I Outworked the Entire Cultivation World-Chapter 97 - 85: Evil Dao Artifacts

The moon is dark and the wind is high, torrential rain pours.

Lv Ying crouched under the courtyard wall, biting her hand, soaked all over, her face indistinguishable whether it was rain or tears, trembling uncontrollably.

Squeak—ya—

The door opened with a sound echoing in the rain, chilling to the bone.

Lv Ying suddenly stood up and turned around, staggering to support herself against the wall, seeing Jiang Yuebai, pale-faced, standing under the eaves, holding a Grass Doll in her hand.

Lv Ying retreated in fear, her mouth slightly open, chin trembling, finally squeezing out a sound from her throat.

"Who... are you?"

Jiang Yuebai weakly curled her lips, "I am Little Bai, who caught fish and hunted birds with you by the river and in the mountains."

The Grass Doll was thrown to the ground, Lv Ying collapsed and knelt, her shoulders shaking violently, unable to hold back her sobs any longer.

"Little Bai..."

All the repressed pain and fear, helplessness over the past five years, were fully released at this moment, under this heavy rain.

Jiang Yuebai stepped into the rain, staggered to Lv Ying, and forcefully embraced her.

"It’s okay, it’s all over, it’s okay, there will never be any more trouble..."

Lv Ying embraced Jiang Yuebai tightly, crying painfully.

"I’m sorry, I was an asshole, I’m sorry..."

Outside the forest, the cuckoo sings as spring rain stops, the apricot blossoms bloom with first sunlight above the house.

In Tao Fengnian’s old house, Jiang Yuebai tucked Lv Ying in and gently closed the door, sitting alone by the stone table in the courtyard.

After taking the antidote, the residual poison in her body was cleared, Jiang Yuebai recalled the previous condition, and her brow furrowed deeply.

Little Green flew out from the Sea of Consciousness, darting left and right, finally settling in front of her.

[Don’t worry]

Jiang Yuebai chuckled bitterly, "I’m not worried, even if you weren’t there guarding the Sea of Consciousness, ever since the matter with Ye Shiming, I engraved ’Solid Consolidation’ runes with Divine Sense every day, and Song Pei’er’s Soul wouldn’t easily possess me."

"I just feel sorry for Lv Ying. Over these years, she lived more painfully than I did. Every bit of progress wasn’t joyful but a life-threatening ordeal, no wonder she cried so helplessly upon reunion."

"And as for Song Pei’er, I really never thought she was such a wicked and greedy person. You know, she was the first to treat me well in Huaxi Valley. At that time, Grandpa avoided me with a black face, and she gave me Red Cherry Fruit just because I called her Fairy Sister."

"Because of this, I always felt she was a good person, regardless of how Grandpa kept his distance from her, I never minded. Now, I wonder, what does the pursuit of immortality bring us? A slim chance for immortality, or the erosion of humanity for survival?"

Little Green’s phosphorescence flickered around its body, changing the characters on the lantern.

[I don’t understand]

Jiang Yuebai murmured while lowering her eyes, "I don’t understand either... just can’t help thinking, if there weren’t the pressure of lifespan, would Song Pei’er be like she was in the past? It’s wrong for her to hurt others to survive, but I can’t help thinking, if Grandpa could possess someone like her at that time, as long as it wasn’t me, but Jia Wei or another villain, I’d probably be pleased."

"After all, when it happens to others, I can judge right and wrong at will, suppressing them with righteousness. If it were to happen to myself, I wouldn’t be able to remain upright and unyielding, I’d have selfish and wicked thoughts too."

"Don’t want to think about it anymore, these questions will never have answers, thinking is futile. I need to remember never to let myself fall into the plight of Song Pei’er, and never prejudge, being oblivious to discerning people."

Little Green swayed and returned to the Sea of Consciousness.

Jiang Yuebai took out the two storage bags taken from Song Pei’er. Her Soul hadn’t merged with Jiang Yuebai’s, directly devoured by Little Green, so she didn’t have Song Pei’er’s memories, and couldn’t inherit anything like the matter with Ye Shiming.

She had already sent Jiang Yuebai’s death information to Hong Tao, asking him to help manage.

Song Pei’er had been seriously injured for a long time, nearing her end, and Guo Zhen could testify to it, just recording it as death from natural causes was enough.

"The favor hasn’t been repaid, more trouble for Master Hong."

Jiang Yuebai sighed, opening the storage bag hanging on Song Pei’er’s waist, which contained over a hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones, a dozen talismans, and Elixirs needed for daily cultivation, along with two farming Magic Artifacts and Magical Technique Jade Scrolls for farming.

Jiang Yuebai picked up another storage bag, this one hidden inside Song Pei’er’s clothing. She poured everything onto the table, first seeing a black Token made of Crystal Stone, with three blood-red characters.

"Three Elements Sect?"

So Song Pei’er was an undercover spy planted in the Cangling Sect by an Evil Cult, no wonder she knew such sinister techniques of soul possession, her underground arrangements couldn’t be achieved in a few years.

There wasn’t much in the storage bag: the Token, two Jade Scrolls, a black banner filled with evil aura, and three dirty blood-stained iron nails.

