Chapter 787: The True Culprit!

With the lights off, I was the only one left on the clinic's first floor.

Sitting cross-legged on the sofa, I held the phone the Black-Robed Anchor had left me, unable to fall asleep.

Great chaos was about to erupt in Jinghai. Vicious entities and giant ghosts rarely seen in a century were converging here and would inevitably clash with local factions. They might even attract the secular forces of the Five Great Upper Sects.

Their battles and slaughter shouldn't have had anything to do with me, yet a faint sense of unease lingered.

'These foreign factions are basically all looking for me. If I show my face in Jinghai, I'll very likely be besieged.' The situation was urgent. With the little time I had left, every bit of improvement in my strength was crucial.

My drowsiness faded. I rested my hands flat on my knees and looked inward.

Ghost Art Fifth Layer was still a fair distance from the Sixth Layer. I wouldn't consider a breakthrough for now.

After devouring nearly a hundred obsessions in the Red Building, my body was packed with massive amounts of negative emotion and memories from the other shore of reincarnation. Under the erosion of the Blood Fox Killing Intent, they were slowly converting into my own strength.

'The Butcher can extract power from obsessions, but even he wouldn't dare be crazy enough to draw obsessions directly into his body.'

Complete conversion required time, and time was exactly what I lacked most.

'The negative emotions from the obsessions left in my sea of consciousness are a hidden danger. They might cause me to lose control at any moment. Aside from the Blood Fox Killing Intent, the most effective way to suppress negative emotion is with Daoist incantations.' Daoism stressed purity and naturalness; to learn its methods, one first cultivated the mind. Addicted to the power brought by the ghost arts, I had neglected my Daoist arts. Because of that, my Profound Truth Dao Method was still stuck at the Breath Listening Realm.

Circulating the mental method, Pre-Heaven True Qi flowed through my yang meridians, dispelling the chill in my body and bringing a long-lost warmth.

'My Daoist arts reached Breath Listening a long time ago. After opening the Heart Aperture, there were even faint signs of another breakthrough. Since returning from the Red Building, my Spleen Aperture has loosened. If I can open another Dao Lock and connect my internal qi, the Profound Truth Mental Method will definitely break through to a new realm.' Long ago, Blind Liu once said I had rust-corrupted roots and bones, lacking any potential for cultivation. Only later did I learn that wasn't true. Nine Dao Locks had bound my body. Now, as those Dao Locks opened, my true potential was finally being unleashed.

'A great battle is imminent; I must break through as soon as possible.' The Spleen Aperture was the ultimate yin within yin. When I was continuously devouring obsessions in the Red Building, it had already loosened, stopping just a hair short of opening.

'The five internal organs correspond to the five elements, and the Spleen Aperture belongs to earth. Returning from the Animal Realm, I happen to have something on me that meets the Spleen Aperture's requirements.' I fished the Black Jade Pixiu out of my pocket. At first glance, the statue hadn't changed much, but looking closely, I could see a pale yellow, rice-grain-sized bead inside the beast's mouth.

Outside Longchang Tower, the Black Jade Pixiu had dropped onto the soil of the Animal Realm, triggering an anomaly.

It had swallowed the Yin Soil within a radius of over a dozen meters, causing all the grass, trees, and specters growing on it to wither and die. The commotion was huge, even startling another peerless vicious beast entrenched in the Animal Realm.

The bead in the Black Jade Pixiu's mouth had formed back then. I guessed it contained the essence of the Animal Realm's Yin Soil.

'This Black Jade Pixiu is connected to the vicious entity suppressed beneath the Bridge No. 3 Crematorium. The jade statue frantically swallowed the Animal Realm's soil the moment it touched it. That makes it clear that the Yin Soil's essence is extremely important to the monster under the crematorium. It should be able to help it recover its strength, and might even help it break its seal.' The Yin Soil essence was of great use to the vicious beast, so it should have some effect on me as well.

Gripping the black jade, I sent my mind into it. Just as I was about to take out that earthy-yellow bead, a beastly roar pierced straight to my soul from inside the Pixiu statue!

It seemed an incredibly brutal will had locked onto me, warning me not to act recklessly.

'A mere remnant thought wants to stop me? Even if your true body appeared before me, you'd probably have to weigh your chances first.' The stronger that will in the Black Jade Pixiu resisted, the more it proved the item's value.

Too lazy to waste time with it, I marshaled the Blood Fox Killing Intent. Combined with my own willpower, I forcefully subdued the remnant thought and plucked the bead from the jade beast's mouth.

'I've taken it out, but what now? Just eat it?' Placing it in my palm, I tried to activate the ghost arts. My yin energy approached the earthy-yellow bead and interacted with it, peeling off thin wisps of special, pale yellow yin energy that merged into my body.

After this wisp of Yin Soil aura from the Animal Realm entered my body, the Spleen Aperture gradually began to undergo a change. It was like a frozen seed welcoming spring, bursting with entirely new vitality.

'It's working.'

Unhurried, I absorbed it methodically. When about a third of the earthy-yellow bead remained, a crisp crack echoed from the Spleen Aperture inside my body.

It felt like shaking off mortal dust. That sensation of breaking free from restraints invigorated my spirit.

Exhaling a long breath of foul qi, the hidden injuries in my body were almost entirely repaired. My qi and blood were vigorous, and I was filled with boundless energy.

