Chapter 8: Shaking the Head Off

Since escaping from the Wangyue Tower covered in blood, Jiang Wang hadn't had a complete night's sleep. Therefore, this sleep was exceptionally long.

He had many dreams. He dreamed of dominating the Sword Debate Stage, of his cultivation advancing by leaps and bounds, riding the wind and breaking through the clouds. He dreamed of a vast sky, with five streams of light incredibly swift, five streams...

He woke up.

He sat up silently, leaning against the headboard, unable to distinguish whether the sudden feeling was palpitations or sorrow.

He shook his head, gathering his thoughts.

Outside the window, it was already night, and he was still alone in the dormitory.

Jiang Wang frowned.

It was normal for Du Yehu to drink for days and nights, but Ling He had always been disciplined and would never stay out all night.

The outer sect dormitories of Fenglin Daoist Academy were rows of connected bungalows. He put on his clothes and went out. The door of the opposite dormitory was tightly closed, and everything was quiet on both sides. The corridor felt strangely cold.

Jiang Wang stopped a passing figure, "This junior brother, have you seen Senior Brother Ling He?"

"Ling He? Never seen him," the person replied in an extremely stiff voice.

While speaking, he shook his head.

Bang!

His head actually broke off like that, falling to the ground and rolling a few times.

He shook his head off!

Looking at the headless body that had just been speaking, Jiang Wang felt a chill rise from his tailbone, rushing straight to the top of his head.

But he was, after all, a veteran of many battles. He subconsciously took a step back, preparing to retreat back to the dormitory, at least to retrieve his weapon.

But the dormitory door suddenly slammed shut, impossible to open! It was as if someone inside the room was blocking the door, preventing him from entering.

And at this moment, the headless body turned around, opened its arms, and strode towards him! The head that had fallen on the ground bounced up after rolling a few times, hitting Jiang Wang even faster than the body! Its hair was disheveled, its face distorted and hideous, its nose collapsed, and its eyes bulged high.

A midnight ghost, a soul seeking life.

"Playing tricks!" Jiang Wang shouted violently, hoping to alarm the outer sect disciples in the other dormitories, while leaping back.

This was Fenglin Daoist Academy, with Dong A, a fifth-rank cultivator, in charge. Upon detecting any anomalies, he would surely suppress and kill them! No matter what strange or evil thing it was, it would definitely not dare to make too much noise. If he could escape directly, that would naturally be the best option.

But the speed of the head's rebound was too fast, and Jiang Wang couldn't escape in time.

So he took a few steps back, suddenly soared into the air, and poured one of the only two Dao Yuan in his Dao Meridian into his right leg, then twisted his body and kicked back in mid-air!

Under the stimulation and eruption of Dao Yuan, this kick possessed far greater power than before.

The image of gods, ghosts, and demons has never been just a legend. Although Jiang Wang hadn't fully transcended the ordinary, he had already witnessed the extraordinary world. He had killed people and seen blood, and had already developed courage.

He told himself in his heart that it was a ball, not a head, just a ball!

Bang!

The boot surface collided resolutely with the head. The head exploded back even faster than before, hitting the headless body that was running forward, staggering it.

A football shot!

At the same time, Jiang Wang also felt a sharp pain in the instep of his foot. It turned out that while kicking, the head had opened its bloody mouth and bitten through the shoe surface, tearing off a piece of flesh!

The wound was faintly cyan.

Jiang Wang knew it was bad, probably the effect of corpse poison or something.

But he had achieved his goal of using offense to block the enemy, so he didn't hesitate and turned to run.

After a few steps to the end of the corridor, he was blocked by a layer of transparent Yuan Qi barrier.

That power was not strong, but it was very tough, firmly blocking the way forward. This was an ambush!

Jiang Wang's mind raced, and the last Dao Yuan in his Dao Meridian decisively exploded, condensing on his right shoulder.

He exerted force madly, colliding with his shoulder!

"Open for me!!!"

Jiang Wang felt his body lighten, and he had already escaped the corridor between the two rows of dormitories.

Then he heard the sound of wind, the chirping of insects, and the voices of returning outer disciples... the sounds of the night.

The quiet environment was broken.

"Senior Brother Jiang Wang, what are you doing?"

"Senior Brother, how did you get injured?"

Some outer disciples who saw Jiang Wang came over to greet him.

Jiang Wang heard the familiar greetings from his fellow disciples and understood that he had escaped danger. He turned back and rushed back into the corridor, which was indeed empty.

The headless body and the head had also disappeared.

And someone on both sides of the dormitory opened the door in confusion and said, "What's going on? Why couldn't the door be opened just now?"

A more frightened voice shouted, "Dead... someone's dead!"

Jiang Wang rushed into the dormitory where the shout came from first, only to find the missing severed body. He and his head were now lying quietly on the ground, his face still grimace.

