The sky was dark and the earth dim. Amu, wearing a silver-white cloak, walked out from the empty, cold Star Palace. In the seventh city, the procession to escort the Holy Maiden had already assembled—fourteen people in total. At the very front were Wu Ying, Yun Yan, attendants, and Banxi. Following them was a small red and blue two-colored sedan chair with two sedan carriers. Behind that were four ancient tribe strongmen carrying a five-hundred-jin stone bell. At the very back were four devout Ancient Yao Sect believers holding prayer drums and wearing cone-shaped hats.
Wu Ying bent in salute. “Holy Maiden, it’s time to depart for the sacred land.”
Amu gazed calmly at Wu Ying, then suddenly parted her small lips and smiled wordlessly at someone somewhere. Maidservants helped Amu into the small sedan, and the curtain slowly fell. Wu Ying said loudly, “Depart.” His voice was cold and resolute.
The party of fifteen would circle around Xingtian City to head to the sacred Eagle Beak Cliff on the north side of the inner mountains. After leaving Xingtian City, Wu Ying looked back indifferently. The weathered, massive ancient city was immersed in the ink-black night like a lonely primordial beast.
At the end of the Hour of the Dog, Wu Ying’s procession had advanced for most of an hour. The surrounding oppressively dark forest gradually gave way to jagged, solitary stone forests. From the depths of the stone forest came intermittent rustling strange sounds. Wu Ying waved his hand to have the procession stop first and ordered the remaining torches lit. Ritual Follower Yun Yan came forward and said, “We’ve reached the edge of the Exile Grounds. We can begin reciting the Diamond Sutra and the Immortal Text.”
Wu Ying instructed Banxi with a few words. Banxi received the order and ran to the back of the procession. After a moment, the rhythmic drumbeats of prayer drums echoed through the middle of the procession. At the same time, believers orally recited the Diamond Sutra and the ancient tribe’s ancestral Immortal Text. The sutras and drums harmonized together. Only then did Wu Ying order the procession to continue forward.
Penetrating deeper into what Yun Yan called the Exile Grounds, vaguely discernible in the depths of the stone forest, gradually bizarre black shadows continuously darted to the edge of the stone forest, their strange cries short and shrill like mountain sprites and demons. Murderous intent suddenly appeared in Wu Ying’s eyes. His black whip swayed in his hand. Suddenly, a black shadow poked out half a head from behind a stone pillar—a face as large as a basket, half purple and half black, with fangs jutting out like an evil ghost crawling from the hell of mud plows.
Wu Ying flicked his hand. The black whip stood rigid like a staff and smashed into the evil ghost shadow’s face. It shrieked miserably twice. Then behind over a dozen stone pillars and screens appeared faces that made one’s hair stand on end—some faces had giant hairy spots, some had ears extending to the top of their heads, some had no eyes or ears, and some had three hands or three feet. There was even one with four arms growing from its shoulders like the demon god Nezha, raising high four stone clubs. If Li Si, Gongyang Yan, and the others were here, they would definitely recognize that this group of monsters was similar to the three-handed monsters at Black Stone Bridge. The monsters without a stitch of clothing roared wildly at Wu Ying but seemed to fear the prayer drums and recited sutras and dared not approach.
Wu Ying swung his whip, each lash striking the hiding monsters. The monsters’ fierce expressions became even more savage, but Wu Ying acted as if he saw nothing. Because of Wu Ying’s explosive whip sounds, more pitch-black, bizarre monsters surged from the dark stone forest, gathering on both sides of the only road crossing through the stone forest, glaring and roaring wildly.
The Ritual Follower saw more and more monsters and hurriedly stopped Wu Ying. “Grand Elder, stop hitting them! The heretics in the Exile Grounds are cold-blooded, cruel demons. Right now, because they’re constrained by the Buddhist sutras and ancient texts, they don’t dare come forward. But if we provoke them and they no longer heed the Buddhist sutras and ancient texts, the consequences will be unthinkable.”
