Yellow Skinned Taoist Master

Chapter 130: Don't Be Afraid, Huangpi

Song Tiangang was merely a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Without the golden seal's empowerment, he was no stronger than the likes of Twelfth Madam or Song Qiuyue.

Even if he had practiced ancient methods right before death and was metamorphosing into an evil spirit within the scallion field.

Evil spirits, too, had their hierarchies.

Song Tiangang could not become a Disaster, much less a Calamity.

So the Brass Oil Lamp didn't understand why Chen Huangpi was so terrified.

"Buddy, don't tell me you're afraid of caterpillars."

"I am not!"

Chen Huangpi said with the bluster of a man who was absolutely afraid. "I'm already thirteen! I'm not a child. Why would I be scared of a mere caterpillar? Burn it right now. Burn it to ash. I don't want to see it."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."The Brass Oil Lamp snickered endlessly. "Fine. I'll torch it right now."

With that, it spat a bolt of true fire at the Song Tiangang caterpillar cocooned within its illusory chrysalis.

The true fire punched through the spectral cocoon instantly.

Song Tiangang, mid-transformation into an evil spirit, let out a wail of agony.

Squee, squee, squee.

He had become a worm. His voice had become a worm's voice.

His grotesquely fat, segmented body writhed and shuddered ceaselessly, and the black dots speckling his flesh squirmed along with it.

The Fox Mountain God clapped enthusiastically. "Burn him well! Burn him good!"

"That Song Tiangang was so arrogant before. Chen Huangpi put two pickaxe blows through his skull, and even that didn't feel like enough. Now he's trying to cheat death by turning into an evil spirit — too bad he fell right into our hands. We won't even let him succeed at being a monster."

"Let me fan the flames!"

The Fox Mountain God puffed out its cheeks, then blew out a fierce gust of wind.

The gust was like oil thrown onto fire.

The Song Tiangang caterpillar was instantly incinerated to ash.

And yet.

To the Brass Oil Lamp's astonishment.

Though Song Tiangang had been burned to ash.

The moment the true fire died, a new spectral cocoon began forming. The fat, segmented worm-body within it was already faintly visible again.

"After the Heaven and Earth Mutation, when a cultivator practices the ancient methods and transforms into an evil spirit... the process truly can't be interrupted?"

The Brass Oil Lamp murmured. "If that's the case, doesn't that mean evil spirits are now the true protagonists of this world? And cultivators have become the heretics."

It wasn't that Song Tiangang couldn't be killed.

It was that he couldn't be killed now — not until the transformation was complete and he fully became an evil spirit.

Seeing the caterpillar beginning to regrow.

And looking even more revolting than before.

Chen Huangpi's face went green.

He squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to look.

Even the colossal eye within the Magic Tree's spectral form clamped shut behind him.

But Golden Horn, which he was riding, had its eyes wide open.

Ever since leaving the Old Temple, Chen Huangpi had dragged it to the God-Burying Mound, then down into the Underworld Yellow Spring.

The promised fine dining and warm beds had never materialized — all it received were beatings.

Thinking of this.

Golden Horn couldn't help but whimper, "Huangpi Daddy, Silver Horn gets to eat well, but I haven't eaten a thing! I'm starving! Let me eat this caterpillar! Look how plump it is — the meat must be delicious."

"When I was in the Underworld Yellow Spring, I used to eat big fat grubs all the time. They were so tasty."

Chen Huangpi's face was ashen. He shook his head in silence.

Seeing this, Golden Horn exploded in frustration. "You raise a dog for a thousand days to use it once! Huangpi Daddy, you use me but never feed me — am I, Golden Horn, worth less than a dog? I'm going to file a complaint! I'll bring this to the Guanzhu— Ahaha, Guanzhu, you're here! What brings you!"

"You could've given us a heads-up. Nearly scared me half to death."

Golden Horn fixed a fawning gaze on the purple-robed old Daoist who had materialized from thin air.

Its body flattened into a low crouch, tail wagging furiously.

