Chapter 15: Evil Cultivation Methods, The Art of Curse-Crafting

“In all these years, which county in Dongjun hasn't thought about getting rid of your River God avatar?”

“Even the Governor of Dongjun has thought about moving against you several times!”

“And all of these... I was the one who blocked them for you.”

Listening to Cha Liangcai's words, the voice from the jade statue regained its original composure.

“I know all of this. I know. So rest assured; once I recover, I will definitely help you achieve the Golden Core stage.”

As he spoke, the jade statue painted a seductive, beautiful future for Cha Liangcai: “By then, your Cha family will be the fourth Golden Core power in Qingzhou! Even the Qi Imperial Family will have to tread carefully around you, and Dongjun will become the fiefdom of your Cha family.”

Cha Liangcai was swayed by the vision painted by the jade statue, but he regained his composure after only a moment: “I hope so.”

With that, Cha Liangcai rose and left the secret chamber.

Once outside the chamber, Cha Liangcai's expression became dark and uncertain: “Once you recover, what will be left for my Cha family? This time, I shall use this pretext to see exactly what your true origins are!”

Inside the empty secret chamber, after a long silence, the jade statue spoke slowly: “Hmph, I knew those old foxes who have survived for hundreds of years would be cunning. Fortunately, I didn't place my hopes in those people.”

“The time is not yet ripe. I can wait, I can endure...”

“Once this Seat recovers...”

The River God of the Taiping River was certainly not the type to sit idly by and wait for death; he took action quickly.

In a certain gambling den within the Dongjun provincial capital, the owner of the den knelt fervently before a jade statue in a secret room: “Master, what are your orders?”

A majestic voice emanated from the jade statue: “The Magistrate of Qingshan County is restless, attempting to let a group of rogue cultivators disrupt the Great River God Sacrifice to ruin my great undertaking!”

“Go contact those evil cultivators and demonic practitioners. Tell them to stir up trouble in Qingshan County. It would be even better if they could kill the Magistrate, to prevent him from causing any more disturbances.”

The gambling den owner's stout body trembled with excitement: “Rest assured, Master, this servant will go do it immediately!”

The events occurring in this gambling den were not isolated incidents.

In several locations throughout the Dongjun provincial capital, people received identical orders.

Whether it was an innkeeper, a madam of a brothel, or the owner of a winery, who would pay attention to these seemingly ordinary businessmen?

Who could have guessed that they had long since sold their lives and fortunes to another?

Soon, the hidden evil cultivators and demonic practitioners of Dongjun received new assignments, targeting the upcoming demon-slaying operations in Qingshan County.

Many evil cultivators even thought of using this opportunity to harvest more living souls in Qingshan County, using them as blood offerings to feed their ghosts, or capturing strong individuals to refine blood corpses.

To evil cultivators, nothing was beyond use; human bones, flesh, and organs could all be used to refine artifacts, pills, or even for cultivation, while a complete human body could be used to refine puppets or blood corpses.

In the past, suppressed by the Qi Imperial Court and the various great families and Daoist palaces, the evil cultivators could not stir up much trouble. But with so many rogue cultivators infiltrating Qingshan County this time, it was undoubtedly a golden opportunity.

As for the demonic practitioners, their intentions were even simpler. Whether it was killing or blood sacrifices, it was their consistent style of operation.

They did not care how many people the Great River God Sacrifice in Qingshan County affected; they only cared about whether they could profit from it and destabilize the region.

As long as they could destroy the order and stability of a place, they could grow wildly.

Because of this series of grand movements in Qingshan County, the originally stagnant waters of Dongjun began to turn turbid under the agitation of various factions.

All sides were restless, waiting for the wind to rise in Qingshan County.

Once the storm began, one could not know how many would try to fish in troubled waters, or how many would watch the fire from the opposite bank.

***

Qingshan County was blessed by mountains and water.

With over two hundred thousand citizens, the county was undeniably prosperous.

The county seat of Qingshan was particularly grand, with high city walls and over twenty-three thousand households, housing a population of one hundred thousand.

Every day, the various markets were bustling with traffic, exceptionally prosperous.

Although it was the middle of winter, the streets were still filled with crowds.

Street vendors hawked their goods, and citizens and merchants dressed in winter clothes wandered about, creating a lively atmosphere.

The Great Qi was located on the easternmost side of the Eastern Continent, bordering the vast East Sea alongside the southern State of Lu.

Qingzhou of the Qi State was situated on the shores of the East Sea; consequently, the winters were exceptionally cold, and there was slightly more snowfall.

Today, snowflakes drifted over Dongjun. Snow danced through the sky, and as the cold wind blew, the swirling flakes were quite beautiful.

In a fish stall in Qingshan County, a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties, looking honest and simple, sat squatting on the ground in worn winter clothes. Before him on the stall lay several large fish.

The man tucked his hands into his sleeves to warm them with his breath, occasionally shouting, "Fish for sale! Fresh, large fish!"

A few local thugs loitering between the markets spotted the man. After confirming he was not a local resident of Qingshan County, they immediately approached and surrounded his fish stall.

