Killing Dao Fruit

"Judging from your accent, you're not from Luoyang, are you? What brings you here?

Where is my fellow clan brother? Quickly summon the Mountain Lord White to come here, I will hold a feast to welcome and refresh him, with plenty of good wine and meat, all on the house."

Unknowingly, "Mr. One-Eyed" had let his guard down towards "Mountain Lord Wang," a member of his own Bai family lineage.

Feeling his concern and generosity, the Five Ghosts seemed to have found a pillar to lean on.

The eyebrows drooping, lips trembling slightly, the nose twitching... all five features on the face of the Five Ghosts came together to form an expression of utmost gratitude.

Finally, the one "with a mouth" spoke up, and the Five Ghosts couldn't wait to sell out their own Mountain Lord thoroughly:

"Mountain Lord Wang may not know, but our Bai family of Xiao Mountain has divided, and it has been truly difficult for the eldest brother to make his way here alone.

Life has also been tough for us servants!"

"Our Bai family has lived for generations in the thousand-mile range of Xiao Mountain, where we are a well-known and well-established family with dozens of members, keeping up no small presence."

"Somehow, these years the winters have gotten longer and colder, and come summer, the land of Central Pass suffers from severe drought or flooding.

Even with Xiao Mountain's richness, the family gradually struggles to support so many hungry mouths."

"The matriarch of the family decisively chose to divide the household. The eldest brother, with the greatest strength among his peers and having already awakened the Innate Divine Ability 'Soul Capturing and Spiritual Communication', was sent the farthest from home.

With the five of us brothers to assist him, we are surely unparalleled compared to the second, third, and fifth brothers."

"Coming to Beimang Mountain, the eldest brother only wishes to claim a piece of hunting ground as his domain, in order to rightfully bear the title of Mountain Lord, and so that we servants may also ascend to heaven with him.

Moreover, just yesterday we learned that underneath Beimang Mountain, there's a group of Military Households specializing in the 'White Tiger Military Art.'

If we could eat a few more of those Daoist Soldiers' human hearts, it would certainly make the eldest brother's innate divine ability grow rapidly."

'Merely beasts who not only relish eating people but have a particular appetite for the human hearts of reserve members like us 'White Tiger Elite Soldiers'?'

Wang Yuan could not help but be annoyed, finding eating people unforgivable, let alone specifically preying on his kind, which was an even greater crime that couldn't be overlooked.

'However, this Tiger Spirit has awakened a divine skill that is also 'Soul Capturing and Spiritual Communication'?'

He recalled the description of the second realm, 'Refining Marrow and Changing Blood', from 'Thirty-Six Martial Arts Books, Volume Eight.'

Upon entering this realm, one could join the ranks of the 'White Tiger Elite Soldiers' and enlist as a 'Daoist Soldier.'

When one reaches great success in the second realm, a 'Daoist Soldier' might have a chance to awaken one of the three divine skills: 'Geng Metal Divine Wind', 'Soul Capturing and Spiritual Communication', or 'Imperial Decree Tiger Talisman.'

Although it's not possible to forge a Dao Foundation 'Receiving Talisman' and achieve Enlightenment like a Magician, and their potential is quite limited, it could significantly enhance the combat power of a 'Daoist Soldier.'

It is said that this is the foundation on which the 'General Skill' can unify the strength of soldiers and generals to become an 'enemy of ten thousand.'

Wang Yuan, however, had never heard that his training in the 'White Tiger Military Art' as a reserve 'Daoist Soldier' could actually serve as superior nourishment for a Tiger Spirit's cultivation practice.

'Wait! I remember in 'Thirty-Six Martial Arts Books, Volume Eight' *there was an annotation left by Duke, the 'Dao General.'

To swiftly cultivate the 'White Tiger Military Art' to the Non-Human realm of 'Refining Marrow and Changing Blood', one needs to be aided by a special secret medicine – the Tiger Yang Medicine Wine.

The main ingredients include tiger penis, tiger blood, tiger marrow, tiger bone, and the best effects come from consuming those parts from a refined tiger.

If one lacks this secret medicine wine, people of mediocre talent may deplete their Qi-Blood without ever breaking through that barrier.'

'So if Mountain Lord White can improve his cultivation by eating reserved 'White Tiger Elite Soldiers,' then by the same logic,

If I consume Mountain Lord White's tiger marrow and his... ahem, that thing, perhaps I could not only step into the second realm 'Non-Human' but might also awaken my innate divine skill ahead of time!'

This idea, once it appeared in Wang Yuan's mind, couldn't be dismissed.

The secret medicines required by the Thirty-Six Camps 'Daoist Soldiers' were mostly controlled by the Great Yan Court and the families of generals.

By controlling the allocation of resources, they ensure that the 'Daoist Soldiers' from the Military Households are completely under their own influence, indirectly securing their unshaken status.

Although Wang Yuan had the 'White Tiger Holding Position' Life Chart, he was confident in breaking through the 'Refining Marrow and Changing Blood' before the age of twenty without the aid of the medicine wine.

But what he lacked most was time!

As someone who had once savored Deceit Bone and Deceit Skin, an exotic food connoisseur, he didn't mind adding a Tiger Spirit to his personal menu.

You enjoy eating human hearts to your heart's content.

Coincidentally, I shall savor tiger marrow. Indeed, we are a match made in heaven.

In the blink of an eye, Wang Yuan had considerately planned a destination for various family treasures on that "fellow clan brother." Tiger skin, tiger marrow, tiger bone, tiger blood, tiger penis... he had arranged a place for all of them.

His face, however, remained calm as he complimented Mr. One-Eyed:

"Beimang Mountain is indeed an extension of the Xiao Mountain range, quite far from the main range.

