Chapter 76: Four Ghosts (Part 5)

Xu Qianyu looked up and said, “You mentioned earlier that you had a way to leave this place, so hurry up and use it.”
Xie Yuzhen trapped her against the wall, lowered his head to look at her, and chuckled softly, “Be quiet; don’t attract him again.”
The cat let out a more mournful wail.
Xu Qianyu remarked, “I don’t know if it’s me attracting it or if you are.”
Xie Yuzhen didn’t expect him to lower himself to protect the lady, and she ended up saying something so heartless. She snorted coldly and didn’t reply.
Xu Qianyu continued, “If we drag this out any longer, what will happen when the spiritual energy runs out?”

In the darkness, Xie Yuzhen quietly sniffed the aura around her, his tone playful: “If the spiritual energy runs out, I’ll just eat you.”
A somewhat childish smile appeared on his handsome face, carrying a hint of mischief.
Unexpectedly, before he finished speaking, he was struck hard by a whip.
Due to the confined space, the whip was half-folded by Xu Qianyu, striking from his right shoulder to his lower left abdomen with a crisp crack. Xie Yuzhen was completely unprepared and fell back. The whip pierced through flesh and bone, hitting his soul, causing unbearable pain. Blood surged in his chest, and he gritted his teeth, trembling all over.

Once he regained his senses and was about to get up, Xu Qianyu unleashed the full whip again, striking him down once more.
Xie Yuzhen looked up in disbelief, his view obscured by a shadow over Zhao Mingtang’s cold, sharp face. Her eyes were upturned, with her eye corners and mouth corners forming sharp angles, like finely cut blades.
When she was tense, it reminded him of the day Zhao Mingtang, dressed in red, created a scene at a wedding, the red conveying a dangerous chill, like blood spreading.
What surprised him even more was that Xu Qianyu was pressed against the wall, watching him with great caution, looking like a cat with its fur bristling in alarm.
Xu Qianyu was afraid of him.

Every time he saw her, he would gain new wounds, which made the Demon King very irritated. But seeing her fear was somehow more discomforting than witnessing her provocations.
“You’re afraid of me?” Xie Yuzhen coldly wiped the blood from the corner of his lips, his tone somewhat despondent. “I was just joking, and you’ve hurt me like this. Are you like this with others as well?”

How did Xu Qianyu know whether he was joking? He only knew that he could indeed do such things. In his previous life, he almost devoured her. Therefore, he gave her two lashes first: “Because I hate you, I treat you like this.”
“You hate me.” Xie Yuzhen nodded, finally admitting it. But feeling reluctant in her heart, her tone was somewhat heavy, and she looked at him with a piercing gaze from her dark eyes. “Miss, I am not only Xue Ling and Xiao Yi; I am also the person you think I am. Which one do you hate?”
“Xie Yuzhen,” Xu Qianyu said, “I hate them all.”
But he didn’t expect Xue Ling to be him as well, which made him feel unlucky after being struck by one lash.
Hearing him call her name, Xie Yuzhen smiled and asked, “Why do you hate Xie Yuzhen?”
“I had a dream,” Xu Qianyu said. “In the dream, you wronged me, so I have enmity with you.”
Xie Yuzhen hesitated, feeling somewhat wronged; she never expected such an answer. Yet she spoke each word clearly and seriously.

The blood of the demon lord flowed onto the ground, staining the ghostly infant, which suddenly went mad and pounced on Xie Yuzhen, seizing her throat and growing several times larger, letting out a shrill cry like a fierce beast.
Seeing Xie Yuzhen struggling with the invisible cat-like ghost infant, unable to make a sound, Xu Qianyu took a frightened step back, thinking that indeed, it was Xie Yuzhen who attracted it. But why did this ghost want to kill him?
Xie Yuzhen’s veins bulged, her face twisted with rage, and she struggled to reach for her neck, intending to take off the soul-binding lock to unleash the power of the demon lord, when she suddenly felt a shock.
A spiritual sword slashed down from the air, and the ghost infant let out a mournful cry as it was split in two.

As the shackles around his neck loosened, fresh air rushed in, and when he opened his eyes, he saw a red shadow holding a sword.
The underground palace was windless, but the sword created wind. Xu Qianyu held a whip in his left hand and a light blue spiritual sword in his right, his robe and ribbons billowing in the breeze, while the stray hairs on his forehead and the red ribbons entwined in his hair swayed gracefully in the air, exuding an indescribable elegance. It added a sense of determination and composure to the arrogance he had displayed toward the Shui Family.
It was like the wind could not be restrained.

