A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Chen Dafu's breakdown took Wuxin Sanren somewhat by surprise.

He glanced at the other man's crotch with disgust and raised his hand to cover his nose.

"So utterly despicable, truly a lowly piece of trash!"

After Chen Dafu's antics, the others in the blacksmith shop gradually came to their senses.

Zhou the blacksmith shook his head vigorously, trying to stay awake. Holding onto the chair, his hunched back turned with difficulty toward the stranger who had suddenly appeared in the room.

"Master, are you here for my son, Zhou Ping?"

Zhou the blacksmith's tone was filled with unease, but it also concealed a hint of anticipation.

Just now, he heard the other party mention his youngest son, Zhou Ping. Although their intentions were not good, he could tell with a little thought that there must be something hidden behind it.

"So you must be Zhou the blacksmith? Come with me."

Wuxin Sanren did not answer his question, but instead turned his gaze and looked coldly at Zhou the blacksmith.

Seeing that the other party's tone was unfriendly, Zhou the blacksmith did not speak again. Instead, both of his sons stepped forward and blocked his way.

"You shameless monk, what are you doing here?! Do you have no respect for the law?!"

Zhou Shan's face darkened, and he questioned loudly. He and the rest of the Zhou family naturally did not understand the meaning of the conversation between Chen Dafu and Wuxin. They just felt that the other party was a bit strange, which is why they became wary.

"Hmph! A bunch of ants, daring to make a racket in front of me, a recluse!"

Wuxin Sanren's eyebrows furrowed, already somewhat impatient with the few mortals before him. Having roughly ascertained their identities, he was no longer willing to waste any more words.

After a cold snort, he raised his hand, made a hand seal, and muttered a few barely audible incantations before snapping his fingers at the group.

"Soul Stealing!"

Several gusts of wind shot out silently from Wuxin Sanren's hand, heading straight for the unconscious Chen Dafu and the Zhou family members.

A hint of disdain played on the lips of the Heartless Hermit. Dealing with a few mortal ants was a piece of cake for him; a few low-level soul-controlling techniques would suffice.

Ordinary mortals are different from cultivators. Their souls are as weak as fireflies, and they have no power to resist the magic of cultivators. Their minds can be easily controlled by the latter.

These spells involving divine power also vary in level and strength. Lower-level spells often have various flaws, which can cause severe damage to the soul of the caster.

The Soul-Seizing Technique used by Wuxin Sanren is merely a common method used by cultivators in the Qi Refining stage. It belongs to the lowest level of soul techniques and is extremely dangerous.

If any member of the Zhou family were to be struck by this technique, at best their soul would be damaged, rendering them mentally impaired; at worst, their soul would collapse, causing them to die instantly.

This careless hermit didn't care about the lives of everyone, so he immediately resorted to this insidious method, just to control everyone silently and quickly.

An eerie silence fell over the blacksmith's shop. After Wuxin Sanren used his Soul-Capturing Technique, nothing happened.

Zhou Shan and the others stared nervously at the unfamiliar old man before them, their faces full of vigilance.

The person who cast the spell, Wuxin Sanren, also looked astonished.

Why didn't these people react? That was the first thought that popped into his mind.

However, just as he was completely baffled, a small and exquisite teapot appeared in a hidden corner of the blacksmith's shop roof, and then, in a blur, it appeared above his head as if by teleportation.

Wuxin Sanren immediately felt his hair stand on end. An inconceivable wave descended from the sky like a sudden burst of divine power, suppressing his entire body. The suffocating feeling coming from his soul made his eyes bulge out.

"Hey!"

He suddenly let out a low shout, and a dark green puppet instantly appeared beside him, about to slam it down on the teapot above his head without any hesitation.

Unfortunately, after the puppet appeared, it only raised its stiff arm briefly before becoming completely immobile, just like a heartless wanderer.

Under the glaring gaze of the Heartless Hermit, the exquisite teapot trembled slightly, and a stream of light spilled from its spout. With a flick of its tongue, it drew the teapot into its body, a truly bizarre sight.

After doing all this, the teapot shook itself again and vanished from the blacksmith's shop, then transformed into a phantom and flew into the empty sky...

At this moment, the Zhou family members stared blankly at the only remaining terrifying puppet in the blacksmith shop, recalling the bizarre scene that had just occurred, and they all trembled involuntarily.

........

As night fell, Zhou Ping hurried along the official road outside Qingyang Town toward the blacksmith's shop.

To avoid causing a disturbance, Yuan Zhengze put away the flying boat when they were near the town, and the group walked towards the town.

Worried about his family's safety, Zhou Ping rushed home alone, using his familiarity with the town to his advantage. He skillfully avoided crowded and chaotic places and arrived near the blacksmith's shop in a very short time.

At this moment, Chen Dafu had regained consciousness with the help of everyone. After the initial shock, he was terrified again when he saw the hideous puppet in the room, and his mouth trembled.

"Uncle Zhou... Uncle Zhou, to avoid any unforeseen complications, let's get going!"

"Alright, alright, we'll follow Young Master Chen's arrangements. Let's leave here first."

After meeting the Heartless Hermit, Zhou the blacksmith was also uneasy about the strange events that had just occurred.

This was completely beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. In a state of utter confusion, he had no choice but to fully cooperate with Chen Dafu's arrangements.

The biggest reason for Zhou the blacksmith's change was that he vaguely sensed that his youngest son, Zhou Ping, was probably involved in some kind of trouble.

Since Chen Dafu was sent by him, Zhou Ping must have had his reasons. He only needs to follow the other party's instructions.

Perhaps his youngest son is still alive, just temporarily unable to appear in the world.

Seeing that his entire family was safe and sound, Zhou Ping finally felt relieved.

He carefully sensed the area within several dozen feet of the blacksmith's shop, but found nothing unusual.

Could it be that Master Tongxin's junior brother hasn't arrived yet?

Zhou Ping did not appear to meet his family. He turned back to look at Yuan Zhengze and the other person who had appeared behind him, and said softly,

"It seems we got back ahead of them, while they haven't arrived yet."

"I've already been here, but for some reason, I left again."

Yuan Zhengze shook his head, looking at the blacksmith shop with a puzzled expression.

Zhou Ping and Gong Yiyi followed each other's gaze, their pupils both slightly contracting.

A grotesque, dark green puppet stood silently in the blacksmith's shop, exuding not a trace of life.

It turns out that after becoming a cultivator, Zhou Ping had already experienced the wonders of divine sense. Therefore, he relied on divine sense for most of the time and gradually neglected the basic observational ability brought by sight.

Yuan Zhengze's actions at this moment undoubtedly taught Zhou Ping and Gong Yiyi, two young people who were new to the world of cultivation, a good lesson.