Chapter 257: Prodigy

Daoist Priest Xianqing's words made me realize the fox's fur was indeed unnaturally red. Staring at it for too long even stung my eyes.

"Blood Fox!" I pressed a hand against my shirt, thinking of the Blood Fox Tattoo on my chest. "Looking at it now, the resemblance is uncanny."

"What are you talking about?" Daoist Priest Xianqing asked casually, noticing my strange expression.

"Nothing, it's nothing." I waved my hands repeatedly. I couldn't let anyone see the tattoo on my chest. I had asked Daoist master Wan about it before, and according to him, this Blood Fox was a taboo in modern orthodox Daoism, something that couldn't be spoken of.

Daoist Priest Xianqing strictly observed the rules of propriety and was a bit old-fashioned; I was afraid that letting him see it would only cause unnecessary trouble.

"I'm just a little curious. It's just a fox, so why would it die bathed in blood? What exactly did it go through while it was alive?"

I slowly approached, walking up to the nine water basins and peering over them at the corpse.

The Blood Fox didn't have a single wound on its body, and the corpse was perfectly preserved. If Daoist Priest Xianqing hadn't mentioned it beforehand, I wouldn't have even been able to tell it was dead.

Slam!

The moment I drew near, a sinister wind whipped up outside, and the door slammed shut. Black gauze fluttered outside, and shadows flickered across the room, as if someone were running around inside.

"Dao Zheng, the incense in the Hall of the Three Pure Ones has gone out!" Yun Chuan's voice suddenly rang out from outside. Daoist Priest Xianqing's expression instantly turned grim. He grabbed my shoulder and swiftly retreated into the corner.

"Get away from this thing! It might undergo Corpse Reanimation!"

I didn't know what the incense going out in the Hall of the Three Pure Ones signified, but seeing Daoist Priest Xianqing so tense put me on edge as well. I crept over to the window, ready to jump out at a moment's notice.

Daoist Priest Xianqing chanted spells and performed rituals alone in the room. He mumbled cryptically for over ten minutes, his complexion growing worse and worse as large drops of sweat fell to the floor.

"Master! Let me help you!" Yun Chuan, who had clearly seen everything from outside, burst through the door carrying two bamboo poles from the Hall of the Three Pure Ones. He used them to prop up the fox's corpse.

"Suppress!" Daoist Priest Xianqing dipped his Wolf-Hair Brush in cinnabar to write a talisman on the fox's head. But after trying for ages, not a single character remained—the cinnabar simply wouldn't stick to the fox's body!

The door swung shut again. Outside the temple, the sky was clear for miles, but inside the West Wing Room, the air was dense with yin energy. This single fox seemed to have drawn in the malevolent yin energy from all the surrounding graves.

"Master, I can't hold it!" Yun Chuan held a bamboo pole in each hand, propping the fox's corpse right between them. A normal fox wouldn't weigh much, but Yun Chuan's face was flushed red, as if he were hoisting a thousand pounds.

Daoist Priest Xianqing was also frantic. He continuously used his brush to write talismans on various parts of the Blood Fox's body, but without exception, the cinnabar couldn't even touch the fox's fur, let alone leave a suppressing talisman on its surface.

"Let me do it." Meaning well, I wanted to help Yun Chuan shoulder some of the pressure. But the moment my hands touched the bamboo poles, an imposing voice flashed through my mind like an electric shock.

It sounded like a fox's cry—strange, demanding an obedience I didn't dare defy.

"Let go, quickly! This is a Corpse-Carrying Pole! You'll be possessed by the remnant soul inside the corpse!" Both Yun Chuan and Daoist Priest Xianqing feared something bad would happen to me, but I didn't feel any discomfort at all. I easily gripped the poles and hoisted the fox's corpse up.

"What do I do next?"

I looked around blankly, completely unaware that Daoist Priest Xianqing and Yun Chuan were both dumbfounded. It took a while for Daoist Priest Xianqing to snap out of it. "Hold still!"

I kept my hands on the poles, holding my pose. What was bizarre was that the fox corpse's posture perfectly mirrored my own. Its two front paws rested on the ends of the bamboo poles, its head hanging low, its eyes half-open.

After a few minutes, Daoist Priest Xianqing brought over a full set of Talisman Paper and sealed the fox's seven apertures and six senses. Only then did the sinister wind in the room die down, allowing a sliver of sunlight to pierce through the crack in the door.

"That was close. If this Thousand-Year Fox Immortal had actually reanimated, the three of us would have become Jiangcheng's greatest sinners." Daoist Priest Xianqing breathed a sigh of relief. "Destined Patron, you can put the poles down now."

I lowered the bamboo poles in front of me. To be honest, I hadn't found it strenuous at all, but when I saw Yun Chuan's bleeding palms, I realized that those poles weren't something just anyone could touch.

"Daoist Priest, what exactly just happened? I'm still completely lost."

"Destined Patron, there is no need to panic. Consider it as this old Daoist owing you a favor for just now." Daoist Priest Xianqing laughed. "My temple hasn't been peaceful lately. Corpse Reanimation happens frequently, and wandering spirits knock on the door at night. All of this is thanks to that Fox Immortal Corpse. Its origins are a mystery; even the old man who escorted it here didn't know. I've tried all sorts of methods these past few days, but I couldn't communicate with it at all. Yet the moment you showed up today, this fox finally gave itself away. It seems you truly are bound by destiny to this old Daoist."

I muttered inwardly, 'I don't have a destiny with you. I have a destiny with this fox.'

The Deity-Inviting Talisman had invited a Thousand-Year Fox Immortal, a Blood Fox Tattoo had appeared on my chest, and now I had run into a blood fox corpse. It all felt like someone had arranged it in advance. Was it really just a coincidence?

