Chapter 140: Real-Life CS in Biohazard Mode

At a little past 11:00 AM, Zhang Yingzhong and Li Xiuyun departed with utmost satisfaction.

Throughout the morning spent with Abao and Xiaobei, the brother and sister had practically treated them as their own biological son and daughter.

Had Li Yunfei not received a phone call summoning him to meet with his peers from Zixiao, they would not have wanted to leave at all!

In light of the siblings' stellar performance, Li Yunfei increased the reward of fifty spiritual bamboo shoots he had promised them to one hundred, and then dismissed them to go cultivate.

Carrying two hundred spiritual bamboo shoots each, the brother and sister happily went off to cultivate. If they finished their eight-hour cultivation quota early, they would be able to sleep soundly and comfortably through the night.

Today they had learned a valuable lesson: buttering up the Boss's relatives and elders was even more effective than buttering up the Boss himself.

Seeing that Li Yunfei had advanced by one level higher than her due to dual cultivation, Honghong decided not to waste any more time. She asked Li Yunfei for a few spiritual stones and retreated straight to her room to cultivate as well.

During this period, Li Yunfei had been dual cultivating with Zhang Ziying every night. Naturally, his cultivation realm was already a notch higher than hers, and his experience bar had widened the gap between them by nearly forty percent.

Now, he was more than a full realm and a half ahead of her. She needed to catch up as much as possible so that the distance between her and Li Yunfei would not become too vast.

She did not mind if Li Yunfei was more powerful than her; what she feared most was that once the gap became too wide, she would no longer be able to intervene in Li Yunfei's battles or be of any help to him.

……

At a little past 12:00 PM, Li Yunfei prepared a lavish lunch. The staple food was spiritual grain, the dishes consisted entirely of fierce beast meat and spiritual vegetables and fruits, and he also prepared three bottles of spiritual wine.

Spiritual grain did not refer to ordinary rice; the paddy rice grown in ordinary fields possessed no spirituality. Only the wild grains nurtured and enriched by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth could be called spiritual grain.

Three bottles of spiritual wine were more than enough. Given the True Qi realm cultivation of Liu Bin and Jiang Rui, this amount of spiritual wine was precisely at the level where they could drink to their heart's content without getting completely drunk.

When Liu Bin and Jiang Rui arrived, exchanging pleasantries with Li Yunfei and Zhang Ziying as they entered the dining room, they were immediately moved beyond words upon seeing a spread of food and wine that could only be described as the highest specification.

Li Yunfei truly regarded them as friends!

Liu Bin said in a daze, "I’ve only ever seen banquets of this caliber during gatherings of Zixiao's high-ranking figures. Back then, let alone sitting at the table, I didn't even have the qualification to pour wine on the side; I could only wait outside, and even that was entirely due to the prestige of my grandfather and uncle."

Jiang Rui smiled bitterly. "At least you could still wait outside. I, for one, have never even been to the Zixiao headquarters! What have I got to say?"

Li Yunfei laughed heartily and said, "Then today, as brothers, I’ll let you two experience the treatment of Venerable Elders. Take a seat! Make yourselves completely at home, don't stand on ceremony."

The two men felt their spirits lift and each took their seats.

Zhang Ziying asked curiously, "Brother Bin, you've always only mentioned your grandfather and uncle. Didn't your dad join Zixiao?"

Liu Bin gave a self-deprecating smile and said, "He wanted to, but ever since he was a child, he hated practicing martial arts. He couldn't even read a single word of the Daoist scriptures. He started his own business right after graduating from college, and his business is actually doing quite well—his net worth is probably a few billion!"

"However, after the resurgence of spiritual energy, he had zero aptitude. My grandfather tried numerous ways to improve his aptitude, but it was useless. A person without aptitude simply cannot retain spiritual energy within their body."

"Even if you feed him spiritual treasures and use external force to help him refine them, no matter how he tries to cultivate on his own, he cannot absorb even a shred of spiritual energy from the outside world, and the spiritual energy inside his body dissipates very quickly."

At this, he sighed and continued, "So you see, a choice made in one's youth truly affects the rest of one's life."

"Regardless of whether the choice is right or wrong, it is your own choice, and you can only walk down the path you've chosen. No one else can help you."

Li Yunfei and Zhang Ziying were filled with deep emotion. This was also why ordinary people and practitioners were destined to belong to two completely different worlds.

Aptitude was something bestowed solely by the heavens. The possibility of changing it by relying on external objects or external forces was simply too slim. Heavenly materials and earthly treasures capable of altering aptitude were far too rare, and whether any even existed on the Blue Earth Star remained a question.