Wu Ying glanced at Yun Yan. The black whip didn’t swing out again. But he turned and leaped onto a stone pillar, standing on one foot, as if calling someone, and shouted loudly, “Wu Jiong, have you come?”
His voice shook in all directions. Countless heretics’ fierce eyes looked toward Wu Ying standing high above, roaring endlessly.
Wu Ying’s cruel face rarely relaxed. He opened his hands toward the endless darkness, then slowly clenched them. “Whether you can hear me or not, and no matter what ghostly appearance you’ve become, remember—you will forever be my, Wu Ying’s, younger brother. Don’t bring me shame! Sooner or later, I will rescue you from this demon’s den.”
In an instant, the surroundings fell silent. All the heretics at this moment seemed to understand Wu Ying’s words and became silent. Wu Ying took one more deep look at the black tide of monsters, leaped down, and said decisively, “Go!”
Amu in the sedan also heard this. She quietly lifted open a slit in the curtain. Endless black wind instantly poured in.
The heretics on all sides quietly watched Wu Ying leave. From the deepest part of the stone forest faintly came ghostly sounds—sounds that also seemed like someone’s weeping…
At the same moment, in the oppressively atmospheric fifth city of Xingtian City, Right Guardian You Huai walked up the blood-stained Prisoner Tower with a grave expression. He came to the Prisoner Tower following Wu Ying’s order to eliminate Gongyang Yan, Li Si, and Mita. He closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh in his heart before pushing open the iron door of the Prisoner Tower.
The Prisoner Tower was divided into ground and underground levels. The ground level imprisoned Ancient Yao Sect members who had committed grave crimes and outsiders. Underground was specially for confining heretics who looked like monsters. Li Si and the others were imprisoned on the second floor of the ground level. Mita, who had just been sent over, was in better condition. Gongyang Yan and Li Si had already been beaten by the guarding ancient tribe jailers until their skin split and flesh tore, bloody and mangled. Gongyang Yan remained confused and muddled, while Li Si had not yet regained consciousness.
You Huai came up to the second floor. First, he looked at the downcast Mita, then swept his gaze toward Gongyang Yan and Li Si.
“Guardian, you’ve arrived.” The jailer spoke humbly and obsequiously, a completely different person from his earlier demonic viciousness.
You Huai made a sound of acknowledgment. “Following Grand Elder Wu Ying’s order, execute the Evergreen Duke’s descendant and friends. As for Mita… await the Grand Elder’s return before sentencing.” You Huai didn’t completely follow Wu Ying’s orders. Regarding Mita, he still showed leniency, leaving her a chance to survive.
The jailer viciously drew his blade and walked toward Gongyang Yan and Li Si. According to Ancient Yao Sect regulations, outsiders who killed or injured ancient tribe people should be punished with the Shaving Head punishment—shaving the head meant severing the head. The jailer licked his dry lips and raised the wide blade in his hand to chop at Gongyang Yan.
“Stop!” Mita, who had just been lost in thought, came to her senses and said, “Guardian You Huai, please spare them. I have something to tell you.”
The jailer looked at You Huai. You Huai nodded slightly. The jailer lowered his blade but guarded beside Gongyang Yan. You Huai said seriously, “Mita, speak.”
“You absolutely cannot kill them.” Mita said gravely.
You Huai shook his head with a smile. “Executing these two is the order of the new Grand Elder. How dare I disobey? Moreover, why should I spare these two?”
“Guardian, Grand Elder Wu Yan’s sudden death was unclear and murky. Although I wasn’t present at the time, I absolutely don’t believe the Grand Elder could be poisoned to death by an outsider. There must be a conspiracy here. If you execute the suspects now, the truth can never be found. Does the Guardian want the Grand Elder to suffer injustice in the underworld? Moreover, after Wu Ying became the new Grand Elder, will he let you off?” Mita’s eyes were shrouded in mist, her gaze flickering. “Wu Ying’s personality is suspicious and his mind narrow. He cannot tolerate anyone who poses a threat to him. The Guardian should also know about the death of my Man Father.”
