https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-105-The-Marvelous-Uses-of-the-Hidden-Flame-Treasure-Gourd/13510305/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-107-Jade-Bone-Blood-Spirit-Medicine/13510307/
Chapter 106: Soul-Ensnaring Incense Ritual
Chapter 106: Soul-Ensnaring Incense Ritual
Heyang County was where Xiao Chen had previously led a raid to confiscate the Xuan Clan Estate, ultimately uncovering the priceless Wuji Spirit Soil.
Afterward, to maintain surveillance, the sect had stationed two outer sect disciples as covert observers. But half a month ago, both ceased sending their scheduled reports.
This prompted the dispatch of an inner sect disciple to investigate. Strangely, he too vanished without a trace after seven days.
Recalling the previous demonic connection incident at the Xuan Clan Estate, Mei Yong naturally suspected renewed demonic cultivator activity. Normally, according to the Chu Mo Dian hierarchy, Xiao Chen and Huang Haoran, as managers, could mobilize other disciples for such a mission. Mei Yong even offered to arrange a spiritual vessel.
But Xiao Chen declined. With his Zongdi Jinguang and Divine Veil, he was nearly invulnerable even against demonic cultivators. Bringing others would only create liabilities. After weighing the risks, he chose to fly alone on his sword beam.
By the next afternoon, he’d crossed six hundred li, arriving outside Heyang County. Compared to his last visit, the area felt eerily desolate. Fields lay untended, weeds overtaking crops, and not a single soul walked the streets.
Xiao Chen dismounted and strode into the county seat. Stranger still—the streets were empty, not even birds or livestock remained. His spiritual sense swept outward, confirming the absence of life within a hundred zhang. Open doors and half-closed shutters suggested a sudden, collective exodus.
He wandered past abandoned shops. Half-dried clothes flapped on lines, charred flatbreads blackened stove tops, and congealed dyes stained workbenches. The inhabitants had fled in such haste they’d left everything behind.
“No people, no ants—how?” Xiao Chen muttered, scanning corners and crevices. Not even insects remained. “What force could erase all life like this?”
Puzzled, he headed toward the Xuan Clan Estate for answers.
Unbeknownst to him, two cultivators—a tall and short pair—watched from the bell tower’s heights.
“The boss, he’s flying on a sword! Definitely Foundation Building!” the short one hissed, shrinking back. “Let’s flee!”
“Silence!” the tall one snapped. “With the Soul-Ensnaring Incense, he’ll soon lose his mind and become our puppet.”
“But the last cultivator wore Lihuo Sect robes! This one’s probably another Foundation Builder from them!”
“You fool! Foundation Building? So what? I’ll reach Foundation Building soon myself. Once I complete my divine weapon’s blood ritual, killing him’ll be like crushing a bug.”
Below, Xiao Chen approached the estate.
“He’s going in! He’s falling for it!” the short one gasped, peering down.
“Of course,” the tall one hissed, eyes gleaming. “No one resists the Soul-Ensnaring Incense. Not even Foundation Builders. They’ll all become my spiritual nourishment.”
Inside the estate, Xiao Chen found the gate shattered, scattered shoes and straw hats littering the threshold. Beyond the walls, a putrid stench made him grimace. Holding his breath, he entered.
Following chaotic trails to the rear courtyard, he found footprints leading to a granary cellar. He’d seen this storage room before—once filled with grain and beans. Now, something far worse awaited.
Inside, a Lihuo Sect inner disciple crouched, gorging himself on grotesque fare. Hearing footsteps, he turned, eyes widening.
“Senior Xiao! You came!” he blurted, hastily wiping his mouth. “The moment I entered town, I smelled this amazing fragrance! I just had to check it out first!”
He gestured to the feast: “Look! Premium spirit fruits! And this spirit wine—divine nectar! I’ve never tasted anything so exquisite!”
He eagerly selected items: “This, this, and this—absolutely delicious! Senior, try some! One bite, and you’ll understand!”
His face beamed with genuine delight—ignoring the ants crawling his cheeks and maggot-infested mess around him.
Xiao Chen stared at the disciple’s “meal”—a human eyeball, and a pus-filled liquid in some grotesque vessel. The man’s belly bulged grotesquely from overeating.
“You’ve good intentions, but I’ll pass,” Xiao Chen said coldly, summoning a Yan Xia flame. The fire consumed the disciple’s body, ending his wretched existence.
The cellar had become a hellish pit. Walls bore thousands of jagged black-red markings, chaotic scrawls, and grotesque murals. The missing townsfolk, birds, beasts, and insects were all here—twisted into an unrecognizable, rotting mass.
The stench intensified, nearly overwhelming even Xiao Chen’s spiritual sense. The Soul-Ensnaring Incense bypassed breath-holding, seeping through skin and perception itself. Only his Divine Veil shielded him.
He retrieved the Treasure Gourd of Hidden Flame, unleashing cleansing fire. From cellar entrance to depths, he burned every corpse, every wall carving, leaving nothing intact.
At the farthest chamber, he discovered a hidden passage—a second exit, like the one used by demonic cultivators before.
After thorough cleansing, he ventured down the tunnel. Two li in, his spiritual sense detected life ahead—two figures.
“Living people.”
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
