Passing through the illusory formation, the luxurious carriage carved with black coiled dragons rolled another hundred meters or so down the trail before coming to a halt.
Stepping slowly down from the carriage, Xu Yuan's brow furrowed deeper as he took in the bizarre sights around him.
Gazing down as if from above, that immense dark abyss resembled the mouthparts of an enormous beast, sucking in all light in its vicinity. Within a hundred zhang, thousands of ancient trees stood ash-white, their branches twisted and barren of leaves, exuding waves of ominous ghost qi.
Sending out his intent-soul to investigate, Xu Yuan could clearly perceive that the surrounding Source Qi had undergone some unknown mutation.
Ancient texts recorded that long-term absorption of this mutated Source Qi would gradually turn a human into a corpse-ghost.
As Xu Yuan was pondering this, suddenly—
"Roar!!"
An ear-splitting shriek, like the cry of a demonic bird of prey, echoed from high above.
Following the cry, rolling shadows swept over the eerie, defoliated woods.
Looking up toward the sky past the twisted branches, he saw dozens of colossal avian demonic beasts, each with a wingspan exceeding tens of zhang, sweeping across the forest in a low, sky-blotting swarm.
Every single one possessed a wingspan greater than Xu Changge's massive black eagle mount.
And right now, held within the razor-sharp talons of these dozens of avian beasts were giant burlap sacks.
The sacks were enormous, larger even than the beasts themselves, hanging heavy and sodden, with dark blood visibly seeping from several of them.
Xu Yuan's brows knit tight. He murmured under his breath, "This is..."
"Corpses.
"Stop staring, boy. Those sacks are stuffed full of corpses."
The Saint's remnant soul spoke in his mind with breezy nonchalance.
"..."
Hearing this, Xu Yuan's pupils shrank violently.
Corpses?
The next moment, the words of the Saint's remnant soul became reality.
Under the control of the cultivators riding their backs, the colossal birds methodically dropped the sacks from their talons into the immense abyss.
As the sacks passed through the formation hovering over the abyss, they were instantly incinerated to ash, exposing the countless corpses within. Yet these remains appeared for only a fleeting instant before being swallowed whole by the ink-black mist below.
An instant later, having consumed countless corpses, the eerie black mist surged violently. As it boiled upward, it repeatedly collided with the massive inverted formation sealing the abyss, sizzling and crackling loudly through the desolate, silent forest!
A series of passages about ghost mist from ancient texts surfaced in Xu Yuan's mind:
"Corpses nourish the yin; when left undisturbed for long, strange mists arise. Sunlight cannot penetrate; one cannot see the hand before one's face. Within it echo the frantic howls of ghosts and wolves. Mortals who enter never return; cultivators of shallow cultivation rarely make it back."
His old man was feeding ghosts with corpses!
"Heh." The Saint's remnant soul chuckled softly and warned him in his mind, "Boy, someone's coming."
No sooner had the words fallen than a withered, hunchbacked old man, emaciated as a living corpse, abruptly materialized within the eerie, withered woods.
Almost simultaneously, a cold gleam flashed through the silent deadwood.
A black sword radiating chilling cold came to rest right against the old man's throat.
Ran Qingmo held the hilt, staring at the suddenly appearing elder with chilled eyes.
Xu Yuan looked on, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"A Grandmaster. Rather bizarre," the grandpa along for the ride offered before Xu Yuan could even ask.
"..."
Silence hung in the air.
The withered, hideous elder swept his lifeless eyes over Xu Yuan, then glanced at Ran Qingmo and her sword, before his lips suddenly cracked open into a bizarre grin.
"Hehehe..."
"..."
The elder's laugh sounded like scraping against dry bark, inexplicably reminding Xu Yuan of a sinister cackle.
Keeping his composure, Xu Yuan gave a slight bow with clasped hands. "Sir... who might you be?"
With a blade at his throat, not a trace of fear showed in the elder's voice; it remained rough and hoarse, like dried bark grinding together.
"I dare not accept the title of 'sir.' This old servant guards this ghost mist on the orders of the Chancellor. The Third Young Master may simply call me Old Ghost."
Saying this, the withered old man paused, then grinned again.
"Could the Third Young Master ask the Third Young Madam to remove her sword?"
"..."
Seeing that eerie smile, Xu Yuan glanced sideways at Ran Qingmo.
Ran Qingmo met his gaze and quietly sheathed her sword.
Xu Yuan cupped his hands in apology on Ran Qingmo's behalf, still choosing to address him respectfully:
"Pardon our offense just now, Sir. Qingmo was only acting to protect me."
Once the blade was withdrawn, the withered elder shook his head and offered a trembling bow in return.
"This old servant knows his wretched appearance is an eyesore. It is I who have offended the Third Young Madam's eyes."
With that, the withered elder slowly turned around to lead the way.
"Third Young Master, please follow me. The Eldest Young Master has already instructed me regarding the details. As for the carriage, servants will come by to attend to it."
The tree-lined path flanked by twisted, ash-white ancient trees continued for roughly another hundred meters. Xu Yuan and Ran Qingmo followed silently behind the elder.
Quiet accompanied their every step.
