Chapter 111: Retirement Day 111: The evil curse my apprentice improved...
Although the branch heads of the Jiuyou Tongshen Society were successfully eliminated, the subsequent mess was not so easy to clean up.
Whether it was the major Taoist temples across the country that joined the Jiuyou Tongshen Society under Qingyang's enticement, or the many entrepreneurs who voluntarily or forcibly got involved in the cultivation of evil spirits, they all had more or less human lives on their shoulders.
All the people were dealt with at once, and the social shock caused by this is needless to say.
But Su Shi couldn't care less.
After learning the true cause of his master's death from Sang Qiqi and Mingxin, the veins in his forehead throbbed violently, his face twisted into a savage expression. He clenched his fists and slammed them down on the table. The sound of bones shattering in the massive impact was audible. Pengqiu opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but thinking of his master's death, he lowered his head, his eyes reddening.
It's not that the two of them didn't doubt Ling Yun, but the master was indeed ill back then. The two brothers took the old master to many hospitals, and the responses they received were almost the same, over and over again:
Family members should be mentally prepared.
The elderly person is old, so we do not recommend surgery.
Take advantage of this last bit of time to spend more time with the elderly.
No one said the word "die", but everyone meant it.
During their final two days, Pengqiu and Sushi sat with the old abbot on the mountain where the temple stood. The three of them gazed at the starry sky overhead. The old abbot pinched his fingers and spoke in a weak but loving voice, "You've all grown up before I knew it. You'd be old enough to start a family and a career in your own right. You must think carefully about your actions from now on and avoid rash actions."
At the time, Pengqiu thought his master was teaching his brother a lesson. After all, his brother was impatient and reckless, always getting into trouble. But now, recalling his words, it seemed to have a different meaning.
Everyone knew that the old abbot of Huanlongtai was best at fortune-telling. Perhaps he had long been aware of his junior fellow disciple Lingyun's wicked ambitions and the vast power behind him. However, he was overestimating his own abilities. Rather than reveal the truth to his two disciples, he preferred to use his own death to keep them out of danger.
But I was afraid that the two children would guess something, so I could only educate them in a subtle way.
Pengqiu exhaled slowly, stood up, washed his face, and bent down to find the medicine box in the cabinet. He walked over to his senior brother Su Shi with the medicine box, forcibly took his hand, and performed a simple treatment.
He said, "Let's kill Ling Yun first, then go to the hospital."
At night.
The dark darkness enveloped the Huanlongtai on the top of the mountain. Everything around the Huanlongtai fell into silence, with only the occasional cooing of birds interspersed, adding a bit of the eerie atmosphere unique to the night.
But the scene in a certain room in the backyard of Huanlongtai was completely different. It was brightly lit, with wine flowing and a bustling atmosphere.
Several middle-aged Taoist priests in their forties and fifties took off their outer robes, revealing their increasingly round and broad figures. They sat cross-legged in front of the table, on which were placed all kinds of delicacies from land and sea as well as expensive foreign wines that were not usually seen.
The Taoist priest with a long beard took a sip of wine, an expression of enjoyment on his face, and with a rolling throat, he sighed, "Nowadays this is what life is all about. When the old man was here, we lived like beggars."
The old abbot adhered to the principle of frugality and simplicity. Every Taoist priest in the temple wore Taoist robes that were washed white and ate simple meals. Compared with the present time, there was a world of difference.
Taking another sip of his wine, he told of the wealthy, filial son who had come to Huanlongtai today to pray for his seriously ill mother. He seemed to be a small local business owner named Liu. Although his business wasn't large, Liu had amassed a fortune worth tens of millions. He had heard from others that the prayers at Huanlongtai worked, so he painstakingly climbed the mountain with his elderly mother, donating half a million yuan in incense money, all in exchange for a life-extending talisman.
The life-extending talisman is a local specialty of Huanlongtai that has become famous in recent years. Others only know it as a piece of paper with the birth date of the person whose life is being extended, but little do they know that the other end of the talisman is also connected to the life of a stranger they have never met. Extending the life of the former, the latter's life span is rapidly shortened. However, since the two do not know each other, this trick has never been exposed.
"Before he left, Boss Liu said the father-in-law of one of his partners wasn't feeling well. If our life-extending charm works, he'll bring that partner over... I heard that partner is even richer and has expanded his company to another province."
Boss Liu can give 500,000 yuan as a gift, let alone this partner.
