Gui Qi

Before the withered old man could finish speaking— "Lass Ran! Strike!!!" A furious roar from the Saint's remnant soul echoed through the entire stone chamber. "This fellow has long since completely transformed into a ghost! That's his corpse!!" As the shout rang out, the Saint's soul form burst out of the soul ring. Black-red soul power surged forth, condensing into a sharp blade that slashed across empty air. Space fell quiet for an instant. Xu Yuan then saw the withered old man's head fall away from his body, yet not a single drop of blood spurted out—as though the blood within had dried up long ago. Xu Yuan's breath hitched slightly. A Second-Rank demon-ghost... The near-Second-Rank demon-ghost the withered old man had just mentioned was himself! After decapitating the withered old man, the Saint's remnant soul did not pause in his assault. Yet even as the head went rolling, dense, pitch-black ghost qi erupted from the withered old man's corpse, surging from every direction to engulf the Saint's soul form! Black-red soul power clashed violently against ink-black ghost qi, and the specialized stone chamber shook instantly like an earthquake! The tremors lasted for some ten-odd seconds. The urgent voice of the Saint's remnant soul rang out once more: "This ghastly creature wants to devour me! Lass Ran, if you don't strike before he swallows my origin soul, we're all doomed!" "Saint's remnant soul... Saint's soul form... Saint's origin soul..." From the floor, the withered old man's severed head let out an eerie, maniacal laugh: "Heh-heh-hahaha!! If I devour you, even the Eldest Young Master... heh... heh-heh..." "..." Ran Qingmo gripped her sword tightly, yet she still did not move. Because the moment the withered old man uttered those words, Xu Yuan had already caught hold of her wrist. "Xu Yuan..." Ran Qingmo called softly. Xu Yuan gave a slight shake of his head. The battle between the Saint's soul form and the withered old man was taking place barely ten meters away from him. That he remained completely unharmed in a clash of such magnitude already spoke volumes. "Get me out of here." Ran Qingmo thought for a fraction of a second, then scooped up Xu Yuan and bolted along the tunnel toward the exit. "..." the Saint's remnant soul. "Bastard!!!" The Saint let out a furious roar, forcibly wrenching half his body free of the black mist. Black-red soul power, solid as substance, shot straight out to seize Xu Yuan. Right then, however, the array within the stone chamber was activated. Amid flashes of white light, chains of pure radiance shot forward, targeting the Saint's soul form at the center of the room. In an instant, the Saint's remnant soul was pierced and pinned down by countless chains. The withered old man gave an eerie cackle, and the black mist pouring from his corpse began flowing continuously into the Saint's soul form. Seeing this, the Saint's remnant soul deduced roughly what this pseudo-Second-Rank demon-ghost was trying to do, and he bellowed fiercely: "Insolent beast, you dare?!" Soul fusion— This Second-Rank demon-ghost actually dared to attempt a soul fusion with him!! Following that furious bellow, the chains surging from the array immediately grew somewhat faint, showing imminent signs of shattering. The Saint began burning his origin soul in a desperate bid, but alas, it was already too late. Before he could tear himself free of the array's restraints, all the black ghost qi inside the stone chamber burrowed into his soul form. The tremors subsided, and everything within the stone chamber sank into pitch-black darkness... *** Imperial Capital. Tian'an Main Chamber, Gewu Academy, Tianjia Court. Tianjia Court sat upon elevated ground, graced by an elegant pavilion and encircled by a stream meandering through the courtyard. Looking down from atop the pavilion, one could take in a graceful scene of winding waters fit for floating wine cups. At this moment, two figures sat opposite each other within the pavilion. One had graying temples, a sharp gaze, and the appearance of a middle-aged man. The other had crane-white hair and a youthful complexion, with handsome features that still hinted at the dapper young lord he had once been in his youth. "Lord Chancellor carries the weight of government affairs, yet you actually have time to visit my Gewu Academy?" Seeing this Prime Minister who held sway over the entire court, the white-haired elder showed little reverence. "Out with it. What is it this time?" Xu Yinhe glanced at him without answering immediately. He personally poured the tea, nudging a cup of fragrant brew toward the elder before speaking in a calm tone: "With nothing else to occupy me, I came by to chat with you." The elder's spirited eyes fixed on Xu Yinhe for two seconds before he let out a scoffing smile. "You might have nothing to do, but I'm busy. If you have business, out with it quickly." A mild afternoon breeze swept gently across the pavilion. Xu Yinhe took no offense, unhurriedly sipping the fragrant tea from his cup. "Decades have passed, and you're still the same as you were back then. You haven't changed a bit." "..." The elder shook his head, tucked his sleeves in, and picked up the teacup. "Did you come to urge along that Heavenly Communication Crystal again? That project is