With virtue

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yunshu frowned, a hint of anger rising within him.

That female assassin was indeed just a scapegoat, which was not surprising. Moreover, she had probably done all sorts of bad things, so Zhao Yunshu didn't feel sorry for killing her.

But... just looking at these culprits makes one furious.

No matter how mentally challenged the female assassin was, she was at least kind-hearted. Her unyielding spirit before her death, and her stubbornness and hatred towards the military governor and those in power, all showed that she still had a sense of good and evil, loyalty and righteousness in her heart.

However, all of this was a lie. Her kindness and loyalty were exploited and used as expendable resources to do evil deeds, even to the point of being tricked into dying. Everything was wasted. If she had studied under a true knight-errant, she might have been able to achieve something great.

But it's too late now.

She never knew the truth until her death.

These black-headed sorcerers have done truly wicked things: manipulating the dead, creating vengeful ghosts, using the souls of refugees to perform magic, and suppressing corpses to prevent reincarnation.

But they don't just exploit the dead; they also take advantage of the feelings and ideals of the living, and then discard them without a second thought.

Thinking about these things, the anger in his chest intensified, and even the fire in his heart that had been ignited by anger burned even more fiercely.

He slowly placed his hand on the hilt of the sword. Although his anger was rising, his heartbeat slowed down and his breathing became more gentle.

Don't let anger affect your state of mind. When you're about to take action, you must not let it lead to being discovered. Even if your heart is turbulent, you must keep your heartbeat calm. Seeing that the three people inside were chatting animatedly and not moving much, he moved along with them. His breathing became extremely long, using his internal energy to regulate his internal organs, making his breathing long and imperceptible. This was considered a basic skill.

He wanted to take this opportunity to hear something more useful.

If these three people mention Anhe or anything else again, they might accidentally reveal Anhe's hiding place in a single sentence, or even that there might be news of war.

Wait a little longer, wait a little longer.

Zhao Yun lay prone in the pit, using withered leaves and soil to conceal his presence. It was late at night, and the dew was heavy, leaving some water stains around him and his clothes damp.

The three continued chatting, mostly mocking Anhe for his big blunder. It was clear they were genuinely envious and jealous, so much so that they seized every opportunity to vent their anger.

As they chatted, another round of happy laughter broke out, filling the three of them with a joyful atmosphere.

But after they finished laughing, the three of them suddenly fell silent.

After a long silence, the old man suddenly began to speak: "However, even if we put aside Anhe's matter, the Seven Souls he obtained before were indeed powerful. No wonder he was so arrogant. Those Seven Souls were truly a great benefit. I heard some details about those Seven Souls from elsewhere."

The other two immediately perked up their ears, eager to know what this treasure was that had made Anhe so happy yet caused him such a big tumble.

They were all from the Lushan Black Head lineage, so they naturally knew the power of the Soul Control Technique. It was a profound method that started with one's nature and eventually cultivated one's destiny; it could even be called a method for achieving immortality.

After mastering the basics, an even more profound application is to refine the seven souls of others for one's own use. This can be used to train assassin-like female warriors, borrowing the abilities cultivated from the seven souls of others. Moreover, if the cultivation of the other person's seven souls is high, they can even directly transfer that cultivation to themselves, allowing them to advance by leaps and bounds. Although such things are rare—after all, masters are not so easily defeated—there is always hope. What if you encounter a master who dies peacefully in their old age? Right?

Therefore, their lineage often engaged in grave robbing and excavation work, dealing with the dead year-round.

The old man continued, "I heard from the governor of Nanke that the old Taoist priest who was unearthed this time was quite a ruthless character in his youth. He was said to be a wandering Taoist priest who once dealt a severe blow to the governor of Nanke during the previous dynasty."

Upon hearing this, the other two were somewhat surprised! Who was the Prefect of Nanke? He had been dealt a severe blow, and even he considered it severe?

Seeing the looks in his two companions' eyes, the old man nodded and said, "As far as I know, this important figure hasn't recovered his strength yet. Otherwise, the Prefect of Nanke wouldn't be guarding the rear this time. Given his personality, he would definitely have personally taken to the front lines. Even so, he insisted that Zhou Heng lead the team in this operation, and even went to great lengths to persuade Lord Baoyu to send Mei San Niang along. If that old Taoist priest doesn't die, I'm afraid the Prefect of Nanke won't be able to sleep well."

The middle-aged man stopped mocking and instead retorted, "Who says otherwise? The way things are now, it really proves the saying, 'It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early.'"

"I've also heard that when Zhou Heng led his ghost soldiers up the mountain, Mei San Niang and a group of female ghosts blocked their retreat. I thought there would be a fierce battle, but as soon as we arrived, I heard that the old Taoist priest had just closed his eyes and died in front of us! This can be considered God's help, or the prefect of Nanke's destiny!"

