With virtue

Zhao Yunshu stepped forward, the tip of his sword pressed against the other man's throat, but he kept walking forward, forcing the Taoist to retreat with his hands and feet, fearing that the sword tip would pierce his throat. His expression was terrified, but he could not speak.

The young Taoist priest stopped when he reached the cave wall, where there was nowhere left to retreat. He pinned his opponent against the wall, rendering him immobile, and kept his grip on the wall so that if the opponent made any noise, he would pierce his throat.

The other party naturally kept silent, trembling with fear, waiting for the young Taoist priest's next move.

Seeing this, the young Taoist sheathed his sword, swung his arm, and punched him on the head. His good head slammed backward, hit the rock wall, and bounced back with a good bounce, hitting the fist again. Stars appeared in front of his eyes and behind his head, and he was dizzy and disoriented.

Taking advantage of the other's dazed state, the young Taoist priest went up and unleashed a flurry of punches, lifting him off the ground with his left hand and then slamming his right fist down.

The Taoist priest still had some sense, and even though his head was dazed from the impact, his instinct for self-preservation still prompted him to use his hand to block.

But these black-headed sorcerers, leaving aside the barbarian shaman from before, just look at this one in front of us. He only cultivates his nature, not his life force. He's quite good at magic and his soul is well-forged, but his physical body has really not been trained much. He's not the same kind of person as the little Taoist priest who has been practicing martial arts and swordsmanship every day.

When the young Taoist priest began his cultivation, his master had always told him that he must cultivate both his mind and body!

So, he raised his hand to try to block, but the young Taoist punched his wrist. With a crack, the joint of his wrist was dislocated, and his hand drooped limply. He let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered.

But the screams didn't stop Zhao Yunshu. The young Taoist priest had a fiery temper and was already angry. He was not going to let her off easily and his punches landed squarely on her face. The Nuo mask was broken into several pieces, and two pieces were even stuck to her face and embedded in her flesh!

This was quite a beating. The Taoist's head swayed wildly from side to side like a roly-poly toy, blood and foam splattering from his mouth. In just a few blows, his head was swollen high, his lips were split open, and several of his teeth were knocked out, spraying blood all over the ground.

He punched him for a while before finally releasing his fist, shoving the Taoist priest back to the ground, grabbing his hair, and asking, "I've really searched high and low for you, you bunch of bastards, why did you go through all this trouble to come all the way from Lingnan to Hebei, what are you up to?" The Taoist priest lay sprawled on the ground, trying to make a sound, but all that came out were groans, and it was impossible to understand what he was saying.

Zhao Yunshu knew he should let him rest, so after a while, he asked again.

This time, seeing that he still didn't respond, he raised his fist again without saying a word and punched him in the nose.

With one punch, a crisp "crack" was heard, and the bridge of the nose sank in. Now, he couldn't even groan. Two streams of blood gushed from his nostrils along with clear snot, smearing half of the man's face. His face looked like a paint shop had been opened, with red, black, purple, and green all mixed together, making him look extremely pitiful.

The Taoist priest was in so much pain that his whole body convulsed, but he couldn't even make a sound. He could only squeeze out a series of muffled sobs from his throat.

But the young Taoist priest showed no pity and didn't even feel sorry for him.

Which of those ghosts isn't pitiful? Which didn't suffer less torment than this? Which had a better life than this?

It's all retribution.

Seeing that the beating had gone far enough and that further fighting would truly result in death, Zhao Yunshu shook his hands, wiping the blood and grime from them onto the man's body. He straightened up, placed a foot on the man's chest, and said, "Playing dead won't work. If you don't talk today, you'll have to tomorrow! Although I lack the skills, I do know some people who learned the methods of cruel officials from the Shenlong era!"

The cruel officials during the Shenlong era were infamous throughout the land.

As the young Taoist priest spoke, a gust of wind swept through the forest, causing the other person to shiver. He lay on his back on the ground, his chest heaving violently, and he was still panting!

He gasped for breath, his eyes drooping shut, and could only force himself to speak, squeezing out a few broken words from his throat: "I...I said...it was...it was the Prefect of Nanke...and...Elder Lushan..." Zhao Yunshu frowned and squatted down: "Explain clearly."

After uttering these words, the Taoist priest paused for a long time before continuing, "We... were entrusted by the elders to come to Hebei this time. Not only our Lushan... but also the sorcerers and witches of Lingnan... are all following... the orders of the Prefect of Nanke and the elders to set up an array in Dingzhou... for... for..."

At this point, it seemed he couldn't hold on any longer; his throat tightened, his eyes rolled back, and he appeared to be about to faint.

Zhao Yunshu grabbed his chin, pressed hard on his philtrum, and shouted, "What for?!"

But before he could finish speaking, he had already fainted.

