Chapter Ten: The Old Immortal

Lu Zhou and his companions walked over, and at a glance recognized the withered leaf Chan Master standing amidst the crowd.

Chan Master Withered Leaf stood with his palms pressed together, speaking earnestly to the villagers.

An old man dressed in coarse linen, his hair white as snow, looked at the Chan master with a conflicted expression. “Master, it’s not that we don’t believe in Buddha. But we’ve invited our old immortal to catch the ghost. Once the immortal catches the monster, our village will be at peace, and we won’t have to leave the home we’ve lived in for so many years.”

The Chan master intoned a Buddhist chant and replied, “The demon is not a ghost. As for your immortal, I see no cultivation in him…”

The old man hurriedly shook his head. “Master, don’t say that. The other day, even the cultivators from Huangshan Academy met with misfortune. Such ghosts can only be caught by our immortal. Let’s wait until the immortal catches the monster and then decide…”

Seeing that his persuasion was fruitless, Chan Master Withered Leaf could only shake his head helplessly. He turned and saw Lu Zhou’s group approaching, and quickly went to greet them.

“Amitabha, Captain Lu, what wind has brought you here?”

“The wind stirred by the demon.”

“Oh? It seems Captain Lu has also come for the demon, but we appear to be one step late. Look, the villagers have already invited their immortal…”

Chan Master Withered Leaf stepped aside, opening a path. Lu Zhou looked ahead.

At the mouth of Guo Village, beneath the locust tree, a clearing had been made. A ritual altar stood on the open ground, villagers gathered around it.

The cultivators of different sects clustered together, watching coldly from the sidelines.

Huang Dacheng clearly saw Lu Zhou, but had no intention of acknowledging him. As for Li Zhilan, who stood beside Lu Zhou, he considered whether to speak but thought better of it.

On the altar, a white-bearded old Taoist held a peach wood sword, stepping in a seven-star, eight-trigram pattern, muttering incantations.

“Heaven clear, earth bright, sword heed my command, divine blade unite, slay demon and cure evil, Supreme Lord, swiftly as the law commands—hiss! Demon, surrender or die!”

Before his words had faded, the old Taoist pulled a talisman from his robe, waved it in the wind, and the talisman began to smoke, then caught fire.

“Huh?” Li Zhilan frowned, puzzled. “This old Taoist clearly has no true energy circulating—how did the talisman ignite?”

Lu Zhou glanced at her and laughed quietly, “If you wish to learn, I can teach you…”

“Senior brother knows such Taoist arts?”

After asking, Li Zhilan realized her question was foolish and murmured, “Of course, you’re a disciple of Cloud Summit Pavilion, you must naturally know these arts.”

Lu Zhou: “…”

Cloud Summit Pavilion never taught this, but as long as the phosphorus is applied just right, igniting the talisman is simple enough.

The villagers were overjoyed, relieved that the ghost haunting them for so long had been driven away.

Then, the old immortal sighed. “Alas, it escaped. That demon bears grudges—it may return in vengeance…”

Hearing this, the villagers’ faces went pale.

The old man who had been negotiating with Chan Master Withered Leaf hurried forward. “Immortal, you must uproot evil to its root. Please take measures to kill the demon and protect our village.”

The old Taoist looked troubled. “It’s not that I won’t help. The demon is a banished celestial child from heaven, and now it’s hidden at the South Heavenly Gate. Only my precious disciple can reach the gate, but it’s far too dangerous…”

The old man, anxious, pulled out a pouch and stuffed it into the Taoist’s hand. “Please, immortal, find a way.”

---

“Ah…” The old Taoist sighed again. “Very well, let my disciple risk it this once. Disciple, go to the South Heavenly Gate, slay the demon, and remember—not to offend the celestial soldiers and generals. Be careful.”

The young Taoist behind him bowed. “Your disciple obeys.”

The old Taoist shouted, “Bring forth the Heavenly Rope!”

The young Taoist produced a rope from the ground. Though soft, in the boy’s hands it twisted and flexed into dazzling shapes.

Seeing the villagers growing impatient, the old Taoist chanted and tossed the rope skyward.

The rope hung straight down from the heavens.

