Ghost Pot

Chapter 111

In her mind's eye, a scene appeared: an old monk with a hooked nose and sunken eyes was meditating facing a stone wall in a cave. His tattered robes were covered with a thick layer of dust, and birds had even built a nest on him, with the chicks still chirping...

This is the third of the five styles of Bodhidharma, "Facing the Wall for Nine Years".

Kunba manipulated the "Yin Xiangren" to strike Momo with the "Shadowless Yin Palm". He was overjoyed, thinking to himself that even if this child knew "blood curse", he would definitely not be able to withstand two peerless Yin Palms. His internal organs would definitely rupture and his bones would be broken.

To everyone's surprise, Ni Zi seemed completely unaware, her body remaining motionless, and the Bodhidharma Divine Skill within her body actually neutralized the sinister palm strike...

Kunba was shocked and hurriedly urged the "Yin Xiangren" to strike the girl repeatedly, but it was to no avail.

With a "pop," Nizi opened her mouth, a flash of red light appeared, and a giant blood flea shot out...

Seeing that the situation was not good, Mengla Chaweng Kunba braced himself with his hands, lifted himself into the air, threw down the "Yin Xiangren", and in two leaps he escaped into the bamboo forest behind the thatched hut.

"Chase...chase!" Dudu shouted as it flapped its wings and soared into the air.

"Meow..." The big black cat "Xiao Cui'er" also rushed towards the bamboo forest without hesitation.

Amin picked up his carbine from the ground, ignoring the American grenade, and hurriedly chased after them.

"Mo Mo..." Shen Caihua stepped forward to help Ni Zi up and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

Nizi opened her mouth and retracted the giant blood flea, then pointed at "Ancestor" and asked Jia Shiming in a trembling voice, "Master, is she really my mother?"

Jia Shiming pondered for a moment, then finally nodded and replied, "Nizi, you are Momo. This really is your birth mother. Her name is Zuying."

One, two... hot tears slowly streamed down Nizi's face. "She was turned into a 'yin-type person'..." she said painfully.

Jia Shiming stared at Nizi in astonishment. He suddenly felt that his disciple was so unfamiliar. This child was hiding so many secrets that he didn't know about. The scarlet blood flea that had just flown out of her mouth and the abnormal words she had spoken were clearly those of Mengla Chaweng Bing, the most evil sorcerer in Southeast Asia back then...

Six years ago, in the rainforest, Mengla Chaweng Bing kidnapped Momo, who was less than a year old, and disappeared without a trace. Six years later, Nizi appeared in the Guo family in Fenglingdu, Hedong. What exactly happened? Jia Shiming gradually began to figure things out.

At this moment, the Yin-type "Ancestor," who had lost control, sat blankly on the ground like a puppet, expressionless and without thought, while the savages wearing white masks had already scattered.

The Giant Bamboo, also known as the "Dragon Bamboo," is the largest bamboo in the world to date, with a diameter of over 30 centimeters and a culm length of over 30 meters, reaching a height of about ten stories. The Burmese call it "Mai Bo," meaning the Bamboo King.

Deep in the rainforest of the Savage Mountain, behind a thatched hut, grow dozens of unusual "King Blood Bamboo" plants. Unlike ordinary King Bamboo, this bamboo is extremely rare, with blood-red bark, a diameter of up to forty centimeters, and each segment about a meter long. Its interior is filled with red sap, resembling fresh blood. Its growth period is exceptionally long, lasting for decades. In this world, all extraordinary things have their peculiarities. The root systems of these dozens of "King Blood Bamboo" plants do not grow horizontally, but rather penetrate vertically dozens of meters underground to absorb the earth's energy—something no other plant can do.

Mengla Chaweng Kunba uses the Blood Bamboo to cultivate tiny Yin Infants. He makes a hole in the bamboo node closest to the ground, then inserts the kidnapped female infants into it, soaking them in the bamboo sap. There's no need to feed the infants; the blood-red liquid provides sufficient nutrition. Every night at midnight, when the Yin energy is at its peak, Kunba chants incantations in the bamboo forest to refine the Yin Infants. When the Yin Infants are full-term and mature, they are simply released by splitting the bamboo node.

