Chapter 59: Sudden Death

On the outskirts of Longxing County.

"Clang!"

As the final Soul-Suppressing Nail pierced the head of the straw effigy on the altar, dark brown blood suddenly seeped from the otherwise ordinary straw man.

"It's done!"

Seeing this, the paper doll Li Yiran broke into a joyful smile. "The straw man bleeds! That Gold-Bearing Brocade Guard is dead. Commander Yan, march the troops back to Longxing County!"

Watching from the sidelines, Yan Weichuan felt no relief at the words. Instead, his heart grew heavier. Though he and the Gold-Bearing Brocade Guard stood on opposite sides, both were martial artists. That man was the newly crowned first place on the Human Ranking, yet a mere straw doll had easily cursed him to death from afar.

Faced with such sorcery, what use were martial arts?

As a fellow martial artist, the mere thought chilled Yan Weichuan to the bone. He dared not show it, merely sighing as he pulled the Armament Manual from his robes.

Then, he froze.

A moment later, Yan Weichuan let out a long breath and looked up at the paper doll Li Yiran on the altar. "My Lord, that Gold-Bearing Brocade Guard isn't dead."

"...What did you say?"

Before Yan Weichuan could even finish, the previously triumphant paper doll Li Yiran snapped his head around. His voice carried a mix of shock and fury, yet the victorious smile still lingered on his face.

The two contradictory expressions intertwined, making him look all the more uncanny.

In the next second, however, the paper doll's face rapidly shifted to match his true feelings. The contradiction vanished like flowers reflected in a mirror and the moon in water.

Yan Weichuan swallowed hard at the sight, then unrolled the Armament Manual in his hands. "My Lord, he really isn't dead. His name is still on the Armament Manual."

The Armament Manual was a Divine Object that governed the prestige of the realm. The main scroll was housed in the Great Shun Capital, while copies were distributed across the lands. Not only could it sense the life and death of every ranked martial artist, but it also reflected those changes in real-time. If a martial artist died, they were immediately removed from the main scroll, and the copies followed suit.

What Yan Weichuan held in his hands was one of those copies.

The paper doll Li Yiran stepped forward briskly and snatched it away. There, glaringly obvious upon the page, was the name of Dragon Fist Wang Ping. There was no sign of it being erased.

"How is this possible..."

At that, the expression on the paper doll Li Yiran's face completely froze, turning into a motionless painting—until another hand reached out from thin air.

The newcomer casually took the Armament Manual and examined it closely.

"Interesting."

The voice made Yan Weichuan jump in fright. When he recovered his wits, he realized that a red-robed figure had silently appeared beside Li Yiran.

It was none other than the Perfected Wandering Spirit.

"Greetings, Perfected One!" Yan Weichuan hurriedly bowed.

The Perfected Wandering Spirit ignored him, merely studying the Armament Manual intently before turning to pick up the bleeding straw man from the altar.

"As expected, one of the seven mortal souls missed its mark." The Perfected Wandering Spirit sounded fascinated. "Interesting. He separated one of his souls in advance? For a mere Mortal to possess such means... He even detected the lock of the Soul-Dropping Straw Man ahead of time. Could his constitution be somewhat special?"

Yan Weichuan couldn't understand the man's muttering at all.

Thus, he could only ask cautiously, "Perfected One, since that Gold-Bearing Brocade Guard isn't dead... what should we do now? Are we still going to Longxing County?"

"Of course."

The Perfected Wandering Spirit said flatly, "Rest assured. Although he isn't dead, only one of his seven souls remains. Like water without a source, he is merely prolonging his pre-death agony."

..............

Longxing County, County Yamen official residence.

Inside the quiet room, Wang Ping felt his scalp tingle—or rather, his head was the only thing he could feel. He had completely lost connection with everything below his neck.

Even worse, he wasn't dead yet.

Even though his head had fallen completely off his neck, not a single drop of blood spilled. The severed cut was perfectly smooth, and his blood circulation continued as normal.

'Why?'

This half-dead state was the worst possible situation for Wang Ping, because the Outer Heavenly Demon could only be triggered after his death.

If he stubbornly clung to this wretched half-life, he would never be able to activate the Outer Heavenly Demon. And being left with nothing but a head meant he couldn't even commit suicide. At this thought, an almost uncontrollable notion sprang into his mind: 'Could they have done this on purpose?'

Leaving him deliberately half-dead just to smother his resurrection in its crib.