The young Taoist climbed up the rope, higher and higher, until he reached its end, which touched the old locust tree. With a leap, he vanished without a trace.

“Immortal, your disciple?” The old man was anxious.

The old Taoist calculated with his fingers. “Be patient. My disciple is negotiating with the gatekeepers at the South Heavenly Gate, pleading for the demon’s release… Ah, the celestial soldiers demand a treasure in exchange…”

He weighed the pouch in his hand. “A loss, a loss…”

The old man quickly handed him another pouch.

The old Taoist put on an expression of great righteousness. “No treasure is more precious than the safety of the villagers. This time, I will risk it all. Disciple, give them the treasure. No matter what, see that the demon is put to death!”

As soon as he finished speaking, an object fell from the sky—a child’s head.

Then, with a cacophony, more pieces rained down: arms, legs, all bloodied, forming the body of a child.

Li Zhilan turned away, unable to bear the sight.

“So this is the demon!”

“Thank goodness for the immortal, otherwise who knows how long we’d suffer.”

“Thank you, immortal, for saving us.”

The old immortal nodded contentedly.

The surrounding cultivators were surprised. If the ignited talisman was a simple trick, this Heavenly Rope left everyone baffled.

Lu Zhou smiled wordlessly.

He had no intention of exposing the old Taoist—after all, the man was earning a hard living.

Seeing that the act was nearly finished, the old Taoist shouted, “Disciple, your master’s power is nearly exhausted. Hurry back from the South Heavenly Gate!”

After a moment, only the sound of wind and falling leaves remained—no movement.

“Disciple?”

“Hurry back! Can you hear me?”

“Disci—”

Before he finished, a shadow dropped from the locust tree, crashing into the altar and smashing a hole in it.

A cry came from beneath the altar.

---

“Ah… Master, senior brother is dead…”

Then everyone saw a person crawl out from under the altar—the fallen shadow was the young Taoist who had climbed the Heavenly Rope. His eyes bulged like dead fish.

Once the person emerged, the Heavenly Rope went limp, revealing its hollow tail—a metal pipe inside.

But no one cared now whether the Taoist’s arts were real or fake. Every gaze was fixed on the old locust tree.

Lu Zhou frowned. “What is it?”

Anger gripped his sword hilt. “It’s the demon!”

From within the locust tree, a black shadow burst forth, emitting a strange hiss, and lunged at the villagers, who had already scattered in panic. The surrounding cultivators were unmoved, waiting for their chance.

“Attack!”

Someone shouted, and a sword-light stabbed at the shadow.

The shadow howled in pain, splitting the sword with a palm, then leapt and vanished from sight within two breaths.

“After it!”

Cultivators from every sect summoned their magical treasures. Chan Master Withered Leaf cast his prayer beads, Li Muru flung out a brush, all pursuing the shadow.

Anger glanced at Lu Zhou.

Lu Zhou shook his head. “Captain Anger, you’d better hurry. With my cultivation, I couldn’t keep up even if I tried.”

Anger nodded, stepped onto his flying sword, and disappeared from Lu Zhou’s sight.

Everyone was gone, leaving only Lu Zhou and Li Zhilan.

Lu Zhou breathed deeply. Li Zhilan saw the dead young Taoist on the altar—his eyes bulging, his body gutted, organs spilled everywhere—her stomach turned.

Lu Zhou laughed. “You’ve never seen a dead body?”

Li Zhilan said, “I’ve seen the dead, but never anything so revolting.”

Lu Zhou glanced at the old Taoist trembling beneath the altar, and slowly said, “Sometimes, the living are more disgusting than the dead. Greed clouds their hearts, and they’ll do anything. They exploit corpses, and to achieve their ends, they don’t hesitate to cause even more deaths.”

Li Zhilan was stunned, then nodded. “True, this fraud is more revolting than the dead.”

Suddenly, Lu Zhou said, “Now that everyone else is gone, pretending further is pointless.”

Li Zhilan: “??”

Just then, the old Taoist who had been cowering beneath the altar slowly straightened his back. With a step, his whole body left the altar in an instant.

Lu Zhou’s eyes narrowed—

Hmm?

Void Return Realm?