125 Cutting Off the Line of Succession

"The Five-Element Pagoda Array is our best bet to force the Corpse-Demon Fiend out of our senior brother's body. The catch is that we must return to the Xuanxu Temple to set it up."

Zhou You recalled his master's dying words, which had now proven prophetic. What was once an inescapable fate had now gained a new variable.

"What? How could you not have such a vital item with you, Daoist Zhou? How long would it take to reach the Xuanxu Temple?" Li Xintian asked, dismayed. If Zhou You had to leave at such a critical moment, how many people would die in the interim?

"Alas, I have my reasons. The Five-Element Pagoda Array requires ten years of absorbing the essence of the sun and moon before it can be deployed. That is why I did not carry it with me. Ten years ago, my master discovered a lethal poison within my senior brother—a toxin that fosters evil. Had my senior brother remained virtuous, the poison would have remained dormant. But now, we must force this poison out alongside the Corpse-Demon Fiend." Zhou You genuinely wanted to help Zhao Longjie, but since Zhao had become the sect leader, he had grown arrogant and refused all counsel. "I need one day to perform the ritual at the Xuanxu Temple, and then I will be able to retrieve the array."

"Then let us divide our tasks. We must gather the people of Chen Family Village immediately. The Fiend will need to familiarize itself with its new host, which means it will need to feed on human blood," Li Xintian said, deducing the creature's next move.

"Master Li, can't we surround the village with righteous energy to keep the Fiend out?" Hei Yue asked innocently.

"It won't work. The Fiend is already inside your master's body, so those defenses are useless. We must act quickly—back to the righteous hall!" Li Xintian shook his head; he had already learned the limitations of righteous energy during their encounter with the Painted Skin.

They rushed back to the hall, arriving just as dawn broke. "Everyone, go to Chen Family Village at once and gather the people! A catastrophe is unfolding there. No, wait—it’s too dangerous for you. I will go myself. You all stay here and do not open the doors for anyone." Li Xintian realized that since the Fiend could now operate in daylight, sending his own people would be a suicide mission.

"Zouwu, Red Tiger, stay here and guard them." Li Xintian summoned the legendary beasts. Zhou You was shocked to see the Zouwu, the beast of benevolence, appearing before him. Bian Yiyuan and Bian Yihe hid behind Zhou You in terror, while Hei Yue trembled, struggling to remain calm.

"To think you have the help of the Zouwu, Young Master Li. I shall give my all to retrieve the array as quickly as possible. I only ask that you do not kill my senior brother," Zhou You pleaded, knowing Li Xintian possessed the strength to end Zhao Longjie’s life.

"Rest assured, Daoist Zhou," Li Xintian replied.

"Xintian, be careful. Do not get hurt, or we old folks will have no face to return to Shuiwen County," Huo Wanping added, finally grasping the gravity of the situation.

***

In Chen Family Village, the livestock were already dead—withered, bloodless husks with hollowed-out eyes.

"The stench!" A villager kicked a dead chicken and pinched his nose. "Where did this come from? It’s dried up and bloodless."

"Throw it away! It might be a plague," another villager warned. As the first villager tossed the carcass into the river, he stopped in horror. The water was clogged with dead fish and human corpses, all reduced to skin and bone.

"It’s a disaster! My sheep were attacked overnight—they're all empty husks!" another villager cried out.

When the villagers rushed to the village chief, they found him just waking up. Upon hearing the news, his sleepiness vanished. "To the ancestral hall!" he shouted.

They arrived to find the hall in ruins, the spirit tablets toppled, and pools of fresh blood on the floor. "It’s over! Chen Family Village is finished! Flee for your lives!" the chief wailed.

"Why, Chief?" some asked, confused.

"The demon is loose! It will wipe us all out!"

"I’m surprised you’ve all gathered here," a voice interrupted. Zhao Longjie, possessed by the Corpse-Demon Fiend and clad in general’s armor, blocked the exit. With a wave of his hand, he drained the blood from five villagers, condensing it into a flaming crimson pill that he swallowed. The victims collapsed into heaps of clothes and bone.

Panic erupted as the villagers fled, but the Fiend laughed, turning anyone who reached the door into a puddle of blood to be absorbed. Soon, the hall was silent. The Fiend’s face began to shift, and two kirin horns sprouted from his forehead.

Li Xintian arrived in the village to find an eerie silence. Following the screams, he found the Fiend just as it finished consuming another victim.

"You're late," the Fiend sneered. "This is my domain now."

"We'll see about that," Li Xintian retorted, releasing a surge of righteous energy that dispelled the demonic miasma. He lunged, kicking the Fiend in the chest. The creature crashed through a house but emerged unfazed, roaring and drawing two swords. It unleashed a cross-shaped wave of black energy. Li Xintian countered by writing the character for "Righteousness" in the air, creating a massive explosion that leveled the surrounding buildings.

The two traded blows, their movements so fast they left deep footprints in the earth. The Fiend realized the righteous energy wouldn't harm its armor, but Li Xintian shifted tactics, channeling his power directly into the Fiend’s palm-strike.

As Li Xintian slammed his palm into the Fiend's chin, a brilliant blue light erupted from Zhao Longjie’s crown. The Fiend shrieked in agony as the righteous energy invaded its host. Li Xintian followed up with a heavy blow to the face, driving the creature into the ground.

"You have some tricks, I’ll give you that," the Fiend spat, the host’s skin flickering between yellow and black. "Once I’ve fully mastered this body, I’ll be back to settle this."

With that, the Corpse-Demon Fiend dissolved into black smoke and vanished.