Chapter Thirty-Nine: First Encounter with the Cannibal Monk
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After Yan Wuji left, Wan Yi was left alone in the study to wait.
Sipping fragrant tea, he repeatedly ran through his battle plan in his mind.
Earlier, Wan Yi had not told Yan Wuji the whole truth. His actual plan differed greatly from what he had told him.
He had done so because he did not want to reveal all his trump cards to the other man.
His true strategy was not a decapitation strike, but a feint to the east while attacking in the west.
Trying to infiltrate a completely unfamiliar sect and carry out a decapitation strike would be virtually impossible.
Rather than do that, it would be better to create a diversion and lure the enemy out.
He now had explosives. If he could blow up Handsome Peak, he could blow up the Pill Cauldron Sect as well.
Once the Pill Cauldron Sect was bombed in several places at once and chaos erupted, he could sneak in and kill the two Emperor-Realm cultivators. Would that not make things much easier?
As for the explosives, they were one of his trump cards and absolutely could not be exposed yet. Besides, they were also a contingency plan he had prepared for the Netherworld.
Although Yan Wuji had treated him with great courtesy throughout the day, one could never know what lay in another man's heart—especially when that man was an old ghost.
As the saying went, the older a person became, the more cunning he was, and the older a ghost became, the craftier still. Wan Yi was no goodhearted saint himself and would never casually place his fate in someone else's hands.
If circumstances changed in the future, he would not mind setting off several tons of high explosives just to let the ghost cultivators of the Netherworld hear a little noise.
As for his eagerness to eliminate the Pill Cauldron Sect's Emperor-Realm experts, he had no choice but to do so.
He had already slaughtered seven of their disciples and humiliated Elder Ge and the Pill Cauldron Sect in front of numerous sects. Whoever it was, no one would let such an insult go unanswered.
Rather than sit around waiting for them to come after him, it was better to seize the initiative and strike first.
Once Elder Ge and the Pill Cauldron Sect's other Emperor-Realm expert were dead, the sect's situation would become extremely delicate.
When they had an Emperor-Realm expert guarding them, everyone had fawned over the sect.
But once they lost that protection, they would become a piece of fat meat in the eyes of all.
That way, he would not only resolve his own crisis, but also force the Pill Cauldron Sect to fend for itself. At the same time, he could offer the Soul Reaping Office a token of allegiance and test the attitude of the people behind Yan Wuji.
It would accomplish three things at once. No matter how he looked at it, the plan was worth pursuing.
As he pondered, Yan Wuji returned and handed Wan Yi a storage ring.
“Brother, I went and borrowed twenty puppets at the Tribulation Transcendence Realm for you. Your plan will be much more secure now.”
Wan Yi’s eyes lit up as he accepted the ring with a smile.
“They’re all for me?”
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Seeing his expression, Yan Wuji shook his head with a bitter smile.
“They’re borrowed, not given to you! These twenty puppets are worth twenty million high-grade spirit stones. Even I don’t have the authority to simply give them away. You’ll have to return them after you’re finished.”
Wan Yi was not disappointed. As the saying went, if one borrowed and repaid promptly, one would have no trouble borrowing again. He believed that once certain people saw the results of this operation, he would be able to borrow forty puppets next time.
After Wan Yi put the puppets away, Yan Wuji said, “I’ve already sent people to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon. I truly don’t understand why you want to see those cannibal monks. Aren’t you disgusted by them?”
Wan Yi chuckled.
“Brother, you don’t know the whole story. The Pill Cauldron Sect has a grudge against the cannibal monks. If I disguise myself as one of them and kill those two Emperor-Realm cultivators from the Pill Cauldron Sect, anyone who happens to see me won’t become suspicious. They’ll simply assume the cannibal monks did it.”
As he spoke, Wan Yi cursed inwardly:
“What a sinister old sect master. Since you want to redirect the blame, I’ll help you out! I really am a good person.”
Before long, Ox Three and Horse Four escorted several ghost cultivators into the room. They wore bright-red monk robes beneath purple-black kasayas.
Upon seeing Yan Wuji and Wan Yi, Ox Three and Horse Four hurriedly cupped their fists.
