Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 55 It’s your own fault.
Wei Changsheng huddled in the pile of decaying leaves, a metallic taste rising in his throat.

He could clearly hear the friction sound of his broken ribs, like two pieces of broken porcelain scraping back and forth in his flesh.

Wei Changsheng's cultivation level was low, and he had never learned such profound techniques as divination. He now strongly suspected that the monk was not divining at all, but simply wanted to torture him.

Even after undergoing the tempering of the body with fierce energy, which gave him a body of copper skin and iron bones, he still inevitably broke a few bones in his body due to being repeatedly thrown and slammed to the ground.

The pain was secondary; what Wei Changsheng truly found unbearable was the humiliation of being unable to control his own life and death.

Since he began his cultivation, he had never felt so powerless and struggling.

But that was the reality; he was like an ant being toyed with, not knowing when he would die at the hands of this monk.

He was thrown around every few miles like this. Wei Changsheng couldn't remember how many times his face hit the ground. He only remembered that when he was about to faint, the monk finally stopped and asked in confusion.

"This is?"

The disheveled monk tossed Wei Changsheng aside, parted the dense forest, and walked to a stone tablet.

Wei Changsheng wiped the mud off his face and stood timidly to the side.

He dared not run. He had thought of taking the opportunity to escape, but he was caught and brought back after running only a few feet. His big black feet trampled him into the ground.

The monk's cultivation was too high; Wei Changsheng had absolutely no chance.

Seeing the monk stop and look around, Wei Changsheng also glanced at him curiously, hoping for a change in the situation.

Upon looking at the inscription on the stone tablet, one is immediately drawn to the signature.

Chen Ye, a rogue cultivator, and Su Chunyi of the Qinghe Sword Sect.

The two names were so jarring that Wei Changsheng's face contorted in pain.

It was those two again. If it weren't for them, he wouldn't have ended up in such a state. Wei Changsheng now wished he could catch up quickly and have the monk kill Chen Ye and Su Chunyi, so that at least he could take them down with him.

But what is this stone tablet?
Why are they here? And why did this monk find his way here?
After carefully reading the text above, Wei Changsheng realized that this was actually the burial place of the monk Ku'e.

When they came across the place where the demon was buried, they killed the demon and even erected a monument to claim credit.
Wei Changsheng was overjoyed. He thought that once the monk saw the stone tablet, his murderous intent would likely intensify, and he would torture the two men even more cruelly after capturing them.

But instead of angrily smashing the stone tablet as Wei Changsheng expected, the disheveled monk put his hands together and said to the pile of graves, "Amitabha, I have disturbed the deceased. Forgive me."

Wei Changsheng was surprised by the monk's sanctimonious appearance; he didn't look like this when the monk was torturing him.

Indeed, Buddhism is the most hypocritical! It's all heresy and crooked teachings!

Just as Wei Changsheng was filled with resentment, he saw the disheveled monk bend down and pick up a crude straw figure from under the stone tablet. After examining it carefully, he threw the straw figure at Wei Changsheng.

Wei Changsheng hurriedly took it and heard the monk say, "This straw man is no ordinary thing. For a disciple of the Qinghe Sword Sect to have such skills, it truly deserves to be called the number one sect in the world."

Wei Changsheng frowned and carefully examined the straw figure, but came to a completely different conclusion.

"It's nothing more than a low-level form of witchcraft."

Wei Changsheng, being from a prestigious family, could immediately see through the straw doll's purpose. It was the most common straw doll curse rumored in the streets, a minor spell used by many unorthodox sects.

Take hair or blood and mix it into a straw doll to create a simple magical artifact, which can then be used to prick people with needles.

The principle is quite simple: when a cultivator refines a natal magic weapon, the destruction of the weapon will cause a backlash against the cultivator; the two are essentially the same. However, refining a straw doll is much simpler and doesn't require any special functions; it only needs to be connected to the mind of its master.

Such a simple thing could be made by any novice cultivator, so what's so surprising about it?
The disheveled monk laughed and explained, "Don't you ever think about why this straw figure is here, or why we are here?"

