Free Web NovelChapter 1347: Chapter 505: Human Desire and Emotional Attachment (Part 2)
Since he had never seen a Human Pill before, the fact that Zhou Xuan could, at the very first moment, distinguish the scent of a Human Pill on the wedding doll was in itself a strange matter.
To ensure that nothing about Danzi got leaked, Zhou Xuan still maintained caution in all respects. freёwebnoѵel.com
"It’s the scent of a Human Pill, can’t be wrong, Master Zhou."
The Eternal Life Sect Leader said, "I, the Eternal Life Sect Leader, though I do not like taking elixirs, have dwelt long in the Heavenly Dome; many times, when forced, I’ve had to swallow a few. As for the scent of a Human Pill, how could I not be familiar with it?"
"This doll, before it has even entered the furnace fire, already has such a qi. If it truly goes into the fire and is refined by Master Zhou’s Green and Red Fish, how could the quality of this batch of pills possibly be poor?"
"Those are auspicious words, but, well, in Alchemy there are always all sorts of accidents. This little doll, before entering the Pill Furnace, counts as a fun little thing; once it goes in, I’m afraid that will be a different matter altogether."
Zhou Xuan said with narrowed eyes and a smile, "Still, what exactly it can be refined into, I’ll know once I refine it tonight."
"Indeed, indeed."
...
The wedding doll becoming a demon counted as an unexpected delight at tonight’s hall gathering.
Zhou Xuan only regarded this Joy Demon as a prerequisite for increasing the yield and quality of elixirs, and did not think too much more of it.
It was instead that Alchemist Bai Lu who, time and again, wanted to speak but stopped; whenever the words reached his lips, he was hindered by the Eternal Life Sect Leader at his side, and could only forcibly swallow them back down.
When the gathering ended, host and guests both dispersed and returned home to rest.
The Fox Clan and the others were naturally full of gratitude toward Zhou Xuan. Before leaving, King Xishan even said to Zhou Xuan, "Mr., if you have any orders in the future, just speak. The Snow Mountain Fox Clan owes you too much to put into words—climb the Mountain of Blades, descend into the Oil Cauldron, we will not refuse."
"It’s nothing, it’s nothing."
After King Xishan left, Yun Ziliang sighed and said, "Xuanzi, you’re far too good to Lao Xi. Helping them establish the Hu Sect was one thing, and you even did a bit of Divine Enthronement for King Xishan; now you’re using the Eternal Life Sect Leader as a stepping stone to vent that pent-up resentment the Fox Clan has held for who knows how many years."
"Lao Xi doesn’t just control the Fox Clan, he also holds those dozen-odd Yingtang Mountain Barbarians in Mingjiang Prefecture. Treating him well is only proper."
Supposing that today some enemy came seeking him, wanting to move against Zhou Xuan, then among the strongest reinforcements Zhou Xuan could call upon, aside from that Butcher whose whereabouts were unknown and the incense fire Taoist who was extremely cautious about acting in the human world, would be King Xishan.
King Xishan had nine sticks of incense, and his battle intellect was high; coupled with his grip over the Yin Hall, his combat strength was most extraordinary.
"As for the Eternal Life Sect Leader, he isn’t exactly a stepping stone either. Just look at the expression he had when he looked at my wedding doll—like he’d hit the lottery."
Zhou Xuan said with a smile, "I’m guessing that Eternal Life Sect Leader is just waiting for this batch of pills of mine."
As he spoke, he returned to the inn together with Lao Yun, Zhao Wuya, Li Changxun, Fifth Senior Brother, and the others.
As for the Eternal Life Sect Leader, after finishing the Fengliu Opera and seeing the wedding doll, he found a pretext and went strolling around Mingjiang Prefecture to clear his mind.
When the few of them got back to the inn,
that Alchemist Bai Lu suddenly slammed the inn’s door shut, not even allowing the others to light the lamps.
"Old Bai Lu, why are you acting all mysterious?"
Zhou Xuan asked.
Alchemist Bai Lu put a finger to the center of his lips and said in a cryptic tone, "Mr., let me tell you—this wedding doll of yours is anything but ordinary."
"How so, what did you see?" Zhou Xuan asked.
Only to hear Alchemist Bai Lu say, "Mr., this wedding doll is, to begin with, the Seven Emotions and Six Desires; that it could become a demon is no more than because the surging desire flooding into it was too vast, causing this doll to condense a Demon Core."
"And then?"
"In theory, this wedding doll can be refined into two kinds of elixirs."
Alchemist Bai Lu said, "Its ’Great Joyful Qi’ can be used to refine one kind of elixir, and besides that, this doll’s Demon Core can also be used to refine another kind of elixir."
It was only when he said this that Zhou Xuan understood why he was being so secretive.
"If that’s the case, isn’t it just like Danzi?"