less than halfway through. Right now, the Azure Profound Crystal can barely support the communication array patterns, but it's too small. It's currently very difficult to compress the Source Qi for powering it into the crystal's interior. To complete it fully, a conservative estimate would take at least—" "Jiang He." Xu Yinhe cut the elder off, his gaze calm. "..." The white-haired elder named Jiang He paused, fell silent for a moment, and then stroked his beard with a short scoff. "Heh, you're actually free enough to come chat with me?" Xu Yinhe did not deny it. He set down his teacup, looked past the courtyard wall toward the foot of the mountains surrounding the Imperial Capital, and said softly: "We've known each other for a whole sixty-year cycle, haven't we?" Jiang He frowned, recalling briefly before murmuring, "You entered the capital back in the thirty-second year of Yongqing, and now it's already the forty-fourth year of Jiajing. A full cycle has long since passed." A trace of reminiscence surfaced in Xu Yinhe's sharp eyes. "So it has already been that long. Time truly flies." A faint smile flickered in Jiang He's lively eyes. His tone held little deference, resembling that of an old friend instead. "To think the Chancellor who keeps imperial decrees from leaving the Golden Throne Room would turn so sentimental. Heh..." Xu Yinhe did not take issue with the remark, only saying softly: "Of the old friends we had in the Imperial Capital back then, not many are left alive today." Jiang He scoffed. "You and that fellow Li Yaoxuan killed them all. Naturally, not many are left." "..." Xu Yinhe remained silent. Li Yaoxuan was the reigning emperor. Jiang He stared at Xu Yinhe's middle-aged countenance with its graying temples and chuckled softly. "After so many years, even if you two hadn't killed them, those people wouldn't necessarily have lived to this day. I'm already one foot in the grave, yet you kid still look like this. I'm truly curious—with your current cultivation, how long can you live?" Xu Yinhe lifted his eyes to glance at the elder. After a brief pause, he answered in a low voice: "If I make no further breakthroughs in this lifetime, roughly three cycles." A hint of envy crept across Jiang He's aged face. "Must be nice." Xu Yinhe showed little emotion, merely countering with a question: "Is there meaning in living long?" "Of course there is," Jiang He grunted softly. "If I could live a little longer and have more time to fathom the grand Dao of arrays, my time in this mortal world wouldn't have been in vain." A faint smile touched Xu Yinhe's lips. "What you and I pursue are different things. Still, if you wanted to live longer, you should have listened to Prince Xiang back then." Hearing that, Jiang He did not answer right away. He leaned back against the chair and remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a deep sigh, muttering: "Cultivate?" Remembering his father, whose image had grown blurred in his memories, Jiang He shook his head. "If I had chosen cultivation back then, that would have been putting the cart before the horse. One only has so much time. Spend more time on cultivation, and there's less left for studying the Dao of arrays. "Besides, I really had no interest in the path that old man paved for me. The modest cultivation I have now is only meant to support my array craft." As he spoke, Jiang He seemed to think of something, his aged face suddenly growing spirited and his eyes gleaming with excitement as he lowered his voice: "Right, Xu Yinhe, that grand array I told you about four years ago is almost finished. In terms of power, it will be at least double that of the Imperial Capital's city-protecting array." At this point, Jiang He cleared his throat. "Old man Hua Hong refuses to disburse the silver. What do you think about..." Xu Yinhe listened intently, a hint of a smile in his eyes, but he did not relent: "Hua Hong manages the accounts of the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce as he sees fit. I will not interfere." The Gewu Academy burned money relentlessly, especially since most of the investments yielded no visible returns. Four years ago, Jiang He had first spoken to him and Hua Hong about this peerless grand array. His pitch back then had been virtually identical to today's. He claimed that with just a tiny bit more investment—just a tiny bit—the Gewu Academy would soon produce results. And so Hua Hong had invested. And four years had passed. Jiang He's expression stiffened at once. With a cold snort, he raised his cup, preparing to see his guest off. Looking at his old friend's unchanged temperament, Xu Yinhe gave a faint smile and shook his head. Then he said quietly: "Jiang He, something has gone wrong with that Soul Siphoning Array you designed." Hearing this, Jiang He froze, his stiffened expression gradually turning grave. Yet he was not surprised that an array had run into trouble. A mature array was put into practical use only after thousands of calculations, but that never meant it was flawless. Many things changed over time, and myriad real-world variables could cause an array to deviate from test results. In the end, an array had to be refined step by step through practice. Just as humanity had once tamed demonic beasts, the arrays and