Only Su Xue and Poison-Wing remained in the snow hollow.
"My Lord, what shall we do next?" Su Xue asked. "These villagers..."
"They might not die, but they can still feel pain. Let them hurt, then."
Chen Zhou’s voice was calm, almost indifferent.
"Poison-Wing, go and spread your poison. Mix that calamity venom-fire you haven’t fully mastered yet with zhen poison and scatter it."
Poison-Wing blinked, scratching his head foolishly. "Huh? My Lord, even if these people are weird, they’re still mostly good people, right? You want me to just kill them?"
"Who said anything about killing them?" Chen Zhou shot him a sideways glance. "I want you to control the toxin so they’re in agony but don't actually die."
He then turned to Su Xue. "Wait for the poison to take effect, then go and save them."
Su Xue was clever enough to understand immediately, but a look of hesitation soon clouded her face.
"I understand, My Lord."
"You intend to break the balance of their vow power by poisoning them first and healing them later. You want them to feel a desperate desire for life through extreme pain, thereby shifting their faith away from the Great Vow."
Su Xue bit her lip, still uncertain. "But My Lord, my healing miracles might not work on the living dead. Besides, the Northern Region is so desolate."
She looked out at the blizzard swirling outside the hollow.
"I am a plant demon king, yes, but even the most skilled healer cannot work miracles in a wasteland. In a dead land like this, it’s difficult for me to grow medicinal herbs or food on a large scale."
"If we give them hope and then fail to save them, wouldn't it..."
Su Xue was kind-hearted. She didn’t fear slaughter, but she feared giving the hopeless a false sense of hope due to her own incompetence.
Moreover, Chen Zhou’s method was clearly intended to harvest faith. If the plan failed, not only would the people be beyond saving, but it would also ruin her Lord's reputation.
"You’re worried about that?"
Chen Zhou smiled at Su Xue’s conflicted expression.
"You are a Heavenly Doctor personally appointed by me, specializing in the path of medicine."
"Even if your healing miracles are ineffective against the living dead, is your skill at compounding medicine and neutralizing poison also a sham?"
Su Xue froze for a moment, then straightened her back. "Regarding the way of pharmacology, I am confident I lose to no one."
"That’s enough, then."
Chen Zhou stood up, hands clasped behind his back, exuding an air of absolute authority.
"Did you think you were still fighting a lone battle in the Southern Region?"
"You are part of my City of the Wrongfully Dead now."
"Piao has emerged from her seclusion; she is already on her way with Ku Chan."
Su Xue snapped her head up, a flash of surprise and joy in her eyes.
"Piao can help you consume the desolation of this land and carve out a pure land where you can plant crops."
"As for how to make them believe and how to make them submit, that is Ku Chan’s specialty. He is quite adept at the art of preaching and manipulation."
Chen Zhou looked at Su Xue. "You only need to do what you are best at."
"Save people and grow herbs. For everything else, this Lord and the City of the Wrongfully Dead behind you will be your support."
Su Xue’s eyes reddened slightly.
For centuries in the Southern Region, she had been walking on thin ice, treading carefully to protect the humans, to help Jade Toad suppress the death qi, and to help Poison-Wing manage his destiny.
No one had ever told her, 'I will be your support.'
"Yes!" Su Xue took a deep breath and gave a solemn bow, her gaze becoming incredibly firm. "I will not fail your trust, My Lord. I will complete this mission perfectly!"
Poison-Wing, watching from the side, was delighted. "Big Sis, I'm off to release the poison then!"
The two of them left to follow their orders.
In the corner, the pile of firewood shifted, and Wu Gou sat up.
He was clutching a frozen pear he had found from somewhere, munching on it with a look of wonder.
"So this is the 'changing the vows of all beings' you mentioned?"
Wu Gou looked at Chen Zhou with a playful glint in his eyes. "Stab them first, then give them a sweet."
"Torment them until they’re hovering between life and death, then descend as a savior."
"Brilliant, truly brilliant."
Wu Gou gave a thumbs-up, though his tone held a hint of mockery. "Don't you find it cruel?"
"Cruel?"
Chen Zhou turned around, a wicked smile playing on his lips.
"I am an evil spirit to begin with. Isn't cruelty expected?"
"I could grant the humans and livestock of the Southern Region hatred, allowing them to raise their blades against the demons."
"Naturally, I can grant the living dead of the Northern Region pain, allowing them to find the reality of existence through their screams."
"Without pain, how could they know they are still alive?"
Chen Zhou stepped toward Wu Gou, his voice turning cold. "You’re right. I am a great demon, my methods are vile, and I stop at nothing."
"So, how do you plan to transcend a demon like me?"
Wu Gou’s chewing stopped.
He looked at Chen Zhou. Those eyes, which were usually full of mockery and cynicism, were now shining with an incredible brightness.
He remained silent for a moment before swallowing the fruit and shaking his head.
"No."
Wu Gou said seriously, "I told you, you are a great Buddha capable of attaining a golden body."
Chen Zhou: "..."
The smile on Chen Zhou’s face faltered.
This was the second time this madman had said such a thing.
"Am I the one who's sick, or is it you?" Chen Zhou was somewhat speechless.
"There are many kinds of Buddhas." Wu Gou tossed the pear core onto the ground, returning to his crazed demeanor.
"You want all beings to live like humans. Even if your methods are a bit dirty, that is a Buddha."
"'If I do not enter hell, who will?' Isn't this karma-fire you carry burning away the filth of this world?"
Chen Zhou couldn't be bothered to debate scripture with the lunatic.
He straightened his robes and looked out the door.
"Fine, enough nonsense."
"Since you want to follow along, then lead the way."
"I have decided to go to the Heavenly Sword Sect."
A sharp light flickered in Chen Zhou's eyes. "The Northern Region is full of the living dead, yet only the wolf demons and the Heavenly Sword Sect experience normal death."
"No matter how you look at it, there’s something suspicious about that Heavenly Sword Sect."
As soon as he heard they were heading out, Wu Gou jumped up from the firewood and patted the dust off his rear.
"Let's go, let's go! The vegetarian food at the Heavenly Sword Sect is terrible, but the snow lotus wine on their back mountain is a masterpiece!"
The wind and snow of the Northern Region seemed like they would never cease.
Chen Zhou walked out into the blizzard.
Snowflakes fell, and the villagers of Jiuquan Village continued their daily cycle of labor and cultivation.
However, the wind today felt a bit different.
A purple-black mist drifted silently into the village, carried by the cold wind.
Poison-Wing circled high in the sky, carefully controlling the concentration of the toxin.
Though he seemed simple-minded, his control over poison was an innate talent from his bloodline.
"Cough... cough-cough!"
The first to react was Old Li of Jiuquan Village.
He had been chanting sutras before the shrine of Ksitigarbha of Great Vows when he suddenly felt as if fire was burning in his throat, followed immediately by sharp pain in his internal organs.
"What's happening? It hurts so much..."
Old Li clutched his stomach and collapsed. This sensation was something he hadn't felt in a long time, and it was terrifying.
Soon, the entire village was filled with one scream after another.
"It hurts! I'm dying!!"
"My hand! My hand is swelling!"
The villagers discovered with horror that the bone-deep agony made them feel the flow of their life with startling clarity.
"Help... help me..."
"Great Vow Buddha... save me..."
They instinctively prayed to the statue, but the clay Buddha continued to smile compassionately. The golden light on its body flickered, protecting their lives, but it could not dispel the toxin that had seeped into their very bones.
In fact, because the golden light protected their bodies, they couldn't even faint. They were forced to remain conscious through every second of the agony.
Despair spread across the snowy plains of the Northern Region.
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