Netherworld Painted Skin Scroll

Chapter 66: Grandpa, the Sect Leader
He stared at that direction - the earthen wall where the head of the bed was leaning against, where the stove used to be, and slowly said, "Let's clean up tomorrow. You should go to bed."

Xue Baoping was silent for a while in the darkness: "Well, I'll go back then."

When Li Wuxiang heard the door of the main room being closed, he immediately stood up and walked to the head of the bed. There was no light but there was moonlight, so he could see clearly - the place where the bed was originally located was the big stove, and on the wall next to the stove, there was a portrait of the Kitchen God.

In the past few days, Chen Xin has gathered the people in the town and told them several times not to worship the Kitchen God or mention the incident that day, but to worship Taiyi. Zeng Jianqiu drew a picture of Taiyi for them, and Chen Xin has sent someone to Qingjiang City to make the picture, which will be brought back in a few days.

The one in Xue Baoping's house was also taken down that night. Together with the small statues and portraits of Kitchen God from other families, they were all sent to the Kitchen God Temple. They were worshipped for three consecutive days according to the rituals Zeng Jianqiu had described, and then slowly sent away.

But now when Li Wuxiang looked carefully, he discovered that there were still traces on the loess wall - the portrait of the Kitchen God had been pasted on the wall for a long time and was stained by oil smoke, so after it was peeled off, there were still faint ink marks left.

And now, just now, he suddenly felt hungry.

He wanted to put his face on Xue Baoping's neck and bite it hard.

The problem is that the incense that Zhao Kui left in his body has completely freed him from hunger these days. He feels refreshed and cheerful, and he hasn't felt anything strange for a long time.

After he saw the marks on the wall clearly, he slowly took a few steps back. While still staring at it, he took out the only two remaining pieces of talisman paper and wrote the word "trapped" on one of them to resist the strong resistance.

Then, he took out another piece of talisman from his arms.

This was the last of the Kitchen God portraits Zhao Qi had drawn, which he had collected from every household. The others had been burned, but he kept this one so that he could study Zhao Qi's brushwork when he had time.

He walked back to the bedside with the two talismans between his legs and stood there, whispering, "Zhao Kui."

No response.

He thought for a moment, then glanced down at the ground and saw a few thin branches in the corner. He picked up three and twisted them in his hand, gathering his energy at his fingertips and suddenly rushed towards the branches. Sparks lit up with a hissing sound, and then green smoke drifted away.

Li Wuxiang pressed the talisman drawn by Zhao Qi onto the ink mark of the Kitchen God statue, and inserted three burning branches into the cracks in the wall. He asked again, "Zhao Kui?"

The green smoke instantly turned into three straight lines, rushing straight to the roof. A slight breeze blew in the house, and in the wind, Li Wuxiang heard a faint sound -

"Hehe... do you think I'm gone like this... my dear disciple... I told you I've been ranked among the immortals... hehe... hehe..."

Li Wuxiang listened quietly, thought for a while, and put away the trapped character in his hand.

"I suggest you shut up first. If I'm not mistaken, your current situation is like this - you are a false god created by Zhao Qi, and you need people to worship you to survive. But now, the people of Jinshui don't worship you anymore, and the talisman Zhao Qi drew has been taken away by me, leaving only this one in my hand. In a while, the people of Jinshui will move to Lijiawan, and when this generation slowly dies out, in another 20 or 30 years, no one will know about this, and you will be gone too."

Li Wuxiang nodded: "Yes, so now you are planning to ask me to help you, but you are still hoping that you can trick me again? From the stove to the past few days, you have never been able to beat me, and now you are doing it again? Do you know what this is called? This is called being both a novice and a playful person."

The whisper suddenly became urgent: "Xiaochu——"

Li Wuxiang immediately picked up the talisman paper drawn by Zhao Qi, and with a push of his finger, the talisman head suddenly burst into flames and burned a small half of it.

"Okay, okay, stop, stop!"

"Call me Grandpa."

"Grandpa Sect Master, Grandpa Sect Master... You are the living ancestor!"

"That's more like it." Li Wuxiang waved his hand, and the flame on the talisman paper went out. "Just fart if you want to. What do you want to do?"

The green smoke on the branch suddenly rushed up to the sky, and then Zhao Kui's voice was heard: "...If that swordsman didn't get rid of you, he must have told you what you are like now...right? Do you want to become like me back then? You look like a good person? I tell you, if you look like this, you will be captured and refined as a magic weapon--"

Li Wuxiang sat down beside the bed and said, "Well said, so how did you make those talisman papers?

