Chapter 5: Battle of Arts

“This zombie has been secretly suppressed by my talisman and can no longer cause harm. I can use it to lure out the hidden evil cultivator.”

“I don’t know what demonic arts this kind of evil cultivator possesses. I must be fully focused to avoid being taken advantage of by this fellow…”

Just then, a shrill voice cried out, “Lingmen, you dare to ruin my plans and even plot against me! How can I not avenge this?”

A cloud of black smoke, carrying two long black nails, flew in from outside the Chen residence’s courtyard wall, heading straight for Lingmen.

Lingmen was already on guard. A small bell flew out from his sleeve, jingling twice. The two black nails slowed for a moment. The person hidden outside the courtyard wall hastily recalled the black nails, circulated their true qi, and then launched them again.

One inside the courtyard, one outside, the two began to battle with their arts.

Chen Qianliu had been a cultivator in his previous life, and his experience was far richer than Lingmen’s. He could see that the reason the zombie couldn’t get up was not just because of Lingmen’s suppressing talisman, but also because all the hard bones in its body had been shattered, which was why it was so limp.

He could also tell that someone was controlling the zombie, and that the hidden evil cultivator would inevitably make a move. Worried about being caught in the crossfire, he quickly took two steps back, intending to return to his room.

But now, seeing the two of them controlling their respective magical artifacts and fighting, his heart settled slightly. He thought, “So they’re not particularly powerful figures.”

Only upon reaching the third level of Qi Refinement, “Condensing Qi into the Apertures,” could one remotely control a magical treasure. At the second level, one couldn’t truly control a magical treasure; it was more like a martial artist using hidden weapons, “throwing” the treasure out. Although one could use the treasure’s own spiritual properties to manipulate it slightly, as soon as the true qi was exhausted, the treasure would fall to the ground. It had to be quickly retrieved after a single strike.

Both combatants were at the second level of Qi Refinement. Lingmen’s cultivation was about the same as Chen Qianliu’s in his previous life, only at the second level. However, he was younger, more talented, and the cultivation method he practiced was more advanced, giving him a much brighter future. The evil cultivator’s skill was comparable to Lingmen’s.

This kind of fighting was very inconvenient. Otherwise, Lingmen’s Shaking Silver Bell wouldn’t have been able to force the opponent to retract the Black Dog Nails.

The Shaking Silver Bell was adept at disrupting true qi. If the attacking evil cultivator had desperately thrown the Black Dog Nails, even if he could injure Lingmen, his true qi would have scattered, and he wouldn’t have been able to retrieve the two nails.

In his previous life, Chen Qianliu had cultivated arduously, but he died at the age of eighty-six without ever reaching the third level of Qi Refinement, stuck at the second level of “Boiling Liquid into Qi.” The thought of it still made him sigh.

He watched the fight for a moment, initially wanting to flee. But on second thought, a cold sweat broke out on his back. “This evil cultivator is so vicious. If Lingmen loses the fight, the Chen family will likely be annihilated. When the nest is overturned, how can any egg remain intact? I must lend Lingmen a hand. Helping him is helping myself.”

He secretly observed the direction the Black Dog Nails were coming from, searched the ground for a moment, and found a broken brick. Using his will as a brush and the air as paper, he secretly drew a Stillness character talisman. He took a few steps toward the courtyard wall. When the Black Dog Nails came flying over again, he threw the brick with all his might, hitting them squarely.

Lingmen’s eyes lit up. With a clear shout, his Shaking Silver Bell jingled several times in succession. A shrill voice cursed, “Who used a trick to ruin my spell?” The Black Dog Nails became slightly unstable, turned, and flew several dozen feet before they could no longer be sustained and fell to the ground outside the wall.

Chen Qianliu’s talisman didn’t actually have much power. It was drawn in a hurry, and even though he had grasped the art of the Heart Talisman, it was only the foundation of magical arts, not a true spell. It couldn’t compare to the evil cultivator’s artifact, which had been refined for many years. Hitting the Black Dog Nails could at most slightly disperse the true qi controlling the evil treasure, but it was enough for Lingmen to use his Shaking Silver Bell to knock it down.

