Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 205 The Vengeful Toad Corpse

A hint of life shone through the giant toad's two eyes.

When it noticed Fang Shu staring at it, it let out a moo, a deep, drum-like sound, just like the one Fang Shu had heard before entering the valley.

It only let out one cry and then did nothing more, continuing to lie motionless on the ground.

Fang Shu narrowed his eyes, and his divine sense immediately spread out, quickly discovering clues around the giant toad's body.

With a wave of his sleeve, the ground where the giant toad stood was immediately dug open, revealing bronze, iron, gold, and jade vessels scattered around in a certain pattern. These vessels were connected by ropes made of yellow paper and red thread, which pierced through the vessels and penetrated deep into the giant toad's flesh.

Streams of vital energy are being drawn from the giant toad's body through yellow paper and red thread, and then used to nourish the outside world, transforming into a major source of nourishment for the dense malevolent energy in this place.

Sure enough, there were some clues about this giant toad. Although it was a demon with an impressive aura that could intimidate people, it was actually just a trapped beast that had been subdued by the ghost immortal and had its essence and true energy extracted to nourish its yin energy.

"No wonder this place is so lacking in spiritual energy and filled with yin energy, unlike a place that nurtures evil spirits, yet the evil energy is so strong," Fang Shu thought to himself.

Looking back now, perhaps the cry from the giant toad before he entered the valley was not a deterrent, but rather a warning.

Fang Shu withdrew his gaze from the yellow paper and red line, and looked down at the giant toad. He noticed that the giant toad's eyes were wet, as if it had something to say.

He nodded, indicating that the other party should speak.

Even if a demon of this level of physical form is completely subdued, it should have already learned to speak human language and be able to talk.

The giant toad understood his signal, but still did not speak human language. Instead, it opened its mouth, revealing a bloody and mangled mouth with only a severed tongue root moving weakly inside.

It was obvious that the demon's tongue had been cut off by that ghostly immortal, rendering it unable to speak.

Upon seeing this scene, Fang Shu's expression shifted slightly.

He hesitated for a moment, then spoke up: "Do you wish for this humble Taoist priest to save you?"

But to his surprise, the giant toad gently shook its head.

The creature slowly raised its head, its tongue wriggling, and looked up at the hundred-step-wide evil cloud above, especially the wailing, vengeful faces of the ghosts within it.

Moo... The giant toad puffed out its cheeks and made another indistinct mooing sound.

Fang Shu was momentarily stunned.

The demon's meaning was quite clear: it actually hoped that he could save these wronged souls.
After a few moments of silence, Fang Shu spoke:

"Your vital energy has become intertwined with the malevolent energy of this place, and you are terminally ill, only clinging to life by the malevolent energy-nurturing restriction."

"If you easily release the malevolent energy and let the wronged souls escape, your life will be in grave danger. On the contrary, if I help you destroy these wronged souls, and you help me collect this malevolent energy, we can continue to live, and there may be a glimmer of hope."

As he spoke, he also surveyed the dense malevolent aura surrounding the place, his gaze shifting.

According to the ghost immortal, the reason the other party was pretending to be a god or ghost here was to refine evil spirits with human lives.

The malevolent energy he cultivated was called "The Vengeful Ghost of Resentment," which required at least a thousand lives as a catalyst to cultivate, and the more lives the better, and the greater the resentment at the time of death the better.

Judging from the quality of the malevolent energy in the valley, the number of lives taken by the Ghost Dao Immortals must be more than a thousand!

Even in Fang Shu's eyes, this evil energy was already quite remarkable, worthy of being used as the "Resentment and Encounter" evil energy in his Six Desires Yin Evil Method. However, the karmic consequences were not small, and it might affect his mind and hinder his tranquility.

The giant toad did not respond to Fang Shu's words, but continued to look at the ominous clouds above its head with its moist and lively eyes.

The valley was quiet for a while.