Wei Changsheng pondered for a moment, then suddenly widened his eyes in surprise and asked, "They left it there on purpose?" "Them?" The slovenly monk chuckled, "You didn't tell me there were two people. You've been talking about people from the Qinghe Sword Sect the whole time. I suppose the other one is this rogue cultivator Chen Ye, right?"

Wei Changsheng wanted to make up a reason, but the words that came out were: "That's right, I guess it's two people too."

After saying that, Wei Changsheng couldn't help but cover his mouth again.

I've broken several of my ribs, so how come this magic that doesn't lie is still working?

The disheveled monk didn't punish him further, but instead praised him, saying, "Whoever made this straw figure is extremely clever. They've already guessed that this humble monk is not good at divination and cannot accurately locate their whereabouts. This straw figure is stained with the blood of the two of them, like a natal magic weapon, and it's placed in front of this stone tablet. This place is inextricably linked to them, and if this humble monk tries to find it, he might be misled here."

"It was a gamble, but they won. To be able to foresee this in such a short time and still dare to take the risk shows both boldness and meticulousness; they are truly remarkable individuals."

Wei Changsheng felt uncomfortable listening to this. Why did this monk look so appreciative? Wasn't he supposed to be avenging the monk Ku'e? How could he praise his own enemy?

Feeling indignant, Wei Changsheng pinched the straw figure and said, "That was a foolish move. This thing is just like a natal magic weapon, perfect for casting spells. If I were to cast a curse on this straw figure, they would be the ones to be ambushed."

The disheveled monk chuckled, "Then you can give it a try."

Wei Changsheng suddenly felt that his sealed Qi Sea could be activated, and he became excited. At this moment, he had long forgotten the relationship between the Qinghe Sword Sect and the Fenxiang Sect, and only wanted to let Su Chunyi taste the pain.

The spiritual energy gathered at his fingertips, transforming into a sharp needle, which he then plunged into the straw figure.

The straw figure is connected to its original owner by blood; if an ordinary person were to be hit by it, they would surely die with blood flowing from all seven orifices.

Su Chunyi's cultivation level is at the Profound Realm. This attack might not kill her, but it could still injure her, making it even harder for her to escape, and reducing the number of falls I would experience.

That was Wei Changsheng's thinking, and that's why he showed no mercy.

The moment the spiritual needle touched the straw man, it exploded with a bang, sending thick smoke billowing out and making Wei Changsheng feel suffocated.

"Oh no, this smoke is poisonous!"

Wei Changsheng quickly retreated, and by the time he was far away from the smoke, his hands and face were already red, swollen, numb, and itchy.

The disheveled monk laughed loudly, "Hahaha, you brought this on yourself, you can't live without it!"

Wei Changsheng covered his face, desperately trying to expel the poison with his spiritual energy, but the harder he tried, the more the poison seeped into his flesh, causing him to writhe in pain on the ground.

Just as he was about to tear his own face off in pain, the monk raised his big black foot and kicked him hard in the face.

Wei Changsheng rolled over several more times, breaking several bones, but as he spat out a mouthful of black blood, the pain and numbness subsided considerably.

The disheveled monk grabbed Wei Changsheng and mocked, "You call yourself a disciple of a prestigious sect? You couldn't even see the ingenious design of this straw figure?"

Wei Changsheng lowered his head and did not refute.

The disheveled monk, however, saw his dissatisfaction and shook his head, explaining, "You think he just hid poison? You're sorely mistaken. This straw doll is exquisitely crafted; the runes are designed like freshly fried pastry, yet it crumbles at the slightest touch, making it completely unusable for cursing others. On the contrary, if someone were to cast a curse on this straw doll, they would know it's effective, successfully misleading us here."

"The poison is secondary; you just told them that the straw man's misleading method is effective."

Wei Changsheng was shocked, never expecting that a mere straw man could have such a scheme.

However, what the slovenly monk said next frightened him even more.

"You brought this on yourself. If you hadn't been angry, the straw doll wouldn't have been activated, and you might have been able to fool them. Now you've reminded them that the straw doll is effective. I imagine there will be these straw dolls all along the way. Whether you can catch up depends on luck. As for you, you're probably going to be smashed to pieces, haha."

The disheveled monk grinned broadly, and Wei Changsheng, seeing his mouth full of yellow teeth, was so frightened that he fainted.

(End of this chapter)