Inner Demons

Chapter 180: He Must Die

Yue Yunzi sat quietly until late at night and then called a person in.

This person was a female cultivator. Her appearance was ordinary, and her figure was not slender. But since she was a cultivator, she always had a few hints of an otherworldly aura.

Ten years ago, she had received a small favor from Yue Yunzi, and now she didn't want to come. But she was a timid person. She didn't want to come because she was timid, and she also came because she was timid.

She knocked on the door, pushed it open, and stood in the hall. She heard Yue Yunzi, who was sitting in the darkness, say, "A hundred li from Weicheng, in the Yeyuan Forest by Dongting Lake, there is a South Mountain."

"There is a Mountain God Temple on South Mountain. Inside, there is a female Taoist priest from the world with the Daoist name Shi Kuizi."

"You go and invite that female Taoist priest here. You must also bring back any important items she has."

The female cultivator waited for a moment. Seeing that Yue Yunzi had no other instructions, she bowed, turned, and left.

Yue Yunzi continued to sit quietly in the darkness.

Two hours passed.

The sky gradually brightened, and the room also gradually became bright. The incense in the censer had burned for a night and was now completely burned out.The door was pushed open.

She heard the female cultivator, Qingfuzi, outside the door say to another person, "...I don't want to harm you. Don't make any more meaningless struggles. The Daoist priest only wants to ask you a few words. You—"

Yue Yunzi frowned slightly, reached out, and pulled the person outside the door into the room and threw her on the ground.

Qingfuzi quickly followed in to see what had happened. But Yue Yunzi had already spoken directly. "What did you find?"

The female cultivator was stunned for a moment, then turned and closed the door. She walked to Yue Yunzi and took out a few things from her bosom, holding them in her hands to show him.

"A pill formula, but it's an unorthodox one with many mistakes."

"An iron sword, a steel sword, and a peach wood sword. All are ordinary items."

"A jade pendant. Poor quality, also an ordinary item."

"A Talisman. It looks like it was made by the Shangqing Elixir Cauldron Sect. Its power is decent. But she can't use it yet."

"Also, a bag of sweet potatoes, a wooden plate..."

Yue Yunzi sighed and interrupted her. "Was there anything else when you brought her here? Does she know Daoist Arts?"

The "Daoist Arts" that cultivators spoke of were naturally not the superficial tricks of rogue Taoist priests.

Qingfuzi thought for a moment and answered seriously, "She tried to stab me with her sword, but I knocked it away. I restrained her and searched her room first. At that time, she put something in her mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it."

Yue Yunzi frowned slightly. "Did you see what it was?"

"I didn't."

Yue Yunzi sighed again, seeming to want to say something to this Qingfuzi, but there was nothing good to say. He just helplessly waved his hand. "Alright. You've worked hard."

Only then did he look at Shi Kuizi on the ground.

The female Taoist priest was thrown heavily on the ground. She was just an ordinary person who had practiced some superficial Daoist Arts, and she was not a natural genius in cultivation like Old Daoist Liu. Therefore, she was unable to recover for a long time. When Yue Yunzi looked at her, she had just managed to prop up her upper body.

But she didn't know which part of her legs had been injured by the fall, and she couldn't stand up. The female Taoist priest didn't seem to want to struggle to stand up either, as that would make her look very pathetic. Courage was secondary. So, she simply slowly crossed her legs and sat properly, as if she was meditating.

When Yue Yunzi saw her do all this, he had a premonition that the next conversation would not be very pleasant.

If she had to struggle to stand up, this kind of person with a belly full of blood and courage was easy to deal with. If she cowered on the ground and trembled, this kind of coward was even easier to deal with.

However, a woman like this was truly difficult to deal with.

He first asked, "Do you know who I am?"

Shi Kuizi looked at him seriously and smiled slightly. "You are hiding in the dark, so how would I know who you are?"

Yue Yunzi also smiled. "Hehe... Even if you see me, you wouldn't recognize me. Let me tell you, I am the Head Seat of the Vinaya Hall of Langya Grotto-heaven, the Daoist Master Yue Yunzi. Now I have some things to ask you."

"If you tell me the truth, I will give you the opportunity to enter my Langya Grotto-Heaven. From now on, you will specialize in the Celestial Heart Orthodox Law and gain a lifespan of several hundred years. If you have more good fortune, you might even become immortal and have the same lifespan as heaven and earth."

"Just ask what you want to ask, Immortal Master," Shi Kuizi interrupted him when he paused. "I am not very interested in this kind of cultivation."

Qingfuzi on the side seemed to want to persuade her when she heard her words, but she held back in the end.

The sun rose, and the morning light entered the room. Yue Yunzi's face also gradually became clear.

The True Realm Taoist priest stared at Shi Kuizi for a while and said in a calm tone, "Grotto-heavens and Schools seem very distant to you ordinary people. They are too profound and too mysterious, which makes you feel a sense of distance and separation. They are even less tempting than a bowl of rice in front of a hungry person."

