79: Chapter 79 Shameless Scoundrel

At the foot of Shameless Mountain, inside a pile of thatch, a person was curled up.

Tattered clothes wrapped around a thin, gaunt body; his hair was matted into locks, with lice crawling over it.

The beggar raised his head and saw a Daoist priest.

He wore a cyan Daoist robe, spotless and clean. The cuffs were embroidered with golden Eight Trigrams, swaying gently with his steps. Sunlight fell upon the gold thread, casting a soft glow.

A faint scent of sandalwood emanated from the Daoist, appearing completely out of place on this Shameless Mountain.

The Daoist walked up to him and crouched down. He first checked his breath, then reached out to take his pulse.

"Benefactor, are you alright?"

The beggar's eyes instantly turned red. Murky tears welled up without warning.

"Immortal Master! Save me!"

"This lowly one is Wang Er, from Wang Family Village ten miles away. Three days ago, Mountain Ghosts came. They killed everyone they saw and looted everything they found. My parents, my wife... they are all gone!"

As he spoke, he began to cough violently. He doubled over from the coughing, his shoulders trembling uncontrollably. With a 'pfft' sound, he spat several mouthfuls of black blood onto the ground.

The swaddling clothes in his arms moved, and then a weak cry, thin as gossamer, drifted out.

"This is my son." The beggar gently stroked the swaddling clothes with trembling hands, "He is only three months old. Immortal Master, I beg you, please save him. As long as you can save him, I, Wang Er, will be your beast of burden, and I will repay your kindness even in the next life!"

As he spoke, he moved to kowtow, but the moment his forehead touched the ground, he winced in pain.

Qingxuan's heart sank abruptly. He had grown up on Dragon Tiger Mountain since childhood, and the first lesson his Master taught him was 'Compassion is key'.

He had traveled far and wide, slaying fox demons and eliminating evil ghosts, saving at least eight hundred to a thousand people. Yet, every time he saw such a tragic sight, his heart still ached as if pricked by needles.

He reached out and unfastened the Universe Bag at his waist. The palm-sized cloth bag was embroidered with a Yin and Yang fish pattern. He reached his fingers inside, and when he pulled them out, a bright green Medicinal Pill lay in his palm.

As soon as the Medicinal Pill appeared, the surrounding air seemed to freshen. A faint, clear fragrance drifted over, and one whiff was enough to refresh one's spirit.

"Clear Spirit Pill, for treating internal injuries."

Qingxuan held the Medicinal Pill to the beggar's lips. The beggar hurriedly opened his mouth and swallowed it in one gulp. The Medicinal Pill melted upon contact, turning into a warm current that slid down his throat into his stomach.

The beggar let out a long sigh of relief. The black aura on his face faded slightly.

Qingxuan took out a water skin and a few wheat cakes. "Eat something first. I will tend to your wounds."

The beggar took the water skin and wheat cakes and began to wolf them down. The wheat cakes were too dry, making him stretch his neck as he choked.

He unscrewed the water skin and drank 'glug, glug' half of it. He finished the wheat cakes in a few bites and licked his fingers, still wanting more.

Qingxuan said nothing and took out golden sore medicine and a roll of clean white cloth from the Universe Bag. He carefully rolled up the beggar's pant leg.

A foul stench rushed toward him; Qingxuan frowned but did not step back.

The beggar's right leg was broken. White, ghastly bone protruded through the flesh, and the surrounding meat had begun to blacken and rot, with several white maggots crawling on it.

Qingxuan took out clear water and washed the wound bit by bit; the maggots were washed away, revealing the rotting muscle underneath. He sprinkled the golden sore medicine, and when the powder touched the wound, it made a 'hissing' sound.

The beggar trembled all over from the pain but gritted his teeth and made no sound, while cold sweat dripped from his forehead like beads.

Qingxuan carefully bandaged the wound with the white cloth. Then, he extended his right hand and pressed it against the beggar's chest.

