Chunhui was over forty when he began practicing martial arts, so his skills weren’t high.

Tang Lici unsealed his mute acupoint and asked where the Gu King was. This elder who had lived in seclusion at Tianqing Temple for decades let out a sigh.

He didn’t answer where the Gu King was, but slowly asked Tang Lici a question, “What do you mean by ‘repaying not kindness, but a ghost’?”

“What exactly did you see in the ‘Book of Rebirth’?” Tang Lici didn’t answer his question directly, looking at his layers of blood-stained hands. Those fingers were pale and bluish, and under the lamplight, even the traces of blood flow were barely visible.

“Amitabha Buddha.” Even though Chunhui called himself “returned to secular life,” he still proclaimed the Buddha’s name. “Actually, back then, the previous emperor took poison to commit suicide within Tianqing Temple but didn’t die. He simply remained unconscious for years. We built the tea garden and hid him underground, hoping that one day he would wake up on his own.” After pondering for a while, Chunhui slowly said, “We tried many methods, but none could make him wake up.”

“Then that day, Liu Yan broke into Tianqing Temple carrying the ‘Book of Rebirth.'” Tang Lici said quietly.

“The ‘Book of Rebirth’ mentions that it represents ‘the beginning of eight winds and nine wilds, the transformation of mysterious light descending.’ Having studied Buddhist teachings for many years, I suspected it wasn’t a single volume and that there should be other texts.” Chunhui answered, “So I investigated its origins and learned this strange book came from you, while the other two volumes somehow appeared at Xingyang Book Workshop. In the ‘Ciran Konapo Book of Rebirth’ and ‘Bei Bodhi Galando Book of Rebirth,’ there’s a spirit transfer method that can transfer a dying person’s spirit to another person…”

“What?” Fu Zhumei was shocked. What nonsense was this? When people died, they died—there weren’t even ghosts, so where did this idea of transferring one person’s soul to another come from?

Tang Lici remained unmoved, “May I ask how this spirit transfer method is used?”

“Break open the previous emperor’s skull, take part of what’s inside, and put it into another person’s brain.” Chunhui said, “As long as that other person doesn’t die, they become the previous emperor’s spirit.”

Fu Zhumei sucked in a sharp breath.

Break open a person’s skull, dig out a piece, and put it into another person’s broken skull?

If they could survive this, it would truly be a miraculous wonder of the world.

Even Tang Lici was slightly shaken upon hearing of such “spirit transfer arts,” “But you have other strange arts to ensure the spirit transfer recipients don’t die—how many people did you transfer spirits to?” He smiled enigmatically, “Were you perhaps afraid the spirit transfer arts had little hope, so you transferred… all of the previous emperor’s brain?”

Fu Zhumei was horrified.

What… what did that mean?

They dug out all of that person’s… entire brain… and separately put pieces into many people’s brains?

How insane would one have to be to commit such inhuman acts?

Chunhui closed his eyes, “Thirteen people.”

“And under your strange arts, these thirteen people actually didn’t die.” Tang Lici said gently, “So you became deeply convinced of the spirit transfer method. I guess these people might even retain some memories of the previous emperor’s lifetime, so…” Tang Lici paused slightly, “They are all ‘Ghost Peonies.'”

So the Ghost Peonies of Fengliu Store appeared endlessly, seemingly impossible to kill completely.

“But thirteen ‘previous emperors’ are rather too many.” Tang Lici said, “You selected one from among them, with the other twelve serving as substitutes.”

Chunhui sighed, “Among all of them, ‘Qingshan’ remembered the previous emperor’s affairs most clearly and was most trustworthy.”

Tang Lici chuckled softly, “Old monk, you’ve chanted Amitabha Buddha for most of your life, ferrying countless devout men and women… Even after returning to secular life, Buddha is still watching you.” He asked, “Do you believe that?”

Chunhui remained silent.

“These people carrying the ‘previous emperor’s spirit’ have decent martial arts. I estimate the previous emperor wasn’t a supreme master before his spirit transformation, so he wouldn’t gain supreme martial arts after transformation either.” Tang Lici said, “For them to endure the suffering of brain surgery and spirit implantation, they should have been notable martial world masters beforehand. Isn’t that right?”

