Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 40 - 38: The Disappearing Taoist

Chapter 40: Chapter 38: The Disappearing Taoist

"The ’Dragon Qi Prohibition’ is precisely the fundamental reliance that prevented Red County Shenzhou from falling into the realm of Demon Country and Deceitful Realm."

And Luoyang City, which is just a stone’s throw from Beimang Mountain, has served as the capital throughout thirteen dynasties since the beginning of Daxia, and it is also the original source of the dragon vein of Red County Shenzhou.

Although the dragon vein has shifted east over the millennia, and Luoyang City has been destroyed in wars several times, and with the chaos of Great Yan becoming apparent, the dynasty’s dragon vein has continued to weaken.

But the power of the ’Dragon Qi Prohibition’ here should not be underestimated."

"The higher the cultivation of a magician, the greater the suppression they face.

It’s manageable before Enlightenment, but if a ’Red Seal Mage’ were to come here, the ’Divine Power Talisman’ within their body and their Taoist Skill would be worn down day and night by the ’Dragon Qi Prohibition’.

If one stays here for too long, they might even be directly stripped of their magician’s rank."

Wang Yuan gradually understood.

It was clear that in this Divine Deceit World, the reason humans still ruled was exactly because the ’Dragon Qi Prohibition’ had established a haven for the living.

Although incidents involving ghosts and weird phenomena were endless, the overall situation remained stable.

It wasn’t like some stories where thousands die daily in each city of the Divine Deceit World, continuing for thousands of years without an end to the deaths.

However, this protective barrier for the citizens would fluctuate in sync with the rise and fall of the nation’s fortunes.

Once chaos reigned, the radiation strength and range of the ’Dragon Qi Prohibition’ would weaken and shrink, and schemers like Master Ge, who harbored inscrutable intentions, would then emerge to stir up trouble.

Plotting against the Owl God Tomb might just be a trivial prelude to a significant upheaval.

"Therefore, Brother Cui need not worry about high-level magic practitioners seeking revenge in the Prince Mansion.

And there must be gaps in the defense of ordinary ’Daoist Soldiers,’ which would be enough to give a master thief like you a chance to exploit, and I could personally take action to lure the snake out of its hole.

My teacher should come here to oversee things before he truly takes action on the fifteenth of July.

Once the old man arrives, no matter if the Luoyang Royal Mansion has dozens of ’Daoist Soldiers,’ if they keep their formation, they can protect themselves, but once they disperse, they’re just sitting ducks."

Lady Peach Fairy once again firmed up Wang Yuan’s confidence and then, with a hint of complaint, said:

"Our Purple Ganoderma Temple is just a small branch of the great ’Peach God Tao’ sect.

Among the several brothers and sisters who also cultivated the ’Ganoderma Immortal Technique’ like my teacher, there is a senior brother whose cultivation is far superior to that of Lady Immortal.

If he were here, perhaps there wouldn’t be such worries like mine, right?

Unfortunately, my fate was not aligned with that Taoist Skill, and I could only practice the auxiliary ’Human-Faced Peach Immortal Skill,’ working hard to earn the pleasure of my mentor.

Please, Brother Cui, make sure to lend your full support."

Wang Yuan’s gaze was profound, as there seemed to be a story within.

Since ’Dragon Qi Prohibition’ would diminish Taoist Skill, how would Lady Peach Fairy, a ’Red Seal Mage,’ be assigned to set up the advance party here?

Others might think that it’s only right for disciples to toil and that losing a bit of Taoist Skill isn’t a big deal.

But why didn’t the other brothers and sisters who had yet to achieve Enlightenment come instead?

Wang Yuan always felt that it was no coincidence that ’White Tiger Elite Soldiers’ and ’Tiger Spirit’ could boost each other’s power by consuming one another.

Lady Peach Fairy, unaware of Wang Yuan’s thoughts, perked up after feeling a bit disheartened and continued:

"Since there’s no need to worry about high-level magicians, and the targets are not the prince or princely heir of the Prince Mansion, Brother Cui should be confident in taking action, right?

I have a strategy here, and I ask for Brother Cui to hear it out..."

With his reservations dismissed, Wang Yuan finally grew enthusiastic about the plan that would not only provide him with a scapegoat but also deal a heavy blow to the Owl God Tomb.

He began to devise strategies to assist Lady Peach Fairy.

Still, he maintained the appearance of someone who had been coerced by the Owl God Tomb, appearing very reluctant:

"The plan is good, but I think the hardest part isn’t about how to take away a certain young prince from the Luoyang Wang Family.

Instead, it’s about taking him away while making the whole incident look like a complete accident! Perhaps, like this..."

...

Junzhou, Pingkang Prefecture, Qingyuan Mountain.

At the top of the mountain stands a small Taoist temple that’s not very old – Purple Ganoderma Temple.

The history of this temple is less than twenty years, so it’s not very well-known or reputable, and thus incense offerings have always been sparse. There are only about five or six Taoists living inside.

In the last few days, two more had descended the mountain, which made the temple even more deserted.

In a not-so-large quiet room, a pale-faced teenager in disheveled Taoist robes was sprawled across a table, taking notes.

The papers, scattered with ink stains, clearly indicated that this was not his first day recording.