A warm wave of Pure Yang True Qi surged from his palm. Like sunlight, it slowly flowed into the beggar's body.

The beggar groaned in comfort. He closed his eyes, a look of satisfaction appearing on his face. His tense body slowly relaxed.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Qingxuan withdrew his hand.

"Immortal Master! You are truly a living Bodhisattva!"

He kowtowed while weeping. His forehead hit the ground with a 'thud, thud' sound. Soon, a red mark appeared from the kowtowing.

"This great kindness, this lowly one will never forget! In the next life, I will be a beast of burden to repay you, Immortal Master!"

"Get up." Qingxuan reached out to help him up, "It was just a small effort, no need for this."

"No!" The beggar grabbed his sleeve tightly, refusing to let go, "Immortal Master saved both our lives, how can this small debt of gratitude be enough! This lowly one has heard that those who Cultivate the Dao value protective Magic Treasures the most. I have an ancestral jade pendant here; it's not worth much but can ward off evil and avoid disaster, so please accept it as a token of my appreciation!"

As he spoke, he pulled something from his bosom and insisted on stuffing it into Qingxuan's hand.

It was a pitch-black jade pendant.

It looked completely unremarkable. The surface was pitted and uneven, without a hint of luster. It was carved with some crooked patterns, and it was unclear from what era it originated.

"No." Qingxuan quickly declined, "This is an ancestral heirloom, I cannot accept it. You should keep it for yourself."

"If you don't accept it, Immortal Master, you are looking down on me!" The beggar immediately began to cry again, tears and snot streaming down his face, "This lowly one has nothing left now, only this jade pendant remains. If you don't accept it, I will take my son and bash our heads against this rock!"

As he spoke, he held the swaddling clothes and moved to strike against the large rock nearby.

"Don!" Qingxuan quickly pulled him back, "I'll accept it, I'll accept it, will that do?"

He helplessly took the jade pendant. The moment it touched his hand, a bone-chilling cold spread from his fingers throughout his entire body. Qingxuan shivered, feeling vaguely that something was wrong.

But looking at the beggar's tearfully grateful appearance, he suppressed that trace of doubt.

"Immortal Master, you are truly a great person!" Seeing him accept the jade pendant, the beggar immediately switched from tears to laughter. With the tears still wet on his face, a smile was already plastered on it.

"By the way, Immortal Master," the beggar said, as if suddenly remembering something, "My son is weak and sickly. The strand of True Qi you passed to him just now made him feel much better. Could you pass a little more to him? Just enough for him to make it to the city."

Without a second thought, Qingxuan nodded. "Very well."

He extended his hand and gently pressed it onto the infant's forehead.

Just at this moment! A sudden change occurred!

The infant, who had originally been closing its eyes, suddenly snapped them open!

A pair of scarlet eyes, with no whites, only a murky blood-red, with pupils constricted to tiny points, stared at Qingxuan like a viper.

Its mouth opened wide, revealing a mouthful of sharp fangs that glinted with a cold light.

"Snap!" It bit down fiercely on Qingxuan's finger!

A sharp pain surged!

Qingxuan shuddered and tried to pull his hand back, only to find the infant's mouth was like iron pincers, biting down and refusing to let go.

At the same time, he felt the Pure Yang True Qi within his body flowing frantically through his finger and into the infant's body!

The suction was astonishingly powerful. It was like a bottomless pit, as if it wanted to drain all the True Qi in his body.

"You!" Qingxuan looked at the beggar in horror.

He saw the filth on the beggar's face peeling off in flakes, revealing a sagging, drooping face with wrinkled skin like old tree bark.

Two strands of crystalline drool hung from the corners of his mouth, dripping down, drop by drop.

His face was full of fake smiles. He smiled until his eyes narrowed into slits.

"Oh my! Why are you so careless, Immortal Master?"

He said with a giggle, his voice sharp and grating, completely different from the hoarseness of just before.

"My son is hungry and wants to eat some Pure Yang True Qi to nourish his body. You should be generous and give a little more. Anyway, your cultivation is so high, a little less won't matter."

