Chapter 582: Coercion and Bribery

As soon as Lu Chen said this, all the Daoist priests present looked at me.

The combined forces of eleven righteous path cultivators had only a sixty percent chance of defeating the Ghost Mother, but with my full cooperation, those odds would jump to ninety percent. Even I didn't believe it.

The hall suddenly fell silent. Gazes swept back and forth, and the atmosphere only eased when the traditional music resumed.

"Getting this kid to cooperate won't be easy. Lu Chen, you've handed me quite a difficult problem." A rare smile appeared on Xu Yan's face, though no one knew what he found amusing.

"For this operation to eradicate the Ghost Mother, my master has ordered that we follow all of Daoist Priest Xu's arrangements." Lu Chen only cared about delivering his message; after speaking his piece, he figured it was better to leave such difficult matters to Xu Yan.

Listening to the traditional music and sipping his tea, Xu Yan looked at me and slowly spoke. "Before you arrived, I sent people to the Jingying Sanatorium to invite your child over. But by the time my men got there, the place was completely deserted. You knew we were coming, didn't you?"

"The child is still young and shy around strangers. I was afraid you would scare him, so I had his uncle take him back to our hometown." I had seen people with far more intimidating auras than Xu Yan, so I wasn't the least bit nervous as I casually spun a lie.

"We checked all the surrounding surveillance cameras and found no trace of the child. They deliberately avoided the cameras when they fled; this was premeditated," Chen Jianguo interjected. "However, please do not worry, Immortals. I have already dispatched my best men to track them down. We should be able to bring the child here before dawn tomorrow."

Xu Yan nodded slightly, then continued to size me up. "Did you hear what he said?"

I grinned, concealing the coldness in my eyes. "Hear what? The thing Captain Chen is best at is talking about things he can't actually do. Back then, he said he was going to catch me, throw me in prison, and have me executed by firing squad. But as you can all see, I'm sitting right here in this room, perfectly fine. You can just treat his words like a load of crap, since he can't back them up anyway."

Even surrounded by Chu songs on all sides, I still didn't bow my head. I was already the center of attention; there was no point in keeping a low profile anymore.

Chen Jianguo remained silent with a dark expression. Instead, it was Er Gouzi, who was being held by two police officers, who heard my voice and shouted right there in the private room, "Jian Ge? Fuck! These sons of bitches are trying to mess with you! Hurry and—"

Chen Jianguo turned and smashed a fist into Chen Er Gou's abdomen. Er Gou was in so much pain that he couldn't speak, and only then did Chen Jianguo withdraw his hand, standing expressionlessly by the door.

"What an imposing display, Captain Chen. But remember this: I will make sure he returns that punch." Brushing my fingers against the Good and Evil Asura Mask in my pocket, I adjusted my tone and looked at Xu Yan, who sat in the seat of honor. "The last time the Ghost Mother killed the Miaozhen temple disciple Lu Jin, it was because Lu Jin kidnapped her child and used the Heart-Slaying Dao Inquiry, torturing the little boy with gu worms. That was what drove her into a frenzy. Think about it carefully. The truth is, the Ghost Mother wasn't at fault here. She only killed because someone was torturing her own flesh and blood! Furthermore, aside from the few people who provoked her, she hasn't committed any more murders. She has been very restrained; she isn't the disaster you claim she is."

"You're actually pleading on behalf of a ghost?" Xu Yan looked at me with interest, then glanced over at Leng Qingxuan. "Are all you yin master ghost cultivators this considerate toward ghosts?"

Leng Qingxuan hadn't expected Xu Yan to ask him. He shook his head and replied, "In the eyes of a Yin Master, ghosts are simply a form of the Dao, devoid of emotion. To be completely blunt, it is actually more accurate to describe them as tools."

"I'm not pleading for the Ghost Mother; I'm just explaining the cause and effect. Even in the secular world, there are different sentences for killing someone. Self-defense and premeditated murder are completely different concepts." The righteous path was powerful, and I didn't want to completely burn my bridges with them, so I kept a lid on my anger and explained patiently. But I soon realized that my efforts were falling on deaf ears.

"We are not of the same path. You'd be better off saving your twisted logic to trick ghosts."

Wei Jianming let out a laugh, and his senior brother chimed in from the side, "Good and evil cannot coexist, and humans and ghosts walk different paths. To think you actually want to apply human laws to a ghost! How ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous!"

Several Daoist priests voiced their agreement to varying degrees. Finally, Xu Yan spoke up, making the final decision. "The Ghost Mother's appearance in the mortal realm is inherently a violation of heavenly law and disrupts the order of yin and yang. As cultivators of our generation, we follow the will of heaven and ought to set things right. The Ghost Mother cannot be allowed to remain; she must be slaughtered or sealed away."

