathomable.

The nightmares, his past life experiences, and the many times he faced death—all of these things have broadened the scope of his life considerably.

Although he was still sixteen, his mind was already beginning to mature, even becoming shrewd.

He held the teacup, shaking it as he watched the tea foam rise and fall before finally settling with a "plop."

The next morning.

Snow blankets the Hanzhou region, turning it into a silver-white wonderland.

The snow didn't stop.

Ning Xuan boarded the fishing boat he had bought alone and drifted towards Pearl Lake.

He took a straw raincoat and hat, a fishing rod, and disguised himself before boarding the fishing boat. At this moment, absolutely no one could recognize who he was by his appearance.

The fishing boat was moored in a remote, sparsely populated reed bed outside Mingzhu Lake, but the old fishermen said there was a safe haven there, guaranteeing a catch.

So, Ning Xuan came.

Fishing was something he came up with on a whim.

He has come today to keep an appointment, an appointment that is perfectly in sync with him.

This is just a cover-up for him.

But as he continued fishing, he suddenly discovered that fishing was quite fun.

It's interesting because it's unknown, because he doesn't know what he can catch.

He had never fished in his past life or this life, because he felt that there was no point in sitting idly for a long time just to catch a fish that could be bought at the fish market for a little money.
But now he discovers that fishing might be more fun than cockfighting or horse racing; it's a slow, patient wait that brings immense joy in the moment of reaping the rewards.

Suddenly, he noticed that the fishing hook had sank a little.

He beamed with delight and swiftly cast his line.

pat.

A worn-out shoe, covered in water plants and mud, landed on the bow of the boat.

Ning Xuan was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

He threw the worn-out shoe into the lake and cast his line again.

He was curious to see what he could catch this time.

Whispering Chain.

Communication is taking place within a single, one-to-one chain.

“Tian Youzi, let me confirm this again. Based on the ranking and your contributions, you have considerable priority in the selection of clothing in the future, and your ranking is also high. Are you willing to give up your ranking and go back to the bottom? This means that all your contributions and efforts so far will be wasted.”

"Disciple is willing."

"It's only a double-grade garment; it's far from being a ready-to-wear piece. If you put it on now, its potential will never be realized. It could have become a much better garment. Are you really so impatient? Are you really going to give everything to wear it right now?"

"This disciple is willing. This disciple has sensed an opportunity to become stronger in him. As long as this disciple merges with him, I will definitely be able to undergo an unprecedented change."

"Oh? An unprecedented change?"

"Yes, this disciple doesn't understand what that is either, but this disciple is certain that the change must be very magical and special. And it certainly won't disappoint you."

"Yaozhen is also special. If you wear that boy's clothes, you can't let Yaozhen find out. No one can ruin Yaozhen's growth."

"The disciple understands."

"That's good."

"Thank you, Master."

"You don't need to bring anyone with you, Chao Yinzi will meet you."

After a brief exchange, the middle-aged man with a purple face and goatee stepped out of a closed carriage. He strode through the withered grass that reached above his ankles, his eyes rolled back, and his gaze instantly perceived the terrain in the distance, as well as Ning Xuan, who was leisurely fishing outside the reeds.

Tian Youzi sneered and said in an extremely strange voice, "An ant trying to shake a tree, a mantis trying to stop a chariot."

He raised his arms and looked at himself again.

This garment was something he had worked very hard to obtain.

He was still somewhat reluctant to lose it now.

However, out with the old, in with the new.

Suddenly, golden light surged beside him, and the middle-aged female celestial master appeared.

"Senior brother," Chao Yinzi called out.

She was a second-rank official, and her ghostly demeanor was not yet fully revealed.

After reaching the third rank, it becomes increasingly difficult to conceal one's true nature; at the very least, one must not speak.

That's why the whisper chain came about.

Chao Yinzi knew that Tian Youzi couldn't speak, so he said directly, "His biggest mistake was choosing a place with water. I will suppress him into the water, and then you can take over his body, Senior Brother. In exchange, Master said that I will take your place in the original ranking."

Tianyouzi stared at her, then opened his throat.

Chao Yinzi raised her hand, interrupting, "Senior brother, have you forgotten who I am? I won't drown him; I'll only weaken his body and spirit so that you can possess me. It will happen very soon."

Tian Youzi snorted, a sound that sounded like a chorus of humming from many men, women, old people, and children—it was incredibly strange.

But after thinking about it, he nodded anyway.

In the realm of water, the shioko is quite formidable.

The next instant, Chao Yinzi said no more. She suddenly collapsed, and an invisible, twisted ghostly shadow emerged from her skin. Then, she raised her hand and flipped it over, and a large black seal landed in her hand. The twisted ghostly shadow pressed the seal down.

