Poor Taoist Qiu Chuji

Chapter 377 Wealth Can Move Ghosts and Gods

Assassination, provocation, defeat, another assassination, another provocation, another defeat!

It seems that the salt merchants' methods of dealing with Lin Daiyu were limited to this.

Of course, there were also some disgusting tricks, such as driving away guests who went to Guoyunlou, dismissing the original staff, cooks, managers, etc. of Guoyunlou, so that Lin Daiyu gradually became 'alone' in fact.

Now, more than half a month has passed in the blink of an eye. The once magnificent and extravagant Guoyunlou is now dilapidated, as if it has been abandoned for more than ten years.

The broken windows let in a howling wind, and the arrows and hidden weapons stuck in the pillars had not been removed. Cobwebs had grown under the high eaves, and many guest rooms had been ransacked but had not been cleaned or tidied up, and were now covered with a layer of dust.

However, the main hall was cleaned very well, which was done by Lin Daiyu herself.

If it were left as it was, it would naturally be dilapidated.

Lin Daiyu sat alone on the second floor by the window, with a pot of wine and a plate of cooked meat on the table.

Although the cook was dismissed, the entire city of Jiangyin couldn't be moved, so it was easy for Lin Daiyu to buy some food.

In fact, even when the chef from the restaurant was there, she rarely ate anything from the restaurant.

Of course, it's to prevent being poisoned.

Outside the window, the sounds of buildings being demolished and toppled could be heard from time to time, and there were also some voices in the distance, but once you got to that point, it felt like you were in another world.

"It seems something big is about to happen!" Qiu Chuji reminded Lin Daiyu.

The salt merchants cleared out the surrounding area, seemingly isolating Lin Daiyu, but in reality, it did not cause her much harm. On the contrary, it made it difficult for the assassins they had sent to hide, making it a thankless task.

Unless they have a deeper intention.

“I know!” Lin Daiyu nodded. How could someone as intelligent as her not have thought of this?

"How are you doing with the Five Thunder Palm Technique that I taught you?" Qiu Chuji asked again.

He suspected that the salt merchants were about to resort to some underhanded tactics again.

The path of cultivation for those born in the mortal world is extremely narrow and difficult, yet they can establish underworld courts and dynasties. Although ghosts and monsters rarely interfere with the mortal world and cannot manifest themselves to harm people in government offices or crowded places, they possess extraordinary abilities far exceeding those of ordinary people.

Some powerful ghosts, with the help of Taoist priests and sorcerers, can also enter official residences and harm people.

Granny Ma once tricked Aunt Zhao into cooperating with her in casting a spell, using ghosts to bewitch Jia Baoyu and Wang Xifeng.

Lin Daiyu had previously encountered two walking corpses in the mountain god temple, which used the remains of the mountain to reveal their forms and kill people.

Now that the surrounding crowds have been cleared out, the salt merchants are very likely to use their old tricks again to allow ghosts to appear in the city.

Such behavior is a grave taboo.

Historically, it was only slightly less serious than the crimes of deceiving the emperor or treason, but salt merchants who smuggled salt taxes or even sold private salt were engaged in business that could lead to the confiscation of property and the extermination of the entire family. If they broke some taboos, they were capable of doing it as long as they could get away with it!

Of course... it was also Lin Daiyu who escalated the situation, seriously provoking those salt merchants.

Yang Guangde was nowhere to be found, while Lin Daiyu was in the Guoyun Tower, constantly sending messages out. Although there was no confirmation, no one liked the feeling of sitting on a powder keg, where they could be blown up at any moment.

To put it simply, Lin Daiyu now is like a pawn that has crossed the river; her lethality and threat are such that one cannot help but be wary of her.

Yet they couldn't win her over, which gradually drove the salt merchants to desperation.

Of course, this also illustrates the internal divisions within the salt merchants.

Those powerful salt merchants who held high positions and had sufficient resources and support only wanted to wait for Lin Ruhai's death to redistribute profits and resources, and did not want to get involved in matters concerning a 'little girl' like Lin Daiyu.

The methods used were relatively mild, mainly consisting of monitoring and surveillance.

The most ruthless were the small salt merchants, who had real leverage over Yang Guangde. Once Yang Guangde was officially arrested and revealed something, they would all die.

"I've mastered the palm technique, but my inner energy is insufficient!" Lin Daiyu said.

"I will open a channel for you and transfer a large amount of primordial energy to help you improve your skills."

"Also, you can stop practicing the Flower Heart Sutra for now. These days, I have specially prepared the 'Jade Jade True Scripture' for you, which can be considered an advanced version of the Flower Heart Sutra," Qiu Chuji said.

The Flower Heart Sutra is actually quite good. If given enough primordial energy and resources, and supported by a large number of believers, it has a certain possibility of achieving martial arts advancement.

However, it is not particularly suited to health preservation and combat. After determining Lin Daiyu's cultivation direction, Qiu Chuji modified many steps in the mental cultivation method to make it closer to traditional martial arts skills.

"Thank you, Master!" Lin Daiyu's face lit up with joy, but then she suddenly remembered something, hesitated, and asked, "This mental cultivation method... could it be passed on to Baoyu?"

