Hmm?
Qin Xuan felt a stir in his heart. Slipping out of the boiler room, he looked up to see somber clouds shrouding the sky.
"What is happening?!"
Judging by the cloud line stretching across the horizon, the dark clouds had rolled in from the west.
Hawk's Beak Mountain—the Pingyuan King's tomb!
Qin Xuan realized it at once and rushed to find Mao Yan. Yet after searching the entire outer compound of Jinghu Manor, he found no trace of Senior Mao anywhere.
Walking to the edge of the manor's great lake, he could not help but pause.
He looked toward the inner compound.
Senior Mao Yan had previously warned him that the inner compound was Madam Wei's secluded cultivation sanctuary, strictly off-limits.
"Senior Mao must have his own plans for wherever he went, and he never told me to guard this place."
Even as the thought crossed his mind, he was already standing at the front gates of Jinghu Manor.
Within his Taiyin aperture, the Nine Nethers fiend sent a faint ripple of perception—it seemed to have sensed something.
To the north!
That direction was already nearing Yuansong Temple.
Without further hesitation, Qin Xuan took out his wind bottle and released the black mist crawling with corpse gods. Channelling his magic power, he rode the mist through the gloom and the curtain of rain, heading straight for the northern horizon.
*Whoosh!*
He punched through the cloud layer high above. Looking outward, tens of li of overcast clouds spread across the canopy over the commandery city like a colossal shroud.
*Howl! Howl!*
Above the clouds, the dark yin ghost wind mingled with the chilling autumn breeze, biting cold enough to make one's hair stand on end.
No wonder Geng Zhi had said there was great peril in the tomb.
This commotion was far too vast.
Qin Xuan released his fiend high in the sky. Flanked by the fiend and treading upon demonic mist, anyone looking up would take him for a figure from the demonic path.
The fiend circled around Qin Xuan with the eager, fawning antics of a hound, but it was not merely playing—it was conveying information.
"Where is it?"
The fiend pointed toward the north.
"Lead the way."
Hearing this, the fiend dove straight into the True Water Mist beneath Qin Xuan's feet. The moment it entered, the corpse gods within the black mist scurried in terror.
With a deep inhalation, it drew the somber clouds and dark yin ghost wind high in the sky into the mist, causing the True Water Mist to expand by more than double.
Qin Xuan was pleasantly surprised; he had not expected the fiend to possess such an ability.
The Taiyin Soul Transformation Art had been obtained from the turtle-shell diagrams, and this supreme mental art of the Nine Nethers was incomplete. Now, inspired by the fiend and combined with his insights from cultivating the Elixir Dew Flying Transformation Scripture, a sudden flash of inspiration struck his mind.
He routed his magic power into the Taiyin aperture. With a single inhalation and exhalation, an essence of ultimate yin arose.
Using this strand of ultimate yin magic power to command the fiend, he made it shift into countless forms in an instant. Carrying the True Water Mist, it turned into a horse one moment and a bull the next.
It could manifest all manner of shapes.
Yet with his thoughts weighed down by the crisis in the commandery city, Qin Xuan had no heart for play, so he had it revert to a single black cloud.
By now, he no longer needed to steer it manually.
It was like riding a carriage, with the fiend serving as the coachman. Utilizing the dark yin ghost wind for speed, it carried Qin Xuan swiftly toward the source of its senses.
In less than half the time it took to drink a cup of tea, a colossal boom erupted near the northern city marketplace.
Qin Xuan glanced downward and saw an abominable, green-skinned monstrosity with fleshy tumors protruding from its head, beating its wings and locked in fierce combat with a group of cultivators.
The surrounding streets and markets were already devastated. Rows of houses had collapsed into the driving rain, and the city's inhabitants were fleeing in terror.
A yaksha!
Was this what the fiend had sensed?
The fiend had been born of a Nine Nethers mental art, while the yaksha was likewise a ghost creature of the Nine Nethers underworld. In a sense, it was an encounter between two from the same homeland.
*Hiss!*
Midair, the old yaksha ghost seemed to sense impending danger and turned its head toward the cloud-draped sky.
Not only the yaksha, but the surrounding cultivators noticed it as well.
Someone was riding a cloud through the air!
Moreover, it was a dark cloud churning with rolling black mist and dense, sinister evil, with a hazy figure standing within.
From this appearance, it looked like an old demon capable of riding clouds!