He paused, a hint of doubt in his voice: "They acted swiftly. The old Taoist's remains, along with his three souls and seven spirits, were all of great use. His three souls were immediately sent away to the Prefect of Nanke, who said he wanted to keep them by his side to avenge his great grudge. His remains, on the other hand, belonged to us. Several elders had already sent word that his inner cultivation was complete, and he had formed several bodies and spirits. In particular, his gallbladder had reached the level of 'Lesser Yang Spring Birth, Dragon Radiance Spirit.' Calling him audacious is no exaggeration. Logically, such a person should be capable of causing chaos and destruction, but I don't know why he died so quietly in a small mountain."

The gallbladder represents the vital energy of spring, which brings peace to all things. When the energy of spring rises, the gallbladder's energy rises, and the rest of the body follows suit. The heart governs the mind, but the gallbladder is the guardian spirit behind the mind, because for the spirit to be at peace, it must first rely on the gallbladder for protection.

If one has enough courage, one will remain calm in the face of adversity, not be startled, make clear decisions, and sleep soundly.

Conversely, those with weak courage are easily startled and fearful, hesitant, prone to nightmares, and easily awakened at night.

Therefore, the stability of one's spirit depends on one's courage. When courage is weak, the internal organs are shaken; when courage is strong, the internal organs are at peace. This person's courage was cultivated to such an extent that he must have experienced great things. His death was so peaceful, which is truly incomprehensible.

"But now it's all our advantage. With such inner cultivation, and the elders' cultivation reaching the heavens, we can use his remains to refine a high-grade corpse puppet. It's just a pity..." He sighed, shook his head, and said with some regret.

The burly man snorted coldly and said, "It's a pity that Anhe swallowed up the seven souls. The corpse puppet is for refining the inner vision and the seven souls. No matter how good that old Taoist's inner vision is, it is much less effective without the seven souls. If the seven souls are combined with the corpse bones, coupled with the old Taoist's unparalleled swordsmanship, with sword intent in front and behind him, once it is refined, there will be few in the world that can compare to it. It will be enough to shock the world. Anhe, on the other hand, relied on his strength and forcibly intercepted the seven souls. He was obviously afraid that the elders would get the lion's share and overtake his position, so he simply swallowed the seven souls first, hoping to break through with this. He is so greedy. Isn't he afraid of being stuffed to death?"

The three of them got more and more excited as they talked, unaware that Zhao Yunshu was lying in a pit ten feet away, listening to every word they said.

These messages, like kerosene, fueled the raging fire in his heart, making him grip the hilt of his sword heavier and heavier.

The old Taoist priest's remains were used by these people to create a corpse puppet, and even now, his three souls have been captured by that damned Prefect of Nanke to vent his anger...

Fortunately, his seven souls have been freed from suffering, so he won't have to endure any more torment.

Now these bastards from Lushan are sitting here, treating their master's remains and soul like merchandise, laying them out to divide the spoils, and even complaining that they didn't get enough. It's really...

The young Taoist priest's heart did not beat faster or his breathing became heavier; he simply lowered his face further, suppressed his throat, and continued to exhale slowly.

The old man seemed to feel tired of sitting, so he got up, walked a short distance away, threw some firewood into the fire in front of him, blew on it to make it burn brighter, and continued, "Let's put aside what I'm about to say for now and think about how our contributions will be calculated once Dingzhou City falls."

Another person chimed in, "Is that even a question? We put our all into the city's defenses this time. We've set up the warding objects in hundreds of locations outside the city. When the army besieges the city, all we need to do is unleash those suppressed ghosts, and thousands of walking corpses will burst forth, overwhelming the city's defenders. Dingzhou will be a ripe melon!"

Hearing this, the burly man revealed a hint of smugness, saying, "That's exactly right. With the main army attacking the city head-on, and a few ghosts and monsters ambushing and killing, plus the city already having inside help, what's there to fear about the city not falling? At that time, the granaries, the treasuries of wealthy families, and the goods of foreign merchants will all be ours to take first!" At this moment, the middle-aged man shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Rice and goods are all inanimate objects, no need to care. Even if we give them all away, it doesn't matter, as long as we have some silver. But after the fall of Dingzhou, we must first grasp the souls of those hundreds of thousands of refugees and surrendered soldiers. In the past, when we wanted to collect living souls, we could only secretly collect a few dozen. Now that the city has fallen, there will inevitably be a massacre and looting, and the ground will be full of corpses. This is the best time to practice our skills. The three of us might be able to use the yin energy of this battle to make some progress in our cultivation."

Zhao Yunshu was not far away, lying on the ground, listening clearly to every word.

What a pack of jackals disguised as Taoist priests!

If Laozi, the founder of Taoism, hadn't struck them down with lightning today, that little Taoist priest would have taken matters into his own hands!

He slowly lowered his body further, but his leg position gradually changed, adjusting to a posture suitable for generating power in the forward thrust, waiting for the right moment to make his move.

But, at this very moment...

But then they saw a chaotic mass of souls descending from afar.

It was the soul of that female assassin that was captured by the Soul-Binding Curse!

The three men's expressions changed simultaneously.

The old man who had just stood up immediately rushed forward, shouting, "Dead? Really dead?"

As they spoke, three pairs of eyes simultaneously turned to look at the chaotic soul.

