Chapter 1 Iron Scissors and Mountain God Scroll

　　Wei Yuan rummaged through the museum for a long time, finally finding a wooden box of suitable size.

　　He took out a pair of jet-black iron scissors, wrapped them in red cloth, and carefully placed them in the wooden box. Then, he took out the warding talisman he had obtained from Zhou Yi, stuck it directly onto the wooden box to seal it, and finally dripped a drop of blood onto the yellow talisman, forcibly infusing it with spiritual energy to seal it. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

　　These iron scissors were an evil object used by the Bone Woman to harm people.

　　Throughout history, at least a hundred people had their chests and abdomens cut open by these scissors, their skin peeled off. By now, no one knew how many lives it had taken. The fierce aura and baleful energy on it were extremely strong. Unlike the red embroidered shoes, whose resentment had dissipated, this was something that would actively harm people.

　　Wei Yuan didn't know how to destroy this thing for the time being. He also felt it would be a bit unreliable to hand it over to Zhou Yi and that young man. After thinking it over, he decided to bring it back, relying on his blood's suppression of evil objects and the fact that the Bone Woman had died by her own hand, to suppress the iron scissors in the wooden box.

　　After thinking about it, he stuck the warding talismans on the doors, windows, and walls, placing one on each side of the room.

　　Only then did he take out the Crouching Tiger waist tag and press it against the white paper.

　　Accompanied by a low hum, the Mountain God scroll reappeared on the white paper.

　　The majestic lord god, the subordinate officials behind him, and the two lantern-bearing maids in front were all lifelike.

　　But this time, a change occurred.

　　Visible to the naked eye, the lantern-bearing maid on the left side of the scroll suddenly showed a texture like white paper being burned by flames, lighting up with a faint gold, which then suddenly dimmed, losing its original color. It looked as if this vivid and realistic Mountain God picture suddenly had a blank space, extremely uncoordinated.

　　Below the dimmed maid, a line of official script emerged.

　　Tian, the woman of the Tian family, a painted skin monster, has been executed.

　　A stroke of blood-red color crossed out the line of official script, indicating the monster's fate.

　　This painted skin was much stronger than the painted skin slave he had faced before, and the little ghost who had spied on Wei Yuan. But Wei Yuan didn't get any merit. He looked at the scroll, and a guess emerged in his mind. Since they were Mountain God's maids, he probably had to kill several major demons on this scroll before they were settled together.

　　And it would be extremely generous.

　　"...Mountain God, subordinate officials, right-side maid."

　　Wei Yuan's fingers brushed over the scroll one by one.

　　He was a little curious. The record of the right-side maid was that she had been killed, but why did her portrait still exist on the scroll?

　　A doubt flashed through his mind. Wei Yuan drew his sword and slashed the scroll apart. The spirituality on it slowly dissipated.

　　Only after the aura on it had completely dissipated, and it wouldn't attract ghosts, did he tear off the talismans on the door and walk out.

　　Time to cook.

　　Chasing after the painted skin was extremely mentally exhausting.

　　And the fierce battle, although short, was extremely strenuous.

　　He was already very hungry.

　　While cutting the pork into chunks and blanching it, he looked at the sofa in front.

　　A bunch of ghosts were gathered in front, watching the computer.

　　Tap, tap, tap.

　　Among the ghosts, the pair of red embroidered shoes danced lightly on the keyboard, and then pulled up a video. Wei Yuan took a moment to look at it and saw a familiar face, the food streamer surnamed Zhang. This time, his online fans and viewers had undergone a tremendous change compared to before.

　　The table was still filled with all kinds of meat dishes.

　　He still didn't say a word, devouring the food ravenously.

　　Crushing the tendons of the meat, grinding the vegetables with his teeth, turning the bones into渣滓 (zhāzǐ, dregs), he picked up a bowl as big as a basin, and drank the food inside together with the soup. Then he put the basin down heavily and grabbed the greasy pig's trotter to continue gnawing on it.

　　A kind of emotion that didn't need language was transmitted through the computer screen.

　　Fragrant, so fragrant!

　　Hungry, so hungry!

　　The water ghost in front of the computer swallowed non-existent saliva.

　　Strange…

　　Wei Yuan stopped what he was doing and looked at the man in the screen.