Many cultivators hastily fell back.
The old yaksha ghost had been unleashed by the demon sect, so naturally, they assumed this old demon was of the same ilk.
Elder Weng Shanfang of Yuansong Temple's Enforcement Hall paled dramatically, thinking to himself, *Before the yaksha is even eliminated, someone from the demon sect shows up. This bodes ill indeed.*
Just as he was about to call for reinforcements, he suddenly noticed that the figure atop the cloud looked remarkably familiar.
Hmm?!
Believing his eyes were playing tricks on him, Elder Weng focused his gaze.
Qin... Qin Xuan?
No mistake about it, it was that lad!
Just as Elder Weng recognized Qin Xuan, the dark cloud charged straight toward the yaksha.
*This boy is too reckless!*
Elder Weng shouted, "Qin Xuan, do not close in carelessly! It is enveloped in ghost wind and cold evil, capable of seizing a person's mind!"
The surrounding disciples of Yuansong Temple suddenly realized who it was, and someone cried out, "It's Senior Brother Qin!"
No answer came from the air. Instead, a beam of emerald sword radiance lanced out like a rainbow, striking straight for the yaksha's face.
The sword talisman shot forth with speed so terrifying that onlookers gasped. Wherever the sword passed, the falling raindrops were severed in two, freezing a line of water across the empty sky.
The old yaksha ghost neither dodged nor retreated. It thrust out a desiccated, claw-like hand with outstretched fingers, conjuring blades of ghost wind in an attempt to snatch the sword talisman from the air.
Just as it was about to slam into the palm, Qin Xuan wheeled his sword in a sharp turn. The sword light maneuvered as deftly as a swimming fish, evading the yaksha's palm, darting past its armpit, and arcing behind its back in a circle around its wings.
With a flash of emerald light, the yaksha's wings, thick with layers of ghostly qi, were cleanly sheared off at the root!
*Boom!*
It plummeted from the sky, crashing onto the bluestone street and blasting out a massive crater.
Never mind the spectators nearby; even Elder Weng, a sect elder, stared with wide, rounded eyes.
The cultivation of this yaksha was estimated to be at the late Foundation Establishment stage. Though it had lost some magic power during the earlier siege by the crowd, its ghost path arts had kept it thoroughly difficult to handle.
Who would have thought...
This single sword strike was so powerful that it cleaved right through the old ghost's protective magic power.
"Careful! This demonic thing is exceptionally difficult to kill! I knocked its head off once before, yet it can regenerate!"
With that warning, Elder Weng took a peach-wood talisman sword handed to him by a disciple.
"Its physical flesh was reshaped later; it has only a ghost body. To destroy a ghost, one must first destroy its spirit, and destroying the spirit wounds its soul!"
The peach-wood talisman sword gleamed with flowing luster as Elder Weng rushed forward to assist. Talisman runes streamed across his eyes as well—it was the Nine Apertures Spirit Talisman Dipper Handle technique from Guanjiang Mountain, which infused the spirit of the Three Treasures, using spirit to drive wood and wood to anchor the soul.
"Swift!"
The old fellow's figure flashed past Qin Xuan's eyes, charging straight into the deep crater left by the yaksha. Seizing the opening while it was wounded, he drove the sword entirely through it!
The yaksha let out a soul-rending shriek of agony.
It lashed out with a claw, but Elder Weng was a veteran of a hundred battles. Having struck home, he immediately rode the air and retreated more than twenty zhang.
Several disciples at his side promptly offered another peach-wood sword covered in talisman runes.
Others held talisman chains, advancing and retreating in disciplined formation with strict order.
Though Qin Xuan's sword arts were exceedingly sharp, the damage caused by his blow had not matched Elder Weng's wooden sword.
Yet through this demonstration, he learned a trick and understood how to deal with this yaksha.
The wind rose again. Just as Elder Weng had said, the yaksha's ghost body had weakened somewhat, but the wings on its back sprouted anew. Shrieking in pain, it tore the wooden sword from its torso.
That strike, however, carried Elder Weng's Nine Apertures Spirit Talisman Dipper Handle art.
Pulling out the wooden sword tore at its divine soul, sending violent tremors through its ghost body.
*Now!*
The fiend was already itching for a fight, eager to pit itself against the yaksha.
