novelraw Chapter 193 : Encountering a Cultivator from the Yin Ghost Sect Again
Chapter 193 : Encountering a Cultivator from the Yin Ghost Sect Again
Chapter 193: Encountering a Cultivator from the Yin Ghost Sect Again
“What… what?!”
When Ye Zhiqiu heard this, she was somewhat flustered.
Standing at the very back, Ji Yuan even clearly saw her whole body jump, nearly bolting away immediately.
“What the hell are you talking about!”
The Mourning Taoist cursed.
Qian Xin’s Blood Demon seemed unwilling to give up, and continued, “The great battle had just ended, and she immediately asked you for benefits—and not for herself, but to help a junior who had just entered the sect, demanding your benefits. Isn’t this siding with outsiders?”
“And furthermore, she showed you no respect. Keeping such a vile person around instead of devouring her—what use is she?”
The veins on the Mourning Taoist’s forehead throbbed, as though he was straining to suppress something.
“I already said—you are not allowed to eat her!”
“But I want to eat…”
Qian Xin’s Blood Demon’s voice sounded somewhat aggrieved.
“You damn dog thing! After one battle, my eight subordinates are reduced to three, and you even exposed your identity! Now you still want to eat? Eat your mother’s eat! You’ve eaten so much already—how am I supposed to survive in this Ghost-Seeking Pit?!”
The Mourning Taoist nearly roared as he spoke.
Yet, this sounded… somewhat off?
He was worried that if Ye Zhiqiu was eaten, there would be no one left to manage this Ghost-Seeking Pit for him, not because of any other feelings.
Which meant—as long as someone else could manage the Ghost-Seeking Pit, he would be willing to let Ye Zhiqiu be eaten by the Blood Demon.
Ji Yuan thought of this, and naturally, the other two also realized the same thing.
The three of them exchanged a look in tacit understanding. Without speaking, they all took a simultaneous step back.
“You insult me?”
The Blood Demon raised its palm the size of a fan and pointed to itself, speaking with serious intent: “You said I’m a damn dog?”
“I…”
The Mourning Taoist wanted to speak again.
But the Blood Demon had already placed its hand on his head, pressing down. “You don’t really think you can still control me, do you?”
As soon as these words fell, the Mourning Taoist’s body instantly turned into black mist and dispersed.
The Blood Demon followed up with a crushing motion, as if wanting to shatter the Mourning Taoist’s skull.
Unfortunately, it grabbed at empty air.
The Mourning Taoist’s form turned into dense smoke drifting about, shouting angrily, “Are you mad?! Killing me—what good does it do you?!”
The Blood Demon laughed. “Jie jie jie, if I kill you, then no one will dare stand above me—that is the greatest benefit.”
“You really are courting death!”
The Mourning Taoist was enraged. No one knew what method he used, but suddenly the Blood Demon let out a howl, clutching its head.
Standing nearby, Ye Zhiqiu quickly transmitted her voice to Deng Pinghai and Ji Yuan: “Run!”
But when she turned back, she realized Ji Yuan had already run far away.
The two of them also fled in opposite directions, not daring to linger in this Divine Vulture Palace.
Ji Yuan naturally had to run, and while fleeing, he kept channeling spiritual energy into the Talisman Treasure: Sky-Escape Shuttle inside his Storage Pouch, ready to take flight at any moment.
Just as he reached the foot of the mountain, preparing to activate it, he suddenly received a voice transmission.
“Daoist friend, over here, over here.”
The voice sounded sneaky, not like that of a righteous cultivator.
Ji Yuan immediately extended his Divine Sense, and then discovered a faint, weak aura to the north.
It was a thin, small man wrapped in a burial shroud, at the late Foundation Establishment stage.
“Hurry, follow me. I’m one of us.”
The man continued through voice transmission.
Ji Yuan did not move. Just as he was about to pull out the talisman treasure and flee, the man spoke again—and what he said forced Ji Yuan to halt.
Because he transmitted: “I too am a successor of the Yin Ghost Sect. One of us, you can trust me!”
Yin… Ghost Sect?
At first, Ji Yuan didn’t quite react. He was only familiar with the words “Yin Ghost.”
Then, after thinking a moment, he remembered—those two Yin Ghosts were obtained from the inheritance of the Yin Ghost Sect.
And the Yin Ghost Sect itself?
