Chapter 162: The Wondrous Uses of Eggs

I chased all the way out into the deep night.

There was no movement to either side, nor any trace of the woman in red.

Immediately afterward, I went to check the room in the adjacent courtyard and found that the yellow paper talismans on the door and windows had all been completely ruined, burned to a charred black.

This meant the talismans had been destroyed directly through arcane techniques. It seemed the female Taoist heretic possessed no small amount of skill.

Just as I came out of that courtyard, Madam Liu and Chen Litao’s father hurried over.

Madam Liu came up and asked how the situation was.

Feeling rather helpless, I had no choice but to tell her that the female Taoist heretic had escaped.

Returning to Chen Ligen’s courtyard, Madam Liu went over to check on Chen Ligen’s wife. She asked if the center of her brows had been sealed. I nodded, stepped forward, and directly unsealed the soul meridian at the center of her brows. Fortunately, her condition was not severe.

Before I even had a chance to mention the corpse rising from the dead, I realized that Chen Litao did not seem to be in this courtyard.

Realizing this, I immediately searched the house thoroughly, but could not find him either. Madam Wang asked me who I was looking for, so I asked, "Where is Chen Litao? Have any of you seen him?"

At my words, Chen Litao’s father also began searching everywhere. After scouring the entire house, there was still no sign of Chen Litao.

Madam Liu came over and said, "When I arrived just now, I don't think I saw him at all!"

Things had been somewhat chaotic earlier, so no one had paid attention to Chen Litao's whereabouts.

Thinking carefully about this, a bad premonition arose in my heart.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, a miserable scream suddenly echoed from the neighboring courtyard.

"What happened?"

Chen Litao's father asked, his face changing color.

"Litao! That's Litao's voice!" Chen Ligen's wife cried out.

Under these circumstances, I could no longer afford to hold back or take a detour. Channeling strength into my feet and surging with vital energy across my entire body, I leaped into the air and vaulted directly into the adjacent courtyard.

The moment I landed on the ground, a corpse rolled down from the roof and landed heavily right in front of me with a dull thud. Without a doubt, this was the corpse of Chen Litao.

I looked up and saw a woman in red standing on the rooftop. She cast a bizarre, seductive smile at me, turned around, and vanished into the pitch-black night.

Seeing this, I leaped into the air, jumped onto the tiled roof, and gave chase all the way.

However, the woman in red had already disappeared without a trace.

By this time, the others had all run into the courtyard. When Chen Litao's father saw his son lying on the ground, his expression changed drastically, and he rushed forward, crying out for his son.

However, Chen Litao was already dead.

The moment he fell from the roof, his vital essence had completely been sucked dry. When I arrived in the courtyard, the woman in red had tossed the corpse directly in front of me—this was a blatant, naked provocation!

I couldn't help but clench my fists. I never expected this female Taoist heretic to be so arrogant.

"Tao'er, Tao'er, wake up..."

Both Chen Litao’s father and mother rushed over, hugging Chen Litao and crying out desperately until their voices grew hoarse. Yet how could Chen Litao possibly make any sound?

I sat on the rooftop, watching everything unfold below, feeling a heavy ache in my heart.

I had thought that by keeping an eye on Chen Litao, nothing could possibly go wrong. I never imagined he would still be murdered by that female Taoist heretic.

To lose the lives of two children within a single day—this blow was more terrifying to the two elderly couples than the sky collapsing. Truly, neither Madam Liu nor I knew how to comfort them.

After much persuasion, we finally managed to support them back to the other courtyard.

Yet both elderly couples stared blankly with lifeless eyes, as if their souls had been stripped away. After a moment, Chen Litao’s father seemed to remember something; he came over and knelt before Madam Liu and me, begging us to save his son. Madam Liu looked at me, and having no other choice, I could only tell the old couple that we would do our utmost.

In truth, once a person was dead and their vital essence sucked dry, I had no idea how to "do my utmost." Although I understood Taoist arts, I possessed no method to bring the dead back to life.

At that moment, Daoist Priest Li also arrived.

His expression was far from relaxed.

Seeing this, I knew immediately that things hadn't gone smoothly on his end either. I asked him how his situation was. He sighed and said, "Wu Xiaochao was also murdered."

"How about your side?" Daoist Priest Li asked.

I glanced toward the courtyard and said, "Don't even mention it. Chen Litao was murdered as well, and that female Taoist heretic even tossed his corpse right in front of me! Senior Li, what on earth is the background of this female Taoist heretic?"

Daoist Priest Li replied, "This is a secret technique from the ancient Kunlun sect. It stands at the very head of the Ten Great Forbidden Arts of the Taoist gates, and is also the ultimate forbidden art of the Immortal Dao. However, it is said that more than a thousand years ago, the Immortal Dao destroyed this technique at the Nine Heavens Cliff on Mount Kunlun. I do not know why it has seen the light of day once again. The more people this technique harms, the stronger the practitioners become. It is exponentially more terrifying than the methods used by ghosts and demons to devour vital essence."