Finding the page with the earliest date, it read:

"My Taoist name is Cai Xianheng, secular name Cai Heng.

I started practicing the ’Undying Martial Art’ of the ’Peach God Tao’ from the age of eight, a strange-sounding technique, but supposedly derived from the Undying Elixir in the hands of the West Queen Holy Mother.

I don’t know if practicing this martial art will grant immortality, probably not.

After laying the foundation of my body, I began to focus on cultivating the ’Ganoderma Return to Immortality Technique’ taught by my master since the age of twelve, and by fourteen, I had made some progress.

Master said I have good aptitude. If I keep practicing step by step, I should be able to officially receive the talisman and enter Enlightenment before or around the age of twenty, which is faster than my senior brother and second senior sister."

"Oh yes, there are not many people in Purple Ganoderma Temple.

Our Temple Master Ge, Ge Daoxuan, our eldest senior brother Mu Xianliu, our second senior sister Lady Peach Fairy, our fourth junior brother Song Xiantong, and our fifth junior brother Zhu Xianming.

Among these senior and junior brothers, my favorite is our second senior sister.

In my eyes, she is the most beautiful woman in the world.

I often think that if, when I grow up, I could marry a wife like senior sister, I doubt even immortals would make a trade.

I guess, my junior brother of the same age, and our eldest senior brother who has long been a Red Seal Mage, might share the same thought, right?

But to successfully win over senior sister is so difficult!"

"There’s also a Wild Dog Senior Brother in our temple, said to be the disciple of our uncle. After our uncle ascended to immortality, he came to our place and has been freeloading for several years.

He often frequents the brothels in the county town.

I don’t like him at all. Especially how he looks at senior sister."

Flipping through a few more pages about trivial matters like eating, drinking, and the trees planted in front of the gate.

"I used to frequently ask master, after the ’Dao’ generation in our Purple Ganoderma Temple is the ’Xian’ generation, then what follows the ’Xian’? When I take my own disciples in the future, what Taoist names should I give them? I certainly don’t want to give my disciples a sloppy Taoist name like Wild Dog Senior Brother’s.

But master always just smiled without saying a word.

For some reason, that smile felt somewhat cold to me, and later I didn’t dare to ask anymore."

Several pages are turned until we reach the page that Little Taoist Cai Heng was writing on.

"Ever since that ugly Wild Dog Senior Brother, and the most beautiful second senior sister in the whole world, descended the mountain one after the other, master began to seclude himself.

At first, everything was normal.

But seven days ago, our fifth junior brother Zhu Xianming suddenly disappeared. Our eldest senior brother, our fourth junior brother, and I searched for him for a long time but couldn’t find him.

Then three days ago, our fourth junior brother Song Xiantong also disappeared.

Right when I had mustered the courage to interrupt master’s seclusion to tell him this news, master unexpectedly pushed open the door to my room."

As Little Taoist Cai Heng wrote this, he was completely oblivious to how his handwriting had become more and more sloppy.

It was as if the dried up weeds, tangled trees, fungal filaments, and moss in the forest.

"They’ve ascended to immortality!!!

Master told me that the two junior brothers have been led to the Immortal Realm of the West Queen Holy Mother to enjoy blessings.

I did find it strange, why the junior brother with the shallowest Taoist ability ascended first, instead of master or our eldest senior brother?

But master’s words are always right."

"Then, he instructed me to continuously analyze my Taoist heart by keeping a journal, to reflect at all times to avoid inadvertently violating the Precept Taboos.

As long as I persevere, I will soon be able to go to the Immortal Realm of the West Queen Holy Mother.

These past few days, I’ve felt heavy-hearted and uneasy, but now that I’ve poured out these thoughts, I feel much better.

Master’s words truly are always right."

By this point, the words on the paper had become completely garbled ghost talismans, causing dizziness at a glance.

"That’s right, after master told me to keep the journal, where did he go?

Why didn’t I think about him leaving my room?

Forget it, it’s probably not something important.

I should sleep early. For some reason, I’ve been feeling particularly tired these days, almost like those fleshy ganoderma, wishing I could sleep for a hundred years."

At that moment, Cai Heng stretched out to scratch the itchy spot on his back.

Little did the Little Taoist realize, a large patch of purple-red filaments had grown on his body, spreading densely across half his back.

With one scratch, clumps of blood-red spores fell off.

The filaments twisted into the size of a human head, with a mouth and eyes, a fleshy ganoderma.

No, it wasn’t a fleshy ganoderma, but the head of an old Taoist with white and grey hair!

The old Taoist’s head was smilingly watching him intently recording notes.

Particularly when he revealed his secret feelings, writing about liking his own second senior sister, and an expression of ’I knew it all along’ spread across the old face.

The filaments extending from beneath the neck seemed to have found a crevice to parasitize, wriggling ever faster...

The next day.

Cre-eak—!

The door to the now empty meditation room opened once again.

Inside, Little Taoist Cai Heng was nowhere to be seen, only an old Taoist with white hair and beard stepped out briskly.

With a divine approval and spotless robes.

Anyone who saw him would from the bottom of their heart call out: Old Immortal!

This "Old Immortal" with billowing sleeves walked to the last room in the temple where voices could still be heard, went straight to the door, and entered.

"Master, have you ended your seclusion?"

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