"May I ask how Young Master Qin intends to search for his treasure?"
Young Master Qin gave a low chuckle. "Lord Mi, why do you think I hid the treasure in Guhuai Town? Do you suppose I simply chose a place at random? Far from it."
"What does Lord Mi consider to be the most famous thing about Guhuai Town?"
Lord Mi hesitated slightly. "Female ghosts?"
Mentioning Guhuai Town immediately brought to mind the three female ghosts with the highest performance metrics under his charge.
Lord Mi planned to have those three female ghosts compile their methods into a written summary to submit to him. He could then present it to the upper echelons as a model of success, making it easier to promote the strategy of sustainable yang-qi absorption on a wider scale, expanding the survival space for female ghosts within the cult, and boosting the overall yang-qi collection rate.
What Xiao Qi and the other two did not know was that Lord Mi had hundreds of ghosts under his command, all obeying his orders and conscientiously gathering yang qi.
Yet only the three of them achieved the highest yields, earning Lord Mi's special favor.
Young Master Qin: "..."
Suppressing his irritation, Young Master Qin forced a smile onto his face. "It is the locust trees."
"Locust trees nurture ghosts and are rare conduits connecting the realms of yin and yang. Our cult reveres the existence of the Nine Nether underworld, and locust trees inherently align with our teachings.
"In my past life, I was well-versed in these mysteries and favored locust trees. Guhuai Town is full of them, so naturally, it caught my attention back then.
"Therefore, in my past life, I buried the treasure beneath a locust tree, layering it with heavy seals. Further shrouded by the yin qi of the ancient locusts, it cannot be detected through divine sense, karma, the Heavenly Eye, or similar methods. It can only be found with the naked mortal eyes of the living world."
Young Master Qin spoke with consummate composure, as though reminiscing over the myriad experiences of his previous incarnation.
In truth, he had no idea where Cult Master Qin had hidden the treasure either. However, backing him was a high-ranking executive of the Nine Nether Cult who was proficient in the Dao of Karma, who had paid a steep price to divine a rough clue regarding Cult Master Qin's treasure:
[Locust tree]
That was the result the high-ranking cult figure had calculated.
With this clue in hand, he only needed to search Guhuai Town methodically for a time, and he would eventually find it.
Meanwhile, Lord Mi would be watching from the sidelines the entire time, serving as the best possible witness.
That way, his identity as the reincarnation of Cult Master Qin would be firmly cemented.
"Alas, the matter of reincarnation is far too complex and entails far too much. Even though I reincarnated successfully, I still cannot fathom all the mysteries of the cycle of rebirth. Right now, I have only unlocked a fragment of my past-life memories, and I cannot recall the exact location of the treasure clearly." Young Master Qin shook his head, his tone tinged with the weight of ages and regret.
"In that case, I am heading to Guhuai Town tomorrow morning to collect the gathered yang qi. Would Young Master Qin care to accompany me?"
"Splendid."
...
Early the next morning, Lord Mi brought Young Master Qin before the dilapidated temple outside Guhuai Town.
Young Master Qin instinctively frowned, looking upon the rundown temple with distaste. "Right here?"
Lord Mi smiled. "Young Master Qin, do not underestimate this place. It supplies a substantial amount of yang qi each month. Guhuai Town alone rivals what seven or eight ordinary towns gather, sometimes even more."
"Now that is intriguing. Pray tell."
"There are three female ghosts here. Having forgotten their past lives and their true names, they gave themselves nicknames: Xiao Wu, Xiao Liu, and Xiao Qi. Among them, Xiao Qi is the youngest and most clever, possessing the highest cultivation talent of the three sisters at late Foundation Establishment, while her two elder sisters are at middle Foundation Establishment."
Young Master Qin was somewhat surprised. Ordinarily, a tiny place like Guhuai Town was not enough to nurture a ghost of late Foundation Establishment. It could only be said that this female ghost named Xiao Qi was truly capable.
"Xiao Wu, Xiao Liu, Xiao Qi, come out!" Lord Mi commanded.
The three female ghosts drifted out from the temple, timidly calling, "Lord Mi," their voices stirring an itch in the listener's heart.
In their hands, each held a mutton-fat jade bottle containing the yang qi they had gathered over the past month.
