The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

“Although we can represent Taoism, we are not Taoism itself. Moreover, people’s thoughts can change. Your question can guarantee the present, but not the future. And a person like him could very well become a very detrimental and unstable factor to Taoism.”

“Using vicious methods like the Soul Lamp to control him would push him to the opposite side of Taoism, and Taoism needs such talent now.”

"Although Taoism has declined, it has not been destroyed. We still have time. In addition, we still have Lian'er and the hope of seizing the Spirit King. As in the past two thousand years, isn't it the safest thing to keep the dominant power of Taoism in the hands of the main family?"

"What a woman's view! Is the entire Taoist school more important, or the main family as a part of the Taoist school? Without the main trunk, how can there be branches and leaves? He was merely injured in battle. Would Dao Cheng uproot the entire main family because of such a small matter? How could someone with such powerful and pure sorcery have such a narrow mind?"

"but……"

"enough!"

Seeing that the two were about to continue arguing, Dao Yuan, the true leader, finally spoke up, saying in a deep voice, "There's no need to argue any further. Dao Cheng will never betray the Daoist family, because if he's strong enough, I can hand over the entire Daoist family to him without hesitation. And if he's not strong enough, what's the point of discussing this?"

Dao Lan's face suddenly turned extremely ugly. "But... when that time comes, what will happen to us, the head of the Daoist family who has ruled for two thousand years? What will we have left?"

Dao Yuan remained silent for a moment, then slowly raised his head. His gaze pierced through the main hall, across the square in front of the hall, over the vermilion walls of Dan Yuan Palace, over the high walls of Dao City, over the towering cliffs outside the city, reaching the endless sky and the horizon. He said softly, "The Daoist tradition will live on forever. That's enough."

……

Rewinding the clock slightly, shortly after Su Qi entered Dan Yuan Palace, Dao He, who was sitting quietly in his room deep in thought, was suddenly awakened by a strange cry.

Turning his head, he saw a black rat with blood-red eyes standing on the windowsill. When the rat saw him looking over, it squeaked twice, then nimbly climbed down from the windowsill, down the table to the floor, and quickly ran to the door. It stood upright, its cold eyes staring straight at him.

Damn it! Here we go again...

Daohe's face immediately turned very ugly, but he still stood up and walked towards the door.

Seeing this, the rat immediately crouched down, darted out the door, and led the way. When it encountered other people along the way, it warily shrank into the shadows of a corner by the roadside, only to reappear as soon as they left, proceeding intermittently.

Daohe, sleeves tucked in, pretended to be taking a leisurely stroll, casually following behind it. Soon they left the courtyard, winding their way through several alleyways until they arrived at a dark, deserted lane.

At the end of the alley, where moss covered the walls and the stinking ditch exuded a putrid, damp smell, a masked man in black stood with his back to him, hands clasped behind his back.

Upon reaching their destination, the black rat that had been leading the way suddenly burst into flames, transforming into a paper rat made of bamboo strips and white paper, which burned to ashes in the blink of an eye.

Daohe was not surprised at all. He stepped forward expressionlessly, bowed his head and said, "My lord, what are your orders for summoning me here?"

"Daocheng, he's living with you now, right?" A cold, hoarse voice came from the person, whose gender was indistinguishable.

Daocheng... I knew it, you troublemaker, you've gotten yourself into trouble again...

Dao He's heart sank, but his face remained impassive. Without the slightest hesitation, he said, "Yes."

"Take this."

The man casually tossed him something, which he caught—a small, square wooden box. Upon opening it, he found a white pill the size of an egg yolk inside. His gaze flickered, and a deep worry and hatred surged within his eyes.

"The Three Corpse Gu Divine Pill, you should recognize this thing."

"Yes..." Daohe lowered his head in apparent awe, concealing the murderous intent that was about to emerge from his eyes, and deliberately used a voice mixed with a trace of fear to say, "This humble one... truly understands."

The Three Corpse Gu Divine Pill, simply put, is a poison that can attach itself to the soul, and when it takes effect, it is like ten thousand insects devouring the soul, causing unbearable pain.

The Three Corpses, also known as the Three Insects, Three Pengs, Three Poisons, or Three Corpse Gods, are evil spirits residing in the human body in Taoist legends. The upper corpse is named "Peng Ju," the middle corpse is named "Peng Zhi," and the lower corpse is named "Peng Qiao." They not only incite various evil desires in people but also report the faults of the host to the God of Fate on the Gengshen day, causing the god to take away the host's lifespan and fortune.

The Three Corpse Gu Divine Pill is a vicious pill made by combining Taoist ghost-refining methods with the Gu technique of the Sanmiao people. It uses Yin ghosts as materials and Gu poison as a catalyst. Once swallowed, an antidote must be taken every Gengshen day, otherwise the Three Corpse Gu will take effect, and the person will suffer the torment of ten thousand insects devouring their soul. Generally, within a short time, the person will suffer so much pain that their mind will collapse and their soul will be scattered.

At the same time, Gu are divided into mother and child. The child Gu is sealed in the pill, while the mother Gu is often refined by the person who gives the pill. In this way, even if the antidote is taken, as long as the person who gives the pill has a thought, the person who takes the pill can still suffer unbearable pain.