Was the Outer Heavenly Demon exposed?

Wang Ping's first thought went straight to that old bastard Shouchong. After all, the White Lotus Sect leader knew he could resurrect. Was he the one making a move?

'No, that doesn't make sense.'

'The ones attacking me should be whoever is backing Xu Bingzheng and Li Yiran. That old bastard Shouchong is a seasoned rebel—their identities just don't match up.'

Wang Ping rolled his head around, thinking frantically.

'So... it's an accident?'

'They actually wanted to kill me but failed. Is it... because of something I did that allowed me to luckily survive their attack?'

This method of beheading someone from afar was undoubtedly sorcery.

Therefore, martial arts were the first thing to be ruled out. The only thing that could counter sorcery was another, higher-level sorcery—and soon enough, the answer surfaced:

'It's Soul Seizing!'

The paper doll double!

'I used Soul Seizing earlier to create a paper doll double. If that's the reason... then the sorcery targeting me right now must also be an attack on the soul!'

At this thought, everything suddenly clicked into place for Wang Ping.

Mystery solved!

'I see. It's a soul-attacking sorcery. Because I made the paper doll double and moved a portion of my soul out, I didn't die on the spot!'

Fear stemmed from the unknown. While the truth remained hidden, Wang Ping had no countermeasures. But now that he knew the enemy's exact method, the problem became simple. After all, Soul Seizing was also a spell targeting the soul. Combining that knowledge, Wang Ping quickly reached a conclusion:

'This kind of long-distance curse-killing and soul-attacking technique definitely requires a medium.'

'So the best method is undoubtedly to obtain that medium and destroy it... However, given my current situation, the feasibility of that plan isn't high.'

'I'll have to settle for the next best thing.'

'Instead of directly destroying it, I need to find a way to sever the connection between myself and whatever medium they used. What did the curse-caster use as a medium?'

Hair? My name? My face?

Thoughts raced through Wang Ping's mind. 'Hair... unlikely. I have already cultivated the Flawless True Body. After being entirely reborn, I don't suffer from hair loss at all.'

That left his name and face.

'Just a name definitely isn't enough; after all, there are so many people with the same name. They must have used my appearance as well to lock onto me.'

Wang Ping felt this guess was right on the money. He immediately focused all his mental energy into manipulating the only part of him that still had sensation—his head. Eyes, ears, nose, tongue; his facial features gradually began to distort under his will. Flesh shifted and bones ground against each other until his appearance was entirely changed.

He actually forced himself to change faces!

This was something that could only be done by a martial artist whose external conditioning had reached a certain level, who possessed Divine Intent, and who had achieved peak mastery over their own body.

That being said, the actual practical effect of this trick was quite poor.

Because this type of disguise was entirely forced—relying on brute strength to force a miracle—it was full of flaws in the eyes of true experts. If held for too long, he might not even be able to change back.

However, this was the only face-changing method Wang Ping knew. Since he was already completely stumped, he might as well go all in and try a desperate remedy.

In the next second, a miracle occurred.

The moment his face changed, Wang Ping finally sensed the body below his neck. Although the connection was incredibly faint, at least he wasn't completely numb to it anymore!

'It actually worked!'

'As expected, my appearance was one of the mediums. After changing my face, the connection with the medium weakened, drastically reducing the sorcery's effect on me.'

Overjoyed, Wang Ping exerted all his effort to transmit commands to his body, forcing his hand to reach out inch by inch and lift his head off the ground.

The entire process was agonizingly difficult. It felt as though a mountain had been dropped onto his shoulders out of thin air. Let alone reaching out an arm, even twitching a single finger required every ounce of strength he possessed. His movements were incredibly sluggish; it took nearly a full hour before Wang Ping barely managed to place his head back onto his neck.

Immediately following that, Wang Ping attempted to cast Qi Restriction to reattach his severed head.

The result, however, left him deeply disappointed. No matter how much True Qi he poured in, his neck and head remained separated without the slightest sign of mending.

'It seems the severed head is just a superficial symptom; the root of the problem still lies within the soul.'

'What should I do next?'

By this point, Wang Ping had calmed down significantly. On one hand, he had figured out the source of the crisis; on the other, he could finally kill himself.

He could smoothly retreat into the Immortal Gate at any time.

With a way out, his panic faded, giving him the mental leeway to think of a countermeasure. He had been lucky this time, but he might not have such luck the next.

