Zhang Ze taught Tang a phrase, "When poor, use tactical infiltration; when rich, use firepower coverage."
Tang didn’t understand what tactical infiltration meant, but he knew what firepower coverage was.
When he saw the female ghost transform into a shadow intending to flee, Tang immediately turned his gun and fired a talisman.
Compared to traditional spell-casting, the feeling of pulling the trigger was incredibly satisfying.
Tang planned to give each of his junior disciples a Fire Qilin after he returned to Dragon Tiger Mountain, as such good things should be enjoyed together.
Zhang Ze and Tang both pulled the trigger, creating a firepower net formed by two talismans that blocked the female ghost’s escape route, forcing her into a corner.
Seeing the ghost had nowhere to escape, Zhang Ze brought out his Spirit Sword while Tang took out a copper bell, intending to interrogate her.
Setting up the posture of a courtroom trial, Tang rang the copper bell, the sound pleasing, emitting a faint golden glow, yet the female ghost seemed unaffected.
Tang uttered a surprised noise.
"Isn’t this creature malicious?"
As if confirming Tang’s words, the ghost that had just been chased all around the room by two big guns sighed and complained.
"So troublesome, I’m done."
After speaking, a white light burst from her chest, enveloping an object as it flew out the window, and the ghost instantly turned into a paperman talisman, floating to the ground.
"Senior brother, something escaped!" Tang tried to catch the white light but was a step too slow.
"No worries, I have an ambush." Zhang Ze gestured for Tang to remain calm and bent to pick up the paperman talisman left by the ghost.
The back of the paperman talisman was covered in a page of dense small characters.
Outside, the white light broke through the sword array but didn’t fly far before being stopped by a mirror.
The Profound Identification Treasure Mirror bounced the white light back like a ping pong ball. The light tried escaping elsewhere again but was blocked by the Celestial Calculation Disc.
Repeatedly, until the object’s Spiritual Qi was exhausted, the chase ended.
As the white light dissipated, an ancient incense burner dropped to the ground, spilling ashes everywhere, among which was a talisman.
A talisman to transport a magical treasure.
Half an incense stick later.
The Liu family old house had returned to its original state; everyone sat in a circle in the courtyard, waiting for Zhang Ze to speak.
However, Zhang Ze still sat on his small stool, holding two paperman talismans, unsure how to start.
Because he genuinely felt that Tang had some serious issues.
There are mistaken names in this world, but there are indeed no erroneous nicknames; the Celestial Master certainly deserved the name Dian.
The ghost incarnated from the paperman talisman wasn’t a malicious spirit, but rather an opportunity given to Liu Yong by the Celestial Master.
The small characters written on the paperman talisman described a dual cultivation technique and included advice for Liu Yong.
Skipping the dual cultivation technique, below are the admonitions:
[The tales of the Six Paths Immortal are lies, do not believe them anymore.]
[You and your father are fated with me; I cannot bear to see you go astray again, so I have taken back the incense burner.]
[I calculated that you’ll face romantic tribulations, thus I am granting you a dual cultivation technique; though you cannot enter the Tao, you may live long and prosper.]
[Our affinities end here; but my kind heart prevails, so I’m giving you another paperman girl for pleasure.]
Zhang Ze understood the previous statements, but couldn’t grasp the meaning behind "for pleasure."
He could not imagine the Celestial Master’s state of mind when he wrote this statement on paper.
Moreover, he couldn’t fathom what had happened with the Celestial Master.
If you say something happened to him, he still has the mood to read a yellow book, calculate destinies, bestow opportunities, and use paperman spells with incredible skill.
Yet, if you say he’s fine, he cannot exhibit his divine powers that reach heaven and earth, instead remaining in one place for decades, only playing with talismans and drawing them repeatedly.
Zhang Ze pondered for a long time but still had no clues; after memorizing the dual cultivation technique, he handed the paperman talisman to Liu Yong.
"You should see for yourself."
Liu Yong took the paperman talisman, looking at it repeatedly, his expression changing over and over, finally letting out a long sigh.
"Greed arises from the heart; disaster follows from this."
"I, Liu, acknowledge my mistake and dare not repeat it in the future."
After which, Liu Yong thanked Zhang Ze and Tang profusely, but just as he was about to return to Yazi Town with Little Yingchun, he suddenly remembered something.
Liu Yong entered the house, and shortly after, he dragged out two large boxes.
"These are all costumes and ceremonial items from the Six Paths Divine Sect, along with things my father used to deceive people back in the day, hidden near the grave before."
"I don’t intend to keep them; leaving them at home spells trouble. If you two are looking for the old Taoist, maybe these contain something useful for you."
Saying this, Liu Yong opened the first box.
Inside the box was a stack of human skin maps.
Little Yingchun stepped back, "Liu Lang! These..."
"Ying’Er, don’t be afraid; these are all fake, made from pigskin." Liu Yong explained, holding Little Yingchun’s hand.
"Back then, the old Taoist passed on many things to my father, including the method for forging human skin and this map."
"Following that method, my father made a box of them, aiming to swindle some money."
This imitation was incredibly lifelike; Zhang Ze couldn’t tell if it was real or fake, but Tang immediately recognized them as undoubtedly pigskin.
"These are indeed imitations made from pigskin; supposedly, my grandfather studied it for a long time before achieving such a level of indistinguishable authenticity."
"But there’s a way to discern it, although ordinary people cannot detect it. Look here..."
Zhang Ze picked up a pigskin map and examined it under Tang’s direction; after a while, he realized the map seemed familiar.
He asked Liu Yong, "Did your father sell these maps?"
Liu Yong sighed, "He only sold one. The next day, the old man faced severe repercussions, so the box of maps rotted in his hands completely."
Zhang Ze also sighed, thinking that Blood Lion truly committed many sins and deserved punishment.
The only fake map that was sold ultimately ended up in his possession.
The most bizarre part was, Blood Lion actually believed it.
After checking these two boxes again, Zhang Ze and Tang found nothing else.
Upon consulting Liu Yong, Zhang Ze set fire to the two boxes and their contents, burning them cleanly.
The matter of the Six Paths Divine Sect was thoroughly concluded, and Tang watched Liu Yong and Little Yingchun’s departing backs in silence.
Only when the fire burned out did Tang mutter to himself.
"This world outside the mountain is truly interesting; not at all like what the uncles told me."
"Indeed, there’s plenty of interest beyond the mountain."
"Let’s go, we should find your grandfather." Zhang Ze patted Tang’s shoulder.
With no outsiders present, the two moved swiftly, soon arriving at Witch Dragon Mountain.
Witch Dragon Mountain was tall; ascending it by conventional means would take considerable time.
Moreover, Zhang Ze thought that regardless of whether they climbed over or went through a cave, with his trouble-attracting nature, they would inevitably encounter some issues.
Not wanting delays, he directly called on Li to assist.
Li led them, using Earth Escape to travel through the mountain, and shortly they arrived on the other side of Witch Dragon Mountain.
Emerging from the ground, Zhang Ze and Tang saw the Little White River Liu Yong mentioned.
The river was clear and devoid of any trace of humans.
Following Liu Yong’s provided route along the river, Zhang Ze and Tang came to a deserted place.
Here, towering trees shaded the sky, and ahead lay no path, only a thicket of brambles and weeds.
"Let’s start." Zhang Ze handed the incense burner to Tang.
Tang lit the incense burner, closed his eyes, and recited the spell.
As Tang chanted, a dense fog began to rise around the two.
Tang seemed to sense something as he stepped forward with closed eyes, while Zhang Ze, curious, did not move.
Because he was curious.
"What’s that thing in the mist?"