Master of Strange Dao

"Fortunately, fortunately, it really was sealed, that's good."

"No wonder I still remember that it was I who sealed this place. So that's how it is, that's how it is..."

Before Mu Shouchang finished laughing, numerous Devil Suppressing Cones appeared around him.

He controlled the Devil Suppressing Cones to pin himself in place, then looked up at Yu Ziqing.

"I have always forgotten to inquire, how should I address you?"

"Qing Ziyu."

"A good name, please proceed, don't let the sacrifices of Dinghai City's citizens over these years be in vain."

In Yu Ziqing's eyes, a black vortex started to appear in Mu Shouchang's abdomen, with thick black qi swirling there. The black qi seemed eager to escape, but Mu Shouchang used his body as a cage, suppressing it within with the Devil Suppressing Cones.

"Big brother, it's appeared, right inside his body," Lou Huai promptly reminded from the side.

"You're right, the disease Devil is indeed good at hiding, hiding so well that even you couldn't find it. If it didn't struggle, I wouldn't see it either."

Yu Ziqing walked up to Mu Shouchang and patted his shoulder.

"Lord Mu, you need not do this. Once I find it, it's certainly doomed.

Weren't you curious about how the Devils would be handled in the future? Today, let me show you."

As soon as the words fell, a hungry ghost form emerged on Yu Ziqing's face, and a surge of yin qi appeared, transforming into cursed strands of black oil that danced ominously.

Yu Ziqing extended a hand, turning his palm into a withered, dark form, and reached directly into Mu Shouchang's body.

As Yu Ziqing retracted his claw, a churning mass of black qi was visible in his hand.

That black qi formed a face, struggling futilely, unable to speak a word.

Yu Ziqing opened his mouth wide and devoured it whole.

The black qi fell into the hands of the Yin God, who gnawed on it, while the initial disease qi circulated among the Five Little Ones, who divided and consumed it together.

After consuming part of it, Yu Ziqing once again extracted another portion.

After the time span of one incense stick, the belly of Yu Ziqing's Yin God slightly bulged, while the Five Little Ones had all become a bit plumper. Meanwhile, the Bodhi Tree bore many undigested objects, transforming into heads of Devils hanging from its branches.

Yu Ziqing removed the Devil Suppressing Cones from Mu Shouchang's body.

Mu Shouchang looked at Yu Ziqing, his expression complicated.

"This is no ordinary means, but a new path of cultivation.

And when you speak, some accents and phrases are not from Dadui.

Can you tell me, has it been a very, very long time?

Aren't you someone from Dadui?"

Yu Ziqing paused for a moment and nodded.

"Indeed, I am not from Dadui."

"This sealing, not being someone from Dadui, could not have been accessed at all. Dadui, is it... gone?"

"You're mistaken, whether Dadui exists or not, it doesn't depend on the external. As long as people like you still exist, Dadui still exists."

Mu Shouchang sat there, smiling.

"That's right, as long as I exist, these citizens are still here, Dadui is still here."

As they spoke, the surrounding world curled up towards the center like a scroll.

Lou Huai quickly burrowed into Yu Ziqing's boot. Mu Shouchang seemed a bit shocked at Lou Huai's behavior.

"Don't worry, by my era, some Devils have begun to follow the righteous path," Yu Ziqing explained casually.

"That's truly wonderful..."

Yu Ziqing's body floated upwards, with Mu Shouchang's figure rising as well. Beneath them, everything seemed to merge into a scroll, becoming flat and continuously diminishing.

After a moment, all around became void, and everything that the sealing had formed turned into a page of a book, suspending silently before them.

On it was written:

"In the 820th year of the Jiazi cycle, in Dinghai City, Devils wreaked havoc, causing many deaths.

The sitting County Magistrate, Mu Shouchang, used his body as a prison, sealing the Devil within, later self-sealing with the citizens of Dinghai City."

Mu Shouchang read the short sentence, then looked at the Big Seal in his hand.

He stepped forward, pricked his finger, and began to write in blood beneath it.

"There was the Divine Qing Ziyu, who swallowed the Devil into his stomach, annihilating its spiritual form."

Upon finishing, he heavily stamped it with his official seal.

He then handed the Big Seal to Yu Ziqing.

"Take it. What I had to do, what could be done, I have completed. Now, as the County Magistrate of Dinghai City, I pass it to you."

Mu Shouchang had barely finished speaking when his body began to disintegrate like dust.

"I remember now, in truth, I should have already died, with unresolved feelings, too much attachment.

For years, I've been in the sealing, battling the Devil with the intent to destroy it.

I've forgotten many things, things like the names of my children.

But this matter, I dared not forget.

Take it, you will need this, it is rightfully yours."

Mu Shouchang's hand turned to dust and dispersed silently.

Yu Ziqing caught the falling Big Seal, which absorbed a strand of his aura, and acknowledged him as its master.

"Thank you."

"Next, if you wish to leave, simply use the Big Seal, and it will take you away. There are many things your current strength may not handle; be cautious, prioritize your safety."

After Mu Shouchang finished these words, his body was more than half gone, turning to dust and vanishing.