You Huai’s expression darkened. “Your Man Father was the ancient tribe’s first warrior and also the person Grand Elder Wu Yan most valued and admired. He carelessly fell from a cliff and died while capturing escaped heretics together with Wu Ying.”
“Carelessly fell from a cliff? Nonsense! My Man Father was the first warrior. How could he slip and fall to his death! After learning of the tragic news, I ran to the cliff where Man Father fell and discovered marks of two weapons clashing on a hidden bluestone. The Guardian also knows that heretics don’t use weapons, right? So the one who fought with my Man Father must have been Wu Ying—this most despicable beast in Shifang Mountain killed my Man Father!” When Mita reached the sorrowful part, her chest heaved violently. “To eliminate all traces, he’s also always wanted to kill me. Fortunately, the Grand Elder commissioned me to leave the mountain to search for the Holy Maiden. Only then did I avoid being killed by that beast.”
“How can someone with such vicious scheming be worthy of being the Ancient Yao Sect’s Grand Elder? Sooner or later, he will move against the Guardian to consolidate his position. I even suspect the Grand Elder’s death is related to Wu Ying. Guardian, you must think carefully. If that day truly comes, it will be too late for everything.” Mita’s words hammered into You Huai’s heart sentence by sentence.
You Huai closed his eyes without speaking. The jailer holding the wide blade sweated from gripping so tightly. He couldn’t help but ask quietly, “Guardian, should I kill or not?”
You Huai slowly opened his eyes and looked wearily at Mita. “What you say makes sense, but it’s all empty talk without evidence. Wu Ying is already the legitimate seventh Grand Elder. In reason and sentiment, I must obey his words. So I can only kill!”
The jailer’s eyes flashed with bloodthirsty color. The wide blade suddenly chopped down. Suddenly, a gray light struck the wide blade. The blade deflected, grazing past Gongyang Yan’s scalp and only cutting off a lock of hair. Gongyang Yan’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe his small life had wavered at the gates of hell and returned. Gongyang Yan tilted his head to look at the person who saved him.
The one who acted to save him was none other than the bald-headed, bearded man wearing a tattered Taoist robe—the fat Taoist.
The fat Taoist said with a smile, “Can’t kill, can’t kill.”
The jailer swung his blade at the fat Taoist. The fat Taoist twisted left and right, nimbly avoiding the blade tip. Before long, the jailer was drenched in sweat and couldn’t swing the wide blade anymore. You Huai furrowed his brows tightly, his hand stroking the scabbard. “You’ve come too. If you want to save them, I can only say you’re too presumptuous.”
The fat Taoist watched You Huai’s blade about to leave its sheath and hurriedly waved his hand. “Wait, wait. I never said I’d rely on amateur martial skills to save people. To save people, I rely on this!” The fat Taoist pulled out from his tattered Taoist robe a dark gray square plaque that seemed wood but wasn’t wood, seemed iron but wasn’t iron. Both front and back of the plaque were carved with two characters in ancient twisted script—Divine Miracle.
“This is the Ancient Yao Sect’s Sacred Plaque! How do you have this?” You Huai couldn’t hide his shock.
“Haha, this thing was given to me by a friend.” The fat Taoist said mysteriously. “My friend’s name is Wu Yan.”
“Grand Elder Wu Yan?” This time both You Huai and Mita exclaimed in surprise.
“That’s him.” The fat Taoist said leisurely and contentedly. You Huai stared unblinkingly at the fat Taoist. “There is only one Ancient Yao Sect Sacred Plaque. The sect’s ancestral rules clearly state—’Anyone holding the Sacred Plaque may be exempted from the Ancient Yao Sect’s major crime punishments, possesses the right to freely enter and exit Xingtian City, and Ancient Yao Sect members shall treat them with the courtesy of the Grand Elder.’ Although you hold the Sacred Plaque, Grand Elder Wu Yan is already dead. If you can’t explain the causes and consequences of obtaining the Sacred Plaque, I’m afraid it will be difficult to convince people.”