It looked, for all the world, exactly like a dog.

The purple-robed old Daoist tilted his head. "You want to file a complaint against this poor Daoist?"

Golden Horn shook its head frantically. "No! Absolutely not!"

Chen Huangpi snorted coldly. "First Master, it's lying. It was about to report me to you!"

"Huangpi Daddy! It's me — Golden Horn!"

Golden Horn said in terror. "How could I possibly report you? I wasn't complaining — no, definitely not complaining!"

"I... I was just yearning for the Guanzhu's teachings but was too shy to approach on my own. So I found an excuse."

"Yes. That's exactly it."

"Really?"

The purple-robed old Daoist tilted his head and fixed Golden Horn with an eerie stare.

A single look, and Golden Horn's fur stood on end.

"Guanzhu, every word is the truth!"

"Good. Then from now on, you'll stay with this poor Daoist."

With a casual flick of the purple-robed old Daoist's hand, Chen Huangpi — who had been riding Golden Horn — was suddenly standing on solid ground.

And Golden Horn...

What Golden Horn?

All that remained was a golden-furred puppy with a single horn on its head. It looked about three or four months old.

Golden Horn was petrified. It opened its mouth to speak.

But what came out was nothing more than the yapping of a dog.

Chen Huangpi said in surprise, "First Master, you know the Dog Rearing Scripture too?"

He was Golden Horn's keeper.

And right now, he could feel the Dog Rearing Scripture within Golden Horn activating on its own.

It had transformed Golden Horn into an actual dog.

And with it, his bond with Golden Horn had been severed.

"Your master doesn't know it."

The purple-robed old Daoist said, drool trailing from the corner of his mouth, "Your master is simply good at raising dogs. Golden Horn is too scrawny. Your master will fatten it up for a few days. Once it's big and plump and fierce, he'll give it back to you."

"Really?"

"When has your master ever deceived you?"

The purple-robed old Daoist wiped his drool, eyes darting evasively. "Besides, we're master and disciple with a grand estate. Without a mean dog guarding the gate, what if someone sneaks in to steal our things?"

"First Master, you always think of everything."

Chen Huangpi beamed, unable to contain his delight.

He was growing up, sure. But Master was still Master — this sort of foresight was beyond him.

"Woof woof! Woof woof!"

Golden Horn barked in desperate terror.

Chen Huangpi had been completely taken in by the Guanzhu, but Golden Horn certainly hadn't.

"Raising it big, fattening it up, making it fierce" — yeah, once it was big and fat, the ferocious Guanzhu would eat it as a snack.

Chen Huangpi was a lost cause.

Perhaps only that wretched lamp and that wretched fox could put in a good word for it.

With that thought, Golden Horn turned pleading eyes toward the two of them.

But to its despair.

The Brass Oil Lamp and the Fox Mountain God exchanged a glance — and both broke into malicious grins.

Golden Horn's fur exploded outward, and it let out an anxious bark.

"Guanzhu, it seems Golden Horn is quite defiant..."

"Not just defiant — it's being passive-aggressive too. I'm a fox, and foxes are basically dogs. I understand what it's saying."

The Fox Mountain God even barked twice in Golden Horn's direction.

This sent Golden Horn into a frenzy of cursing.

And so, the Fox Mountain God and Golden Horn began a full-blown barking match.

The Brass Oil Lamp said in mock surprise, "Little fox, what did it say?"

The Fox Mountain God sighed. "Brother Huang, it keeps calling you a 'trashy lamp' and me a 'worthless mutt.' It says we're lowborn names that can't hold a candle to its noble Golden surname. And that it should have eaten both of us when it had the chance."

"Is that all it said?"

"I dare not repeat the rest..."

"Oh dear..."

Golden Horn's eyes blazed with fury.

That trashy lamp and worthless mutt — what were they saying?!

It had been begging them to show mercy, admitting it had been inconsiderate in the past. How had its words gotten twisted like this?