Having knocked down the Black Dog Nails, Lingmen rushed forward a few steps, leaped up onto the courtyard wall, and shouted, “Let’s see how much ferocity you have left!”

The black-robed Daoist was terrified. He didn’t even bother to pick up his Black Dog Nails. He took out a small banner from his robes, and with a shake in the wind, black smoke billowed out, concealing his body.

Lingmen didn’t know what kind of magical treasure this small banner was or what its function was, so he didn’t dare to attack.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the black smoke dissipated, and the black-robed Daoist was nowhere to be seen.

Lingmen leaped down from the courtyard wall, picked up the two Black Dog Nails, and returned to the Chen residence.

Now, without its master’s control, the zombie was motionless. He glanced at the Black Dog Nails in his hand, and with a backhand motion, he drove them into the zombie’s forehead and heart. He ordered, “Add some tung oil to strengthen the fire.”

Although Chen Qianliu’s father felt the pinch, he still called for people to bring out two buckets of tung oil and pour them onto the fire. The flames immediately grew much larger.

Chen Qianliu put on his most well-behaved expression and stood obediently to the side. He had the experience of his previous life and knew that if he stepped forward to present his contribution now, he would likely be disliked. It was better to act like a mature young boy, which would be more pleasing to the immortal.

He still hadn’t given up hope and wanted to try his luck.

Daoist Lingmen’s skill was not deep, but he was, after all, a disciple of the Crane Mountain Sect, with a proper lineage.

Lingmen glanced at him and, indeed, felt a bit more affinity. He thought to himself, “This child is quite clever, and also bold but careful. If he hadn’t thrown that brick and hit the Black Dog Nails, my Shaking Silver Bell might not have been able to knock down that treasure.”

“This child also wants to become my disciple. He does have a heart for the Dao. Unfortunately, his aptitude is too poor, and he has no fate with cultivation. Later, I’ll give him a book of boxing techniques to strengthen his muscles and bones, promote longevity, and ward off illness, as a reward for throwing that brick.”

Lingmen was only at the second level of Qi Refinement. He neither saw the talisman hidden in Chen Qianliu’s brick nor did he detect the cultivation in his body. Therefore, he still had no intention of taking him as a disciple.

Chen Qianliu waited expectantly for a while, but he didn’t see Daoist Lingmen mention the matter of him throwing the brick. He sighed inwardly, “Why is it so difficult to find a master?” He turned and left the front courtyard, returning to his residence in low spirits.

He wasn’t worried about the evil cultivator returning. The opponent was only at the second level of Qi Refinement and had lost his powerful magical artifact. As long as he had a little more time to draw more talismans, he wouldn’t be afraid of such an evil cultivator.

In just over two hours, the zombie was burned to a pile of ashes.

The onlooking villagers were overjoyed, all saying that a great hidden danger had been removed and the village would be peaceful from now on.

The master of the Chen family let out a long sigh of relief. “This Daoist Lingmen truly has magical powers, not some charlatan out to cheat money.”

Daoist Lingmen waited until the fire died down, then used a fire-warding spell to retrieve the two Black Dog Nails. He said to the head of the Chen family, “This humble Daoist has eliminated the demon and must return to the mountain.”

The master of the Chen family was startled. He was worried that the black-robed evil cultivator would return and didn’t dare to let Lingmen go. He grabbed the Daoist’s robe and said, “That black-robed Daoist could refine one zombie, he can surely refine a second one. If he makes a comeback, the village will have no peace.”

“Daoist Master, your magical arts are profound. Why not eliminate the root of the trouble for our Chen Village?”

Lingmen pondered for a moment. He was just passing by and had other important matters to attend to; he couldn’t stay here for long.

Besides, the black-robed Daoist had lost his magical artifact, and refining a corpse was an extremely arduous task, often taking several years to complete one. Cultivators also strongly believed in feng shui. Having lost his advantage here, the chances of him returning were very slim. But for a moment, he didn’t know how to explain this to these ordinary people.

(End of Chapter)