Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

Chapter 258 Subordinates

Three hours later, the outer mountain range of Wei Cui Peak.

The crimson moon in the sky had disappeared, replaced by a hazy, pale gray on the horizon.

Ghost Banner Taoist emerged from behind a clump of bushes, his Taoist robe covered in mud, his hair disheveled, and his eyes dark and swollen.

The five people following behind him fared even worse.

Four men and one woman, all dejected, their long gowns tattered and stained with fresh blood in several places.

The group lined up and staggered behind the Ghost Banner Taoist.

The leader was a middle-aged man with a pointed mouth, half of his right ear missing, and blood was still flowing out.

His name was Liu Qi, and he was quite famous within a hundred miles for his deadly bell.

However, tonight's mission got off to a bad start; a risky business with no capital met with a tough opponent, and even his natal magical artifacts were confiscated.

Following behind Liu Qi was a short, fat, bald man. A large chunk of flesh had been bitten off his left arm by something, and he had haphazardly wrapped it around with a torn piece of his clothing, blood still seeping out.

Further on was a tall, thin woman in her forties with long, black fingernails, clearly someone who had practiced some kind of insidious claw technique.

At the end of the group were two young men, one unarmed and the other with a sword sheath at his waist, looking like a down-on-his-luck wandering Taoist. Gui Fan Dao Ren led the five through the last patch of thatched grass and finally saw Chen Mo sitting on a gray boulder.

"Mr. Chen, everything is here."

He bent down slightly and handed over the borrowed merit banner and a blue cloth bag.

The bag contained all the belongings confiscated from those five men.

Ghost Banner Taoist didn't dare keep anything, even stuffing the pitted peach wood sword inside.

"Um.

""

Chen Mo took the cloth bag and casually glanced at it with his divine sense.

A few simple magical implements, a couple of basic talismans, a tattered handwritten manual of cultivation techniques, and some other odds and ends.

The most valuable item was Liu Qi's Soul-Binding Chain, which was sealed with seven vengeful ghosts and could barely be considered a mid-grade magic artifact. The rest were just cheap knock-offs.

Compared to Master Baidu's storage bag, the contents here are pitifully meager.

That's normal, though.

Master Baidu had been involved in unorthodox circles for decades, and his wealth was naturally far beyond what these bandits and highwaymen could match.

"Here you go."

Chen Mo took the merit banner and casually tossed the blue cloth bag back to him.

"Thank you for the reward, Master Chen..."

Ghost Banner Taoist caught the cloth bag, his face immediately beaming with joy, and a string of words of gratitude tumbled from his mouth.

Her voice was so obsequious that it made the five prisoners behind her cringe.

"Damn it, you son of a bitch..."

"

Liu Qi secretly glanced at Gui Fan Dao Ren, his eyes filled with fear and a hint of unconcealed resentment.

That deadly chain was his natal magic weapon, which he had spent twenty years painstakingly crafting.

Now it's all gone, "Tap Dam-niang..."

'

Standing by the bluestone, Chen Mo's gaze swept over the five people one by one.

Liu Qi subconsciously took half a step back, his triangular eyes fixed on the merit banner in his hand.

He was an expert at dealing with ghosts, and he thought he was quite skilled, having sealed seven vengeful spirits in the Death Chain. But this banner before him...

How many wronged souls are sealed inside? Dozens? Hundreds? Or thousands?

Where on earth did this old devil come from?

He dared not think about it, only feeling a soreness in his teeth, and swallowing back the curse that was still in his throat.

You now have two paths to take.

Chen Mo looked at the group expressionlessly, raised two fingers, and said, "Submit and hand over your souls to work for me."

"Or, I'll leave you with a complete corpse."

Upon hearing this, the five men's faces turned even more ashen than those of the dead.

If possible, who would want to live under someone else's roof? That's clearly being treated like a dog.

"I....

""

Standing at the very back, the young man with a sword sheath at his waist suddenly spoke, his voice trembling slightly, but he still forced himself to straighten his back, "You can't kill me, my elder brother is..."

'

He hadn't finished speaking.

Chen Mo didn't even lift his eyelids; he simply flicked his finger casually.

A thin, hair-like strand of black malevolent energy shot out from the fingertip and precisely pierced the young man's brow.

The man's lips were still open, but his body suddenly fell straight backward.

There was no wound between his eyebrows, but black blood slowly seeped from his seven orifices, and his pupils were already dilated.

died.

No one even saw how Chen Mo made his move.

The remaining four people stood frozen in place, forgetting even to breathe.

The resentment in Liu Qi's eyes was completely swallowed by fear, and after regaining his senses, he immediately knelt down.

"I...I am willing to submit, please...please spare my life, senior."

The remaining three followed closely behind, their kowtowing movements perfectly synchronized.

