From Paper Craftsman to World-Suppressing Immortal

The fierce battle ended, but the result was unexpected.

Zhang Zhixuan and Pei Shouzhen witnessed the Jade Cicada draining the sorcerer dry. The horrifying scene left both of them with solemn expressions and silent.

The little jade cicada had fallen to the ground, looking completely ordinary, with no indication that the horrifying human mummy on the ground was the work of this little jade cicada.

After waiting a while and seeing no further change in the jade cicada, Pei Shouzhen and Zhang Zhixuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Layman Zhang, how are you? Are you hurt?" Pei Shouzhen's supernatural powers subsided, and his large and strong body returned to normal, but he looked tired and was covered in wounds. This fierce battle had really taken a toll on him.

"Still alive, at least that's better than that dried-up thing..."

Zhang Zhixuan's gaze fell on the dried corpse, then looked at the jade cicada on the ground, and after a moment of contemplation, asked Pei Shouzhen.

"Master Pei, can you discern the origins of this jade cicada?"

Pei Shouzhen frowned, his gaze falling on the jade cicada as he examined it carefully. His expression was extremely solemn, and he was also on high alert: "I can only tell that it is a magic artifact, but as for its origin, I cannot tell."

Zhang Zhixuan sighed, somewhat surprised: "I didn't expect that even with Master Pei's skills, he couldn't figure out the origin of this thing..."

"Mr. Zhang, could you please tell me where this item came from?"

"It's related to the evil spirit possessing the paper figure. As for how this thing ended up in my hands, I'll tell you in detail when we get back. Now let's check the battlefield and see what these two sorcerers are up to behind the scenes."

Pei Daozhen kept a close watch on the jade cicada on the ground. He couldn't figure out the origin of such an evil thing, nor did he know how to deal with it. He could only ask Zhang Zhixuan, "What should we do with this jade cicada? We absolutely can't just leave it here."

"Of course we won't leave it here. Do you have any Golden Light Evil-Repelling Talismans, Taoist Master? Let's use this to ward off evil spirits first."

Zhang Zhixuan didn't know if it would work or not, so he could only try it as a last resort.

You can't exactly say that you were just wrapped in rags and brought all the way here.

Ever since he examined the jade cicada with his treasure-hunting eye, Zhang Zhixuan knew it was an evil object. He never expected it to be so sinister. At this moment, Zhang Zhixuan was terrified, as if he had an uncontrollable bomb inside him that had almost killed him.

But what baffles him most is the circumstances under which this tiny jade cicada appeared on its own. Was its autonomous action aimed at absorbing the sorcerer's power, or at protecting Zhang Zhixuan from death? Or was it being manipulated? If it was being manipulated, then it was far too unpredictable and dangerous…

Furthermore, the words spoken by the sorcerer before his death seemed to indicate that he recognized this jade cicada…

"My Lord's sacred object... My Lord lives forever... My Lord is eternally indestructible..."

"Who exactly is this 'master' that the sorcerer speaks of? Is he related to the paper wife who set me up?"

The more Zhang Zhixuan thought about it, the more he felt that the situation was shrouded in mystery and complex, far more complicated than it appeared.

Zhang Zhixuan initially thought it was just bad luck and that he had been bewitched by evil spirits. But now it seems that the paper wife, the sorcerer, and the jade cicada—these things that have already appeared on the table are already quite complicated. If they are all involved, there will definitely be even more troublesome things to come.

Exhaling a long breath, Zhang Zhixuan, whose physical strength was severely depleted, felt his head throb and his body grow more and more tired the more he thought about it. He decided to stop thinking about it and figured that many mysteries would be solved naturally after he took a trip to Panlong Mountain.

"Master Pei, I can't move, so I'll trouble you to search around here, especially the corpses of those two sorcerers and those strange silkworm cocoons. The answers to those missing persons cases you investigated earlier are probably all here."

"You're too kind, Layman Zhang. Please rest for now. Leave the rest to me." Pei Shouzhen said, taking out a small porcelain bottle and pouring out a blue pill.

"Layman, take this Cleansing Pill. It can dispel evil spirits and impurities, nourish your body and calm your mind, and it will help you in your current situation."

Zhang Zhixuan didn't even have the strength to lift his hand, and could only smile bitterly, "I have no strength at all, Master Pei, please help me, I..."

Before he could finish speaking, Pei Shouzhen flicked his finger, and the Qingling Pill went straight into Zhang Zhixuan's mouth as he opened it.

The pill melted instantly upon entering his mouth, and its cooling medicinal power quickly spread throughout his body. It was like eating a thin mint candy in the middle of summer—sweet, refreshing, and making him feel comfortable all over. In just a few breaths, Zhang Zhixuan already felt much better.

Pei Shouzhen took one himself, then put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. A few minutes later, a swift shadow descended from the sky and landed lightly on Pei Shouzhen.

Upon closer inspection, Zhang Zhixuan realized it was a grey gyrfalcon.

Pei Shouzhen took out the government office's token and handed it to Grey Spear Falcon, instructing, "Go find someone, and don't linger on the way!"

The grey gyrfalcon nodded intelligently, grasped the token, spread its wings, and soared into the sky.

"You even have pets? That's great," Zhang Zhixuan said with a smile.

Pei Shouzhen smiled without saying a word, turned around and started working. He first checked the silkworm pupae one by one.

Tearing away the outer layer of silk threads, inside were indeed those missing people.

These people, regardless of gender or age, were completely naked, in a strange state, breathing evenly but without a pulse. Their expressions showed no pain, but rather peace, even with natural smiles, as if they had not been forcibly captured, but had come here willingly to enter the cocoon.

Pei Shouzhen frowned the entire time, gathering everyone together and feeding them pills one by one. Zhang Zhixuan watched from afar, occasionally muttering "It's an eyesore!" and then praising, "Really good..."

Aside from their personal weapons—staffs and some witchcraft artifacts—the only noteworthy item among the two sorcerer corpses is a map made of animal hide.

"Mr. Zhang, take a look at this."

Pei Shouzhen unfolded the map and showed it to Zhang Zhixuan.

It's not hard to see that this map roughly outlines the city of Tianjin. It marks out which areas are heavily guarded, which areas are under surveillance, which areas are the most bustling and lively, and which are remote and sparsely populated places. It's clear that these sorcerers did their homework before committing their crimes...

Suddenly, Zhang Zhixuan noticed a slightly different mark on the map: "Where is this place?"

Pei Shouzhen looked at it carefully, but shook his head: "I don't recognize it either."

Just as the two were staring at each other in bewilderment, suddenly, chaotic footsteps came from outside the cave above them, accompanied by the anxious shouts of a middle-aged man: "Hurry, hurry, everyone keep up!"

"Hey! Don't go anywhere! This is it!"

"Take a picture! Take a picture! Take a picture! Hurry up!"

Then several beams of dazzling light illuminated the cave entrance.

Zhang Zhixuan and Pei Shouzhen looked up at the same time and saw a circle of detectives from the government office, wearing peaked caps and black and white uniforms, standing neatly in front of the hole above them, under the bright lights.

The leader, a short-bearded officer, hunched over at the cave entrance, grinned obsequiously: "Look, look! This matter was handled perfectly by our Master Pei! The case is now closed!"