The vast cavern was deathly quiet.
So quiet that the empty echoes of Xu Yuan’s black-gold soft cloud boots striking the stone floor rang out with utter clarity.
Yet it was equally deafening.
From the honeycombed array-carved stone chambers lining the cave walls, tens of thousands of fierce ghosts wailed in agony.
Muffled by the formations, their shrieks merged into a continuous drone like a swarm of mosquitoes.
Scanning the area, Xu Yuan slowly withdrew his gaze.
The wondrous array markings inscribed inside the stone chambers were incessantly siphoning something from the ethereal souls of the fierce ghosts, and trapped within, their forms were fading at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Livestock—
In some worlds, ghosts were horrors of utter hopelessness, but in this world where humanity could ascend to the extraordinary, these fierce ghosts were reared like cattle.
Whenever needed, the pure soul power contained within their forms would be continuously drained away to serve as cultivation material.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
The Saint's remnant soul suddenly clicked his tongue in marvel.
Xu Yuan asked, "Mr. Luo?"
The Saint's remnant soul chuckled. "Kid Xu, you've probably figured out how this ghost mist breeding facility works by now, haven't you?"
Though the withered old man hadn't offered a word of explanation since they entered the cavern, Xu Yuan could already deduce most of it from what he was seeing. He replied, "Mm, a good part of it."
Hearing this, the Saint's remnant soul spoke in a low voice brimming with excitement:
"The grand array outside keeping the ghosts from spreading, the array pulling fierce ghosts out of the ghost mist, the arrays in those stone chambers siphoning their soul power, the array condensing that extracted soul power into soul crystals...
"Every single array is interlocked, seamlessly harmonized, operating on Source Qi down to the exact, precise measure—not a sliver too much, not a fraction too little. Whoever devised this chain of grand arrays is truly peerless!"
The Saint's remnant soul was lavish in his praise for the creator.
Though he had transcended mortal limits beyond the Supreme Rank, that was strictly in terms of cultivation.
The Great Dao under heaven held thousands of paths; whoever possessed mastery in a craft was worthy of being a master.
The Saint adopted a touch of sincerity in his tone. "Kid Xu, once I escort you to the Imperial Capital, could you let this old man visit that 'Gewu Academy' in your manor? I truly want to..."
Before he could finish, however—
"Third Young Master..."
A grating voice resembling scraping tree bark suddenly rang out ahead.
At the sound, Xu Yuan ignored the Saint's remnant soul in his mind and immediately focused his gaze ahead.
The cavern floor was flat, and beneath the colossal arched ceiling, the withered old man's figure looked impossibly frail.
He turned slightly, a faint flicker of hesitation lingering in his cloudy eyes.
Seeing this, Xu Yuan cupped his fists and said, "Please, Old Mr. Gui, speak freely."
At his words, the withered old man glanced darkly at the surrounding cavern. As he walked forward, he murmured in a low voice, "Third Young Master... this old slave has guarded this place for over thirty years. Once this matter is settled, could you deliver a message to the Lord Chancellor on my behalf?"
Xu Yuan's attention sharpened, and he nodded in agreement. "Of course. That won't be an issue."
At that, the withered old man's face, veiled in shadow, split into an eerie smile, only for it to vanish just as swiftly.
His hoarse voice rasped, "This old slave... thanks the Third Young Master..."
The withered old man did not elaborate, but Xu Yuan guessed that he probably wanted a transfer away from this godforsaken place.
Even after spending less than half an hour here, the thick ghost qi pervading the air already caused Xu Yuan considerable discomfort.
And it seemed the withered old man had been guarding this ghost mist entirely alone.
No one to talk to, no amusement, thirty-odd years passing as a single unchanging day—this demon ghost breeding facility was like a colossal tomb.
Now that the old man's body was heavily corroded by ghost qi and his days were numbered, it was only natural that he would want to be reassigned.
Amid the silence, the massive array markings carved into the cavern walls gradually quieted. To prevent any backlash from the Saint, aiding his remnant soul in regaining strength naturally had to be kept within strict limits; presumably, the soul power extracted from those tens of thousands of demon ghosts was already sufficient.
