Lu Chen paused for a moment, then nodded toward Li Chenghuang beside him. “You’ve already done more than enough, sir. How could I trouble you to use a soul-searching technique—something that harms your own spiritual merit?”
As Jing Longwang had said before.
If a deity strikes against a mortal, they must pay a tremendous price in karmic merit.
The soul-searching technique inflicts immense damage on the soul—far worse than any physical injury.
Naturally, Lu Chen wouldn’t force Li Chenghuang to do it.
“Leave the rest to me, junior.”
“Very well. Go ahead, General.”
Lu Chen nodded, then turned his gaze back to the thug and said coldly, “Speak. Why did you use black magic to harm innocent people?”
“Heh. Kid, this city’s Chenghuang treats you with such reverence—you must be someone important.” The Qiu-surnamed man sneered. “Since that’s the case, you should already know what this technique is for. Why ask what you already know?”
Lu Chen wore a faint, cold smile. “You want to become a ghost immortal? Brother, your qi and blood are boiling so fiercely that even the chains on Chenghuang Street can’t hold you down. With a physique like yours, you’ve got at least seventy or eighty years left—maybe even a hundred. You want to become a ghost immortal? Do you take me for a fucking idiot? That easy to fool?”
“Hmph. Kid, you don’t know shit! What I cultivate is a secret art passed down only through direct transmission. It allows me to shed the shackles of this mortal body and become a ghost immortal—a tremendous stroke of fortune! A mere mortal lives what, a few decades? With my cultivation level, a hundred and fifty years is already the limit. But a ghost immortal’s lifespan starts at three hundred years, and most reach five hundred. If you can’t do that math, then you’re the fool!”
“Oh ho, still running your mouth? Believe it or not, I’ll drop a bolt of netherworld divine thunder on you right now and send you straight to the underworld to file your report?”
“You know netherworld divine thunder?” Unexpectedly, the thug’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Great! Come on, come on—if you’ve got the guts, strike me down! If you don’t, you’re a coward!”
Lu Chen: “…”
Wait, what’s going on here? Why does this guy seem like he’s begging to die?
Could he really have some secret technique that lets him use someone else as a substitute and achieve immediate corpse liberation?
Lu Chen only wished he knew a soul-searching technique—then he could just search this guy’s soul and see everything at a glance.
But that kind of secret art is also classified as a forbidden technique in the mortal world.
Ordinary spirit practitioners can’t even learn it.
After a moment of thought, Lu Chen spoke again. “You’re admitting to it so readily. There’s got to be something hidden here, isn’t there?”
Something’s off!
Lu Chen couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Logically speaking, a normal criminal would never so readily admit to their crimes.
Yet this man confessed without hesitation.
Clearly, that defied common sense.
The thug sneered again. “You think I’m like you self-righteous hypocrites? I, Qiu, walk by my own name and sit by my own name. If I did it, I won’t deny it. This time I was careless—I didn’t expect the local Chenghuang to break the rules and forcibly arrest me. Fortunately, I also killed over a dozen yin soldiers and one Day-Wandering God, so it wasn’t a total loss.”
At these words.
Lu Chen and the others gasped.
What?
This man actually killed yin soldiers—and even a Day-Wandering God?
A fifth-rank spirit practitioner is truly terrifying to that degree.
No wonder Yu Feng had said earlier that once you reach fifth rank, you’re a great spirit practitioner who can dominate a region.
It was also why the minimum requirement for an SS-level mission was fifth rank.
The burly man paused, then looked at Li Chenghuang with killing intent radiating from his eyes. “Lord Chenghuang, breaking the rules like this—careful you don’t bring retribution upon yourself.”
“Hmph!” Li Chenghuang immediately sneered. “Protecting the people of my jurisdiction is my duty. How have I broken the rules? My arrest of you is in accordance with the heavenly dao. I trust the Heavenly Court will not only not blame me, but will reward me. Don’t you dare act arrogantly here and twist right and wrong!”
“Hahaha.” The Qiu-surnamed man laughed loudly, then suddenly lunged forward, his ten fingers like claws—but the chains bound him, and he couldn’t advance even an inch.
He gnashed his teeth and said, “I admit defeat this time, but don’t celebrate too soon. Even as a ghost, I won’t let you off! If you’ve got the guts, just kill me! Do you dare?! Can you, the city Chenghuang, bear that karma? Can you afford it?!”
Damn.
He’s really bold!
Even in this state, he’s still so arrogant.
Sure enough, going dark feels great—once you go dark, you never go back.
“Don’t talk tough. Although Lord Chenghuang can’t act directly, the laws of the mortal world will judge you. When the time comes, I’ll have a word with the city lord of Jiangcheng. A heretic cultivator like you won’t get off easy with a single bullet to the head.