"You live on South Mountain, going up and down the mountain every day. After cultivating your supernatural powers, the mountain path is as easy as walking on flat ground, and it won't be more tiring than you taking a leisurely walk."

"You are an ordinary person, and you have to experience birth, old age, sickness, and death. If you eat less, you will be hungry. If you drink less, you will be thirsty. You will suffer from the wind and cold. If you get sick, your ears and eyes will become blurry, your mouth and tongue will become dry, and your whole body will be sore. You don't know when you will recover or if you will die from the sickness."

"If you cultivate my Celestial Heart Orthodox Law, all of these will leave you. I'm not going to talk to you about longevity and supernatural powers. I'll just tell you that if you enter my Daoist school, your life will be comparable to that of a prince, and you will have countless fewer worries and sorrows than ordinary people."

Shi Kuizi let out a light breath. "I am not afraid of worries and sorrows. Just ask what you want to ask, Immortal Master. I will answer what I can. I will not answer even if I die."

Yue Yunzi was silent for a while and said, "Alright. Then let me ask you first, what method does that Liu Gongzan practice?"

"Celestial Heart Orthodox Law," Shi Kuizi answered.

"My Daoist Orthodoxy has fifty-four Celestial Heart Orthodox Law methods, and the Sword Sect also has fifty-four methods," Yue Yunzi said. "The Daoist Arts that Liu Gongzan practices, as I can see, do not belong to any of these one hundred and eight Celestial Heart Orthodox Law methods. So, are you saying that he is practicing painting Daoist Arts? Does he have a painting Daoist Arts inheritance?"

"I don't know," Shi Kuizi closed her eyes.

Yue Yunzi sighed. "If you enter my Grotto-heaven and pass the Passion Tribulation of love and hate, you will know how ridiculous your current thoughts are. A foolish woman, giving up her life for the word 'love,' but that person may not be the person you think he is. If you die today, that Liu Gongzan will cultivate for a hundred years, his youth will be restored, and he will fall in love with another woman. Will you have died a worthy death?"

Shi Kuizi opened her eyes wide and looked at Yue Yunzi. "I know. But... what does that have to do with you?"

Qingfuzi looked at Shi Kuizi and then at Yue Yunzi.

The True Realm Taoist priest smiled and slightly closed his eyes. He was silent for a while, then let out a light breath. "What did she swallow?"

"Yes," Qingfuzi answered.

"Cut her open."

"...Ah?" Qingfuzi was slightly stunned and looked at Yue Yunzi again.

"The Daoist Orthodoxy must eliminate demons. This woman has a very important clue. If she refuses to confess, she is helping the tiger and colluding with the demons. It is not an indiscriminate killing."

"Cut her open and take it out to see."

He closed his eyes and stopped talking. Qingfuzi's face changed. She first looked at Yue Yunzi, then at Shi Kuizi.

But... it was as if this matter was only her own. Yue Yunzi closed his eyes calmly to rest, and Shi Kuizi also closed her eyes and sat on the ground.

It seemed that only she was in a panic.

Not every cultivator had killed people.

Or rather... not many cultivators had killed people.

This Qingfuzi hesitated for a while before she gathered her courage. "Daoist priest, I think... we should persuade her again? Ah?"

Yue Yunzi opened his eyes a crack and glanced at her. "It's useless. This woman is a person with a firm mind. I've seen many people like her. There's no need to waste words."

Qingfuzi opened her mouth. "Then... with your profound magic... this small matter..."

"Do you need me to make a move for such a small matter?" Yue Yunzi glanced at her severely. "What's the use of you?"

Qingfuzi had no choice but to sigh sadly and walk to Shi Kuizi. The female Taoist priest from the Mountain God Temple did not look at her and still sat with her eyes closed, chanting the "Purple Emperor Says the Constant Pure and Quiet Sutra" in a low voice.

The female cultivator looked at her and sighed. "Sigh, sigh..."

Then she turned her head away and reached out to touch Shi Kuizi's arm.

Shi Kuizi still didn't move and pursed her lips tightly. The female cultivator moved her hand to her wrist and stopped. She used her little finger to quickly draw a line on her wrist.

Her fingernail immediately broke the blood vessels. But before the blood came out, the female cultivator had already placed a Talisman on Shi Kuizi's wrist and quickly stepped back two steps, as if she was very afraid.

Yue Yunzi frowned. "What are you doing?"

Qingfuzi looked at Yue Yunzi with sadness and grievance. "Daoist priest, I, I'm afraid of blood..."

Yue Yunzi was stunned, then he looked at Shi Kuizi again. He found that the female Taoist priest, who had not changed her expression and was calm before, was no longer chanting the sutra. She widened her eyes and used one hand to vigorously tear at the Talisman on her wrist. But the Talisman could not be torn and could not be pulled off.