Aside from himself, the "Yin Xiangren" and the savages must always wear large masks. The Yin infants can only see the face of Mengla Chaweng Kunba from beginning to end. If the savages violate this rule, they will be killed immediately.

Amin rushed into the bamboo forest, but the sight before him left him speechless: on the nodes of some large red bamboo, there were round holes, and inside each hole was a baby's face, its expressionless eyes staring blankly at him...

"Xiao Mei! Xiao Mei..." Amin cried out his daughter's name in terror, searching for her one plant after another.

"Father..." A faint voice came from the end of the road; it was Xiao Mei's voice.

Aming ran frantically to the giant blood bamboo, peering through the holes in the bamboo joints. Sure enough, there was his daughter, Xiaomei, naked, soaking in a blood-red sap, the child looking at him with tearful, aggrieved eyes…

"Crack crack crack..." The sound of bamboo breaking came from the bamboo forest. Amin turned around and saw Mengla Chaweng Kunba wielding a sharp short-handled machete, frantically chopping bamboo and releasing some naked female infants with blood-red bodies.

The Yin Infant has finally been born...

Enraged, Amin picked up his carbine and was about to fire at Khunpa.

"Don't shoot! It will hurt the child..." Behind him, a Hakka nanny who had rushed over hurriedly shouted to stop him.

Of the little Yin infants that Kunba nurtured, about half have matured. The longer they are nurtured, the stronger their magical power will become. He originally wanted to gather twenty-four little Yin infants before they were born together to form the "Yin Infant Great Luo Sha". But now it is too late. He can only release them to fight to the death.

Jia Shiming stepped forward, channeled his innate qi, grabbed the two sides of the bamboo joint hole with both hands, and with a forceful shout, broke the King Blood Bamboo into two pieces, splashing blood-red bamboo sap all over himself.

Aming quickly picked up Xiaomei and hugged her tightly in his arms, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Hahaha..." Mengla Chaweng Kunba sat on the ground, surrounded by more than a dozen fierce-looking little yin infants, their naked bodies still dripping red fluid...

Chapter 169

The sudden appearance of "Ancestor" finally put Jia Shiming at ease. Although she was no longer a normal person, her presence greatly reduced the guilt he felt towards Nizi. He genuinely liked this disciple, although he didn't fully understand her yet. He had also been worried about how to conceal the truth for a long time. Now that "Ancestor" had appeared on her own, it was much easier to explain. He could simply push everything onto the Grand Master, Mengla Chaweng Kunba.

"Kunba, today is the day to avenge Master Bing," Nizi said bitterly.

Mengla Chaweng Kunba replied in broken Chinese, "Zumo, you are only six years old. You are far from being skilled in 'blood curses'. Here, let my little Yin infants play with you first." After saying that, he began to chant the "Yin Infant Curse" incantation and pointed at Nizi.

In the clearing of the bamboo forest, covered with thick, soft bamboo leaves, stood more than ten small, yin-like infants, barefoot, all with outstretched hands as if grabbing, their blood-red eyes glaring, their fingers bearing long, sharp, blue nails, emitting threatening "whoosh" sounds, as they slowly surrounded Nizi...

Jia Shiming was shocked and secretly activated his "Innate Qi." He had lost half of his true energy in the Yuxi Grand Canyon, and although he had replenished it on the way south, he had only recovered six or seven tenths of his strength. But now, for Nizi's safety, he disregarded everything else. With a roar, he used all his strength to strike at the little Yin infants with both hands... Instantly, a whirlwind swept across the ground as the Innate Qi swept across like a storm, scattering dry bamboo leaves like petals from a fairy's shower.

"What powerful and vigorous qigong!" exclaimed the Hakka grandmother from the side.

Looking closely, all the dozen or so little Yin infants that had been standing in front of Nizi were gone...

Jia Shiming nodded in satisfaction. Those babies must have been swept away by the true energy and thrown out of the bamboo forest. Even if they didn't die, they would be missing limbs. He patted Nizi on the shoulder and said boastfully, "Nizi, the power of 'Innate Qi Gong' has not yet been fully unleashed."

