Mustn't... mustn't eat anymore...
Mother will be afraid...
Must be good...
Must be clean... when I go back to see Mother...
Otherwise... Mother will worry...
Piao clung to this solitary thought, no longer making a sound. She simply used every ounce of her strength to curl herself into a ball.
She shrank smaller and smaller, as if doing so could suppress the roaring beast within her.
No one approached her again.
After a moment, the senior sister who had become a paper figure returned.
In her hands, she held a slightly oversized robe, stained with blood and dust, though one could still vaguely discern it was a woman’s style.
It was what she had worn in life as a disciple of the Corpse Soul Sect.
She looked at the curled-up Piao, her simple drawn features unable to hide a complex swirl of emotions.
She sighed softly, saying nothing, and carefully draped the robe over Piao’s trembling back.
As the robe fell, it brought a minuscule trace of warmth.
Piao’s curled body stiffened almost imperceptibly, but she did not open her eyes. She only buried her head deeper.
As the cleanup continued, Jiang Ziang, who had been pushing himself to the limit, finally reached his breaking point.
His half-copperized body shuddered violently, and he spat out a mouthful of black blood laced with copper shavings. The light in his eyes faded rapidly, and the copper hue beneath his skin began to spread like a living thing.
"Daoist Jiang!" Jian Huaishuang’s figure flashed, appearing instantly by his side.
Jiang Ziang looked at Jian Huaishuang, his lips quivering, but he could no longer make a sound. Only a fierce unwillingness and a flicker of a plea remained in his eyes.
Jian Huaishuang did not hesitate. Paper strip tentacles instantly wrapped around Jiang Ziang.
Jiang Ziang’s full, flesh-and-blood body was drained and refined.
A moment later, the paper strips unfurled. A paper effigy, bearing a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to Jiang Ziang’s former self but appearing much flatter, stood in his place.
He opened his eyes, looked at his new palms, and then turned to Jian Huaishuang.
Jian Huaishuang said in a low voice, "Daoist Jiang, the situation forced my hand. My apologies."
The paper effigy Jiang Ziang blinked, then revealed a smile that was somewhat stiff yet remarkably sincere.
"It matters not. To be able to persist in this form, to be alive... is already a great fortune."
He adapted with incredible speed, immediately turning around to command his fellow paper disciples to begin clearing out the remaining locusts, his efficiency even higher than before.
Jian Huaishuang followed the same pattern, transforming several elders whose bodies had lost the breath of life one by one.
However, only Sect Master Mo Yuan remained an exception. His body and soul had been completely annihilated under that brilliant Punishing Lightning Tribulation.
Along with the heavy karmic sin accumulated over the years, he had vanished into nothingness, leaving no trace behind.
With a large number of paper effigies joining the fray, the battlefield gradually fell silent. All that remained was a scene of devastation and a group of Corpse Soul Sect disciples in their new forms, silently clearing away the final vestiges of the conflict.
Next would be hunting down the fleeing locusts and purifying the contaminated land.
Now that the source had been dealt with, the rest was simple.
The calamity of Kushi County finally seemed to have reached its end.
Jian Huaishuang fell silent for a moment before deciding to explain the pros and cons clearly.
His voice was clear and steady, reaching the ears of every paper effigy.
"Everyone, your current forms are sustained by my power. While you no longer fear copper poison, you cannot stray too far from me, or your sapience will gradually dissipate.
"Furthermore, your life and death are within my grasp. My will is something you will find difficult to defy."
He paused, then added solemnly, "Though this was a matter of expediency and I have offended you, I am willing to swear upon my Dao heart that I will never use this authority to force you into doing anything wicked or contrary to your true intentions."
To his surprise, several paper elders looked at each other, and the eldest among them spoke up.
"Daoist, you worry too much."
His voice sounded somewhat aged. "Though we have become like this, our consciousness remains, and we know right from wrong.
"You have shown grace by preserving our Corpse Soul Sect and merit by saving Kushi County.
"As fellow members of the immortal sects, we trust your character.
"For an outsider like you to go to such lengths for strangers like us is a kindness as great as being born anew. Our hearts hold only gratitude; why would there be suspicion?"
Jian Huaishuang shook his head slightly and spoke candidly.
"The Elder overpraises me. I, Huaishuang, also came here under orders. Everything I have done is because there is a Lord God behind me.
"I am but the Lord’s messenger, the sword in his hand, acting upon his will. The destruction of the Locust Mother and that Smiling Face monk earlier were both by the power of the Lord God."
"The Lord God?"
The ink-sketched brows of several elders furrowed, revealing obvious shock and doubt.
They had fallen early and had not witnessed Chen Zhou’s descent or the sacrifice of Smiling Face.
As high-ranking members of the Corpse Soul Sect, they knew more secrets than ordinary cultivators.
One elder mused, "Daoist, it is not that we do not believe you. It is just that in this turbid world, the absence of gods and Buddhas is an accepted fact among the major immortal sects.
"Even if there are so-called divine manifestations, they are mostly the work of higher-level, more deceptive aberrant eerie creatures, intended to delude hearts and harvest blood and faith.
"In this world, can there truly be a real god willing to stand up for the human race and protect all living beings?"
His words carried deep confusion and the cognitive barriers formed over a long time.
However, the Great Elder, the oldest among them, remained silent for a long while. No expression could be seen on his ink-painted face as he slowly spoke, "Perhaps, there is."
His voice carried a weariness that had seen the ways of the world, along with a faint, almost imperceptible hope.
"If not, if all of this was a deception from the start, then why did the various sacrificial rites and blessing ceremonies passed down from ancient times even begin?
"Take the Heaven-Blessed Dragon Carp, for example. Rumors say it is a gift from the gods. When the dragon carp descends into the world, it signals the Great Prosperity of the Way of Humanity."
The Great Elder was actually uncertain himself whether the ancient rituals truly communicated with a so-called god or if they were merely a form of psychological comfort.
But as he looked at the pure aura and upright conduct of Jian Huaishuang, and his solemn oath upon his Dao heart...
The Great Elder preferred to believe that perhaps, in this desperate turbid world, there truly existed a being willing to extend a helping hand to the sinking human race.
"The turbid world is too bitter, covered in thorns, surrounded by demons, and eerification devours the heart..."
The Great Elder finally let out a soft sigh. "One must have a little hope."
As his words fell, all the paper effigies present lapsed into silence.
Regardless of the truth, at least for this moment, they persisted because of this divine grace, and this land was preserved because of this miracle.
Only Jian Huaishuang’s brow remained tightly knit. After thinking for a moment, he inquired cautiously.
"The dragon carp the Elder mentioned... does it have golden scales that mirror the sun and a vermillion crown upon its head?"
The Great Elder tried to stroke his beard, his hand lifting half an inch before he suddenly realized he was now a paper construct with no beard to stroke.
He laughed awkwardly and nodded. "Haha, I've made a fool of myself.
"Indeed, the Heaven-Blessed Dragon Carp I speak of is exactly that.
"Clad in golden scales that can reflect the brilliance of the sun and moon, with a vermillion crown hiding the blessings of heaven and earth. Obtaining its protection can stabilize the mountains and rivers, extending fortune for ten thousand miles.
"Could it be that you have also heard of such legends, Daoist?"
"It was not something I heard." Jian Huaishuang paused for a moment, as if recalling a specific scene, and then added, "I have seen it with my own eyes."
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