Chapter Eighty: Soul Cleansing

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The Demon Suppression Division was a razor-sharp sword hanging over the heads of all foul spirits and demonic forces in the Grand Zhou Immortal Dynasty. To the common folk, it appeared as nothing more than a stately courtyard above ground—its main hall imposing, its side chambers elegant, and on the martial training grounds, armored officers drilled in formation, their shouts thundering like rolling clouds, exuding an awe-inspiring presence.

Within one such eastern side chamber, Shangguan Chuci, Ling Jue, and a few others conversed in hushed tones. Little did they know, what met the eye was but the tip of the iceberg. The true core of the Demon Suppression Division lay hidden beneath the earth.

Ling Jue led Lin Jianyan past the main hall, stopping before a seemingly ordinary screen wall adorned with a qilin. He reached out and knocked three times upon the qilin’s eye, neither too hard nor too soft, then tapped twice lightly and once heavily, repeating this peculiar rhythm.

After a moment, the sound of intricate mechanisms grinding could be heard, and the wall parted down the middle, revealing a shadowy doorway just wide enough for a single person to pass through.

A chill wind greeted them as they stepped inside. Two officers clad in black armor stood as motionless as iron statues, halberds crossed to block the way.

One of them challenged, “Who goes there, and where do you intend to go?”

Ling Jue stepped forward, his voice solemn. “Ling Jue, Officer of the Demon Suppression Division, escorting Lord Lin Jianyan, Inspector, to the Soul-Cleansing Chamber for exorcism.”

The guard’s gaze, sharp as lightning, settled on Lin Jianyan. “According to regulations, the Inspector must present their token.”

Lin Jianyan removed a black iron token from her waist and offered it with both hands. The token bore no elaborate markings, only a single, ancient character indicating her rank.

Upon seeing it, the guards’ stern expressions melted into respectful deference. They withdrew their halberds and bowed deeply. “Welcome, Inspector. Please proceed.”

Beyond the hidden door stretched a corridor plunging into unfathomable depths. The walls were hewn from black stone, and every ten meters a perpetual lamp flickered, casting ghostly shadows along the stone and, oddly, bringing a strange sense of calm.

At the end of the passage, the corridor forked in two. Ling Jue explained, “Inspector Lin, the left passage leads to the Demon Prison and the Relic Chamber. The former confines highly corrupted cultivators and heinous cultists; the latter is for suppressing tainted magical artifacts or studying bizarre objects extracted from evil spirits. Our destination, the Soul-Cleansing Chamber, lies to the right.”

Lin Jianyan nodded slightly and followed him to the right. After only a few steps, they reached an arched doorway. The lintel was etched with countless arcane sigils in liquid mercury, from which a chill emanated.

Passing through, Lin Jianyan felt the faint, gloomy aura that had clung to her instantly dissipate, her entire body noticeably lighter.

Inside the Soul-Cleansing Chamber, a middle-aged Daoist in black robes awaited with several armored officers. He appeared to be around forty, face thin and gaunt, eyes brimming with restrained brilliance. He was the Spirit Warden, the exorcist in charge of this place.

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Lin Jianyan glanced around. On the floor, countless silver grooves traced a complex formation, within which liquid metal seemed to flow slowly. This was the Soul-Stabilizing Array. Though her first visit, she recognized it—the structure of the Demon Suppression Divisions was similar across all provinces; key facilities differed little, making it easy to deduce their functions.

Three bronze pedestals, half as tall as a man, stood around the formation in a triangle. Each was riddled with holes of various sizes, used by the Spirit Warden to place spirit-stabilizing needles and finely adjust the array’s energies.

The Spirit Warden greeted her with a bow. “Greetings, Inspector. Will you be undergoing the soul-cleansing ritual?”

Lin Jianyan nodded, a grave expression settling over her delicate features. “Yes. During my investigation, I seem to have fallen prey to a demonic plot. This entity is most insidious, with the potential for dangerous backlash. Please be vigilant.”