It seems the young Taoist priest was too ruthless.

Zhao Yunshu lifted him up by adjusting his clothes, then poked at his wound and pinched his philtrum.

Finally, they even used water magic to pour water all over his face, but he still didn't wake up.

Seeing that he really didn't react at all, the young Taoist priest began to doubt himself.

That can't be. Someone who has cultivated shouldn't be that weak.

So he lifted the person up, listened to their heartbeat, and checked their breathing before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

Sure enough, I knew it. There's still a breath left. But I can't let this breath go to waste.

He looked up at the sky. It was getting late. He knew his options were limited and the enemy might have reinforcements. So he acted quickly, gathering up the corpses and magical artifacts around him and burning them all.

There's no need to even look at these magical artifacts; they're all definitely made with evil magic. Only that large bow is a naturally formed treasure, but it weighs over two hundred pounds. How could a little Taoist possibly lift it? He wouldn't be able to use it anyway, so it's better to just burn it.

As for those crafted talismans, they are indeed good things. One or two pieces are nothing, but there are dozens of them in front of me. They were all made with serious concentration and deep thought. I put them all in my pocket, and I didn't even let go of some silver and other things.

People are guilty, but money is not. You can definitely use this money to create more wonderful things.

Having dealt with all that, he hoisted the Taoist priest onto his shoulder and turned to leave.

We can't stay here any longer. Let's go back to the city and hand him over to Young Master Wang for interrogation. They have professionals there.

Sigh, I still have to bear it myself. Why can't I cut a paper horse myself?

However, upon thinking of cutting paper into horses, Zhao Yunshu, who was carrying the Taoist priest, suddenly had a flash of inspiration!

No, wasn't the Taoist priest I just fought a master of paper cutting? And judging by his paper cutting skills, he could cut out paper figures and Nuo soldiers to dance with him, and even the heavenly soldiers and generals were all made of paper-cut skins!

With this thought in mind, he threw the other person to the ground and began rummaging through the bundle on his body.

Perhaps it was luck, but he actually found a book! The book was titled "The True Method of Playing," and when he opened it, the first page used a story as an introduction.

In Wang Shu's territory, there lived a Taoist priest named Huang Wanhu at Gaotang Temple in Wushan. Originally a villager from Wanhu Village in Badong, he had learned the Seven Transformations of the White Tiger technique and also claimed to have learned the Six Ding method from Taoist Master Zhang. He often carried an iron whip to heal illnesses and was indifferent to wealth, but he was fond of arguing with the villagers, and the prefecture and county did not take him seriously. It is said that the prefectural governor, Wen Silu, also possessed magical skills; he once cut out paper fish and threw them into a basin, where they came to life. Wanhu then used a talisman to transform an otter into an otter, which he then ate.

They could also cut paper bees and butterflies from their sleeves, raise their sleeves to make them fly, filling the room, or they would enter someone's sleeves; if you caught them with your hand, they would return to their original place.

Even things like riding reeds to form clouds, cutting paper into human figures, throwing stones and scattering sand, and weaving grass into dragons all belong to this category.

Why?

How can something that is merely a bundle of straw and bamboo, cut paper and torn silk, and artificially combined possess spiritual power? It is because the essence and vital energy condense and coalesce, giving rise to all things. These forms are not merely empty shells; they contain vital energy and essence. Even after a long time and decay, they transform like worms and fungi. Thus, the essence and vital energy of a person that has not yet dissipated becomes a ghost, and the essence and vital energy of cloth can make the clothes of a ghost appear lifelike. As for things, once they possess substance, their essence and vital energy condense. All things possess essence and vital energy, and it is through this essence and vital energy that they can take shape.

This opening paragraph clearly explains the principles of this technique and provides examples!

As he continued flipping through the pages, he found the back filled with various cultivation methods, with annotations written in tiny characters on the sides. It was clear that these were notes taken by the Taoist priest during his dedicated cultivation.

nice one!

Although it's not a visualization diagram, it's still a secret manual that can be used for practice.

The young Taoist priest isn't just limited to learning through visualization diagrams; with this secret manual, he can learn just as well!

Wow, you can even find this! Go to Bing and search for "Germany" to see the latest chapter!

Great news! Great news!

This discovery gave him a lot of motivation, and he ran all the way back to Dingzhou City, huffing and puffing, to find Young Master Wang.

The Taoist priest eventually handed the body over to Young Master Wang's men. First, he treated and cleaned the wounds. Then, Zhao Yunshu told Young Master Wang about the assassination attempt he had made the previous night and how he had chased after the attackers.

Young Master Wang nodded to indicate that he understood, and then told Zhao Yunshu that Anhe's whereabouts should be soon, as they had already found some clues and would have results soon.

