The morning in the mountain city was like a jar of aged rice wine, flowing along the bluestone paths, carrying an intoxicating scent.
"Senior Brother, are you at it with the turtle shells again?" A sweet voice was pleasant to the ear, breaking the morning silence as it came from the bamboo forest path. A girl with a high ponytail bounced into view, holding a lunchbox. The cuff of her pale yellow hoodie revealed a section of a green sword tassel; it was Little Junior Sister Lin Wanqing. Her nose was slightly red from the cold, clearly from running all the way up. She pushed the lunchbox towards Chen Changqing, which was steaming.
"Freshly brewed osmanthus rice wine, it smells amazing! And the exorcism talisman for Old Man Wang from the neighborhood – did you predict his bloody disaster this morning, or not? Last time you said Butcher Zhang's family was going to lose a pig, but it turned out his wife ran away, making me laugh for half a day." Lin Wanqing blinked mischievously.
Chen Changqing was squatting on the terrace of the bamboo forest on the back mountain, the morning sun shining down, coating him in a faint golden light. He lightly brushed the tortoise shell floating in front of him with his fingertips. The hexagrams on the thirty-six shell pieces were gleaming with a faint light, as if scattered stars, mysterious and profound. Without raising his head, he tapped the third shell piece with his fingertip. The black fog representing "corpse qi" in the hexagram was even thicker than when he deduced it last night, almost unable to disperse, oppressively suffocating.
[Karma Line Warning: Wang Dashan, today at Chen Time, Third Quarter, will encounter a 'Yin煞撞身' at Wharf Number 17; at worst, severe illness; at best, death. Location accurate to within five feet of the third mooring pile of the wharf.]
His internal Karma Heavenly Eye had already given a clear warning, far more direct than the hexagrams on the tortoise shell.
"Tell Old Man Wang to avoid Wharf Number 17 when he goes to the river for morning exercises, especially near the third mooring pile," he said calmly, accepting the lunchbox. The rice wine in the porcelain bowl was still steaming, and the fragrance of osmanthus flowers, mixed with the mellow aroma of rice wine, was appetizing. "As for Butcher Zhang's matter, he changed his mind midway, don't blame me."
"Your milk tea shop isn't opening today?"
"Azure Frost Pavilion" was Lin Wanqing's teahouse in the Jiefangbei business district. On the surface, it sold milk tea, but it also took on jobs like drawing talismans and surveying feng shui. The business was so good that the old fogeys of the Yinxuan Sect sighed constantly, lamenting that a good seedling of Qingcheng Mountain sword cultivators had taken up the mundane pursuit of money, euphemistically calling it "entering the world for cultivation." At this moment, Lin Wanqing was sprawled on the stone table, staring curiously at the hovering tortoise shell, fascinated by her senior brother's "turtle shell."
"Open it, open it! We can go after delivering breakfast to senior brother. The customer is always right, and so is senior brother." She giggled and poked one of the tortoise shells with her finger, only to be pushed away by a faint force.
"Seriously, you've been setting up this tortoise shell array for over three months. What big zombie are you trying to defend against? Or are you trying to calculate the next lottery numbers and make me rich?" On the sheepskin map spread across the stone table, the confluence of the Yangtze River and Jialing River was circled again and again with a red pen, and Wharf Number 17 was densely marked with small red dots. Chen Changqing wiped the cinnabar from his fingertips and pulled out an ancient bronze compass from the wide sleeves of his Daoist robe. The compass needle trembled violently, uncontrollably turning towards the southwest.
"The people from the Yin Corpse Sect are collecting corpse souls." His tone was calm, but the words carried a chill that instantly froze the air. The easy smile on Lin Wanqing's face vanished instantly, her beautiful eyebrows furrowing.
"Those evil cultivators who refine corpses in the southwest? Aren't they usually active on the border of Yunnan and Guizhou? The missing homeless people in Nan'an District last month..." Her voice became slightly serious, recalling the descriptions of the Yin Corpse Sect's disgusting actions in the files.
"It's been confirmed." The compass in Chen Changqing's hand suddenly emitted a rapid buzzing sound, and the needle stopped abruptly, pointing directly at the "Death Gate" direction, almost leaping out of the compass.
[Karma Line Shift: 'Yin Corpse Sect' action advanced, targeting the core of the Yangtze River Spirit Eye, 'Blood Plum Hall' vanguard has arrived at Wharf Number 17.] [Danger Level: Medium (Direct threat to the host).]
[Analyzing countermeasures... Plan 1: Evade. Plan 2: Obstruct. Plan 3: Lure...]Chen Changqing narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint in them.
"They're after the Yangtze River Spirit Eye."
"Wanqing, you need to take the 'Azure Frost Sword Talisman' to the Heavenly Dao Pavilion immediately—tell them there's unusual activity from the Yin Corpse Sect, targeting the Spirit Eye at the bottom of the river. There will definitely be a major move within three days, request urgent support." The playful look on the girl's face vanished, and she pulled out a jade talisman engraved with intricate sword patterns from her hoodie pocket. It was cold to the touch and emitted a faint sword intent.
"Should we notify Master?"
"No need. Master is in closed-door cultivation; don't disturb him." Chen Changqing stood up, his gaze fixed on the river surface, shrouded in thick morning mist.