The jailer stupidly interjected from the side, “I think the Sacred Plaque was stolen by this stinking Taoist.”
“Your stinking dog fart! Wrong, wrong, those who cultivate the Dao should abstain from anger and rashness.” The fat Taoist muttered some Taoist sutra, then said, “Since Grand Elder Wu Yan has already departed to become an immortal, I have no need to hide anymore. Follow me.”
Li Si had already awakened and heard the conversation between You Huai and the fat Taoist. Li Si spat out some bloody saliva and said, “I’m guessing it’s related to your mysterious business.”
The fat Taoist smiled meaningfully. He asked You Huai to first release the three of them. You Huai didn’t hesitate and agreed. So the fat Taoist led You Huai, Li Si, Gongyang Yan, Mita, and the jailer out of the fifth city and entered the sixth city. The fat Taoist circled around and came to an inconspicuous stone house among the stone houses. At the door of the stone house hung a lock that looked like it could be kicked apart with one foot. The fat Taoist fumbled and fussed, pulling keys from his Taoist robe, opened the door, and said, “Come in.”
Inside the stone house was nothing else, only a crude stone slab bed. The fat Taoist reached out and lifted the stone slab bed, groping around beneath it. Only the sound of “crack crack” could be heard as a secret door split open under the bed. The fat Taoist jumped into the secret door. You Huai and the others also followed in.
Behind the secret door was a pitch-black corridor. At the end of the corridor was a stone chamber. The stone chamber was elliptical. In the middle was a half-person-high gray stone with a central depression. The depression was filled with silver-white water. Li Si suddenly recalled the river water mixed with impurities outside Xingtian City. Li Si carefully examined the gray stone and was shocked again. It turned out that in the depressed water also squatted a brownish-red toad on the outside. Because its skin color was similar to the gray stone, he hadn’t been able to see it at first. This toad was as large as a rooster, squatting dully in the water without moving. What impressed Li Si most deeply was that the toad’s two protruding eyes were one jade green and one deep red.
The fat Taoist stood at one side of the gray stone and spoke. “Guardian You Huai should recognize that this silver water is from the Silver River outside Xingtian City.”
You Huai glanced over and slowly nodded.
“Alright, now we enter the main topic. First, I must admit to you all—I’m not a real Taoist.” After the fat Taoist finished speaking, the others weren’t surprised. The fat Taoist rubbed his bald head and smiled bitterly. “My name is Du Man. Actually, I’m an idle wandering physician who roams the world, especially fond of researching all kinds of strange and chaotic poisons under heaven. I’ve also saved some pitiful people, so people in the jianghu gave me an elegant nickname—’Poison Hand Sacred Physician.'”
“You’re the Poison Hand Sacred Physician?” Li Si never expected that the Poison Hand Sacred Physician he had been searching for so hard was actually the fat Taoist. The fat Taoist’s face was full of guilt. “I’m sorry. Circumstances were unavoidable. I couldn’t reveal my true identity to you too early.”
Li Si nodded with understanding. If a person wanted to change their appearance and hide themselves, there must be great difficulties. This point Li Si completely understood.
The fat Taoist continued, “Seven years ago, I entered Shifang Mountain for Monkey Head Treasure. I was carelessly knocked unconscious by poisonous miasma and nearly lost my life. I was saved by Grand Elder Wu Yan. After he learned of my identity, he made a request—that I help him resolve a rare poison. In return, he was willing to give me any medicinal herbs from Shifang Mountain. Wu Yan had saved my life. Even without compensation, I was willing to help him. Afterward, he secretly brought me into Xingtian City and I lived in this stone house above. Soon, he sent over this gray stone and silver water. Wu Yan said the rare poison was in the water.”
