White Bone Demon Trail

Chapter 89 Murderous Intent

The grass on the grave mound swayed gently in the mist. Bai Wuxiang stood in the hazy mist, a bright smile on his face, and said:

"Hehe, the old man has a broad mind. When he passes away, I will come to see him off."

Upon hearing this, Granny Liu's eyebrows curved upwards. "If I could receive your help, it would be the greatest blessing of my life."

Upon hearing her words, Bai Wuxiang waved goodbye and disappeared into the mist.

Grandma Liu carried a bamboo basket and walked back to the village step by step. New wooden and earthen houses were built, and a road was also built in the village. The brick road was easy to walk on, unlike the muddy road in the forest, where you would get a lot of mud stuck to your body with every step.

Many passersby greeted her, and some advised her, "Grandma Liu, you're so old, you shouldn't go out so much."

"If I don't go out for a walk while my legs are still nimble, I'm afraid I won't be able to go out and see the world again later," Grandma Liu replied nonchalantly.

She walked to the front of the school and listened to the faint sound of reading coming from inside. A smile appeared on her lips. Her grandson was also studying and learning to read in the school. At least he would have a better life than her in the future.

In recent years, there have been more and more new things in the village, and more and more new people have come to the village. It seems like it changes every year. Sometimes she even loses her way.

I'm really getting old, but the village will never grow old.

……

At the foot of Mount Kongtong, in a bottomless abyss, a young Taoist priest, carrying wine and food, broke through layers of restrictions and entered through a barrier of light.

At the bottom of the abyss, a young Taoist priest was bound by golden light locks, his head hanging low, looking weak and listless.

Seeing his appearance, the young Taoist priest said, "Junior Brother Ning, I've come to see you."

"Senior Brother Lu, what brings you here?" Ning Jue asked, quite surprised.

"Hehe, I begged my master for a long time before he finally agreed to let me come to see you." Lu Yunzhi smiled and placed the wine and dishes in front of him. "I thought you must be craving something to eat after being confined in the cave for so long. So I specially asked Junior Sister Yun to cook some of your favorite dishes. Come and have a taste."

I even secretly bought some wine from down the mountain; a few sips are perfect for relieving stress when I'm feeling down.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Lu, for your trouble." Ning Jue turned around and bowed. "But I still can't understand why Master doesn't believe me."

He didn't even see me once, and directly imprisoned me in this Demon-Suppressing Abyss. Isn't this a place only for disciples who have committed serious crimes and for imprisoning demons?

Why did Master make me stay here for ten years?

"This one……"

Lu Yunzhi hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Junior brother, you may not know, but Master said that the formless demon is the most evil and wicked thing in the world. It is born with the ability to sense people's thoughts and is especially good at bewitching people. Moreover, it is formless and invisible. Even a master who has seen through the mortal world can fall into the evil path if he is not careful."

Moreover, the white bone mark on your body, Junior Brother, looks quite terrifying; even Master has to be wary.

“But I am absolutely not bewitched by that formless demon. Even if it used tricks on me, it could not bewitch my mind,” Ning Jue said with a firm expression.

"That being said, we still need to be careful."

Master's tribulation of a hundred illnesses is approaching, so we must be on guard. If that formless demon takes the opportunity to disturb Master's tribulation, it will be troublesome.

So, junior brother, you should try to be understanding of your master's situation.

Hearing this, Ning Jue sighed and said, "Then we have no choice but to accept it."

"Hey, don't be discouraged. Come and try your Senior Sister Yun's cooking. Is it still the same as before?" Lu Yunzhi said with a smile and a wave of his hand.

Ning Jue nodded, a smile appearing on his lips. "I really like Senior Sister Yun's cooking. It's even more delicious than the dishes made by famous chefs down the mountain."

As he spoke, he picked up his chopsticks and grabbed a piece of food to put in his mouth.

Just as he brought the food to his mouth, the white bone mark on his chest suddenly trembled, as if it were about to crawl out of his flesh. This caused Ning Jue to tremble so badly that he couldn't even hold his chopsticks and collapsed to the ground in agony.

"Junior brother! Junior brother! What's wrong?" Lu Yunzhi asked in alarm.

He hurriedly stepped forward with concern, wanting to help Ning Jue up.

"Whoosh~"

A flash of cold light appeared, and Ning Jue swiftly grabbed the sharp blade with his other hand. He turned his head and looked at him with a sinister smile in his eyes, saying, "Senior Brother Lu, so you've come to deliver my death meal."

"Junior Brother Ning! It seems you have indeed been possessed by that formless demon! Our master is indeed insightful; he saw through your disguise at a glance!"
"Demons, prepare to die!"

Lu Yunzhi slapped Ning Jue away with a backhand, then made a hand seal and pointed, instantly sending nine golden light swords into the air that pierced Ning Jue's body.