At the mention of Kunlun, I suddenly recalled something the traveling peddler had mentioned earlier—that the Kunlun Immortal Dao had reemerged, and thousands of cultivators had gone to become disciples of Kunlun to seek Taoist arts. Little did I expect that before even catching a glimpse of immortal magic, I would first witness the forbidden immortal art of Mount Kunlun's Nine Heavens Cliff right here.

While I was pondering this, Daoist Priest Li seemed to be deep in thought as well. I asked him if there was any way to deal with this evil art.

He did not answer immediately.

After pondering for another half minute, he said, "There is a way!"

Daoist Priest Li's mind was truly sharp. Hearing him say this, I immediately asked, "What way?"

Daoist Priest Li also seemed somewhat angered; it was clear that I wasn't the only one who had been provoked. He said, "Once those female Taoist heretics taste success, they will undoubtedly become greedy. Otherwise, they wouldn't linger in Fengxi Village while carrying out their affairs. Since they love devouring vital essence so much, we will simply provide them with an abundance of it and let them gorge themselves all at once!"

Although I didn't fully understand what Daoist Priest Li meant, I knew his words must have deep significance.

His expression was extremely serious. It seemed Senior Li was finally going to play for keeps this time.

Having said that, Daoist Priest Li seemed to recall something else. He said to Madam Liu, "Please help inform the families of the deceased that none of the victims should be buried just yet. As long as it hasn't been three days, if we break the heretic technique and return the vital essence to their bodies, those who were killed by the female Taoist heretic can actually be brought back to life."

"Really?" Hearing Daoist Priest Li say this, Madam Liu couldn't help but be stirred with excitement. I too felt a sense of relief for the grieving families; the scene earlier of white-haired parents burying black-haired children had been utterly heartbreaking.

"Of course it's true. However, we must find a way to retain their souls." Daoist Priest Li added.

Madam Wang immediately chimed in, "That’s not a problem! My hemp-soled white paper shoes can keep a person's soul in their body for seven days. It should work without issue!"

So her shoes had such a purpose after all.

I asked her why she prepared longevity shoes designed to retain souls. Madam Liu explained that this was a rule passed down from her ancestors. After a person dies, there is a seven-day period of return for the living soul. Perhaps their lifespan is not yet exhausted and the underworld has not yet claimed them; wearing these longevity shoes, the soul can find its way back home. Some who walk back on their own might even come back to life.

Following that, Madam Liu immediately went to inform the Chen and Wu families.

Upon learning there was hope, the two families even began kowtowing repeatedly to Madam Liu. Madam Liu insisted that this was not her skill and that if they wanted to thank anyone, they should thank me and Daoist Priest Li.

Chen Ligen's parents came over to kowtow to the two of us, and Daoist Priest Li and I quickly helped them up, telling them not to worry and that we would definitely find a way to save their sons.

Madam Liu returned home and brought out two more pairs of hemp-soled white paper shoes, having Chen Litao and Wu Xiaochao—who had just lost their lives—wear them to prevent their souls from wandering aimlessly.

Once this was done, Daoist Priest Li asked Madam Liu how many young, robust men there were in the village in total.

Madam Liu calculated roughly and said there were around a hundred and some odd men, though she hadn't counted carefully. Daoist Priest Li told her to calculate properly, as this concerned their very lives.

As a spirit-medium in the village, Madam Liu had burned incense for practically every household, making her extremely familiar with the villagers. Without needing to visit each home individually, after a moment of thought, she directly listed the names of every single one of them.

Counting them up, there were one hundred and forty-seven.

"Can we gather one hundred and forty-seven native chicken eggs?" Daoist Priest Li asked next.

This question sounded somewhat out of left field. Presumably, Daoist Priest Li was cooking up some unorthodox method once again. He was a man who knew an immense variety of Taoist arts, both orthodox and unorthodox, endlessly emerging one after another.

Once again, he was about to broaden our horizons.

Madam Liu was somewhat surprised to hear this, but she said, "That’s simple. We don't even need to gather them; I have them right at home. Since I often burn incense for the villagers, people bring me eggs every few days. They're genuine native eggs laid by chickens raised right here in the village, and I can't even finish eating them all by myself."

Afterward, we accompanied Madam Liu to her home, and she pulled a large basket directly out from her room.

"In witchcraft, eggs are considered spiritual mediums, and these native eggs are the source of life. Tonight, I estimate those two women will harm people again in the latter half of the night. These eggs can protect the villagers and keep them safe through the night. The method I need to use tomorrow is somewhat troublesome and will require the villagers to work together," Daoist Priest Li explained.

"Can eggs even save lives?" Madam Liu asked in astonishment, and I remained equally baffled.