This went back to the events he encountered at Zengtou Market.
Back then, it wasn’t to upgrade the [Chicken Coop], but rather the [Pigsty]. He needed the Bone-Corroding Flower, searched for a long time, and finally found it with the Ghost Island Lord.
After much effort, he managed to slay the Ghost Island Lord, thereby obtaining those two Yin Ghosts along with the Yin Ghost Flag.
Ji Yuan remembered that back then he himself had also deceived the Ghost Island Lord—or rather, they had deceived each other.
At that time, Ji Yuan had tricked him by claiming to be a cultivator of the Yin Ghost Sect.
And now, in this Ghost-Seeking Pit thousands of li away, he encountered another cultivator who claimed to be from the Yin Ghost Sect.
It seemed the inheritance of the Yin Ghost Sect was no small matter… Ji Yuan’s thoughts turned.
The man thought Ji Yuan still did not believe him, so he released a trace of his aura.
Ji Yuan was extremely familiar with it—because it was the very same aura as that of his Yin Ghost Flag.
This man truly was of the Yin Ghost Sect!
So Ji Yuan changed his tone in voice transmission, “Senior brother, there is that Blood Demon blocking the mountain peak—what should we do?!”
Hearing this, the man knew Ji Yuan believed his identity. Overjoyed, he hurriedly said:
“Junior brother, don’t panic. I know another way. Follow me.”
After speaking, the man turned and walked north.
This time Ji Yuan did not hesitate, following close behind.
The Yin Ghost Sect—since he had encountered it, he naturally had to see if he could get some benefits. Even if he couldn’t, if he could at least obtain information about the Yin Ghost Sect, that would be valuable too.
Comparatively, facing a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, Ji Yuan considered himself able to exchange a few moves.
Far better than facing that Blood Demon.
The two maintained a distance of several dozen zhang.
Whenever Ji Yuan quickened his pace, this Yin Ghost Sect cultivator also sped up. If Ji Yuan slowed down, he too slowed.
Clearly, it wasn’t only Ji Yuan who didn’t trust him—he didn’t trust Ji Yuan either.
As they traveled north, Ji Yuan thought of another matter.
That was the opportunity for his two Yin Ghosts to ascend to the Foundation Establishment stage.
That black coffin—Ji Yuan had bought it from Bai Piao, who had found it in this Ghost-Seeking Pit.
Back then, Ji Yuan had wondered—why was the black coffin so helpful to the Yin Ghosts?
Even if it contained dense Yin energy, its effect shouldn’t have been this great, right?
Now it seemed, that black coffin was most likely related to the Yin Ghost Sect.
And Ji Yuan had happened to acquire it and feed it to the Yin Ghosts.
That explained why the effect was astonishingly good, even helping them break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
‘It seems I truly have some fate with the Yin Ghost Sect. Even from this far away, I can still encounter it.’
After thinking this through, Ji Yuan inevitably had such thoughts.
As for the Blood Demon behind him, it seemed to really have started fighting with the Mourning Taoist.
Or perhaps it had gone to hunt down Ye Zhiqiu.
In any case, it wasn’t pursuing Ji Yuan. So he simply followed behind this thin man, traveling northward for half a day.
Finally, they arrived at a mountain ravine.
Along the way, despite dangers, nothing serious happened. Following behind the thin man, Ji Yuan managed to avoid several earthbound spirits.
They didn’t encounter ghostly illusions or the Yin-Eroding Winds either.
“Up ahead is my Cave Dwelling. Since we’re meeting for the first time, you probably don’t quite trust me. Why don’t we talk here?”
The thin man removed the burial shroud from his body, fully revealing his aura.
Ji Yuan cupped his fists and said solemnly:
“Senior brother, what are you saying? Meeting a fellow disciple of the Yin Ghost Sect in a foreign land is like meeting one’s own brother. How could I not believe you?”
“Really?!”
The thin man looked extremely delighted upon hearing this. “In that case, junior brother, please come inside so we can have a proper talk.”
Ji Yuan immediately stepped forward as if to enter.
This caused the thin man’s smile to freeze on his face, and he quickly said:
“My Cave Dwelling is crude, not as pleasant as this scenery outside. Why don’t we just chat here?”
Ji Yuan looked up at the gray, gloomy sky. “True, the scenery here is quite good.”
