The elder was no longer able to make an expression.
He had thought himself a hero, mediating between two beasts, striving for a path of survival for his tribesmen.
In the end, however, he had merely calculated too much, only to bring about his own demise.
He spoke in a hoarse voice.
“A means of self-preservation, no.”
“A means of leading the way, yes.”
“Lord Li, after I die, if you follow these fireflies, you will reach the ‘Pupa Chamber’… I only ask that you, Lord, in consideration of our lives, grant clemency to my tribesmen.”
Li Miao, however, showed no pity for him, letting out a cold snort.
“One thing at a time. You Great Shamans are accomplices to the Ming Cult in refining Gu Soldiers. Your lives, I never intended to spare.”
“Those who deserve to die will certainly die; only those who do not deserve to die can live.”
“Instead of pleading with me, you might as well consider whether there are any among your tribesmen who are worthy of living.”
The elder’s expression relaxed.
“With that word from you, Lord… it’s enough.”
“Children under thirteen, we did not let them touch Witchcraft… They also don’t know about these dirty matters. They can all live.”
“Thank you, Lord, that’s all.”
Before his words finished, a difficult “gurgle” sound came from his throat.
He collapsed to the ground.
Li Miao quietly watched him struggle on the ground, gradually ceasing to move.
After a while, the elder’s corpse also lifted its head, revealing a chilling smile.
“Lord Li… With your ears gone, can you listen to me now?”
“This thing I have, it’s not only useful to the Emperor, but perhaps to you as well.”
“Oh?”
Seeing Li Miao stop, the corpse grinned.
“Celestial Human Five Declines, my daughter merged three paths into one, yet she did not experience the Celestial Human Five Declines.”
“I can also teach this method to you, Lord.”
Li Miao squinted at the corpse, saying indifferently.
“Tell me.”
“Lord Li, you must have seen that Gu worm on Mount Tai that can absorb and transfer cultivation realms, right?”
The corpse chuckled.
“This method of mine can allow you, Lord, to temporarily store your cultivation realm on other people… and retrieve it when needed. This way, not only will there be no Celestial Human Five Declines, but you also won't have to remain in constant slumber like those Celestials stored by the imperial court; you can freely roam about in your daily life.”
“Moreover, you, Lord, can also take a Gu worm containing ‘Sumeru’ and offer it to the Emperor. With a complete and vigorous spirit, the Emperor’s body will naturally improve greatly, and you, Lord Li, can ascend swiftly by virtue of it.”
“And I, I only desire a small piece of Miao territory to reside in. Isn’t it worth it?”
The corpse appealed to both emotion and reason, its tone filled with sincerity, as if truly coming with utmost sincerity.
Whether it was his own martial arts or official position, as long as he agreed to her, he could rise swiftly.
Anyone else would likely nod in agreement… or at least hesitate.
Li Miao, however, let out a cold laugh.
“Still the same old clichés, indeed.”
“Finished? Now, wait to die.”
With that, he was about to raise his hand.
“Lord Li! What do you want? Whether it’s power, martial arts, or beauty, with my help, you can achieve twice the result with half the effort!”
“Why must you make things difficult for me!?”
The corpse suddenly shouted.
Li Miao, however, did not want to listen to her babble anymore.
Official position? If Li Miao wanted to be promoted, he should have been a Lord Commissioner ten years ago; why wait until today?
Martial arts? Did he still need the Miao King to help him avoid the Celestial Human Five Declines?
Beauty? Had Li Miao ever lacked that?
Furthermore, accepting the help of Witchcraft meant being controlled by Witchcraft. Li Miao was not some greenhorn like Mei Qinghe; how could he fall for the Miao King’s trick?
Bang!
With a muffled thud, the elder’s head exploded.
Li Miao stepped over the corpse and continued forward, following the fireflies that led the way.
——————
“What did you say!? The Miao King’s name… what is it!?”
Outside the building where Li Miao found the elder, Yongjie grabbed a Great Shaman by the collar and asked urgently.
“Ge Pu Qi…”
The Great Shaman replied weakly.
Although Li Miao did not kill them, these Great Shamans naturally suffered considerable injuries from their struggle with him. After Li Miao left with the elder and three Great Shamans, the other remaining Great Shamans stayed where they were, using Gu worms to heal their injuries.
Yongjie and An Ziyang followed Li Miao’s footprints and found this place.
Since the two of them claimed to be Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards), these Great Shamans naturally dared not refuse to cooperate.
Yongjie inquired about the whole story, and these Great Shamans explained everything one by one.
Unexpectedly, when the Miao King was mentioned, An Ziyang casually asked, “What is the Miao King’s maiden name?”
Thus, the scene just now occurred.
Yongjie suddenly let go, allowing the Great Shaman to fall to the ground, gasping for breath while clutching his neck.
He retreated a few steps, breathing heavily, his eyes red, his hands clenched into fists, nails digging into his palms, drawing blood.
An Ziyang watched from the side, thinking to himself.
“The Miao King… is Grandmaster Yongjie’s wife? Is Ling’er’s mother?”
“Then, Ji Tianrui, who killed Grandmaster Xing Chi, is Ling’er’s half-sister?”
“This is going to be lively.”
Yongjie was trembling all over at this moment.
“How can this be, how can this be…”
He could never have imagined that his missing wife, Ling’er’s mother, was actually the Miao King!
She was the mother of the murderer who killed his master!
She was one of the culprits behind the Witchcraft disaster in Tai’an City!
The love between husband and wife, and Ling’er… could it all have been a conspiracy?
How should he deal with himself?
Just as Yongjie was lost in thought, An Ziyang seemed to suddenly remember something and turned to ask the Great Shaman, “You just said that Ge Pu Qi was parasitized by the Miao King’s Gu worm, and then gradually became more and more like the Miao King, correct?”
“Then, how long was this process of ‘becoming more and more alike’? Would there be any relapses in between? Would she have the Miao King’s memories, or only her personality becoming more and more similar?”
The Great Shaman pondered for a moment and replied.
“We are not very clear about the current Miao King, but the first Miao King took three years to completely change her personality. Her memories remained the original ones, but things important to the Miao King would also be equally important to her; things the Miao King should not care about, she would also no longer care about.”
“As for whether there will be relapses… we are not clear on this point either.”
An Ziyang nodded, rubbed his chin, and turned to walk in front of Yongjie.
“Grandmaster, please listen to me first.”
“Things may not be as you imagine.”
“At the very least, if your wife was the Miao King before she met you, then she should have no reason to leave Miao territory, inexplicably run to Huguang, and give birth to Ling’er.”
“Perhaps, the one who gave birth to Ling’er back then was Ge Pu Qi. And the one who gave birth to Ji Tianrui was the Miao King.”
“You must pull yourself together. In any case, this is currently just the one-sided account of these Miao people. How things truly are, and what your wife truly thought, will only count after you have personally seen and heard it confirmed.”
“Lord Li should have already gone to kill the Miao King. Let’s set off quickly; we cannot delay!”
Yongjie suddenly looked up.
A moment later, he clenched his fists.
“Young Master An, thank you!”
“Yes, no matter what, I must see her with my own eyes and ask her myself before making a decision!”
“Let’s set off now!”