Suddenly, the Saint's remnant soul spoke in Xu Yuan's mind:
"This man is quite loyal to your father. He has guarded this ghost mist for at least thirty years. Ghost qi has invaded his body, leaving him half-man, half-ghost, enduring torment every waking moment. He likely doesn't have many years left to live."
"..."
Xu Yuan watched the hunched, withered back leading the way ahead, saying nothing.
The moment he had laid eyes on the elder, his intent-soul had already sensed the bizarre aura wafting off him.
That aura was practically of the same origin as the mutated Source Qi in the surroundings.
Ghost qi.
Certain ancient texts had recorded such a state.
His thoughts turned rather complicated.
Emerging from the woods in silence, the dozens of massive birds circling in the sky were still methodically dropping various corpses into the black abyss below.
There were humans, demonic beasts, and Barbarians.
And as Xu Yuan followed the elder out from the trees onto the open ground surrounding the immense dark abyss, a massive cloth bundle was dropped from above by a giant bird right on cue.
As the formation incinerated the bundle to ash, Xu Yuan caught sight of what lay inside and stopped dead in his tracks.
Those were...
Living people?!
The crowd plummeted into the black mist. Most of these living people were martial apprentices, and Xu Yuan even spotted several cultivators among them.
Desperately, they tried to flee outward beyond the boundary of the formation, but with no footing in midair, they could only watch helplessly as they fell toward the eerie black mist.
Screams of agony, curses, and wails blended together, only to be swiftly swallowed by the black mist.
And then came a second bundle, a third, a fourth...
The elder ahead seemed to sense Xu Yuan's reaction and slowly turned his head.
"Third Young Master, your mercy should not be wasted on such as these."
"..." Xu Yuan composed his expression and looked up.
With that, the withered elder glanced toward the screaming crowd struggling in vain to flee, his lips stretching into a bizarre, sinister grin.
"All of these are death-row convicts delivered from the county and commandery prisons across Jingjiang Prefecture. Most are brigands and killers who plundered and took lives—death is too good for them.
"Moreover...
"These people possess heavy baleful qi. They are prime material for rearing fierce ghosts. Hehehe... hehehe... hahahahaha..."
By the end, the withered elder seemed to lose control of himself, suddenly erupting into a low, maniacal, eerie laughter.
A chill wind rustled through the treetops.
Pale sunlight fell over the elder's withered face. Accompanied by that jarring laughter, the surroundings grew thoroughly eerie.
Xu Yuan watched the old man in silence.
'Ghost qi entering the brain; bouts of madness.'
After laughing for a dozen breaths or so, the withered elder's laughter cut off abruptly.
The vicious grin still lingered on his lips, but his expression suddenly froze.
Gradually, the withered elder's smile faded. Lowering his gaze, he stood silent for several breaths before trembling as he cupped his hands toward Xu Yuan.
"Th-this old servant has overstepped. Please forgive me, Third Young Master."
"It is fine," Xu Yuan said, shaking his head gently.
The withered elder's pale lips moved, but he said nothing more. The light in his eyes dimmed a little further as he hunched over and silently continued to lead the way for Xu Yuan.
For a hundred meters around the dark abyss lay nothing but barren black earth, with no man-made structures in sight.
Before long, however, a dim tunnel leading downward appeared before Xu Yuan's eyes.
Seeming to need time to compose himself, the withered elder walked straight down without a word.
Entering the tunnel alongside Ran Qingmo, Xu Yuan noticed that no bright-pattern lamps were engraved on either side; instead, the corridor was lit by the oldest form of light—torches.
As the flames flickered, Xu Yuan suddenly noticed that the shadows of the three of them were constantly blinking and shimmering.
After staring at them for a long time, Xu Yuan asked in his mind, "Mr. Luo..."
The Saint's remnant soul explained nonchalantly:
"A property of the ghost mist.
"Many things within ghost mist differ from the outside world. If not for the restriction of the formation, this place would likely have been swallowed by the mist already. Standing at the edge of ghost mist, you can think of it as the 'border between yin and yang.' Of course, that's just a metaphor, but it's not far from the truth."
Xu Yuan understood. Over the past days, he had read many ancient records regarding ghost mist.
The texts spoke of ghost mist with deep dread, describing it in the most terrifying terms imaginable:
Eroding all things, spreading without limit, a forbidden zone for life, a man-made natural disaster—once it emerged, it meant devastation for all living beings.
Only now, seeing it with his own eyes, did he truly begin to grasp it.
Fire without stable shadows; common sense and natural laws were directly subverted.
They descended in silence as the passageway spiraled downward, seemingly bottomless.
After walking for who knew how long, Ran Qingmo spoke beside him:
"We're almost there."
Hearing this, Xu Yuan immediately grew alert. He sensed he was about to see something extraordinary.
After another dozen breaths or so, the end of the spiraling tunnel finally came into view.
A cavernous stone archway was currently cloaked in a thin veil of white light.
To avoid losing control of his emotions, the withered elder remained silent. He merely looked back at Xu Yuan once before quietly stepping through the white light.
Xu Yuan paused before the curtain of light and glanced at Ran Qingmo.
