Fellow Daoist Entrusts His Child: Immortality Begins with Nurturing a Demoness

Chapter 42 Seven Fiends Soul-Locking Array, Will Master Luo Win? (Combined Chapter)
"Seven Fiends Soul-Locking Formation"

Luo Fanchen's expression changed slightly. He abandoned even the vengeful ghost, grabbed Mo Xue's hand, and turned to run.

Are you kidding me? Three of them, a full three Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppets!

Beneath the cave dwell mortals, but they are all mortals with spiritual roots. Their spiritual consciousness is obscured, their chests and abdomens are cut open, and their intestines are tangled and dragging outside their bodies, arranged in a heptagonal array.

There are seven array points, each with ten people. At the center of the altar are three blood cocoons wrapped in intestines and flesh, with the Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppet script on them shimmering with bloody light.

"What's wrong with Master Luo?"

“There are demonic cultivators refining evil pills. This is not something we can interfere with. Quickly return to Feiyun Workshop and report to the steward.”

Luo Fanchen casually explained, and was about to make a hand seal to store the soul banner, but immediately stopped.

Thanks to the Illusionary Array of the Fire Star, the connection between this place and the demonic cultivators who cast the spell was temporarily blocked. If he rashly withdrew the Soul Banner, he and Mo Xue would be discovered instantly and marked by the other party's illusionary array, and would be caught up quickly.

The Soul Banner is his most important fighting weapon, so naturally he cannot give it up.

"Tsk, this stupid demonic cultivator, condensing a demonic core, only sets up one illusion array to deal with it? He deserves to die."

Luo Fanchen clicked his tongue in amazement; the Fiend Pill was so precious that it was almost equivalent to a Foundation Establishment spiritual item.

This method emphasizes seizing human life for one's own use, and is extremely ruthless. It requires multiple first-tier high-grade magic treasures as an aid, and a second-tier low-grade magic array—the Seven Fiends Soul-Locking Array—to seize the souls and innate energy of seventy children with spiritual roots.

Then, using the Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppet as a foundation, the Three Elements are refined in reverse, and the innate energy of the spiritual root is mixed with the resentment of the Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppet to refine the Demon Pill.

This pill can increase a cultivator's chances of establishing a foundation by 30%, but those who take the pill will inevitably suffer karmic retribution and experience a foundation-establishing tribulation.

"Aren't Demonic Pills very valuable?"

Upon hearing this, Mo Xue's almond-shaped eyes immediately sparkled, her little face filled with excitement, and she couldn't wait to run off and get the pill.

She had heard of the Evil Pill; although it was malevolent, it was worth at least three hundred spirit stones on the black market.

If they can obtain the pill, Master Luo won't have to worry about the debt for her cultivation technique, and the remaining spirit stones will save them from years of hard work.

"Master Luo, this is an opportunity not to be missed!"

"Do not act rashly. The demonic cultivator who set up the formation may very well be at the ninth level of Qi Refining."

"Fortune favors the bold. If he dares to cultivate demonic arts, he must be prepared to be double-crossed."

Mo Xue held the sword in her bare hand, and casually used one hand to gently poke the soft flesh of Luo Fanchen's waist, giggling softly.

"Besides, he's already refined the Demon-Slaying Pill. If we don't take it, do you think this fiend will let us go?"

"You see things clearly, but I'm afraid it won't be easy to get those three hundred spirit stones."

Luo Fanchen sighed softly. He naturally couldn't abandon Qiu Yun and run away. He simply listened to Mo Xue's suggestion, took a Breath Concealing Pill, and protected the girl behind him. Then, following the route that the evil ghost had explored, he slowly made his way into the depths of the cellar.

The deeper Luo Fanchen went, the stronger his sense of crisis became, cursing inwardly that he had stumbled upon a hot potato.

A strong smell of blood lingered around my nose along the way, and the rock walls were covered with mottled bloodstains.

"Gulu."

A blood spring gushed forth underground, its chill seeping into the soles of my shoes.

Everywhere you look, there are fragments of internal organs and fleshy remains. Judging from the tattered hemp clothing on the mutilated body, it must have been the original inhabitants of the village. Before the Seven Fiends Soul-Locking Array was set up, there must have been multiple blood sacrifices.

"Master Luo, many of these children possess cultivation."