Fang Shu's expression turned serious, and he slowly exhaled.

He bowed to the other party and said, "Fellow Daoist, rest assured, I understand."

Since this demon is willing to sacrifice its life to free the souls of the entire valley, why should it be so concerned about a mere unclean evil spirit?

Immediately.

Fang Shu no longer hesitated. He waved the banner pole, circling the giant toad, chanting scriptures and incantations, and performing ritualistic steps. Buzzing, the Gu worms that had stopped rising rose again, forming a nine-palace eight-trigram pattern, and landed on the yellow paper and red lines around the giant toad.

With a snap, as the Gu worms devoured the giant toad, the restraints on it dissipated, and the essence within the demon's body completely lost its control, dissipating and disappearing.

Freed from the constraints of the restriction, the demon seemed to be looking down at Fang Shu, and its divine sense was finally able to wriggle out and penetrate the body, as if it wanted to say something to Fang Shu.

But as soon as it lowered its head, the life force in its eyes vanished like a sudden breath, and its eyes quickly became dull.

Fang Shu only sensed that the other party's divine sense touched him briefly before dissipating like a gentle breeze.

In a blur, the giant toad's consciousness, aged and frail, managed only to leave behind a divine thought and utter a single word: "Thank you."

Woohoo... As the giant toad died, the valley was filled with the howling of ghosts.

"I hate it! I hate it! I hate it!" the wronged spirit cried out.

Fang Shu had no time for much reflection; he continued to operate the formation, chanting the Rebirth Mantra in the valley:
"By the Supreme Decree, may your lonely souls, all ghosts and demons, and all living beings be blessed... May all beings be saved and reborn quickly! May all beings be saved and reborn quickly!"

His robes billowed, his hair danced wildly, and he dispelled the ominous clouds.

After a full three cups of tea.

The restless resentment finally began to dissipate, and sunlight finally shone down into the cold valley, illuminating the toads scattered all over the ground.

One by one, the souls of the dead, their faces growing increasingly blank, were exposed to the sunlight, flickering and rising like fireflies before vanishing into nothingness.

Crackling!

Despite the bright sunshine, a rain began to fall in the valley, making it cold and damp.

Fang Shu, soaked by the cold rain, let out a long breath.

He watched silently as the departing souls scattered.

He didn't know whether the Rebirth Mantra could bring souls back to life, but it could at least prevent these dead souls from harming the world again.

Once all the souls have dispersed and the evil energy in the valley has almost dissipated, even if left unattended, it will only take a few more years for the place to return to its original state.

Fang Shu then withdrew his gaze and turned it back to the giant toad's corpse.

"How strange!" he finally uttered.
"Humans harm others with their selfish desires, while demons use their demonic forms to save others from suffering."

With a soft sigh, Fang Shu put away the banners and rolled up his sleeves.

His work is not yet finished.

next moment.

Fang Shu walked to the lifeless corpse of the giant toad, bowed to it again, circled it for a moment, and then reached out and lifted its massive body, which was as large as a house.

This demon is a genuine fifth-stage perfected demon, perhaps even capable of refining qi, its entire body is a treasure.

However, Fang Shu did not put the toad corpse into his storage bag. Instead, he carried it and strode towards the river not far away.

On both sides of the riverbank, the people who had been gazing at the valley were now filled with fear, thinking that Fang Shu had angered the Five Gods, causing them to pounce out and wreak havoc on the surrounding area once again.

But soon they discovered the difference.

Fang Shu, carrying the toad corpse, walked on water and appeared in the stench-filled river. He placed the giant toad in the water, making it resemble a raft, and slowly stepped onto it, once again casting a spell to purify it.

The toad corpse seemed to be nailed to the middle of the river, unmoving.

The churning, surging blood-red river water continuously washed over it, and starting with the toad's corpse, the river water's color became clearer at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the fishy smell slowly dissipated.

(End of this chapter)