Ran Qingmo blinked and gave him a nod, indicating there was no danger.
Deducing that this was likely some kind of formation, Xu Yuan took a step forward as well.
Stepping through the thin membrane of white light, his vision opened up dramatically.
It was a colossal cavern.
The cavern's inner walls were swallowed in darkness, stretching beyond the reach of sight, yet beneath their feet, unknown gemstones emitted faint gleams across the ground, sprawling continuously into intricate array patterns that extended all the way to the edge of Xu Yuan's vision.
A few breaths after he stepped inside,
suddenly—
Lines of intricate array patterns lit up in succession like water flowing into channels. After a few breaths of charging, the darkness throughout the entire cavern was banished by the glowing array lines, laying bare its true face.
Carved into the interior rock walls were stone chambers arranged in neat rows. Countless spectral fierce ghosts were trapped inside, throwing themselves frantically against the walls, but dense, complex array patterns inscribed across the interior surfaces prevented any chance of escape.
Seeing this cavern of hundreds of ghosts, Xu Yuan's breathing began to tremble.
"Never seen this before, kid?" the Saint's remnant soul asked with a hint of teasing.
Xu Yuan steadied his composure and shook his head lightly.
That demonic beasts could be kept in captivity was common knowledge even among ordinary folk, but fierce ghosts...
Hearing this, the Saint's remnant soul let out a low chuckle, his tone tinged with nostalgia over the passage of time:
"Heh... fair enough. The last time I was out in the world was three thousand years ago. Back then, whenever ghost mist appeared, even if it didn't ravage the realm, it would become an absolute forbidden zone, nearly impossible to eradicate. When your elder brother mentioned this to me earlier, I was somewhat skeptical. But seeing it now... to think ghost mist could truly be reared like demonic beasts. Heh, the way of humanity truly flourishes."
"..."
Xu Yuan frowned in silence.
He suddenly understood why Lou Ji had mentioned earlier that an incident here would disrupt the supply of soul-attribute pills across the southwest of Great Yan.
Herbs beneficial to the intent-soul not only had strict environmental requirements but also had long growth cycles. Even with complete maturation techniques, a single batch took at least two to three years—and up to a decade or more—to mature.
Yet after thousands of years of development, pills beneficial to the intent-soul no longer relied strictly on medicinal herbs; both ghost entities and beast souls could be refined.
The soul power contained in such natural soul bodies as demons and ghosts fully met the demands of pill refinement. As long as the baleful, ferocious qi within them was purified through specialized techniques during refinement, soul pills could be formed!
Hunting demons and ghosts was nothing new...
Yet to rear them in captivity...
Thinking up to this point, Xu Yuan let out a long breath.
The technology tree of this world was far from static over the millennia. Under the centralized rule of the imperial dynasty, many things evolved at a rapid pace.
Just like the advancement in humanity's methods for breeding demonic beasts, except this time, what humanity had begun to rear was something far more terrifying: ghosts.
Then again, it made sense.
If creatures as ferocious as demonic beasts could be reared and tamed, why couldn't the souls of fierce ghosts be kept in captivity?
Still, the technology for rearing ghosts was likely far from perfected.
Otherwise, the major factions wouldn't guard the relevant records so jealously that even he, the Third Young Master, knew nothing of the details.
After pondering for a moment, Xu Yuan turned and asked Ran Qingmo beside him in a low voice:
"Ran Qingmo, does your Tianyuan Sword Sect have something like this?"
Ran Qingmo looked back at him, hesitating slightly before nodding:
"Yes. Master took me to see it before. But... but it wasn't on this large a scale."
"Heh."
Hearing this, the Saint's remnant soul chuckled softly in Xu Yuan's mind and murmured, "How could latecomers possibly contend with the originators of change?"
Xu Yuan's gaze sharpened with surprise, and he asked inwardly, "Mr. Luo, what do you mean by 'originators of change'?"
The Saint's remnant soul was silent for a moment before chuckling with a trace of admiration:
"This formation containing the ghost mist was created by that 'Gewu Academy' in your Chancellor's Manor. Out of countless myriad living beings, there is truly no shortage of brilliant talents; this formation paves an entirely new path."
The Gewu Academy...
Xu Yuan silently committed the name to memory. When he had time, he definitely needed to take a tour of it.
First the Heavenly Communication Crystal, and now this formation to isolate ghost mist—both were creations capable of overturning the world.
After a brief thought, Xu Yuan suddenly asked:
"Mr. Luo, how do you know about this?"
The Saint's remnant soul took it as matter-of-fact: "When your elder brother said earlier that he would use demonic beast souls and spirit bodies to help me restore my soul power, I asked about this in passing, and he answered."
Saying this, the Saint's remnant soul paused and smiled meaningfully:
"Your elder brother is peerless in this contemporary age, and the Gewu Academy possesses such brilliant talents. I am truly intensely curious about that father of yours, boy."
Xu Yuan remained noncommittal, replying with an inward smile:
"Once I return to the capital, you will naturally meet my father, Mr. Luo. As for right now, let's follow that Old Sir Ghost and restore your soul power first."
Chapter 94