"Are you new here?" one thug asked, eyeing the man sideways.

The middle-aged man bowed and scraped, looking exceptionally submissive: "Yes, I am new here. I heard that Qingshan County is holding the Great River God Sacrifice, so I thought I'd come sell some fish to provide food for my children at home."

The leader of the thugs sneered, "Do you know that you have to pay to set up a stall in this fish market?"

The man was stunned and said dryly, "But... but I haven't heard of..."

"What do you know, you newcomer? Hand over one tael of silver for the stall fee, or we'll just seize your stall!" another thug barked.

The man was completely bewildered. He looked at the thugs helplessly. The other fishmongers nearby quickly moved aside to avoid being affected by any potential violence or destruction that might disrupt their business.

"Don't just stand there dazed! Pay the stall fee immediately!" the leader said impatiently.

The man waved his hands repeatedly: "But... but I just arrived to set up my stall, where would I get the money?"

"No money? Then use the fish to settle the debt!" one thug said, picking out a fine, large fish.

The other thugs followed suit, each taking a large fish, laughing and joking.

The middle-aged man seemed like he wanted to lash out, but in the end, he said nothing. He simply squatted down silently with his head bowed.

Seeing this, the thugs laughed even harder. The leader added, "You've got some sense! We'll waive today's stall fee!"

With that, the thugs walked away swaggering, carrying the fish and laughing.

The middle-aged man seemed crushed. He silently packed up his stall and disappeared into the crowd, leaving only the helpless sighs of the other fishmongers.

That night, in their own courtyards, the thugs slaughtered, cooked, and roasted the large fish, enjoying the fragrant meat.

However, they did not know that the middle-aged man whose fish they had stolen during the day was silently performing a ritual in a deserted, dilapidated courtyard.

The object of his worship was, shockingly, a lifelike stone fish!

"My good child, go eat the blood offerings. Eat more, eat until you are full so you can grow quickly..."

As the man performed his ritual, the stone fish suddenly came to life. A mass of grey mist, smelling of seaweed and fishy river water, drifted from it. The mist swirled in the air for a few turns before heading straight toward a certain courtyard.

The thugs in that courtyard were still feasting and drinking, but suddenly, they felt their breathing become difficult. One by one, their throats went dry and they could not make a sound, their faces turning blue from the strain.

They did not notice that a mass of grey mist had already seeped into their bodies.

Within moments, the thugs discovered with horror that the organs and flesh inside them seemed to be constantly gnawed upon by something. Yet, their bodies did not wither; instead, they began to swell continuously.

In the end, the thugs swelled up three to five times their original size, collapsing to the ground, unable to struggle any longer.

They could only watch helplessly as their organs were eaten clean and their flesh was replaced by seaweed and river water.

When the thugs were discovered the next day, they had swollen beyond recognition, their skin so blue it was nearly transparent.

By the time the constables arrived, the corpses were so bloated they were difficult to handle.

Through the thin layer of human skin, one could see that there were no traces of flesh or bone left in these bodies—only clumps of blackened seaweed and turbid river water.

The constables were not fools; they knew immediately that this was not something they could handle and promptly reported it to the Magistrate, Zhang Qingyun.

Upon hearing the news, Zhang Qingyun's first thought was that his daughter had been right—the demons of the Taiping River had indeed sent someone to cause trouble!

Soon, Zhang Qing and Xu Xiao arrived at the scene.

Looking at the bloated corpses that seemed ready to burst, Xu Xiao sensed the residual aura and made a judgment: "This should be the work of an evil cultivator."

Zhang Qing did not have a deep understanding of a cultivator's methods, so she asked softly, "Is this matter very difficult to handle?"

Xu Xiao formed a sword gesture with her fingers, using several strands of spiritual energy to pierce open the bloated corpses. Immediately, stinking seaweed and turbid river water sprayed out!

Seeing the black seaweed about to splash onto the bystanders, Xu Xiao beckoned with her jade-like hand. A freezing blue spiritual power transformed into a cerulean mist, shielding everyone.

When the mist dissipated, the seaweed and turbid river water remained in the exact position they were in when they sprayed out, but they had been frozen into an ice sculpture.

Witnessing Xu Xiao's divine methods, the constables gasped in awe, lamenting that a fairy had descended to the mortal realm.

Xu Xiao, however, said to Zhang Qing, "Let's go back and discuss this."

After returning to the county yamen, Xu Xiao used the knowledge she had gained from the library of the Moon-Grasping Sect and her experiences traveling through Qingzhou to explain to Zhang Qingyun and Zhang Qing: "To put it bluntly, when evil cultivators harm people, they often set bait, much like a hunter setting a trap."

"It could be a piece of meat you eat, a cup of tea you drink, or even a copper coin you pick up at random; any of these can serve as a medium for an evil cultivator's ritual."

"These methods are low-level tricks, but their strength lies in how difficult they are to guard against. An ordinary person might be harmed without even realizing it."

Zhang Qing mused, "So that is the power of the Art of Malice. If those evil cultivators are truly allowed to kill people in the city without restraint, I fear the entire Qingshan County will fall into chaos within days."