The four knelt on the cold rocks, their foreheads pressed to the ground, not daring to look up at Chen Mo.

The still-warm corpse behind him clearly indicated that this man was not there to negotiate.

Ghost Banner Taoist, with keen insight, took out a yellowed talisman from his sleeve, bit his fingertip, and drew several strange runes on it.

The talisman ignited spontaneously without fire, rising into a ball of eerie green flame.

He walked up to the four people, extended his palm, and made a grasping motion with his five fingers.

"Don't resist."

The four felt a sharp pain between their brows, as if something had been forcibly pulled from their souls.

The tall, thin woman couldn't help but let out a muffled groan, veins bulging on her forehead.

A moment later, four wisps of almost transparent white mist drifted out from between the four people's eyebrows, and were guided by the Ghost Banner Taoist into his palm, where they condensed into four beads the size of rice grains.

The Soul-Giving Pearl.

Ghost Banner Taoist carefully held the four beads and presented them to Chen Mo with both hands.

"Mr. Chen, it's done."

He reached out and took it, glancing at it casually.

The four beads trembled slightly in my palm, and I could vaguely sense the life marks of the four people contained within them.

From this day forward, the lives of these four people will be entirely in his hands.

If these beads shatter, given their cultivation level, they will surely die.

Liu Qi knelt on the ground, secretly glancing at the bead that belonged to her. She clenched her teeth, but dared not show even a trace of hatred.

For the first time, he truly understood what it meant to be unable to control one's own life and death.

Chen Mo put the four Soul-Giving Pearls into his pocket, then looked over the heads of the four people and landed on the gradually brightening horizon in the distance.

"Let's go back to town first."

The group descended the mountain path, passing through a sparse pine forest. The gravel path under their feet gradually widened, and they could faintly smell the smoke rising from the distant town.

Suddenly, a person appeared in the fog ahead.

Both sides paused for a moment.

Shen Que subconsciously gripped the iron sword in his hand, suppressing the urge to turn and run, and coldly looked at the group of people walking towards him.

Chen Mo did not stop walking. His gaze swept over Shen Que, and he narrowed his eyes slightly.

Once they had passed each other, Guiban Daoist quickly walked up to him. "Master Chen, that kid was also in the ruins before, should we...?"

'

He made a throat-slitting gesture.

Chen Mo raised his right hand and waved it casually.

"Stop thinking about fighting and killing all the time."

Ghost Banner Taoist was taken aback, and withdrew his hand without saying anything more.

The four people behind him twitched their lips, wanting to laugh but not daring to, and silently lowered their heads again.

Then what are they?

Behind him, Shen Que watched helplessly as Chen Mo and his group walked past him, and he could even smell the faint scent of blood on them.

These people didn't even make a move?

He stood there, panting heavily, his back soaked with cold sweat.

Only after Chen Mo and his group had completely disappeared at the end of the bend did he stagger and lean against a tree, almost dropping his sword.

"senior...

""

He shouted in his heart.

The female voice in my mind took a while to ring out, and her tone was more solemn than usual.

"That guy who led the way just now is no ordinary person."

"The opponent's aura is very strong, and his cultivation level is at least at the Qi Condensation Realm. Moreover, his magical power... is quite different from that of ordinary people."

"The Condensation Realm?"

Shen Que's eyes widened, his pupils trembling slightly. "After the Red Moon, someone else has actually broken through to the Condensation of Qi?"

"You're making a fuss over nothing."

The Venerable of Bliss said calmly, his tone carrying the composure of someone who had seen it all, "Indeed rare in the mortal world, but in the spirit realm, cultivators at the Condensation Realm are as numerous as hairs on a cow."

"Otherwise, what do you think the spirit world is?"

Shen Que was taken aback, then smiled bitterly: "Senior, I can't even get close to the threshold of Qi Refining. You're telling me that there are countless Spirit Realm Spirits? Isn't that like stabbing me in the heart?"

That's why I told you to lower your expectations first.

The female voice said, "The environment of the mortal world is not as good as that of the spirit world. In addition, with the changes after the red moon descended, those who can reach the stage of condensing evil in such a place are either exceptionally talented or have great fortune."

"Neither of them are people you can afford to mess with right now."

Shen Que remained silent for a moment, then sheathed his iron sword at his waist and wiped the cold sweat from his face. "How could I dare to provoke him? I'm afraid he might provoke me in the process."

He has always considered himself to be flexible and adaptable, and he would never stubbornly insist on doing something he shouldn't when he should back down.

Of the group of people we just saw, the four prisoners at the very back all looked weak and listless, clearly indicating that they had been subdued.

"Why didn't that old man kill me?" Shen Que asked, then immediately felt that his question was a bit obnoxious.

"They probably sensed my presence."

The voice of the Blissful Venerable One echoed in my mind.

