Chapter 629: Answer

Chapter 629: The Answer

Hearing the Celestial Tribunal of Yinling City speak so politely to him, the abbot of Zhengde Temple was visibly taken aback, quickly clasping his hands in reverence.

"May the Buddha be with you, kind sir. I am deeply grateful, but this gift is far too generous."

"Nonsense, nonsense—it's just an empty plot no one wants," replied Zheng Boqiao, dressed as a Taoist, with unusual warmth toward the old monk before him.

Listening to the old Taoist and the old monk exchange repetitive pleasantries, Li Huowang finally realized that the Celestial Tribunal of Great Li seemed to be absorbing sects and schools from Great Qi.

It made sense—these people had come with the citizens of Great Qi, bringing strength that proved invaluable against the Cult of Law.

"Very well, very well, Master. We'll leave it at that. Since I'm new here, I've already reserved a vegetarian feast at the Rain Flower Pavilion in Yinling City. I hear the food is quite good. I hope you'll do us the honor of joining us."

"But... you're too kind, my dear friend. I've already eaten."

"Master, look—you’ve gone to all the trouble of preparing the meal. To waste it would be a sin against the Buddha himself."

Just as Fangxiandao was about to leave with Chantong, Li Huowang, clearly impatient, stepped in their way. "I say, Abbot Daoist, haven't you forgotten something? You keep dragging people for the Celestial Tribunal, yet you neglect to interrogate the great shaman of the Cult of Law!"

Back in the capital, he hadn’t noticed how chatty Zheng Boqiao could be.

"Friend Li, don’t worry. How long does it take to eat a vegetarian meal?"

"Do you mean to say you can do it? If not, I’ll handle it myself."

Feeling Li Huowang’s tone growing sharp, Chan Du quickly intervened. "Master, we can have the meal anytime. The important thing is what matters most—what matters most indeed."

Seeing that even Chan Du had spoken up, Zheng Boqiao, somewhat resigned, picked up his brush and walked toward the prone figure.

"Friend Li, the troubles of the Cult of Law aren’t new—they’ve been around for days or weeks. Haste makes waste. Do you really think you can destroy the entire cult by extracting information from one shaman’s mind?"

Li Huowang understood perfectly well that resolving the Cult wasn’t easy—but seeing someone ignore important tasks made him furious.

Now that the man had finally begun working, Li Huowang took a step back and stood beside Li Sui.

Once the Buddhist incense burner had retrieved the golden Buddha from the man’s mouth, He Xinlai spat a mouthful of blood directly at Zheng Boqiao.

But instead of dodging, Zheng Boqiao reached out and caught the spittle cleanly, then raised it to his own mouth and swallowed it. This sight made Li Huowang frown deeply.

And it didn’t stop there. Zheng Boqiao pulled out a few strands of hair from He Xinlai’s head and added them to a few white hairs from his brush, swallowing them all down.

"What are you doing?" Li Huowang asked, utterly puzzled by this strange behavior. "Of course, I’m refining elixirs."

Zheng Boqiao approached the three statues and bowed before taking a handful of ash from the brazier and stuffing it into his mouth.

"Elixirs? Are you refining elixirs like this?"

Li Huowang knew something about alchemy—he had learned it from Dan Yangzi—but he’d never heard of such a method.

"Using gold as a vessel—that’s external alchemy, inferior. But I, Fangxiandao, use the body as a crucible—anything can become medicine. That’s internal alchemy, the highest form."

As he spoke, Zheng Boqiao moved to stand before Li Huowang, waving his brush while muttering incantations.

As the air around Li Huowang began to shimmer slightly, Zheng Boqiao’s hand gestures changed rapidly, and he pressed his nose close to Li Huowang’s side and sucked deeply.

All the shimmering energy was drawn into his body. His face turned purple, veins bulging on his forehead.

"What are you doing?"

Zheng Boqiao’s lips parted slightly, whispering in a low voice, "You’re heart-soul. What do you think I’m doing?"

After speaking, Zheng Boqiao sat cross-legged, motionless like a statue, thin wisps of white smoke rising from his head.

Only now did Li Huowang understand what the man had been doing—he had been refining an elixir.

"What kind of trickery is this? Using his own body as a furnace? Truly bizarre."

Half an hour later, Zheng Boqiao opened his mouth wide, and a writhing, bloody pill emerged, wrapped in gastric fluid, and spat out once more.

Seeing the pill being brought toward him, He Xinlai’s eyes flickered with panic, clenching his teeth tightly.

But now, to avoid biting his tongue to death, all his teeth had already been removed by Li Huowang, so no matter how hard he clenched, it was useless—the pill was forced into his mouth.

Soon after swallowing the pill, He Xinlai’s eyes rolled back, and his limbless body began twitching uncontrollably.

Just as Li Huowang waited for the next move, He Xinlai suddenly went rigid, as if struck by lightning—he had died.

Before anyone else could speak, Zheng Boqiao pulled out a small feather fan from his robes, made a gesture with one hand, and chanted over the corpse.

"The head is Taiyi, the feet are Heaven Pillar; the five organs are armor, guarding the celestial gate. Command the Big Dipper, shout once, and thousands of souls and spirits shall follow your command. As the law commands!"

In the next moment, He Xinlai’s head instantly shriveled, and the flesh pill he had swallowed earlier popped out of his mouth, caught neatly by Zheng Boqiao.

Compared to the one that had entered, the pill that had passed through his belly had swollen several times its original size.

After swallowing the pill, Zheng Boqiao closed his eyes, seemingly sensing something.

Seeing that the man truly possessed skill, Li Huowang calmed down and waited quietly beside him.

Two incense sticks later, when Zheng Boqiao slowly opened his eyes, Li Huowang stepped forward. "How is it?"

"This man is not the leader of the Cult of Law. If he were, he wouldn’t have been captured so easily."

"But still, from his mind, I found some useful information—some locations within Great Li."

"It seems they plan to hide for now, avoiding direct confrontation with us. Hmm..."

Li Huowang stepped forward again. "The Stone of Mount Tai? How much does he know about it?"

He hadn’t forgotten what Chan Du had said—the Stone of Mount Tai was the greatest threat among the followers of the Cult of Law in Great Qi.

"Hmm... the Stone of Mount Tai... Let me think." Zheng Boqiao paced back and forth.

After a while, he stopped. "He doesn’t know anything. It was the Stone of Mount Tai that came to him. He was very cautious and shared little with He Xinlai."

"Hmm... And a Stone of Mount Tai from Great Qi won’t amount to much. I think what matters more is how the Cult of Law has allied with the lamas of Qingqiu. That’s the real trouble."

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Next chapter updates at 11:30 PM

(End of Chapter)