Bright red blood slid down the stone wall, but Ning Jue's body did not fall. Instead, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. "Senior Brother Lu, since I have entered this path, why don't you come with me and try out the wonders of this evil and heretical path?"

As he spoke, he suddenly tore open the clothes on his chest, and the nine sword lights of Geng metal energy were swallowed into the belly of the white bone figure one by one.

Then the skeletal figure suddenly leaped off Ning Jue's body, landing and transforming into a skeletal demon over ten zhang in size, grinning maliciously as it spoke:

"Boy, your meager skills are no match for Wuxiang!"

After saying that, the Bone Demon transformed, sprouting countless arms from its back and reaching out to grab Lu Yunzhi.

Lu Yunzhi was about to activate the demon-suppressing restriction in the abyss, but suddenly a pair of hands reached out from the shadow behind him and pierced his chest, pulling out a burning heart.

His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at his own vibrant, still-beating heart, before his body suddenly collapsed.

A primordial spirit fled from his body in a panic. The white bones did not stop it, but simply smiled, pointed to the ground, and called out: "Formless and Myriad Forms, command the divine land!"

He transformed into a beam of white light, carrying Ning Jue underground, and they traveled through the soil.

Lu Yunzhi's primordial spirit fled in panic and came to the front of a cave, pleading, "Master! Master, please save your disciple!"

My disciple's physical body was destroyed by that formless demon, and his primordial spirit has nowhere to go.

Suddenly, a golden beam of light, a hundred feet high, shot out from the tightly closed cave, shattering his primordial spirit and causing it to be completely destroyed.

Inside the cave, the old Taoist priest, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, sighed and said, "My disciple, this is a last resort for me."

I am currently suffering from a hundred illnesses and is in the midst of the five signs of decay. If this formless demon were to touch me, I fear I would be doomed forever.

……

On Mount Wanxiang, the soil broke open, and a body slowly floated up from the halo of light.

Ning Jue slowly opened his eyes, and what came into view was a vast white mist, beneath which lay skeletons scattered on the ground.

He was startled and just as he was about to get up, he suddenly felt a series of sharp pains all over his body.

Ning Jue recalled the last scene before he fell into a coma: it was Senior Brother Lu's sword energy that injured him.

Was Senior Brother Lu really here on Master's orders? "Fellow Daoist Ning, how have you been?"

Bai Wuxiang emerged from the mist, dressed in a white robe, and quietly gazed at him on the ground.

"It's you! You demon!" Ning Jue tried to form a hand seal and incantation, but his body was as useless as if it were broken and wouldn't obey his commands.

"Although I am a demon, I saved your life. Shouldn't you thank me? Even if you don't repay the debt of gratitude, you shouldn't have tried to kill your savior right away, should you?" Bai Wuxiang asked him with a smile.

"If it weren't for you, you demon, how could I have been suspected by my master and ended up like this?" Ning Jue closed his eyes helplessly. He no longer wanted to argue. His master, whom he considered his closest relative, and his fellow disciples all wanted to take his life.

It was all because of the saying, "There are formless demons in the world, who are most adept at bewitching people's hearts."

Would they rather believe such nonsense than believe their closest relatives who have been with them for decades?
He clearly hadn't been bewitched by Wuxiang, but why did it seem as if his master was his fellow disciple who had been bewitched?

"Fellow Daoist Ning, haven't you figured it out yet?" Bai Wuxiang shook his head and said, "In truth, how could I possibly have such great ability to bewitch the hearts of everyone in the world?"

However, those who harbor suspicion and evil intentions, when they can no longer hide or restrain their evil thoughts and desires, find a good excuse for themselves and push all the blame onto me, Wuxiang.

If there is no ghost in your heart, if there is no fear in your heart, if you can restrain your desires, why would you fear my formlessness? Why would you fear my name?
The most bewitching demon is not the formless, but the human heart itself.

Ning Jue remained silent for a moment; the other party's words did indeed make a lot of sense.

If Master truly regarded me as one of his closest relatives, why would he be so wary of me? He even locked me up and didn't feel at ease, so he had my senior brother come and kill me.

"Don't you hate it?"

What do I hate?

Bai Wuxiang smiled and transformed into a wisp of mist, placing his hand on Lu Yunzhi's shoulder. His body then took the form of Lu Yunzhi, even down to his voice, and he laughed, saying, "Don't you hate me for poisoning, assassinating, and taking your life?"

Having said that, he transformed into a cloud of mist, from which emerged a graceful and beautiful woman in a long dress, who softly smiled and said, "Don't you hate me for making this heartbreaking and deadly dish?"

Ning Jue closed his eyes heavily and said weakly, "Indeed, it is a formless demon, most adept at bewitching people's hearts."

