Daoqi Huangcheng

Chapter 23. The Harvest
Swish, swish, swish.
The rainy scene rushed past.

Song Chen walked through the forest, the leaves rustling and swirling, his clothes stained with autumn rain. His expression hardened as he pondered his future path.

Although he narrowly escaped the "Taibai Sword Intent" and the "Yu Family Spy" incidents, it still illustrates just how dangerous his position was.

Just then, a sudden rumble sounded from behind. The sound was initially like thunder in the sky, but in an instant it turned into a tsunami right next to us.

Song Chen's pupils contracted, and he hurriedly suppressed his aura, his figure flashing wildly as he hid behind an old tree. Then, he carefully turned his head slightly to look in the direction of the sound source.

Upon closer inspection, they saw a massive shadow, nearly ten feet long and exuding a strong stench of blood, hurtling down from the sky.

Bang!
He quickly moved aside to create distance.

It exploded on the spot, shattering rocks and breaking trees.

Look again.

But what they saw was a monster about ten feet tall, its body made up of dense pieces of flesh that looked like huge rocks.

In that instant, the flesh-monster stomped the ground again, causing it to tremble, and the monster was in front of Song Chen in a flash.

'What the hell is that?'

Before Song Chen could think further, he used his left hand to channel his spiritual energy, and the rainwater instantly formed a sturdy spiritual energy shield.

boom!
The shield shattered.

Song Chen's left arm suddenly swelled up with blood, like an iron fan, and he slapped the bloody hand that had shattered the shield.

This is the third power of the Marrow-Eating Crane Demon, besides "water control" and "illusion," and it is also the most common power among demons—the power of flesh and blood.

Physical strength is the norm for demons; on the contrary, magical abilities like "water control" are quite rare among them. This was also Song Chen's trump card.

However.
Song Chen felt as if his palm had struck a rapidly moving hill, and his right hand and half of his body instantly went numb.

He endured the excruciating pain and pushed hard.
boom!
He was struck hard and sent flying backward.

The monster of minced flesh was not hindered in the slightest; its body transformed into a swift blood shadow, continuing to chase Song Chen like a shooting star.

Song Chen was shocked. The Marrow-Eating Crane Demon was a demon at the fifth level of Qi Gathering, yet such power was no match for the monster before him.

Knowing he was no match for them and seeing the situation, he knew he was doomed. So he steeled himself, took a deep breath, and prepared to expel the [Taibai Sword Intent] from his stomach. Then he pulled out the [Treasure Box of Time], which was wrapped in mysterious dark water.

He didn't know what would happen if he forcibly took out the [Treasure Box of Time].

But either way, it's death.

Then let’s die together.

On a positive note, being alive and having a nice wife is a blessing in itself.

Unfortunately, no matter how cautious he was, he couldn't escape the vicissitudes of life.

Song Chen's eyes were sharp, revealing a hint of madness that suggested a willingness to perish together with his opponent.

Just then, a strange sound drifted in from mid-air.

"stop."

As soon as the word was uttered, the ten-foot-long monster of minced flesh stopped and remained motionless.

A short, dark figure enveloped in bloody energy descended from the sky, landing on the shoulder of the flesh-covered monster. Looking down at Song Chen, the bloody energy dissipated, revealing the face of an old man with white hair, a youthful face, and deep-set eyes.

The old man looked at Song Chen with curiosity.

Seeing that there was a chance for change, Song Chen bowed and said, "Junior Lin Chengyong greets senior. Junior's strength is weak, I don't know where I offended senior?"

Lin Chengyong is a combination of Brother Lin, Brother Cheng, and Brother Yong.

The old man chuckled sinisterly, "I am Gu Youwen, a member of the Stitching Man's Mansion. Where did you get this power from the Marrow-Eating Crane Demon?"

Song Chen had absolutely no concept of the Sewing Manor and had never heard of it before. He was astonished and said, "The Marrow-Eating Crane Demon? This...this is clearly a power I was born with. I usually try my best to hide it and keep it unknown to the world. Why does Senior say it is the power of a demon?"

The old man named Gu Youwen stroked his beard, then suddenly raised his hand and with a flick of his wrist, the monster made of minced flesh vanished instantly. The old man landed on the ground, looked at him with a smile, and said, "Come with me."

Song Chen was taken aback. He really didn't understand why the old man, who had been chasing him just a moment ago, was now smiling and welcoming him.

He had already realized the gap between himself and the old man; he was nothing more than an ant before the old man, who could force him to do whatever he wanted. He steeled himself and took two steps, then suddenly said, "I was fortunate to survive and shouldn't ask so many questions, but please enlighten me, senior, why do you ask?"

