“Yes, yes, that’s right!”
Master Lingshui stared at the whip hovering behind him, his entire body trembling like a sieve.
Lu Chen pulled out the Thousand Demon Visualization from his robes and asked coldly, “Then what do the words in this book actually mean?”
“Your Excellency, your humble servant… only recognizes a portion of it! This book was passed down to me by my late master. He only taught me this one incantation that could communicate with ghosts and spirits—I can’t read the rest!”
Lu Chen’s gaze turned icy.
Crack!
The whip came down on cue, and Lingshui immediately shrieked in agony, rolling on the ground.
“Your Excellency! I’m telling the truth! I really am!”
“General, shall I use Soul Search on him?”
Fan Rusong stepped forward and asked for permission.
Soul Search?
Lu Chen gave a nod of approval.
Fan Rusong’s hand glowed with dark light as she pressed it atop Lingshui’s head. The ghost’s form immediately shriveled as if drained dry, his features twisting into a contorted mess.
“Husband!” Red-Spot Woman cried out in alarm.
Before long, Fan Rusong had transmitted a bundle of memories into Lu Chen’s consciousness.
Master Lingshui collapsed limply, his spectral form flickering and dim. Clearly, while Soul Search was effective, it inflicted severe damage on the soul and couldn’t be used recklessly.
But since Lingshui was a piece of trash, using it on him was no concern.
This man had committed countless atrocities in life—several massacres of entire families. In his memories, he’d even spared no mercy for infants in swaddling clothes, using them all to fuel his “Dark Water Transformation Art.”
The more Lu Chen saw, the angrier he grew. He pointed at Red-Spot Woman. “Search her too!”
“Yes, sir!”
As Fan Rusong set to work, Red-Spot Woman’s screams followed.
Lu Chen quickly scanned through Lingshui’s memories.
It turned out that Lingshui had been adopted as a child by a heretical cultivator known as “Black Water Master.” Their lineage belonged to the Black Water Sect, which worshipped evil deities like the Great Black Mother Buddha.
However, by the time Old Demon Black Water’s generation came around, the offerings had long ceased. Without spirit tablets or statues, their cultivation stagnated, the sect declined, and in the end, only the three of them—master and two disciples—remained.
Before his death, Old Demon Black Water passed the sect leader position to Lingshui, though it was essentially a command of one, along with this copy of the Thousand Demon Visualization.
Lingshui hadn’t lied—the old demon had indeed only taught him the first section of the secret incantation before dying.
According to the memories, the Thousand Demon Visualization contained three sections of secret incantations:
The first could communicate with Ghosts and Spirits: including Yin spirits and evil deities.
The second could communicate with Heavenly Spirits: presumably the orthodox gods of the celestial court.
The third could communicate with Immortal Spirits: likely immortals from higher heavens.
Based on what Lu Chen knew, immortals were divided into five ranks:
Ghost Immortal, Human Immortal, Earth Immortal, Divine Immortal, and Celestial Immortal.
And Celestial Immortals could be further divided into Taiyi Golden Immortals and Great Luo Golden Immortals.
The third incantation, perhaps, could reach deities at the Taiyi Golden Immortal level or above.
Corresponding down, wouldn’t that be precisely the level of the Three Pure Ones and the Six Royal Lords?
Of course, these were just Lu Chen’s personal speculations.
As for how true they were, he still had no way of knowing.
After that, Lingshui and Red-Spot Woman drifted through the martial world, desperately wanting to revive the Black Water Sect. But with their low cultivation and numerous enemies, they ended up joining the Raksha Sect, hoping to shelter under a big tree.
Unfortunately, in a sect teeming with experts, their third-rank cultivation was laughably inadequate—they’d never even qualified to set foot in the main hall.
And their arrival at Dragon-Tiger County?
It happened because the two had learned that this county was home to a family that could craft statues to communicate with deities—and that the county happened to be suffering from years of severe drought.
So, after doing their homework, the Lingshui couple traveled from afar to Dragon-Tiger County.
Their goal was the Kirin Saber and the Mysterious Divine Scripture.
Though Lingshui had the Thousand Demon Visualization and could contact the Great Black Mother Buddha, without a statue or a spirit tablet, the evil deity couldn’t bestow any “grace.”
Thus, the two were desperate to obtain the means to craft statues and commune with the divine.
Who knew that Lu Chen would come out of nowhere and ruin their plans entirely?
That was also the main reason they’d been so ruthless in their killings.
Earlier, when Lu Chen had cursed out Lingshui, that had only accounted for about forty percent of their motive.
But in the end, they’d tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice—and even their lives along with it.
Having read this far, Lu Chen now had a clear picture.
“General, do you want to see her memories as well?”
“No need.”
Lu Chen waved away Red-Spot Woman’s memories. After reading Lingshui’s, hers weren’t worth the time.
“Xiao Ru.”
“Yes, General!”
“The old demon Black Water—Wang Li—where is he now?”
