Wandering Gods of Day and Night
Chapter 318 - 203: Dual Secret Realms_2

Chapter 318: Chapter 203: Dual Secret Realms_2

After "One Stroke Painting," the Painter couldn’t shake off the feeling that Zhou Xuan, this young man, had a thought process different from ordinary people. Since Zhou Xuan suddenly brought up Heavenly God’s Fire, he must have his reasons—it was certainly not empty talk.

"The ones staring at that fire are the gods. The gods will send Daoists to descend," said the Painter.

"Then, do you know how the Daoists descend?" Zhou Xuan asked.

"Beneath the Heavenly Dome, Divine Silk lowers the Daoists."

"And after that? What’s your plan to counter the Daoists?"

"The Daoists rely heavily on incense offerings. Once they descend, they’ll be detected by the Mingjiang Prefecture’s Array, drawing the attention of the Bone Elders. Our Bone Elder Association will clash with them. Their incense power is high, but we have the numbers," the Painter replied.

Zhou Xuan shook his head and said,

"First, the Daoists won’t stir the Bone Elder Association’s attention. They have the ability to slip silently into Mingjiang Prefecture.

Second, the Daoists have distinct characteristics. Understand their traits, and you’ll know who they are."

"You understand Daoists?"

"More or less." Zhou Xuan’s understanding came from the talismanic script, the "Divine Silk Ascension Scripture," which he had mastered to a considerable degree.

Originally, Zhou Xuan planned to share this scripture with Li Chengfeng, so the Mingjiang Prefecture could prepare ahead of time to guard against the Daoists.

He didn’t want the Heavenly God’s Fire to be extinguished by the Daoists.

Now "sharing" had transformed into a bargaining chip.

"How much do you know about Daoists?" the Painter asked.

"Not too much, not too little—how they descend, their characteristics after descending, and whether it’s possible to kill them preemptively. I have some insights. You help me kill the Suffering Scholar and the View Lord, and regarding the secrets of Daoists, I will naturally share them freely with the Bone Elder Association."

Zhou Xuan extended his right hand toward the Painter, speaking with intense authority: "So, I strongly suggest you close the deal on taking down the Suffering Scholar and the View Lord as soon as possible."

The Painter fell silent, pondering deeply.

"Heavenly God’s Fire and your so-called rules—how you choose should already be clear without me having to remind you, right?"

Zhou Xuan advanced his right hand half an inch further, urging the Painter to finalize his decision quickly.

The Daoists were the Painter’s greatest concern and deepest fear.

Precisely because he feared them, Zhou Xuan had enough leverage, commanding a position of strength in the negotiation.

Silence. Still silence.

Finally, the Painter raised his head and grasped Zhou Xuan’s right hand forcefully: "Deal."

...

Within the Scholar’s Manor, a dirt playground had been built, with rows of tile-roofed houses resembling classrooms. The entire layout was constructed to resemble a small campus. Breezes stirred the willow shade in the manor, producing a soft rustling sound, like students whispering secretly in class.

The Suffering Scholar had a fondness for the role of "teacher." At one time, driven by fervent enthusiasm, his dream was merely to nurture a few students in the field of Mysticism.

But dreams inevitably change. When he became stuck at the threshold between the fourth and fifth incense levels, unable to progress further, the White Paper Fan Mo Tingsheng of the Kidnapper Hall presented him with six spiritual bones, aiding him in successfully advancing to the fifth incense level.

Upon reaching the fifth incense level, he encountered yet another bottleneck in Mysticism.

Delving into Mysticism often meant brushing against strange, incomprehensible whispers, which placed an enormous strain on the mind.

As his spirit grew increasingly haggard, Mo Tingsheng once again offered his help. Every three days, Mo Tingsheng personally delivered an eye—an eye imbued with exceptional spiritual energy.

Whenever the Suffering Great Scholar absorbed the spiritual energy within the eye, his mental exhaustion would vanish entirely.

The eyes and spirit bones elevated the Suffering Great Scholar, transforming him from a Scholar into a Great Scholar, from a Bone Elder to a Divine Office bearer, from the fifth incense level to the sixth. He continued climbing the path of the sixth incense level far beyond the starting point.

Simultaneously, his interests became deeply entangled with the Kidnapper Hall.

"Teach a few students? Bah, I aim to become the Bone Elder Association’s top Divine Officer."

The Suffering Great Scholar’s dream had turned into ambition.

He was the only one within the Bone Elder Association to possess the dual glory of both "Divine Office" and "Scholar."

Yet, many Bone Elders were unaware of the countless bones and innumerable eyes hidden within the dazzling glow of the Suffering Great Scholar’s radiance.

"Lao Dao, you’ve worked hard. These next few days, I’ll need you to continue being my slicer."

Seated on the sofa, the Suffering Great Scholar indulged in the sweetness of a cigar.

Old Dao Bazi, meanwhile, was dissecting the corpse of a Liao Ghost in the room.

The most valuable items from a Liao Ghost were their teeth—rare spiritual bones.

The rest of the body was merely the leftovers.

But even leftovers had considerable value. The View Lord was in a critical phase to reach the seventh incense level, and every bit of flesh imbued with spiritual energy had extraordinary significance.

The corpse could not be used directly. Its eyes, ears, the teeth in its mouth, its organs, every inch of bone in its body—all needed to be individually separated. The process of separation was meticulous.

For instance, eyes had to be removed intact. Any errors resulting in even the tiniest incision would instantly leak all the spiritual energy within the eyeball.

Dissection allowed zero room for mistakes. Moreover, kidnappers often targeted individuals who had undergone spiritual awakening.

Once someone had experienced spiritual awakening, their organs would undergo varying degrees of mutation. These mutations were diverse and greatly individualized—differences between people were vast. Without seasoned expertise and a rich foundation in dissection experience, it was easy to damage the product.

Highly skilled and experienced slicers were indispensable to a kidnapper’s trade.

This was also the reason kidnappers and the Wuzuo were deeply intertwined.

As the Suffering Great Scholar’s status grew higher, he was no longer satisfied with kidnappers solely delivering products. He also dispatched the City God’s men to capture better goods for him.

Old Dao Bazi was the Suffering Great Scholar’s exclusive slicer.

No matter how many valuable parts were extracted from a corpse, Old Dao Bazi could claim a quarter of the profits—a tacit agreement between them that had lasted for years.