The Answer

When the abbot of Zhengde Temple heard how politely the Sitian Jian in Silverrest City was addressing him, he appeared flattered and hurriedly pressed his palms together.

"Amitabha. You are a man of great virtue, benefactor. This poor monk thanks you, but this gift is truly too great."

"Oh, it's not great at all! Just an empty plot that no one wanted." Facing the old monk before him, the Daoist-robed Zheng Boqiao was exceptionally enthusiastic.

Listening to the old Daoist and the old monk going back and forth with their roundabout pleasantries, Li Huowang finally figured it out. It seemed that the Great Liang's Sitian Jian was absorbing the sects and schools that had come over from the Great Qi.

Come to think of it, it made sense. These people, along with the Great Qi civilians, were a source of living strength. They were indeed a major aid in dealing with the Fa Sect.

"Alright, alright, Master. Then it's settled. Since you've just arrived, I've already booked a vegetarian meal at the Yuzhai in Silverrest City. I hear the taste is quite good. I hope the Abbot will do me the honor."

"Benefactor, you are too kind. This poor monk has already eaten today."

"Master, look, the food has already been prepared. Wouldn't it be a waste, and a sin against the Buddha?"

Just as the Fangxian Daoist was about to pull Chan Du away, Li Huowang, his face full of impatience, blocked them. "Hey, Daoist Fang, before you go doing other things, aren't you forgetting something? You keep talking about recruiting people for the Sitian Jian, but what about interrogating the Fa Sect's Grand Wu?"

Back in Shangjing, he really hadn't noticed that this Zheng Boqiao was such a chatterbox.

"Fellow Cultivator Li, don't rush. How long can a vegetarian meal take?"

"Can you do this or not? If you can't, I'll do it myself."

Sensing the edge in Li Huowang's tone, Chan Du quickly intervened to smooth things over. "Daoist, a vegetarian meal can be enjoyed anytime. The important matter comes first, the important matter comes first."

Hearing Chan Du say this, Zheng Boqiao, a bit helpless, finally hugged his horsetail whisk and walked toward the human stump on the ground.

"Fellow Cultivator Li, the trouble with the Fa Sect isn't something that started yesterday. Haste makes waste. You don't expect to destroy the entire Fa Sect just by relying on what's inside a single Grand Wu's head, do you?"

Li Huowang understood that solving the Fa Sect wouldn't be that easy, but seeing the man have real work to do and deliberately put it off, it just pissed him off.

Seeing that the man had finally started working, Li Huowang took half a step back and stood together with Li Sui.

After the Buddha Jade Furnace withdrew the Golden Buddha from the other man's mouth, He Xinlai's jaw clicked, and he spat a mouthful of bloody saliva right at Zheng Boqiao.

But Zheng Boqiao didn't dodge. Instead, he reached out a hand, caught the phlegm steadily, then raised his hand and put it into his own mouth. The sight made Li Huowang's brow furrow deeply.

But it wasn't over yet. Zheng Boqiang reached out and pulled a few strands of hair from He Xinlai's head, then, along with a few white hairs from his whisk, stuffed them all into his mouth and swallowed.

"What are you doing?" Li Huowang couldn't help but feel extremely puzzled by the man's bizarre actions.

"Refining a pill, of course."

Zheng Boqiao walked over to the three statues, bowed, then scooped up a handful of incense ash from the censer and shoved it into his mouth.

"Refining a pill? This is pill refining?"

Li Huowang understood pill refining, and he'd learned it from Danyangzi, but he had never heard of this kind of method.

"Using metal for a vessel, that's External Alchemy. It's low-grade. The Fangxian Dao uses the body as a cauldron, and all things can be used as medicine. That's Internal Alchemy, the superior art."

As he spoke, Zheng Boqiao walked up to Li Huowang, took his whisk, and began to wave it beside him while muttering incantations.

Just as the air around Li Huowang began to tremble slightly, Zheng Boqiao's hand seals changed rapidly. He put his nose right up to Li Huowang and took a sharp sniff.

All that trembling was inhaled into his abdomen. His entire face turned purple, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

"What are you doing?"

A crack split Zheng Boqiao's tightly shut lips, and in an extremely low voice, he said, "You are a Heart-Element. What do you think I'm doing?"

Having said that, Zheng Boqiao sat down cross-legged, and just like before, he didn't move an inch, like a statue. Wisps of white smoke began to rise from the top of his head.

It was at this moment that Li Huowang finally understood what Zheng Boqiao had just been doing. He had just been refining a pill.

"What the hell is this Fangxian Dao's deal, using his own body as a pill furnace? That's one weird motherfucker."

Half an hour later, Zheng Boqiao opened his mouth wide, and a wriggling, flesh-and-blood pill was spat back out, covered in stomach acid.

Seeing Zheng Boqiao holding the pill and walking towards him, a flicker of panic appeared in He Xinlai's eyes. He clenched his teeth shut with all his might.

However, to prevent him from biting off his tongue to commit suicide, his teeth had long been pried out by Li Huowang. No matter how hard he clenched, it was useless. The pill was forced into his mouth.

Not long after, He Xinlai, having swallowed the pill, rolled his eyes back. His body, missing its limbs, began to convulse uncontrollably.

Just as Li Huowang was waiting for the next step, He Xinlai's body suddenly went rigid. He had simply died.

Without waiting for anyone else to speak, Zheng Boqiao took a small feather fan from his bosom, made a hand seal, and began to mutter incantations over He Xinlai's corpse.

"The head is the Grand Unity, the feet are the Heavenly Pillars, the five viscera are the armor, guarding the Heavenly Gate, driving the Northern Dipper, with one shout, a thousand souls and ten thousand spirits all follow my mouth. Jiaji as per the statute!"

The next moment, He Xinlai's entire head instantly shriveled up. The flesh pill he had just swallowed leaped out from his mouth and was caught squarely by Zheng Boqiao's own mouth.

Compared to before, after spending some time inside He Xinlai's stomach, the flesh pill was clearly several times larger.

Zheng Boqiao craned his neck, swallowed this pill down, and then closed his eyes, as if feeling for something.

Seeing that the man actually had some skill, Li Huowang stopped feeling anxious. He stood to the side and waited quietly.

After the time it takes two incense sticks to burn, when Zheng Boqiao slowly opened his eyes, Li Huowang stepped forward and asked, "How does it look?"

"This man is not the leader of the Fa Sect. If he were truly the leader, he wouldn't have been caught so easily by you."

"Having said that, I still found some useful things in his mind. Some hidden bases within Great Liang."

"Judging by their intentions, it seems they plan to lie low recently and not have a direct confrontation with us. Hmm..."

Li Huowang took another step forward. "And Taishan Shi? How much does his mind know about Taishan Shi?"

Li Huowang hadn't forgotten what Chan Du had said before, that among the Great Qi's Fa Sect followers, Taishan Shi posed the greatest threat.

"Hmm... Taishan Shi... Let me think." Zheng Boqiao began to pace back and forth.

After pacing for a while, Zheng Boqiao slowly stopped. "He doesn't know. Taishan Shi approached him. That man is extremely cautious and didn't reveal much to He Xinlai."

"Hmm... and besides, a single Taishan Shi from the Great Qi won't amount to much. I think the bigger problem right now is how the Fa Sect managed to get in touch with the lamas from Qingqiu. That's the real trouble."