When Daohe was forced to swallow the Three Corpse Gu Divine Pill, the person who fed him the medicine made him experience it. That feeling... it was no exaggeration to say that he was worse than dead. Even now, several years later, he doesn't want to recall it at all.

"Heh..." The man chuckled, "Since you recognize it, you know what to do, right? The Three Corpse Gu Divine Pill looks exactly like the Bigu Pill. You just need to find an opportunity to make him eat it. It shouldn't be difficult for you, so I hope you can give me a successful reply as soon as possible."

"Yes, I will do my best."

Having experienced the cruelty of the person before him, Daohe didn't ask any more questions or show any unusual expression. He bowed his head in response, took small steps back, and turned to leave the alley.

"Hehe, it just so happens that I live with that good-for-nothing Daohe. It's like a gift that came to me without any effort."

After he left, the man in black chuckled softly.

As a spy planted in the Taoist sect at great cost by an opposing force, he would certainly not allow a monstrous genius to emerge from the Taoist sect should he have the chance. Therefore, he only gave Su Qi two choices: either die or become one of them.

In fact, he had tried to attack Dao Lian before, but because Dao Lian was the eldest grandson of the main family and lived in Dan Yuan Palace, his every aspect of life was extremely protected, making it difficult for him to find an opportunity. Although he had tried a few times, he had suffered shameful defeats each time.

But this time, his luck turned around; the target was actually living under the same roof as Anmo. When he first learned of this, he was overjoyed and almost burst out laughing.

It wasn't easy. He had a bright future on the other side, but he was sent to the Taoists, these old fogies who like to play hardcore retro games. He went undercover in these deep mountains and forests where even electric lights are rare for three years, then another three years, and now he finally sees the dawn of a major performance boost and a return to the glamorous world.

"However, we still need to be careful that something goes wrong with that kid..."

After laughing, the man in black thought it over and over, but still felt a little uneasy. However, considering that he had too much leverage over the other party and that what he needed to do was very simple, he suppressed his unease.

After all, the enemy is in the open while we are in the dark, and all sorts of factors are in our favor. This matter seems to be settled by all accounts.

……

On the other side, Daohe walked out of the alley, his face turning completely grim. He then walked along the street for a long time, somewhat lost in thought, before finally letting out a deep sigh, "Daocheng, you troublemaker, you've really gotten yourself into big trouble this time..."

Chapter Fourteen Silly Friends

what should I do?

Lost in thought about the question, Dao He walked absentmindedly through the deathly quiet streets of Dao City. Each passing person only exacerbated his already bad mood.

He hated this city because it was filled with painful memories he wanted to forget, and because everyone here was his enemy.

Here, he was urged to cultivate every day and forced to fight each other. He not only had to endure the pressure of competition, but also had to carefully disguise himself every day. Out of hatred for the traitor, once he was exposed and captured, what awaited him was a torment worse than death, and even death would not be an escape from torture.

Because he was an undercover agent.

Because he's an undercover agent, he deliberately hides his abilities, always placing himself in the lower middle range of each assessment. He can't attract too much attention, otherwise the risk of exposure will increase; he can't demonstrate too much value, otherwise the forces behind him will definitely demand that he climb higher and take on more dangerous missions... If it weren't for this, who would want to lose if they could win?

After all, in the dog-eat-dog world of Taoism, losing is not something that can be resolved by simply being looked down upon and ridiculed a few times.

Because he was an undercover agent, despite his seemingly lazy and indifferent persona, he was intimately familiar with the information on all the spirit children. Gathering intelligence was simply part of his job.

Damn it! Why did I have to be the undercover agent?

In his deepest turmoil, Daohe hated his undercover identity for the umpteenth time.

No one likes being a dangerous undercover agent, and he was no exception, but he had no choice. He could only blame his identity as a member of a branch of the Taoist lineage and his exceptional intelligence as a child, which led to him being chosen by chance when those people wanted to sabotage the Taoist selection of a spiritual child.

As a peripheral branch of Taoism, their family had no power to resist those people. They even had spies planted in the upper echelons of Taoism, easily getting themselves admitted through examination and becoming one of the spiritual children.

Subsequently, they wanted him to defeat Dao Lian and seize the entire Daoist family, but he deliberately concealed his talent, so that plan was ultimately not carried out... or perhaps it was carried out, but he wasn't the one chosen. He believed that he was not the only spy infiltrated into the Daoist family.

However, Daohe didn't care about these things. He only cared about himself, the safety of his parents and sister, and the open and covert struggles between the Daoist community and those behind them who were likely from the Xuanzhen Dao. He didn't care about either side because he disliked both.

But fate was far too cruel to him. The more he tried to avoid getting involved in the struggle between the two sides, the more he was pushed into the center of the vortex by that damned destiny.

Dao Cheng… just as the other person's only friend was him, his only friend was also that person. But now, he might very well be pushing his only friend into the abyss.

You troublemaker, you troublemaker! What am I supposed to do with you?

As Su Qi's face appeared in his mind, Dao He felt his head start to ache again.