"The Yinxuan Sect's mountain-protecting array can hold for half an hour, which is enough time for you to get reinforcements. Remember, you only have half an hour."
"Take the Jialing River cable car; don't go near the Jiangbei Airport—the Yin Corpse Sect's 'Corpse Demonic Cloud' has been lingering around there recently. That thing is filthy; getting even a little bit on you is troublesome."
[Causality Line Alert: 'Corpse Bats', flying magic artifacts of the 'Yin Corpse Sect', are patrolling the airspace above Jiangbei Airport. Danger Level: High. Once entangled by a 'Corpse Bat', it's extremely difficult to escape.]
Lin Wanqing nodded solemnly, the Azure Frost Sword Talisman turning into a streak of light that vanished into her sleeve. She turned and ran a few steps, then looked back, as if remembering something, and shouted loudly.
"Senior Brother, you must be careful! If you encounter those big zombies that spew black mist... run if you can't beat them! As long as the green hills remain, there's no need to worry about firewood! Your turtle shell is so tough, it can definitely block a few attacks!" Chen Changqing shook the Tortoise Shell in his hand, and the shell pieces inside made a crisp clinking sound, as if in response.
"Don't worry, I'm more slippery than a loach when dealing with zombies. If they want to catch me, they'll have to ask if this getup of mine agrees."
"Hurry back, I'll fry you some small yellow fish at noon, with extra scallions and ginger, and I'll make sure you have enough." Watching his junior sister's figure disappear at the end of the bamboo forest, the smile on Chen Changqing's face quickly faded. He looked down at the bronze compass in his hand, the needle steadily pointing towards Wharf Number 17. He took out a kraft paper bag from his Taoist robe, which contained twelve copper coins engraved with different birthdates. These were "treasures" he "accidentally" picked up last week while strolling by the river.
After predicting the trajectory through the Karma Heavenly Eye, they were the "lost items" of several pure yang fate tourists who "happened" to appear there. At this moment, these copper coins were slightly hot in his palm, as if holding twelve small suns, sensing the prelude to the Yin Corpse Sect's "borrowing yang to attract evil." He must stop it before the ritual is completed, to prevent the Yangtze River Spirit Eye from being polluted by the evil qi, otherwise, millions of lives in the mountain city would suffer. More importantly, if he, who was afflicted by the End of Dharma Curse, acted too intensely and forcibly mobilized the world's elemental energy, he would inevitably attract a heavenly tribulation backlash. He didn't want to taste that feeling a second time.
Steady, must stay steady. He, as a fisherman, had patience.
He took a deep breath, suppressing the agitation of the End of Dharma Curse in his heart. Changing into an inconspicuous gray tracksuit and putting on a baseball cap, he put the Taoist robe and Tortoise Shell and other items into his storage bag. Chen Changqing blended into the team of elderly people exercising by the river in the morning, his movements natural, as if he were really a young man who got up early to exercise. The Great Beginning Calculation Rods (a magic tool used to assist the Karma Heavenly Eye in precise calculations) hanging at his waist trembled slightly, conveying a certain dangerous signal. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked up without a sound.
A man in gray wearing a wide hat was walking in an extremely stiff, unnatural posture, each step like a marionette, with slight "creaking" sounds coming from his joints. Three extremely eye-catching blood-red plum blossoms were embroidered on his sleeve—the mark of the Yin Corpse Sect's outer sect, Blood Plum Hall! These guys, truly incorrigible.
[Karma Line Locked: Target 'Blood Plum Hall' disciple, has been possessed by a 'Corpse Puppet', containing the aura of a 'Hundred Bone Bell' sub-bell within the body, currently ordered to eliminate 'obstacles' near the Spirit Eye. Strength approximately equivalent to the fifth level of Qi Refining, but with a robust physical body, impervious to pain.]
[Danger Level: Low (Limited threat to the host, but may expose the host).]
The gray-robed man stopped three paces from Chen Changqing. His wide-brimmed hat was pulled low, obscuring everything but his pale chin. "Young sir, could you spare me a way?"
His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper on stone. When he spoke, a few streaks of black blood trickled from the corners of his mouth, accompanied by a faint stench of decay. This was a sign of the corpse energy's backlash. It seemed the "Corpse Puppet" wasn't made well, or it had been used for too long.
"How do I get to Wharf Number 17?"
A flicker of understanding passed through Chen Changqing's eyes, but he deliberately wore a confused expression, mixed with a hint of appropriate wariness.
"Sir, I think you have the wrong person? I'm just a tourist from out of town. This mountain city is like a maze. I'm lost myself." As he spoke, he subtly took a half-step back. His right foot scraped lightly against the damp, blue stone, and a subtle ripple of spiritual energy spread out, activating the miniature "Tortoise Shell Maze Formation" imprint he had set up beforehand. This was one of his many trump cards, using discarded tortoise shell fragments and cinnabar, appearing inconspicuous in normal times, but capable of producing unexpected effects at critical moments.
The gray-robed man's cloudy eyes, hidden beneath the hat, instantly flared with a bestial ferocity, locking onto Chen Changqing. The corpse energy around him surged violently.
"Looking for death!"
The raspy voice instantly shattered the morning's tranquility. The gray-robed man's fingers formed claws, his nails turning jet black and sharp. With a gust of a fishy wind, he lunged directly at Chen Changqing's face!