Qin Xuan manipulated the True Water Mist, within which the fiend concealed itself. The mist transformed into a great net of black clouds that came crashing down directly over the yaksha's head. Still pulling at the wooden sword, the yaksha could not evade in time.
Elder Weng realized at once.
Qin Xuan's black cloud was a magic treasure.
Yet beyond all expectation, this treasure was extraordinarily formidable. Once engulfed by the dark cloud, the yaksha was like a bird trapped in a cage, thrashing and ramming in all directions, unable to break free!
Through the cold-evil corpse gods within the black cloud, the fiend grappled with the yaksha, its true form seeping bit by bit into the yaksha's divine soul.
Via the fiend's senses, a clear image of the yaksha's divine soul surfaced in Qin Xuan's mind.
In an instant, he discovered its weak point!
Surging and tumbling across the yaksha's divine soul was a mass of dark light, leaping erratically.
Seeing this, Qin Xuan felt an epiphany.
This cluster of dark light was the yaksha's true spirit, the ultimate source of the old ghost's power.
So long as this speck of true spirit was not extinguished, even if its head were severed or its heart and abdomen blown apart, it could mend its broken form and revive as long as its magic power endured.
Elder Weng's strike earlier had already wounded this true spirit.
While the fiend pinned down the yaksha, Qin Xuan employed the Nine Palaces Displacement Art, stepping forward in a flash. His eyes seemed to glow with faint luminescence, discerning the shifting path of the true spirit.
Within his Taiyin aperture, he converted a wisp of ultimate yin magic power and concentrated it at his fingertip.
He jabbed a finger directly into the back of the yaksha's neck.
The ghost path true spirit, upon coming into contact with Qin Xuan's Taiyin Soul Transformation Art, froze completely, like a son cowed before a stern father. The yaksha's entire body turned rigid. It struggled no more, rooted to the spot like a dead stump of wood.
Extinguishing the true spirit now would thoroughly end the old yaksha ghost.
However...
How could Qin Xuan bring himself to do that?!
He was currently poor to the point of desperation. An old ghost—this was an old ghost, worth far more than a yin spirit jar! Selling it to Fox Grandpa would earn him a handsome profit.
Yet dragging a yaksha along as he fled would be far too conspicuous.
*Right, the coffin!*
Fox Grandpa had said that if one hid inside a coffin, ghostly things would lose interest, and once a ghostly thing entered the coffin, it would become very docile.
*Time to test it!*
He chanted the ghost path incantation. Instantly, a large vermilion coffin flew out from his bag of treasures. With a clatter, the coffin lid opened. Qin Xuan gripped the yaksha and, working alongside the fiend, stuffed it inside.
The coffin did not appear large, yet as soon as the yaksha entered, its body steadily shrank. Its ferocious face softened into a peaceful expression, and it sank into a deep slumber.
Shutting the coffin lid, the ghost incantation talisman shrank the coffin back into a pocket-sized trinket that flew back into his bag of treasures.
Truly worthy of something that cost a hundred taels.
For the first time, Qin Xuan felt that Fox Grandpa had not swindled him; this money was well spent.
Around the northern street, the gazes of the city's many Qi Refiners shifted dramatically as they looked at Qin Xuan.
Most had heard the name of Yuansong Temple's Breeze and Moon Little Sword Immortal and the miraculous tale of him lashing Old Man Black Corpse with a divine willow whip, which sounded so fantastical it seemed like utter nonsense.
Yet having witnessed it with their own eyes today...
Not only was this young man's sword art astonishing, severing the yaksha's wings in a single strike with blinding speed, but he also knew how to counter the dark arts of the ghost path. Between his black cloud magic treasure and that large coffin, his methods were truly extraordinary.
Even if he were to pull out a divine willow whip now, it would hardly seem bizarre.
A mighty old yaksha ghost had been dealt with just like that!
Elder Weng walked up with a smile. He knew Qin Xuan had formed ties with a senior of their lineage, but he had never imagined the youth would advance to such heights in such a short time.
"Senior Brother Qin!"
Beside Elder Weng, seven or eight disciples, young and old, came forward to greet him, their eyes filled with both marvel and reverence.
Qin Xuan smiled, nodded, and returned the greeting.
Elder Weng praised, "Zihou, you truly make people look at you in a new light."
Back in the Enforcement Hall, Elder Weng had spoken up for him and taught him how to get along with seniors. Seeing this short old man, Qin Xuan naturally approached him with a warm smile.
