Chapter 104

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Arrows tore through the curtain of rain, embedding themselves not far from those cultivators.

On the city walls, squads of soldiers unsheathed their weapons, the sharp ‘clank clank’ of steel echoing as they descended into the inner city. When the city gates swung open, the gathered troops beheld a sea of disaster victims pressing forward. They huddled around a charred and motionless scholar on the ground, forming a human wall to block the entrance. Their teeth chattered from cold and fear, yet they stubbornly refused to take a single step back.

“No one is allowed to approach the sir!”

Across from them, five cultivators clutched short crimson staffs. Advancing was not an option, nor was retreating. They stood frozen in a tense stalemate.

“You… you all…”

Zhu Ziyi covered his face, blood seeping through his fingers and staining the back of his hand. He stumbled forward in disarray, his heart a tangle of emotions as he gazed at these fearful yet unwavering disaster victims.

“Welcome the sir—”

The city gates creaked open. A portly prefect, leading his soldiers, charged outward. Amid the shouting, far to the southwest of the city, amidst the torrential rain, Monk Fajing broke free from a circle of flames and sprinted toward them with all his might.

“Fellow Daoist Lu!!!”

His fleshy face quivered, his narrow eyes widened in fury—like a wrathful Vajra incarnate.

Zhu Ziyi clenched his teeth and cast a quick glance toward the scene. Thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning as he made his decision. After a brief but weighty hesitation, he forced out a single sentence.

“We leave.”

With a flick of his dharma sword, he signaled his subordinates to withdraw. The cultivators under his command activated their qinggong techniques and swiftly vanished into the night. Those who followed behind sighed unwillingly, but still departed in haste.

Before long—

Beyond the crowd of disaster victims, squads of soldiers pressed forward, parting the sea of people. At the front, the portly prefect cupped his hands in greeting.

“Fellow countrymen, the heavens have sent rain. The great drought has passed, and food supplies will soon arrive. Do not assault the city any further.”

Beside him, city officers rested their hands on their weapons, their eyes scanning their surroundings with caution.

From among the disaster victims, an elderly man leaned on a wooden staff and slowly stepped forward. He cupped his hands and spoke in a low voice to the prefect:

“Daren, whether there is grain in the city or not, let us put that aside for now. First, please take the sir back into the city and call for a physician to tend to him.”

Upon hearing these words, many in the crowd nodded. Some, overcome with emotion, even began to sob.

“Yes, quickly take the sir into the city!” “That’s right, enough with the empty words!”

“The sir was struck by heavenly lightning—he is a good man… Daren, please, take him into the city and find the best physician available!”

The portly prefect wiped the rainwater from his face, pursed his thick lips, and bowed deeply to the surrounding disaster victims.

“The people of Liangzhou are truly those who know gratitude.”

With that, he signaled for the soldiers to carry the figure on the ground. However, before they could act, Sun Yingxian rushed forward, refusing to let them touch him. His fingers moved swiftly, tapping several acupoints on the scorched body. Then, without hesitation, he hoisted Lu Liangsheng onto his back and sprinted toward the city gates.

“Quick! Clear the way ahead!”

Seeing this, the portly prefect hastily signaled his soldiers to move aside. He held up a paper umbrella to shield the scholar and the Daoist, panting heavily as he followed behind.

Nie Honglian tugged the old donkey along, picking up the dazed, barely conscious Master Toad from the ground, and hurried into the city with the others.

The rain fell in torrents, linking heaven and earth.

Standing in the downpour, the stout monk closed his eyes, pressed his palms together, and gazed toward the retreating procession. From afar, he bowed in solemn Buddhist reverence.

There was still much for him to do in this northwest land.

The rainwater on the streets splashed in waves as Sun Yingxian sprinted through the city, led by mounted soldiers. They rushed straight to the yamen, through the inner courtyard, where he hurriedly placed the scholar onto the bed. The portly prefect arrived moments later, gasping for breath, only to be promptly shoved out.

“The physician cannot save him, don’t come in here and cause trouble!”

“Yes, yes!”

Seeing the door shut, the prefect ran to the window, stood on his toes, and called out anxiously,

“Daoist Master, you must save the sir!”

Inside the room, warm candlelight flickered. Lu Liangsheng lay motionless on the bed, his eyes tightly shut. His clothes were charred black, crumbling into ashes at the slightest touch.

Honglian sat by the bedside, covering her mouth as she wept softly.