Xu Yan was the leader of this operation. The moment he spoke, everyone naturally fell into line.

"Heaven's secrets are obscured, and the stars move in chaos. I hope everyone will work together this time." Xu Yan ignored me completely, turning instead to Huang Boyuan and Jiang Detao, who were seated on either side of him. "You two are dragons among men. If any trouble arises this time, I hope you can make things convenient for us."

"Please rest assured, Daoist Priest Xu."

Seeing Huang Boyuan and Jiang Detao state their stance, Xu Yan gently waved his hand. The two men tactfully led Jiang Chen and Huang Lan away. Following that, Xu Yan gestured toward Chen Jianguo by the door.

Captain Chen, who had been incredibly arrogant just a moment ago, didn't say a word as he withdrew from the room along with his two officers and Er Gouzi.

When I saw Chen Jianguo take Er Gou away, I finally understood why Xu Yan had insisted on waiting for him to be brought in before speaking to me. He wanted to give me something to worry about while simultaneously displaying his own authority and power.

Fortunately, I had anticipated this and had Mr. Gu take Wang Yu out of Jiangcheng via the back roads ahead of time. If Wang Yu were to appear here, I would be put in an even more passive position.

"Alright, the irrelevant people have left. We can speak openly now." Xu Yan flicked his Daoist robe, and four Yellow Paper Talismans flew out from his sleeves, sticking to the four corners of the private room. The noisy chatter of the guests outside was instantly cut off; it seemed that with a simple wave of his hand, he had set up a miniature array to prevent eavesdropping.

"Lu Chen is the eldest disciple of the Dao Zheng of Miaozhen temple; there is no need to doubt his words. Slaying the Ghost Mother this time will be even more dangerous than we initially thought. A sixty percent chance of victory with eleven of us joining forces is simply too low. Eradicating ghosts isn't some mortal realm trial; it's a life-and-death struggle where a single moment of carelessness can cost you your life. Your sects sent you here firstly to broaden your horizons, and secondly, to have you experience a life-and-death tribulation so that you might become true Celestial Masters." Xu Yan sighed as he reached this point.

"However, a sixty percent success rate is truly too low. If we clash head-on with the Ghost Mother, the majority of you will die, so we must raise those odds." Xu Yan flipped his hand and produced a palm-sized Brocade Box from his robes, handing it to the Qingcheng disciple standing behind him, Xu Wugui.

The young Daoist priest, who was only seventeen or eighteen years old, respectfully carried the Brocade Box over to me. "Destined Patron, this is a stroke of good fortune gifted to you by my martial uncle."

I wasn't the only one; the other Daoist priests present also grew curious, unable to figure out exactly what Xu Yan was trying to do.

"Good fortune for me?" Filled with doubt, I opened the Brocade Box. Inside lay a piece of Cold Jade, and resting upon the Cold Jade was a fruit about the size of a longan.

The fruit resembled a flame, and complex patterns that looked like traces of the Dao grew on its skin, making it look like a cluster of heavenly fire that had descended to the mortal realm.

"This is a Vermilion Fruit?!" Leng Qingxuan was the first to speak. He was a direct disciple of Maoshan and had seen his fair share of treasures.

"With such a perfectly round, crimson hue, and preserved in such flawless condition, I imagine only the Thousand-Year Vermilion Fruit tree in the Qingcheng Forbidden Ground could bear a fruit like this," Wei Wenming said with a nod, unable to conceal the envy in his eyes. "Consuming a Vermilion Fruit for the first time clears all the meridians in the body, cleanses the marrow, refines the bones, and increases Pre-Heaven True Qi. There are even rumors that eating one can prolong a person's lifespan."

"Daoist Friend Wei is correct. However, this Thousand-Year Vermilion Fruit possesses another effect that you all might not be aware of," Xu Yan said with a faint smile. "This fruit can purge affliction poison and neutralize sinister yin resentment. For a Ghost Cultivator, this is a life-saving treasure."

"It can neutralize the affliction poison?" My eyes lit up. The affliction poison in my left arm was growing more severe by the day; if it wasn't dealt with soon, amputating my arm would be my only remaining option. This couldn't have come at a better time. Although the Vermilion Fruit couldn't completely purge the affliction poison from my left arm, it could at least solve my most pressing crisis and buy me a considerable amount of time.

With my eyes locked onto the Vermilion Fruit, I found it hard to look away. Yet, alongside my burning desire to obtain it, there was also a sliver of apprehension. It was impossible for the other party to give me such a precious item for nothing; to acquire it, I would surely have to pay an equal price.