The Deity-Inviting Talisman came from the Underworld Live Show, and the blood fox corpse belonged to Bai Qi's master. The two shouldn't have had any connection at all.

"Daoist Priest, if there's nothing else, then I'll be taking my leave." The appearance of the blood fox corpse made me feel as if a massive net had been cast around me. I was like a fish caught in its mesh, constantly bumping into predetermined arrangements, entirely unable to break free.

"Hold on, Destined Patron. There is a matter I would like to discuss with you."

"What is it?" I pushed the door open, half my body already outside.

Daoist Priest Xianqing looked slightly embarrassed as he said, "I wonder if you, Destined Patron, have any interest in learning corpse driving? I can see you are exceptionally gifted, excellent material for it."

"Huh?" I tilted my head and studied him, realizing he wasn't joking. "I'm exceptionally gifted? Daoist Priest, just a few weeks ago, someone told me I had the absolute worst aptitude for Daoist cultivation seen in the last five years. Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"I wouldn't joke about this; every word is true. To learn corpse driving, one must master thirty-six techniques. The most fundamental among them is the Standing Technique, which, simply put, makes the corpse stand up. Easier said than done. A corpse is incredibly prone to undergoing changes when touched by Yang Qi. Therefore, whether you're driving a corpse or simply moving one, you must avoid touching it with your bare hands as much as possible. You can only use a Corpse-Carrying Pole to transport it."

"A so-called Corpse-Carrying Pole is actually just a bamboo pole. Because bamboo is yin in nature, it doesn't cause much harm to the corpse."

"This Standing Technique involves using the Corpse-Carrying Pole to stand the corpse up, and what's more, you have to make the corpse mirror your movements and move according to your will."

"I saw that you were incredibly proficient using the Corpse-Carrying Pole just now, despite it being your first time. Not only did you stand the corpse up, but you also made it obediently follow your lead. You grasped it without a teacher; you truly are a natural."

Daoist Priest Xianqing's gaze made me feel very uncomfortable. "I just used the poles to lift the corpse; it wasn't anything special."

"You make it sound easy. Yun Chuan, tell him how long you spent practicing the Standing Technique."

Daoist Priest Xianqing waved at Yun Chuan. The young disciple pulled a long face. "Two months and one day, and I still haven't gotten the hang of it."

"You hear that? Yun Chuan's talent is already considered above average, yet it took him two months to barely grasp it. For you to be so skilled on your first time using a Corpse-Carrying Pole... I've never seen such talent in my life."

"Daoist Priest, I don't know if what you're saying is true or not, but the crux of the matter is that I've already cultivated another sect's mental techniques. Switching halfway to practice corpse driving probably wouldn't be very good, would it?" I hadn't expected things to develop to this point. My interest in corpse driving was purely out of curiosity; it was far from the level of wanting to study it deeply.

At the mention of sects and Daoist lineage, Daoist Priest Xianqing fell silent, secretly sighing in pity a few times. "I originally wanted to teach you some basics so you could accompany me out of Jiangcheng in three days to drive corpses. With your help, the chances of success would have been much higher."

The night three days from now was exactly when the Underworld Live Show live broadcast was scheduled. My hands were tied, so I could only politely decline.

Glancing back at the blood fox corpse lying quietly on the ground, I bid farewell to Daoist Priest Xianqing, left Qingtu Temple, and took a taxi back to Ting Tang Road.

The messy room remained just as it was. Everything had piled up all at once: Xiaofeng needed to be saved, the Two-Faced Buddha's conspiracy had to be stopped, and the lost data on the Underworld Live Show had to be recovered.

I rubbed my temples, my mind a mess of frustration and anxiety. I had a premonition that a massive upheaval would rock Jiangcheng in three days; I had to make preparations in advance.

I took out my phone and called Blind Liu. About half an hour later, I was heading to the hospital alongside a hurried Blind Liu.

"The tribulation fiend is descending; I need to gather every ounce of power I have at my disposal."

Pushing open the ward door, I saw Mr. Gu sitting cross-legged on the hospital bed. I had the caretaker leave first before Blind Liu and I entered the room.

"Gao Jian? Why are you here? And who is this...?"

"Just call him Old Liu. How is your recovery going?" I sat by the bed, studying Mr. Gu.

"My heart meridian is damaged. A full recovery will be difficult, but it's not a big deal."

"That's good." I drew the curtains shut, then checked the corridor to ensure no one was eavesdropping before addressing the two of them. "To tell you the truth, a massive incident will happen here in three days. If my guess is right, the tragedy from five years ago is about to repeat itself."

I laid out everything: the rainy night serial murders from five years ago and my own speculations. Aside from the Underworld Live Show, I hid nothing, detailing the Eight Characters Divine Fiends as well as the grudge between Lu Xing and myself.

Both of them were rather surprised after hearing my piece. In their eyes, I should have been the most ordinary, mundane guy around. Who could have imagined that my life these past few days had been so utterly harrowing?

"No wonder your hexagram changes every three days. So you're tangled up in the battle over the Eight Characters Divine Fiends." Blind Liu suddenly understood. "First destiny, second luck, third feng shui. The fate pattern is the most treacherous and unpredictable of all. It's a miracle an ordinary person like you has managed to survive this far step by step. I don't even know what to say anymore."

Mr. Gu nodded as well. "When that little girl was abducted at first, you didn't seem to care. You showed absolutely no intention of saving her, so I thought you were just a cold and heartless bastard. It seems I misjudged you."

"Getting this far definitely hasn't been easy, but the real danger is just beginning. I'm going to need the help of you two, exactly three days from now..."