The assassin's soul, captured by the Soul-Binding Spell, had returned to this place, but it was a clump of black mist, unable to even form a human shape. Go to Bing and search for "Germany Flags" to see the latest chapter!

The middle-aged man stood up abruptly, somewhat astonished: "How could this have happened? Although her physical body is average, her martial arts skills, enhanced by the Seven Souls Infusion, are already top-notch in the martial world. Wasn't that young Taoist priest still recovering from serious injuries? Could it be that the man surnamed Wang had other men lying in ambush nearby?"

The old man moved even faster. He was adding firewood when he took out three copper coins from his sleeve, threw them into the fire, and muttered incantations, preparing to perform a ritual to check the information brought back by the female assassin's soul and see what happened before she died.

At this moment, the young Taoist priest sighed.

If we hadn't let those evil spirits go, we could have used them as the vanguard right now.

However, those evil spirits were already in a terrible state. They had their minds worn down and were forced from being wandering ghosts into evil spirits. They might even have been tortured while they were still alive. The young Taoist priest felt somewhat reluctant to drive them further.

So even if it means taking more risks, he's determined to do it himself.

Just then, as the spirit attracted the three people's attention, Zhao Yunshu stood up and threw a bag of black ash from his pocket!

This is the last pack.

Moreover, simply throwing it out like that doesn't actually have much destructive power. Gunpowder needs to be properly sealed to be lethal. Just igniting it like that makes it a firework.

But... he didn't need any lethality; he just wanted fireworks. The instant it was thrown, Zhao Yunshu hooked it with his left hand, and sparks flew in the air—his fire magic ignited the packet of gunpowder!

There was a loud crash!

Fireworks light up the sky!

Flowers burst forth from the ceiling, and lights dazzled the eye.

The drums thundered through the air, their red and yellow hues filling the air.

It's like a celestial river bursting open!

Startled, the three immediately shifted their attention and looked up sharply at the sky!

Especially the old man on the outermost edge, whose body was already frail, shouted urgently, wanting to run back.

But in that instant, his foot slipped...

The water, combined with the dew, turned his feet into a wet muddy mess! He slipped and fell!

Suddenly, a little Taoist priest appeared out of thin air!

A clever trick! It works wonders!

Zhao Yunshu used various methods to quickly rush to the other party's front. Facing the old man who was caught off guard, had fallen halfway, and had not yet adjusted his posture, he directly thrust his sword!

This sword strike was swift and precise, like a cold star in the still night, reaching the old man's throat in an instant.

The old man had cultivated for so long, and his cultivation was indeed quite profound. At this critical moment, he actually reacted and simply made himself fall down quickly, leaning back, trying to use the displacement from the fall to quickly avoid the sword tip and escape with his life!

That was a quick reaction; this guy managed to dodge it!

However, Zhao Yunshu had already made preparations for this move. Although he attacked in anger, he did not use all his strength, but left himself room to maneuver.

So even if the opponent reacted extremely quickly, and the sword missed its mark the instant the young Taoist stepped forward, adjusted his center of gravity, and with a flick of his wrist, changed from a thrust to a slash! He aimed for the neck!

The Taoist priest forced himself to stumble and fall. Unable to regain his balance, he could no longer dodge, and with a "thud," the long sword severed his head.

The old man's head flew off, rolled twice, his eyes widened, and his mouth opened wide, as if he wanted to shout something, but only a string of bloody foam remained.

His body then fell backward, twitched twice, and then remained still.

But at this moment, a black aura was seen about to emerge from the Baihui acupoint on the top of his head.

Lu Shan Hei Tou was a highly skilled cultivator, practicing methods related to the soul and spirit. Naturally, he wasn't easily appeased; even if his physical body died, his soul still held considerable fighting power. However, the young Taoist was prepared, and at the same time, almost without delay, he relentlessly attacked Lu Shan's liver and gallbladder!

what!

With a thunderous sound, the black mist trembled and then dispersed.

The three of them were quite arrogant just now, looking down on each other, but when it came to reality, they didn't have the ability of the Taoist Anhe. Even if his soul left his body, he could withstand three thunderous sounds and escape. But this guy in front of them dissipated with just one sound.

Zhao Yunshu twirled his sword, and in the blink of an eye, this offensive and defensive maneuver was over in the blink of an eye.

In the world of martial arts, life and death can happen in the blink of an eye.

He turned around and looked at the remaining two people.

When the two men saw the old man killed and heard the thunderous sound, they were terrified and their previous arrogance vanished.

Zhao Yunshu didn't say much. He just held his sword and didn't launch an attack. Instead, he slowly gathered his breath, raised his sword with his right hand, and made a hand seal with his left hand. It was unclear whether it was an illusion, a water spell, or a fire spell, making it impossible to predict what his next move would be.

He slowly approached, the torches still flickering, their light illuminating half his face and casting a long shadow, like a soul-reaping messenger from hell, dedicated to catching the souls of evil spirits.

These people are worse than demons.

Laozi won't accept you, but I will.