Therefore, he had to find a way to prevent similar situations from happening again.

'Looks like I can't show my true face to others anymore.'

'That's fine. After all, if I resurrect using the Outer Heavenly Demon with the same face every time while being involved in the exact same events, the risk of exposure is simply too high.'

Of course, Wang Ping wasn't going to stop at mere prevention.

He was going to strike back!

And coincidentally enough, he had the perfect method right at his fingertips.

Taking a deep breath, Wang Ping mobilized his spiritual sense, remotely dispelling his paper doll double and drawing back the separated soul.

"Crack!"

Almost simultaneously, the previously smooth and flawless neck—which hadn't shed a single drop of blood—suddenly erupted in a spray of crimson. A wave of intense dizziness washed over Wang Ping's consciousness.

'Just as I thought. As soon as I dismissed the paper doll double, the one portion of my soul that they hadn't locked onto was instantly targeted, leading directly to my death.'

With that thought, Wang Ping's fading consciousness swiftly sank into the Great Peace Mortuary.

Time seemed to stand still in this moment. Wang Ping's gaze fell on the towering tome before him, only to see it wreathed in light as it slowly flipped to the second page.

[Scroll Two: Perish Together with the Sun]!

Once this scripture scroll was activated, all injuries inflicted upon him by an enemy would be simultaneously converted into karmic retribution and rebounded right back onto the attacker!

'I probably can't save this life.'

'Since that's the case, I might as well hit them where it hurts before I go!'

Harboring this thought, Wang Ping decisively activated Perish Together with the Sun. His consciousness returned to reality, only to plunge rapidly into total darkness.

..............

On the outskirts of Longxing County.

Clad in his red robes, the Perfected Wandering Spirit sat upright on the altar. He gazed at the bleeding straw man with keen interest, as if admiring an exquisite work of art.

"Not bad. Not bad at all."

"This person clearly possesses quite an understanding of soul arts. He didn't panic on the brink of death, and his judgment was precise. To think he actually grasped that his appearance was the key."

Through the changes in the straw man, the Perfected Wandering Spirit seemed able to discern Wang Ping's actions and state of being on the other end. His words carried unbridled praise, yet they were tinged with a careless nonchalance—like a commoner accidentally seeing their pet cat do a backflip. Surprising, yes, but nothing more than that.

After seeing it a few times, it would lose its novelty.

"Ultimately, it's an exercise in futility."

With that said, the Perfected Wandering Spirit flicked his sleeves and stood up, intending to pay it no further mind. However, in the very next second, he froze mid-motion.

Immediately following, an invisible surge of power crashed down from the heavens.

"Hrk... Aaaaahhh!"

In an instant, the paper doll Li Yiran standing beside the Perfected Wandering Spirit let out a sudden, agonizing howl. Without warning, raging flames ignited across his entire body out of thin air!

The whole process was incredibly fast. The fire burned for mere moments before the paper doll Li Yiran was reduced to a flurry of ash drifting through the air, his lone phantom soul vanishing softly into the void.

"...Oh?"

Staring at the scattering paper ash, the Perfected Wandering Spirit's attitude finally shifted. "To think he dared to drag his killer down with him in his final moments. He ended up wasting one of my soul-summoning talismans."

"This..."

At the same time, Yan Weichuan, who had witnessed the entire ordeal, was frightened out of his wits. He hurried forward and asked in a low voice, "Perfected One, are you alright?"

The Perfected Wandering Spirit shot him a half-smile and answered easily, "What could possibly happen to me? I wasn't the one who cast the curse. Even if he fought back, tracing the medium wouldn't lead to me... Alright, this straw man is useless now. Find a random spot and burn it."

At these words, Yan Weichuan was rendered instantly speechless.

Although he didn't understand sorcery, he was no fool. With the Perfected Wandering Spirit spelling it out so plainly, how could he not realize that Li Yiran had been used as a scapegoat?

'He did it on purpose!'

'If he had personally cast this long-distance killing sorcery, the effect would have definitely been better. Yet he deliberately handed the task over to Lord Li.'

'He did it just to prevent a counterattack!'

Thinking this, a chilling dread crept over Yan Weichuan. 'He's an extraordinary person with mystical methods, even capable of bringing the dead back to life... Yet his methods are still this cautious.'

Using an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken; firing a heavy cannon to kill a mosquito.

To be this deadly serious even when crushing weaklings... just which sect did this extraordinary person belong to?