Mutated Tao

Chapter 631: Answer

The Abbot quickly put his palms together. Chief Zheng was courteous to him, so he returned the gesture in kind, saying, “Amitabha. Benefactor, you are too kind, but I fear that I won’t be able to accept such a grand gift.“

“Don’t worry, it’s just a tiny gift. There’s nobody living on that land to begin with.” Zheng Boqiao was abnormally kind to the Abbot.

Li Huowang instantly realized what Zheng Boqiao was doing upon seeing his courteous demeanor. The Liang Kingdom’s Surveillance Bureau was trying to recruit the sects of the Qi Kingdom.

It was a good plan, and it would increase the number of their allies against the Liang Kingdom's Dharma Sect.

“It’s fine. We shall leave it at that. Since this is your first time here, I’ve booked a table at the Rainflower restaurant. I heard that their vegetarian dishes there are good, so I hope you will join me.”

“Amitabha. You are too kind. I’ve already eaten today.”

“Abbot, the food has been prepared. Don’t you think it would be a shame to waste the food?”

Zheng Boqiao was about to pull Chan Du away when Li Huowang stood in their way.

“Chief Zheng, don't you think you've forgotten something here?" Li Huowang asked, sounding frustrated. "You haven't forgotten to interrogate this witch of the Dharma Sect because you can't wait to recruit a key figure of one of the Qi Kingdom's sects, right?”

“Daoist Li, there’s no reason to be hasty. How long can a meal take?”

“Can you do it or not? If you can't do it, then I will do it myself.”

Sensing Li Huowang's anger, Chan Du intervened. “Daoist, we can eat anytime. This matter is indeed more important.”

Seeing that even Chan Du thought that the interrogation was more important than a meal, Zheng Boqiao sighed and brandished his horsetail whisk before walking toward the human “stick” on the ground.

“Daoist Li, the Dharma Sect has long been a headache to us, and we know very well that we can't be too hasty when it comes to matters involving them. Do you really think that a single grand witch will give us enough information to destroy the entire Dharma Sect?”

Li Huowang understood that it wouldn’t be that easy, but he was still angry that Zheng Boqiao had actually decided to postpone the issue.

Eventually, Li Huowang took a step back upon seeing that Zheng Boqiao had changed his mind.

Fo Yulu retrieved the golden Buddhas from He Xinlai's mouth. Before anyone could react, He Xinlai spat his saliva and blood at Zheng Boqiao.

Rather than avoiding it, Zheng Boqiao snatched the saliva out of midair and shoved it into his mouth.

Li Huowang frowned at the sight.

However, it wasn’t over yet. Zheng Boqiao tore off some of He Xinlai’s hair before consuming it with some white fibers that he had plucked from his horsetail whisk.

“What are you doing?” Li Huowang asked, repulsed by Zheng Boqiao’s actions.

“I’m refining a pill.”

Zheng Boqiao prayed to the three clay deities in front of him before grabbing a fistful of ashes from the incense burner and eating it.

“Refining pills?”

Li Huowang knew how to refine pills. He had learned it from Dan Yangzi, but he had never seen such a method of refining pills.

“Using external objects to refine pills results in External Pills, and it's not the best method to refine pills. I'm using my body to refine pills. That way, I can turn anything into medicine, as every single refinement will result in Internal Pills. It’s a superior method compared to using external objects to refine pills," Zheng Boqiao explained as he walked up to Li Huowang.

Before Li Huowang could react, Zheng Boqiao swept his horsetail whisk around Li Huowang before chanting something in a low voice.

When Li Huowang felt the air around him moving around, Zheng Boqiao made several hand seals and placed his face near Li Huowang. Then, he took in a deep breath, sucking in something invisible until his face turned purple, with veins bulging all over his forehead.

“What are you doing?”

Zheng Boqiao opened his mouth slightly and whispered in the lowest voice possible. “You are a Strayed One. What do you think I’m doing here?”

Zheng Boqiao then sat down with his legs crossed. A wisp of white smoke floated out of his head as he sat still like a statue.

Li Huowang finally realized what Zheng Boqiao was doing. He was actually refining pills! I wonder what sect he's from. Using one's own body to refine pills is just too weird.

An hour later, Zheng Boqiao opened his mouth and spat out the pill. The pill was a ball of pulsating meat covered in stomach acid.

Zheng Boqiao stood up with the pill in hand and started walking toward He Xinlai.

He Xinlai panicked at the sight and hurriedly bit down. Unfortunately, Li Huowang had removed all of his teeth to ensure that he wouldn't be able to commit suicide by biting his tongue.

He Xinlai tried his best to resist, but it was to no avail.

Once the pill had made its way into He Xinlai’s stomach, his eyes rolled up, and he started convulsing.

Li Huowang was eager to see what was going to happen next, but He Xinlai’s figure abruptly became stiff. He was dead.

Before anyone could say anything, Zheng Boqiao took out a small fan and used one hand to make some seals while chanting.

“The head as Taiyi, and the feet as the Heavenly Pillar! The organs form the armor that protects the Heavenly Door! Summon the big dipper and roar! All souls shall follow the orders!”

He Xinlai’s brain shrunk in an instant, and the meat pill that was fed to him forcefully suddenly jumped out of He Xinlai’s shrunken mouth.

Zheng Boqiao grabbed it in midair and examined it.

The meat pill had gotten larger.

Zheng Boqiao swallowed the pill and closed his eyes as if he was trying to sense something.

Realizing that Zheng Boqiao was indeed a man of multiple talents, Li Huowang stopped panicking and waited patiently for the outcome.

Ten minutes later, Zheng Boqiao opened his eyes.

Li Huowang asked him, “How is it?”

“He’s not the leader of the Dharma Sect. The leader is not going to be captured so easily. Still, there's some useful information hidden in his brain. He knows some of the secret bases of the Dharma Sect here in the Liang Kingdom. Moreover, it seems that they are biding their time and hiding, which means they have no intention of fighting us head-on.”

“What about Taishan Shi? Anything about him?” Li Huowang asked.

Li Huowang could still remember Chan Du's words about Taishan Shi was the most dangerous among those who had inadvertently ended up in the Liang Kingdom.

“Taishan Shi… Hmm… Let me think.” Zheng Boqiao paced around. Soon, he stopped and said, “He doesn’t know anything. Taishan Shi was the one who found him, and Taishan Shi is a very careful and meticulous man. He never exposes any information about himself unless it's necessary. Hmm… A lone Taishan Shi shouldn’t be that dangerous. I think it’s more important to know how the Dharma Sect ended up becoming an ally of that old Lama from Qing Qiu. I think that matter requires our attention more than this issue."