Chen Huangpi shook his head. "First Master, Golden Horn has always been like this. I had A Gui beat it up for ages — broke its jaw, even — and it's still as stubborn as a mule."

What?!

An explosion went off in Golden Horn's skull.

A Gui had pummeled it black and blue — and that had been on Huangpi Daddy's orders?!

"Woof woof woof! Woof woof woof woof woof!"

Golden Horn barked furiously at Chen Huangpi. They were both from the Underworld Yellow Spring — fellow countrymen! No old grudges, no new grievances. It had assumed A Gui was simply offended by its noble bearing and lashed out of jealousy.

It had even believed that Huangpi Daddy would stand up for it.

But as it turned out, Huangpi Daddy had been the one ordering the beatings all along.

No wonder the pickaxe blows to its skull had been so swift and decisive — not a shred of hesitation.

Huangpi Daddy, you even deceive your own dogs...

Golden Horn cast one look of bitter reproach at Chen Huangpi.

But mid-rant, a quiet voice echoed inside its mind.

"This poor Daoist can hear you cursing Huangpi in your thoughts, you know."

"Rest easy. This poor Daoist won't eat you..."

"Guanzhu, you wouldn't lie to a dog, would you?"

"Of course not. slurp."

At that.

Golden Horn smiled with relief — and walked resolutely to the purple-robed old Daoist's feet.

The purple-robed old Daoist chuckled. "Huangpi, raising a dog takes heart. Don't hit it — hitting doesn't work. Talk to it often. Speak from the heart. Once it knows your intentions are good, it'll behave."

Chen Huangpi nodded thoughtfully. "I understand now, First Master."

And right at that moment.

The worm-cocoon — ignored entirely ever since the purple-robed old Daoist's arrival — suddenly radiated a tendril of chilling cold.

"The Immortal Dao! The Immortal Dao!"

"Ha ha ha — I've done it!"

The evil spirit that Song Tiangang had become burst into raucous laughter.

The cocoon split open with a violent crack.

A grotesque butterfly emerged — roughly three feet long, its wings speckled with black dots, and bearing the head of Song Tiangang. It beat its wings and took to the air.

Song Tiangang fluttered his spotted wings.

Black motes of light drifted from them with each beat.

This was a newborn evil spirit.

And the instant it laid eyes on Chen Huangpi, it reacted as though it had sighted its mortal enemy — and lunged without a moment's hesitation.

"The Immortal Dao! The Immortal Dao!"

"I will devour the Immortal Dao!"

"First Master!"

Chen Huangpi's face went white. Instinctively, he clutched at the purple-robed old Daoist's robe.

"I'm afraid of bugs. So afraid. First Master..."

"Don't be afraid, Huangpi!!!"

The purple-robed old Daoist cried out in alarm. "Your master won't let those bugs bite you ever again! Your master will bite them to death! Yes — your master will bite them all to death!"

As he spoke, something seemed to snap inside the purple-robed old Daoist.

His expression twisted into something far more deranged.

His clouded eyes blazed with ferocity and hatred.

The freshly emerged Song Tiangang — wings not yet fully spread — was seized in an iron grip.

Riiiiip.

Both wings were torn clean off.

Crunch.

The purple-robed old Daoist opened his cavernous maw and swallowed the butterfly whole, chewing once, twice, then gulping it down raw.

After eating, the ferocity and hatred in the purple-robed old Daoist's eyes dimmed somewhat.

Then, as though soothing a frightened child, he gathered Chen Huangpi into his arms, patted his back, and crooned, "No more bugs. No more butterflies. Huangpi, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Your master is here. Your master won't let them eat you ever again."

And in the darkness behind the hill.

The four figures of Chen Five and his companions trembled without cease.

"What in the world is that mad Daoist..."

You Eleven thought in terror. "A Calamity? No — a Disaster? It doesn't seem like either. And that blind boy — how..."

His thoughts cut off mid-sentence.

Because a voice, cold and terrible, echoed inside his skull:

"Did you just call this poor Daoist's Huangpi a blind boy?"