Chapter 248 - 276: Silver Bone Daoist! Longevity Dao Skill! The Golden Knight-Errant
Gazing at the blood-soaked ground and the silvery-white bone fragments scattered everywhere, the old Daoist felt his scalp tingle.
When he looked at Su Bai, his gaze held not only respect but also a trace of fear.
"S-Senior!"
He called out softly. Su Bai glanced back at him, and a red light flashed in his hand.
The black-clothed Daoist who had vanished earlier was now clutched tightly in Su Bai’s palm.
As the others behind him watched...
...the black-clothed Daoist was seared by crimson flames. He let out agonized howls, his face contorting into a mask of pure pain, as if he were enduring the most terrible torture imaginable.
And in fact, he was. The pain inflicted by the burning Karmic Fire was directly proportional to the sins committed by the criminal.
This black-clothed Daoist’s Cultivation was not weak—he had reached the Dragon Mansion Realm Eighth Layer—but he still couldn’t withstand the excruciating pain of the Karmic Fire.
It was easy to imagine just how grievous the sins he had committed in his lifetime were.
"AHH!! My body! My Divine Spirit!"
"You’re vicious! So vicious!!"
The black-clothed Daoist roared hideously. His twisted soul stretched out, glowing with an eerie black light, and tried to fight Su Bai to the death, only to be pinned to the ground by Su Bai’s finger.
The soul was ethereal and weak, yet the Finger Seal was as heavy as a mountain, crushing the black soul until it fractured like shattered porcelain.
"Silver Bone Daoist, compared to the things you’ve done, what is this?"
Su Bai shot him an indifferent glance.
Earlier, after using Karmic Fire to suppress the Silver Bone Daoist, Su Bai had submerged his Heart Spirit into the Purification Tripod. In a fleeting glimpse, he had already seen all of the man’s criminal memories.
The man’s crimes were numerous, and all of them were heinous.
For example, after achieving some success in his cultivation, he frequently used an Evil Technique to control others, made them kill their own close relatives, lowered people inch by inch into woks of oil, scalped them, and forcibly poured oil and water into their skulls...
As the Silver Bone Daoist’s Cultivation grew stronger, so too did his evil deeds, becoming increasingly unbridled and depraved.
To call him a beast would be an insult to beasts.
"Let me go! Let me go now!"
"Or you will die! You will die a horrible death!"
The Silver Bone Daoist shrieked and screamed.
His voice was like a Fierce Ghost wailing in a cold wind.
He was gradually descending into a state of utter madness.
This wasn’t because he had suffered a massive psychological blow or physical torment, but because he cultivated an Evil Technique, and his body was saturated with a vast amount of malevolent, resentful energy.
Once the Divine Spirit and physical body were severely damaged, this malevolent energy would invade the heart, making one susceptible to the Evil Technique’s influence, or even assimilation.
In the end, one would become a rampaging Evil Ghost.
"Silver Bone Daoist, one of the Inner Sect Elders of the Celestial One Sect, a native of Taiyun County."
"As a child, you failed at scholarly pursuits and, out of resentment, killed your esteemed master. You then tried martial arts and failed at that as well. After squandering your family fortune, you joined the Evil Sect, the Celestial One Sect. You have cultivated for over eighty years now..."
Su Bai gave him a cool look and continued.
"The Evil Technique you practice is called the Silver Bone Demon Chapter. It uses the bones of your own blood relatives, doesn’t it?"
"You lost your father at a young age, and your mother raised you single-handedly. I imagine the Silver Bone from before belonged to your mother!"
"In your eighty-plus years of cultivation, you’ve betrayed and killed your friends and family, not even sparing your fellow elders and disciples. Now, you’re nothing but a lonely, wandering ghost."
"Am I right?"
Having said his piece, Su Bai withdrew the right finger that was pressing down on the Silver Bone Daoist’s soul.
The Silver Bone Daoist’s soul trembled violently. It stretched and recoiled, then shrieked and lunged forward, only to be held in place by a terrifying pressure, completely unable to touch Su Bai.
"Who are you! Who the hell are you!?"
"How could you possibly know these things? How?!"
The Silver Bone Daoist roared, speechless with shock.
No one else knew the things Su Bai spoke of. He had already killed anyone who did, sending them to the Yellow Springs full of resentment.
Moreover, he had forgotten some of those things himself. How could this man possibly know?
’Who on earth is he?’
Su Bai, of course, didn’t answer. With a crook of his finger, the Incense Burner from the front of the ancestral hall flew into his hand.
Then, despite the Silver Bone Daoist’s violent struggles, Su Bai sealed him inside the Incense Burner.
"Who the hell are you!?"
The Incense Burner trembled as the Silver Bone Daoist let out an unwilling roar.
"Are you an old ancestor of the Gui Chen Sect? Or are you from the Dayu Immortal Slaughter Bureau?"
"AHH!!"
A moment later, the Silver Bone Daoist’s tragic screams echoed from within the Incense Burner.
Wisps of black smoke rapidly eroded the Silver Bone Daoist’s body and Divine Spirit. One after another, small, blood-stained holes riddled his form.
In a mere instant, the Silver Bone Daoist’s body was a porous wreck.
His Divine Spirit was weakened to its absolute limit.
’This Incense Burner isn’t bad at all.’
Now, he was being seared by Karmic Fire from within and eroded by malevolent energy from without.
For the Silver Bone Daoist, such a punishment.
was simply perfect!
Su Bai glanced at the Silver Bone Daoist’s condition and nodded slightly as information about him appeared in his vision.
[Criminal: Silver Bone Daoist]
[Sin Level: Eight-Star]
[Strength: Dragon Mansion Realm Eighth Layer]
[Status: Near Death (Imprisoned)]
[Suppression Involvement: 90%]
[Reward: 300,000 Experience Points/hour]
"W-where am I?"