He didn't want to pay attention to the demon and was about to recite the Heart Sutra when a very familiar voice suddenly came to his ears.

"My disciple, will you blame your master?"

Ning Jue's eyelids trembled slightly; he dared not open his eyes.

But the voice still lingered in my ears, saying, "I also have my own difficulties. If I cannot overcome this tribulation of a hundred illnesses, I may die under the five signs of decay of the heavens and have no choice but to reincarnate."

It's a pity that my thousand years of arduous cultivation have all been wasted. I cannot fail! I cannot let this formless demon disturb my mind. So, when I learned that you were entangled by that formless demon, I had no choice but to painfully part with you.

"My good disciple, you won't blame your master, will you?"

Ning Jue finally couldn't help but open his eyes. He said sadly, "I am grateful to my master for raising and teaching me. Even if I were to give my life, I could not repay him."

How could I possibly resent my master? If my master wishes to take my life, I will not refuse.

Bai Wuxiang withdrew his transformation and stood in front of him, praising with a smile: "Fellow Daoist Ning's will is truly righteous, making it difficult for demons to approach."

"Since I've fallen into your hands, and my skills are inferior, whether you kill me or train me is up to you." Ning Jue ignored his praise and said resignedly.

"Hehe, I would like to ask you to do something for me."

"I will not work for demons."

"Fellow Daoist, are you truly unwilling? Why not listen to my explanation first?"

"If I listen to you, I'll be bewitched. You might as well just kill me with one blow."

“Since you are unwilling, then I will use your body to go down the mountain, devour human hearts and souls, and cultivate supreme demonic arts,” Bai Wuxiang said thoughtfully.

Ning Jue's face turned pale, and he said in a harsh voice, "What do you want me to do?"

Bai Wuxiang smiled and pointed, and the clouds and mist in front of him dispersed. Ning Jue, who was on the ground, looked in the direction of the clouds and mist and found that at the foot of the mountain piled with white bones, there was actually a group of mortals living there. They were cultivating the fields in spring, hunting and planting mulberry trees, and weaving cloth to make clothes. It was like a paradise on earth.

"At the foot of Wanxiang Mountain lies Black Stone Village."

"North of Wanxiang Mountain lies the Yunze Mountain Range," Bai Wuxiang explained, pointing to the distant, continuous mountain range.

"Yunze Mountain? Isn't this also part of the Yunze Mountain Range?" Ning Jue asked, puzzled.

Bai Wuxiang said helplessly, "The mountain lord of Yunze Mountain threw me out, so this mountain was renamed Wanxiang Mountain."

Ning Jue understood and couldn't help but say, "So it's not just cultivators who fear you, even demons despise you."

"Hehe, if you don't like it, then don't." Bai Wuxiang wasn't angry. He simply said, "In order to divide the two mountains, there is an additional large river to the north of Wanxiang Mountain, called Youchuan River."

The river is swift and difficult to cross, separating the north and south.

I have long heard that the Kongtong lineage is most skilled in the art of moving mountains and stones with the power of earth, therefore I would like to ask Fellow Daoist Ning to build a bridge for Black Stone Village.

"Repairing the bridge?"

"That's right. Yunze Mountain is shrouded in great supernatural powers, and ordinary methods and techniques cannot enter it at all."

I cannot even set foot in Yunze Mountain. Therefore, I request Fellow Daoist Ning to build a bridge and road for the people of Black Stone Village. This would be a good deed and benefit the people.”

"My magical power is not refined enough, so it may be difficult to succeed," Ning Jue said frankly, without being presumptuous.

"Fellow Daoist Ning, there is no need to worry. Whether you succeed or not, just do it."

Ning Jue pondered for a moment and then agreed, "Then I will give it a try, within my capabilities."

What the other party was about to do was not something heinous or evil; on the contrary, it seemed to be something that would benefit the people. He felt no guilt, either in his heart or in his morality.

“In that case, I will trouble Fellow Daoist Ning. I am not in a hurry to succeed. Fellow Daoist Ning can rest and recuperate until his injuries are fully healed before conducting a thorough examination.”

Bai Wuxiang smiled and cupped his hands slightly, saying, "There are still old friends of Fellow Daoist Ning on Wanxiang Mountain. If you are feeling down, you may feel free to chat with them and have someone to keep you company."

Ning Jue was somewhat puzzled. An old friend? What old friend could there be in this land of demons?
On Wanxiang Mountain, mist swirls and white bones lie scattered about.

A sinister figure pierced through the mist, exclaiming in surprise, "Could it be Fellow Daoist Ning?"

Ning Jue was taken aback when he heard the familiar voice. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw a man dressed in black robes with a ghostly aura staring at him in surprise.

"Fellow Daoist Hua? What are you doing here? Could it be that you were also captured by this formless demon?"

(End of this chapter)