"Elder Weng, it was merely good timing on my part. The yaksha was already at the end of its strength, its edge worn away by you and your disciples. If the sect calculates contributions, please do not credit me for merely plucking the fruit."
Having said that, Qin Xuan turned to the main matter: "I have been in secluded cultivation these past few days. What is the situation over at Hawk's Beak Mountain?"
Elder Weng, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, grew tense once more. "The demon sect used the Hundred Ghosts Marching Formation to draw out the yin spirits and yakshas from the Pingyuan King's tomb. Those ordinary yin spirits may be scattered, but they are easy to deal with. These yakshas, however, understand ghost path arts and pose a grave menace.
"The experts from various factions around Pingyuan Commandery, including our temple master, are currently locked in battle with the demon sect at Hawk's Beak Mountain.
"The Renmao Sect used formation flags refined by an expert of the demon path and harnessed the sinister yin qi around the royal tomb's terrain to erect a Wood Demon Spirit Formation spanning ten li. It cannot be breached in a short time, so there is no way to stop these yakshas at the source.
"This royal tomb was severely underestimated, and an emergency report has already been sent to the Upper Court."
Keeping the explanation concise, Weng Shanfang quickly clarified the city's situation, then warned Qin Xuan, "Though you possess the means to handle these yakshas, by all means, act within your limits. The situation is chaotic, and the elders of our temple have their hands full. Beware of the demon clans from the Lan River Water Manor fishing in troubled waters to strike at you.
"If I were that black demon, seeing your rapid growth would rob me of sleep and peace.
"The Yishui River Earl Manor, as a local faction of the commandery, ought to have gone to Hawk's Beak Mountain to assist, yet they have not sent a single soul."
Qin Xuan nodded repeatedly, thanking Elder Weng for his goodwill.
He was already on his guard. Old Hu, the profiteer, had said that the spider demon fell out with Mountain God Tan and went to the Yishui River Earl Manor; how could such a thing be a mere coincidence?
However, things were different now.
After reaching Foundation Establishment, he was no longer at a disadvantage in magic power and could even ride clouds through the mist. Compared to the Yishui River Earl Manor, the bald thieves of Liangfeng Temple posed a far greater threat.
Who knew what scheme Monk Jin Guan was concocting?
At this thought, he could hardly sit still.
Exchanging a few more words with Elder Weng, he bade them farewell, stepped onto his black cloud, and soared into the sky, following the fiend in pursuit of the next yaksha.
The surrounding Yuansong Temple disciples watched in awe, and a flurry of discussions quickly broke out.
In a distant puddle near a street corner, three large toads poked their heads out from beneath the tiles. They were none other than Toad Mountain's Fan Xun, Fan Da, and Elder Tao.
Junior Brother Fan Xun asked respectfully, "Elder, what kind of technique was he using just now?"
In truth, Elder Tao had not understood it either, but recalling his investigation into Qin Xuan's background, he naturally guessed, "That was not a technique of Yuansong Temple. It should be his family heritage. His maternal grandfather's family had ties to Zhongzhou, so it is likely an esoteric art from one of the Myriad Dharma Sects of Zhongzhou.
"The technique is not the key..."
Elder Tao took a sharp breath. "How much time has passed since the battle at Lianyun Manor? His cultivation has progressed so rapidly, yet his magic power shows not the slightest hint of instability. Such natural talent is truly extraordinary.
"Yuansong Temple might very well produce a great sect true disciple in the future.
"Temple Master Wu's discernment is formidable indeed."
Hearing his elder offer such high praise, Fan Xun's toad mouth fell open in shock. To be acknowledged as a potential great sect true disciple meant having at least a fifty-percent chance of surviving the Qiongxiao Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation in the future.
It meant touching the threshold of the enlightened.
Above the three thousand worlds, across the vast and boundless territories of the Nine Provinces, anyone capable of such an achievement was a major figure.
In Guanjiang Mountain, that would be the rank of a True Person.
Beside him, Senior Brother Fan Da nodded in deep agreement. "Someone who could shatter my qi barrier with a willow branch is naturally extraordinary."
Fan Xun thought his senior brother was thoroughly ruined, so he ignored his remark. "Elder, is your evaluation not overly generous?"