“In the water?” Li Si, You Huai, and the others were all astonished. You Huai said dazedly, “You’re saying the Silver River water is poisonous?”
The fat Taoist made a sound of acknowledgment. “Moreover, this poison has existed for hundreds of years and has caused much harm. I buried myself in research for three months and finally found the cause of the poison. The Silver River water, because it mixed with two extreme water and fire toxins plus a small amount of minerals, constituted a continuously perpetuating rare poison.”
“The reason I say continuously perpetuating is that during your lifetime it might not manifest, but when you have the next generation, this rare poison is extremely likely to pass to the next generation, then the next, until the rare poison manifests and harms descendants.” The fat Taoist paused and said, “My research concluded that the rare poison most easily manifests during a person’s weakest infant period or slightly older. The symptoms are extremely cruel and terrifying. It has the potential to be fatal, but more often it doesn’t claim lives and seize souls. Rather, it affects the seven meridians, eight vessels, and bone marrow within infants, manifesting unpredictable abnormalities! To be specific, the infant might become three-handed, three-footed, multi-eyed, or have fewer ears, or undergo atavism and other ugly, ghostly appearances—in other words, what you call heretics.”
You Huai said urgently, “Heretics became mutated because they were poisoned?”
“That’s right.” The fat Taoist’s expression was sorrowful. “Heretics aren’t as the Ancient Yao Sect proclaims—mutated due to impiety and heavenly punishment. Grand Elder Wu Yan had long understood this point, which is why he sought me to break the Silver River rare poison. For this, I researched in a sunless secret chamber for a full two years. Following the vine to find the melon, I discovered the source of the rare poison was a type of water-fire poison condensed from something called ‘Ice Flame Stone.’ Ice Flame Stone is a peculiar mutation of earth marrow stone, possessing both extreme water-fire toxins and earth marrow trace mineral powder. Although Ice Flame Stone possesses ancient rare poison, if utilized well, it can equally resolve thousand-year-old lingering poisons. For instance, one of the legendary Seven Great Rare Poisons, ‘Spring Snow in the Sun,’ must use water-fire dual toxins as a medicine catalyst. It’s also useful for treating severe poisons like Soul Loss Fruit.”
The fat Taoist looked at Li Si with deep meaning and continued, “So my heart was moved. I made a deal with Wu Yan. I’d help him detoxify, and he’d provide me sufficient Ice Flame Stone.” Li Si finally understood that the fat Taoist’s so-called unprecedented and unrepeatable business meant exchanging poison for antidote.
“After analyzing the rare poison, I set about preparing the antidote. For this, I traveled all over the world preparing medicinal materials for half a year, then returned to Xingtian City to formulate the antidote. The mutated gray-striped toad in the chamber is used to test whether the antidote is effective, but the first antidote I formulated failed. I secluded myself for three months thinking about the reason for failure. Then after a year, I developed a second antidote, but unfortunately it failed again. Then came the third, fourth, fifth times… After five consecutive failures, I tried changing the detoxification method—not using antidotes but using the method of fighting poison with poison. Many rare and fierce poisons were employed by me, but none had effect either.” The fat Taoist sighed dejectedly. “During this period, I traveled seven or eight times between Xingtian City and the outside world. Wu Yan worried he couldn’t care for me comprehensively. As a precaution, he gave me this Sacred Plaque for safe passage. Wu Yan didn’t want to publicly question Ancient Yao Sect doctrine, so he was careful everywhere. I also acted cautiously, thus repeatedly changed my appearance to infiltrate Shifang Mountain. Hehe, this time I disguised myself as a Taoist of impure six roots.”
“Over seven years, I thought more than once about giving up, but Wu Yan begged me not to abandon it. After all, the Ice Flame rare poison concerns nearly a thousand people of the ancient tribe, and the lives of thousands upon thousands of descendants. I was moved by that old man Wu Yan’s will and persisted for seven years. This time I had finally made some progress, but who knew Wu Yan would pass away.”
