Episode 47

  Chang'er's eyes scanned him once, and she knew that his body's meridians had been damaged by the backlash of energy. It wouldn't be easy to recover from this, it would take more than three to five months. Then she said:

  "Insufficient elder brother, how can this treasure of a thief and immortal material be dealt with?"

  "Those with extraordinary magical powers must have their own unique cultivation techniques and divine formations to assist them. Additionally, they would also need sacred pills, spiritual medicines, precious items, and other materials. If the opportunity arises, one should seize it and store these items in a pouch to aid in their cultivation practice! We cultivators cannot let our pursuit of knowledge and literary elegance ruin our opportunities!"

  "Insufficient elder brother, in that case we two will take this thing away!"

  "Heh heh! This little girl, cough, cough, cough......"

  Not a sentence was finished when he coughed up a lot of blood. Chang'er rushed over in alarm and said:

  "It's not enough, brother, let's rest for a day and set out again tomorrow evening!"

  "No! It's too perilous, our lives are at stake. We'll leave before dawn!"

  "But your injury..."

  "Chang'er, more than ten years have passed since Grandfather's death, and yet there are still several cultivators in this place. It can be seen that the Xi Fangzhou family's cultivation is not to be underestimated. You and I have lingered here for too long, and the danger has increased. Gather your things, wait for me to rest for a while, and then we'll leave. We cannot delay any further!"

  "Then, it's not enough for brother to sit and rest!"

  It was then that the insufficient quiet cultivation gradually entered a state of excellence. This time, entering meditation was extremely easy and he had soon entered a state of nothingness. The Insufficient One's heart was filled with doubts, but upon reflection, it all became clear. It must have been that the Heart Method of the Sure-Kill Technique had opened up his wisdom!

  As the sky was about to brighten, before the sound of the cock's crow could be heard, he got up with Chang'er and quietly left the Tower of Longing. The others in the various towers of the courtyard were exhausted from the great commotion caused by the Tower of Longing in the middle of the night, so they were all still dreaming at this time. Who would have thought that something was amiss?

  Insufficient time had passed since the departure from Banjia Town, only five or seven days, when several mysterious cultivators appeared in the temple within the town. They entered and exited the town, searching for news of their five missing fellow disciples. Although they used magical instruments to investigate the reason behind the disappearance of the cultivators, they couldn't find anything! All they knew was that a young man and woman had arrived in the town about three months ago. The man was robust and around thirty years old, rarely speaking or smiling. The woman was twenty years old, extremely beautiful, and followed him everywhere in Banjia Town. Only these two were suspicious, the rest seemed normal. One of the investigating cultivators reported:

  "The small building named 'Li Xiang' in the inner courtyard of the Zhennan Dahonglou Casino, a few days ago, there was a fight with injuries and one wealthy customer was killed. Two people, one surnamed Jin named San and the other a woman surnamed Shi named Hua, escaped and have not returned. The authorities came to search but left without finding anything. The only survivor in the building is the famous courtesan Qin Niang. However, she has been asleep for five days and just woke up, with no memory of what happened."

  The person in charge of the temple said calmly:

  "What was the appearance of the heroic guest who died in the tower of parting sorrows?"

  "The scene had already been cleaned up, but the guest's death was particularly tragic. The building has been sealed off, and no one dares to live there."

  "Bring the dead body here!"

  "Yes, Master Door. According to the testimony of Hu, the shopkeeper and people in the gambling den, the noble guest's head is gone. The red and white objects are all scattered on the floor of the building. But what is suspicious is that there are not a few gold, silver, and money inside the building, I wonder..."

  "Is there anything left behind?"

  "Returning home, nothing unusual was found!"

  "Alright, you lead the way, I'll go and take a look!"

  "Yes."

  Then, a golden light flashed in the temple, and those several monks suddenly disappeared, as if they had never been there! However, at the next moment, the golden light flickered again in the small tower of Liuxiang, and after a few flashes, several people fell into the hall on the second floor. It was exactly those monks from the temple. Their speed was truly astonishing, covering several miles in just one flash! The master of the house looked carefully and then asked with a thoughtful expression:

  "What kind of magical instrument can turn the skull of a cultivator who has achieved great success in their practice into powder, and also knock all the bone fragments into the walls and pillars?"

  "Master of the door, this person is actually......"

  "I've investigated and found this place is where he's been hiding."

  "Master, we are ignorant and can't think of any method or device that could shatter the skull without damaging the body!"

  "There is indeed a way, but it can only shatter the skull into fragments, turning all bones into equally sized debris, and yet it cannot penetrate walls or pillars to varying depths!"

  "What is it?"

  "Mystic Heaven Mallet."