Mo Xue frowned, and compared to Luo Fanchen's somewhat unpleasant expression, she quite enjoyed the strong smell of blood lingering around her nose.

However, the vicious methods of demonic cultivators in slaughtering children, and the plight of the Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppet, made her feel even more deeply, and her killing intent suddenly arose.

"His true essence and blood energy have all dissipated, making him basically no different from an ordinary person."

Luo Fanchen pursed his lips. Observing the meridians of most of the children in front of him, most of them showed signs of opening acupoints, but of course, they only stayed at the first few acupoints of the Ren meridian. Most of them had five spiritual roots in their cultivation aptitude, with only seven having four spiritual roots as the core of the formation.

"The Heavenly Demon Puppet with three spiritual roots will probably need some time to refine the Demon Core."

Luo Fanchen did not step into the Seven Fiends Soul Locking Formation, but he still gained a lot of clues by observing from the outside.

This grand formation has been in place for at least a year. The three Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppets had taken Blood-Dissolving Pills multiple times, forcibly replacing most of their bloodlines. On the very day the blood replacement was completed, they were disemboweled and died.

"The caster and the Heavenly Demon Puppet are not related, so this method is used to replace them, and the array is opened to refine pills when their bloodline is at its strongest."

Luo Fanchen murmured, while Mo Xue's fair hand, gripping the sword hilt tightly, turned slightly white.

"The ability to secretly collect so many children with spiritual roots is not something an individual could do alone; there must be a powerful force supporting them."

"Master Luo, is this pill being refined by a scion of a prominent clan for the purpose of Foundation Establishment?"

Mo Xue's voice was icy cold. All the hardships she suffered in her childhood were due to the demonic cultivators, so she naturally hated them to the core.

"Privately refining evil pills is a serious crime punishable by the confiscation of property and the extermination of the entire clan. It's not worth risking the annihilation of three clans for a single evil pill."

"The Water Margin Gang? No, that's not right. Most of the plunderers are just itinerant raiders; they don't have the ability to plunder so many children."

As Luo Fanchen answered Mo Xue, he stroked his chin with his fingers, carefully choosing his words in a low voice.

"This place belongs to the Jubao Pavilion trade route, so the risk of exposure should be greater, yet this fiend still chose to set up its formation here."

"It's highly likely that this was done by an inside agent from the Treasure Pavilion."

“It’s not the Treasure Pavilion, Master Luo. Look, this is the mark of the blood pact between master and servant.”

Mo Xue's nose twitched slightly. With her eyes closed and sensing, she quickly used the tip of her sword to pick out several pieces of flesh and limbs from between the intestines, brain, and blood pool.

The flesh was marked with scars, the shape of which was extremely similar to the blood pact mark between master and servant. These scars were likely caused by the lack of care after the blood pact was broken.

There were quite a few of these pieces of flesh. Luo Fanchen roughly counted them and found that there were more than thirty left, and most of them could be matched with the missing parts of the child's corpse.

"Inferior spiritual root, low cultivation level, and bound by a master-servant blood pact—there's no mistake."

Luo Fanchen exhaled a long breath of turbid air, suppressing his thoughts of reporting to the Qinghe Sect.

"These children are likely servants of cultivators from the nearby immortal workshops. The only sect capable of gathering seventy cultivators without alerting the Qinghe Sect is the Qinghe Sect itself."

"Lord Luo of Qinghe Sect, what should we do?"

Having lived in Feiyunfang for a long time, Mo Xue knew that the Qinghe Sect was powerful, and her tough tone unconsciously became hesitant.

She instinctively grabbed Luo Ye's sleeve, drooping her head and shrinking behind him.

She was warlike, but she knew in her heart that she and Master Luo were no match for the Qinghe Sect.

"What should we do? Silly girl, didn't you already tell me?"

Luo Fanchen gently shook his head. He lightly pinched Mo Xue's small face, which felt cool, indicating that the girl had lost her composure.

"Naturally, it's to take the pill. This evil pill will become a nascent pill within seven days, and someone will definitely come to take it then."

"A fledgling core?"

"Yes, these three Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppets, although they have three spiritual roots, have conflicting attributes and are a step below. After they are formed into cores, they will need to sacrifice the soul and blood of a child with a superior spiritual root so that their resentment can become evil."