Elder Tao sighed. "Praise and whether one can actually mature into one's potential are entirely two different matters. The geniuses who fall along the way far outnumber those who truly grow to fruition."
He then turned his gaze toward the great tomb.
"That royal tomb holds a great secret; it will likely draw the great sects here. We shall lie low in the city for now. If it proves safe, we can see if there is any fortuitous encounter to be had."
"Understood..."
The three toads gurgled softly and sank back beneath the water.
Far off in the sky, Qin Xuan gazed ahead. Once again, he heard the sounds of combat and agonized screams.
Near Lianyun Manor, Zhongpu Street had lost its former bustling cheer; the vendor cries had been replaced by screams of agony.
Wherever the yaksha's ghost body passed, the surrounding houses crumbled like tofu dregs.
The old ghost opened its gaping, bloody maw. Ghost wind swirled into a vortex within its mouth, pulling the living and the dead alike into its gullet as blood food, swallowing them whole.
With every meal of blood food, the green-skinned ghost body swelled and filled out a fraction more.
All around, those who had miraculously survived inside their homes and were still able to run fled in terror. The screams and weeping caused Captain Hong, who stood not far away gripping a broadsword, to wear a grim expression.
Commander Xu had ordered him to lead men back from Hawk's Beak Mountain to join forces with the various local factions and quell the chaos within the commandery.
Yet this yaksha was far too difficult to handle.
Both were at the Foundation Establishment stage.
Though he could injure its soul with the power of the Divine Way, the yaksha healed itself by devouring blood food and drew upon the yin qi in the air to replenish its magic power. Unless it was killed in a single decisive blow, it would entangle them endlessly.
Moreover, the ghost was wreathed in evil qi and draped in ghost wind, which easily depressed the mind, making it impossible to close in casually.
Amidst this stalemate, Old Zhu of Lianyun Manor arrived with Qi Refiners from his manor to reinforce them.
He handed several qi-replenishing grand elixirs gleaming with golden light to Hong Wutong.
Lianyun Manor had also been raided by the yaksha, suffering casualties and having a large swath of its grounds reduced to ruins. The manor had plenty of Qi Refiners and defensive formations, yet none could do anything against this monstrosity; at this moment, they had to rely on Captain Hong.
The grand elixirs Old Zhu normally could not bear to use himself were now given away freely.
"Captain Hong, the yaksha has swallowed dozens more people. If this continues, it will wear us down to death instead."
Old Zhu suggested, "Restrain it first while I lead my men to evacuate the nearby townsfolk. If it cannot devour blood food, your Divine Way arts will be able to slay it."
"Good!"
Captain Hong was a decisive man and immediately ordered the men of Yingyang Prefecture into action.
With a loud rattling clatter, dozens of chains imbued with Divine Way magic power flew from the hands of the Yingyang guards, lashing out together to ensnare the yaksha. They had employed this method several times already; though it could momentarily bind its form, it had failed to kill it.
However...
Having devoured so much blood food, the yaksha swept its two ghostly claws up and down before its chest. Sinister yin and blood qi converged, condensing into a zhang-long three-pronged fork.
Looking at the incoming chains, a hint of contemplation appeared on its hideous face.
Then, it violently hurled the trident, striking the chains squarely. Flapping its wings, it darted away swift as lightning, slipping completely out of the guards' chain net!
"It has grown intelligent!"
For the first time, Captain Hong showed genuine horror. Previously, he had only heard of Nine Nethers ghost creatures—devouring living beings granted them wisdom, moving them beyond mere instinct to master even more underworld ghost arts.
One could well imagine that this ghost would only grow more difficult to handle.
"Form the array! Do not let it escape!"
Hong Wutong bellowed, charging out in the lead. Among everyone present, only his cultivation was comparable to the yaksha's; at this moment, it was his duty to pin the beast down.
Magic power surged along his broadsword, instantly condensing a blade beam of Divine Way power over ten zhang long.
Seeing this, the yaksha refused to meet it head-on, spinning around to dive straight toward the crowd of people.
It skimmed the ground in rapid flight. Hearing the terrified screams of the blood food below, it did not rush to slaughter them; instead, it cast a backward glance at Hong Wutong.
That single glance sent a chill down the spines of Captain Hong and everyone from Lianyun Manor.
It was as though they were being targeted by something truly dreadful.
A bizarre sneer crept across the yaksha's gruesome face.
