Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

Standing to her left was a tall, thin man, as thin as a bamboo pole, with a pale complexion, wearing a gray long robe.

He was from the lineage of corpse carriers and was known as Old Mudfish.

"Soon, soon," Old Mudfish's voice was high-pitched and ingratiating. "Master Liu sent word that he will arrive before midnight."

"The Holy Cult of Moon Worship is very satisfied with the spiritual embryos we provided in the previous times. This time, they will not only bring the Blood of the Red Moon, but perhaps also additional rewards to help you, Granny, advance further in your Hundred-Eyed Divine Sight Technique."

"Hmph, the Moon Worship Cult..." A strong figure squatting on the ground to the right of the Soul-Sealing Granny snorted coldly.

The man was wearing a greasy leather apron, his bald head was covered with twisted runes, and he was fiddling with several hooks of different sizes in his hands.

He was a member of the Yin-Reaping Sect, specializing in retrieving specific organs, remnants of souls, or Yin-reaping crystals from places of Yin and evil or from people who died violent deaths. He was known as the Butcher.

"A bunch of arrogant lunatics who really think they can communicate with the gods by worshipping the moon?"

The butcher spat out a thick wad of phlegm, which landed on the edge of the rune array, making a soft "sizzling" sound before being quickly absorbed by the dark red pigment.

"To cooperate with them is like asking a tiger for its skin."

"That blood of the Crimson Moon is indeed a good thing, but who knows if it has been tampered with? What if the divine child becomes a puppet in their hands?"

"Shut up!" The Soul-Sealing Granny's eyelids suddenly lifted, and a cold light flashed from the slits, but this time it wasn't all fanaticism; there was also a chilling calculation.

"The Moon Worship Cult has its own way, and we have our own methods. This is a transaction; each of us gets what we need."

"They need our spiritual embryos, and we need their Crimson Moon Blood and the temporary use of this precious land. Without their cover and provision of spiritual flesh, we would have been wiped out long ago just for causing such a commotion under the noses of the Suppressing Bureau!"

She paused, then gently inserted the bone needle into the tumor. The tumor throbbed violently, emitting a strange sound that resembled both a baby's cry and the chirping of insects.

"Once the Divine Child is formed, after absorbing the Yin Tide at midnight tonight and the Red Moon Blood of the Moon Worship Cult, the newly born primordial Yin Sha will be enough to greatly increase the cultivation of the three of us, and even allow us to glimpse the threshold of the next realm."

The old woman who sewed souls curled her lips into a sinister smile. "This old woman has spent her whole life mending souls. What I'm best at is leaving my own stitches inside something that seems whole. In the end, it's not certain who will be using whom."

Old Mudfish nodded hurriedly: "Grandma is very farsighted! The Moon Worship Cult is powerful. Let's pretend to be friendly for now and use their strength to accomplish our goals. Once the Divine Child grows up, we will have more confidence."

Butcher Liu's expression softened slightly, but the doubt in his eyes did not completely disappear.

Having worked in the underworld for many years, he possessed a beast-like instinct for danger.

The grand formation that the Moon Worship Cult had set up this time felt even more sinister to him than the most malevolent evil land.

But what the Soul-Sealing Granny said also makes sense. Without the convenience provided by the Moon Worship Cult and the crucial Red Moon Blood, their attempt to create a god would indeed be difficult to succeed.

"Are all those flesh puppets outside set up?" The Soul-Sealing Granny turned her attention back to the fleshy growth on the stone platform. "The Strange Suppression Division has a very keen sense of smell. Although the Moon Worship Cult said they would help attract attention, it's hard to guarantee that a small group won't sneak over."

"It's all set up," the old mudfish replied. "As you instructed, I used the best ingredients and added the Bloodlust Curse. I've also left eyes at the abandoned wells in the front and back yards."

"Yes." The Soul-Sealing Granny nodded. "Once the Crimson Moon Blood of the Moon Worship Cult arrives, immediately proceed with the final fusion step."