Gu Youwen laughed and said, "Young man, there are many water control spells, but yours is a bloodline spell, which is different from other water control spells. I am familiar with your elders, so I recognize it."

I attacked you with a puppet just now, but it was just a test. It seemed dangerous, but it was actually harmless. Didn't I reveal myself as soon as I saw that you wanted to die together with me?
Haha, don't take it to heart. Now, this old man is going to take you to acknowledge your ancestors.

Song Chen:
In the next instant, before he could think any further, Gu Youwen raised his hand and summoned a ball of blood-red light that enveloped him before fleeing into the distance, landing on a cliff moment later.

Gu Youwen raised his hand and waved it, revealing a boundary membrane on the cliff.

"Come on, young man, this is my temporary residence. I will contact your elders later and then take you there."

Seeing Song Chen's uneasy look, Gu Youwen smiled and said, "This used to be a market town. People left in a hurry and didn't take some things with them. Come in quickly and find what you need. I am a close friend of your elders. Consider what you choose today as a gift from me to you, the younger generation."

Song Chen finally arrived at the market.

But the way he arrived was something he never even dreamed of.

Although he didn't know what this old monster named Gu Youwen was up to or why he was lurking near the capital, he wasn't going to be polite since it was a freebie.

However, after rummaging around in the chaotic market for a while, he was speechless.

There were no good things at all; all that was left were some spiritual herbs of unknown use; some pills with their plugs removed, exuding the smell of rotten herbs; and weapons that looked sharp but were actually discarded in a corner and no one wanted them.

He looked around, but still didn't know what to take.

Gu Youwen, holding a jade tablet, seemed to be transmitting his voice. Seeing him circling around, he laughed and said, "Young man, don't be shy, take whatever you like."

Seeing Song Chen's wry smile, Gu Youwen seemed to know that there was nothing good in this market. So he reached out and grabbed an old cultivator in a yellow brocade robe, with a blank expression and drooling. He then threw the old cultivator in front of Song Chen and said, "Take it. Now, when you see your elders, don't say that I'm not being fair."

Upon seeing the old man, Song Chen immediately guessed the reason.

This old cultivator had clearly been subjected to a brutal soul search, and it was from this old cultivator's consciousness that Gu Youwen learned of himself. Because of the excessive soul search, this old cultivator was now completely senile; the reason he was still alive was perhaps because Gu Youwen had other uses for him.

Thinking back to the flesh-crushing puppet that Gu Youwen had used before, Song Chen had a vague guess.

Gu Youwen is definitely a demonic cultivator.

Song Chen didn't stand on ceremony.

He didn't know what he was about to experience, but he quickly searched Lao Xiu's body and pulled out a white bag that was smooth and silky.

He had heard Zhong Xu and others mention this bag before.

Storage bag.

The method of use is very simple; you only need to probe with spiritual energy.

He pulled out the old man's storage bag, circulated his spiritual energy, and found that the bag was no bigger than a sack, containing an exquisite treasure shelf.

There are three shelves on the shelf, and a bucket on the side. On the shelf are: a cultivation manual, a stack of talismans, and two straw figures. In the bucket are six spirit iron weapons: three swords, one knife, and two shields.

Song Chen continued his investigation.

That stack of talismans contained five "Golden Bell Talismans", five "Lingbo Talismans", and one "Golden Light Talisman Treasure".

A talisman is a one-time use item.

A talisman can be used multiple times after absorbing spiritual energy, and can be reused until it is destroyed.

Among them, the Golden Bell Talisman forms a defensive barrier and can also slightly conceal one's aura and figure; the Lingbo Talisman increases speed and makes one's movements more agile; the Golden Light Talisman shoots out a soul-chasing golden light, while the Golden Light Talisman Treasure can be shot out continuously.

The technique is called "The Secret Record of Grass Puppets," a supernatural power at the Qi gathering level. Its function is to create grass figures and turn them into puppets. These grass figures are very weak, but they are easy to make and can share the same line of sight with their master to a certain extent, which is very useful in exploration. At the same time, these grass figures can also use talismans, and if given enough spiritual energy, they can even use spiritual weapons, which is equivalent to immortal talisman guards.

As for the two straw figures, they were simply ready-made straw puppets.

However, the "Grass Puppet Secret Record" is only a supernatural ability, not a martial arts technique.

Its driving force is "wood spirit energy".

Even though Song Chen obtained this supernatural power, he couldn't use it for the time being.

(End of this chapter)