Mountain Lord White has worked hard for the sake of his clan, seeking far and wide – truly a display of sibling respect that is quite admirable."

He then jokingly inquired:

"Has your Mountain Lord eaten many people? How many servants like yourselves does he have under his command?"

"Our lord has eaten various creatures since leaving home, not shying away from cattle, sheep, or humans, naturally having feasted on plenty of people along the way, especially delighting in fresh and tender hearts, livers, and entrails.

All arrangements for his meals are in the hands of us five Ministers of Food.

However, the slots for 'Soul Capturing and Spiritual Communication' under our lord are limited, and even though he has eaten twenty-three males and females, young and old, along the way, not a single one qualified to become a servant and stand alongside us."

When he said these words, the Five Ghosts were quite proud.

The thought process of these Five Ghosts was indeed peculiar. After being turned into Chang Ghosts by the tiger, not only did they actively find people for the tiger to eat, they also feared other ghosts snatching their positions.

Describing the relationship between the tiger and the Chang Ghosts as that of a "tyrant" and "flatterer" was indeed apt.

What they didn't know was that they had already leaked their own Mountain Lord's secrets to an even more cold and unscrupulous gourmet, indirectly costing it half its life.

'A solitary tiger, accompanied only by these five Chang Ghosts, possesses the Divine Skill "Soul Capturing and Spiritual Communication"; its diet includes cattle, sheep, human livestock without exception.'

The goal: To find a hunting ground befitting the status of the Mountain Lord.'

Having carefully considered the information he had gathered, Wang Yuan already had a plan in mind.

Therefore, he stopped beating around the bush and jumped directly to the last step of this swindling scheme:

"Although Beimang Mountain is vast, I don't mind sharing the territory with your Mountain Lord.

But I know there's a hunting ground in these mountains that is the best in the whole world.

If I can get it, not only will I establish a foundation, but achieving the position of the Mountain God of Beimang Mountain will definitely not be just a dream."

"Really?!"

Mr. One-Eyed vividly showed Wang Yuan what the phrase 'eyes lighting up with excitement' meant with his incomplete five senses.

It's no wonder the Five Ghosts were so agitated.

Every Mountain Lord harbored the ambition to become the rightful Mountain God.

Once they ascended, their subordinate Chang Ghosts could also rise further; with the rising tide lifting all boats, they would become officials in the temples and no longer mere ghosts.

Wang Yuan then let out a mysterious smile and drew an irresistible grand vision:

"Have you ever heard of the 'Beimang Mountain Blessed Land,' one of the seventy-two Blessed Lands of Red County Shenzhou?"

Upon hearing this, the single eye shared by the Five Ghosts suddenly shone frighteningly bright.

...

While Wang Yuan was still bamboozling the ghost.

Daling Village, which had received terrible news, was in turmoil.

"Clan Leader, there isn't a single ghost in the Royal Mausoleum, it's not just the Fool; Wang Cheng and the people from Master Ge are all missing!"

As daylight broke, Wang Yunhu discovered that Wang Cheng and others who had taken the "Medicine Bait" to the Royal Mausoleum for the sacrifice had not returned to report.

He immediately ordered his most trusted Tomb Guardians to go back up the mountain and check the Royal Mausoleum, only to bring back a surprising message.

"What about the Fool's home?"

"Nothing unusual. Moreover, we specifically checked on that 'grandfather' of Wang Yuan that Wang Cheng had reported before.

Apart from traces of Wang Yuan, that dilapidated courtyard had no other signs of human qi or signs of life, and the 'Heyan Killing Ghost Seal' didn't react at all."

After pondering for a moment, Wang Yunhu, the muscular Clan Leader, waved his hand.

"You may leave."

As his most capable Tomb Guardian left, the Clan Leader, with a rather unsightly expression, took out a flower pot covered with a black cloth from the cabinet and placed it on the table in front of him.

He removed the black cloth, revealing a purple-black Ganoderma that resembled a little old man.

Wang Yunhu caught a rooster, wrung its neck, and dripped the blood on top of the Ganoderma. It immediately started throbbing like a heart, and soon opened three slits that resembled eyes and a mouth.

"Master Ge, there seems to have been an accident last night with the Medicine Bait...

No one dares to get close to the Owl God Tomb, and no one knows what happened.

A loss of manpower is minor, but if we can't confirm whether the Owl God Tomb swallowed the Medicine Bait or not, it could directly affect the success of our plan."

He briefy explained the events that had occurred here to the Ganoderma.

Master Ge cultivated one of the orthodox inheritances of the "Peach God Tao," the "Human-Shaped Ganoderma Immortal Return Method," and the part left here was a split entity meant for message liaison.

After listening to Wang Yunhu, the bloody Ganoderma wriggled and issued a thin voice:

"I already know, the Wild Dog Taoist's Lifebound Peach withered last night as well. I will send another disciple to take charge.

To fish those two items out of the Owl God Tomb's mouth, a bait of sufficient weight must be fed to it.

The Fool is indeed rare, but he is not indispensable. Whether he was eaten by the Owl God Tomb last night or not, we just need to make up for it.

Continue to send people up the mountain to search; I will quickly find another target, striving to catch another 'Medicine Bait' that has a significant relationship with the Yili King's life chart to send over."

"Where will you find someone?"

The sinister and eerie Human-Shaped Ganoderma let out a grim, chuckling laugh:

"Hehe, the Luoyang Royal Mansion!"

Even the fearless Wang Yunhu turned pale at that sentence, and after a moment of flickering hesitation, his expression turned to one of grim determination:

"Longevity..."