Chapter 382 - 217: Descending into the Blood Well Again_4

Words : 1671 Updated : Oct 15th, 2025

Chapter 382: Chapter 217: Descending into the Blood Well Again_4"Really?" Li Chengfeng was a bit surprised, The Kidnapper Hall was no small Tangkou. They had been wreaking havoc in Mingjiang Prefecture for nearly thirty years, ranking steadily behind the Bone Elder, City God, and the Witch, even suppressing the Divine Stealer Hall. For such a sizable hall, their second-in-command only had three sticks of incense worth of power? "Mo Tingsheng personally told the temple master that his spiritual communication characteristic was truly extraordinary. If his incense cultivation rose too high, he’d be noticed by the Heavenly Dome. He could only cultivate to three sticks." "That explains it." Li Chengfeng, who was well-read in ancient texts, said, "Young Master, what’s your spiritual communication characteristic?" "Strong perception, particularly with all five senses." Zhou Xuan replied. "Anything else?" "Face reading." Zhou Xuan spoke of his spiritual communication characteristic. This was the best characteristic for a storyteller, as his master Yuan Buyu had said. A storyteller needed years of practice onstage to truly understand what the audience liked and enjoyed hearing. But with face reading, a storyteller could discern the true thoughts of the audience during a performance—from annoyance to boredom to excitement— then use this awareness to adjust their storytelling in real-time, often achieving a standing ovation and gathering more incense power. "Face reading is already a solid spiritual communication characteristic, but there are always odd individuals with overly exaggerated abilities. Like once, a disciple from Dun Jia could sense certain anomalies in the world without any incense power." "Such talent is even envied by the Gods." "And then what, the Gods send Daoists to kill them?" "Killing them is one option. The other is to seize their spiritual communication characteristic." "But such individuals are extremely rare. Even in ancient texts, there are only a handful of mentions—just a few strokes. For someone like that to appear in the Kidnapper Hall, no wonder their hall rose to such prominence within thirty short years." Zhou Xuan wasn’t overly concerned and simply asked Li Chengfeng, "Old Li, can spiritual communication characteristics be stolen?" "Of course they can. Spiritual communication characteristics are one of the primary human goods of the Kidnapper Hall. The Gods have their ways to seize them, and we humans have ours." "What ways do we humans have?" Zhou Xuan was quite intrigued. "You have to locate the part of the body that holds the ability, then have the most skilled slicer precisely cut it out without any mistakes." "How skilled does the slicer need to be?" "As skilled as Wuzuo Hall Master." Li Chengfeng explained. Zhou Xuan stroked his chin. If it was about incense power, the Wuzuo Hall Master might be impressive, but in knife skills, their Fifth Senior Brother was leagues ahead of any so-called hall master. Five thousand cuts by dismemberment, breaking the record for such executions in Jing Country, and slimming down the Wuzuo Hall Master by several sizes—how could those knife skills be a joke? "By the way, Young Master, I seem to recall that your shop’s Fifth Senior Brother is an excellent slicer. I’d like to ask for your help in having him come be an assistant for our Bone Elder." Li Chengfeng pleaded, "My student, Wang Yiweng, passed away. He was a great slicer. Now that he’s gone, nobody can dissect the strange creatures in the lab." "Then when you bring over the Blood Well Human Brain, just mention it to Fifth Senior Brother. Coincidentally, he’s been feeling uninterested in everything the past few days." "Fantastic." "Alright, let’s leave it at that. I’ll finish drawing Mo Tingsheng’s portrait later and leave it in the shop counter’s drawer for you to pick up. I’m going into seclusion, and it’s uncertain when I’ll emerge." Zhou Xuan gave Li Chengfeng his instructions, hung up the phone, and grabbed paper and pen from the shop. After carefully comparing the portrait to ensure there were no mistakes, he put it in the drawer and went upstairs. ... Zhou Xuan closed the door to the second-floor bedroom, Summoning the Bai Gu Monk from his Divine Revelation, he then crossed off one of the Wash Away Injustice Talisman’s remaining temple-return uses. The Suffering Scholar had been killed, leaving Zhou Xuan with four uses. Using one now, he had three remaining. The talisman emitted a burst of white light, Zhou Xuan grabbed the Bai Gu Monk, took the "High Monk Moon Gaze" tattoo, and entered the Totem Hall. The Peach Blossom Ancestor Tree of the Totem Hall sensed Zhou Xuan’s arrival and waved its branches to greet him. "Little Tree." Zhou Xuan ran up to the Peach Blossom Ancestor Tree and lightly patted its trunk. "One day, I’ll definitely bring you to the surface. Look at you now—where’s the grandeur of an Ancestor Tree?" The Ancestor Tree needed