"After all, you and he have a master-disciple relationship."

Qiu Chuji said, “No need! You are not a fish, how can you know the joy of a fish? The Flower Mind Method is most suitable for him. There is no need for him to study and practice diligently. As long as he can control himself after entering the basics, that will be enough. Even so, he has already gone astray. If we pass on any other techniques to him, it will be like casting pearls before swine!”

As he spoke, Qiu Chuji reminded Lin Daiyu, "You must not disregard my words. I have removed a large amount of the energy-accumulating and harmful parts from the Flower Heart Sutra, which has greatly reduced the violence of this technique and made it almost impossible to go into qi deviation. But the 'Jade Jade True Scripture' is different. This is a treasure that emphasizes both health preservation and warfare. Before you master it, the time, rhythm, frequency, and state of mind of your practice must all be in harmony. You must not be negligent... Otherwise, if you go into qi deviation, it will be difficult to remedy."

Upon hearing these words, Lin Daiyu's mind finally calmed down.

After all, she and Jia Baoyu had been friends since childhood. If she had the chance to help Jia Baoyu, she would certainly want to try, but if it was impossible... then she would just give up!
She won't dwell on it anymore.

Amidst the commotion outside, Lin Daiyu focused on her cultivation.

With Qiu Chuji's help, her accumulation of true energy could be described as progressing by leaps and bounds in a single day.

However, Qiu Chuji did not give her the Spirit Peach to help her reach a higher level more quickly.

Spiritual practice itself is an experience and feeling.

Regardless of speed, one must have felt, experienced, and thought about these things to have a solid foundation.

Swallowing a spirit peach allows one's true energy to accumulate quickly, even allowing one to directly skip the true energy stage and enter the true qi level. However, Lin Daiyu lacks this experiential process, which is like building castles in the air for her spiritual cultivation.

While the future may not be as stagnant as Xu Xuan's, it is still a depletion of future potential.

As the day drew to a close, the setting sun painted the leaning eaves of the restaurant a rusty color.

The newly relocated graves in the back alley glowed with phosphorescent light in the twilight.

The decaying cypress coffin was half-buried among the rubble and stones, not completely buried.

The craftsmen responsible for demolishing houses and transporting coffins acted swiftly. In just a few days and nights, the once neat and clean street was transformed into a mass grave.

The stench of decaying earth mixed with the smell of animal blood blew in on the wind and into the Guoyunlou.

Lin Daiyu, who had been meditating with her eyes closed, opened her beautiful eyes and gazed at the black night sky.

"Be careful, something's coming!" Qiu Chuji warned Lin Daiyu.

Although he can now open a small world through the Heaven-Mending Stone, he can rarely transmit his own power. Therefore, when he follows Lin Daiyu, he mostly plays the role of an 'old grandfather'.

If Jia Baoyu had been more cooperative back then, this treatment should have been his!

Lin Daiyu stood at the main entrance of Guoyunlou, holding a long knife in her hand and a spear hanging behind her, watching the black mist gradually spreading in the distance.

The crumbling buildings and broken pillars creaked in the eerie wind, and a decaying coffin not far away suddenly exploded. Five withered claws, wreathed in black mist, emerged from the ground, their knuckles swirling with strange, blood-red runes.

A foul wind swept in, and black mist transformed into sharp claws, aiming straight for Lin Daiyu's throat.

A foul stench swept over her, and Lin Daiyu felt dizzy. If it weren't for her inner energy protecting her, she would have already fallen backward before the sharp claws could even touch her.

He swung his longsword in a swift motion, but the moment it met the black mist, it was corroded into a pool of rusted iron.

The monsters that attacked this time were very strong, much stronger than the two walking corpses and evil spirits encountered in the mountain god temple.

It's possible that some evil or wild god worshipped in some place was summoned.

Unless it becomes a major force, this kind of thing is actually not much different from evil spirits or malevolent spirits, at most it just has a few minor supernatural abilities to pick up bargains.

With Lin Daiyu's current abilities, as long as she is careful, she should not make any major mistakes.

She dropped the hilt of the knife in her hand, and didn't even try to pull out the spear behind her.

Since the attacking monsters have not yet revealed their physical form, she does not need to use weapons to create distance.

She spun around and took a half step back, and suddenly blue-white lightning burst forth from her palm.

Lightning struck, dispelling the black mist.

Several more graves beneath the rotten soil suddenly cracked open.

A monster with red hair, a black face, five heads, each with a single horn, emerged from the swirling black mist.

"This is the Five-Power God! Be careful of its supernatural powers; it can bewitch the mind. You must silently practice your inner cultivation and guard your true self... Don't let it take advantage of you!" Qiu Chuji warned.

The Five Gods are quite common in worlds where gods and monsters appear, and are often a general term for a class of ghosts and evil spirits.

Although they appear to possess great supernatural powers and are difficult to distinguish between good and evil in the spread of folk beliefs, their abilities and general tendencies still have commonalities.

Those salt merchants were able to hire a Five-Tongued God to deal with Lin Daiyu, which is a perfect example of how wealth can influence even the gods!
At this moment, the true form of the Five Gods emerged from the forest of steles, and thick black liquid gushed from its seven orifices.

