The more Qiao Zhi compared the current situation to the past, the more confused he became.

In the past, Chu Qiguang became a xiucai and entered the officialdom at the age of twenty-five. Now, fifteen-year-old Chu Qiguang has become a martial artist and is planning to take part in the martial examination. The past Chu Qiguang only became the grand secretary in his forties, and by then, he had already lost an eye and a leg. As grand secretary, he enslaved the fiends and made us plant cotton... Why is it all so different this time around? Have his choices changed because his experiences have become different from before?

Before Qiao Zhi could think any further, Chu Qiguang's voice snapped out of his thoughts.

"Let's go, Master Qiao. What're you thinking about?"

"Nothing," Qiao Zhi quickly replied.

"By the way, do you remember if anyone invents anything in the future? Something like a machine that can speed up the process of turning raw cotton into cotton fabric?" Chu Qiguang asked.

At the mention of cotton, a traumatic look appeared on Qiao Zhi's face, and he immediately replied, "Don't talk to me about cotton! I'd rather die than pick cotton!"

Chu Qiguang was rather puzzled by Qiao Zhi's intense reaction to such a simple question, but he could see that this seemed to be a sensitive topic, so he didn't ask any further.

"Let's go to the ruins, Master Qiao," he said, quickly changing the subject.

Thus, the two of them set off from their courtyard. Along the way, they passed the courtyard where Wang Cailiang was staying and heard a chorus of heart-wrenching sobs coming from inside.

Chu Qiguang sent Qiao Zhi to investigate, and the latter returned shortly after with a forlorn sigh. "Granny Sun's grandson passed away."

"How did he die?" Chu Qiguang asked.

"He fell into some water and drowned," Qiao Zhi replied.

Chu Qiguang shook his head with a somber expression. Child mortality rates were extremely high in this era, so this really wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

The two of them returned to the Wang Clan Village, then continued westward into the mountains.

This cluster of mountains was part of the Millet Mountain Range, which stretched across the majority of Spirit Province. The mountain range was largely uninhabited by humans, so it was home to many myths and legends about fiends and demons.

The journey to the ruins was long and rugged. It took Chu Qiguang an entire day to get there, which meant he would have to spend the night in the wilderness before returning the next day.

Unbeknownst to Chu Qiguang, some sinister forces were stirring in Azure Sun County during his absence.

In the courtyard where Wang Cailiang was staying, Granny Sun was weeping as she burned paper money in front of her grandson's coffin.

Daoist Master Azure Spirit had appeared silently behind Granny Sun, a sinister grin on his face. Inside the coffin, Sun Xian's lifeless hand suddenly twitched ever so slightly.

***

Wang Cailiang was very surprised to see Daoist Master Azure Spirit. He had never imagined that a guardian of the Daoist temple would come to visit someone as insignificant as Granny Sun.

Daoist Master Azure Spirit offered Granny Sun his condolences, and Wang Cailiang wanted to use the opportunity to approach him and start a conversation. After all, it certainly couldn't hurt to get to know one of the higher-ranking members of the Daoist temple.

However, as Daoist Master Azure Spirit stroked Granny Sun's back in what seemed to be a soothing gesture, Wang Cailiang noticed her trembling violently as she wept. It looked as if countless living creatures were squirming and moving beneath her clothes.

Wang Cailiang and his servants were horrified to see this.

"W-what's happening?!"

Daoist Master Azure Spirit turned to them and raised a finger to his lips in a quieting gesture. Then said in a gentle voice, "Don't interrupt others while they're eating. That is basic etiquette."

Wang Cailiang and his servants watched in shock and horror as Granny Sun's body began to swell drastically. Tears of blood flowed from her empty, soulless eyes.

At the same time, numerous children's faces appeared across her bloated body like massive tumors. If one were to look closely, they would discover that all of the faces bore the features of her deceased grandson. Their mouths hung open as they vomited white pus.

At this point, Granny Sun's hands had swollen to the size of millstones, and green pus was oozing endlessly from her pores. She reached for Sun Xian's body in the coffin with her massive, swollen hands while letting out a series of guttural noises that sounded impossible for the human larynx to produce.

She clutched Sun Xian's body tightly against her chest. However, in her new form, she possessed incredible strength, and Sun Xian's body was torn apart at the slightest touch. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Granny Sun's grotesque form trembled violently as she looked down at her grandson's dismembered body. All the faces across her body began to screech and wail in grief. The harder she tried to gather her grandson's body, the more she crushed his remains with her inhuman strength, and the more agitated she became.

Amid the violent frenzy, one of Sun Xian's fingers suddenly pierced straight into Granny Sun's eye socket, causing her eye to burst in a huge eruption of white slime.

"One must first experience death before they can be reborn anew through the elixir of undying..." Daoist Master Azure Spirit murmured to himself.

Meanwhile, Granny Sun's demonic body was rapidly withering away. The finger in her eye socket seemed like a parasite that was draining all of her life force. Before long, the finger regenerated into an entire hand, then an arm. In what felt like the blink of an eye, Sun Xian's body had already been fully restored.

At this point, Granny Sun had been reduced to nothing more than a dried, withered husk. Sun Xian opened his eyes, and there was a dazed look in his eyes as he examined his own body before turning toward Granny Sun's remains.

He slowly reached out, as if he wanted to touch her, but in the very next instant, her withered body exploded into a huge cloud of dust with a dull thump.

Sun Xian opened his mouth, revealing two rows of sharp teeth. Just as he was about to let out a roar, Daoist Master Azure Spirit stepped forward and slapped a glowing green talisman onto his forehead.

"It's been eight long years, but I've finally done it!" Daoist Master Azure Spirit cried out in delight.

A burst of sharp pain struck the back of Wang Cailiang's head, and he immediately collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

By the time the Daoist priests from the Daoist temple arrived, all they saw was Wang Cailiang lying unconscious on the ground, Daoist Master Azure Spirit sitting cross-legged, and mangled pieces of flesh and blood scattered all over the courtyard.

"What have you done, Azure Spirit?!" Chen Zhu exclaimed furiously.

Daoist Master Jade Pagoda appeared behind Daoist Master Azure Spirit, seemingly out of thin air. The talisman in his hand burst into flames, and a series of golden chains appeared, winding tightly around Daoist Master Azure Spirit.

"Multiple members of the Ding Clan have accused you of colluding with Ding Daoxiao! What do you have to say for yourself?" Jade Pagoda interrogated.

However, Daoist Master Azure Spirit refused to answer. He merely remained seated in silence and allowed the Daoist priests to take him away.

"What do we do with him, Senior Uncle?" Chen Zhu asked, glancing at Wang Cailiang.

"He seems to have been caught in the middle of an Immortal Dao ritual," Jade Pagoda said. "There's a chance that he could undergo demonification, so take him back for an exorcism."

After Wang Cailiang was carried away, the Daoist priests examined the courtyard and discovered that the scattered remains on the ground belonged to Wang Cailiang's servants, mixed with pieces of cow, sheep, and pig remains.

The interrogation of Daoist Master Azure Spirit continued after he was taken back to the Daoist temple, but he remained silent and refused to talk. In the end, he was sent to Dragon Serpent Mountain.

To cover up the scandal, the explanation that the Daoist temple gave to the public was that he had been transferred away.