Chapter 63

Though the disciples did not know the exact reason for Ma Daidai's death, they could guess a bit from the expressions of the three who returned. However, they did not anticipate how serious the matter was—until they saw Baihe stand up abruptly as if every blade of grass and tree were an enemy, only then did they realize something was amiss...

Something big has happened!

"Uncle Master! Someone hung a large banner on the opposite side of the Iron Lock Ferry. It says they want to destroy our Five Wheel Sect," the voice trembled as he spoke: "I brought it back..."

The person who rushed in was Huang Datong, who was guarding the Iron Lock Ferry. He now held a golden, radiant object in both hands, and as soon as he entered the hall, he raised it to Baihe, urgently saying, "Uncle Master, please look..."

Baihe reached out to take the golden object and unfolded it, angrily saying, "Which sect is so bold to dare say they will destroy our Five Wheel? Did they leave anything on the banner..." Just as he said the word 'on,' unexpectedly, there was a loud bang, and a green light surged from the banner, instantly exploding into a cloud of smoke!

Baihe threw the banner behind him and took two quick steps forward, shouting, "It's poisonous! Hold your breath!"

With many disciples in front, he could only throw the poisonous smoke behind him. Although the disciples were unharmed, he had to pass through the poisonous mist himself. Moreover, he had to warn them, and by the time the word 'quickly' was out, a foul smell had already rushed into his mouth!

Seeing a layer of greenish-white appear on Baihe's face, the disciples were shocked. Zunzhibao, quick to react, grabbed Huang Datong's wrist and shouted, "Who made you do this?"

Huang Datong's eyes rolled back, revealing a bizarre smile, and a thread of crimson blood slowly trickled from the corner of his mouth, and he died on the spot!

Another soulless and lifeless body!

At this moment, the disciples had already surrounded Baihe and retreated outside the hall. He dragged the corpse and followed behind. Outside, Baihe was already sitting cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed, conserving his energy, but a thin stream of black smoke still kept rising from his crown—no one knew what the poison was, but it seemed to be separating the soul from the body!

Even with Baihe's long cultivation, he could only delay the process and could not stop the soul from being forced out!

In a moment, white smoke was hissing from Baihe's head. He suddenly opened his eyes and hissed, "Quickly bring me the ancestral tablet and the red candle in front of the spirit tablet, quickly! Quickly!"

Who dared to go into the hall with the poisonous mist? Even with Baihe's repeated urging, no one dared to. Zunzhibao, angry, threw the corpse and ran over—his anger made him act without thinking, but it turned out to be the right move, as the poisonous mist had no effect on ghosts, and it did not harm his half-human, half-ghost body.

In two steps, he returned with the required items.

Baihe tore his clothes with a hiss, tightly hugging the ancestral tablet to his chest, and then took out a red rope and wrapped it around his body several times. Next, he took the burning red candle and thrust it into his crown.

A burnt smell rose as the red candle burned a patch of his hair, leaving a large scar. The hot wax and red oil dripped onto the wound, causing him to grimace in pain, his veins bulging, and sweat pouring down his forehead.

Without stopping, he repeated the process on his Guanyuan, Shenque, and Zhongtan points, and had others do the same on his Mingmen, Lingtai, and Dazhui points. Although his body was covered in wounds, the black smoke from his crown had disappeared!

Finally, he had locked his soul and prevented it from being sucked out!

Even so, Baihe's spirit was severely injured, and he looked like a critically wounded person. He quietly instructed the remaining Miaofeng, Ding Qi, and Zhao Feng to send the disciples and himself to the cave where the grain was stored, and to guard it tightly until he woke up—after saying this, he fainted on the spot.

The disciples quickly found a bamboo chair and carried him, some taking torches and firepots, and others picking up some fruits. Zunzhibao, however, dragged the corpse again, bringing it to the cave entrance.

No one stopped him on the way, but when he tried to bring the corpse into the cave for a closer look, there was a problem. The cave was merely a depression in the mountain wall, no more than three or four zhang wide and not even ten zhang deep, and was filled with millet, flour, dried meat, and vegetables. It could barely fit the two or three dozen people, let alone an extra corpse!

Several disciples immediately shouted to stop him!

Zunzhibao, however, was completely oblivious—because he was preoccupied with a difficult matter and did not notice such trivialities. A moment ago, when he fetched the ancestral tablet from the hall, he saw a pool of ink-black liquid at the corpse's feet!

The clear, ink-black liquid appeared and dried up suddenly, and no one else noticed!

Seeing Zunzhibao ignore them, one of the disciples, angry, pushed him on the shoulder. Zunzhibao, feeling the force, sidestepped and grabbed the hand, twisting it—immediately, the disciple cried out in pain.