Reminded by Qiu Chuji, Lin Daiyu formed a mudra with one hand, focusing her mind, while with the other hand she waved her jade palm, drawing thunder energy into the earth's veins.

Electric snakes leaped along the soil, scorching the grave mound, and piercing screams echoed from the acrid smoke.

Wutong Shen's left shoulder suddenly twisted into a python's head. Before the murderous aura spewed from its fangs could even get close, the third bolt of thunderous palm force had already pierced through its jaw.

Lin Daiyu unleashed three palm strikes in quick succession. Even though Qiu Chuji had just amplified his attack, the exertion left her slightly breathless.

Physical exertion was not significant, but true energy was reduced to only 30%.

But she had to fight this way. The night was still long, and if she couldn't defeat the Five Gods before it completely connected with the surrounding graves, it would be a big problem if it grew stronger.

call!
The malevolent winds blew fiercely, making the once towering Guoyun Tower seem to tremble.

Boom! Accompanied by a column of black smoke, the dome of the ruined building completely collapsed.

Destroying the Cloud Tower seems to be part of Wutong Shen's mission this time.

After all, if Lin Daiyu had nowhere to stay, she could no longer remain a thorn in the side of the salt merchants.

As for how they would find Yang Guangde after Lin Daiyu escaped?

Why bother looking?
They have many ways to prove that Yang Guangde is dead and was killed by Lin Daiyu!

As long as Lin Daiyu leaves this place, leaves Jiangyin, leaves the intense focus of attention and scrutiny, and leaves this already activated sensitive location.

As for what Yang Guangde confessed, since the hostage was dead, the content he revealed, if it wasn't something like the original account books, would pose a much smaller threat to the salt merchants.

The only way to resolve this is through gradual improvement in relations between North Korea and China.

A spear flew out from behind Lin Daiyu, and with its help, she deflected the falling beams and giant logs, leaping lightly among the ruins.

Five bloody shadows burst forth from the torn body of the Five Gods, carrying a large number of vengeful spirits and forming claws to grab at Lin Daiyu.

Lin Daiyu was in mid-air, her palms glowing with a bluish-white light. The thundercloud vortex she stirred up shredded a large amount of blood and black smoke, and the residual force caused the surrounding tombstones to break off at the base.

A metallic taste filled her throat. She forced herself to breathe and unleashed that palm strike, which had already somewhat damaged her internal organs.

While the Five Thunder Palm technique that Qiu Chuji passed on to her was indeed powerful and its lethality against ghosts and evil spirits was undeniable, such a strong and domineering martial art naturally put a lot of pressure on the physical body.

As Qiu Chuji previously summarized, any unique skill or martial art has its strengths, but it also naturally has its basic requirements and even weaknesses.

The Five Thunder Palm Technique is the same!

"Be careful. I will help you recover your strength, but you must not rush when absorbing the primordial energy, otherwise the true energy will flow backward and it will become even more difficult," Qiu Chuji reminded him.

He originally thought that it wouldn't be difficult for Lin Daiyu to get through this hurdle.

Looking back now, he was a bit too optimistic.

Although she was very intelligent, she was not like him; she lacked his fierce and ruthless nature when faced with adversity.

If Lin Daiyu had pounced on the Five Gods' true form the moment she encountered it and struck it three times with her palms, shattering it, the outcome of the battle would have been decided.

Separating the palms might seem safer, but it also meant losing the initiative and allowing the Five Gods to prepare.

The blood-red shadow let out a terrifying roar, and the invisible ripples transformed into layers of enchanting illusions, enveloping Lin Daiyu.

The Five Gods used their innate minor supernatural powers to try and pull Lin Daiyu into an illusion.

In the illusion, Lin Daiyu was not sent to the Jia family mansion, but lived with her father, Lin Ruhai. Later, Lin Ruhai took in a disciple, a handsome and ambitious scholar who was quite talented in both literature and martial arts.

His father, Lin Ruhai, intended to bring his disciple and daughter together so that they could have a son to inherit the Lin family's legacy and continue the family line.

Before Qiu Chuji could remind her, Lin Daiyu had already seen through the illusion on her own.

"The Lin family line is inherited by men, so why can't women inherit it?"

"Evil God, take this!"

Lin Daiyu's spear crackled with electricity before being hurled at the blood-red shadow.

The blood shadow let out a long, mournful cry, then tore into several pieces, ceasing its attack on Lin Daiyu and fleeing into the distance.

Its minor supernatural power had been shattered by Lin Daiyu, and it suffered a backlash and was also seriously injured.

Lin Daiyu coughed up a mouthful of blood and took a step forward. Behind her, the already dilapidated Guoyun Tower was now teetering on the verge of collapse.

“Let’s go! It’s time for the next step!” Qiu Chuji said.

Lin Daiyu's departure would further stir up the worldly affairs of Jiangnan. Under this wave of influence, Qiu Chuji felt that even if he could not break through the stubborn rock, he could still separate a part of his primordial spirit, condense it into an avatar outside, and gain partial freedom.

(End of this chapter)