With the cessation of the arrays, everything inside the cavern plunged back into its initial darkness and stillness.
Yet Xu Yuan did not find it quiet at all.
Because that Saint's remnant soul was still chattering incessantly in his mind.
Talking about arrays, talking about ghost mist, talking about his old man, talking about his older brother, talking about the Big Block of Ice...
At this moment, Xu Yuan finally understood why the protagonist in his past life's Cangyuan had always called this Saint "old man."
He truly talked too much.
After walking in the dark for about the time it took to finish a cup of tea, Xu Yuan heard a sudden rumbling ahead.
Channeling Source Qi into his eyes, the pitch-black surroundings instantly turned sharp and clear.
The withered old man appeared to have triggered some mechanism, revealing a passageway leading deeper underground before the three of them.
"Third Young Master... please go down and wait. This old slave needs to prepare a few things."
The withered old man showed no intention of continuing to lead the way, his eyes staring darkly at Xu Yuan in the gloom.
In such an environment, the old man's cloudy, half-human, half-ghostly gaze was decidedly unsettling.
"..."
Meeting his gaze for a second, Xu Yuan gave a slight nod. "All right."
Seeing this, the withered old man turned and waved a hand.
Whoosh—
Row upon row of torches mounted along the walls of the passage flared to life one after another.
At that, Xu Yuan led Ran Qingmo past the withered old man and walked into the descending passageway.
Yet after only two steps, Xu Yuan paused. Turning with mild curiosity toward the withered old man standing at the entrance, he asked, "By the way, Old Mr. Gui, may I ask you a question?"
The withered old man promptly answered in his raspy voice, "This old slave will tell you everything he knows."
Xu Yuan weighed his words carefully before asking in a low voice, "Earlier, Xu Changge mentioned that an incident occurred here... What exactly was this incident?"
"..."
The withered old man did not reply right away. Instead, his bark-like face began to twitch in the dark.
He seemed to recall something unimaginably terrifying.
Under the influence of ghost qi corroding his mind, his emotions were beginning to spiral out of control!
Yet in the end, the old man stabilized himself. Hunching over, he cupped his hands and said, "A ferocious ghost nearing the Second Rank was born within this ghost mist. Only by relying on the formations was this old slave able to stall it until the Eldest Young Master arrived."
Relieved by the explanation, Xu Yuan turned and continued down the passage.
At the end of the corridor lay an austere stone chamber. In its center stood a prominent stone pillar, atop which was carved a recessed groove.
Hesitating slightly, Xu Yuan swept his intent-soul across the cavernous stone room.
Sure enough, he discovered many intricate array patterns throughout the chamber.
This was presumably the place meant for restoring the Saint's remnant soul.
Xu Yuan glanced at Ran Qingmo.
Ran Qingmo looked back at him, her expression as placid as ever.
Xu Yuan felt that only a woman with a temperament like Ran Qingmo's could remain so utterly unruffled in such a sinister demon ghost breeding facility.
If it were Succubus Su... heh.
The withered old man was gone for a long time. After waiting quietly for over an hour, Xu Yuan finally heard the old man's coarse voice drifting down from the passage above:
"Third Young Master... please hand over the soul ring."
Hearing this, Xu Yuan slipped the soul ring off his finger.
The withered old man stepped slowly out of the darkness to receive it, walked over to the stone pillar in the center of the chamber, and placed the soul ring into the groove.
Watching the old man's unhurried movements, Xu Yuan asked out of mild curiosity, "Old Mr. Gui, what do you plan to use to help the Saint restore his soul power?"
"What to use?" the withered old man echoed.
"Aren't there soul crystals condensed from soul power?" Xu Yuan had not seen any items on the old man.
"Soul crystals? There are no soul crystals," the withered old man replied, his voice like sandpaper.
Xu Yuan's brow creased slightly. "Then without soul crystals, how will you channel the soul power?"
"No soul crystals..."
In the pitch-black darkness, the withered old man kept his back turned, but twisted his head completely around. A pair of turbid, lifeless eyes stared directly at Xu Yuan as an eerie smile spread across his face:
"Naturally... by using this old slave himself."
Chapter 95