human belief to thrive. The more believers it had, the lusher and more vibrant it grew. The Peach Blossom Ancestor Tree rustled its branches in happiness at Zhou Xuan’s suggestion. "I’ll learn the seventh level tattoo from you after I finish my descent. I’m heading three hundred years back to see how you ended up in this wretched place. If anyone bullied you, I’ll beat them up for you..." The Peach Blossom Ancestor Tree was deeply moved, its leaves trembling as it shed dew onto Zhou Xuan’s face. "But I might not be able to win." Zhou Xuan suddenly changed his tone. The Ancestor Tree immediately extended a branch to wipe the dew from Zhou Xuan’s face, as if to say: "My tears were shed in vain." "Little Tree, don’t hold a grudge. I’m heading down now." To descend into the Blood Well, one needed to perform an opening ritual. Having done it before, Zhou Xuan was now quite experienced. He spread the "High Monk Moon Gaze" tattoo on the ground, sliced his palm to let his blood flow, and used the tattoo as the center to create a simplified map of the City God Taoist Temple where the Blood Well now resided. Once the map was drawn with his blood, a scarlet vortex appeared on the ground. Zhou Xuan pulled out his pocket watch, adjusted the hands to 12 o’clock, and placed it on the vortex. He told the Bai Gu Monk, "Same as last time—when the pointer reaches ’1,’ pull me back up." The Bai Gu Monk gave a slight nod, After letting the Bai Gu Monk secure the Black Water Chain around his waist, Zhou Xuan waved at the Peach Blossom Ancestor Tree. "Little Tree, I originally thought you were called the Blood Tree when I first entered this hall. Now that you’re called the Peach Blossom Ancestor Tree, you need to live up to the name and ensure I return safely from three hundred years ago." The Peach Blossom Ancestor Tree swayed its branches to indicate no problem. Only then did Zhou Xuan leap into the well. ... Zhou Xuan continued descending through the Blood Well, Surrounded by chaotic noises, When the cacophony subsided, Zhou Xuan’s descent ended, and he found himself inside a stone house. "The Ancestor Tree and the Blood Well timed my deployment perfectly—seamlessly connecting with the previous dive." Zhou Xuan murmured in admiration. On his first dive into the Blood Well, Zhou Xuan had returned to three hundred years ago, encountering the Tattoo Tree Clan’s High Priest, the eight-incense Peach Blossom Witch Peng Sheng, on the banks of Mingjiang. Peng Sheng, citing the late hour and the presence of fierce beasts around the town, had taken Zhou Xuan to Peng Town. In the town, Zhou Xuan met Peng Sheng’s younger sister, the Peach Blossom Girl, and learned that she was to marry the Heavenly God during the Heavenly God Festival commencing the next afternoon. At the same time, Zhou Xuan uncovered the reason for the ceremony—to artificially create a Heavenly God for the Tattoo Tree Clan. Back then, Zhou Xuan had promised Peng Sheng that he would stay in the town to witness the festival. Now, in the stone house, Zhou Xuan stood with Peng Sheng to his left, and the Peach Blossom Girl to his right, Zhou Xuan strongly suspected that this Peach Blossom Girl was the Lantern Bride within his own Secret Realm. "Brother Zhou, since you’ve already agreed to stay in Peng Town and observe tomorrow’s Heavenly God Festival, you’re our guest. As such, we must treat you with good wine, good meat, and good music." Peng Sheng led Zhou Xuan toward the town center. At the center stood the Peach Blossom Ancestor Tree from three hundred years ago, Next to it were large bonfires, with wild rabbits and pork roasting to mouthwatering perfection. Many tattoo masters from the Tree Clan were drinking and bantering, enjoying the festivities. "My clansmen, this is a friend here to witness the Heavenly God Festival—Zhou Family’s Nuo God." Hearing these words, the people enthusiastically toasted Zhou Xuan. Zhou Xuan drank until he felt dizzy. He wasn’t concerned about getting drunk because, as the "Blood Well Enlightenment Scripture" stated, in past timelines, there was no life or death—only being ensnared in the whispers of the Gods. Since there was no life or death, why fear? After several bowls of wine, Zhou Xuan sat down with Peng Sheng, who handed him a rabbit leg. Gnawing on the fragrant leg, Zhou Xuan asked Peng Sheng, "Priest Peng, why does the Tree Clan want to artificially create a Heavenly God?" "This is a secret of the Tree Clan... but I suppose there’s no need to hide it." Peng Sheng pointed to the end of the street, toward the town’s gate, and said, "I told you before: as night falls, fierce beasts appear around the town." "Yes." "Those fierce beasts aren’t true beasts—they’re former members of our Tattoo Tree Clan." Peng Sheng’s eyes revealed deep sympathy as he began recounting the tale to Zhou Xuan... PS: A big Chapter update. I’ve been swamped today, so it’s a bit late. Love you all.

Chapter 382 - 217: Descending into the Blood Well Again_4

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