Chunhui remained silent.

“Who could make thirteen martial world masters submit to this? Who could be deeply versed in brain control arts, enabling people to survive brain surgery?” Tang Lici sighed, “The Gu King ‘Summoning Lamp Order’ Wang Lingze.”

Chunhui suddenly opened his eyes. He hadn’t expected that from just a few words, Tang Lici had already thought that Wang Lingze might not be dead.

“Golden Thread Song” struck down with one sword, and Chunhui collapsed again. Tang Lici stood up supporting Fu Zhumei, “Wang Lingze is definitely not here now. The opportunity mustn’t be missed. Three Ghost Peonies are already dead, ten remain.” He smiled lightly, looking at Fu Zhumei, “Can your Royal Plum Blade still kill?”

Fu Zhumei was covered in blood, wounded all over. The wound from the venomous spider bite on his back was bringing him a hazy, dreamlike sensation. But he took a deep breath, his eyes suddenly becoming clear and righteous, “Give me a blade.”

Tang Lici smiled slightly, “Let’s go grab one.”

He placed a scent-tracking patch on Chunhui. After this battle ended, Jiang Youyu would lead people to follow the scent and capture him.

Wang Lingze wasn’t here, so no one was controlling the venomous spiders on Fu Zhumei’s back. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

If not now, when?

In Qihun Mountain.

Group A led by Tie Jing of Biluo Palace had already charged into Floating Brow Garden from Changyue Platform. He proceeded very carefully, and although there were many traps and hidden weapons along the way, not a single person from Fengliu Store came to stop them. Dozens of people including Meng Qinglei, Zhang Hemo, Cheng Yunpao, Gu Xitan, Qi Xing and others crowded in the passage, looking at each other in confusion, secretly speculating what conspiracy Fengliu Store was plotting.

Floating Brow Garden had a complex structure with multiple levels. Everyone could only hear what seemed like the clashing of metal weapons from the extreme depths.

Someone was fighting inside Fengliu Store.

Meng Qinglei and Cheng Yunpao exchanged glances, both feeling very surprised.

The martial world’s righteous path had almost entirely assembled here, and they were still finding it very difficult to attack from the outside. Who had silently infiltrated the interior and was fighting in the darkest depths?

Was this a trap?

After discussing for a while with Meng Qinglei, Cheng Yunpao took several people with excellent lightness skills toward where the sounds were coming from. The others followed the original plan, slowly advancing along Floating Brow Garden’s deep corridors.

Outside Floating Brow Garden.

Central Plains Sword Society camp.

Group B led by He Yan’er of Biluo Palace hadn’t yet departed when they encountered unimaginably difficult circumstances.

Scouts from the Central Plains Sword Society reported that imperial troops were moving up the mountain at the foot of Qihun Mountain, looking very strange. When scouts tried to approach and investigate what was happening, these people seemed mentally unclear, answering irrelevantly. Some would chase anyone they saw and even bite people, looking terrifying as if bewitched.

Wanyu Yuedan raised an eyebrow, “Who did they bite?”

“A disciple of Eastern Sword, and one of Master Wenxiu’s junior sisters.”

“Nine Heart Pills.” Wanyu Yuedan said, “Both of these people took Nine Heart Pills. The visitors from down the mountain are chasing and biting people who carry Nine Heart Pill residual poison—very likely, they’re afflicted with another kind of poison.”

“Bee Mother Condensed Frost Dew.” Miss Hong’s expression was grave.

People afflicted with Bee Mother Condensed Frost Dew, once the poison takes effect, lose their sanity and feed on poison, eventually dying in madness. Ordinary people afflicted with this poison would be even harder to control. Many members of the Central Plains Sword Society had taken Nine Heart Pills and would definitely become targets for these people to pounce on and bite. But these people were garrison troops—the Central Plains Sword Society couldn’t attack imperial forces.

What should they do?

Those surrounding the mountain numbered in the thousands, far exceeding what martial world people could control.

Miss Hong stood up. She closed her eyes and asked Wanyu Yuedan, “What do you think Young Master Tang would do if he were here?”

Wanyu Yuedan smiled, “But Young Master Tang isn’t here.” He also stood up, “There’s only you and me.”