Fan Rusong pulled out the Book of Evil Deeds and checked, then reported back: “General, Wang Li is serving nine lifetimes in the animal realm. He’s in his third life now, reincarnated as a pig. However… he won’t live much longer. He’s about to be turned into roast suckling pig.”
“Oh, I see. Well, never mind then.”
Lu Chen had originally thought of summoning the old demon for interrogation, but since that was the case, he dropped it.
He glanced at the near-dead Lingshui couple on the floor and let out a cold snort.
“Little Ox! Little Horse!”
“Yes, General!” Ox-Head and Horse-Face were momentarily startled, then clasped their fists in acknowledgment.
Lu Chen pulled out several large silver notes, recited an incantation, and burned them. Two stacks of underworld currency promptly materialized in the hands of Ox-Head and Horse-Face.
“General, this?!!!”
“Little Qing and Little Ru have already received theirs. Since you’re following me now, naturally, I won’t treat you unfairly.”
Ox-Head and Horse-Face were so moved they dropped to their knees on the spot. “Thank you, General! We brothers are willing to go through fire and water for you, no matter the cost!”
Tsk, money really does make the ghosts go round.
“Alright, the interrogation’s done. Sit down and have something to eat—there’s plenty of snacks left.”
Lu Chen continued his small acts of kindness.
“Thank you, General!”
Ox-Head and Horse-Face had been eyeing the food longingly and were just waiting for that invitation.
Watching the four underworld messengers gather around and feast, Lu Chen once again took out the Thousand Demon Visualization.
Actually, that wasn’t even the original name of this mysterious ancient text.
It was something Black Water Master had come up with himself.
Lu Chen narrowed his eyes. “I associate with Lord Wealth Chen, the Ten Yama Kings, and even deities like the Water Virtue Star Lord. My enemies include the Four Dragon Kings. A mere petty grass-roots evil god—does that even deserve a place in my sight?”
—The Great Black Mother Buddha?
A low-tier evil deity like that might scare ordinary mortals, but in terms of true power, she probably wasn’t even worthy to guard Lord Wealth Chen’s gate!
Moreover, practicing such heretical arts could easily corrupt one’s mind and appearance.
Just look at the Lingshui couple—you could tell at a glance that it wasn’t anything good.
So the first incantation, “Communicating with Ghosts and Spirits,” was of little use to Lu Chen—and frankly, beneath his dignity.
What interested him were the latter two sections.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t read the text, so he couldn’t use them for now.
“Oh well, I’ll wait for the right opportunity. I’ve got the Kirin Saber and the Mysterious Divine Scripture anyway—I can contact most deities. The Thousand Demon Visualization is just icing on the cake. No rush.”
With that thought, Lu Chen put the ancient text away.
By now, the four underworld messengers had devoured all the ghostly food on the table.
Xie Qingyi even let out a satisfied burp and rubbed her slightly rounded belly with contentment.
“What, are you full?”
Xie Qingyi nodded. “Mhm! I’m full! General, earthly incense food is so delicious!”
Ox-Head and Horse-Face chimed in too. “We’ve never eaten anything so fragrant!”
Lu Chen chuckled. “If you’re full, then help me with some work.”
He burned the list he’d compiled earlier and sent it to Fan Rusong. “These are the deceased ancestors of my neighbors in the community. I’ve heard they’re not doing well down below—barely clothed, hungry, and cold. Prepare some underworld clothes and food for them. If they don’t have a place to stay, arrange some housing too.”
Fan Rusong took the list, clasped her fist, and accepted the order. “Rest assured, General. Your subordinate will see to it personally.”
Lu Chen nodded, then casually asked, “By the way, what’s that old geezer Yan been up to these past couple days? With all that incense offering he’s received, he must be over the moon, right?”
Xie Qingyi bounced over and gestured animatedly. “General, over the moon is an understatement! Lord Yan is absolutely out of his mind with joy! My father said that yesterday, Lord Yan ran into King Qinguang on the road and was strutting around so smugly. He grabbed King Qinguang’s hand and bragged for ages—turned his face green with anger! The two of them almost came to blows!”
“I heard about that too,” Ox-Head added. “My elder brother was present at the time. Apparently, King Qinguang was about to summon the King of Hell Bell, and fortunately, King Chujiang rushed over to mediate.”
Lu Chen snickered. “That old coot sure knows how to show off.”
To think he could make King Qinguang mad enough to pull out his magical artifact—Lu Chen could easily imagine just how insufferably smug Lord Yan must have looked.
“Alright, if there’s nothing else, head back. Get this matter handled promptly.”
“Yes, General!”
The four bowed in acknowledgment, took the Lingshui couple into custody, and returned to the underworld.
The villa fell quiet once more.
Lu Chen sat back on the sofa and began pondering the next matter.
—The exchange rate for underworld currency.
“I can’t make the denominations too large all at once, or inflation will be no fun…”
