Waking from his cultivation, the corners of Qin Sang's mouth curled upward, unable to conceal the joy in his heart.
He raised his arm to look at it, then gave it a squeeze. It seemed no different from before, showing no obvious sign of what benefits this breakthrough had brought him.
He urged a portion of his qi to his finger. A moment later, a faint, hazy blue mist appeared at the tip.
Was this what Bai Jianglan had called projecting true qi outward?
Curious, Qin Sang attempted to gather the mist into the shape of a sword, but found it impossible. Unwilling to concede, he jabbed his finger violently toward the nearby bamboo table. With a dull thud, not only did he fail to pierce the table, but a sharp, piercing pain shot through his fingertip.
"Right!" Qin Sang slapped his forehead. "I almost forgot the Yanluo Banner!"
He hurriedly pulled open his shirt, unwrapped the cloth strips around his chest, and took out what was hidden within. Setting the other items aside, he took the Yanluo Banner in his hands.
This small banner carried an eerie aura. Moreover, it had belonged to the man in black. Qin Sang had not dared to disobey the instructions in the Nether Scripture, and for an entire year he had held back, not daring to act rashly.
Now that he had broken through to the second layer, according to the cultivation method, he could control the Yanluo Banner.
Qin Sang turned the banner over and over in his hands, hesitating slightly as he thought of the withered corpse.
The malevolent ghost on the cloth was lifelike, as though it were alive and might leap out at any moment. Even if it was an immortal cultivator's weapon, it was very likely a demonic or sinister artifact.
Yet he was already cultivating a demonic figure's scripture—wasn't it a bit late to start worrying about that now?
Steeling his resolve, Qin Sang made up his mind and grasped the Yanluo Banner with both hands.
Following the steps recorded in the book, he circulated the technique, driving the qi within his body into his meridians, guiding it toward the centers of his palms, and finally channeling it into the Yanluo Banner.
Qin Sang stared intently at the Yanluo Banner, his heart tight with tension.
A hazy blue mist enveloped the banner. The pitch-black Yanluo Banner suddenly flashed with light, and the malevolent ghost upon it seemed to stir as well. Qin Sang thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
The next instant, the mist swelled abruptly and was swallowed whole by the Yanluo Banner in a single gulp.
Immediately afterward, a terrifyingly powerful suction surged from within the banner, and the remaining qi in Qin Sang's dantian rushed outward frantically.
Paling in horror, Qin Sang tried to pull the qi back, but found it utterly futile. In a panic, he shook his hand violently, but the Yanluo Banner seemed glued in place, clinging stubbornly to his palm.
Powerlessly watching the qi he had worked so hard to cultivate get drained dry, Qin Sang felt like weeping without tears.
Right at that moment, another sudden change occurred.
The Yanluo Banner stirred without wind, its cloth fluttering. The malevolent ghost on the fabric faced Qin Sang directly, blinked, and bared its teeth in a cruel sneer—before abruptly leaping out from the banner!
Qin Sang had never seen such a terrifying sight. He cried out in horror, but had nowhere to hide, watching helplessly as the hideous ghost pounced straight onto his face.
Qin Sang felt a tremendous force slam into him. His head spun with dizziness, but then he quickly came to and found that he was still conscious.
"Where is this? Where did the ghost go?"
Qin Sang opened his eyes wide, only to find boundless darkness all around him; nothing could be seen.
Where was this place?
Had he already been killed by the ghost? Was this the underworld?
Utterly bewildered, Qin Sang looked down and gave a start. His body had shrunk to the size of a palm and was completely translucent, glowing with faint blue light, enveloped by a layer of pale yellow light. From the outside, he looked like a glowing orb.
How had he ended up like this? Could this be his soul?
Where did the ghost go?
Qin Sang widened his eyes. He lifted a translucent leg and tried to take a step, only to suddenly fly a great distance.
Right then, a terrifying roar echoed from the depths of the darkness. Looking up, he saw a dark silhouette flying out from the gloom—it was that malevolent ghost!
The ghost was far larger than Qin Sang. Its blood-red eyes glared fixatedly at him, brimming with voracious greed. Moving with astonishing speed, it lunged forward with ferocious malice.
By sheer size alone, Qin Sang felt pathetically feeble. Seeing the ghost give chase, he was struck with terror and fled like a headless fly.
Yet he was far slower than the ghost and was overtaken with ease.
*Whoosh!*
Moving like the wind, the ghost blocked Qin Sang's path in the blink of an eye. Sneering, it opened its gaping maw, preparing to swallow Qin Sang whole.
Despair flooded Qin Sang's face.
Unexpectedly, just as Qin Sang was about to be devoured, the yellow light enveloping his soul suddenly blazed with infinite brilliance. Amidst the rich golden Buddhist light, a Buddha statue actually emerged.
The statue was missing an arm, sat cross-legged in the lotus posture, and gazed downward with lowered eyes. Buddhist light shone universally, and the tiny Qin Sang was nestled safely inside the statue's body.
"Amitābha!"
A majestic Buddhist chant echoed within Qin Sang's mind like the tolling of a great bell. Stunned, Qin Sang parted his lips in awe.
The Buddha statue remained completely still, yet the malevolent ghost was stricken with terror, as if it had met its natural predator. It turned and fled, devoid of even a shred of its former arrogance.
This... wasn't this the jade Buddha from his past life?
Qin Sang paid no heed to the fleeing ghost, instead staring intently at the severed arm of the statue, a massive wave of emotion surging through his heart. He had worn that jade Buddha for thirty years in his previous life, and it had been the very last thing he saw before dying. How could he ever forget it?
The jade Buddha was an heirloom passed down on his mother's side. It was already damaged, missing an arm in the exact same spot as this statue.
Qin Sang had thought he was merely a solitary wandering ghost drifting to this world, never expecting that the jade Buddha had also crossed over with him in this form, and had even saved his life.
"Mom... Dad..."
Qin Sang buried his face in his hands, weeping aloud for the first time, yet shedding no tears.
Having vented his emotions, Qin Sang soon calmed down and considered his predicament. Yet with boundless darkness extending in every direction, he could not help feeling at a loss.
"The jade Buddha saved me, so I might not be dead. Could this place be inside my body? How do I get out? The ghost is still outside—will it try to eat me again?"
Unexpectedly, the moment the thought of leaving crossed his mind, a wave of daze swept over him, followed by a drastic shift in his field of vision. The familiar room reappeared before his eyes.
Qin Sang's heart tightened. Realizing he was still clutching the Yanluo Banner, he hastily hurled it far away. Turning his gaze, he spotted a dark silhouette huddled in the corner of the room—it was the malevolent ghost.
Cowering in the corner, the ghost peered at Qin Sang timidly, its face etched with deep dread as it trembled from head to toe.
Qin Sang's body remained somewhat stiff, but seeing the ghost like this, the fear in his heart diminished considerably.
'It's afraid of the jade Buddha.'
'The jade Buddha is inside my body, fused with my soul, so it's afraid of me too.'
'Can I command it, or drive it?'
As these thoughts churned in his mind, Qin Sang was just about to speak when a series of knocks sounded from outside the door, followed by Old Wu's questioning grunts.
His terrified shout earlier had likely awakened Old Wu.
With so many secrets at stake, he absolutely could not open the door.
"I..."
Qin Sang's mind raced. Just as he was about to call out an explanation, he caught sight of the malevolent ghost suddenly darting straight into the bamboo wall, and his heart sank. *Not good!*
Chapter 18