  "Hmm! Not like the way of killing with the Xuantian Hammer. Moreover, the Xuantian Hammer should at least be a cultivation method that requires gathering and refining one's energy to use. If it can gather and refine, then killing him would be easy, so why bother using such a powerful artifact?"

  "Master, the methods of the law enforcement officers are diverse and unpredictable. Perhaps there is a way to know, but it's not certain. I only heard from others in the court that the person was severely injured by the dying counterattack and may have escaped not far away or may be mortally wounded. Should we..."

  "Hmph! He single-handedly killed the five of us, the Difficult Door's Five Elders. This is something that ordinary cultivators wouldn't even dare to do! You should all think carefully about this - are they really just two people? With my Difficult Door's..."

  Although the position of the Ark Immortal Family is not at the top, it is also not at the bottom. However, within a day, they lost five cultivators. Who has such audacity? As for saying that they were already heavily injured, do you still believe it?"

  "Master Shu's words are well said! But I fear that behind these two, there may be other forces at work. In this case, we dare not act rashly and should report back to the master for a decision. We will wait quietly here."

  "You're quite calculating! Are you not afraid of being guilty of dereliction of duty?"

  He sneered coldly and said.

  "This..."

  "You all go and patrol the area within a hundred miles, and don't engage with them. If you find any clues, report back immediately. Wan Shi's nephew will go to the door to inform the master. I'll go to several nearby houses to investigate the Taoist sect and families, see if there are any leads."

  "Yes!"

  The crowd responded with a unanimous voice and hid their figures, flying away into the sky.

  After traveling over a hundred miles, Insufficient's strength was exhausted and he could no longer move forward. Chang'er begged Insufficient to temporarily take shelter in a temple. Chang'er picked up a piece of dry land behind the statue of the god and went outside the temple to cast a spell, binding a bundle of dry grass and twigs. Seeing that Insufficient was leaning against the broken door, she spread it out on the ground, reciting an incantation, and the grass suddenly transformed into a thick and sturdy large grass mat. Chang'er placed Insufficient on the grass mat to rest, while she herself flew outside as a wisp of clear wind into the empty sky. Firstly, she needed to investigate the movements of the cultivators in this area, and secondly, Insufficient's magical powers were still shallow and he had not yet acquired the ability to abstain from food, so at this time, he was already hungry and thirsty, and she needed to go out to find food to satisfy his hunger.

  Insufficient to enter a meditative state, he only breathed quietly, the rest of his body as still as a clay statue. Although Xing'er had tried to stop him from taking too much elixir earlier, Insufficient didn't think it was a big deal and wanted to recover quickly, so he wouldn't listen! The immortal elixirs he took this time had already dissolved some of their medicinal properties, but the amount he took was huge, and the medicinal properties were strong and hard to resist. At this moment, they suddenly burst forth! Earlier, they had slowly entered his eight extraordinary meridians and skin, causing immense pain and itching that was difficult to bear. Insufficient had cultivated Taoist methods, but after all, no one had guided him, and Xing'er only knew a little about it, so he wouldn't listen to her! There were higher-ups around, but they still practiced their techniques as if they were self-taught, which was actually quite laughable! Insufficient felt the strong medicinal properties spreading throughout his body, causing unbearable pain and itching, and thought:

  "It's better to suffer a short pain than a long one! It's better to hasten the medicine's effect and let it take hold quickly. Otherwise, you'll be itching to death, not to mention the suffering of the pain!"

  In his heart, he had made up his mind, but the words of caution that Ling'er had given him when she left, to slowly dissolve the Dan medicine, were completely forgotten. He let go of all restraint and wildly urged the newly born spiritual energy in his body to accelerate the dissolution of the Dan medicine. The immense spiritual energy contained within the Dan medicine surged forth like a galloping horse, rushing into the meridians with an unstoppable force. In just a short span of time, no more than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, his entire body was drenched in sweat, his skin a deep red color, as if he had been scalded by boiling water or roasted over a fierce flame! He gritted his teeth tightly, not daring to let out a sound, fearing that if he opened his mouth and relaxed even slightly, the vital energy at the top of his head would dissipate, and his body and soul would perish, leaving behind nothing but dust.

  It's too late for regrets now

  "I shouldn't have taken so many elixirs! And I shouldn't have tried to quickly forget what Chang'er said, that everything should be done in an orderly and gradual manner! What can I do now? It's slow but won't come down, it's stopped but can't stay still! All kinds of actions are out of control, could it be that...!"

  A great urgency in his heart, amidst the chaos a glimmer of inspiration flashed:

  "Heaven bless me! This method may be able to save a certain family's life!"