Chapter Ninety-Seven: The Daozi Sect (Fourth Watch)

"Who is it? Who on earth is it? Who is working against me!"

Xu Cheng let out a roar, and countless chains of nether-flame erupted from the ground within the cemetery. He was so enraged that he ignored even the golden light of merit bestowed upon him by the Yellow Springs. Yan Mengdie and Juhua both retreated several steps to avoid his lethal aura.

Consumed by fury, Xu Cheng unleashed his power completely. The nether-flame chains in the air twisted together, fused into a black sphere, and then violently exploded—a scene that perfectly mirrored his own volatile state of mind.

Seeing this, Yan Mengdie could not help but urge: "Calm down, Xu Cheng. Nothing in this world is absolute. As long as we keep investigating, we will certainly discover who is creating these ghosts!"

"Yes, Right Envoy, you must remain calm!" Juhua added.

"Calm? How can you ask me to be calm? That person stays one step ahead of me every time, while we are left cleaning up the ghosts they leave behind!" Xu Cheng sneered, his anger reaching its zenith.

"What good does mere anger do? It only allows the enemy to hide in the shadows and laugh at us. There must be a way; do not be impatient!" Yan Mengdie’s large, fleshy hand pressed onto Xu Cheng’s shoulder, trying to soothe him.

Perhaps it was the strange power carried in her palm, but the once-enraged Xu Cheng finally quieted down. The uncontrolled nether-flame chains that had been wreaking havoc in the cemetery dissipated into streams of black light.

"You are right. I should not have lost my temper." Like a volcano extinguished by a torrential downpour, Xu Cheng was barely composed. He thought to himself that he had to devise a strategy; otherwise, how would he be any different from someone scavenging for leftovers behind another’s back? He could only hope that the members of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect possessed information about that person.

With his aura fully suppressed, Xu Cheng was finally completely calm. He took Yan Mengdie and Juhua to search the town for members of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect. After scouring the entire town, they failed to find a single teahouse, making that route of inquiry impossible. The members of the other four sects were equally well-hidden, indistinguishable from ordinary people by appearance alone.

After searching the streets for a long time without a single lead, Yan Mengdie could not help but remark, "How are we supposed to find them? The three of us are like headless flies!"

Xu Cheng realized she was right. He retrieved the tokens of the three branches of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect—Rice, Millet, and Bean—from his sleeve space. He channeled his primordial spirit into them. Having never properly studied these three items before, he now realized that all three branches used a system of secret signals. Members would draw a highly inconspicuous, special symbol on the town walls; by aligning their token with the matching symbol, they could naturally locate the nearest member.

So, the Five Pecks of Rice Sect used special symbols to communicate. Xu Cheng closed his eyes, ignoring the passing crowd. As an expert at the "Object Manipulation" stage of the primordial spirit, a single walk around the town was enough for him to memorize every minute detail. He recalled seeing a symbol belonging to the Rice branch on a wall beside a steamed bun shop.

With a flash of joy across his face, Xu Cheng excitedly took the lead, with Yan Mengdie and Juhua scrambling to keep up.

Beside the wall near the bun shop, a crooked, strange symbol—which an outsider would surely dismiss as a child’s scribble—served as the secret code for the Rice branch. Xu Cheng aligned the large rice token with the symbol.

A pale yellow light flickered between the two, drawing them together, and then an image manifested. The person in the image was none other than the owner of the bun shop. Just as Xu Cheng was taken aback, a voice came from behind him: "The three of you, let's speak in the back!"

The speaker was the bun shop owner himself. Looking at his appearance, one truly could not tell that this man was a member of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect. With his arms still covered in flour, he led the three of them into a small alley beside the shop. They walked until they reached a dead end, blocked by a wall.

The owner cast a series of pale yellow rays from his hands, and a hole appeared in the center of the wall. The owner walked straight through, and Xu Cheng followed closely. Once all three were inside, the wall was restored to its original state by the owner’s technique.

Behind the wall was a pitch-black room, but as they were all practitioners, the darkness did not hinder them. Then, with a "clack," the owner lit a candle and asked, "What business do you have with my Rice branch?"

"I have long heard that the Five Pecks of Rice Sect is omnipotent and well-informed," Xu Cheng said, offering a compliment that brought a smug smile to the otherwise stern owner’s face. "I would like to inquire if a person accompanied by ghosts has appeared in town recently, one who has killed many people."

At the mention of a person with ghosts, the owner’s expression collapsed as if he were constipated. He whispered cautiously, "Do you have a grudge against him? Why do you ask?"

"No grudge, but there is a score to settle," Xu Cheng replied immediately. Seeing the change in the owner’s face, he could not help but be curious about what followed.

"I advise you to abandon this grudge. That person wiped out four primordial spirit-stage cultivators of the Xia Dynasty with a mere wave of his hand!" the owner said with a bitter smile.

"Wiped them out with a wave of his hand?" Xu Cheng murmured. It turned out that person’s cultivation was simply too high. He then asked, "Do you know where he went?"

"I wouldn't dare follow him. I only know he entered from the west side of town and left from the east. Anyone who stood in his way was sent to the Yellow Springs," the owner said, still visibly shaken.

"Very well. Thank you," Xu Cheng said, tossing him thirty taels of silver as a token of gratitude.

"No need for thanks!" The owner rubbed the silver repeatedly, his face twisted into a lecherous grin, as if he were looking at a peerless beauty.

"How do we get out?" Having learned enough, Xu Cheng did not want to stay any longer.

"Oh, right. This is our sect's secret technique—Open!" The owner pointed, and the sealed entrance opened instantly.

Thinking that the secret techniques of the Rice branch were quite miraculous, Xu Cheng stepped out and walked away. Helpless, he found an inn to stay in. Sipping tea, he pondered a strategy. The opponent was powerful, but how powerful exactly? What if the three of them could fuse their Dharma forms and find a fighting chance? Various thoughts drifted through his mind, and though flashes of inspiration occasionally sparked, he could not quite grasp them.

"Just how strong is that guy?" Juhua broke the silence.

"I suspect he has undergone at most three baptisms of heavenly thunder," Yan Mengdie estimated.

"What level of cultivation can we reach when our three Dharma forms are fused?" Xu Cheng asked.

Yan Mengdie meditated for a moment before saying, "About the level of someone who has undergone two thunder tribulations."