The two of them were both old foxes. Ji Yuan had no intention of entering the Cave Dwelling—his move had just been to test the man.
Unexpectedly, the man was so easily startled.
It seemed he was timid too, not even trusting a mere early Foundation Establishment cultivator like Ji Yuan.
“From what junior brother says, you aren’t a local?”
“No, I came from elsewhere.”
Ji Yuan replied truthfully.
“Being from outside is good. I’ve long wanted to travel. By the way, I haven’t introduced myself. I am Ma Xingkong. I happened to obtain the Yin Ghost Sect’s inheritance. From what junior brother said… our Yin Ghost Sect seems to have an established sect? Do you know where it is? Could you introduce me?”
Ma Xingkong asked.
“I am Qiu Qianhai. I’ve met senior brother Ma.”
“As for the sect—there is none.” Ji Yuan shook his head. “But there is another junior brother.”
“Yes, I have a junior brother.”
Ji Yuan recalled the Ghost Island Lord. Back then, he had called Ji Yuan “senior brother.” Now, although grass had long grown over his grave, he was still a junior brother, wasn’t he?
“That junior brother is quite fortunate, at least having a fellow disciple nearby.”
Ma Xingkong spoke with some sorrow. “Since I first entered the sect, I’ve always been alone, never having a senior or junior to accompany me.”
“Well, now you have me.”
Ji Yuan patted his chest and said: “Don’t worry, senior brother Ma. With me here, you won’t be alone.”
“Yes, yes.”
Hearing this, Ma Xingkong even wiped at the corners of his eyes.
You’re laying it on a bit thick, brother… Ji Yuan noted this silently.
The little trust he had in Ma Xingkong diminished even more.
“I saw the battle you had with those in the Divine Vulture Palace earlier. Truly dangerous—especially that Blood Demon of the Mourning Taoist… far too sinister.”
Ma Xingkong sighed.
“Indeed. That’s why I rushed to escape. I must thank senior brother for receiving me.”
Ji Yuan cupped his hands toward him, while in his heart he wondered where that fellow had been hiding earlier — why had his divine sense not detected him? How much of the fight had he seen, had he noticed Ji Yuan’s cultivation, had he seen him almost kill the Yin Child?
“Between us senior brothers and junior brothers, saying that is too formal.”
Ma Xingkong sat down and waved his hand, speaking in a tone that sounded as if he were considering Ji Yuan’s interests:
“ Mourning Taoist was already injured; now facing that blood demon’s betrayal, I guessed his prospects were grim. If that was so, from my view, junior brother might still have to find another way out.”
“That’s true.”
Ji Yuan agreed deeply, then asked, “I wonder, Senior Brother Ma, do you have a place you can go? Care to recommend one or two?”
When Ma Xingkong heard that, he did not hurry to answer.
“Sit, Junior Brother Qiu, sit.”
Ma Xingkong gestured with his hand.
Ji Yuan took a chair out of his storage pouch and sat, silently waiting for what came next.
Ma Xingkong stroked the goatee on his chin, pondered for a long while, and then slowly said, “Junior Brother Qiu, what do you think of our Yin Ghost Sect?”
“That’s naturally invincible, no question.”
Ji Yuan blurted it out and even stuck up his right thumb.
“Indeed, I also think so.”
Ma Xingkong agreed wholeheartedly.
Ji Yuan saw that his expression did not seem false… in that case, the inheritance that old Deng had obtained was probably really something fierce, otherwise he wouldn’t have reacted like this.
Ji Yuan thought it was at least better than what he had gotten from the Ghost Island Lord.
Strictly speaking, from the Yin Ghost Sect inheritance Ji Yuan had obtained a Yin Ghost Formation, plus methods for raising Yin ghosts, and the rest, oh right, also the Corrupt-Bone Flower.
His storage pouch still contained dozens of them; they were of little use.
“So, what does Senior Brother Ma mean?”
Ji Yuan had thought of something but was a little unwilling to believe it, so he probed with a question.
Ma Xingkong grinned.
“Junior Brother Qiu’s life at Great Love Sect before wasn’t going too well, was it?”
“Fuck that Mourning Taoist!”
Ji Yuan swore the national curse at once, “That bastard still owed me several hundred spirit stones — the promised benefits weren’t honored at all.”
Ma Xingkong sighed, “Alas.”
