White Bone Demon Trail

Chapter 56 First Ascension to Human Form
The man touched the ground with his head, closed his eyes, and gripped the mud mixed with withered leaves tightly with both hands, calling out in a low voice.

The wind blew the withered leaves on the ground, and from afar, it rolled towards the man's back like waves.

His hunched back paused noticeably, and his murmurs grew increasingly urgent, each call louder than the last.

Until, his disheveled hair was blown up by the wind, a chill seeped into his heart from his back, a crow's caw suddenly rang out, a gale suddenly rose all around, and countless leaves rustled in the wind.

Then, suddenly everything fell silent, and in an instant, only his own voice echoed around him.

"What do you seek?"

A strange, drawn-out tone rang out, causing the man's heart to stop abruptly. He looked up and saw a tall, slender white figure standing in the darkness three zhang in front of him, not resembling a living person.

The man suppressed his fear, his voice trembling uncontrollably, and said, "I...I beg you, God of No Form, help me kill the entire Xu family of Zhangyang County!"

Bai Wuxiang, sensing the resentment emanating from this person through his spiritual connection, said, "Although your resentment is pure, it's only enough to kill one person."

He doesn't agree to every condition when he makes a contract; he'll only do what his resentment can accomplish. Bai Wuxiang isn't a benevolent person acting on behalf of Heaven.

The man was clearly unprepared for this situation. After a moment's thought, he gritted his teeth and said hatefully, "Then I beg the God of No Form to kill Master Xu for me!"

"Haha~"

A chilling chuckle echoed, and the man shuddered, then was knocked unconscious by a gust of cold wind and collapsed to the ground.

The white, formless shadow in front of him transformed into a wisp of black energy and entered the man's body.

This wisp of divine thought was a temporary clone manifested by Bai Wuxiang using the spirit communication technique of the Vengeful Spirit Pearl, with the medium being the faith in this person's heart and the statue made of human bones enshrined in front of him.

Upon entering the man's body, numerous memories surfaced like a slideshow, allowing Bai Wuxiang to understand the source of the man's resentment.

This man was named Chen Qiaozhuang. His family had produced a scholar who passed the imperial examinations in the past. Later, the family fell into poverty. His father used the family's wealth to buy more than ten acres of fertile land in the countryside, married a village woman, and studied hard to obtain official rank.

Unfortunately, his father was too weak, and coupled with the shock of the banditry ten years ago, he was taken away by a cold.

Only Chen Qiaozhuang and his village wife remained.

Although his mother was a village woman, she had learned to read and write a lot by following scholars for a long time. She raised Chen Qiaozhuang until he was over twenty years old, hoping that he could follow in his father's footsteps and pass the imperial examinations.

Six months ago, because of a snake demon that was causing trouble outside Zhangyang County, his family went to the city and rented a house to take refuge.

In order to have enough food to live on, his mother took out a jade bracelet from the family's savings and exchanged it for several dozen taels of silver at Xu's pawnshop at a low price.

Unexpectedly, this incident caught the eye of the shopkeeper, who sent men to secretly follow and rob Chen Qiaozhuang's home. His mother recognized one of the thieves as the pawnshop guard who worked there during the day.

The next day, he went to the county government to report to the authorities. After reporting to the authorities, his mother returned home to wait for the official summons for trial. However, unexpectedly, the house caught fire that night and his mother was burned alive!

Chen Qiaozhuang was lucky to escape the fire that night because he stayed at the school. When he saw his mother's charred body, he was filled with hatred. How could a perfectly good house suddenly catch fire? And the fire was only extinguished after it burned down the house he was renting.

But he didn't expect that before he could report it to the authorities, the owner of the house would sue the government and demand compensation for the burned-down house.

In just half a month, Chen Qiaozhuang's family fortune was completely depleted by these events. He secretly inquired and learned that his family had been targeted by this Master Xu, and that Master Xu had already bribed all the officials in the government. After Bai Wuxiang reviewed the memories, he also learned the whole story: Master Xu had plotted to seize Chen Qiaozhuang's property, murdered his mother, and left him with nothing but destitute land and homes.

His resentment was hard to dispel, but seeking official help was useless and asking for help from others was futile. Just then, he overheard people from a neighboring village talking about the intangible mountain deity.

This person almost passed the imperial examination and became a scholar. He was quite knowledgeable and had been exposed to some metaphysical teachings. He knew that most of the mountain gods in rural folklore were actually mountain spirits or monsters.

But for things like this, praying to gods or Buddhas is not as effective as praying to demons or ghosts.

Therefore, he made special preparations and came to this mass grave to pray for divine intervention with the expectation of trying his luck. Unexpectedly, due to his sincere heart and the heavy yin energy of the place, he actually succeeded.

After a while, Chen Qiaozhuang's body, which had been lying on the ground, suddenly trembled, and then he stood up in a strange, bent posture.

A chilling smile appeared on his otherwise handsome face. "It's been a long time since I've felt the body of a living person. This feeling is truly extraordinary."

After saying that, he made a hand seal and chanted, and the Yin energy from all directions gathered and merged into his body.

Meanwhile, on Chen Qiaozhuang's body, his meridians surged, and black blood lines spread eerily all over his body, hidden beneath his clothes.

For a mortal to absorb yin energy comes at a price, as it will significantly reduce their lifespan.

It wasn't that Bai Wuxiang stole lifespan; he wasn't a demon beast with a limited lifespan, so he naturally didn't need to steal the vital energy and blood of mortals to extend his lifespan. It's just that yin energy inherently diminishes the yang energy within the human body.

At this moment, Chen Qiaozhuang was fully conscious and looking at himself. He realized that he could no longer control his body and could only watch from the perspective of an outsider, which was very strange.

His soul trembled slightly as he guessed that the body of the formless god was most likely possessed by him!

As his fear gradually subsided, a glimmer of anticipation arose within him, and Chen Qiaozhuang's inner voice screamed incessantly:

"Go and kill him! Kill Master Xu! Kill Master Xu!"

Bai Wuxiang, who was controlling Chen Qiaozhuang's body, smiled and slowly said, "Don't rush."

As dusk settled, a crowd of small vendors had already gathered outside the gates of Zhangyang, waiting to enter the city. Among them, the slightly worn-out "Chen Qiaozhuang" vendor was mixed in with the others.

Bai Wuxiang gazed at the towering city. He didn't have much demonic power to use with his divine sense, but if he were to come to Zhangyang City in his physical body for the sake of this resentment, he might attract some trouble.

Fortunately, it was just killing a bully and absorbing the yin energy of the mass grave. With the help of the Black Crow, it wasn't a difficult task.

"Line up, one at a time, don't rush!"

Just as he was pondering this, the dozen or so soldiers guarding the city had already ordered everyone to line up for a check before opening the city gates and letting them into the city.

Bai Wuxiang mingled in the crowd. During the inspection, the soldier touched his wrist and felt a chill in his hand. He felt uneasy and couldn't help but look at him a few more times.

Fortunately, Chen Qiaozhuang had a household registration and travel permit, and he wasn't carrying any weapons. After a quick check, he was allowed into the city.

Bai Wuxiang, in the body of Chen Qiaozhuang, stepped into Zhangyang City, and he immediately saw the city filled with the smoke and fire.

　Hmm, since I don't have any drafts saved up, I'll just post a short chapter for now. I'll keep trying to write and post as I go, and I'll finish 12,000 words today! You guys can wait until you wake up in the morning and are slacking off at work to read it!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)