Zhou Xuan pondered carefully.
Danzi was a batch of ingredients that had produced two kinds of elixirs in one furnace. One was the Source Power Pill, and the other was Danzi itself.
"If this time we can again refine two kinds, then the harvest from this furnace will be quite substantial."
Zhou Xuan didn’t think too much about it. He summoned the stone temple, then drew himself and Alchemist Bai Lu together into the stone temple.
Immediately after, the stone temple sank into the earth, completely cutting off any possibility of ears behind the walls.
...
In the temple, Danzi was still as usual, head lowered in scripture-chanting, as though praying to some "Lord" to protect its Dan Mother, imprisoned in some unknown place.
"Danzi, let me show you something fun."
Zhou Xuan handed the wedding doll over to Danzi.
Danzi only took one look, then immediately raised its head to look at Zhou Xuan. After staring in a daze for a long time, it finally said, "Where did you get this doll?"
Zhou Xuan then told Danzi the whole story of holding the hall gathering and collecting joyous qi. freeweɓnøvel.com
Danzi stared at Zhou Xuan, then after gazing for several breaths more, asked, "This doll didn’t backlash against you?"
"It did. Whoever it glared at went mad, but fortunately, I was born unafraid of that kind of mental corruption."
Zhou Xuan once again reported truthfully.
"For you to be this strong—there’s no logic to it." Danzi said.
At the side, Alchemist Bai Lu chimed in, "Danzi, you probably don’t know how powerful my Mr. is; he’s comprehended seventeen routes of Sword Momentum..."
He was just about to introduce Zhou Xuan’s background to Danzi when Danzi waved a hand and said, "I’m naturally well aware of Mr. Zhou’s abilities; there’s no need to repeat them. However, this wedding doll has already become a ’Desire Demon’; its desire is too strong. Mr. Zhou, under any circumstances, should not have been able to resist it..."
"That’s not right—how can you be so certain that I can’t withstand a Desire Demon’s enchantment?"
Zhou Xuan was somewhat puzzled.
Danzi said, "Because desire is one of the true origins of Jing Country."
"Isn’t Jing Country’s origin incense?"
Zhou Xuan asked.
Unexpectedly, Danzi first nodded, then shook its head, saying, "It is indeed incense. Incense, incense—composed of Fragrance Souls and Fire Spirits. But you must understand, Fragrance Soul is human desire, Fire Spirit is emotional thought."
"Fragrance Soul is human desire, Fire Spirit is emotional thought?"
"Naturally."
Danzi said, "Fragrance Souls and Fire Spirits—those vast swarms of worms drifting between Heaven and Earth—where do they come from?
They are born from one commoner after another; where emotion arises, desire is born. When emotion and desire overflow in excess, they spill out of their bodies and scatter across all corners of the world."
"Emotion and desire are incense; this wedding doll can be regarded as dense incense condensed into a demon. Its enchantment shares the same origin as the incense within your bodies. How could you possibly withstand it?"
With Danzi’s explanation, Zhou Xuan really did recall the details at the hall gathering—Yun Ziliang and Zhao Wuya had each only been glanced at once by the Joy Demon, and they immediately went berserk, with no power to resist at all.
Yet as for Zhou Xuan, no matter how he and the Joy Demon locked gazes, those terrifying eyes of the Joy Demon could not inflict the slightest corruption upon him.
Danzi cupped the wedding doll in both hands, its sharp gaze sweeping over this Joy Demon’s body; then it slowly said,
"The fact that the Joy Demon’s enchantment is useless on you does not mean it is truly useless—so long as there is still incense within your Secret Realm, you will inevitably fall to its technique.
Yet you are completely unscathed; this can only mean..."
Danzi once more raised its head, its clear eyes looking at Zhou Xuan, and said, "You... are hiding some secret that makes this Joy Demon not dare to enchant you."
"Not necessarily. When I captured it, it clearly glared at me several times—wasn’t that it trying to enchant me?"
Zhou Xuan asked.
Danzi handed the wedding doll back to Zhou Xuan and said, "It glared at you, yet you showed no reaction. That can only mean it did not dare employ its Enchantment Technique on you."
"Cut the blood threads in its eyes and ’open’ its eyes; I’ll help you examine it."
Danzi said thus.
Zhou Xuan was not afraid that Danzi might do something to the wedding doll and join hands with it against him.
At the hall gathering, the wedding doll hadn’t been able to hurt Zhou Xuan in the slightest; why would Zhou Xuan fear it?
As for Danzi—it was, by itself, no match for Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan, with no mental burden, once again summoned Bone Teeth, and with the tip of the tooth slashed fiercely across the blood threads over the Joy Demon’s eyes.
After a faint sound of threads snapping, the wedding doll reopened its eyes; its "trigram-shaped" pupils whirled sharply around once...