The Spirit Warden responded solemnly, “Rest assured, Inspector. We shall give our utmost.”

Without another word, Lin Jianyan sat cross-legged at the center of the array. Several assisting officers took their positions, channeling their spiritual power into the array’s nodes. Ling Jue withdrew to the side, hand on his sword, standing guard for all present.

Once preparations were complete, the Spirit Warden, his focus unwavering, picked up a spirit-stabilizing needle of black iron and began a solemn incantation, then thrust it into a node on the array.

Instantly, silver light surged across the formation. Lin Jianyan shuddered violently as wisps of visible, venomous black mist rose from her body’s acupoints. Her delicate face twisted into a puppet’s rigid smile, and from the corners of her mouth, two hair-thin trails of blood silently split her skin.

At the same time, faint echoes of a little girl’s laughter and weeping resounded from the chamber walls—strange, plaintive, chilling to the soul.

Ling Jue’s eyes hardened. “The Inspector truly has been possessed by that evil thing!”

The Spirit Warden remained unfazed. Tracking the black smoke drifting from Lin Jianyan, he seized a second spirit-stabilizing needle and shouted, “Bind!”

The needle fell; the array’s radiance intensified, and the eerie childish voices ceased abruptly. The puppet’s smile on Lin Jianyan’s face froze, twisting into an expression of utter agony, as though something invisible was being wrenched from the depths of her soul.

Sweat beaded on the Spirit Warden’s brow as he brandished the final needle, eyes blazing. With a sharp cry, “Sever!” he plunged it in.

A brilliant radiance erupted from the heart of the array, enveloping Lin Jianyan completely. In that instant, everyone heard a shriek filled with boundless malice. Several less experienced officers staggered, faint signs of corruption appearing on their faces.

“Focus your minds! Recite the Purity Incantation!” the Spirit Warden barked.

No one dared delay; together, they chanted:

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“Heaven and earth brim with righteous qi, which I gather in my heart’s sun.
My spirit is glass-clear, within and without shining bright.
A hundred thousand forms of evil, craving clothed in flesh.
Ignite the fire in my chest, burn every falsehood in the world!
See the demon as not demon, see myself as not myself.
Heaven’s mighty power, sweeping clean all realms!”

Lin Jianyan bit her lip, forcing herself to endure the agony, breathing in rhythm with the methods of the Demon Suppression Division.

With each resounding, righteous recitation, the bloody cracks on her face closed before their eyes, the rigid smile fading away. At last, her body went limp, and she fell unconscious.

The Spirit Warden retrieved the three needles and let out a long breath. “Though I know not its true origin, I have severed the link between that fiend and the Inspector. It will no longer be able to haunt her through her flesh.”

Ling Jue stepped forward to check Lin Jianyan’s breathing. Finding it steady, he finally relaxed, bowing respectfully. “Thank you, Spirit Warden.”

After Ling Jue and the others helped Lin Jianyan away, the Spirit Warden lingered alone, gazing at the still-warm Soul-Stabilizing Array, his brows furrowed in thought.

“She claimed this evil was formidable, yet its expulsion was almost too easy, suspiciously smooth…”

He pondered a moment before shaking his head. “Perhaps the Inspector is simply young and inexperienced, mistaking a common fiend for something more.”

...

In the backyard of the Tidewatch Inn, within a dilapidated woodshed, Lu Chenyuan was only just recovering from his wounds. Weak and weary, he lay on his cot, idly leafing through the jargon booklet left by the merchant Zhang to pass the time.

Suddenly, a strange chill crept up his spine. The faint sound of a little girl sobbing began to echo in his ears, appearing without warning.

Lu Chenyuan’s heart sank. The thought of having to “appease the child” again made his scalp tingle.

But when he glanced at the wooden doll by his bedside, he realized something far more terrifying was unfolding. From the painted corners of its eyes, blood-red tears were slowly trickling down its cheeks. The innocent smile etched on its lips remained unchanged, only now it appeared even more ghastly and unnerving.