Plundering the Dao of the Immortal Journey - Chapter 168

Chapter 168

Hearing this laugh, everything turned white .

"No!" Pei Zi Yun woke up, his entire body was soaked in sweat, and caused his robes to be dripping wet . In his mind, he could still the see the surprise in the Daoist’s face, and his smile .

The sharp painful sensations across his body had receded slightly . When he sat up, he realized that he was lying down on a stone floor . He then shouted, "System!"

A white Plum Blossom appeared before his eyes as it gradually became bigger until it became a transparent white information interface . It bore a faint light perception and words floated on it . All the information which he wanted to find out was present on the screen .

"Yin Master: Level 1"

"Dao Techniques: 39 Varieties (Advanced)"

"Sword Techniques: Master (19 . 1% Completion)"

"Divine Powers: Stars Transposition Level 1"

"Stars Transposition . " Pei Zi Yun could not help but laughed out . He concentrated and thought hard, and a memory floated into vision . His expression then turned abruptly .

'Imperial Qi is extremely powerful and imposing . However at the end of the day, it’s still a form of spiritual energy . '

'When I gazed deep into the abyss, I realized that it was the abyss that was gazing at me . For people who don’t cultivate spiritual energy, killing officials wouldn’t have much consequences . Of course, they would be subjected to the laws and be pursued by the officials . However, they would not face the retribution a Daoist would face . '

'For Daoists or anyone who cultivates spiritual energy, whenever they killed an official, it was akin to damaging the Imperial Qi, and would face a direct retribution . Since Yin Masters have already opened the gates to heaven, their spiritual energy is immense and unmistakable . It is thus much easier to come under attack from the Imperial Qi, and receive direct retribution onto their bodies as a form of retribution . '

'According to rumors heard by the original owner, those monks that didn’t cultivate Buddhism Arts would be rendered immune to attacks from the spiritual realms . Conversely, the monks who had cultivated were subjected to attacks from evil spirits . '

'All the way until they attain enlightenment, they would then gradually be able to block out the spirits from disturbances . '

That was extremely easy to understand . Should a person run into deep waters, he would be attacked by the creatures lurking beneath . Only after a long time, when he’s transformed into a creature of the sea would he no longer be subjected to attacks .

'And it doesn’t have to be very difficult to accomplish . What the Stars Transposition can do is reducing the prominence of the might of a Yin Master, and decrease the traces of his powers, and conceal them as much as possible . Doing so would reduce the reach of the Imperial Qi and thus significantly suppress the effects of the retribution . '

'That’s not all . In theory, this divine ability also has the ability to significantly reduce the effects of attacks by spiritual energies, although the protection is much weaker against Dao arts . '

'At this point, attacking a ninth ranked official wouldn’t incur as much retribution as before . However, it wouldn’t be as effective against an eighth ranked official . This was because the crazy Daoist had only cultivated up to the third level, and was therefore limited in his abilities . Hence, when he went berserk and killed many officials, he still died due to the intense damage dealt upon him by the retribution . According to his memories, he was only thirty when he died . '

'Ji Dan’s ancestor extended a hand to try and save him during his dying moments, and stayed with him until he finally breathed his last . That was why the crazy Daoist decided to give him the jade charm . '

'It was a shame that the owner of the jade charm killed numerous officials, and thus had a certain curse on the charm . Anyone in possession of it could work for the Imperial Court, but must not become an official . Could that be why Ji Dan ultimately died under my hands, in a violent death?'

'That’s just mere superstition actually, and a negligible factor which resulted in his death, as he would’ve died anyway . '

Pei Zi Yun felt both excitement and worry at the same time . Having acquired this divine power, the retribution exerted upon him would be significantly reduced . As long as he wasn’t captured by the military forces, he wouldn’t fall into a predicament in which he would be too weak to defend himself . However, whatever happened from here on would still require his careful planning and execution .

At this point, he suddenly felt like his brain was about to explode . A wave of killing aura swept across his entire body, as though he was standing in front of his most hated enemies, "Kill, kill kill . "

A voice reverberated over and over in his head . Pei Zi Yun’s face turned white, ‘This isn’t the retribution from the Imperial Qi . Is this the remaining imprint of the crazed Daoist in my mind?’

‘As the powers of the Legacies absorbed by me grow stronger, the disturbances following absorption grow stronger as well . ’

‘This means that the Plum Blossom is hiding more secrets from me . At this point the disturbance is already difficult to tolerate . How did Xie Cheng Dong manage to overcome more powerful disturbances as he absorbed stronger Legacies? He would’ve died while doing so if there wasn’t a solution to this problem . ’

"Damn it . "

Pei Zi Yun cursed loudly, unsure of who he was actually cursing . His head was hurting so bad that he couldn’t even stand up . He started rolling on the floor, as it became more intense, 'Damn it, the retribution from the Imperial Qi has started again . Combined with the haunting of the crazed Daoist, it could be very dangerous . I have to escape to the mountains . '

'Whoever said that the most dangerous place is the safest place was an idiot . '

With this thought in mind, Pei Zi Yun stepped gingerly over to the window . He could see an ox-cart stationed down below . He instantly transformed into a ray of light and disappeared from the attic, appearing underneath the oxcart . He clutched onto the wooden beam beneath the ox-cart and fell unconscious under it .

