Innate Defiled Sacred Body

Wu Xian was momentarily stunned.

"Is it not over yet?"

Shi Ji nodded grimly, his face dark. "Yes. Even if I go to the restroom, evil spirits will come looking for me."

Wu Xian narrowed his eyes, sensing a blind spot.

When he had been cursed before, he only encountered a single evil spirit—Mr. Wang's spirit.

Shi Ji's curse was called "Bestowed Evil," and though it was a similar level of negative effect, it should have only attracted one evil spirit. Why, then, were more spirits coming after him?

"Shi Ji, I think you're hiding something from me."

Seizing on this oddity, Wu Xian suddenly recalled that Shi Ji's behavior had seemed off for a while.

Wen Chaofang had a decent income, so it was normal for him to stay at an inn briefly to avoid delaying their journey. But Shi Ji was just a janitor cleaning toilets—why would he waste money renting a room by the hour while waiting for a ride?

How did he, an ordinary man, manage to escape the grasp of a hungry ghost that distorts perception? Was that ghost really that toothless?

Why did he hide the attack he suffered on the first day from everyone?

And the little evil spirits from last night should have attacked every room—but why wasn't there a single palm print on Shi Ji's face?

...

Actually, there were many suspicious points about Shi Ji. But his simple, sincere appearance and earnest demeanor made everyone, including Wu Xian, overlook these doubts.

Shi Ji's expression turned uneasy, clearly reluctant to answer Wu Xian's questions.

Wu Xian sneered coldly:

"Alright then. You call me a wolf in sheep's clothing, but it turns out you're the one hiding the deepest secrets. If you don't want to talk, fine—let's part ways here. I'll find my own place to stay tonight."

Shi Ji suddenly panicked and, helplessly, pulled something from his clothes. "Alright, I'll confess. Actually, I'm not a rookie to the Blessed Land—I'm a Chosen."

A Chosen!

Wu Xian's eyes flickered.

When he entered the Blessed Land, his certificate also labeled him as a Chosen. It seemed Shi Ji might possess important information.

"Tell me everything you know."

Desperate for Wu Xian's help, Shi Ji did not hesitate and began to recount his experiences in the Blessed Land.

"My first trip to the Blessed Land, to be honest, was just a matter of luck. If I hadn't accidentally blown up a cesspool, I wouldn't have survived."

Wu Xian was shocked—this guy's first trip was already that messy?

"After that, I was favored by the 'Post-Emperor Purple Aunt Toilet God,' and was given this cursed blessing: the 'Innate Defiled Sacred Body'…"

From Shi Ji's words, Wu Xian finally understood the concept of a Chosen.

A Chosen is someone favored by the gods or immortals.

Some are noticed by divine beings even before entering the Blessed Land—like Wu Xian. Others, like Shi Ji, earn divine favor through exceptional performance within the Blessed Land.

Only Chosen are true participants of the Blessed Land. Ordinary people, even if they survive until the end, lose all memories of the Blessed Land unless favored by the gods.

Though Chosen retain their memories, they cannot reveal any information about the Blessed Land to those unaware.

Each Chosen receives a certificate.

Only the Chosen themselves can see the details recorded on it.

It contains their basic data—such as talismans, divine powers, magical tools, and so on.

Additionally, after leaving the Blessed Land, the certificate notifies the Chosen of the time and place of nearby Blessed Lands, allowing them to decide whether to participate or avoid dangerous locations.

But that doesn't mean a Chosen can forever avoid danger just by having the certificate.

If they evade too many times, the certificate's notifications may turn into commands—and disobeying these commands will bring horrors worse than death.

Soon Wu Xian had extracted almost all the information Shi Ji possessed, then turned his attention to the crisis Shi Ji faced.

It was simply bad luck.

Shi Ji's blessing, called the Innate Defiled Sacred Body, caused him to encounter filth-related events far more frequently inside the Blessed Land.

Talismans, divine powers, magical tools, and even evil spirits he met—all were more likely to be connected to filth.

Though the blessing sounded dirty, its effects were actually quite powerful.

Divine blessings granted to Chosen were often random, but Shi Ji's blessing made it easier for him to acquire systematized abilities and triggered combined effects more readily, reducing the chance of useless items.