Seeing her spiritual sword dim and disappear completely, a complex and hard-to-describe emotion surged within Xie Yuzhen. She stood up and said, “You have a grudge against me; why not let it kill me? Are you all cultivators this righteous in repaying kindness with kindness?”
“I see now.” He guessed the reason, a mocking smile appearing on his lips. “You saved me to protect Guo Yi. It can’t possibly be for me, right?”
Thinking of this, jealousy ignited within him, and he almost wanted to kill Guo Yi but restrained himself.
In fact, Xu Qianyu was doing it for both Guo Yi’s body and Xie Yuzhen’s soul. After all, he still had Wuzhen’s soul within him; he couldn’t just die easily.
However, she didn’t want to talk to Xie Yuzhen, so she let him talk to himself.
Xu Qianyu pinched a paper figure in his hand, seemingly deep in thought, and suddenly dipped it into the crow pot to soak it before setting it alight.
Xie Yuzhen’s expression changed: “Zhao Mingtang, don’t burn it!”
If it were like last time and he possessed her, he wouldn’t be able to exorcise the ghost. If the ghost infant used the lady’s body to kill him, should he take action or not?
He was just asking for trouble.

Xu Qianyu ignored her, throwing the distorted, melted paper figure into the crow pot until it turned to ashes, his gaze reflecting the bright flames.
Firstly, she had observed the ghost-exorcism process twice and had learned the general idea; she couldn’t keep relying on others to save her every time. This ghost infant had drained her spiritual sword, and she didn’t want to get entangled again; she wanted to kill it herself.
Secondly, Shen Suwei was arriving soon, and if she really got into trouble, her senior brother could save her.

Xu Qianyu first stuffed a Qingxin Pill into his mouth, gathering his spirit to prepare.
Soon, the pot trembled, and muffled screams erupted, while the underground palace quickly filled with a howling cold wind. A cold little hand pressed against the back of her neck, and then cold air rushed in, saturating her, making her limbs feel heavy as if filled with lead.
Xu Qianyu crushed and swallowed the Qingxin Pill, raising his stiff arm to suddenly stick a purification talisman to his forehead.
She saw Xie Yuzhen’s eyes illuminated by the golden symbols, turning a light amber color, sparkling with surprise.

*
Meanwhile, at the Penglai Immortal Sect, the elders had been watching the battle for ten days in front of the painting formation. Five groups of disciples had completed their tasks, and these five victors were each chosen by four elders to join their sect. Three groups were still ongoing.
Everyone felt a bit fatigued, but only Hua Qingyu watched intently, tapping the table and asking, “Why haven’t we seen her for so long?”
“Who?” Lin Jin asked.
“The little waste who entered the sect at fourteen.”
Lin Jin internally sighed; she still held a grudge against Xu Qianyu. Before the sect leader entered seclusion, he had specifically instructed him to hide the footage of Xu Qianyu’s group, and now Hua Qingyu brought it up publicly, forcing him to change the subject.
Hua Qingyu sneered, “How many points did she get? Why hide it? Let everyone see.”
First, the scoring for the formation appeared.

Hua Qingyu suddenly sat up straight, startled. Among the eight groups of disciples, the highest score was only a few hundred. Xu Qianyu was the only one with over a thousand points.
“One thousand points!” the crowd buzzed.
“Xu Qianyu? I’ve never heard of her before.”
“She really entered the sect at fourteen. Didn’t she have a foundation beforehand?”
Beside them, Xiao Changqing frowned; Lu You, the Holy Maiden of the Teal Basket, had just barely over three hundred points. This Xu Qianyu had clearly entered the sect at fourteen, and logically speaking, she should be no different from a waste. How could she score so much? Was she cheating?
It was frustrating that she overshadowed Lu You.

Hua Qingyu was still in shock and hadn’t spoken when other elders said, “According to regulations, the difficulty for each group is equal, so there shouldn’t be such a significant discrepancy in scores. This disciple’s score should be thoroughly investigated.”
“Exactly, it’s unreasonable.”
Xiao Changqing also said, “Our sect is upright; we cannot condone cheating.”

Lin Jin replied, “That’s not quite right. This little girl, Qianyu, entered the sect late, but she is very diligent; she is well-known in the sword training arena. Even if she scored so many points, it can’t be said that she cheated.”
Xiao Changqing snorted, stroking his beard in silence.
At this moment, the golden scores dissipated, revealing Xu Qianyu’s image in the flower mirror, causing an uproar among the crowd: “Ah, she’s actually a Yin body!”

In the midst of the discussion, Hua Qingyu sneered coldly, “What’s wrong with a yin body? Haven’t you seen one before? Is it necessary to make such a fuss?”
Lin Jin also waved his fan and said, “There are often those who have been frightened in childhood and lost their souls. Or some who have lighter fates and can see evil spirits. There are plenty of yin bodies in this world.”

Elder Wang interjected, “But spiritual energy is a manifestation of extreme yang, which contradicts evil spirits. It stands to reason that cultivators should not have Yin bodies.”
Elder Yi said, “Yin bodies can easily be possessed by filth. Even cultivators with righteous thoughts must guard against entering nightmares. If she’s like this, how can she enter the inner sect? It would be better to revoke her qualifications early.”
“Who dares?” Lin Jin was about to speak when Hua Qingyu slammed the table and scolded, “What’s wrong with a yin body? Aren’t they still humans? Who decided that a yin body cannot enter the inner sect?”
Hua Qingyu had a peculiar temperament. The two others were stumped and unable to respond, muttering, “We’re talking about disciples, not you. Elder Hua, please don’t be too emotional.”

