novelraw Chapter 20 : Chapter 20
Chapter 20 : Chapter 20
Chapter 20: Yin-Nurturing Ground
The next day, Lin Bai did not slowly climb out of bed until the sun was already high in the sky.
At this point, everything was ready except for a yin ground.
The evolution requirements had clearly stated that it had to be done in a place like a mass grave, where yin energy and resentment gathered. The key was not the mass grave itself, but that special field of energy formed by the resentment of countless people who had died unjust deaths.
Thinking about it, that made sense. Those poor people had already suffered enough in life. After death, they were wrapped in straw mats and casually thrown aside without even a corpse collector to retrieve them. How could their resentment not soar to the heavens?
Since Lin Su was not around, Lin Bai had no way to ask his sister, but he still had another option.
He could ask Aunt, meaning Wang Qian, and find out that way.
After all, Wang Qian had lived in Yunmeng City for over twenty years, so she ought to know of a similar place. If even she did not know, then Lin Bai would have no choice but to buy the information.
Fortunately, when Lin Bai found Wang Qian, she had not yet begun refining pills. She was merely burning incense and nourishing her spirit.
The moment Lin Bai stepped into the pill chamber, he was choked badly enough to cough several times.
“Cough, cough. Aunt, this smell is a little intense.”
Wang Qian raised her eyes and glanced at him, then said lightly,
“A specially made Spirit-Nourishing Incense from the Benevolent Heart Hall. The medicinal effect of this single stick would sell for at least thirty spirit stones outside.”
“Cough~”
Lin Bai immediately stopped coughing and began to carefully appreciate it.
It had to be said, incense worth thirty spirit stones really was different. Once he savored it properly, the fragrance felt refreshing to the heart and spleen. After inhaling a few more times, he only felt his mind becoming clearer and his spirit more invigorated.
The moment he realized the benefits, Lin Bai began sniffing it in an exaggerated manner.
Wang Qian was amused by his antics and laughed.
“If you like it, I can give you some later.”
Lin Bai shook his head and waved his hands earnestly.
“Aunt, how would a rough fellow like me ever have the patience to appreciate incense? In the future, it would be much more practical for me to come here and mooch off yours instead.”
A faint smile appeared on Wang Qian’s face.
“You little rascal. So what have you come looking for me for today?”
Lin Bai laughed and edged closer.
“Isn’t it because I missed Aunt?”
“Oh, spare me. You never visit the Temple of the Three Treasures without a reason. Would a mud monkey like you come looking for me without business?”
Even so, Lin Bai did not immediately state his purpose. Instead, he chatted normally with Wang Qian for quite a while.
Only after talking for some time did he finally reveal the fox’s tail.
“Aunt, I really do have something I want to ask you. Are there any places near Yunmeng City like a mass grave, somewhere with especially heavy yin energy and resentment? I need a place like that.”
Hearing Lin Bai ask this, Wang Qian understood that this was his true purpose in coming today, so she answered him seriously.
“Xiao Bai, your sister should have told you about the native clans of Yunmeng City, right? Among them is the Zhong Family.”
Lin Bai nodded to show that he had heard of them, but he did not understand what his goal had to do with the Zhong Family.
Wang Qian continued explaining.
“The Zhong Family originally came from a family within a demonic sect a thousand years ago. Later, that sect went too far, and the imperial court sent people to destroy it. The Zhong Family suffered severe losses and fled to Yunmeng City. They almost gave up all their wealth before the remaining clan members were spared for their crimes.”
“Later, one of the Zhong Family’s ancestors, after painful reflection, decided that dabbling in the demonic path was too petty. He chose to join the official side and struck a deal with the Yunmeng City yamen…”
“The contents of the deal were this: the Zhong Family would send clan members to serve in positions others viewed as extremely dangerous, such as corpse examination, corpse collection, and ghost hunting. In addition, they would help Yunmeng City establish true Yin-Nurturing Grounds. In return, they would receive a portion of the unclaimed corpses as payment.”
“Did that Zhong Family ancestor succeed?”
Lin Bai had been drawn in by the story and could not help asking.
Wang Qian’s expression turned somewhat strange, but she nodded.
“He did. Or rather, the Zhong Family succeeded.”