Upon hearing this, Mengla Chaweng Kunba let out a series of cold laughs.

Jia Shiming suddenly felt a piercing pain between his toes, followed by pain in the soles of his feet and calves. He hurriedly looked down and was immediately horrified to see that the little Yin infants were crawling out of the ground and frantically biting his feet and calves. His shoes had already been bitten through, several toes had been bitten off, his trousers were torn open, and his calves were covered in blood.

With a loud cry of "Ah!", Jia Shiming lost his balance and sat down on the ground. The little Yin infants swarmed over him, clinging to his body and biting at his flesh, creating chaos.

The sudden turn of events caught Nizi off guard. She had little experience in combat and was momentarily stunned.

Several tiny yin infants pounced on Nizi's legs, baring their sharp teeth, ready to bite her like ferocious demons.

"Meow..." The big black cat "Little Cui'er" roared and pounced, its sharp claws flying, and it fought with the Yin Infants.

The Hakka woman shook her head, then leaped forward, ready to lend a helping hand.

"Oh no! It's poisonous..." Jia Shiming shouted hoarsely from the ground.

As expected of the top master of the Quanzhen Sect, Jia Shiming, in the critical moment of being severely injured and poisoned, lay on the ground with a sudden jerk of his arms, his upper garment instantly ripped to shreds. He unleashed his signature move, "Dantian Nine Forms," specifically the "Dantian Spray." In an instant, his navel bulged open, spewing out innate qi with a "poof!" The powerful airflow instantly blew the several small Yin infants clinging to him into the air... The small Yin infants that were biting his lower body were momentarily stunned. Jia Shiming swiftly flipped over and sprang up, shaking them off. Then he grabbed Nizi, urgently shouting, "Danger!" He forcefully threw Nizi towards the Hakka Granny, while he himself rolled several times to the outside of the circle...

The Hakka nanny leaped into the air and caught Nizi in mid-air. With two slaps, she knocked the two little Yin infants clinging to her legs to the ground.

Upon seeing Mo Mo in danger, Chen Cai rushed forward hastily, sticking two little fingers into his nostrils. In his panic, he even began chanting the sixteenth form of the Zhu You Divine Skill, "Human Face, Beast Heart": "Beast, otter, offer macaque, badger, mongoose, shrew, shrew..."

This move, "Human Face, Beast Heart," can tame all beasts, but since the little Yin infants are human and not animals, they are not bound by the spell. They were only stunned for a moment before viciously pouncing on Shen Caihua again.

"Talent...talent, quickly use your index finger to cut...them!" Dudu hovered in mid-air, shouting anxiously. It had seen it before, so it knew that the move "Heavenly Gate Opens" was the most effective.

A single sentence reminded Shen Caihua, who opened his small mouth and uttered a series of sorcery incantations: "Om Om Ho, Nangka Shana Taghahara..." Then he raised his index finger to the sky, ready to unleash a massacre.

"Opening the Heavenly Gate" is an extremely powerful move in the Zhuyou Divine Skill. The Zhuyou True Qi that shoots out from the Shangyang acupoint of the index finger is indestructible and will cut these little Yin infants to pieces. Although they are all innocent babies of the Miao people of Shuidai Mountain, Chen Caihua can't care about that at this moment.

"Hehehehe..." A series of laughs came from Shen Caihua's pocket, and then with a flash of white, a little naked figure more than two inches long darted out and landed lightly on the ground.

"A spiritual embryo!" Shen Caihua exclaimed, interrupting his incantation of "Open the Heavenly Gate."

The plump, white spirit fetus stood proudly among the Yin infants, hands on its hips. Although the captured infants had been trained by Kunba into "Yin Infant Spells," they were still intrigued by the sight of such a tiny person and slowly gathered around to watch.

Jia Shiming was shocked to see that it was the little spirit fetus he had given birth to at Putuo Temple on Xieshan Mountain in Poyang Lake... How could it be in Shen Caihua's pocket?

Shen Caihua stared blankly at the spirit fetus, and was surprised to find that its white eye shadow had disappeared, and its pupils were now dark and bright.