“Who could say otherwise, joining someone else’s power is no different from being a dependent. Back then I, too, joined someone’s force — a friend introduced me. And the result? Promises of brotherhood, but once inside, one found they specifically preyed on brothers.”
“That’s damn true!”
Ji Yuan slapped his thigh and said.
“So, Junior Brother Qiu, if you’re one of us, I’ll be frank: as someone who’s been through it, I really don’t recommend you join those minor forces.”
“Of course — but sadly we’re both demonic cultivators; we couldn’t join the Six Immortal Sects of Eastern Shang. If we could have relied on such a big tree, it would be better.”
“Actually it’s not like that. Senior Brother may not know: the Three Holy Lands of Western Shang were about to invade. When they break in, our good days will come.”
Ji Yuan lowered his voice and said.
Ma Xingkong’s eyes lit up when he heard that, “I heard that too — could it really be true?”
“It’s true, truer than real gold.” Ji Yuan raised an eyebrow. “Senior Brother perhaps hasn’t been out for a long time and is unaware; I had been over in the west at Medicine King Valley earlier and heard more news — it wouldn’t be long before a righteous-demonic war began.”
“That’s good, that’s good.”
Ma Xingkong said excitedly.
“So, Junior Brother Qiu, why not simply not join a force?”
“But this… as an independent cultivator with no backing, it’s hard to get by.” Ji Yuan spread his hands and cooperatively said.
After some contact, how could Ji Yuan not hear Ma Xingkong’s thoughts?
Nothing more than wanting the two of them to mix together and then… heh heh.
“Heh, aren’t we senior brothers and junior brothers gathered together now?”
“Does Senior Brother Ma mean we build a force together?”
Ji Yuan slightly opened his mouth and said in surprise.
“No.”
Ma Xingkong said very seriously, “We’re not forming a force — we are restoring the glory of the Yin Ghost Sect!”
“Yes, restoring the ancestral glory!”
Ji Yuan clenched his fists, “Senior Brother, why don’t we simply rebuild the Yin Ghost Sect directly? I’ll bring my junior brother over, then the three of us foundation-establishment cultivators gathered together would already be a not-small force in this Ghost‑Seeking Pit.”
“Excellent, excellent.”
Ma Xingkong laughed loudly, “I had the same idea — it seems our thoughts have aligned.”
Ji Yuan nodded.
“Since we’re going to rebuild the Yin Ghost Sect, Senior Brother, perhaps we should exchange the inheritances we each obtained and lay them all out?”
Ma Xingkong’s smile stopped. Indeed, he had had that idea from the start, which was why he had wasted so many words on this trashy Qiu Qianhai just now — he hadn’t expected to be preempted.
He put away his smile and said solemnly, “Indeed. In that case, Junior Brother, why don’t you take out your inheritance to show first?”
Ji Yuan smiled.
Ma Xingkong’s reaction reminded him of the Ghost Island Lord before.
Only back then the Ghost Island Lord lacked patience and said a few words before wanting Ji Yuan to hand things over; Ma Xingkong, however, was worthy of being a late Foundation Establishment cultivator — he could babble on for so long before showing his hand.
“What are you laughing at, junior brother?”
Ma Xingkong pretended to be angry, “Junior Brother Qiu, do you not trust Senior Brother?”
“Does Senior Brother Ma trust me?”
“You are my closest junior brother — if I don’t trust you, who else would you trust?” Ma Xingkong said without thinking.
“Then why doesn’t Senior Brother Ma show me your inheritance first?”
Ji Yuan’s follow-up question silenced Ma Xingkong.
He looked at the burly man before him with a full beard and said seriously, “It seems Junior Brother Qiu doesn’t understand matters.”
“Oh?”
Ji Yuan laughed, like he could not help himself, “Please, Senior Brother Ma, instruct me — what does it mean to understand matters?”
“Mattering means this is a world where whoever has the bigger fist has the right. Junior Brother Qiu — though you hid well, and you do have mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation, sorry, that cultivation is still not enough to impress me.”
After saying that, Ma Xingkong pressed the aura of late Foundation Establishment toward Ji Yuan.
“So you mean, if I don’t hand it over, you’ll make a move?”
Ji Yuan seemed to be making a last struggle.
“Believe me, I don’t want to take things that far with you, junior brother,” Ma Xingkong said, and a soul banner appeared behind him, exuding ghostly qi.
