What Did the Sage Say Again?

The fox clan was wanton by nature, a trait reflected in their writing. They frequently penned illicit books; whenever someone did certain unspeakable things to these texts, the author could gather a wisp of yang energy. Consequently, most of the illicit books circulating on the markets of the Central Continent were authored by the fox clan. Even though the authorities heavily publicized their dangers and launched campaigns every few years to destroy such books, they still flowed through the black markets, defying every ban. In his youth, Meng Jingzhou had been quite obsessed with these books. Back then, he had no idea what those unspeakable things were—he simply found the stories captivating. In order to read the original editions, he had gone out of his way to learn the demon script. "You loved studying that much?" Lu Yang and Man Gu asked in astonishment. Cultivation enhanced memory, so learning a language did not take long. The problem was that Meng Jingzhou had learned demon script before he even began cultivating, which was truly extraordinary. Meng Jingzhou had no desire to explain the details, merely claiming he had a passing interest in demon culture. Man Gu thought that Brother Meng was truly worthy of the name—diligent in his studies yet never boasting, modest in conduct and noble in character, a role model worth emulating. "What's written on the tiger pelt?" "Let me see... 'Ghostly apparitions, walking by yin and avoiding yang...' This is a method for commanding ghost servants." Meng Jingzhou skimmed through it quickly, running a brief deduction in his mind, and soon grasped the manual's purpose. "The old hunter was probably refined using this method. "There are requirements for the ghosts you refine, too. The target must be two major realms below the cultivator. Mortals are an exception—once you reach the seventh layer of Qi Refinement, you can refine mortal souls." The technique for commanding ghost servants was practically useless. Only those two realms below oneself could be refined, and even if one did refine a ghost servant, could it really be sent onto the battlefield to kill enemies? Take the battle against the tiger demon just now: had ghost servants appeared, they wouldn't have even amounted to cannon fodder, posing no threat whatsoever. "Do you need me to translate the whole thing for you? It doesn't seem restricted by race, so humans can practice it too, though tiger demons get the best results." Man Gu was about to ask what the point of learning such a thing was, but Lu Yang reasoned, "We're infiltrating a demonic cult, so demonic methods will be indispensable. This technique for commanding ghost servants is perfect for keeping up appearances. There happen to be ready-made chang ghosts at the hunter's lodge. Translate the ghost servant technique from the pelt, and the three of us will learn it together." Lu Yang had originally planned to eliminate the remaining chang ghosts, but circumstances had changed. It would not be too late to disperse their souls after putting them to use. From what the tiger demon had said, those chang ghosts had willingly become its servants in death, driven as ghosts to harm travelers. Every last one deserved to die. "All right," Meng Jingzhou agreed immediately. He spread out paper, ground the ink, and with fluid strokes, quickly wrote down the technique for commanding ghost servants. "I won't be practicing it. I have a Pure Yang Spiritual Root, so ghosts melt away like snow before the sun when they see me. I can't practice techniques of such pure yin attribute." Lu Yang and Man Gu said no more and began cultivating side by side. Before long, a gust of yin wind stirred within the cave, accompanied by faint, eerie wails of ghosts that brought an endless chill, piercing straight to the bone and marrow. Lu Yang suddenly felt his body grow light. His feet left the ground, and he floated in the air like a specter. His mind felt clearer than ever before, his five senses exceptionally sharp, capable of perceiving the subtlest details in his surroundings. He also sensed Meng Jingzhou burning like a raging bonfire, scorching and intense! "Huh? What's going on?" Puzzled, Lu Yang looked down and saw his own body sitting cross-legged on the ground, safe and sound. "Wait, it's not that I can fly—my soul has projected out of my body!" Meng Jingzhou noticed something amiss with Lu Yang and cried out in alarm, "Only at the Nascent Soul stage can one achieve soul projection and wander ten thousand li! How are you projecting your soul right now? "Get back inside quickly! You're only in the Foundation Establishment stage and haven't cultivated your soul yet. Your soul can be easily damaged, and once it is, repairing it is nearly impossible!" Realizing the danger, Lu Yang circulated the mnemonic for commanding ghost servants, restoring his soul to normal. "How did you do that?" Meng Jingzhou had never heard of any Foundation Establishment cultivator daring to project their soul. No such spell even existed. Lu Yang was equally baffled. "I just cultivated according to the ghost servant commanding technique you wrote. I felt I understood it completely and that there were no issues, so I decided to run it to see what would happen—and this is what happened." Meng Jingzhou gave Lu Yang an eccentric look. "Could it be that you treated your own soul as a ghost servant and commanded yourself?" He had never heard of anyone cultivating like this, but given the present situation, it was the only possible explanation. Lu Yang pondered it, but could not come up with any other possibility. He had Meng Jingzhou step further away and tried several more times, but the result was the same every time: his soul projected outward. "What on earth is going on with my spell talent?" Left with no other choice, the two had to wait for Man Gu to wake up and see if his situation was the same as Lu Yang's. When Man Gu opened his eyes, he saw Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou looking at him with great anticipation, leaving him completely bewildered. "Did you master the ghost servant commanding technique?" "I gained some insight. I should be able to command eight mortal souls." "Can you command yourself to achieve soul projection?" Lu Yang looked at Man Gu expectantly, hoping for an affirmative answer to prove that his own cultivation hadn't gone astray. Man Gu grew even more puzzled. "How could that be possible? This is a technique for commanding ghost servants. Could anyone actually command their own soul like a ghost servant?" Meng Jingzhou glanced at Lu Yang and recounted Lu Yang's learning experience, filling Man Gu with boundless admiration. Brother Lu possessed a nimble mind and an unmatched talent for learning spells, while Brother Meng was brilliantly gifted and broadly learned. Man Gu had learned so much along this journey, just like the words spoken by the sage. What did the sage say again? Oh right. The sage said: When three walk together, all are my teachers. "Time to go find the chang ghosts." Seeing nothing else worth scavenging in the cave, Meng Jingzhou called for his companions to leave. "You two go on ahead. I have a small matter to take care of, then I'll catch up." Lu Yang asked Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu to step out first. Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu thought nothing of it and left the tiger's lair. Once he was sure they were gone, Lu Yang's smile faded, his expression settling into calm solemnity. He walked deep into the cave, looked at the small mountain of bones piled there, and let out a soft sigh. "As expected, they're here." When Lu Yang had spotted the various personal belongings earlier, he had reasoned that, given the tiger demon's cautious nature, it would never toss bones outside after eating people, as that would expose its presence too easily. The safer course was to keep the remains inside the cave. Reality confirmed his suspicion. These unfortunate mortals, who had come from various places and passed through Mount Song for various reasons only to be deceived and devoured, found their final resting place in this small, secluded cave. Lu Yang said nothing more. The Green Blade Sword cut through iron like clay, effortlessly shearing a large slab of stone from the cavern wall. He smoothed the stone slab, silently chanted the Rebirth Mantra, and erected a tombstone for these unfortunate souls. He stood in silence for a moment, lost in thought, before turning to leave. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's go." Lu Yang called to his two companions, ready to leave this unpleasant place.