Shen Que was taken aback: "Senior, you mean... he knows you're on me?"

"I may not know exactly what it is, but I just came out of there, so it's normal for me to let my guard down a bit."

"It will be fine in a while. When the aura is completely concealed, even if you stand in front of him, you may not be able to detect anything unusual."

After hearing this, Shen Que finally felt relieved.

He leaned against the tree trunk, looked up at the gray sky, and let out a long breath.

"Senior, is it easy to get into the Zhenyi Division you mentioned?"

"It's not easy to get in," the Venerable Bliss said bluntly, "but you must come in."

"Why must we go in?"

"Because of your constitution."

The Venerable of Bliss's tone became unusually serious, "Your physique is not suitable for cultivation, and you cannot cultivate my techniques at all."

"The Qi and Blood Martial Arts of the Zhenyi Division are not of high grade, but they are extremely suitable for your physique."

"First temper your body, then refine your Qi. Nourish your meridians with Qi and blood, and gradually widen them. This is your only path."

"Once you've mastered the basics of Qi and Blood Martial Arts, I'll take you into the Spirit Realm."

When Chen Mo and his team returned to town, it was already broad daylight.

The town is small, with only one main street and a few shops scattered on both sides.

Several early-rising old men were squatting by the roadside eating wontons when they saw Chen Mo's group walking over from the street corner, and their chopsticks paused for a moment.

Silently lowering their heads, they shoveled wontons into their mouths, and no one dared to glance at them.

These days, there are far too many things that can get you into trouble if you just glance at something.

Chen Mo led the group into the inn where they had stayed before, familiar with the place.

As soon as the shopkeeper opened the door, he saw the people behind him, his expression changed slightly, but he still put on a smile and greeted them.

"Two superior rooms and two shared rooms."

He pulled a few silver dollars from his pocket and threw them on the counter. "Get me some hot water and some food, quick."

The shopkeeper took the silver, readily agreed, and instructed the waiter to boil water and prepare the meal.

Chen Mo didn't say anything, went straight upstairs, and entered the innermost superior room.

Ghost Banner Taoist followed him inside and closed the door.

"Mr. Chen, are we in a hurry to get going?"

"Um."

'

He sat down on a chair by the window, peering through the gap in the window paper at the hazy sky outside. "I'll rest for two hours, then head towards southern Jiangxi."

Ghost Banner Taoist's eyes darted around: "Southern Jiangxi? Master Chen is going there... on business?"

"Murder and robbery."

Ghost Banner Taoist swallowed hard, but didn't dare to ask any more questions.

The area of ​​southern Jiangxi is a melting pot of all sorts of people, and after the Red Moon, it became a haven for unorthodox cultivators.

Anyone who can establish themselves in that kind of place is no pushover.

Master Chen is going to southern Jiangxi to kill someone. Who is he going to kill?

He didn't ask, nor did he dare to ask any more questions.

"Go and return those people's magical artifacts," Chen Mo suddenly said.

Ghost Banner Taoist was taken aback: "Master Chen, you mean..."

"

"Give it back to them."

Chen Mo said calmly, "Since we've taken in their souls, they're now on our side. We might need them to lend a hand later."

Ghost Banner Taoist came to his senses and quickly nodded: "Master Chen is right, I'll go right away."

He turned and went out the door, and soon after, he heard a few low gasps from next door.

Liu Qi touched his life-threatening chain, which he had lost and then found again, his fingers trembling slightly. "Thank you, Master Chen..."

"

Ghost Banner Taoist returned the items to the four people and added, "Master Chen said that if you do your job well in the future, he will not treat you unfairly."

Southern Jiangxi.

As dawn broke, the area around the city wall was already bustling with activity.

People carrying loads, pulling carts, setting up stalls—all sorts of people crowded inside and outside the city gate, their shouts rising and falling.

This place is a river and land port at the junction of three provinces. It was bustling before the Red Moon, but became even more chaotic after the Red Moon.

There were more people carrying knives and swords on the streets, and occasionally you could see one or two people in Taoist robes mixed in with the crowd, their eyes fixed straight ahead and their steps hurried.

At the end of a narrow alley in the south of the city, Old Wu was packing up his things to set up a stall at the ghost market that night.

His house was small, even bare, with several bundles of yellowed old books piled in the corner and a chipped teacup on the table.

Just as he turned to get the bundles of old books in the corner, his elbow accidentally bumped the edge of the table.

The teacup rolled to the ground and broke into three pieces.

Old Wu glanced down, bent down to pick up the broken pieces, and casually tossed them into the trash heap in the corner of the room.

It was just a broken bowl; he hadn't thought much of it.

But my heart still skipped a beat for no reason.

"Something's weird today."

He muttered something to himself, but then shook his head, banishing the ominous thought from his mind...

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