Ling Yun and the others seemed to have imagined the scene of piles of banknotes, and excitement and excitement gradually appeared on their faces. As they toasted each other, their cheeks turned red from the alcohol, and they felt dizzy.
At this time, there was a rapid knock on the door.
Boom boom boom, boom boom boom.
The young Taoist priest outside the door sniffed the odor of wine and meat wafting through the cracks in the door and windows of the Taoist temple, and a hint of disgust flashed in his eyes. After spending several years at Huanlongtai, he naturally knew that everyone from the temple master to the uncle was not a good person. Unfortunately, joining the Taoist temple was like stepping into a tiger's mouth. Those Taoist priests who were dissatisfied with the actions of Ling Yun and others had just said they wanted to leave the temple and then disappeared inexplicably.
This undisguised warning made the remaining young Taoist priests who had not yet been contaminated by desire feel panic, and they could only grit their teeth and endure the disgust.
Bang.
The door was roughly pushed open from the inside. A long-bearded Taoist priest, reeking of alcohol, asked in a stern voice, "What are you doing?"
The young Taoist priest, his face choked by the stench of alcohol, took a step back calmly, raised his finger and pointed behind him, saying, "Senior Brother Su Shi is coming."
who?
The long-bearded Taoist frowned and said, "What do you mean by tracing back the past? Didn't that brat leave long ago after the old man died?"
Hearing the long-bearded Taoist utter the word "old fellow," the young Taoist lowered his eyes and curled his lips, thinking that the other party was really a piece of shit. If he remembered correctly, this person in front of him had not cultivated well and was causing trouble outside, provoking a powerful person. If the old temple master had not arrived in time during the battle, this person would have lost his life.
Facing the old abbot who saved his life, it would have been fine if he didn't just say benefactor, but he actually called the other person "old guy" directly. The disgust revealed in his words was really disgusting.
The long-bearded Taoist priest was so drunk that his mind wasn't clear, but his voice was resounding. The words "tracing back to the past, not to the present" were clearly heard in the room behind him, causing Ling Yun, who was drinking with a smile, to frown. He put down his wine glass with a clatter, stood up, walked to the door, pushed the long-bearded Taoist priest aside, and was about to ask a question when a thunderous roar suddenly exploded in his ears: "Ling Yun, get out of here!"
The familiar voice was amplified infinitely by the amplifier and spread throughout the entire Huanlongtai. The sleeping little Taoist priests were suddenly awakened from their dreams, and each of them opened their confused eyes to look for the source of the sound.
Ling Yun's face suddenly darkened.
He whispered to himself: "...Back in time?"
He was responded by a ray of light that could illuminate the entire back mountain, followed by an exaggerated earthquake. The huge movement woke up several middle-aged Taoists who were still immersed in drunkenness. They subconsciously wanted to take out talismans and magic tools from their pockets, but when they put their hands down, they realized that they were not wearing Taoist robes at all, and the Qiankun bag was not tied around their waists.
The expressions of several people changed slightly, and they hurriedly wanted to return to their own rooms. However, a transparent barrier with a faint golden color appeared out of thin air in front of the five people, separating them from Lingyun and the Taoist priest with a long beard.
The sudden scene made several people's hearts skip a beat, but before they had time to think, they saw a figure slowly appearing from under the invisibility talisman.
Pengqiu was dressed in a dark Taoist robe, a peach wood sword strapped to his back. His face was expressionless as he simply bowed to the men who were nominally his uncles. Immediately, the talisman paper hovered in the air, and the peach wood sword drew a cold light in the air. As the five men stared in horror, he said in a deep voice, "Break!"
The moment the words fell, the five people suddenly felt a strange pain in their hearts and abdomens. The internal organs wrapped in the skin of the upper body seemed to be greatly stimulated and stirred wildly. The waves of pain made them bend over, but the pain did not subside with this movement. Not only that, they heard a series of "bang bang bang" explosions in their ears. When they lowered their heads, they saw that their lower abdomen and chest suddenly exploded. In an instant, the displaced internal organs were clearly visible, and even had a tendency to flow out of the holes.
Because of his senior brother's time travel, Pengqiu wasn't averse to curses and even took the initiative to learn them. However, in his years of travel, he rarely used curses, and when he did, it was only against evil spirits. He wouldn't even dare to think of using curses to blast through the bellies of his former senior brothers, as he had done today.
Ling Yun, who witnessed this scene, was also shocked.
