Wu Zhao walked to a position three steps from the bull, recited a Spell, and made a grasping motion at the bull’s chest.
The bull’s chest caved in slightly, and a dripping, bloody bull’s heart appeared in his hand.
Li Qingxian took the bull’s heart, walked to the freshly dug pit, wrapped the heart and the bull’s tail in a cloth bundle, placed it in the hole, and personally filled it in with a shovel.
"Dogs represent loyalty, sheep represent filial piety, and bulls represent benevolence. The bull’s head guides the way, the bull’s tail returns the soul, and the bull’s heart facilitates reincarnation."
After speaking, Li Qingxian finished burying the pit, placed a memorial tablet for the bull on top, and softly chanted the Soul Calming Curse.
When the third recitation of the Soul Calming Curse was complete, Li Qingxian walked before the seven Cow Blood Bowls. He joined the index, middle, and ring fingers of his right hand, dipped them into each of the seven bowls in succession, and finally swiped the three blood-soaked fingers horizontally across his own forehead. The blood stained his eyebrows red and trickled down his nose and cheeks.
He picked up a blood-dyed red cloth and wrapped it around the two bull horns.
He tied one end of a long, blood-soaked red rope to the bull’s horns and the other to its body.
Finally, he placed both hands into a bowl of clean water and washed them.
With everything prepared, Li Qingxian took a deep breath and looked ahead.
A gray fog shrouded the world. The houses on either side of the road were like black mountain peaks, pressing down on one’s heart.
Zhou Chunfeng was still marching in place.
Li Qingxian arranged the seven Cow Blood Bowls in the pattern of the Big Dipper. Cradling seven white candles in his left hand, he said, "Lord Wu, I’m about to use a spell to light these seven candles. This process consumes a great deal of Magical Power. I’ll have to trouble you."
"Cast your spell without worry," Wu Zhao said, stepping forward and placing his right hand on the center of Li Qingxian’s back. A fresh breeze gusted past, making their clothes flap and rustle.
Feeling his Magical Power rapidly replenishing, Li Qingxian took a white candle in his right hand, held it level before him, and recited the Spell for the Breaking Bull Skill.
"Star lamps shine upon the earth below, eyes connect to candlelight, guide the bull to show the way, join blood to quell the baleful! Celestial Generals of the East, Divine Messengers of the South, Meritorious Officers of the West, Judges of the North, illuminate the four quarters, turn heaven and earth upside down! With utmost urgency, as per the statutes and decrees!"
Upon finishing the Spell, Li Qingxian felt all the Magical Power in his body drain away in an instant, surging into the white candle in his right hand.
The white candle ignited, its flame a ghostly blue.
Li Qingxian bent down and placed the candle in the Cow Blood Bowl.
The candle did not sink into the blood but floated on its surface, stable and unmoving.
Sensing the continuous flow of Magical Power from Wu Zhao, Li Qingxian chanted the Spell and cast the magic again.
He cast the spell seven times. The moment the seventh candle in the Cow Blood Bowl was lit, a line of blue fire suddenly appeared between the seven lamps, connecting the seven blue flames into the shape of the Big Dipper.
Red blood bowls, blue candlelight. The surrounding gray fog slowly receded.
"Stay right behind me," Li Qingxian said.
Li Qingxian picked up the bull’s head with his left hand, grabbed its left foreleg with his right, and began dragging the bull’s body toward Zhou Chunfeng.
Wu Zhao followed close behind, his palm still pressed against the center of Li Qingxian’s back.
When he was about ten feet behind Zhou Chunfeng, Zhou Chunfeng said, "If you fail, you may end up just like me."
"Then so be it."
After speaking, Li Qingxian passed Zhou Chunfeng and reached the border where the black road met the white road of black hair.
He threw the bull’s head to the left side of the road with his left hand and the bull’s body to the right side with his right.
The red rope connecting the head and body landed on the white ground covered in black hair, swaying gently with it.
The road separated the head from the body, but the red rope connected them.
Li Qingxian recited the Breaking Bull Skill Spell.
The Spell was cast. A fierce wind kicked up, the high-altitude mist dispersed, and the boundless light of the stars rained down.
"MOO..."
The dead bull’s head floated into midair, and its body twisted as it rose to its feet.
The red line between the bull’s head and body pulled taut in midair.
The bull’s head turned slowly. Its pale eyes glanced at Li Qingxian, then at Wu Zhao.
"I request the Bull Warrior to lead the way," Li Qingxian said with a bow.
The bull’s head twitched a few times, the red cloth on its horns fluttering. It turned to face Santu Mountain and the Yellow Springs Gate.
"MOO..."
The bull’s head let out a great cry to the heavens and slowly floated forward. The bull’s body, its feet treading the yellow earth, slowly advanced.
The red rope between the head and body dripped with blood. Where the blood fell, the black hair withered, and the white road was stained black.
