Chapter 5 - Skinning.

Under the dim candlelight.

Li Shiwu's face was filled with terror, and he shook his head continuously.

"Master... Master, you've searched for this Seed Immortal Temple your whole life. Now that the time has come, how can you give it to your disciple?"

"No... you can't."

Outside the temple gate, Qianyuanzi's face was grim: "Shiwu, I'm telling you this now."

"Tonight, this human skin of yours, you'll peel it whether you want to or not."

"Otherwise, you know what your master is capable of."

Qianyuanzi finished his harsh words, then stared intently into the temple again.

Turning back, his pair of withered hands, like eagle talons, grabbed Hua Erling and Guan San, throwing them into the temple.

Then, he scooped up a handful of pebbles from the ground and rattled them into various spots inside the temple.

After confirming no traps or mechanisms were triggered, he still wasn't at ease. He took Coffin Master from his earlobe, transforming it into a millstone-sized bronze toad, and sat cross-legged on its head.

Only then did he leisurely enter the temple.

"Hmph, this dilapidated temple in the wilderness, and you expect me to believe it's the Seed Immortal Temple? Ridiculous," Qianyuanzi sneered, his eyes filled with contempt.

Indeed, as he said, after opening the door of the Daoist temple, there was only one room, extremely simple.

"Tsk tsk, that rebellious disciple put in the effort, actually finding a pile of black soil to spread on the ground. And to think I told him about the Seed Immortal Temple specifically."

Qianyuanzi rode Coffin Master around the temple, stroking his chin.

"But then again, he's really harsh on himself."

"To deceive his master, he actually had the guts to skin himself alive."

After Qianyuanzi finished speaking, he tapped Coffin Master's head with his finger. A toad leg extended, and Shi Erba's mangled corpse was violently kicked against the wall, bursting open.

Instantly, sticky flesh paste mixed with the stench of blood splattered all over the room, making one nauseous.

Guan San quickly spoke, his voice still muffled.

"Master, you mustn't fall for it."

"Shi Erba and Shiwu are usually the most cunning; they just want to set you up."

His eyes darted, and he added: "I remember now."

"Master, you once mentioned when you were drunk that when you abducted Shi Erba as an infant, you slaughtered over a hundred people in his village."

"The great fire burned for three days and three nights without extinguishing, leaving only him alive."

"I think that's why he's willing to do anything to harm you, Master."

Qianyuanzi's uneven eyes showed contemplation, and a chilling smile twisted his mouth: "In that case, everything makes sense."

His gaze, like a hook, fell upon Li Shiwu once more.

"Good disciple, be obedient, quickly peel yourself to entertain your master." Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)

"And please, don't force your master to do it himself."

Inside the temple, the faint candlelight still flickered, reflecting the shadows of a few people, constantly stretching and dancing.

In Li Shiwu's eyes, there was an inexpressible terror and unease.

Of course, all of this was feigned.

The real him, at this moment, was like a single person in a single boat, navigating alone in the deep sea of raging waves, already completely insane.

And the root of all his schemes was merely that one phrase: the Seed Immortal Temple is real!

"Master... Master, this Immortal Opportunity can only be enjoyed by one person. After your disciple 'plants the immortal seed,' you won't be able to use it," Li Shiwu still said with an unyielding tone.

"Obstinate."

Qianyuanzi's veins bulged on his forehead, his face incredibly ferocious, clearly his patience was almost exhausted.

"All... all right, I'll peel... peel..."

Li Shiwu's steps faltered as he slowly walked to the corner and picked up Shi Erba's small knife.

Under Qianyuanzi's gaze, he shed his tattered Daoist robe, revealing his sturdy chest, accustomed to years of travel.

"Shi... Shiwu, don't," Hua Erling desperately covered his mouth, continuously winking.

But Li Shiwu merely glanced at Qianyuanzi, then took a deep breath.

Then, holding the knife in his right hand, the sharp blade, as if it had eyes, easily cut a straight line across his chest.

Blood dripped from the knife tip, staining the ground a vivid red.

Li Shiwu dropped the knife, spreading his arms...

"Sizzle... sizzle..."

Instantly, the sizzling sound of flesh separating from skin was clearly audible in the temple, and distinctly reached the ears of a few people.

Li Shiwu, his body taut, bent into a bow shape, his eyes bloodshot, and a beast-like growl escaped his mouth, as if the pain was unbearable.

"Shi... Shiwu!"

Hua Erling's eyes welled with tears, and when he looked at Qianyuanzi, he could no longer suppress the hatred in his eyes, wanting to tear the culprit who had brought them to this state into a thousand pieces.

As for Guan San, though he had thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a simple appearance, his lips were curled, his face full of schadenfreude.

As for Qianyuanzi.

Sitting cross-legged on Coffin Master's head, he leisurely held a pot of wine, seemingly very pleased with the 'performance' Li Shiwu was putting on.

"Excellent, truly excellent, a good drink!"

He chuckled continuously, taking a few sips from time to time.

Only Li Shiwu kept his head down, his movements very slow, very slow.

No one could see the flames fiercely burning in his eyes.

Time ticked by, minute by minute. Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)

However, it was at this very moment, silently, that something strange occurred.

Li Shiwu gradually discovered an invisible vitality continuously flowing into his body from the black soil beneath his feet.

This vitality was very peculiar.

It didn't alleviate the pain of skinning him in the slightest, yet it miraculously sustained his life, preventing him from dying due to excessive blood loss.

No wonder!

No wonder Shi Erba was willing to skin himself alive!

A realization began to dawn on Li Shiwu.

That is, if the Seed Immortal Temple was real, perhaps one truly needed to skin oneself alive to successfully 'plant the immortal seed'.

And skinning could be seen as a bizarre ritual before 'planting the immortal seed'.

Once this ritual began, it could not be stopped.

If it stopped, that strange vitality would also cease flowing into the body.

Evidently, Shi Erjiu couldn't endure the pain of skinning, causing the ritual to be interrupted, the vitality to stop flowing, and ultimately losing his life in vain.

Therefore, all Li Shiwu could do now was grit his teeth and endure, nothing more.

"Good disciple, how do you feel?"

Qianyuanzi squinted and smiled, thoroughly enjoying the bloody scene before him.

"Master... Master, I can't peel anymore."

"If I peel more, your... your disciple will die. No, if I continue, this Immortal Opportunity will truly belong to your disciple."

Hearing Li Shiwu's faint voice, Qianyuanzi shook his head, amused.

"That won't do."

"Everyone knows your master cherishes his disciples the most. This Immortal Opportunity, I'll give it to you."

Li Shiwu said nothing more.

He simply adjusted his breathing as much as possible, to avoid fainting from the pain.

For a moment.

The eerie red candlelight, the dripping fresh blood, the fierce old Daoist...

Everything, all of it, outlined a bizarre and absurd painting, slowly unfolding within this Daoist temple.