From this point on, Zhao Yunshu had fulfilled his promise to Young Master Wang, completing the task in just one day—a remarkably fast pace. With the help of this Taoist priest, they would surely be able to pry out the rest of the story.

After giving these instructions, the sky was already beginning to lighten.

The Taoist priest was thrown into the dungeon, where Zhou Yi and his men took over. They also invited Young Master Wang and Zhao Yunshu to come along.

The reason is simple: this interrogation might directly reveal Anhe's position. Moreover, Zhao Yunshu was quite curious about their arrangements, so she came to listen in.

The Taoist priest had been unconscious the whole way back, but upon returning, he was given a potion to boost his energy and had ointment applied to his wounds. Now, his injuries had just begun to heal, and someone had used silver needles to stimulate his life force. Only then did he slowly wake up. When he saw that he had arrived in the dungeon, he suddenly understood something and began to tremble all over.

He himself was a master at creating evil spirits and torturing the living, so he naturally knew what methods were involved. At this moment, he really wished he could bite his tongue and commit suicide.

But he knew even better that biting his tongue to commit suicide probably wouldn't kill him... Even if he did die, his soul might not escape, and he would truly suffer the torment of being refined a hundred times... Just thinking about this terrified him; his lips turned blue, his teeth chattered, and he couldn't even close his jaw.

At this moment, the young Taoist priest stepped forward.

He killed two of the other party's companions last night, and even Anhe's physical body, so his presence here is naturally extremely oppressive.

"I'll ask you questions, and you'll answer them," Zhao Yunshu said.

His voice was calm, and he stated it plainly: "There is only one thing: if, upon verification, even a single word is found to be untrue, then the person speaking to you next will not be me."

The Taoist priest nodded frantically, shouting hurriedly, afraid that he wouldn't express his stance quickly enough and would suffer physical punishment: "I'll talk, I'll talk! I absolutely dare not hide anything! I'll answer every question and tell you everything!"

When he said this, his speech was slurred, as he had knocked out several teeth, and his words were already somewhat unclear, but he still struggled to speak clearly, as if he was afraid that his attitude was not cooperative enough.

Seeing this, Zhao Yunshu asked, "So, what exactly do you want to do in Dingzhou?"

Faced with this question, the Taoist priest did not hesitate at all and immediately said, "Our journey from Lingnan was under the orders of the Prefect of Nanke and the Elders' Council. We were to cooperate with their arrangements to create chaos, ghost soldiers, and walking corpses, first to disrupt Dingzhou, and then to seize the city. On the surface, it was a three-way alliance, but in reality, there was only one mastermind behind it all... It was... It was the idea of ​​Prince Liang, Zhu Quanzhong."

Although he was extremely cooperative, he still hesitated slightly when he said the name.

Young Master Wang slammed his folding fan down behind him, making a loud cracking sound, straightened up, and then shouted sternly, "What? Continue! Explain yourself!"

The Taoist priest swallowed a mouthful of blood and continued, "Wang Chuzhi, the military governor of Dingzhou, was originally affiliated with the King of Liang and received a title from the Liang Dynasty. However, in recent years, Wang Chuzhi has acted unethically. He first allied himself with the Liang Kingdom, but later, when the King of Jin became powerful, he severed ties with Liang and allied with Jin. Not only did he break away from Liang, but he even led troops to join the King of Jin in defeating the Yan Kingdom, intending to seize Weibo! He even captured several important locations from the Liang Dynasty!" "The King of Liang said in private that he hates such fickle and treacherous people the most and has long wanted to get rid of him, but..." Dingzhou was a well-fortified city with ample granaries and the support of the Prince of Jin. A direct attack would be difficult to launch quickly, so the Liang King's advisors devised this plan: to use ghosts to create chaos within the city. First, they would drive displaced people towards Dingzhou, causing hundreds of thousands to die there. Then, using this resentment, they would unleash ghostly soldiers and demons to wreak havoc within the city, while simultaneously mobilizing walking corpses to exhaust the enemy's strength. Once the city's soldiers and civilians were exhausted, the Liang army could then advance from the north, allowing for a coordinated attack from within and without, ultimately capturing the city in one fell swoop.

"Since the goal is to use ghost soldiers and walking corpses, there are only a few people in the world who are most skilled in this art. They found the Prefect of Nanke, offered him great benefits, and asked him to help them control the ghost soldiers. They also paid a lot of money to invite the Rainstorm Lord, and had female ghosts like Plum Fairy take the lead in contacting capable people from all over the world. Finally, they found Taoist Anhe, and used his soul-controlling walking corpse technique to prevent it from being suppressed by exorcism."

"In this way, if someone else infiltrates Dingzhou and uses magic to wear down the city's defenses, and once the city is in a state of panic and exhausted, the Liang army can then attack the city with elite troops and it will fall without a fight!"