The cinnabar words on the yellow paper, which had been very light, were now getting redder and redder. They were so red that they were dazzling and brilliant, and the strokes were so full that they looked like they were about to drip blood!

Only then did Yue Yunzi re-examine Qingfuzi.

She... was indeed afraid of blood. So she first used a Talisman to suck Shi Kuizi's blood dry. During this process, the woman was conscious, alive, and watched as her life slowly flowed away before her very eyes.

The True Realm Taoist priest burst out laughing. "Hahaha! You, hahaha, are a wonderful person too!"

Qingfuzi looked at Yue Yunzi a little blankly. Then she looked at Shi Kuizi.

The female Taoist priest only tried to tear it four or five times before she fell down after two breaths. Her face was like a dried corpse. Her eyes were not closed, and her mouth was slightly open. It was clear that she had suffered a great deal of pain before her death.

Only then did Qingfuzi sigh in relief. She walked over with light steps, laid Shi Kuizi's corpse flat, and used her fingernail to cut open her Taoist robe, underwear, skin, muscles, and stomach all at once. Then she reached in and took out a roll of white silk that had lost its original color from the stomach.

At this moment, she did not frown and did not feel uncomfortable. She didn't care about the filth on the silk, flattened it, looked at it carefully, and was about to present it to Yue Yunzi.

The True Realm Taoist priest frowned in disgust. "Read it out loud."

Qingfuzi then stepped back two steps and slowly read it to him.

It was the core method of the "Water Cloud Strength." But many parts were already blurred and had become a mess. Qingfuzi only recognized three or four parts of it.

But for an expert like Yue Yunzi, who had studied Daoist Arts, it was enough. He closed his eyes and thought for a while, then said in a deep voice, "It's not one of the one hundred and eight methods. But... it seems to be the Celestial Heart Orthodox Law. The Celestial Heart Orthodox Law... always has some commonalities."

"In that case, it is the painting Daoist Arts. That Liu Gongzan practices the Dao of Painting. He is a Painting Daoist."

Qingfuzi looked at him, not knowing why.

But Yue Yunzi did not need her to understand. He just habitually spoke. This would make his thoughts clearer.

"So, what they were doing outside the city in the fields... hehe." The True Realm Taoist priest's eyes lit up, and he squinted. A dangerous and excited light flickered in his eyes. "They have a huge scheme. That Dragon's Son and that old Taoist priest are using the land around Weicheng as a scroll to create a Painting Formation!"

Qingfuzi blinked, not quite understanding.

Because she was a low-level cultivator and didn't have many opportunities to see those few enshrined Painting Daoists.

Everything about Painting Daoists, the Painting School, and the Painting Saint were things that people avoided. Even Yue Yunzi didn't know much about them. However, he was a True Realm Taoist priest and the head of the Discipline Hall of the Grotto-heaven. He had still come into contact with the Painting Daoists in the Daoist Orthodoxy. After coming into contact with them, he understood. He could see the whole picture from a small part of it and knew...

"Our Daoist Orthodoxy writes true Talismans. Everything in heaven and earth has a 'true name.' We write their true names to mobilize the power of heaven and earth." Yue Yunzi said in a low and slow voice. "And the Painting School took a different approach and painted the spirits of everything in heaven and earth. Although their inheritance and Daoist Arts cannot be compared with the Daoist Orthodoxy and the Sword Sect, their Daoist Arts are also profound... Sigh, they can be considered a great Dao. These things are hard to say."

"I'm just saying that our true Talismans are like the skeleton, and the paintings of the Painting School are like the flesh and blood."

"Using the land around Weicheng as a scroll... hehe, what a bold move." Yue Yunzi thought for a while. "This can explain why Yazi and that old Taoist priest personally dug out such a long canal. That wasn't digging. That was painting."

"When we write Talismans, we have to inject Spiritual Power. The Painting School also does the same when they paint. So, that long canal is actually one stroke of a painting." Yue Yunzi sighed again. "What a truly bold move. Hehe. So this was his purpose after all. Absorbing the power of incense and wishes, spreading his teachings, and gaining the faith of the followers were all just Illusions."

"Even I was almost fooled!"

"In reality, what Yazi wants is not some wish power... He painstakingly created a Divine Dragon Cult and deliberately sold me many flaws, all to make me lower my guard. To make me think that he only wants that wish power. To make me think that he is building bridges and roads and benefiting the villagers just to get their worship... hehe."

"But his real purpose is to use the constructed canals, roads, and bridges as imprints and marks... to draw a great formation!"

Qingfuzi did not know much about the Painting School and the Painting Saint. Or rather, she knew nothing at all.

The Painting Saint and the Painting School were destroyed two thousand years ago. In two thousand years, even well-documented history would be distorted beyond recognition, let alone something that the Daoist Orthodoxy and the Sword Sect had intentionally and greatly tried to erase.