Jiang Yuebai inspected the Jade Scrolls, and one of them contained the method for sacrificial refining of two items.

The black banner was called the ’Seven Evils Banner’, capable of imprisoning seven Evil Ghosts, refined using Earth Evil Qi. When used in battle, the seven Evil Ghosts would wreak havoc with Earth Evil Qi, creating a formidable and unstoppable presence.

The Jade Scroll documented that once seven Evil Ghosts were captured, the grade of the Magic Artifact could reach Seventh-Grade Upper-Level; within it, there indeed were seven Evil Ghosts.

"Fortunately, I previously feigned compliance to avoid a fierce battle."

The tainted iron nail was called the ’Black Dog Nail’, a single-use Magic Artifact. When activated, it would release needles as thin as cow hair, penetrating any gap and, like a bone-burrowing maggot, being difficult to remove.

Jiang Yuebai picked up another Jade Scroll and placed it against her brow.

"Possession and... Shooting Puppet Technique?"

The more Jiang Yuebai read, the more alarmed she became, especially by the detailed description of possession; her gaze fixed on the words ’Soul Lodging’.

Possession referred to abandoning one’s own body and devouring and merging with another’s Divine Soul to occupy another’s body.

Such an act violated the Heavenly Dao, leading to inevitable punishment sooner or later; recorded throughout history, those who possessed others met with perilous ends.

However, it remained a viable escape in desperate situations, though its true end was unknown, as none had been discovered.

Possession had the advantage of having almost no flaws post-success due to the merging of the original soul, but Soul Lodging was different.

Soul Lodging involved another’s Divine Soul inhabiting an ownerless hollow shell, stricter in requirements than possession.

It required the newly deceased body with a fated alignment, a blood relative’s guidance, and half one’s life span as a sacrifice.

The process left no memory of the original self, only half the sacrificed life span, and required years of adaptation to be reborn anew.

Jiang Yuebai set the Jade Scroll aside, pondering deeply.

"Could it be... Lin Suwan and Shen Huaxi are blood relatives, sharing Shen Huaxi’s life span."

No matter Shen Huaxi’s motive, his willingness to forfeit half his life span impressed Jiang Yuebai greatly.

The remaining part of the Jade Scroll on ’Shooting Puppet Technique’ detailed how Song Pei’er used a Grass Doll to control Lv Ying; the doll contained Lv Ying’s brow essence blood, linking it to her Divine Soul, equivalent to a false body.

Any harm inflicted on the false body would reflect on the true body, requiring special methods for removal.

Jiang Yuebai observed the Token and the Evil Dao Magical Artifact on the table; refining the seven Evil Ghosts from the Seven Evils Banner into the Eight Arrays Plate transformed them into array soldiers she could control.

With these seven array soldiers, the Illusion Array within the Eight Arrays Plate gained substantial lethality.

Afterward, she cautiously secured the remaining items. Song Pei’er and Lv Ying’s relationship was intricate; exposure of these artifacts would lead to Lv Ying’s investigation.

Guo Zhen and Shi Xiaowu might not be spared either, as Huaxi Valley was plagued by frequent troubles, and they could not afford to leave any evidence.

This time, she acted more cautiously than before, burning Song Pei’er’s corpse and everything in the cellar thrice, leaving no trace.

Future killings must include corpse incineration; she would avoid unnecessary complications like Lin Suwan’s situation.

Reviewing the aftermath without finding any oversight, Jiang Yuebai carefully examined the ’Shooting Puppet Technique’.

If she could obtain a drop of Jia Xiuchun’s brow essence blood to create a shooting puppet, vengeance would be simple. Lin Xiangtian was unsuitable due to vast Cultivation disparity; the shooting puppet would be ineffective.

However, another version required only a hair strand tied to the Grass Doll, writing one’s birthdate with their blood, and burying it in a defiled place, affecting luck adversely over time.

"The means of the Cultivation Realm are indeed hard to guard against. From now on, I won’t celebrate my birthday, and as for hair... monks have it easy."

Lv Ying needed a good rest to recover, prompting Jiang Yuebai to stay nearby to accompany her, postponing her trip to Heavenly Gang Peak.

Jiang Yuebai sensed, perhaps misleadingly, her lack of affinity with Heavenly Gang Peak.

Yet she continued to study the Array Dao, essential for Alchemy and Artifact Refining, and exploring caves demanded proficiency in Array Dao, vital even within Huaxi Valley for future arrays.

As the hillside residence neared completion, the village at the valley entrance began demolishment.

Confined to her courtyard, Jiang Yuebai consumed Yuan Nourishing Elixir daily for Cultivation, practicing ’Vajra Furnace Skill’, studying the Array Dao and Alchemy Dao, and crafting Cloud Lark Puppets for relaxation—a tightly scheduled cultivation.

Lv Ying, since that day, stayed in her room, beyond interaction even with Jiang Yuebai.

Jiang Yuebai brought meals, finding Lv Ying gazing skyward thoughtfully from the window.

On the fifth day, Lv Ying finally emerged, sharing her thoughtfully considered plan with Jiang Yuebai, who was busy with Cloud Lark Puppets in the courtyard.

"I will leave the Heavenly Interence Sect to see a broader world."