Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Oh, sorry, that was because I instinctively closed my eyes.

I’ve smelled many things in my life, but no stench could compare to this. It was like a rotting corpse soaked in sour, stinking river snail rice noodles, mixed with durian, and then tossed into a pile of burning plastic and rubber.

All those scents blended together into an incredibly powerful force that pierced through my nostrils and spread through my mouth, my brain, and my entire body. I was completely enveloped in this pungent, foul odor.

I squinted, my eyes watering from the fumes. Li Xun was already starting to cry.

“Li Jiajia, did you get so scared you crapped your pants? What the hell did you eat-”

A weasel’s fart isn’t just stinky; it’s also hallucinogenic. My mind was already starting to grow sluggish. I shook my head and immediately began chanting the Heart-Calming Mantra. At the same time, I flipped my palm and pulled the Thunderstruck Wood Talisman from my pocket.

For spirits and monsters to cultivate a human form is a process that defies the Heavenly Dao. Heaven sends down disasters to stop them, which is the legendary Tribulation Transcendence.

For a demon, a Thunder Tribulation can result in anything from the loss of their cultivation to being completely annihilated. Even for those who have already passed their tribulations and taken human form, their physical bodies remain unstable for the first hundred years. If they encounter heavenly thunder, their cultivation can easily regress, and they can be beaten back into their original animal forms.

At first, I thought this weasel was a powerful demon that had already achieved human form, so I had specifically set up a Formation. Now that the Formation was broken, I was relieved to see that he wasn’t a demonic entity, but a human body. In that case, there was no need for a heavenly tribulation; ordinary thunder strikes would be enough to deal with him.

“Five Thunders Command-”

A flash of Thunder Light streaked across the room. The weasel’s expression changed drastically. All the Paper Effigies instantly flew up, clustering in front of him. They were struck by the lightning and burst into flames in mid-air.

The weasel turned and bolted.

Sister Jima’s mouth and nose had been smothered by the Paper Effigies. Now that she was free, she immediately opened her mouth and took deep, desperate gulps of the sweet, fresh air.

“Blegh-ugh-holy shit-”

Sister Jima leaned over and vomited, completely dazed by the stench. Seeing the weasel trying to escape, her fury flared. She lunged forward and tackled him to the ground.

“You dared to try and kill me? I’ll end you!”

Seizing the opportunity, I fired off another bolt of Thunder Light. The weasel let out a shrill, piercing scream as a cloud of yellow mist erupted from his body and flew straight out the door. The man’s entire body instantly went limp on the floor.

I was surprised. That fleeing figure-that was the actual weasel.

However, the man before me showed no signs of being possessed. His eyes were bright, his pupils clear; he obviously possessed his own consciousness. That left only one possibility: he had voluntarily invited that weasel spirit to possess him.

A person’s own three souls and seven po are complete, and they have an instinctive rejection of foreign malevolent souls. Normally, a body cannot hold two sets of souls at once.

But the Chuma Immortals of the Northeast can do it.

The Chuma Immortals worship the four great families-Hu, Huang, Chang, Mang-along with the Ghost Immortal Qingfeng. Together, they are known as the five paths of troops.

The so-called Hu, Huang, Chang, Mang refer to: Hu for foxes, Huang for weasels, Chang for snakes (also called long-worms), and Mang for large pythons.

In the eyes of orthodox Taoism, these are merely spirits and monsters that have cultivated power, but to the Chuma Immortals, they are the “Spirit Masters” they worship.

Legend has it that in ancient times, the Jade Emperor ordered Lord Five Thunder to lead heavenly troops to Changbai Mountain to annihilate all the monsters and spirits in the area. When Lord Five Thunder arrived, a man claiming to be a Fox Immortal of Changbai Mountain said he was willing to guide these spirits toward the righteous path.

The Jade Emperor softened and agreed, even appointing this Fox Immortal as the head of all the spirits on Changbai Mountain to keep them in check. It is said that this Fox Immortal later became Grandpa Hu San.

With this origin, they no longer considered themselves monsters, but instead called themselves Spirit Masters. They find disciples in the mortal realm to help them accumulate merit so that they can eventually cultivate into true immortals.

It is said that Chuma Immortals do not cross the Shanhai Pass. Although they worship demons, these demons are dedicated to the Dao and mostly perform good deeds, so orthodox Taoist sects rarely trouble them.

But this Great Immortal Huang had commanded a Chuma Disciple to commit murder. That meant I couldn’t just stand by.

I locked the door and opened the windows to air out the room. Holding my nose, I began to interrogate the murderer.

“Are you a Chuma Disciple? You’re supposed to be cultivating merit, so why did that weasel tell you to kill people?”

“Talk!”

“What? You’re not the Immortal Aunt? He’s the Chuma Immortal?”

Li Xun was clearly confused. He walked over, stared at the man for a moment, and then it clicked.

“Holy crap, aren’t you Wu the Half-Immortal?”

“How the hell did you get so thin?”