“Your subordinates pay their respects to the two lords.”
The cannibal monks, meanwhile, trembled violently with fear. With a loud thud, they fell to their knees and repeatedly begged for mercy.
“My lords, please show us mercy! We know our sins are grave. We do not ask to be reincarnated; we only beg you to grant us a swift death. Please stop torturing us!”
Yan Wuji’s face darkened as he snorted.
“You wish! You committed countless atrocities while alive and fed on human flesh. Your crimes are too numerous to record! And now you want a quick death? Dream on!”
The cannibal monks trembled like sifting grain and collapsed facedown on the floor in despair.
At that moment, Wan Yi spoke.
“It is not impossible to consider reducing your punishment. However, that will depend on how you perform from this point onward.”
The cannibal monks immediately brightened. They crawled over to Wan Yi and hurriedly said, “My lord, just tell us what you require! We will do everything in our power!”
Wan Yi nodded in satisfaction.
“I won’t make things difficult for you. Demonstrate some of the martial techniques and movement skills of your Mara Sect for me.”
The cannibal monks exchanged bewildered glances. Though they did not understand why, they still rose and began to perform.
Wan Yi watched from the side, memorizing most of their techniques and movements.
He had no intention of actually practicing the cannibal monks’ martial arts. When the time came, it would be enough to have the puppets imitate a few of their moves in front of the Pill Cauldron Sect.
After watching for a while, Wan Yi said, “That’s enough.”
The cannibal monks stopped and once again knelt respectfully before him.
Wan Yi then asked, “Tell me this: after someone is injured by your true energy, corpse poison rises to the surface of the body and turns into scars that refuse to fade. How can this be treated?”
The leading cannibal monk hurriedly replied, “My lord, the condition you describe can be completely cured with our Mara Sect’s secret antidote.”
Wan Yi secretly rejoiced.
“Little girl, it looks like your face can be saved.”
Though delighted inwardly, he showed nothing on his face and asked sternly, “What antidote? Do you have its formula?”
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The cannibal monk hurriedly answered, “My lord, to neutralize this poison, all that is needed is Eighty-Four Disinfectant Powder. It is not a pill and requires no refinement. Once the ingredients are mixed according to the proper proportions, simply apply it to the affected area and the illness will be cured.”
“Are there any side effects?”
“My lord, rest assured. There are absolutely none.”
Wan Yi immediately ordered someone to bring paper and ink.
The cannibal monk took them and, after swiftly writing out the prescription, handed it to Wan Yi.
After ordering the constables to take the cannibal monks away, Wan Yi gave the prescription to Ox Three and Horse Four and instructed them, “Two tasks. First, find tailors and have them work overnight to make twenty-one outfits matching what those monks were wearing. Second, gather all the medicinal ingredients listed on this prescription.”
The two men accepted their orders and left.
Yan Wuji asked, “Brother, what are you going to do next?”
Wan Yi took out a storage pouch and pressed it into Yan Wuji’s hand.
“This is a small token of my appreciation. Don’t refuse it, Brother. I need to go back and prepare a few things. I’ll leave the matters here in your hands for now.”
As Yan Wuji answered, “All right,” he instinctively extended his divine sense into the storage pouch. The next moment, he cried out in shock.
“Brother, this is far too valuable!”
Inside the pouch were Soul-Nourishing Pills.
Earlier, Zhou Zihao had procured more than 1.3 million pills for him. Wan Yi had given one million to Qi Mingyue as a deposit and kept another hundred thousand for himself. He had now given all the rest to Yan Wuji.
Seeing that Yan Wuji was about to refuse, Wan Yi smiled.
“Brother, compared with everything you’ve done for me, this is nothing. Don’t refuse it. Soul-Nourishing Pills may be rare in the Netherworld, but they’re not difficult for me to obtain. From now on, I’ll provide all the Soul-Nourishing Pills you need.”
After Yan Wuji accepted the pills, Wan Yi rose and bid him farewell before leaving the Soul Reaping Office.
With a thought, he activated the Netherworld Constable Token, left the Netherworld, and returned to his thatched cottage.
Glancing at the sky outside, he muttered inwardly:
“It’s time to make some explosives.”
To be continued...