As he spoke, he reached up and wiped his face.

A human skin mask was ripped off and thrown onto the ground.

It revealed an even uglier face.

His face was full of flabby flesh, his eyes were as small as mung beans, his nose was large and flat, but his mouth was unusually big, stretching all the way to his ear roots.

The drool from the corners of his mouth flowed longer, dripping onto the ground with a 'hissing' sound. The dead grass on the ground was instantly corroded into a puddle of black liquid.

"Snap!"

That originally broken left leg had also returned to normal. He stood up and stretched. His bones made a series of 'crackling' sounds.

The infant also released its mouth, turning into a mass of sticky drool that wrapped around Qingxuan's arm.

Qingxuan felt his True Qi and vital essence being crazily absorbed by that mass of drool.

He wanted to circulate his magic power to break free.

But he discovered a sharp pain coming from his Dantian.

He looked down.

That pitch-black jade pendant he had just accepted, he didn't know when, had already stuck itself onto his Dantian area. It was emitting a faint, eerie black light.

A cold, sinister power surged from the jade pendant. Like countless iron chains, it locked his Dantian tight. He was completely unable to mobilize even a shred of True Qi!

"Soul-Binding Pendant!" Qingxuan's face turned deathly pale, and he cried out.

"King Xianlian! You are King Xianlian!"

"Oh?" King Xianlian raised his eyebrows and said with a look of surprise, "It seems my, King Xianlian's, reputation has already spread to Dragon Tiger Mountain?"

"You shameless scoundrel!" Qingxuan was trembling with rage, his eyes ready to spit fire, "I kindly saved you, gave you Medicinal Pills, gave you silver, and helped you treat your wounds. And yet you return kindness with enmity!"

"Return kindness with enmity?" King Xianlian looked aggrieved, as if he had suffered a great injustice, "Immortal Master, that is not right! When did I ever return kindness with enmity?"

He pointed to the jade pendant at Qingxuan's Dantian: "Didn't I give you my ancestral Soul-Binding Pendant? That is a priceless treasure! It can lock a person's Dantian and make them unable to mobilize True Qi. Such a good item, I gave it to you. You took my treasure, and giving my son a little True Qi to nourish his body, isn't that only right and proper?"

"You!" Qingxuan was so angry he couldn't speak.

"Besides," King Xianlian continued, looking justified and righteous, "Immortal Master, you are a monk who practices compassion and saves all living beings. My son wants to eat some True Qi, so you should satisfy him! If you don't satisfy him, it means you are not compassionate, that you are cold-blooded and heartless, and that you are violating the teachings of the Dao Ancestor!"

As he spoke, he walked up to Qingxuan. He reached out and felt around on Qingxuan's body.

His hands were wet and slippery, covered in drool. Touching Qingxuan's Daoist robe, he left wet handprints one after another.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Immortal Master, there are still quite a few good things in your Universe Bag!"

King Xianlian snatched the Universe Bag from Qingxuan's waist. He opened it and looked inside, his eyes brightening.

"Clear Spirit Pills, Spirit-Condensing Pills, Bigu Pills... and so many Talismans! Heaven Thunder Talismans, Raging Fire Talismans, Invisibility Talismans... Wow! And a High Grade Magical Artifact, the Eight Trigrams Mirror!"

He dumped everything from the Universe Bag out in a pile on the ground. Then, like picking up treasures, he picked them up one by one and stuffed them into his own bosom.

"Anyway, you are a monk; these are worldly possessions, you can't bring them with you in life or death. Why not give them all to me? I'll keep them for you, saving you the burden."

He looted everything clean, then felt the Daoist robe on Qingxuan's body.

"And this Daoist robe," he said with an envious look, "The texture is not bad, is it made of cloud brocade? It's warm in winter and cool in summer, and can also defend against low-level Spells. It just so happens I need a new set of clothes. Immortal Master, you are so kind, you surely won't mind giving it to me, right?"