Having lived with Sushi Pengqiu for so many years, he naturally knew what kind of person Pengqiu was. In the past, he had been like Sushi's shadow, Sushi's violent temper and Pengqiu's gentleness. He always followed Sushi around, cleaning up his messes, and had no sense of presence. Unlike today, when he unleashed such a torturous curse.
"you--"
The questions rolling out of his throat dissipated when Su Shi's figure suddenly appeared in front of the Taoist temple. Ling Yun hadn't seen the young Taoist priest for a long time. He was surprised to find that the fierceness revealed between Su Shi's sharp eyebrows seemed to be more intense than before, and the scar at the corner of his eye looked even more brutal under the dim moonlight.
His thin lips curled up, Su Shi stared at Ling Yun, and said in a low voice: "If you don't come out when I call you, then I will have to come here myself."
Su Shi stood suspended in mid-air, a talisman in his left hand and a black-gold Three Purities flag in his right. The flag fluttered without a breeze, his commanding presence causing Ling Yun to belatedly sense a sense of panic. His fingers reached for his waist, but it was empty. Like those middle-aged Taoists whose abdominal cavities had exploded, he had discarded his robe and Qiankun bag to the table to enjoy his wine more comfortably. If Su Shi were to attack him now, he would have no chance of retaliation.
A drop of cold sweat fell on Ling Yun's forehead. He secretly hated himself for forgetting danger when it was safe. He was also puzzled as to why his fellow apprentices Su Shi and Peng Qiu came to Huanlongtai to cause trouble.
For now, he could only feign calmness and asked in a deep voice, "Su Shi, you left Huanlongtai three years ago. Why did you suddenly come here today? And you even hurt someone from Huanlongtai. Are you tired of living?"
When Su Shi heard these words, he sneered.
His eyes were like icicles on a snowy mountain in December, so cold that they seemed to be substantial and could easily pierce Ling Yun's body.
He said, "Don't you know why I'm visiting you? Three years ago, you killed my master and colluded with this evil cult. I'm letting you live for three more years, so you should kowtow to me and express your gratitude!"
Killing my master and colluding with the evil cult.
When these words came out of Su Shi's mouth, Ling Yun's face changed instantly, but within three seconds, he regained his composure. In fact, his killing of the old abbot was nothing new to the several uncles and uncles at Huanlongtai. They hadn't asked him, and he hadn't admitted it, but they all had a definite suspicion. But so what? After all, following him was a thousand times more comfortable than following that old man.
Thinking of this, he curled his lips and said, "It took you three years to find out the truth. I think you are unworthy of being Wuyazi's most favored disciple."
Su Shi's face darkened.
Ling Yun seemed to have found a way to poke him in the heart, and asked with a smile, "Isn't it? Wuyazi loved you the most back then. Even though you were so stubborn, he tolerated your learning of evil curses again and again. He even suppressed the curse when you almost killed Mingwu from Liuyun Temple... But you allowed me, the enemy who killed your master, to seize the Huanlongtai and roam freely for three whole years. Tell me, when you die and go to the underworld, will Wuyazi blame you for your stupidity?"
As Ling Yun's provocations rang in his ears, Su Shi's intact hands squeezed his bones until they creaked, and the hostility between his brows piled up layer upon layer like dark clouds before a storm.
Ling Yun raised his chin slightly and said, "Are you angry? But since you know there's a powerful organization behind me, you should understand that if you dare to attack me today at Huanlongtai, tomorrow you will be hunted down by that organization and all the major Taoist temples across the country! Su Shi, I admit that you are an excellent Taoist priest, but you only have two fellow disciples. Can you really hide from them?"
"oh?"
Su Shi lowered his eyes and unexpectedly chuckled softly. The command flag in his hand swayed slightly, and just before pointing at the talisman paper, he asked with a half-smile, "So why do you think I know there's a cult behind you? If you're dreaming of asking those useless people from the Jiuyou Tongshen Society to save you, you'll probably have no choice but to go to the underworld and beg them!"
boom!
Dazzling flames ripped through the darkness, countless flames streaking like meteors towards the room behind Ling Yun. Ling Yun's face changed drastically, and he quickly turned and flew to the table, frantically pulling out his magic weapon and Qiankun bag. But before he could act, a fireball hurtled straight towards his face. Ling Yun cursed inwardly and rolled rapidly, but the fireball was strange, sending out countless sparks that quickly gathered and exploded right next to Ling Yun's hand.