Unless this world truly possessed a Heavenly Court, where Taishang Laojun could refine Nine-Turn Golden Pills, and Flat Peaches that could instantly turn one into an immortal upon consumption, otherwise, ordinary people wishing to step onto the path of cultivation basically had no hope.

Yet the reality was that even the Underworld did not exist, so where on earth would a Heavenly Court come from?

Zhang Ziying poured wine for them all. Li Yunfei raised his small ceramic wine cup and said, "Everyone has their own affinity; it cannot be forced. Those of us who have managed to board the train of this new era by sheer luck should all the more learn to cherish it."

"Let's not dwell on those regrettable matters. Meeting each other is a matter of fate. Come, let's toast to our acquaintance."

The two men happily raised their glasses, clinked them with Li Yunfei and Zhang Ziying, and then downed the spiritual wine in one gulp. After putting down their cups, Li Yunfei urged the two to eat.

After taking a few bites, Zhang Ziying raised her glass again and smiled, "Brother Bin, Brother Rui, back when you first arrived in Yudong, you looked after me a great deal. Dafei being able to smoothly join Zixiao was also due to Brother Bin bridging the gap. I haven't thanked you both yet! This cup is a toast to you."

The two men clinked their glasses with hers and drank the wine. Afterward, Liu Bin smiled and said, "If you ask me what my greatest achievement in this life is, I'm afraid it's helping Dafei bridge that gap."

"If Dafei can be written into the history books in the future, I can definitely bask in his glory and be remembered through the ages alongside him. Hahaha..."

"Hahaha..."

Everyone laughed together. The benefits of Liu Bin convincing Li Yunfei to join Zixiao went far beyond merely leaving a mark in the history books.

The more practical benefits had already been received the very day after the announcement of Li Yunfei assuming the position of the Azure Dragon Elder was released.

Ziwei had recorded a Class-II Merit for him, accompanied by a massive reward of cultivation resources.

A Class-I or Class-II Merit in Zixiao was not just an honor; it came with substantive benefits.

Much like the "sect contribution system" commonly used by immortal cultivation sects in Xianxia, Zixiao's merits served the exact same function and could be used to apply to the organization for whatever resources one required.

For instance, one could ask the Profound Group to refine an exclusive divine weapon or magical treasure, or to refine a specific medicinal pill one needed, or to exchange for required spiritual materials and treasures, and so on.

The most basic function was that, depending on the level of merit, a single merit could be exchanged for a correspondingly large quantity of spiritual stones.

Not only Liu Bin, but He Ming also received his corresponding reward. However, because he had merely shown his face and run errands, he was not credited with a formal merit, receiving only a commendation instead—which was still an unexpected stroke of fortune.

The lunch was thoroughly enjoyed by both host and guests, leaving Liu Bin and Jiang Rui slightly intoxicated. After the meal ended, Li Yunfei arranged for them to rest in the bedrooms on the first floor.

Li Yunfei's house had four bedrooms and a study on the second floor, while the first floor consisted of a living room, kitchen, dining room, and three bedrooms, providing plenty of rooms.

The two men meditated individually to refine the massive amount of spiritual energy they had consumed, and did not emerge until 3:00 PM, their cultivation realms having shown improvement.

Having not seen each other for a mere two months, it wasn't just Li Yunfei who was making progress; everyone else was progressing as well.

Two months ago, Liu Bin was merely at the late True Qi stage, but now he was at the peak of the True Qi realm. Once he comprehended his own martial arts true intent, he would be able to step into the True Intent realm, leaping from the backbone of Zixiao into the ranks of high-end combat power.

However, compared to the progression of Li Yunfei, this absolute cheater, practitioners all over the world were nothing more than little kids.

After Liu Bin and Jiang Rui emerged one after the other, they began discussing the situation of the undead riots in Yudong County with Li Yunfei.

Liu Bin said, "Yudong County is a relatively complex city. Located at the border of Yuzhou, it sits at the intersection of three provinces—a border city in the truest sense."

"Its geographical location is unique. Due to historical legacy issues, before the 1980s, its administrative divisions were unclear, making it a lawless zone managed entirely through ethnic minority autonomy."

"Therefore, around the time the Great Xia nation was founded, a large number of bandits entrenched themselves here. Yudong was once dubbed the 'City of Bandits,' with multiple factions of bandits attacking one another, resembling a miniature Warring States period."

"It wasn't until our Great Xia army came and eradicated the bandits that this chaotic situation was brought to an end."