But this blessing was also the root of his current troubles.

After Shi Ji worshiped the Heavenly Official, he was cursed with the "Heaven Official's Bestowed Evil," which burdened him with a defiled evil aura. This aura made him far more likely to attract attacks from filth-related evil spirits.

The combination of this bestowed evil and his existing blessing triggered a chain reaction—Shi Ji unexpectedly drew the attention of several filth spirits. His certificate warned that six evil spirits would assault him!

That bloated toilet spirit was merely the vanguard.

If he hadn't run into Wu Xian, Shi Ji's fate would have been to drown in some cesspool. Desperate, he shamelessly dropped to his knees, wiping his tears and snot onto Wu Xian's pants.

"Brother Wu, I've told you everything I know—please, save me!"

Wu Xian closed his eyes in thought, weighing the risks and benefits. After a moment, he opened them.

"Fine. I'll save you—but on one condition: during this Blessed Land expedition, you must follow my orders to the letter. Even the distribution of loot will be decided by me."

"I agree!" Shi Ji blurted out.

...

"Ah, what have I done… why did I agree to this?" Shi Ji muttered.

Outside, the sky darkened. The sunlight withdrew from the city, and the evil spirits lurking in the shadows reclaimed the streets. The living could only hide behind locked doors, praying danger would pass them by.

Inside Room 402 of the Peaceful Inn, Wu Xian looked at Shi Ji helplessly.

Shi Ji had already discarded his mop handle and was awkwardly holding a katana with a red sheath, forcing a sheepish smile toward Wu Xian.

By Wu Xian's logic, rescuing Shi Ji should have been simple: just have him wait in the restroom and kill every evil spirit that showed up—one spirit, one kill; two spirits, two kills.

Fight fire with fire. This way, they wouldn't suffer losses; instead, they'd gain stronger divine favor from each battle.

But, unexpectedly, a whole day passed without a single attack.

If Shi Ji's certificate wasn't mistaken, then this "Bestowed Evil" wasn't sending spirits after them one by one in a sacrificial game of "Hulu Brothers rescue grandpa." Instead, it was gathering enough evil energy to unleash a massive assault on Wu Xian and Shi Ji all at once.

What made matters worse was that they wasted so much time waiting for spirits that they had no chance to search for divine statues. They had to use the worship opportunities gained from killing strangling spirits quickly, then rush back to the inn.

By the time they returned, everyone else had already gone back to their rooms—no one waited for them in the lobby.

At this point, Wu Xian knew it was impossible to abandon Shi Ji.

So the two squeezed into Room 402, stomachs growling, waiting anxiously for whatever calamity the night might bring.

Excerpt from Dream Pool Essays, Volume 21

"An old custom on the fifteenth night of the first lunar month is to welcome the Toilet God, called Zigu. Though traditionally held then, the ritual may be performed at any time. When I was young, children casually summoned her, treating it as a game. Some relatives once summoned her, but she refused to leave. Since then, no one dared summon her again.

During the Jingyou era, the royal scholar Wang Lun's family welcomed Zigu. A spirit descended upon his daughter, claiming to be one of the emperor's harem daughters. She was talented in literature and exquisitely beautiful. Today, this is called the Collection of Female Immortals. The book exists in several scripts, full of artistic vigor, none resembling earthly writing. The names include Zaojian Seal, Zhuojin Seal, and more than ten others.

Lun and my late father were acquaintances. I once saw their calligraphy and met the spirit form. The spirit appeared from the waist up as a beautiful woman; below, she was always shrouded in mist. She played the drum and zither, her melodies sorrowful and captivating, lulling listeners to forget fatigue.

Once, I asked her, 'Can you ride the clouds and travel with me?' She agreed. Suddenly, white clouds steamed up from the courtyard, and she stepped on them—but the clouds could not support her. The spirit said, 'You have filth on your soles; remove your shoes to ascend.' She then removed her shoes and ascended lightly as if stepping on silk threads, rising to the roof before descending.

She said, 'You cannot go now; another time will be better.' Later, when she married, the spirit no longer appeared, and the family was free from misfortune or fortune."

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