Thinking of the Qiankun bag tightly clutched in his fingers, he immediately bent forward and hid the talisman paper that had poured out of the bag in his lower abdomen. The flames from the exploding fireball fell on him. The burning sting made him cry out in pain. He bit the soft flesh in his mouth desperately to suppress the pain. With trembling fingers, he touched the whisk to the talisman paper, and the talisman paper began to glow, gradually enveloping him.
Ling Yun, who was inside the barrier, had a chance to catch his breath.
He leaned against the wall, his mind resonating with Su Shi's words: "If you expect those worthless people from the Nine Netherworld Divine Society to save you, you'll probably have no choice but to go to the underworld and beg them." What did that mean? Could it be that Su Shi not only knew about the Nine Netherworld Divine Society's existence, but also destroyed it? How could it be possible! Even if Su Shi was exceptionally powerful, he couldn't possibly be this strong!
Ling Yun's brows darkened, and he took a deep breath before finding a special talisman from his Qiankun bag. This talisman had been given to him by Qing Yang, and it was used for communication. According to Qing Yang, once the talisman was burned, an evil spirit would appear, acting as a messenger to convey his request for help to the Jiuyou Tongshen Society.
Not daring to delay for even a moment, Ling Yun quickly lit the talisman paper.
During this time, Su Shi just looked at him with a smile.
Rather than letting Ling Yun feel hopeful, what Su Shi wanted to see most was letting Ling Yun feel despair.
This scene is not too late.
As the last bit of debris fell from Ling Yun's fingertips to the ground, the surroundings remained silent as usual. Not only were there no evil spirits, but even the ghostly aura was gone. Ling Yun's expression became stiff. He stared blankly at the ground, his heart beating violently, threatening to burst out of his throat.
Without the evil spirit delivering the message, there is nothing.
how so?
In the silent silence, he suddenly heard a strange sound in his confused head. His sight suddenly turned to his lower abdomen. He lifted up his clothes suddenly, but was shocked by the scene in front of him and trembled all over.
"What's this?!"
"This evil curse was improved by my apprentice." Su Shi folded his arms and looked at Ling Yun's lower abdomen leisurely. A strange plant slowly took shape under his skin.
After a few brief seconds, the plant's outline expanded, and Ling Yun felt his body stiffen. A strange force forced him to stand, his arms stretched straight and raised horizontally. Then, with a hissing sound, thin branches sprouted from his skin. These branches frantically absorbed the flesh and blood from Ling Yun's arms, sprouting leaves as the drained skin wrapped around his bones. At first glance, the wrinkled branches resembled the main branches of a tree.
Similarly, his torso became wrinkled because his flesh and blood were sucked away, just like the trunk of a tree.
“No…no!”
Shocked by the scene before him, Ling Yun's eyes were filled with fear. He tried to grab the talisman paper, but his hand, with only five fingers remaining, was so stiff that it seemed as if it didn't exist on his body. The whisk he was holding also fell to the ground with a clatter.
The sound was like a switch that accelerated the curse.
There was a loud bang.
The tree trunk rooted in Lingyun's body grew rapidly, taking root downwards and penetrating his head and roof upwards.
Ling Yun's face was imprinted on the tree trunk, his eyes open, his mouth slightly open, his death dazed, panicked, and quick.
“Tsk.”
Having witnessed the entire process, Su Shi had to admit that Sang Qiqi was indeed very talented in researching and improving curses. No one could have imagined that the person who came up with such a cruel curse was a novice who had only been using talisman paper for a few days.
He looked at the exaggeratedly grown trees in front of him, tilted his head to look at the corner on one side, and whistled.
A pure black crow spread its wings and flew onto his shoulder. As the little black wings lifted, the soul hidden in the trees was forcibly pulled out and thrown to Su Shi.
Wuyazi is no different from Sushi's father. If Lingyun kills Wuyazi, then he will have a grudge against Sushi for killing his father. It is impossible for Sushi to let Lingyun go so easily.
Coincidentally, before coming here, Sang Qiqi had given him some evil curse talismans that could work on the soul, so he could try it out on Ling Yun's soul.
Thinking of this, he felt a little itchy, so he raised his hand and waved to Pengqiu to leave, but when he turned around, he met the faces of a group of young Taoist priests.
The group stared at him eagerly, with no fear in their eyes that he had turned Lingyun into a tree, but only surprise and admiration.
They all bowed and shouted excitedly, "Senior Brother Su Shi!"
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