"However, because most of the bandits were wiped out, coupled with the villagers who starved to death during the Great Famine, the townships and villages under the jurisdiction of this city mostly developed special magnetic fields, making it a place rife with yin grounds everywhere."

Li Yunfei nodded. He knew a thing or two about this local history; when he was young, his grandfather had even told him stories about bandits.

With a serious expression, he asked, "How many villages have you and Brother Rui dealt with during this period?"

Liu Bin replied, "According to statistics, there are a total of 186 villages in Yudong County experiencing ghost disturbances. Jiang Rui and I have hardly returned to the city these past two months, running around the countryside the entire time. We have currently dealt with 92 villages, leaving 94 villages pending."

Li Yunfei asked in confusion, "Why haven't you organized the Yin-Yang masters from the surrounding areas, given them anti-evil weapons, and solved the problems together?"

Liu Bin shook his head helplessly and said, "Yin-Yang masters are not true practitioners after all. Even if you give them anti-evil weapons, their own strength cannot keep up, and they are easily ambushed and killed by ghosts."

"They can only deal with single low-level ghosts, and even then, it requires a cumbersome amount of preparation. Having them participate in handling large-scale undead riots would be terribly irresponsible with their lives."

"Before Jiang Rui and I took action, several Yin-Yang masters had already unfortunately died while dealing with issues in various villages. Since their numbers were small to begin with, I advised them not to meddle in this matter anymore."

Jiang Rui added, "Actually, setting aside other issues, our anti-evil weapons are primarily firearm-based. Although those are special weapons designed to fight ghosts, they are still firearms after all, and citizens are not permitted to possess them."

"Not to mention the issue of gun control in Great Xia—special circumstances call for special treatment, of course—but Yin-Yang masters haven't received professional training. Giving them guns might not even be useful!"

Li Yunfei nodded slowly, deep in thought. After pondering for a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he said, "What you said about firearms just reminded me. I have a method that will definitely work, and phrased this way, perhaps we can resolve the county's problems very soon."

Liu Bin asked curiously, "Let's hear it."

Li Yunfei said with high spirits, "Do you know what gel blaster guns are?"

As soon as Zhang Ziying heard Li Yunfei's words, she immediately reacted and said excitedly, "That's right! Ordinary people can't handle real guns, and it's not easy for them to hit targets with them, but gel blaster guns have no recoil. At close range, wherever you point is where you hit!"

Liu Bin was stunned. "Are you talking about those toy guns where the bullets shatter the moment they hit an obstacle? Can that kind of stuff fight ghosts?"

Li Yunfei retorted righteously, "Why not? Mix cinnabar, rooster blood, and boy urine—substances with anti-evil properties—into a spiritual liquid imbued with anti-evil power. Have me, a Golden Core grand cultivator, personally bless and empower it with incantations, and then soak the gel beads in that spiritual liquid."

Saying this, Li Yunfei clapped his hands together and then spread them apart.

"Holy shit."

Liu Bin slapped his thigh and said excitedly, "Damn, what a genius idea! Why didn't we think of that?"

Jiang Rui said, "Forget us not thinking of it, even among all those brilliant minds in Zixiao, no one thought of this method! We only ever focused on the real deal; who would have thought toy guns could fight ghosts either? By that logic, water guns could actually work too!"

Liu Bin laughed and said, "Stop joking around. How far can a water gun shoot? Three meters or five meters? A gel blaster gun can shoot twenty or thirty meters! If you were to use a fire engine, you couldn't even drive it into the villages!"

Zhang Ziying interjected, "Even if you could drive it into the villages, how much spiritual liquid would that require? Have you considered the villagers' feelings when you go spraying that blood-like spiritual liquid everywhere?"

Jiang Rui scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly, "That's true, haha. It seems gel blaster guns are still the most reliable."

Liu Bin pulled out his phone and said, "I'm going to report this method right now. Who knows, it might turn out to be another merit."

Liu Bin directly made a call to the Zixiao headquarters office and detailed this method from start to finish.

Of course, after explaining the method, he specifically noted that this was an idea proposed by the newly appointed Azure Dragon Elder.

When the operator at the Zixiao headquarters finished listening to the method Liu Bin described, they couldn't help but praise it repeatedly, calling this newly appointed elder an absolute freak of genius.

Gel blaster guns were toys, low in cost, and would not pose a danger to society. Villagers in remote mountain villages plagued by the undead could completely be equipped with one per person, and even children could handle them.