The second-rank official's clothes were completely concealed on the outside, hiding the strength of a third-rank official.

However, if a third-rank cultivator wants to unleash their true power, they must first take off their clothes.

Snapped!
Ning Xuan cast the rod again.

This time, I caught a pretty big fish.

The fish landed on one side of the deck.

He was quite happy. He ran to the side of the boat, bent down, picked it up, and was about to weigh it when he suddenly caught a glimpse of something black, like ink, gushing out from under the deck.

Strands of black ink transformed into twisted arms and taut, painfully tense hands.

The lake surface turned eerie. A chilling aura emanated from it.

The ghostly hand suddenly grabbed his ankle, and he froze, unable to move.
The hand climbed upwards, revealing a long, narrow ghostly figure with a face full of resentment.

Ning Xuan's face showed astonishment, his eyes flashed with solemnity, and his blood and qi swirl wildly around his body.

But just then, he was captured by a second evil spirit.

He felt his soul being suppressed and his power completely frozen.

In an instant, his forward-leaning body turned into a slow slump.

He was standing on the side of the boat to retrieve the fish, and this tilt caused him to fall headfirst into the lake with a "plop".

The sound wasn't loud, like a fat fish leaping out of the water and slapping its tail hard.

Even though he fell into the water, he did not feel suffocated because he was so strong that he could absorb the extremely small amount of air in the water like a fish and use that little bit of air to survive for a relatively long time.

Then
One evil spirit after another crawled over and pressed him down completely.

Just then, an unexpected event occurred.

He suddenly felt a strange sense of oppression.

When he was completely surrounded by these evil spirits in the water, he felt the blood energy in his body rapidly subsiding. He glanced at the panel, and sure enough, changes appeared on the panel as well.

Changes in physical condition.

The constitution of "11" was rapidly declining, first becoming "10 (11)", then "9 (11)", and when he completely fell into the mud and became still, his constitution column had become "0.5 (11)".

This shows that even an ordinary bamboo pole could have killed him at that moment.

More directly, an intense feeling of drowning washed over me.

He wanted to struggle, but he couldn't move.

He was as if he had been bound tightly and thrown into deep water.

Just then, he felt a chill creep into his head.

In the next instant, he seemed to leave reality and arrive in a strange space.

The space is narrow and not large.

A terrifying, wooden, and twisted giant suddenly stood before him, looking down at him.

Tianyouzi has arrived.

Within this space of the soul, Ning Xuan was like a child compared to Tian Youzi.

The little child, still looking up at the suddenly appearing giant with a terrified expression, was filled with panic and fear.

Tianyouzi took two steps forward, and a strong sense of oppression emanated from his body.

The child recoiled in horror, instinctively pushing his hands forward—an instinctive form of resistance.

Tianyouzi neither communicated nor waited; he revealed a sinister smile and lunged forward.

The child tried to run away, but was tackled to the ground in an instant.

Tianyouzi opened his mouth and bit down hard.

When he bit down, the child was clearly still a child. Halfway through, he felt something was wrong. When he finally bit down completely, he discovered that the child he had tackled had grown bigger.

He's older than him.

He became a child.

Bang!
Ning Xuan summoned the [Netherworld Ghost] Heavenly Demon Talisman, his spirit surged to 28, he wrapped his arms around Tian Youzi tightly, and then bit down, tearing a large piece of "flesh" from his shoulder.

Although Tianyouzi was stunned by the sudden situation, he quickly recovered.

Although he didn't know what kind of extraordinary encounter Ning Xuan had to possess such power, in the realm of soul fusion and possession, how could a mere living person possibly compare to a Taiyin ghost cultivator?
Catch the thief first to catch the king.

The king of the soul is the space between the eyebrows.

Tian Youzi secretly mocked Ning Xuan for biting his shoulder first, then suddenly turned his head to the side, a hint of mockery and resentment flashing in his wooden eyes, before biting hard at Ning Xuan's brow and then quickly swallowing.

Almost at the same moment he swallowed, Tianyouzi vomited what he had eaten.

He heard laughter in his ear.

"Ah"

"Ha ha!"

"Hehehehehehe!!"

Ning Xuan smiled and started eating.

Tian Youzi stared in horror at Ning Xuan's soul. His previous mockery and resentment had completely vanished, replaced by disbelief and incomprehension.

He suddenly began to struggle frantically.

He had to escape.

He wanted to escape.

He's been rigged!
This soul is extremely strange!
However, Ning Xuan held on very tightly and ate very quickly.

Soon, Tianyouzi was devoured into pieces.

Then, he became a part of Ning Xuan.

Ning Xuan breathed a long sigh of relief.

He scanned the panel.