The scholar’s exposed skin was entirely scorched, his right hand’s fingers fused together. Most of his body was burnt to a charcoal-like state, leaving only the faintest breath lingering in his chest. Sun Yingsian used Daoist techniques to light a Seven-Star Life-Continuing Lamp, linking its flickering flame to the scholar’s dwindling vitality.

“He can be saved. He must be saved…”

But his own cultivation was too shallow. Such grievous wounds were beyond his ability to heal. Desperately, he flipped through a Daoist text under the candlelight, glancing repeatedly at the trembling lamp flame.

“Please, don’t go out…!”

His hands froze. Turning toward the table, where the Toad Daoist lay sprawled, he suddenly shouted: “Old Toad! Aren’t you supposed to be powerful?! Think of something! Your disciple is dying.”

The Toad Daoist slowly opened his eyelids.

“I have… been thinking all along.”

Heavenly lightning was a great tribulation, and for a demon cultivator, it was even more fatal. Though the thunderbolt had not directly targeted him, the residual force still affected him. Even now, his recently recovered demonic energy remained in turmoil.

After a moment of silence, the Toad Daoist slowly got up from the table and had the female ghost carry him to the bedside. Gazing at his disciple’s charred, blackened face and tightly shut eyes, he let out a long sigh.

“If I had known you had such a nature, I never should have filled your head with all that nonsense about humanity and conscience.”

“What does that matter now?! Stop wasting time!” The Daoist, near frantic, nearly reached out to grab him.

The Toad Daoist waved his webbed hand dismissively. “I know. You don’t need to rush me.”

Then, staring at the flickering lamp flame, he suddenly opened his wide toad mouth and extended his webbed hand into it. Both Nie Honglian and the Daoist recoiled in alarm.

“Old Toad, what are you doing?!”

“Master Toad, you—”

The next moment, a gurgling sound emerged from the Toad Daoist’s stomach. Slowly, he withdrew his arm, nearly swallowed whole, and in his webbed palm lay a radiant, red pearl shrouded in wisps of mist.

The Daoist immediately recognized it.

“Old Toad, where did you get a demon core?”

The Toad Daoist clutched the demon core as he crawled onto Lu Liangsheng’s abdomen. His cold, unfeeling toad eyes shifted toward the Daoist, revealing a chilling gaze—one that seemed to belong to his true nature.

“From one of the two fox demons that intruded into the Zhou Residence.”

His eyes returned to his nearly lifeless disciple, and slowly, he raised his webbed hand, lifting the demon core into the air.

“Struck by tribulation lightning, if treated by conventional methods, there is no saving him. But with this demon core, he may still cling to life for three or five years—though his cultivation will likely be crippled.”

His voice was low and heavy. As he spoke, the demon core gently descended onto Lu Liangsheng’s abdomen. The Toad Daoist rubbed his webbed hands over it, and in an instant, the radiant pearl dissolved into swirling wisps of vapor, merging into the scholar’s body.

The seven-star life-extending lamp at the bedside, once flickering uncertainly, now burned steadily, casting a warm glow.

“It’s done. His life is saved…”

The Toad Daoist looked as if he had been dunked into a vat of water, his entire body drenched in sweat. Staggering down from the bed, he weakly crawled to the pillow’s side and collapsed, shutting his eyes.

“…I only hope this foolish disciple can accept the fact that he is now half-demon.”

The Daoist glanced between Lu Liangsheng and the Toad Daoist, then hesitantly asked in a low voice:

“Is there anything else bad?”

“Yes. This may affect his original personality.”

After saying this, the Toad Daoist said no more. He simply lay there, slipping into a deep sleep.

The dim glow from the window lattice bathed the room in an oppressive atmosphere. Sun Yingxian leaned against the bedframe, sitting on the floor, while Nie Honglian remained by the bedside, unwavering in her vigil over the scholar. She softly hummed a tune, hoping to ease his pain.

Then—

The Toad Daoist, who had just fallen asleep, suddenly sprang up with a start.

“I nearly forgot something!!”

His abrupt exclamation made the half-asleep Daoist jolt so violently that he slammed his head against the bedframe with a loud thud. Meanwhile, the Toad Daoist smacked his own forehead in realization.

“This foolish disciple of mine, does this count as surviving a heavenly tribulation?!”

Sun Yingsian stood frozen, mouth slightly agape, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he struggled to form words.

Foundation Establishment overcoming a tribulation… Who the hell would believe this if they heard it?!