One of the Yin infants curiously stuck out a finger and poked the spirit fetus, causing the spirit fetus to giggle. The Yin infants looked at each other and then chuckled along, with red saliva dripping from their mouths.

The spirit fetus slowly stared into the eyes of each of the yin infants, then opened its arms and began to dance. It was a peculiar posture similar to that of an animal, profound and desolate, and looked exceptionally ancient, as if it were the movements of ancient ancestors during totem worship.

The Yin infants seemed completely captivated, and they actually started jumping around the spirit fetus hand in hand, their faces no longer showing any fierce expressions.

Mengla Chaweng Kunba was greatly alarmed and quickened his chanting, but the ghost infants seemed oblivious, continuing to dance naked alongside the spirit fetuses. Kunba bit his tongue, drawing blood, and spat out a mouthful of blood mist, rapidly chanting the "Ghost Infant Exorcism Spell," issuing commands with double the intensity...

When a wizard bites his tongue or middle finger and spews blood mist, it is to increase his magical power many times over, but this will greatly reduce the wizard's internal strength or lifespan. Kunba only resorted to this desperate measure when he saw that the little Yin infants had lost control.

The Yin Infants were severely restrained by the incantation; their hands and feet stopped dancing, and they stood there stiffly. The "Yin Infant Descent" within them was fighting against the "Spiritual Dance" of the Spirit Embryo, and they were in a stalemate.

The spirit fetus's dance posture began to change. Sometimes it raised its fists above its head, sometimes it clenched its fists in front of its chest, sometimes it stood on one leg like a golden rooster, sometimes it stood in a bow stance, making some exaggerated poses.

Jia Shiming sat listlessly under a giant blood bamboo, watching the spirit fetus's dance, and smiled bitterly to himself, "How come these movements are so similar to the loyalty dance during the Cultural Revolution? I remember that in the Yuxi Grand Canyon, Master Qiao's Confucianism dance was also in this pose."

At this moment, his lower limbs had begun to go numb, and the poison from the curse was spreading upwards along the meridians of his legs. Although he was forcibly suppressing it with his "innate qi," Jia Shiming knew that if he did not detoxify as soon as possible, he probably wouldn't be able to hold on for long.

He laboriously reached into his belt and pulled out the small bone bottle hidden in a lining. Thankfully, the bottle of Bon "Returning Soul Water" from the Abbot of the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon hadn't been given to the director; it was finally coming in handy. The "Returning Soul Water" could not only exorcise ghosts and protect the wearer, but also neutralize all forms of black magic and curses, because Southeast Asian black magic originated from the oldest Bon religion in Tibet. Black magic, also known as "madness magic," causes the victim to become unconscious, die, or go mad; in reality, they have lost their soul and spirit. The "Returning Soul Water" was the nemesis of black magic.

Jia Shiming put the bottle opening to his mouth, about to bite off the stopper, but then slowly withdrew his hand. His gentle gaze fell on Nizi; he felt guilty towards her… If he hadn't been forced by his duty to the organization to kill the ancestor and silence him, this child wouldn't have lost her mother at a young age, living a life of hardship and wandering. Fortunately, the ancestor's body hadn't decayed, although Kunba had turned him into a Yin-type being. If he drank this "Returning Soul Water," perhaps he could regain some of his senses and finally reunite with Nizi and her mother. He could finally find peace.

However, there's only one bottle of "Resurrection Water." If the ancestor uses it, I'm doomed...

Jia Shiming smiled bitterly. He was already quite old. What difference would it make if he lived another twenty years? He should just grant Nizi's wish. It was just a pity that he hadn't finished passing on his "innate qigong." Alas... fate. His eyes even became a little moist.

At this moment, the spirit fetus danced faster and faster, and finally began to spin wildly like a top, leaving only a white shadow in sight.

The Yin Infants gaped in astonishment, staring intently at the Spirit Embryo. Meanwhile, on the other side, Mengla Chaweng Kunba was sweating profusely, his forehead covered in cold sweat the size of soybeans, and he was spitting out blood mist one after another. He was on the verge of collapse.

With a "whoosh," the rapidly spinning fetus finally vomited.