In this way, villagers hiding in houses protected by talismanic magic tools while holding gel blaster guns would turn every house in the village into the equivalent of a pillbox bunker.

After finishing his report, Liu Bin smiled at Li Yunfei and asked, "How long will it take you to prepare the spiritual liquid? Should we contact those Yin-Yang masters right now and have them gather?"

Li Yunfei said, "Mm, contact them immediately! Yin-Yang masters are primarily responsible for luring out the ghosts; battle doesn't necessarily have to rely solely on them, as their numbers are insufficient after all."

"Have the armed forces department organize militia, or simply dispatch armed police to form an anti-ghost task force. I'll provide protective body-warding talismans to ensure that even evil spirits and rakshasas won't be able to get close to them."

"Each village's task force only needs one Yin-Yang master to assist. Although militia and armed police can use real hardware, getting real hardware dispatched from headquarters takes too much time and costs too much. We'll just use gel blaster guns and have a live-action CS match of the living versus the undead."

Zhang Ziying said with avid interest, "Isn't that just biohazard mode? I want to participate in this battle too."

"Hahaha... Exactly, it's biohazard mode. You're also a Qi-Movement stage cultivator now; you can completely handle mere ferocious ghosts and evil spirits, so you can join the battle."

Liu Bin stood up with rising enthusiasm and said, "I'll go handle this right away and strive to get everything sorted out before 7:00 PM. But the most crucial part is the spiritual liquid and talismans from your end—are four hours enough for you?"

Li Yunfei laughed and said, "More than enough. I can also take care of the gel blaster guns; you just need to organize the personnel, and I'll cover all the equipment."

"Got it! With those words from you, Azure Dragon Elder, I'll just wait for this live-action CS match in biohazard mode to kick off."

Liu Bin and Jiang Rui rushed back to the bureau in high spirits, while Li Yunfei brought Zhang Ziying up to the study on the second floor.

Opening the toy cabinet, Li Yunfei took out their two Jinming-brand M4 gel blaster guns from it, and then dug out the batteries and gel beads.

"It's been a while since we used these. Go charge up the batteries. Once they're fully charged, I'll duplicate a whole bunch of them. I'll go prepare the spiritual liquid first."

"Okay."

Zhang Ziying eagerly went to charge the gel blaster gun batteries, then ran up to the rooftop to watch Li Yunfei prepare the spiritual liquid.

Li Yunfei filled a large basin more than half full with water, recited a cleansing incantation to empower the water, and then poured in cinnabar, boy urine, and rooster blood in specific proportions to mix them.

Afterward, he stepped on the Big Dipper starlight paces, formed hand seals, and chanted the incantation:

"The Most High Lord Lao instructs me to slay ghosts, imparting upon me the divine formula. Summoning the Jade Maiden from above, capturing all ominous beings. Climbing mountains splits rocks, wearing the imperial seal. Wearing the canopy on the head, stepping on the dipper stars. Aided by the Six Jia on the left, guarded by the Six Ding on the right. The Yellow Deity in front, the Yue Zhang behind. The divine master slaughters and punishes, dodging neither the fierce nor the strong. Slaying evil ghosts first, beheading phosphorescent lights last. What spirit will not submit, what ghost dares to block... Swiftly as the divine law commands!"

A thick, unyielding golden light struck the intensely red basin, causing the anti-evil power within the spiritual liquid to soar into the sky with ferocious might.

This "Ghost-Slaying Incantation" could almost be considered the most powerful, most extreme, and most merciless incantation among all magical spells specifically used to deal with ghosts and monsters.

Its sole purpose was to beat ghosts and monsters until their souls scattered, leaving no room for negotiation.

Unlike spells like the Lightning Dragon Descent Incantation, which could be used to directly attack and cause damage to any target, this was a "buffing incantation." It could be imbued into any anti-evil object and was solely used to deal with ghosts, rendering it useless against demons.

Once the spiritual liquid was ready, Li Yunfei tore open the packaging of the gel beads and poured bag after bag of millet-sized gel beads into the spiritual liquid.

These gel beads were a copolymer of polyacrylate and polyacrylamide, possessing super water-absorbency. A millet-sized gel bead, after absorbing enough water, could expand to eight millimeters in size.

However, because ninety-nine percent of it was water, it would shatter with a gentle pinch, and upon evaporation, it would turn into dust, basically leaving no trace behind.

The gel beads required about three hours to fully absorb water. If they were not soaked for the full duration, the gel beads would fail to reach their complete state and would easily jam inside the gel blaster guns during firing, preventing them from being shot out.

From then on, all they had to do was quietly wait for three hours.