Ning Xuan

[Life (Constitution): 11]

[Sex (Mental): 22]

His spirit has changed from "12" to "22", which is equivalent to eating a demon core, except that the way he ate the demon core has changed to fusion.

In a distant land, the connection between the natal evil treasure hidden in the Taiyin Ghost Realm becomes increasingly clear.

That cursed treasure now belongs to him alone.

Surprisingly, despite the bonus from the [Netherworld Ghost] Heavenly Demon Talisman, his spirit did not reach the expected level, not the 33 he envisioned, but rather "29.999 (33)".

The large number of 9s in his decimal places indicates that he is very close to 30, but he lacks a certain necessary condition for promotion, thus being stuck and unable to exert his full potential.

laugh!
Hiss hiss hiss hiss!
At this moment, on the deep lake bed, the heavy water ghosts that had been pressing down on him quickly dissipated, and his physical condition was rapidly recovering.

This wasn't because Chao Yinzi untied it, but because his spirit far surpassed Chao Yinzi's, causing Chao Yinzi's ghost seal to naturally become ineffective.

brush!
He broke through the water and returned to the fishing boat.

The middle-aged female Taoist priest also appeared beside him in an instant, looked at Ning Xuan, and said, "Congratulations, Senior Brother."

Ning Xuan looked at her.

Information flashed through his mind: Chao Yinzi, the drowned ghost, whose ghost seal is characterized by "when suppressed in water, it can also suppress the opponent's blood energy, resulting in a temporary weakening."

He possessed Tianyouzi's body, and naturally, he knew what Tianyouzi knew as well.

Tianyouzi has a sect, and his sect is called "Zixia Holy Sect".

The Zixia Temple in the capital is just the tip of the iceberg of this sect.

However, as he expected, Tian Youzi was just a minor figure in the Zixia Holy Sect, which was full of Taiyin ghost cultivators, and his position was "a formal disciple of a sect".

By possessing Tianyouzi's body, he essentially "formally joined the Zixia Holy Sect and became a formal disciple of this sect."

Chao Yinzi said, "Since Senior Brother has succeeded, then the previous ranking is mine."

Ning Xuan coldly replied, "Fine."

After saying that, he clenched his fist again and said, "This kid is hiding his true strength; he's a second-grade martial artist."

Chao Yinzi wasn't surprised when she heard him speak. Wearing second-grade clothes when one has the strength of a third-grade person is naturally a kind of self-sealing.

She asked curiously, "Did you get what you wanted, Senior Brother?"

Ning Xuan revealed a sinister smile, clenched his fist, and said, "I got it."

Chao Yinzi asked, "What is that?"

Ning Xuan raised his hands, letting out a few chilling "heh heh" laughs, and then said, "Clothes are just clothes. Once they become clothes, they seal off all growth, right?"

Chao Yinzi said, "That's right."

When she said it was right, her eyes already looked a little off.

Previously, she had harbored some sarcasm, thinking that her senior brother was confused. Even if he really liked the clothes, he should wait until he grew up for a few years first. Why was he in such a hurry?
Ning Xuan said, "But now, not only has my ghost body become stronger, I even feel that I should be able to practice martial arts."

Chao Yinzi had guessed it, but when she heard it with her own ears, she still subconsciously said, "Impossible!"

Ning Xuan said, "I'm not sure either, we'll have to try."

Chao Yinzi suddenly said, "Senior brother, you need to get used to your body first. Lu Xuezhi is no pushover. These days she has been practicing dual cultivation with you every day. You can't let her find out your weakness."

Ning Xuan said cautiously, "Perhaps we can find a reason."

Chao Yinzi said, "If she searches for this, she will definitely become suspicious."

In fact, she should know something.

She said she was going to the Western Regions. Over the years, we've roughly guessed that a significant portion of the remnants of former martial arts sects reside in the Western Regions.

Ning Xuan closed his eyes, seemingly digesting "Ning Xuan's memories," and then said, "Besides, she was too hasty."

Chao Yinzi laughed and said, "That's right. She was so eager to send Madam Zhao and the Qin family to the Western Regions. But she sent them very quickly, too quickly. This girl looks shrewd and decisive, but she's very stupid."

Ning Xuan nodded emphatically in agreement, and then searched for "Tian Youzi's memories".

In this memory, he found the attitude of the Zixia Holy Sect towards the remnants of the Western Region sects.

I can't see what's inside, but I want to keep it, nurture it, and wait for the clothes to become stronger on their own.

But they are not allowed to grow stronger, nor are they allowed to have much fresh blood.

Moreover, this land also needs the general's cooperation with the celestial master to slay demons and monsters.

If we don't slay demons and monsters, where will the dragon's energy come from to nourish the Celestial Master?
(End of this chapter)