The winds started getting stronger . The sounds of soldier’s boots stomping hastily on the ground could be heard as well . Not only were the specially trained group of soldiers present, there was an entire cohort of regular soldiers and constables as well . Such a scene terrified the group of people, and caused them to scurry away into hiding .

"Search this area thoroughly, watch out for traces of blood . "

"He couldn’t have gone far, after being subjected to the retribution from the Imperial Qi . Where does he think he’s going? He won’t be able to escape . There has to be traces of blood around . Whoever finds him shall be handsomely rewarded . " Eunuch Ding shouted loudly .

"Yes!" Everyone shouted out in acknowledgement .

"Eunuch Ding, I’ve found some blood . " A constable rushed over . The minute he heard this good news, the eunuch was clearly overjoyed .

"Official Wu, follow me now . " The eunuch turned around and instructed .

"Yes . " A Daoist man pushed his way past the soldiers and stepped forward . This Daoist was also an official, and had to be working for the Imperial Court as the Daoist records keeper, and was of the ninth rank .

The both of them walked towards the trail of blood and found it along a road . Seeing the glob of blood on the floor, the eunuch creased his eyebrows and looked at the Daoist, "Official Wu, look at this . "

Official Wu then stepped up and examined the blood, as if trying to gain some insights from it . After a long time, Official Wu then spoke out, "This blood seems fresh and was just purged out not too long ago . However, it’s clear that the energy within the blood is very normal . This isn’t the blood of a cultivator . "

"Continue searching . " Eunuch Ding ordered once more to the group of constables who had gathered around him .

"The blood of a Daoist cultivator would be extremely rich . Even after leaving the body, the blood would seem alive . The blood of a Daoist wouldn’t thin out so easily as well, and would look extremely fresh and red . " Official Wu added .

"I understand now . " Eunuch Ding looked at the Daoist man before turning to the Lieutenant .

"Search for blood that’s fresh and bright red, hurry search . " The Lieutenant beside him hurriedly passed the order to the rest of his men .

"Your excellency, I’ve found some droplets of blood, which looks extremely fresh and bright . " A constable stepped forward to report .

"Take us there now . " The constable then led them towards a particular direction . When they arrived, they looked down at the floor and saw a droplet the size of a thumb, from which a fresh smell was emitted . The droplet of blood had landed on some dirt and soil, and yet didn’t mix together and remained in a single droplet .

"This blood must belong to Pei Zi Yun . He couldn’t have gone far . Besides, as long as the blood was expelled within seven days from his body, I can use it to trace his approximate location . " Official Wu then retrieved a clear vial in which he collected the droplet of blood and laughed out, "As long as he doesn’t cross a hundred kilometers . "

"I urge Official Wu to demonstrate his powers and find this man out for me . " The eunuch looked at him strangely . It was difficult to tell his true feelings towards him .

Official Wu then continued, "That’s going to be easy . I just have to open up an altar and make the necessary arrangements . I require some time . In the meanwhile, can I urge Eunuch to deploy some horses and men to seal up the city gates, to prevent him from escaping . "

Authority meant that a person had the ability to rearrange mountains and empty rivers . Just a short time later, an altar was erected in front of the Daoist . They piled together some soil, added a a particular flag and carved out some symbols . A compass was then placed atop the mound of soil .

Official Wu then stepped forward and spoke to eunuch Ding, "Eunuch, please issue an order within the city walls . I’m a lowly official, and I am not qualified enough to issue an order that would begin the enchantments and thus cannot activate the altar . "

"Official Wu Luo hear your order, I command you to demonstrate your abilities and locate Pei Zi Yun’s whereabouts . " Eunuch Ding then suddenly recalled something and retrieved a tile from his pocket . This tile had inscriptions of dragons and was gold in color . It contained the words "King Lu" on the tile, and showed it to Official Wu as a measure of authority .

As soon as his words had been spoken, a white and red spirit snake slithered out from the tile and rested upon Official Wu’s body .

When the red and white snake touched his body, it transformed into an official’s robes and draped itself over his body . However, normal people couldn’t see any of this taking place . Official Wu could feel it and could see everything . At this point he then started to conjure his powers .

"I present the authority vested in me, and act accordingly . " Official Wu muttered as a loud wind started to brew .