"You have to save me first. It's not just for me, it's also for you. You are the leader of Ranshan now. I am refining this for our Ranshan. I... I... ah, um? I am... I am..."

The whispers gradually became ethereal, and the sparks on the tops of the three branches suddenly lit up and burned all the way to the bottom. Zhao Kui's voice became a little clearer: "It hurts, it hurts so much, please give me three incense sticks, it hurts, I can't tell you..."

"You are worthy?" Li Wuxiang picked up three more branches and rekindled them, then inserted them into the cracks in the wall. "You can say it or not, but I'm going to Ranshan tomorrow anyway."

Zhao Kui abruptly sucked half of the three branches away, and then said, "Okay, okay, let's go to Ranshan. You are the leader of Ranshan now, listen to me, what I said is true, we are doing this for Ranshan. Our thirty-six sects used to worship Taiyi, just like the rest of the sects, they are all great gods holding the way of heaven, why are they declining now? Is it because Taiyi was suppressed, his divine power was greatly damaged, and he can't protect us... those powerful magical powers in the past have now become trivial tricks..."

"Look at what they teach. Their gods are so powerful. When disciples practice, they are blessed by gods and ancestors who have become immortals. When they draw talismans and perform rituals, they are also blessed by the gods above. The power is amazing! That's why I do this. I will refine myself into an immortal, and then ask future generations to worship me as the ancestor and enjoy the incense. Then I can also bless you. Although I can't compare with those gods, according to the thirty-six sects, as long as we stay in the mountain gate and let me bless us, we don't have to be afraid of others, right? I work so hard for the mountain gate..."

Li Wuxiang nodded: "No. How did you make your talisman paper?"

A breeze blew violently in the room, and the three branches were almost sucked to the bottom again. "Humph, you are so arrogant. You think you have the upper hand over the swordsman, right? I tell you, you are courting death! Zeng Jianqiu refused to teach you before, do you think he really didn't want to? He is eager for you to learn! He said that their sword sect's skills are the best in the world, but if they are just slow in practice, how can there be so few people? Eighty-one swordsmen? It's ridiculous!"

"I'm telling you, it's because these sword sects are being watched by the people of the Dharma Sect! Why don't they have mountain gates and temples like the other thirty-six sects? Do you think they like to run around in the martial arts world? Because as soon as they become a little bit powerful, form a society, and build a mountain gate and temple, the people of the Dharma Sect will immediately find their nests and destroy them! Didn't he mention the Nether Nine Abyss to you? That broken place was only built about fifty years ago!" "You learned their skills, and you became a thorn in the eyes of the Dharma Sect! You also gave him the Guang Chanzi... Why do you think this magical skill has been passed down from generation to generation by the leader of the Ranshan Sect, but no one practices it? Because the founder said that this thing is evil! We must not let anyone know that it is in our hands!"

"Why did I practice it? Because now those swordsmen know that this technique is in Ranshan and are coming to find it, so I hurried to avoid it! After I become an immortal, no one among the disciples of Ranshan will know this technique, and those swordsmen will not be able to find me!"

Li Wuxiang had a rough idea of ​​the swordsmen's current predicament. In fact, he had already guessed it when Zhao Qi told him that the swordsmen claimed to have inherited the Taiyi orthodoxy. Otherwise, why didn't the Ranshan Sect call itself the Taiyi Sect, and gave up the orthodox name? It was probably to avoid disaster.

But - "I know Guang Chanzi is evil, but why can't people know that he is in your hands?" Li Wuxiang flicked the branch that was about to burn to the bottom, "Besides, you have become a god now, what are you afraid of?"

"I...what am I afraid of? I'm afraid of the Dharma! The founder said that we must never let the people of the Dharma know that Guang Chanzi is in our hands. As for why, it has been passed down from generation to generation and has never been told! But this matter must be extremely important to the Dharma. What kind of person is the founder? After our founder became enlightened, he became the Kitchen God! The words left by the Kitchen God!"

"But if the Dharma Cult knew about this... they would kill me if they started to attack me, and they would wipe out the roots! It doesn't matter if you are not afraid of death, they will definitely catch up with me again! Not to mention that there is still external evil in you! The Dharma Cult's method to eliminate external evil is to kill and burn everyone within a ten-mile radius! Do you understand? If you want to refine your own method, take me to Ranshan quickly. Talisman paper can only be refined at the mountain gate... You can enshrine me in the tablets of the ancestors of all generations, and I will teach you, and then I will tell you how to find a good place to hide. You should refine yourself into a good person first!"