Hong Wutong had been read like an open book; burdened with concern for the mortals, his mighty Divine Way blade beam could not be brought down toward the crowd. With another flap of its wings, the beast could slip away at any moment.
Yet the yaksha did not flee. It cast a provocative sneer at Captain Hong and the others.
Thrusting out a ghostly claw, it reached for the crowd. Below, young and old stood huddled together, looking up at the terrifying ghost with faces as pale as death.
If this blow landed, wholesale slaughter was inevitable.
However, the yaksha's claw never struck home. It whipped around to conjure a blast of ghost wind, striking out with its other claw as its wings beat furiously. Both claws lunged at once, locking in combat with an exceptionally swift streak of emerald sword radiance.
A dark cloud descended from the sky. Qin Xuan commanded his sword arts, keeping his distance to duel the ghost's arts with his blade.
The emerald sword radiance darted like a serpent flicking its tongue, flickering to and fro without meeting the yaksha's ghost claws head-on, striking only at the vital points across its body.
Though the yaksha's magic power had been drained by Captain Hong and his men, its cultivation was still higher than Qin Xuan's.
Even so...
This sword art was simply too swift, and it targeted its wings exclusively.
The yaksha realized this, darting and dodging frantically. Wounds were repeatedly sliced into its ghost body by sword qi, only to be repaired by its magic power.
The onlookers below watched an emerald sword light cut through the air like a fish swimming through waves, treating the boundless sky as a great marsh as it wove back and forth, battling the ghost wind and churning the somber clouds and falling rain.
Old Zhu's eyes widened first, wondering, like everyone else, where this sword master had come from.
When he clearly recognized the newcomer, his face lit up with immense joy.
This joy went far beyond merely seeing the yaksha suppressed.
He hurriedly shouted, "Brother Qin, this yaksha has gained intelligence from devouring blood food!"
Qin Xuan had already noticed that the yaksha was guarding its wings above all else.
Evidently, it realized that although its wings could regenerate if severed, the brief delay would cost it any chance of escape.
This yaksha was vastly different from the first one he had captured.
Right then, the yaksha suddenly lowered its defense, allowing Qin Xuan to score seven or eight sword wounds across its ghost body in an instant.
With a sudden plunge, it dove toward the crowd once more!
Captain Hong, fully prepared, roared in fury, "Screw your mother, you think you can pull that again?!"
A colossal Divine Way blade beam cleaved across the sky, cutting off the yaksha's descent and slicing several surrounding houses in two at the waist.
Its movement thwarted, Qin Xuan caught up!
The sword radiance flashed across its back. The yaksha marshaled all its magic power, focusing the cold evil from beneath the royal tomb into its wings. Alas, Qin Xuan's magic power contained Metal Spirit Origin Qi, and the power of Secret Demon Fiend-Breaking was no trivial matter, penetrating straight through its protective art.
*Crack!* The fleshy wings slammed into the street below!
Its speed dropping drastically, the creature plummeted. Qin Xuan pursued with his sword, and the fiend steered the black cloud forward, ensnaring it.
The yaksha was instantly pinned.
Yet Qin Xuan remained cautious, immediately lopping off its head with a single sword strike.
The true spirit originally concealed within its head retreated into its body, channeling magic power to slowly regenerate the skull. But having expended a massive amount of energy, the yaksha was utterly spent. Qin Xuan waited until the head had fully regrown, then, aided by the fiend's perception, struck the location of its true spirit with a finger imbued with the ultimate yin power converted by his Taiyin aperture.
The hideous face turned to Qin Xuan with sheer disbelief.
Before this strand of ultimate yin power, its true spirit could no longer be stirred in the slightest.
Poor old yaksha ghost—in its wildest dreams, it could never have imagined encountering a supreme mental art of the Nine Nethers in the mortal realm.
The large vermilion coffin flew out, and the second yaksha entered, falling peacefully asleep.
"Im... Immortal..."
The rescued townsfolk below knew nothing of the ranks of Qi Refiners. In their eyes, anyone descending from a cloud in the sky to slay a demonic creature could only be an immortal.
Even if that cloud was eerie and black.
Qin Xuan merely smiled and offered no explanation.
There was a large crater in the street where several people had fallen.
The black cloud drifted down and scooped up two men, a child, and a white-bearded old man from within.
The old man seemed scared out of his wits, his eyes glazed and vacant.