Official Wu then pointed a finger, and the wind started moving . Everyone presented felt a chill ran down their spines as the temperature started to dip drastically . After several seconds, the warmth returned to their bodies .

After sometime, Official Wu stepped forward, "Your excellency, Pei Zi Yun’s whereabouts has been made known to me . He is currently fleeing into the mountains . We should hurry and chase after him, and prevent him from escaping . "

"Eunuch Ding, we’ve already erected barriers and stop points all throughout the city . " The Lieutenant spoke out .

When Eunuch Ding heard this he laughed, "Do you think the few men you have can restraint him? There’s no need . Deploy all the soldiers, constables and bailiffs now . Everyone should coordinate with my own troops to seek him out and kill him . "

When a patrol officer heard this, he hurriedly acknowledged, "Yes . "

A constable then stepped forward . He looked very properly dressed, and had a short and stout frame . His face was round and he had extremely chubby cheeks . He carried a blade on his side and looked to be about thirty years old . Fierce killing aura was leaking from this constable . He looked like he was a firm advocate of upholding the just law . He then spoke out, "Eunuch Ding, after receiving your order, I’ve already prepared more than a hundred men . Pei Zi Yun killed his excellency Ji, and thus offended all of us and made an enemy of us . We shall avenge our brother and take Pei Zi Yun’s head off and present it to constable Ji . "

Eunuch Ding looked at the men before him, all ready to apprehend Pei Zi Yun . He nodded his head, "You’re Fang Jie? Your barricades at the stop points won’t be able to stop Pei Zi Yun . However, you should order your men to remain in their positions . My troops shall act as a net and encircle his position . We must restrict the breathing space given to him . All the constables with experience should join the search and hunt him down . I shall lead my troops to narrow down the specific area he’s in . Kill this man on sight . "

"Set off immediately and start hunting him down . Do not give him the slightest space to move or escape . " Eunuch Ding spoke out loudly, and seemed extremely authoritative and in control .

Everyone present responded loudly, "Capture him, and kill him!"

They then started marching off .

Once they crossed the river, they arrived at the foot of the mountain . Although this particular mountain wasn’t very tall, the landscape was extremely dangerous . There were cliffs, rough terrains which included many rocks and boulders, and there were areas which were completely covered in trees and shrubs .

Fortunately for them, the entire area wasn’t very large . When they looked across, they could see hundreds of soldiers scaling the mountains .

"Quick, everyone form up in groups of five and carry a whistle . Blow on your whistle once every thirty seconds . If you don’t hear a reply from the group nearby, it must be that something has happened . Everyone should then move quickly to that area . Once the traitor has been found, sound the gong immediately . With our large numbers, this person should have nowhere to run . " Soldiers started shouting advice to one another .

Hearing these words, the soldiers which had been deployed to locate him on the mountains, acknowledged with a loud cry . The rest of the troops stayed at the foot to prevent any escape routes .

These soldiers teamed up with the constables, who were trained in locating a criminal . Several constables held onto the leashes of hunting dogs as they scoured the tall grassy areas .

Pei Zi Yun was indeed within the bushes of a forested area hiding . He was breathing softly and had some grass over him in an attempt to camouflage himself . He was bleeding rather profusely .

When he came across a group of soldiers, he intended to kill them off but had experienced a sudden sharp pain in his head, and was almost killed by them . Fortunately he still managed to kill them, but was injured in the process .

"Woof woof woof!" At this point he could hear the barking of the hunting dogs . The dogs rushed towards him, and Pei Zi Yun could feel his hair burst out on its end . He then drew his sword and stood up .

A wild hare then leapt out from the bushes and dashed across the fields . The hunting dogs couldn’t be restrained any longer and charged onward .

The bailiff then shouted out, "Damn it, what kind of stupid dog is this . It only knows how to chase after hares at the most opportune timings . "

Just as the bailiff was about to sprint off to recover his dog, a soldier next to him held him back, "Your excellency, a dog that chases a hare is a good dog . Let it chase after it, we shall have lunch when it catches the hare . "

"If it really catches the hare, I shall not do anything . If it doesn’t manage to catch it, I shall kill it and have some dog stew to simmer my anger . " The bailiff cursed out .

Just seven steps away from them, Pei Zi Yun was still lying flat, hiding from them . He stuck his head out and looked at them before ducking back down again . Thankfully he managed to use his Dao arts to distract the dog, if not he would’ve been discovered .

Pei Zi Yun wondered who coordinated this effort to kill him, as he observed wave after wave of soldiers searching for him . Such a method was similar to a war tactic called Net Pulling . In fact, it was exactly the same . The point was to lull the victim into a false sense of security . They would then encircle the victim and wait for him to make a mistake and fall into their traps . Pei Zi Yun crawled in the grass as he thought deeply .