Chapter 170

Just as everyone was astonished, the spirit fetus bent down, grabbed its own vomit, and quickly smeared it into the mouths of each dumbfounded little Yin infant. This was no ordinary vomit, but a broad-spectrum antidote made by the spirit fetus after swallowing the corpse dust of "Feng Hou" and mixing it with its saliva.

The dozen or so infant spirits swallowed the corpse dust of "Feng Hou," the patriarch of the ancient Chinese healing arts. In an instant, the curse was lifted, and they regained their senses. One by one, they burst into tears, crying, "Mama..."

Mengla Chaweng Kunba was stunned. He simply couldn't believe that his "Yin Infant Curse," which he had painstakingly developed over many years, had been broken in an instant. With a "whoosh," a mouthful of blood gushed from his mouth...

"The spirit fetus, it's amazing!" Shen Caihua exclaimed happily as he reached out and cradled the spirit fetus. "So you've been pretending to be stupid all along..."

"Hehehe..." The spirit fetus let out a silvery laugh and spoke, its voice high-pitched and thin, with a distinct Jiangxi northern accent, "That corpse, your corpse, no corpse, no breath, what do you seek in a corpse, ghost pot incantation..."

Shen Caihua once saw these four lines of verse in the underground palace of Guanzhong, so he chuckled and said, "So you can read, huh? Did you also peek at the poem on the wall?"

"After the wind, the corpse dust, the sacred medicine of Zhuyou, the infants are brought down by calamity, and the spirit fetus is saved." As the spirit fetus spoke, it grabbed a handful of vomit from the ground and hopped around in the bamboo forest, smearing it on the other infants still trapped inside the Great King's Blood Bamboo.

"Talent...talent, use your fingers to cut open the bamboo, let the child out...out!" Dudu excitedly flapped its wings and cried out repeatedly.

Shen Caihua once again used "Heavenly Gate Opening" to split open the giant blood bamboo with his index finger, rescuing the babies inside one by one and gathering them together. Instantly, the bamboo forest was filled with a chaotic cacophony of cries...

Nizi walked up to Mengla Chaweng Kunba with a blank expression, staring at him with hatred in her eyes, and said bitterly, "The time has come to avenge Master Bing."

Kunba rolled his eyes and glared at Nizi, letting out a shrill, agonizing laugh: "Haha... the baby girl is finally back, Cousin Bing, you've found the right person..."

Nizi stared coldly at him, slowly opened her small mouth, and spat out the large, scarlet blood flea. A flash of red light appeared, and the blood flea's sharp mandibles pierced Kunba's forehead, injecting the "blood curse" into his brain.

Mengla Chaweng Kunba went mad, opening his mouth wide and tearing at the flesh of his own arm, blood splattering everywhere, as he crunched on his finger bones, a gruesome sight...

“Nizi, come here…” Jia Shiming weakly called out from under the bamboo.

“Master.” Nizi retracted the giant blood flea and came to his side.

Jia Shiming trembled as he grabbed Nizi's small hand and placed a grayish-white bone bottle in her palm. Nizi looked at it and saw a swastika symbol engraved on the bottle.

“Nizi, that white-robed woman with pimples on her face is your mother. Here is a bottle of 'Returning Soul Water' from the Bon religion. Feed it to her now…” Jia Shiming said with infinite sadness.

Nizi looked at Master Jia, nodded sensibly, took the bottle in her hand, turned around and left, and came to the open space in front of the thatched hut. The white-robed man was still sitting there stupidly, his eyes were dull and his mind was confused.

Is this my mother? On that night in Tongguan, Youliang had sworn that his mother would be very beautiful, but this "yin-faced" mother before him was really too ugly...

Nizi stared silently at her. She had dreamt of her mother before, but the images were always blurry. She had imagined her mother's face countless times, but she never imagined it would look like this… Mother, why didn't you want Nizi anymore? Was it because you weren't pretty that you left Nizi? Mother, why were you so foolish…

A ray of soft sunlight fell on "Grandma's" face, which was covered in purple pimples, and at that moment, in Nizi's eyes, her mother was no longer so ugly...