techniques used to corral ghost mist still had a long road ahead. After a brief thought, Jiang He shook his head and said: "I knew you, Lord Chancellor, would never come without a reason. Tell me the details." Xu Yinhe paused briefly, then said: "Changge had some matters to attend to and went to Jingjiang Prefecture again." Jiang He frowned slightly. "Jingjiang Prefecture... you mean that ghost mist in the mountains near Wuyuan City?" "Yes," Xu Yinhe said. Jiang He hesitated for a moment, hesitation showing on his weathered face. "I recall that ghost mist had three Grandmasters stationed there, didn't it?" "Yes." Xu Yinhe nodded, then calmly uttered three words: "All dead." "Impossible!" Jiang He's hands, which were stroking his long white beard, suddenly clenched tight, his voice dropping low. "My array would never allow a demon-ghost above Fourth Rank to be born within that ghost mist." Xu Yinhe quietly stared at his old friend for a few breaths, his voice very soft: "The demon-ghost was not born within the ghost mist." "..." Hearing that, Jiang He's weathered face suddenly paled. His wrinkled hands trembled slightly, and he asked with noticeable hesitation: "Ghost transformation?" "Yes," Xu Yinhe affirmed. Jiang He's breathing grew somewhat ragged. To have such an enormous flaw emerge in an array he himself had created was something he could not accept. He clenched his fist and struck his brow forcefully. After a long while, Jiang He suddenly raised his eyes and asked: "Wait... that's not right! If such an anomaly occurred and the array lost control, Jiuyuan City should have been swallowed by that ghost mist by now, and the court..." "Gui Qi is there," Xu Yinhe interrupted, his voice utterly placid. "Gui... Gui Qi?" Jiang He froze, asking softly in disbelief, "The guard who accompanied you when you first entered the capital? He... didn't undergo ghost transformation?" Under the warm winter sun, the gentle breeze drifted by. "He did." Xu Yinhe looked at Jiang He, his voice still devoid of any ripple: "Changge said, "he has been guarding that array the entire time." *** Internal organs, severed body parts, and viscous blood trailed endlessly down the tunnel, as though leading to no bottom. *Tap.* *Tap.* *Tap.* The sound of boots stepping on the stone floor echoed unhurriedly down the spiraling stairwell. Descending step by step, Xu Changge took in his surroundings, a contemplative look in his calm eyes. Lou Ji had mentioned that some trouble seemed to have arisen with this ghost mist. Although the soul crystals from the ghost mist array had been delivered on time over the past three months, the personnel dispatched each month for rotation duty had never returned. Now it seemed the anomaly in this subterranean space was far from just "some trouble." Musing on this, Xu Changge stepped out of the long, dark tunnel. Beyond the passage, what met his eyes was a cavern resembling a honeycomb, its dense cluster of stone chambers imprisoning tens of thousands of fierce ghosts. Aside from those, human corpses and skeletons practically carpeted the ground. Among the dead, he spotted two familiar figures. Two Third-Rank Grandmasters who had once met him in the Imperial Capital. Yet by now, their auras had been snuffed out for a long time. The incorruptible flesh of Third-Rank Grandmasters looked exceptionally grotesque in this setting. With a mere glance, Xu Changge withdrew his gaze and walked forward. In the northeast quarter of the cavern, he spotted a "living" person. Small in stature, emaciated and withered, he was kneeling quietly in a corner without uttering a sound. An immense cavern like a beehive, a frail old man hidden in the darkness—grotesque and eerie. *Tap.* *Tap.* *Tap.* Amid the dead silence, Xu Changge came to a stop three meters behind the withered old man. He quietly drew his three-foot verdant blade from his Sumeru ring, but did not strike. Beside the withered old man sat a chest filled with neatly stacked "soul crystals." These were likely the soul crystals that needed to be supplied to the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce for this month. A look of perplexity flashed through Xu Changge's eyes, soon giving way to complicated emotion as he silently sheathed his sword. He stood in silence, his azure robe making him appear like an immortal banished to the mortal realm, utterly out of place in this hellish expanse. Inside the pitch-black cavern, the withered old man kneeling toward the northeast seemed to finally sense something. His head spun a full hundred and eighty degrees to look at Xu Changge behind him. After a long daze, something akin to clarity seemed to return to his eyes: "Eldest... Young... Master...?" Xu Changge stared at the old man, sensing the ghost qi roiling around him so densely it was nearly palpable: "Are you Gui Qi?" "Gui Qi?" The withered old man murmured the name, then stared blankly for a long moment before nodding: "This... old slave... greets the Eldest Young Master..." Within the hellish cavern, dead silence reigned. After who knew how long, the withered old man tremblingly pushed the chest beside him forward: "This... these are this month's soul crystals..." "This old slave has failed Lord Chancellor." "May the Eldest... Young Master... please kill this old slave..."