At first, he really disliked that mediocre person who talked nonsense, was always unwilling to admit defeat, and bothered him all day long, constantly struggling on the verge of being expelled. That is, until one time, he fell seriously ill.

It was last winter, and the air was so cold it felt like it was about to freeze. He caught a bad cold and lay in bed, feeling groggy.

His whole body ached, his limbs were weak, and his head was throbbing... The physical discomfort, the chill in his breath, the oppression of being in an enemy city, the loneliness of missing his family, the solitude of being alone, the fear of facing illness, the despair of having no future... At that moment, the heavy pressure weighed on him, almost suffocating him, and he even thought about suicide and was about to take action.

But just then, that annoying rascal who talked nonsense all day long and always bothered him whether he wanted to or not suddenly returned. That fool had deliberately gotten himself seriously injured, then asked the Taoist master for leave to come back and keep him company.

"Seeing how empty, lonely, and cold you looked, I specially took leave to come back and keep you company. How about it, aren't you so moved that you want to repay me with your body, my friend?"

Daohe still remembers very clearly the way that guy, covered in bandages and blood, smiled smugly as he said those words.

That day, because of his serious injuries, he didn't have the energy to take care of his patient. Occasionally, he even turned the tables and asked his patient to take care of him. And he was still rambling on and on, talking nonsense about all sorts of things, which annoyed him to no end. But at least... his nagging drove away his loneliness and solitude.

From then on, he had only one friend in this enemy camp.

"We've arrived so quickly...?"

As his thoughts raced, the familiar little courtyard came into Daohe's view.

Although he slowed down his pace intentionally or unintentionally, Daocheng was not a large city, and the destination would naturally be reached soon, but he... still had not made up his mind.

"I wonder if that guy is back yet..."

After hesitating for a moment in front of the courtyard gate, Daohe took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and finally stepped inside.

……

Time continued forward, returning to the moment when Su Qi left Dan Yuan Palace.

"I've been getting a bit carried away lately..."

Walking on the road outside Danyuan Palace, Su Qi was reflecting on his actions.

After speaking with Doen in person, he discovered that the Doen of this world was very different from the Doen he knew from the original manga. The Doen in the original work didn't trust anyone before he was defeated; his mind seemed firm but was actually fragile. In contrast, the Doen of this world was supported by truly solid ideals and reason.

Compared to a real, evolving world, the information in a comic book is ultimately too little and too one-sided, so it's normal for the characters to be different. However, when he first met Daorun and Li Bailong, he made hasty judgments about characters he hadn't seen in this world before, based on his limited impressions from the comic book. This was clearly not objective enough.

"In the world of Inuyasha, I was new here and cautious, so I didn't make this kind of mistake. So... is it because I successfully defeated Naraku, purified the Shikon Jewel, and obtained extraordinary power from the system that my mentality became arrogant and I became complacent?"

He examined himself and analyzed himself, and his somewhat restless mindset since his birth gradually calmed down.

"As Mr. Lu Xun once said, 'I examine myself three times a day.' This statement is indeed true. I should take it as a lesson and set aside some time each day to reflect on myself."

Su Qi took a deep breath and set a rule for himself in his heart. As his thoughts settled, he suddenly felt his mind tremble and his consciousness become clear. The spiritual energy bottleneck that had loosened slightly before wavered again, as if it had been relaxed and softened a little.

"Hmm? This feeling... could it be that I'm about to embark on a path of spiritual enlightenment?"

He realized what was happening and, considering his previous interaction with the little grass and the loosening of his mental barrier, he had a vague idea of ​​what was going on.

Su Qi had always believed that soul power was the only extraordinary power that was not restricted by the system and could travel freely in other worlds, so it must be extremely important. However, ever since he fought against the millions of demon souls in the Shikon Jewel and raised the level of the Fudokan to the highest level, he had not been able to find a way to further improve his soul power. Until now, he finally had some clues, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his lips.

"Great, great! Good things are happening all the time today. Maybe it's my lucky day."

Maintaining a relaxed and cheerful mood, Su Qi leisurely strolled back to the courtyard. As soon as he reached the door of his living room, the faint smile on his face quickly disappeared, and his expression turned serious.

Strange, why has Daohe's emotional fluctuation become so chaotic, painful, resentful, and...guilty? Wait, guilt? Why would he feel guilty? Is the most likely target of his guilt...me?

With a hint of doubt, Su Qi narrowed his eyes and cautiously entered the room.

As soon as he entered, he saw Daohe sitting at the table, playing with the gourd containing the fasting pill in his hand. His face was gloomy, his eyes were shifty, and he seemed absent-minded, lost in thought.

"Oh, Daohe, your emperor has returned."

Su Qi smiled slightly, displaying his Oscar-worthy acting skills, and casually raised his hand to greet him.

Daohe stiffened slightly, instantly composed himself, glanced at him expressionlessly, and said in a monotone tone, "Yes, we easily defeated Young Master Daolian. The Emperor, who reigns supreme over all the spirit children, has finally returned. Should I kneel to welcome him?"

"Little Prince, no need for formalities. Just go and brew me a pot of tea."