Everyone watched silently as the dismembered bull moved slowly forward until it reached the threshold.
"MOO..."
The bull’s head and body fell in unison, twitching a few times on the ground before falling silent.
The white road between the black road and the threshold vanished.
The white road between the threshold and the Yellow Springs Gate remained.
"What a kid! The Qilin Child of the Li Family!" Wu Zhao couldn’t help but slap Li Qingxian hard on the shoulder.
"You truly have a talent for Fate Skills. Now that the No Return Road has been dealt with, we can come and go freely," Zhou Chunfeng said with a smile as he walked over.
Li Qingxian let out a long sigh of relief. "It was just a stroke of luck. Without Lord Wu here, I wouldn’t have been able to cast the Breaking Bull Skill even if I knew it."
"Don’t be so modest. As for that Santu Mountain, I’ll handle it!"
Wu Zhao strode forward and stopped before the three thresholds.
First, he took out the Water Pattern Copper Basin and sprinkled its contents on the doorframe. Next, he produced a Four-Color Magical Banner and set up a formation. While chanting a Spell, he threw eighteen Thunderstruck Peachwood Tokens into the surrounding area. Then, he took out a Soul-Suppressing Bell and began Stepping on the Stars and Treading the Dipper. As he moved in a dazzling pattern, he recited all sorts of spells and continuously threw out various Magical Artifacts.
After a full quarter hour, he was drenched in sweat, and a white mist was rising from the top of his head.
"Go!"
With his back to the others, Wu Zhao’s clothes billowed and his long hair flew up. Flames suddenly shot out from under his feet, engulfing him and turning him into a man of fire.
He strode forward, fire flowing from his body like water.
The instant he stepped over the threshold of Santu Mountain, the flames enveloped the stone doorframe and the threshold itself.
Where his foot landed, the white road turned black.
With every step, white turned to black.
Finally, Santu Mountain slowly sank into the ground. Wu Zhao walked up to the Yellow Springs Gate, and the entire white road had turned to black.
"Haaa..."
Wu Zhao let out a long breath. The flames dissipated, and he turned to walk back.
Of his three long, jet-black strands of beard, one-third had turned white.
"Old Wu..." Zhou Chunfeng sighed.
Only then did Li Qingxian understand that dealing with Santu Mountain was not so easy. It consumed one’s lifespan.
Wu Zhao walked back with a smile and said, "I can only do so much. As for the Yellow Springs Gate, I’m at my wit’s end. However, now that we’ve dealt with two of the Deceits, the price will be much lower if we’re forced to breach the Yellow Springs Gate in the end. Let’s not be hasty. There’s still some time before the first Yellow Springs Ship arrives. I’ll gather everyone and have them share what they know. Perhaps someone can think of a way to resolve this Deceit."
Wu Zhao took out a copper whistle and blew it.
Before long, the personnel from the Imperial Prison Department who had been trapped by the Deceitful Land arrived, gathering a crowd of over a hundred people, including two Fourth-Grade Martial Cultivators who served as Deputy Disciplinary Officers.
Wu Zhao ordered all the Prison Guards to enter the cells and announce to the inmates that this place had been enveloped by the Yellow Springs Mysterious Land and everyone was afflicted by its Deceit. If any prisoner could devise a way to open the Yellow Springs Gate, their sentence would be reduced, and they would receive preferential treatment in the Imperial Prison Department.
The Prison Guards dispersed. Wu Zhao said, "Alright everyone, don’t hold anything back. We’re already trapped by the Deceit, so there’s no need to be reserved. Tell us everything you’ve ever heard related to Deceitful Demons and Deceitful Demon Lands."
Everyone pondered for a moment, then they all started talking at once, sharing various stories related to Deceitful Demon Lands.
Li Qingxian listened intently, recording important information as Magic Text on his Spirit Platform whenever he heard it.
Time slowly passed, and Li Qingxian heard more and more tales of Deceit.
It was only when he heard someone mention the "Destiny Star Decryption Method" that Li Qingxian thought of a way to resolve the Deceit.
’The Destiny Star Decryption Method sounds miraculous, but just as Sister Youfei said, all Magic has an essence, a Dao. Based on what I’ve learned, I surmise that the Destiny Star Decryption Method is actually a type of Sacrificial Technique. You sacrifice a Destiny Star to the Yellow Springs Emperor to take the place of twelve dead people. An ordinary Fate Master doesn’t have that many extra Destiny Stars. In a sudden situation like this, there isn’t enough time to buy or go Fishing for Fate. They can only sacrifice their own Destiny Stars. But for every Life Mansion Destiny Star sacrificed, a portion of one’s lifespan is lost. You wouldn’t survive more than four such sacrifices. Only Great Fate Masters with a reserve of Destiny Stars can use this method.’
Li Qingxian thought it over. ’If I make a move, I’ll need a way to cover my tracks.’