The fat Taoist couldn’t help but feel regret when mentioning Wu Yan.
“Then couldn’t the entire ancient tribe move out of Shifang Mountain, stay away from the Silver River, and avoid the Ice Flame rare poison?” Li Si thought of a solution and asked in confusion.
The fat Taoist half-raised his head. “If things were really this simple, Wu Yan and I wouldn’t have labored for seven years so long.”
“Because of the Ice Flame rare poison’s special nature, its toxicity manifestation is also quite special. When old Ice Flame poison lies dormant in your body, you must take new poison every so often to flush out the dormant old poison. The old poison will then be expelled from the body through feces, urine, and bodily fluids. However, once you move away from the Silver River, the source of the toxin, and no longer take new poison, the dormant old poison will definitely erupt like floods and fierce beasts, and nine out of ten people will die.” The fat Taoist’s expression was dejected. “So the ancient tribe people cannot leave Shifang Mountain, nor can they leave the Silver River. They can only guard Xingtian City for generations, enduring the torment of the Ice Flame rare poison. Another latent harm of the Ice Flame rare poison is reducing women’s childbirth probability. According to Wu Yan, at the ancient tribe’s peak, the clan reached eleven thousand people. But times have changed. Currently, the entire tribe has fewer than a thousand people. One can see how extremely difficult it’s been.”
Li Si couldn’t help but feel desolate. Mita also didn’t know what sad matter she thought of and covered her face, sobbing. Gongyang Yan’s sanity recovered somewhat. He looked woodenly at the gray stone and silver water. The fat Taoist folded his arms and closed his eyes in thought. No one spoke anymore. For a time, the secret chamber fell into oppressive deadly silence. After a long while, You Huai first broke the silence. “The Grand Elder’s intentions were painstaking. Since it was the Grand Elder’s commission, then leave the Sacred Plaque and go. Go as far as possible. This can be considered the last thing I do for the Grand Elder.”
The ancient tribe jailer was stunned but didn’t dare disobey You Huai. He made way.
Li Si and the others had not yet moved when suddenly from the depressed water stone came a loud “croak”! The mutated toad that seemed to be sleeping suddenly leaped into midair. Its long tongue covered with flesh thorns coiled and retracted, rolling two moth insects into its large mouth. Then with a “splash,” it fell back into the silver water. Li Si, who was closest, was startled. Combined with his body’s depletion after torture, he nearly fell headfirst into the water stone. Fortunately, the fat Taoist pulled him, and he stood steady.
“That was close!” The fat Taoist wiped away sweat and said. Li Si smiled wearily.
You Huai was waiting for Li Si and the others to leave. Mita stubbornly said, “I’m not leaving. If I don’t rescue Amu, my conscience will be uneasy for the rest of my life. I’m going to the sacred land.”
The fat Taoist and Li Si looked at each other. The fat Taoist scratched his bald head. “Wu Yan mentioned the sacred land many times. I’ve long wanted to see it. This time, I’ll consider it risking my life to accompany the lady.”
Li Si said flatly, “I said I’d help you save Amu.”
Gongyang Yan looked left and right, hesitating for a long while without speaking.
You Huai looked at Mita with meaningful eyes for a while, then said, “From you I see the shadow of your Man Father—resilient and brave, never looking back once you’ve decided on something. Actually, after Grand Elder Wu Yan’s death, I’ve already become disheartened with the Ancient Yao Sect. This time I’ll risk everything. Go to the sacred land. Do what you want to do.”
Mita smiled gratefully at You Huai. Several people walked out of the secret chamber and returned to the stone house. Shortly after Li Si and the others left, the calm depressed silver water suddenly rippled in layers. The mutated toad that seemed to have fallen asleep suddenly twisted its body in extreme unease. Its two jade-green and deep-red eyes rapidly rotated like two brilliant whirlpools…