Young Master Qin's spirits lifted. He had seen plenty of passably attractive female cultivators and female ghosts, but never any quite like these three—especially Xiao Qi.
Seeing Young Master Qin, Xiao Qi and the others were astonished. Lord Mi had always appeared alone; why had he brought someone along today?
Young Master Qin was certainly not part of the plan.
"Lord Mi, could you lend these three female ghosts to me? Having wandered Guhuai Town for so long, they would be of immense help in my search for the treasure." Young Master Qin harbored selfish designs.
"Rest assured, Lord Mi. I know they are your cash cows. I merely wish to borrow them for a time, and I shall return them once the treasure is found. What do you say?"
Lord Mi hesitated. If asked whether he was willing, he certainly was not. But the youth was suspected to be Cult Master Qin's reincarnation; offending him would surely invite petty retribution in the future.
He gritted his teeth. It was not worth crossing the reincarnation of Cult Master Qin over three female ghosts. "Very well, then I shall lend them to Young Master Qin."
Lord Mi formed a hand seal, preparing to transfer the soul restrictions to Young Master Qin. Suddenly, his expression shifted drastically. Grabbing the dazed Young Master Qin, he beat a frantic retreat.
Three streaks of sword qi descended from the sky, stabbing directly into the ground where Lord Mi had stood moments before.
The sword qi was razor-sharp, parting the soil as easily as slicing tofu. Plunging into the earth, the strikes drove countless meters deep before finally fading away.
Lord Mi stared in lingering horror. Those three streaks of sword qi had been aimed straight for his vitals. Had it not been for his peculiar cultivation method, which allowed him to evade risk to a certain degree, those strikes would have forced him to expend a life-saving treasure to withstand them.
And that was a life-saving treasure he had traded his entire fortune and life to acquire.
Clap, clap, clap—
A languid round of applause drifted out from behind the three female ghosts, reminiscent of a cynical young dandy.
"Fine skills you have, Lord Mi. I thought that even if these three strikes failed to kill you, they would at least cause you some trouble. Who knew your reflexes were so nimble that you dodged all three in advance?"
As the dust cleared, four youthful figures emerged: three young men and one young woman. Vibrant and brimming with vigor, every one of them was a dragon or phoenix among mortals. Compared to them, even Young Master Qin, the supposed reincarnation of the cult master, seemed completely overshadowed.
"Who are you?!" Lord Mi stood as if facing a mortal enemy. Since they knew his identity, they had clearly come prepared and were not afraid of his Nascent Soul stage cultivation.
Most importantly, among the four, two were at late Foundation Establishment and two were at early Golden Core stage. That sword qi had to have come from one of the early Golden Core cultivators.
Yet how could sword qi from an early Golden Core cultivator possibly pose a threat to him?
What kind of geniuses were these?
Not even super-first-rate sects could produce such talents; only the Five Great Immortal Sects could cultivate peerless prodigies of this caliber.
Or were they candidates for Tribulation Transcendence deliberately groomed by the Great Xia Dynasty?
Whichever possibility it was, the situation was dire.
"The Five Great Immortal Sects? The imperial court?"
Lord Mi braced himself, prepared to flee the instant anything went awry.
The one who had just applauded was clearly the leader of the four. As though oblivious to Lord Mi's vigilance and hostility, he bantered casually with him: "Lord Mi of the Nine Nether Cult, is it?"
The young man cleaned his fingernails, saying without even looking up, "My name is Lu Yiyang."
Lu Yang snapped his head up, his gaze blazing like twin sharpened swords, startling Lord Mi so intensely that he did not dare look him in the eyes.
Lord Mi blinked instinctively, but when he looked again, there was nothing unusual, as if he had just experienced an illusion.
"Lord Mi lacks worldly experience, so you probably haven't heard of us."
Lu Yang chuckled softly. "What are the Five Great Immortal Sects? What is the Great Xia Dynasty? We are all geniuses from ancient times who sought to attain immortality. Alas, back then, Immortal Ying Tian and his ilk grew jealous of our brilliance; they erected barriers and sealed off the road to immortality. Left with no alternative, we had no choice but to slumber, choosing to awaken on the eve of the impending Golden Age to contend for that immortal Dao fruit and restore the glory of our Heavenly Court."
Chapter 302