Miaofeng, who was arranging everyone at the cave entrance, shouted, "What are you doing? Don't you know the situation?" The disciple, angry, retorted, "He wants to bring the dead body into the cave, I refused, and he hit me!"

Zunzhibao grunted and let go, "I have my reasons."

Miaofeng's face darkened, and he said sternly, "Zunzhibao, although we are close, I cannot let you act recklessly! Quickly throw the corpse off the cliff and come into the cave." Seeing him drag the corpse to the entrance, he blocked him and said, "Put it down!"

As he spoke, he kicked the corpse.

Zunzhibao kicked back, and with a loud thud, both stepped back, glaring at each other—

"Now that Uncle Master is injured, I have the authority to give orders. How dare you disobey?"

"Why did you attack without asking? What are you trying to do?"

Both shouted fiercely, neither backing down!

Ding Qi, hearing the commotion at the cave entrance, quickly ran over. After asking both sides, he immediately intervened, "Brother, Zunzhibao has his own skills, as Uncle Master has already verified..." "Skills? What skills?" Miaofeng, alarmed, asked, "What's different?"

Ding Qi quickly recounted what he had seen when examining Ma Daidai's body. Miaofeng's face changed, and he thought, 'This is bad.' Just as he was about to find a way to ease the tension, Miaofeng suddenly smiled, "Oh! Ding Qi, you really should have told me earlier! I almost had a misunderstanding with Brother Bao!" He then called two disciples to help Zunzhibao, "Come, come, help carry the body in!"

Zunzhibao, who had long understood Miaofeng's character, simply nodded and let it go. Seeing this, the disciple who had his hand twisted dared not say more and quietly entered the cave.

Watching Zunzhibao's back disappear in the dim light of the cave, Miaofeng's face gradually turned sinister, a cold smile appearing on his face, and the air outside the cave, in the moonless night, was filled with a sense of conspiracy...

A moment later, the door was closed, and Zhao Feng stood guard at the entrance.

Inside the cave, wooden racks were stacked against the mountain wall, leaving a square area in the front. A small fire was lit, and Baihe's chair was placed next to it. The remaining disciples sat or lay on either side.

The firelight illuminated their faces, and they all looked fearful and helpless. The cave, crowded with people, was already suffocating, and this feeling, if prolonged, gradually turned into a suffocating pressure in everyone's hearts. The older disciples exchanged glances and smiled bitterly, but could do nothing.

The air in the cave became heavy and oppressive...

The only hope was for Uncle Master Baihe to wake up and find a way to deal with the enemy.

Only Zunzhibao was busy. He placed the corpse on an overturned wooden rack, removed all the clothes and shoes, and examined it carefully, pinching the skin and bones—until he reached the feet, his eyes suddenly widened!

Ding Qi immediately approached and whispered, "Did you find something?"

Zunzhibao slightly bent Huang Datong's foot and said, "There's something unusual here..." He found a candle on the ground, lit it, and shone the light, nodding, "Indeed, it's here."

Under the firelight, a red dot appeared on the soles of the feet. When gently pinched, the surrounding flesh was already dead and dried, with a tiny hole, as if pierced by a red-hot needle. Zunzhibao pointed to the hole and said, "Brother, this is likely the reason for the soulless body."

"Really?" Ding Qi asked, puzzled, "Why?"

Zunzhibao explained:

"In Master's book 'The Register of Gods and Ghosts,' there is a passage: 'The Tibetan secret sect has a technique to use a living person's wet intestines, cinnabar bones, and eyeballs to make a drug that can drive the three corpse worms to devour the soul, making the person obey the controller for about an hour—once the drug's effect wears off, the corpse worms die, and the soul dissipates, turning into the water of the Three Paths... I think this is the technique used here!"

Ding Qi was terrified and asked, "So, the two dead people were both victims of this technique?"

"Not necessarily!" Zunzhibao covered the corpse with the clothes and slowly said, "This technique is powerful, but it depends on the three corpse worms in the person's body. If they are not right, they might devour the soul completely, making the person uncontrollable, which is likely what happened to Brother Ma!"

"Powerful!" Ding Qi sighed, glancing at the disciples behind him, and whispered, "Uncle Master... Uncle Master, is he... also?"

"Not necessarily!" Zunzhibao shook his head and wiped his hands on the corpse's clothes, "There are two types."

"Oh, I see." Ding Qi seemed to understand but then asked, "But why did you say 'not necessarily' just now?"

Zunzhibao turned to look at the disciples, his face serious, "I said 'not necessarily' not because the cause of death might be different, but because... the number of dead might not be two!"

"Ah!" This statement was too shocking, and Ding Qi could not help but exclaim!