"Master Luo, you're not going to sacrifice me, are you?"

Mo Xue pouted, but regretted it as soon as she finished speaking and hurriedly covered her head.

Sure enough, the next moment, Luo Fanchen's sharp rap on the head followed, making the girl wince in pain, clutching her forehead and whimpering.

"You're eighteen, what kind of child are you?"

"Doesn't Master Luo always treat me like a child?"

Mo Xue pouted and whimpered, then couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle softly, the unease in her heart vanishing.

"Master Luo, what do you want to do? I'll do whatever you say."

“The risk of condensing the evil core is extremely high, and it was definitely not the intention of the Qinghe Sect. It must be that their disciples were bewitched by inner demons and fell into the demonic path, which is why they used this foundation-building method. These people should be one of the managers of the Immortal Workshop, so they could take advantage of their position to secretly collect children.”

Luo Fanchen's mind raced, and by putting himself in Luo Fanchen's shoes, he managed to analyze the situation quite thoroughly.

"When the Demon Pill is born, there are strange phenomena of ghosts and demons. To avoid suspicion, this person will definitely not come to take it personally, and will not even use his open connections. This is our only chance to ambush and escape."

Luo Fanchen paced back and forth, deliberating for a long time before finally making a decision.

"Destroy the person who took the pill, search their soul to obtain the pill, and after obtaining the evidence, return to Feiyunfang, and then Jubaoge will report to Luoshenge."

"Master Luo is indeed very reliable."

Mo Xue's pretty face was slightly stunned. After a while, she calmly looked at Master Luo's profile with her almond-shaped eyes, feeling extremely at ease.

She realized that only when all escape routes were blocked would Master Luo unleash his true strength.

Just like when facing Ling Youdao, Master Luo was meticulous, cunning as a fox, and fierce as a wolf. This is how he was able to defeat the demonic cultivator who possessed the Soul Banner despite being at a disadvantage in all aspects of cultivation and magic.

"If we have no other choice, then Mo Xue will have to compete with me in the art of escape."

"Oh, why?"

Mo Xue tilted her head in confusion, her bright almond-shaped eyes blinking gently, looking charming and adorable.

"Do you know how fast a mortal would have to run to escape a tiger or leopard?"

"Faster than tigers and leopards?"

"As long as it's faster than a stray cat."

Luo Fanchen spoke in a teasing tone. Mo Xue belatedly realized what he meant and angrily raised her small fist to lightly punch his chest. Then she said seriously with her little face.

"Don't worry, Master Luo, I definitely can't outrun you. I'll come and protect you and Qiuyun when the time comes." After Mo Xue finished speaking, she turned her face away and muttered softly, "It's clearly a house cat."

"In the next few days, I need to use the Soul Banner to re-set up the illusion array. This is the gate to life in this place. You need to dig an underground cave that you can live in within these seven days. If anything goes wrong, this will be the only way out."

"Okay, I'll listen to Master Luo."

Mo Xue nodded, and Luo Fanchen tossed her a storage bag.

Inside were the low-grade magic sword she had been longing for, three spirit stones, and the last remaining Concealing Breath Pill.

"The Soul Banner can conceal my aura, so I don't need it."

"Master Luo, you'll win, right?"

"I'm guaranteed to win. After all, Mo Xue said I'm very strong."

Mo Xue looked worried. Luo Fanchen turned his back and gave her a thumbs up to encourage her before leaving the cave and arriving at the central palace of the illusion array.

He gripped the soul banner tightly with his left hand and made the Hai Water Seal with his right, forcibly awakening Qiu Yun with the technique of warding off evil spirits, and then briefly summarized what had happened.

"Everyone says that ascending the soul banner will bring divine retribution, but I never expected the misfortune to come so quickly."

Qiu Yun's pretty face was bitter, and her spirits were slightly low: "Uncle Luo, what do you want me to do?"

"You need to analyze this illusion array in the next few days. Within seven days, you must use the Mars technique to completely replicate the inner scene of the illusion array, making it indistinguishable from the real thing, so as to deceive the eyes and ears of the pill-stealing demon cultivator. Leave the rest to me."

"By the way, how many souls are left?"

"One vengeful ghost, thirty accomplices."

Luo Fanchen nodded slightly, not feeling very confident, but with Mo Xue and Qiu Yun behind him, he had to force himself to pull himself together.