"Before this, anyone who breaks in, whether they're a dog from the Town of Strange Things or anything else, will be killed on sight. They'll serve as a perfect appetizer for the Divine Child..."

Before she could finish speaking, a dull thud was heard outside, followed by the roar of an explosion!

"Who's here!" Old Mudfish's expression changed drastically.

Butcher Liu suddenly stood up, grabbed the heavy skinning knife, and his eyes flashed with a fierce light: "Damn it, there really are people willing to die!"

"Proceed according to plan."

The Soul-Sealing Granny paused in her hand, her bone needles stilled, and the coldness in her eyes deepened: "Old mudfish, go to the front yard and oversee the flesh puppets. Kill them if you can, and if you can't, at least hold them off!"

"Butcher Liu, guard the well well. Don't let anyone sneak in from behind! I'm going to activate the Hundred-Eyed Formation. Let's see which blind fool dares to ruin this old woman's good deed!"

Before she could finish speaking, gunshots, explosions, and the roars of monsters filled the air outside.

In the front yard of the dyehouse, the battle had reached its climax.

The first few flesh puppets still vaguely resembled humanoid frames, but their bodies had been brutally modified.

The arms of several flesh puppets, from the elbows down, had all been replaced with the thick forelimbs of unknown beasts, ending in sharp, curved bone claws.

Others were sewn with extra limbs, like deformed spiders, with four or six arms waving uncoordinatedly, attacking from tricky and vicious angles.

The skin of these flesh puppets was all a dead-like bluish-gray, with thick black stitches crawling like centipedes all over the joints and torso connections, and some of the stitches were oozing black slime.

When the bullets hit them, the specially made anti-evil bullets exploded with silver-red sparks, tearing open their skin and flesh to reveal the purplish-black muscles and bones underneath, and even showing the bone fragments stitched inside.

However, unless they strike the eye sockets burning with ghostly flames on the head, or a few obvious cores such as the throbbing tumor in the chest cavity, they can still charge forward fearlessly.

Wu Tong's swordsmanship was ruthless, bringing the viciousness of the "Three Styles of Breaking the Wind" to its extreme; wherever the blade flashed, black blood splattered.

He cleaved a flesh puppet that lunged at him in half, its foul-smelling entrails spilling onto the ground.

However, his left arm was also slashed open by the claws of another flesh puppet, leaving a deep gash that exposed the bone.

"Damn it, there's more and more of this stuff!"

Wu Tong spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, his sword thrusts continuing as he parried another monster's attack.

Squad Leader Wang and his soldiers, relying on the broken dye vats and walls, barely managed to hold off the enemy with their rifles and bayonets.

The specially made exorcising bullets made a series of loud thuds as they hit the monsters. Although they couldn't kill them immediately, they effectively slowed down their attacks.

Soldiers were frequently knocked away by the monster's brute force or had their flesh torn open by its claws, their screams chilling to the bone.

Chen Mo, who was in the relatively safe rear of the battle formation, frowned upon seeing this scene and subconsciously took a step back.

A paper puppet charged left and right in the melee, precisely piercing the joint of a four-armed flesh puppet under its armpit.

The messy black stitches were cut in half, and one of the flesh puppet's arms immediately drooped down like a puppet with its strings cut. A soldier next to it took the opportunity to pierce the throbbing tumor in its chest cavity with his bayonet, and it fell to the ground convulsing with a howl.

The flesh puppets in the front yard seemed inexhaustible.

Wu Tong had already killed four or five monsters, and had two more new wounds on his body. His black uniform was soaked in blood, and it was impossible to tell whether it was the monsters' black blood or his own.

"Conserve bullets! Aim and fire! Three more are coming from the left!" Squad Leader Wang shouted hoarsely, veins bulging on his forehead.

Explosions rang out intermittently, blasting the approaching flesh puppets to pieces, but also making the already dilapidated front yard even more dangerous, with debris flying everywhere.

Just then, a violent mental fluctuation suddenly erupted from the dark doorway of the main house!