Trembling in the corner should be his panicked roommate.

The opponent's methods showed at least a necromantic corpse manipulation and orthodox water-attribute Taoism. Or rather, there was more than one opponent.

Jiang Wang's mind raced and he spoke decisively, "There are demonic people breaking into the outer sect at night to commit murder, practicing Taoism, and already surpassing the ordinary! Their strength should be in the ninth-rank range. All junior brothers must take good care of yourselves, act in groups of five, and echo each other! From now on, seal off the dormitory area, and no one is allowed to enter or leave. I will immediately go and ask for instructions from the inner courtyard senior brother!"

The panicked outer disciples immediately had a backbone and did as they were told.

Jiang Wang immediately turned around and ran towards the inner courtyard.

The entire east of the city was Fenglin Daoist Academy and the academy's affiliated industries, but to be precise, only the courtyard in the center of the eastern district, surrounded by high walls, could be considered the real Fenglin Daoist Academy. Outer sect disciples like Jiang Wang were scattered around the academy.

Compared to the tall archway and wealthy jade lions in front of the outer courtyard, the gate of the inner courtyard was much smaller, barely able to accommodate four people side by side. However, just from the plaque with carved dragons and phoenixes, which faintly glowed in the night, one could glimpse the ingenuity.

In front of the inner courtyard gate was a small pavilion, with only two flowing cloud lanterns in front of the pavilion, and only a single ice grass futon in the pavilion. A handsome, linen-clad Taoist was sitting cross-legged on the futon, practicing with his eyes closed. This was Li Jianqiu, the inner courtyard disciple on duty today.

Jiang Wang ran to this point, hurriedly bowed, "Senior Brother Li, there are heretical demons committing murder in the outer courtyard, and one junior brother has already been killed! Please go and preside over the overall situation!"

For outer disciples, every inner disciple who had embarked on the path of cultivation was a star-like figure. Jiang Wang, having been in the academy for so long, was naturally familiar with them all. And for Li Jianqiu, Jiang Wang, who had launched a Dao certification duel and brought out the Dean's personal notarization, was naturally not an unknown person. Moreover, as the one on duty, he was duty-bound.

Therefore, he only listened to one sentence and got up with his sword.

"No need." A majestic voice sounded, causing Li Jianqiu to immediately sheath his sword and bow in salute.

Dean Dong A appeared at the entrance of the inner courtyard, his expression stern, even to the point of being unsightly: "I will handle this matter personally."

"Corpse Qi." He looked at the wound on Jiang Wang's instep where the flying head had torn it, extended his index finger, and without any other movement, a cyan stinger had already condensed.

Only then did Jiang Wang notice that the wound on his foot was now festering and beginning to bleed black blood, and he couldn't help but feel fear in his heart.

"Grade C Middle-Rank Dao Art: Poison Swallowing Sting. This Dao Art is very practical and can be used until the mid-stage."

While casually explaining, Dong A slightly pointed his index finger.

Apart from Super-Rank Dao Arts, general Dao Arts are divided into four grades and twelve ranks. The vast and boundless ocean of Dao Arts cannot be fully explored in a lifetime. Every Taoist cultivator who embarks on the path of transcendence must clearly understand what kind of Dao Arts are most suitable for them, and form their own combat system through continuous combat and exploration.

The stinger was inserted into the wound on Jiang Wang's foot, turning black at a speed visible to the naked eye. In a few breaths, the cyan sting had turned completely black, and the wound was no longer cyan-black, but was bleeding fresh red blood.

Jiang Wang quickly tore off a corner of his clothes and bandaged the wound.

Li Jianqiu watched this scene silently, lost in thought.

At this time, Dong A asked, "What happened?"

Jiang Wang repeated the matter in the most concise language, and then stopped expressing his opinions. He believed, and could only believe, that the Dean of Fenglin City Daoist Academy would give him justice for the assassination attempt on him in the academy.

The corners of Dong A's mouth slightly curled up, and because of his serious expression, the smile was particularly grim.

"Heretical paths, dare to cause trouble in Fenglin City Daoist Academy, this is not taking the Daoist Academy seriously, not taking me Dong A seriously!"

He spread his robes, opened his five fingers, and leaned down to press down on the earth!

"Jade Cage!"

With his five fingers as the center, the invisible power belonging to the wood path extended in all directions.

All the gates of the entire Daoist Academy slammed shut! And vines sprouted out, growing wildly.

The climbing tigers on the academy walls shot up like long snakes, intertwining in mid-air.

All the wooden products in the entire Daoist Academy underwent changes.

Wooden chairs sprouted branches, wooden windows grew claws, giant trees broke out of the ground, and thorns danced wildly!

The entire Fenglin Daoist Academy in an instant, became a cyan prison under the night!