　　The food streamer's body and limbs were still thin, still looking like the gentle man he had seen before, but his stomach was extremely bulging, his shirt stretched taut. His limbs were skinny, and his abdomen was swollen. He was obviously eating his fill but seemed perpetually unsatisfied, constantly eating.

　　So hungry, so hungry.

　　So hungry!!!

　　……………………

　　"That's what happened..."

　　Zhou Yi and Song Xinghuai, the young man from Longhu Mountain, stood respectfully, facing the screen, and recounted what had happened today. What in ancient times was the Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission technique, which only great cultivators could use, had become something simple to do with modern technology.

　　On the screen in front was an old man, and a middle-aged Daoist carrying a sword.

　　The Daoist frowned and said, "What are your thoughts?"

　　"Xinghuai, you speak."

　　Hearing his master call him, Song Xinghuai hesitated and replied:

　　"This disciple naturally doesn't believe what that demon ghost said, but that phrase 'thousands of years' and still alive, the fear within didn't seem feigned. Afterwards, that Curator Wei Yuan used the Xuanyuan Swordplay that has been lost from our Tianshi Mansion for a long time. This disciple saw it, and the moves were almost identical to the recorded diagrams. When he used the sword, there was also a Longhu resonance accompanying it, therefore..."

　　The Daoist frowned and shook his head, rebuking:

　　"Absurd!"

　　"This... Master?"

　　"How could there be anyone in the world who has lived for over a thousand years? Even the ancient Peng Zu wasn't as long-lived as him."

　　"As for him using blood to create talismans, it can only be said that he is deeply immersed in the path of talismans. And that Xuanyuan Swordplay, humph, our Tianshi Mansion still has the swordplay diagrams. Which disciple in the sect can't use one or two moves? How do you know that he was using the Xuanyuan Swordplay's method of circulating energy, and not just that his cultivation is quite deep, and any sword he picks up casually would have power?"

　　"Longhu resonance, there are also many techniques in our Tianshi Mansion that can achieve it. Moreover, with the vastness of Shenzhou, although our Tianshi Mansion has lost the Xuanyuan Swordplay, it is not known whether there are any un-destroyed copies hidden in some famous mountains and rivers."

　　"Just a swordplay technique, a random word from a demon, and you are already disrupting your Dao heart, truly thinking that someone's cultivation is so profound that they are over a thousand years old? If so, then that painted skin Bone Woman would be a small demon that he could easily destroy. Where would he need to use the Xuanyuan Swordplay?"

　　After repeated questioning, Song Xinghuai was speechless and could only cup his hands in salute.

　　The Daoist shook his head and said, "I sentence you to return to the mountain for three months of closed-door cultivation after this matter."

　　"This... Yes, this disciple obeys."

　　The old man beside him stroked his beard and said, "Master, since your disciple's matter is settled, let's talk about some serious business."

　　"Zhou Yi, when the Bone Woman begged for mercy, she said that there was also a Tiger Lord?"

　　Zhou Yi nodded and said, "That's right."

　　The old man frowned for a long time and said, "It seems that there is also a fierce tiger spirit that has entered the divine path on that mountain. No wonder it would give birth to painted skin slaves, which are similar to伥鬼 (chāngguǐ,伥鬼 are spirits of those killed by tigers, who then help the tiger find more victims). Fortunately, since it is in the remote wilderness, between mountains and rivers, modern fierce firearms can still be useful."

　　"However, we still need to survey the location to avoid the power being too dispersed. You will arrange this matter."

　　"Yes."

　　……………………

　　In the dim light of early morning, there was still some mist in the mountains.

　　A car struggled to move forward on the rugged mountain road, finally stopping with difficulty.

　　Xuan Yi, a disciple of the Weiming Sect, and three police officers got out of the car, looking at the mountain mist with solemn expressions. This was the closest mountain village to the newly emerged mountain range. Drones would lose contact as soon as they flew into that mountain. In order to survey the terrain, they had to come here in person.

　　The mountain mist didn't dissipate.

　　Xuan Yi and the others walked forward with flashlights, stopping after only a dozen steps.

　　In front of them, several men and women wearing clothes from the Ming Dynasty were standing silently in the mist, without saying a word.