Old Zhu led his men over, working alongside Young Zhu to clean up the aftermath.
Hong Wutong regarded Qin Xuan with an unfamiliar gaze. From their encounter in Daoxiang Hollow until now, the change had been simply too vast!
Calming his breath, he walked up to greet him.
Though their factions had their rivalries, his admiration for Qin Xuan at this moment far exceeded what he had felt in Daoxiang Hollow.
That old ghost had mocked him earlier.
Had it escaped, one could well imagine how miserable the coming days would have been.
Captain Hong said, "Young Master Qin, I have some good news for you."
Good news?
And from Yingyang Prefecture, no less. Qin Xuan quickly deduced, "Did Captain Lu die at Hawk's Beak Mountain?"
Hong Wutong's expression stiffened slightly before he straightened his posture. "It is indeed related to him.
"Commander Xu, who came to the commandery city, has learned of the grievance between you and the local Divine Way. However, he honors the righteous tradition of Prison City and handles matters with strict impartiality. When Captain Lu rallied his colleagues earlier to accuse you of harming a protector deity, not only did he fail, but he was also reprimanded."
Qin Xuan had reason and justification on his side, so he was never afraid.
Still, being spared the hassle was naturally good news.
Hong Wutong added, "From what I gathered, Commander Xu wishes to meet you. However, he is currently occupied by the demon sect at Hawk's Beak Mountain, so it is hard to say exactly when."
Qin Xuan nodded; he had already heard word from Old Daoist Wu.
The imperial tombs of Great Xia had been plundered, and they were hunting down the Juetian Sect.
The commander from Prison City likely wanted to question him regarding Geng Zhi.
Qin Xuan said, "Then we shall wait until the turmoil here is settled."
With that, he bade farewell.
Calling out to Old Zhu as well, he rode his cloud away.
Zhu Youqi, who was carrying a corpse, watched the black cloud depart and said to his father with utter admiration, "Father, you were right."
Old Zhu, who had been grieving the losses within Lianyun Manor, took on a smug expression upon hearing his son's words. "If we had waited until now to befriend him, it would have been a bit too late."
Young Zhu nodded repeatedly.
By now, any sane Qi Refiner could see that this youth possessed extraordinary talent. Earlier at the manor, it had not been nearly so obvious.
Soon, Old Zhu regained his composure, looking up at the sky-blotting canopy of black clouds with unease. "This is a bitter struggle; heaven knows when it will end. For now, do not look too far ahead—finding a way to survive is what matters most..."
Above the layers of cloud, the closer one drew to Hawk's Beak Mountain, the fiercer the dark yin ghost wind became.
Even from afar, one could feel the surging waves of magic power from Hawk's Beak Mountain.
Qin Xuan had no intention of joining the fray.
Continuing toward the northwest, he once again saw widespread devastation—corpses, bloodstains, pitted and collapsed buildings, as well as the carcasses of two yakshas.
This was the compound of the Chai and Tang families, two prominent cultivation clans in the commandery city.
Back then, they had arrived at the Geng residence, acting swaggeringly arrogant before him. They had torn down Geng Zhi's door lintel and cleaved the stone lions by the entrance in two, brimming with haughty pride.
Now, the compound of both families had been torn to shreds by the yakshas.
Never mind the lintel; the entire gate and its surrounding walls were gone.
Qin Xuan harbored no petty grudges, and the dead yakshas were of no use to him. He merely steered the black cloud, letting the fiend command the corpse gods within the evil qi to stir up a terrifying, sinister gale. From a distance, he looked precisely like an old demon who had refined evil qi arriving on the scene.
*Clang, clang, clang!*
Alarm bells rang out below. The two clans, having just slain the yakshas, paled in unison upon seeing such an old demon descend.
They assumed the demon sect's reinforcements had arrived!
The Qi Refiners of both families stood on high alert.
Their clan patriarchs were urgently ushering the younger generation to retreat, offering hurried instructions that sounded like final testaments, braced for the worst.
Yet just as the black cloud looked poised to dive, it merely sailed over their heads, showing no intention of attacking.
The members of both families were left baffled and uncertain, realizing it had been a false alarm.
Aboard the cloud, Qin Xuan could not help but let slip a mischievous smirk.
It truly was not out of spite; he was merely acting as a good Samaritan, checking to see if the yakshas might revive.