The spleen was the foundation of the Post-Heaven Stage; it governed transport and transformation, generating qi and blood. Once the Spleen Aperture opened, the meridians throughout my entire body linked into a single whole, without the slightest sense of blockage.

Clenching my fists, my spiritual sense flowed smoothly. If it weren't the dead of night, I would have let out a loud shout.

Wisps of Pre-Heaven True Qi surged out from the opened Spleen Aperture. Of the five internal organs and five apertures, four were already open. I had a premonition that once the final organ aperture opened, my body would undergo a qualitative change.

The true qi from the apertures merged and surged through my meridians, washing over acupuncture point after acupuncture point to circulate through my entire body in a single breath.

One inhalation and one exhalation made one breath. My spiritual sense was as still as stagnant water. From the stillness of Wuji was born the movement of Taiji; true qi circulated naturally, sinking into my legs.

As fortune arrived and the heart reached, I stood up. With my feet on the ground and true qi surging, it felt as though I were stepping on the rolling waves of the ocean.

Exhaling, inhaling. With every cycle, a scorching heat bloomed in my feet. After the true qi ran through its ninth circulation, all the meridians and acupuncture points in my feet opened, and a current of air rising from the earth surged into my body.

'Drink the earth's yin and lead the qi upward, inhale heaven's yang and sink the qi downward; use the essence qi of heaven and earth to nourish one's qi and blood. This is the Heel-Breathing Realm of the Profound Truth Dao.'

The True Men of ancient times slept without dreams, woke without worries, ate without seeking flavor, and breathed deeply. The True Man breathes from his heels, while the common man breathes from his throat. Before I knew it, my Daoist arts realm was no longer something to be taken lightly. If I were among the Daoist sects, I could also be called a True Man.

Feet planted on the ground, my breath was ceaseless. Having reached this realm, I could now use Upper Vehicle Talismans without any burden.

'Above Heel-Breathing is Grain Avoidance, which is also the Celestial Master Realm. My current Daoist realm should be on par with Lu Chen back then.'

Daoist arts were impermanent; even within the same realm, the gap in power could be enormous.

However, my foundation was robust. My true qi was like endless rolling waves. Even at the Heel-Breathing Realm, I could be considered among the strongest.

'My true qi has doubled compared to before. Stepping on the earth and circulating my breath, my state of mind has also undergone a certain change. Huaxia's Daoist arts truly are wonderfully indescribable.' My mind was clear, and my control over the killing intent was effortless. The residual negative emotions from devouring obsessions in my sea of consciousness were firmly suppressed, and the speed at which the Blood Fox Killing Intent converted those obsessions was three or four times faster.

'This feeling of growing stronger every single minute and second really isn't bad.' The wound I had torn open on my chest with my own hands had partially healed, and the Blood Fox Tattoo had become even more vivid and bright.

The changes brought by the Spleen Aperture's breakthrough weren't over yet. The spleen and stomach were the ultimate yin within yin. The overflowing true qi also exuded a trace of coldness that resonated with the yin energy in my Yin Meridians, harmonizing my internal organs and bringing the ghost arts and Daoist arts in my body into a state of balance.

More and more true qi flowed out from the aperture, like a frozen river melting in early spring. After a series of cracking sounds, the Spleen Aperture opened completely, and a blurry memory scene surfaced in my mind.

I had encountered similar scenes many times before. Every time a Dao Lock opened, lost memories would resurface.

Submerging my thoughts into my sea of consciousness, that blurry, fragmented memory scene slowly unfolded.

On an endless black street, two corpses lay collapsed. The two were dressed differently, and their heights and builds were entirely unlike each other, but there was one glaring commonality between them—they both wore the Paper Doll Masks of the Underworld Live Show.

Fresh blood soaked the masks, making the paper dolls appear as if they were smiling. The "me" in the scene stood beside the two corpses, stepping in the viscous blood with a freezing gaze.

"I need you to do me a favor." I was facing away from the corpses, and it was unclear who I was talking to.

Not long after, a tall, thin man draped in bloodstained clothes, looking like a madman, silently stepped out from the darkness. His exposed skin was extremely well-maintained, and he also wore a Paper Doll Mask.

"And if I'm not willing to help you?" The Blood-Clad Figure's voice was androgynous, making it impossible to tell if they were male or female, giving off a very strange feeling.

"If you're not willing to help, you can only become like them." The me in the memory kicked the freshly dead corpse beside me. "I've already found what I wanted, and I can't be bothered to strike again. That's why you're able to stand here and talk to me right now."

The Blood-Clad Figure seemed to genuinely consider my words. After a long time, they finally spoke, "What do you want me to help you with?"

"Dispose of the bodies of these two live show streamers. Leave behind clues so no one suspects me."

"You want me to take the fall for you?!" The Blood-Clad Figure's voice hitched, quickly realizing what was going on.

"Who in this world can make me plead guilty?" The me in the memory walked toward the Blood-Clad Figure. "I have my own reasons for doing this. If you agree, you can take everything the two of them exchanged from the Live Show."

"I need an explanation." The Blood-Clad Figure's voice sounded as if it had been squeezed out through clenched teeth.

"If there comes a day in the future when we meet again in the Deep Dream Layer, you'll understand everything."

The scene shattered with a boom. My will withdrew from the sea of consciousness. I sat blankly on the clinic's first floor, unable to return to my senses for a long time.

The memory fragment that appeared after the Spleen Aperture opened truly left me shocked.

'So the culprit who killed the other two live show streamers wasn't the Butcher...'