You must experience what true human suffering feels like before we send you down.
For example, we’ll subject you to the punishment of pouring molten lead!”
“The punishment of pouring molten lead? What kind of punishment is that, sir?” Xie Qingyi asked curiously.
“Why does a child need to know so much?” Xie Bi’an clearly knew what it was.
Lu Chen laughed. “The so-called punishment of pouring molten lead is when you melt lead into liquid, then pour it from the top of his head…”
Lu Chen explained in detail.
Xie Qingyi’s expression changed again and again as she listened.
“That… that’s even crueler than the underworld’s boiling oil cauldron!”
“That’s just the beginning. After the pouring, if he’s still alive, we’ll subject him to the Five Mutilations. We must let him enjoy the ultimate physical agony!”
As Lu Chen spoke, he put on a deliberately deranged, cruel expression.
The Qiu-surnamed man’s expression shifted drastically, and he swallowed frantically. “Kid, who the hell are you? Who’s your master? You’re definitely no ordinary person! Are you a heretic cultivator too?!”
“Not bad. Since you’re from Xiangnan, you should have heard of the Rakshasa Cult, right?”
“You’re from the Rakshasa Cult?!” The burly man’s pupils shrank sharply.
“Hmph. I am the Rakshasa Cult’s cult leader! Zeng Rou and Wang Zhidong are my elders!”
“What!!” The burly man’s face paled, as if he couldn’t believe it. “You… you’re the Rakshasa Cult leader!”
He didn’t seem to doubt it.
After all, knowing the names of two Rakshasa Cult elders was telling enough.
“That’s… impossible! The Rakshasa Cult has clearly already…”
“Believe it or not, that’s your business. If I weren’t the Rakshasa Cult leader, how would I know the art of corpse liberation?” Lu Chen stepped forward and said coldly, “I advise you to stop pretending. You’re the killer—I believe that.
But you’re definitely not the only killer!
The Five Hells Immortality technique has two immortal spots.
Besides you, tell me—who’s the other one?”
The burly man fell silent for a moment, a trace of shock on his face.
Beside them, Li Chenghuang’s eyes also flickered with a faint light.
He glanced at Lu Chen from the corner of his eye.
(PS: When Lu Chen and Zhong Kui discussed the Five Hells Immortality, Li Chenghuang couldn’t spy on them because Zhong Kui was present, so he didn’t know Lu Chen was this knowledgeable.)
“Refusing to shed tears until you see the coffin, huh…”
Lu Chen turned to Li Chenghuang. “Sir, may I see this brute’s birth date and time?”
“Naturally.” Li Chenghuang flipped his palm, producing the Book of Life and Death. He turned to a page and handed it over.
Lu Chen looked down. “Qiu Qianluo, year of Xu Hai…”
He made a quick calculation.
Lu Chen quietly let out a breath. “Sure enough, it matches the Yang Que configuration. That’s right—you’re the ‘fated one’! Now tell me, who’s the other culprit? I don’t believe a newcomer like you, unfamiliar with Jiangdu City, could stir up such a storm alone! You must be colluding with some local big shot—that’s how this whole scheme was set up!”
The man named Qiu Qianluo’s expression shifted dramatically, but he remained silent.
After a moment, he looked at Lu Chen with a sinister smile. “Seems like you really might be the Rakshasa Cult leader! How ridiculous—a mere cult leader, and now you’re colluding with the authorities. You’re a disgrace to Xiangnan’s reputation.”
He snorted again. “If you’ve got the guts, just kill me. Or go ahead and search my soul. Otherwise, don’t even dream of getting anything out of me. If you don’t understand the principle of honor among thieves, I can teach you!”
Seeing how stubborn this guy was!
Lu Chen narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled. “Fine. Don’t think staying silent will help. Even if you don’t talk, I have ways to find out who the other culprit is.”
“Go ahead then—find out if you can!” Qiu Qianluo threw down the challenge.
Lu Chen couldn’t be bothered to waste more words on him.
Li Chenghuang understood and reminded him, “General, this man’s spirit lamp has already been sealed by me. He only has some physical strength left. Rest assured, General.”
“Thank you, sir!” Lu Chen said. A surge of magical power swept out, knocking Qiu Qianluo unconscious.
“Ox-Head, Horse-Face.”
“Present, General!”
“Carry him. We’re taking him back first.”
“Yes!” Ox-Head said to Horse-Face, “I’ve got this!”
Li Chenghuang waved a hand, and the chains all broke.
Ox-Head easily hoisted the man onto his shoulder.
“Sir, please step aside for a word.”
Lu Chen suddenly made a gesture of invitation.
Li Chenghuang understood. “After you, General.”