A single use of Soul Devouring, combined with Bloodlust Talisman, should increase combat power by 30%.

If the demon cultivator who takes the pill is only at the sixth level of Qi Refining, and he launches a full-scale sneak attack while having the upper hand, he has about a 30% chance of winning.

"Qiuyun, there is one more thing."

After making the arrangements, Luo Fanchen's expression gradually became serious, and he said solemnly, "If I fail, do not come to save me."

"I have already attached the Soul-Stealing Incense to the magic sword, which will take effect in five days. When I fight, you need to attach yourself to Mo Xue's body, take the Breath-Concealing Pill, hide in the Life Gate, and then use the Mars Technique to conceal your aura. There is an 80% chance that you will both be saved."

"I want to help Uncle Luo fight the enemy."

Luo Fanchen gently shook his head, stroked Qiu Yun's dark hair with his large hand, and said softly, "I will most likely lose. Your forced breakthrough will not help me."

"I"

"Protect Mo Xue well, so that she will have the ability to avenge me after she joins the Taoist sect."

Luo Fanchen comforted Qiu Yun for a long time, and after much persuasion, the girl finally agreed while sobbing, and his tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

He had always been pessimistic about combat, estimating that his combat strength was at most slightly better than that of a rogue cultivator of the same level. Demonic cultivators were insidious, had many evil spells, and acted ruthlessly, with combat strength far exceeding that of ordinary rogue cultivators. Moreover, the cultivation level of the demonic cultivator who took the pill was likely stronger than his.

"Can I really defeat the demonic cultivator?"

Feeling frustrated, Luo Fanchen swallowed two Meridian Opening Pills in one gulp and began to practice breathing exercises to accumulate as much True Wood Essence as possible.

Even if he loses, he will create conditions for Qiu Yunmo Xue to survive.

At the same time, within the inner ring of Feiyunfang, a cluster of pavilions covering several acres...
"I've succeeded! I've reached the sixth level of Qi Refining! I've succeeded!"

Inside the enormous bronze mirror inlaid with spirit jade, a giant man, as strong as an iron tower and half-naked, laughed heartily. He had a square face with a scar running from his forehead to his chin, exuding a fierce and thuggish aura.

"Chang Hao, our transaction is complete. After you take the pill, I will return your soul, and our debts will be settled."

The air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood. Inside the magnificent hall, a cultivator dressed in a long robe draped in clouds and water stood with his hands behind his back.

His face was delicate and handsome, and his Taoist robe fluttered in the wind with cloud and water patterns like a flowing river. Wisps of water mist floated around him, which was a characteristic of someone who had opened up his Qi Sea and compressed his true essence at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

His name is Qingzheng. He is an inner disciple of the Qinghe Sect and is currently at the ninth level of Qi Refining. He is one of the two inner disciples of the Feiyun Pavilion.

He ranked third in power and had managed Feiyunfang for many years. Before his fall from grace, he was once considered a strong successor to the position of steward of Feiyunfang.

"Hahaha, you Taoist disciple are truly strange. You are wary of my Water Margin Gang, yet you can only rely on my Water Margin Gang at crucial moments."

"Why not agree to our boss's conditions? If you take over the Immortal Workshop in the future, we will definitely recommend you as the person in charge."

"Stop making noise, know your place."

Qingzheng frowned slightly, exuding an imposing aura without anger. With a wave of his hand, a scroll of animal hide appeared out of thin air.

The scroll was engraved with demons and monsters, like ghostly patterns. With just a little bit of true energy injected, Chang Hao's face turned pale and he was in unbearable pain.

"If you hadn't used your wicked methods to steal one of my souls, would I have been controlled by you, this hypocritical beast?"

"Three Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppets, the Seven Fiends Soul-Locking Array, what a grand scheme! I've spent half my life robbing and plundering, but I've never suffered such heavy karma."

Chang Hao cursed angrily, but he had no choice but to bow his head and submit under the intense pain of his soul.

"Get out of here. If you don't see the Demonic Pill in seven days, it will be your death day."

"Heh, your illusion array is a high-grade first-order array, even those at the ninth level of Qi Refining would find it difficult to break. How could I possibly enter it?"

"You don't need to worry about it."

Qingzheng's eyes held disdain, as if he utterly disdainful of conversing with such a vile bandit.