“Ke‑ke‑ke.”
Ji Yuan was still smiling, but this time his smile was different.
“Fuck your mother!”
Both rose almost at the same time.
Ma Xingkong made a right‑hand move; the soul banner fluttered and one by one Yin ghosts flew out, bringing howling yin winds that instantly turned the whole mountain ravine into a scene of hell.
Ji Yuan’s first move was a… talisman artifact!
But it was not the Sky‑Escape Shuttle.
It was the talisman artifact he had obtained long ago from the very kind Jian Zong — the Thousandfold Chains!
When the talisman appeared, chains formed from the void and Ma Xingkong immediately panicked.
Foundation Establishment matchups — who the hell used a talisman to open?
Aren’t talismans supposed to be used only to save one’s life?
Did he think talismans grew on trees!
The void‑born Thousandfold Chains immediately fixed Ma Xingkong’s form; what Ji Yuan could not dodge at Peak Qi Refining, the late Foundation Establishment Ma Xingkong could certainly not.
While the Thousandfold Chains strangled the densely packed Yin ghosts, layer upon layer of chains intertwined and in an instant locked Ma Xingkong inside the talisman artifact.
Ji Yuan’s surrounding Flow‑Frost Flying Swords shredded the remaining Yin ghosts one by one… these things seemed different from the Yin ghosts inside a Yin Ghost Flag.
The Yin ghosts inside a Yin Ghost Flag were about quality over quantity.
But the Yin ghosts now were about quantity over quality.
Ji Yuan’s divine sense swept over them and did not spot a single Foundation Establishment Yin ghost.
“Boom—”
Ma Xingkong unleashed spell after spell and talisman after talisman, wildly attacking the Thousandfold Chains and using the surges to hide the aura of the talisman artifact in his hand.
“Junior brother, Qiu junior brother, we were of the same school — must it come to drawing blades, junior brother!”
Ji Yuan stepped to a position above the talisman artifact, unmoved.
Ma Xingkong attacked while begging, “Junior brother, Senior Brother was wrong. Senior Brother will give you the inheritance first; after you look it over we’ll talk, how about that?”
Ji Yuan took out a round, stone‑like object from his hand.
He looked down from above at Ma Xingkong locked inside the Thousandfold Chains and said one sentence — the last sentence he would say to Ma Xingkong.
“You don’t know you were wrong; you only know you are going to die.”
As soon as the words fell, Ji Yuan threw the Heavenly Thunder Seed into the Thousandfold Chains.
Then he stuck several Divine‑Walk talismans onto himself and activated Shadow‑Following; his form followed the path he had come in a flash and went very far.
“Boom—”
“Rumble—”
The muffled explosions shook the skies.
The whole ravine was shattered by the blast.
The Heavenly Thunder Seed detonated with force comparable to a late‑Foundation Establishment’s full power strike… damn it was fierce!
Ji Yuan looked back at the explosion and had only one thought.
‘No wonder it was the kind of firework that cost 800 middle‑grade spirit stones — it’s really gorgeous!’
After a brief moment, Ji Yuan returned to the ruin and, under divine sense, found Ma Xingkong’s storage pouch; as for the cultivation materials he had turned into, they were utterly gone.
With the space compressed and the Heavenly Thunder Seed’s blast so concentrated, there was no reason Ma Xingkong could have survived.
After confirming he was completely dead, Ji Yuan took out a second talisman artifact.
The Sky‑Escape Shuttle.
He poured spirit energy into it and the phantom of a broken‑sky flying boat slowly formed at his feet.
Before he could activate it, he saw a streak of blood light sweeping in from the horizon; a scan of his divine sense revealed — Qian Xin Blood Demon!
Damn it, that thing had most likely heard the commotion and given chase.
“Run!”
Seeing the blood demon less than a li away, Ji Yuan, his spirit power nearly spent, finally filled the second talisman artifact.
The Sky‑Escape Shuttle carried his figure and vanished like lightning.
When the blood demon arrived, apart from the talisman artifact turned to ash drifting away, Ji Yuan’s light laughter still echoed around.
“Blood Demon brother, tell me — what does it feel like to be fucked by a dog?”
The blood demon roared in fury, howls like tiger cries issuing from its throat; the surrounding ravine, already blown apart, was now shaken with countless falling stones.
“Qiu Qianhai! I will kill you!!!”