“In the first hundred years, no one thought well of it. After three hundred years, people began to respect the Zhong Family, and no one mentioned them as a demonic clan anymore. Now, a thousand years later, even though the Zhong Family keeps a low profile, no one dares to look down on them. Even in the capital city of Yunzhou, the Zhong Family still has some standing.”
“This Zhong Family really knew how to spend, and they were truly rich.”
Lin Bai could not help sighing. The first half of the deal, sending clan members into dangerous positions, was one thing. After all, the Zhong Family specialized in catching ghosts and expelling evil, so it was not as dangerous for them as it was for others.
The crucial part was the latter half, helping Yunmeng Commandery establish true Yin-Nurturing Grounds. Places like that were similar to blessed lands. They did not come into being just by throwing a few corpses together and carving a few formations. They required enormous amounts of material investment, along with constant day-and-night maintenance.
Put simply, they burned money. And not just once, but every single day.
Lin Bai felt that Yunmeng City probably contributed at most some access and administrative costs. The real burden had to have been borne by the Zhong Family.
The Zhong Family had truly been willing to spend.
“There’s more than that. Five hundred years ago, some clans from other places tried to copy them, so they pressured the Zhong Family into handing over the formation diagrams.”
“Those clans never expected that, so long as they paid, the Zhong Family would straightforwardly show them everything.”
“After obtaining the methods for building Yin-Nurturing Grounds, those clans went back and signed agreements with their local governments as well. But in most cases, they declined within less than a hundred years because of the enormous cost of maintaining those grounds.”
“They tried to paint a tiger and ended up with a dog instead.”
That was Lin Bai’s assessment of those clans. Whatever else might be said, the Zhong Family had once belonged to a great sect that had dominated the world. They certainly had the management methods and connections to support such an undertaking. What did those other clans have to compare?
Although the Zhong Family’s story was very compelling, Lin Bai’s most important concern right now was still finding a yin ground like a mass grave.
“So, Aunt, does that mean what I need has to do with the Zhong Family?”
“That’s right. After being pressured like that, the Zhong Family discussed it with the Yunmeng City authorities and opened the outer sections of the Yin-Nurturing Grounds to the public, so as to benefit the common people of Yunmeng Commandery.”
As expected of a clan that had cleanly cut ties with its past after its sect was destroyed and then managed to rise again. They were quick to adjust their family strategy and direction.
That move had bound Yunmeng City and the Zhong Family together in terms of Yin-Nurturing Grounds.
“So how much does the government charge?”
That was right. Lin Bai had already guessed that it would cost money again.
Wang Qian gestured with her hands to indicate the size.
“For a plot about half the size of a room, plus the basic yin energy package, it costs about one spirit stone a day. That’s enough to raise around three little ghosts or yin zombies.”
Damn it, the hearts of the Zhong Family and the Yunmeng City government were black too, and full of maggots.
Hearing such a high price, Lin Bai cursed inwardly.
Actually, his own case was not so bad. He only needed it for seven days. But for cultivators of the Yin Vein Yin Spirit Path, who raised ghosts and refined corpses for three or five years at a stretch, the expense would be considerable. And this was only the basic package.
The problem was that Lin Bai had already spent almost all of the spending money Grandma had given him when buying materials.
So now he needed Wang Qian’s support.
At that thought, Lin Bai piled a smile onto his face and looked at Wang Qian with a sycophantic expression.
“Aunt, your little nephew now needs just a tiny bit of financial support.”
“What? Didn’t Mother give you a sum of spending money just a few days ago? You used it up that quickly?”
Wang Qian was very surprised. It had not even been many days since they returned from Mother’s place.
Lin Bai gave a sheepish smile.
“Well, it was for buying materials. I accidentally spent it all.”
Hearing that, Wang Qian immediately understood. After all, cultivating one’s path consumed money like flowing water.
“How much?”
“Ten is enough.”
“Ninety? That’s not much. You don’t need to act like this over that.”
Seeing that Wang Qian had misheard him, Lin Bai quickly held up both palms.
“Ten!”
It had to be said, alchemists really were no different from money-printing machines.
When she realized it was only ten spirit stones, Wang Qian gave him a look full of question marks, as if asking whether he was deliberately messing with her.
In the end, Lin Bai left Wang Qian’s pill chamber feeling completely satisfied, lightly tossing a small pouch in his hand.
Now he lacked nothing.
He could set out for the Yin-Nurturing Ground outside the city.