"Tsk tsk, sect disciples really have a lot of good stuff. My master reminded you that those guys from Shou Rufeng have their eyes on Old Man Wang. You haven't been cleaning up your mess very well lately."

"If the sect finds out you're practicing demonic cultivation, tsk tsk tsk, do you want me to clean up your mess?"

"You don't need to worry about it. I only want the Demon Pill. Once I get it, I can turn a blind eye to what you've done."

Qingzheng hummed softly, made a hand seal, and the figure in the mirror turned into spiritual light and slowly dissipated.

He stood frozen in front of the mirror, staring at the inner disciple's robe reflected in the mirror. After a long moment of stunned silence, he suddenly clenched his fist, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

"If I hadn't been unable to obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill, would I have refined this evil pill? Would I have associated with such filthy people?"

Qingzheng gritted his teeth, blood trickling from the corner of his lips: "Why can't I comprehend the Daoist scriptures? Why do I only have one chance to establish my foundation, while this scoundrel is just a senior steward?"

"My Foundation Establishment Pill, my spot, damn it!"

Qingzheng's eyes were bloodshot with anger, and he was panting heavily. It took him a long time to calm down.

Just then, a disciple downstairs came to report that a disheveled old man was requesting an audience with a Qinghe Sect token.

"Seek death."

Qingzheng immediately guessed it was Old Man Wang, and his eyes flashed with murderous intent. This man was despicable and cunning. In recent years, he had either abducted or bought many spirit slaves, so he could be considered a meritorious person.

Unfortunately, his flamboyant behavior carries the risk of implicating him, so let's grant him a complete corpse.

"I don't know this person. Throw him out, and he'll lure all sorts of cats and dogs in."

Qingzheng dismissed his disciples and told them that he would be giving a sermon that day, and summoned them to gather at the main gate to listen to the teachings.

At the same time, he separated a portion of his spiritual consciousness and inserted it into the puppet, directly controlling this first-tier high-grade puppet, heading straight to the shantytown.

"Ouch! These idiots are too heavy-handed. I'll unleash my power and teach you a lesson."

Inside the shantytown, Old Wang's face was covered in bruises and swollen like a pig's head.

He groaned as he kicked open the door of the thatched hut, only to find a beast-faced puppet already waiting there. His eyes lit up slightly, and he immediately bowed down.

"This humble old man greets Your Excellency and wishes you a prosperous path to immortality and the attainment of the Dao."

"I have said that you are not allowed to contact me directly. Have you overstepped your bounds today? Do you want to live too long?"

Qingzheng manipulated the puppet, letting out a soft snort of anger. Old Man Wang suddenly felt a chill on his face, his shoulders felt incredibly heavy, his knees went weak, and he knelt on the ground in fear, kowtowing repeatedly.

"This old man was foolish; it's all my fault for being hasty and messing things up. Please, sir, spare my life."

Qingzheng ignored the humble old man Wang's pleas for mercy, his eyes blazing with murderous intent. Just as he was about to make his move, he heard the old man stammering.

"I have found a child with superior spiritual roots that you need, and I can't wait to tell you."

"A superior-grade spiritual root, are you sure?"

Qingzheng was slightly taken aback, then his eyes lit up with wild joy. He was just one high-grade spiritual root needed to complete his transformation into a powerful core.

However, top-grade spiritual roots are extremely precious. Even those with conflicting spiritual root attributes are considered to have superior aptitude. If they cultivate properly, they can even join the Daoist sect. As for him, he only has three spiritual roots.

"Absolutely true, it must be a top-grade spiritual root!"

"Children under the age of eighteen?"

"It must be a child!"

Old Wang stammered for a moment. He was unsure of Mo Xue's age, but judging from her development and height, she was at most fourteen or fifteen years old.

As for top-grade spiritual roots, well, he has handled no fewer than thirty children over the years, including one with three spiritual roots, so he naturally has some discernment. This little girl's progress is rapid; in just two months, when he saw her from afar, he actually felt a bit wary.

It is far superior to having three spiritual roots.

Qingzheng was overjoyed, all murderous intent vanished from his eyes, and he even stepped forward to help Old Man Wang up.

"Very good, very good. If this succeeds, I will definitely remember your great contribution!"

(End of this chapter)