Li Wuxiang thought for a while and said, "It's scary to hear you say that."

"It's good that you know to be afraid!"

"But since you don't know why Guang Chanzi can't be known to others, I'd better go ask Zeng Jianqiu. Even if he doesn't know, there are still three sword immortals, right? They are better than a half-baked person like you."

Li Wuxiang stretched out his hand and flicked the three sticks stuck on the wall. Sparks immediately dispersed, and Zhao Kui's voice also dispersed: "... Good boy, do you think this is the end? I am immortal. I have occupied the ancient cave in Lingshan and summoned soldiers. I will follow you wherever you go--"

The sparks went out and Zhao Kui's voice also disappeared.

Li Wuxiang looked at the Kitchen God's talisman in his hand and put it away.

Zeng Jianqiu was right. It seemed that Zhao Kui would not die in the short term. He thought about what he had just said and felt that nine of them were true and one was false. It was true that Zhao Kui was in a bad situation. Otherwise, he would not have put aside his arrogance and called himself the Grandpa when he kept saying that he had achieved immortality.

It is true that the swordsmen are in a bad situation and Guang Chanzi is involved in something important. But it doesn't matter. Since he has decided to practice the Immortal Body Dao Pian, this idea will not change. Not to mention that there is an external evil to protect his life, even if it can't be saved... The so-called Dharma, the six mysterious teachings, only occupy a part of the world. In his previous life, the pressure of the industry he was engaged in was much greater than this, so he was not scared away by such things.

He had wanted to ask Ranshan's former disciples about the method of refining paper, but now Zhao Kui had come forward, so he could really ask him later. But there was no need to rush now, this could also be considered a negotiation tactic - he was much more anxious than himself.

But what does "occupying an ancient cave in Lingshan" mean? Zeng Jianqiu has talked about a lot of common sense about cultivation these days, but he has never heard of this.

Li Wuxiang thought about it, walked out and came to the woodshed, but just as he was about to push the door, his hand stopped.

There was no sound inside.

He exhaled slowly and pushed the door a crack... The room was empty. He walked in and found the bedding had been folded. He looked at the wall again, but didn't see any writing left.

No wonder Zhao Kui dared to show up just now, maybe it was because Zeng Jianqiu left. He sat down in the shop for a while, sighed, patted the bedding, and walked back to his room.

At dawn the next day, he and Xue Baoping finished their breakfast and put down their bowls and chopsticks: "Zeng Jianqiu left last night, and I will leave today. If things go well, I will see if I can come back to celebrate the New Year. After you move to Lijiawan, ask Chen Xin to pick a slightly larger room for you. In case Zeng Jianqiu comes back, we will both be considered half his apprentices."

"Will you be able to eat by then? What do you like to eat? I'll prepare it for you in advance."

Li Wuxiang smiled and thought for a moment: "If you ask me what I like to eat the most, it's actually seafood. Have you ever eaten it?"

Xue Baoping shook his head.

"Then I'll see if I can get some back for you. Anything else is fine, tofu, chicken, etc. When winter comes, you can freeze some pears and apples for me, and some tofu as well."

"Well, I'll be frozen in the tank by then."

Li Wuxiang got up and walked into the room, carrying his bag, and pushed the door to open the courtyard gate. It was foggy outside, but there were already several people and a black horse standing under the big willow tree outside the door. Chen Xin held the reins in his hand, and when he saw Li Wuxiang coming out, he bowed and said, "My master said goodbye to me last night. I guessed that you would also leave, so I prepared a horse and this."

He handed over a long sword: "My master said that you might need it, Immortal Master."

Li Wuxiang nodded: "Thank you very much, I won't be polite."

He took the knife, tied it around his waist, climbed back on his horse, and waved to Xue Baoping: "Let's go."

Xue Baoping covered his mouth and waved at him. Li Wuxiang turned the horse's head and squeezed his legs slightly, and the black horse took small steps.

He rode his horse across the bridge and turned to look at the bridge - a haggard young woman was standing in the thick fog, looking at him. When she met his gaze, she quickly shrank back into the fog.

It seems to be Chen Xiu.

　Two chapters combined into one! Available on the 21st!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)