As he spoke, he moved to strip off Qingxuan's Daoist robe.

"How dare you!" Qingxuan shouted angrily, struggling desperately.

But his True Qi was locked, and his whole body was powerless. Like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, he was simply no match for King Xianlian.

King Xianlian stripped off his Daoist robe in a few quick moves. Then he pulled off his pants, leaving him with only a pair of tight-fitting shorts.

Qingxuan was both ashamed and furious, his face flushing bright red. He had lived for over twenty years and had never suffered such an insult.

"Oh my! Immortal Master, your skin is truly white!" King Xianlian stroked his chin, leering at him, "Whiter than the fox spirits on the mountain. What a pity, I have no interest in men."

He paused, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes.

"However, Immortal Master, you are so kind, surely you would be willing to give your cultivation to me as well, right?"

"How dare you!" Qingxuan's eyes were splitting, and he shouted sternly, "I studied under Dragon Tiger Mountain! If you dare to touch me, Dragon Tiger Mountain will absolutely not let you off! They will tear you into ten thousand pieces and ensure you never reincarnate for all eternity!"

"Dragon Tiger Mountain?" King Xianlian looked disdainful, "So what if it's Dragon Tiger Mountain? Can they not be reasonable?"

He spread his hands, looking innocent, and said: "It was you who voluntarily gave me your Cultivation Embryo, it's not like I robbed you. If you don't believe me, I can swear to the heavens!"

As he spoke, he raised his hand and said solemnly: "I, King Xianlian, swear to the heavens that Daoist Qingxuan was willing, active, and voluntary in giving me his Cultivation Embryo. If I have said a single word of falsehood, then let me... let me scam fewer people the next time I scam someone!"

After swearing, he lowered his hand and smiled at Qingxuan: "See, I've already sworn. You should believe me now, right?"

Before Qingxuan could react, he suddenly extended his right hand, his five fingers forming a claw. His fingernails instantly grew longer, turning pitch-black and shiny.

"Pfft!"

With a fierce palm strike, he slammed it onto Qingxuan's Dantian!

"Ahhh!" Qingxuan let out a shrill scream.

He felt his Dantian as if it had been ripped apart by an invisible giant hand. A huge force surged in from the outside, grabbed the Cultivation Embryo he had spent twenty years cultivating, and yanked it out violently!

Qingxuan's vision went black, and his whole body convulsed. He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood onto the ground, his head tilted to the side, and he passed out.

King Xianlian withdrew his hand.

His palm held a fist-sized ball of light emitting a golden glow. Inside the ball of light, there was a small, infant-shaped phantom, constantly squirming.

"Tsk tsk tsk, the Cultivation Embryo from Dragon Tiger Mountain is just different. It's sparkling with golden light, and it looks like a great tonic at first glance."

King Xianlian smiled with satisfaction. He opened his mouth and swallowed the Cultivation Embryo in one gulp.

"Glug."

He closed his eyes, savoring the taste. After a long while, he opened his eyes, licked the drool at the corner of his mouth, and burped.

"The taste is really not bad! Much better than the sarira of that monk last time."

He looked at Qingxuan, who was lying on the ground unconscious, and kicked him once.

"Hey! Stop playing dead!" Qingxuan did not respond.

"Tch, you really can't take a beating." King Xianlian curled his lips, "Let me tell you, you can't blame me for today! If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being too kind and too easily trusting of others."

He crouched down and patted Qingxuan's face.

"Remember, the next time you meet someone as pitiful as me, don't ever be kind again. Kindness will bring retribution."

After saying this, he stood up and brushed the dust off his body. He turned around and was about to leave.

Just at this moment!

A burst of hurried footsteps arrived.

A sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked little ghost ran over in a rush. He was running too fast, slipped under his feet, and almost fell down.

"King! King! It's bad!"

The little ghost shouted while running. His voice carried panic.

King Xianlian frowned and said impatiently: "Panicking like this, what kind of decorum is that! Can't you see that this King is busy?"