"Ah! A body! Someone’s dead!"
"Blood... so much blood! B-Bones! A monster!"
As the effects of the Enchanting Incense wore off, hundreds of villagers began to awaken in the clearing before the ancestral hall.
Seeing the corpse, the foul-smelling blood, and the white bone fragments in front of the hall, their faces drained of color and they fled in panic.
Even though the old Daoist was highly respected, it still took him a long time to explain what had happened. By the time he had calmed everyone down, night had fallen.
"This old woman thanks you for saving my life, my lord!"
"Thank you for saving our lives, my lord!"
"This lord..."
Once they understood what had happened, the villagers, though still somewhat afraid, all came forward to thank Su Bai and his companions.
They also offered what little food, fruit, and silver taels they had left as a gesture of gratitude.
Though they were not well-educated and had spent their entire lives in the village, they all understood one thing with perfect clarity.
Gratitude. It wasn’t just about showing sincere appreciation; it also meant giving what you owned.
Only with both heart and substance could it be considered true gratitude.
After declining the silver taels but accepting the food and fruit, Su Bai strode out of Xiaoli Village.
Behind him, two people and a dog followed closely, their arms laden with goods.
The old Daoist had even volunteered to push a wooden cart loaded with fruit and food, huffing and puffing as he struggled to keep up.
He had used up many of his Dao Talismans during the earlier chase, so he had no choice but to push the cart back by hand.
Back at Ning Village, as the sky grew dark, the old Daoist proved to be a diligent worker. He took vegetables and grains from the cart, rolled up his sleeves, and started cooking.
The woman and the Dog Demon beside him also pitched in, bustling about.
Having dealt with the evil disciple from the Celestial One Sect, he was in high spirits.
「Meanwhile, outside Ning Village.」
The red sun sank behind the mountains. Dusk deepened, casting a soft, warm glow upon the faces of the group.
Su Bai casually placed the Incense Burner in the courtyard of Ning Village.
"Let me go! Let me go! I can teach you a Daoist Skill! A true Longevity Dao Skill!"
Just then, from within the Enchanting Incense Burner, the Silver Bone Daoist used what little strength he had left to plead.
’A Longevity Dao Skill?’
Su Bai glanced at the Incense Burner, finding the Silver Bone Daoist’s words somewhat amusing.
’You, a mere Dragon Mansion Realm Evil Cultivator, claim to know a Longevity Dao Skill?’
"That’s right! The White Bone Demon Chapter is a fragment of the White Jade Longevity Technique. If you trace it back to its source, using the White Bone Demon Chapter as a guide, you can find the complete White Jade Longevity Technique and achieve true longevity!"
"There’s no need."
Su Bai directly stored the Incense Burner in his Dharma Tripod Prison, paying no mind to the Silver Bone Daoist’s screams and shouts from within.
’Not to mention, once the Silver Bone Daoist dies, I’ll obtain his White Bone Demon Chapter. I can then use Merit Points to reverse-engineer the White Jade Longevity Technique. And even if I couldn’t, I still wouldn’t make a deal with him.’
’Besides, I hold the knife and he’s the fish on the chopping block. What bargaining power does he have?’
"Senior! The food is ready!"
Just then, the old Daoist called out loudly.
His call was mixed with the sound of the woman coughing and the Dog Demon cursing.
Having lived for several decades, the old Daoist had honed his cooking skills quite well. Despite the lack of spices, the meal was still rather tasty.
The group gathered together, enjoying the meal.
As they ate and drank, their cheerful expressions were plain to see.
A simple, warm atmosphere filled the room.
...
WHOOSH—
In the dead of night, gusts of eerie wind swept across the burial mound.
Trees swayed and black crows cawed mournfully.
Combined with the specks of will-o’-the-wisps dancing over the grave mounds, the scene was all the more desolate and chilling.
As a group of travelers approached the burial mound, several of the young men among them were visibly frightened by the scene.
"Brother Jin! This place is so terrifying..."
A pitiable-looking young woman in the group tugged on the arm of a large man dressed in gold, her face pale.
Stumbling upon the Ten-Mile Burial Mound at night was enough to make anyone’s skin crawl. Aside from a few old Jianghu veterans in the group, everyone was extremely tense.
But the large man in gold simply glanced around, looked toward the distant lights of Ning Village, and let out a booming laugh.
"This time, heaven itself is on our side!"
The man’s voice was resonant and full of vitality. His hearty laugh seemed to dispel the surrounding chill, lessening the fear in everyone’s hearts considerably.
The man in gold had a weathered face and wore a bamboo hat. A longsword hung at his waist. He was tall and powerfully built, radiating strength. Yet, the footprints he left in the mud were surprisingly shallow.
"Brother Jin! What do you mean by that?"
The young woman was so surprised she momentarily forgot her fear.
The others all turned to look at him.
"Look! There are no stars or moon, and the air is heavy with moisture. It’s clear a storm is coming."
"Along this road, the only shelter is Ning Village, just past this burial mound. If those Blood Nether Thieves are passing through, they’ll have no choice but to seek shelter there for the night."
The man in gold may have looked rough, but his powers of observation were meticulous.
"If those Blood Nether Thieves truly are coming, tonight is the perfect opportunity for us to make our move and rescue Lord Lin!"
"My father is an honest official who always helps the common people. He was framed by villains, which is how he ended up being captured by the Blood Nether Thieves."
"If you can rescue my father, Brother Jin, then I, Qing’Er... Qing’Er..."
Gazing at the man in gold’s rugged face, the young woman said with quickened breath:
"I am willing to be a beast of burden in the next life!"
"To repay your kindness, Brother Jin!"