He continued northwest for about seven or eight li until he spotted a group of monks besieging a yaksha. On the ground lay two moribund yakshas imprisoned in cages.
One of the caged yakshas was nearly double the size of the two Qin Xuan had caught.
Beside the cage was a massive crater turned into a pool of blood, filled with numerous corpses, many of them bareheaded monks. To capture these yakshas alive, these monks had paid a heavy price.
They were from Liangfeng Temple.
From a distance, Qin Xuan spotted several sinister-looking monks whose behavior was exceedingly strange.
Some were besieging the yaksha, while others were using bags of treasures to collect the corpses on the ground, seemingly intending to bring them back to the temple for post-mortem rites.
After watching for a short while, Qin Xuan noticed the anomaly.
The final yaksha had already been worn down until its magic power was nearly exhausted, yet several fierce monks stood by with folded arms, in no hurry to strike.
They had herded the yaksha toward a cluster of buildings where mortals were hiding.
It was plain to see that if the yaksha smashed inside, the people within would perish, allowing these wicked monks to capture it conveniently afterward.
Lamp Oil Chan!
Truly deserving of death!
Qin Xuan longed to draw his sword and slay them, but Liangfeng Temple was currently a hornets' nest. With the commandery city in such chaos, provoking this swarm of venomous wasps would not only harm more innocents but also disrupt Madam Wei's affairs.
His thoughts racing, he drove the black cloud down from the distant sky.
Hearing the rush of wind, the monks of Liangfeng Temple glanced over. Their first reaction was much like that of the Chai and Tang families—they assumed an old evil-refining demon at the Core Formation stage was attacking. Capturing the yakshas had already cost them dearly.
With an old demon arriving at such a moment, who would not be terrified?
Qin Xuan charged toward the monks, forcing them to bunch together into a defensive formation.
Yet he was only bluffing. The fiend swerved the black cloud around, and Qin Xuan landed beside the cages, looking at the massive yaksha and the ordinary one beside it.
Qin Xuan smiled coldly.
*These yakshas share an affinity with me.*
"Thieving demon, stop!"
A monk with a long scar on his neck yelled in fury. But Qin Xuan paid him no heed, tossing the defenseless yakshas into the coffin in an instant.
The remaining yaksha had originally been besieged by the group of monks.
When Qin Xuan arrived, the besieging monks were distracted. Seeing him steal the yakshas, they flared with rage and cursed furiously. Seizing the opening, the yaksha beat its wings and soared toward the sky.
Qin Xuan channeled the Elixir Dew Flying Transformation Scripture, using the technique of Tianyi True Water to condense the falling rain before him into a mirror of water.
Seven or eight palm strikes thick with Buddhist magic power flew forth, shattering the water mirror to pieces in a bid to crush Qin Xuan into paste.
Yet in that very split second, Qin Xuan rode the cloud, trailing a beam of sword light into the distance to sever the yaksha's wings. As it plummeted, Qin Xuan caught it securely with his large vermilion coffin.
The fiend inhaled the dark yin ghost wind from the air, sending the black cloud shooting away like an arrow from a bow.
"Thieving demon, where do you think you're going?!"
Four fierce monks gave chase from behind, riding Buddhist prayer beads, yet they could not match Qin Xuan's speed. In a short while, they lost his trail entirely.
Only a mocking voice lingered in the empty air: "No need to see me off, masters! This old yaksha ghost cannot be saved by your rites, so I shall deliver it to the underworld on your behalf to earn some karmic merit."
Hearing this, the fierce monks of Liangfeng Temple were beside themselves with rage.
Some tried in vain to pursue further, but Qin Xuan was nowhere to be seen.
The monks could only lament that Abbot Jin Guan and the temple's chief seat elders were absent; otherwise, how could this little demon thief have acted so insolently?
A burly monk from Liangfeng Temple's Good Candle Cloister asked, "Elder, what should we do now?"
The tall, gaunt monk who had pursued on the prayer beads descended from the sky, his face darkened with fury.
He was none other than the elder of the Good Candle Cloister. "First, take the surrounding corpses back for the rites, then continue hunting for the yakshas. This person's methods are remarkable; we must investigate his background."
The surrounding fierce monks all wore grim, blackened expressions. They were always the ones begging for alms and extracting affinity from others; today, they had ended up on the losing end, treated as someone else's karmic affinity...
Chapter 83