Having entered the Tao as a demon, Hua Qingyu had endured countless disdainful glances along her path. She understood the weight of prejudice against those who were different from the norm. Seeing such bias in action reminded her of her own suffering. She crossed her arms and said, “Well, since a yin body is said to have impure thoughts and cannot enter the inner sect, then I, being a demon, am even more inscrutable in my thoughts. I guess I’m also unqualified to be an elder in Penglai. You might as well just disperse me with a talisman.”
The crowd hurriedly tried to calm her down.

“Elder Hua is right,” Lin Jin steered the conversation back, pointing at the spirit gathering array. “Look how bright her consciousness is. This shows she has diligently cultivated her internal skills; it’s rare and precious.”
The onlookers turned to the spirit gathering array, and suddenly they were alarmed, with someone drawing their sword, and the room was filled with a sense of battle: “But what is she doing?”
Xu Qianyu was submerged in the spiritual pool.

The ghost infant was pushed down from the soul position by the talisman paper, trapped inside the ice shell. It lay on the ground, sullenly confronting Xu Qianyu’s consciousness.
Now she could see its appearance. The ghost infant was about the size of a kitten, with all four limbs on the ground, surrounded by a swirling black mist. Its eyes had only whites, which looked quite terrifying at first glance.
Xu Qianyu’s consciousness charged toward it fiercely.
Her awareness was bright and scorching. Before she even got close, the ghost infant let out a piercing scream, and the black mist fled wildly around her spiritual pool.
Xu Qianyu felt a chill enveloping her; her body stiffened, realizing that the talisman on her forehead was about to fall off. She quickly applied another talisman to herself and then threw the remaining talismans to Xie Yuzhen with great difficulty.

Xie Yuzhen reached out to catch them, seeing her trembling body and pupils fluctuating in size, understanding her intent.
If she showed any signs of distress, he would place a talisman on her forehead to restrain the ghost inside her.
But how could she be so bold, daring to feed the ghost with her own body to kill it?
Xu Qianyu’s consciousness chased around for two rounds and finally caught that ghost infant, akin to a cat pouncing on a mouse.

Though her awareness wasn’t as powerful as her senior brother’s divine sense, she could still burn a hole in the black mist. It struggled violently.
After a moment, the creature gradually shrank, and the black mist enveloping it was completely burned away, leaving only a palm-sized shadow of an infant. It was nearly transparent, arms outstretched, gasping for breath, and crying weakly.
Xu Qianyu’s consciousness stared at it for a while, feeling a pang in her heart, as if she were seeing her younger self. The light orb slowly approached and touched it.
This time, the ghost infant did not struggle. It stopped crying and gently wrapped its arms around the warm light orb, which then enveloped it entirely, and its shadow vanished.
However, to the elders observing in the spirit gathering array, it appeared as if Xu Qianyu had swallowed a ghost whole!

They had just mentioned that Yin bodies could easily be influenced by evil spirits, yet she performed such a shocking act. From the cultivators’ perspective, this should be stopped immediately.
Some attempted to extend their divine sense into the spirit gathering array to disrupt everything and shake the ghost out.
But Hua Qingyu blocked them, saying, “Don’t disturb her.”
Some voiced their dissatisfaction, saying, “Elder Hua really favors this kind of sinister thing. If something happens, will you take responsibility?”
“Who is being rude to Elder Hua?” came a voice as someone entered.
“Master?” Everyone turned in unison. Xu Binglai, with his frost-white hair trailing to the hem of his robe, had a deepening sword mark on his forehead that had turned silvery white. His narrow golden eyes were devoid of desire or emotion, exuding an immortal aura.

Hua Qingyu snorted lightly.
He brought a cold and stern pressure to the entire room. Xu Binglai, having been struck by divine thunder, had reached the threshold of the divine transformation realm, leaving the elders speechless.

Elder Yi still spoke, “Master, if we don’t intervene, if Xu Qianyu ends up birthing a ghost fetus and entering a nightmare, then it will be filth!”
Xu Binglai looked coldly at the spirit gathering array and said, “Let’s wait and see.”
Everyone held their breath and watched. After a while, Xu Qianyu’s consciousness floated, not only failing to extinguish but instead growing brighter.
Suddenly, a few small spikes protruded from it, as if it had sprouted hands and feet, like a little turtle, using all four limbs to burrow back into the ice shell.
In the ensuing silence, Hua Qingyu suddenly burst into breathless laughter.
Hua Qingyu turned her skull to admire the astonished or envious faces of the others, feeling for the first time that Xu Qianyu was quite agreeable because of her defiance.
“With her constitution, it’s not surprising to have such results,” Hua Qingyu said. “Though she is a Yin body, she possesses a pure yang consciousness. Anything that touches her consciousness will be absorbed by her.”
“The last person like this was my senior sister, Hua Liangyu, during the Great Chaos. She was famously irresistible throughout the Kyushu; everyone wanted to give her their cultivation. In the future, she won’t need to form a golden core and can head straight for the Yuanying (Nascent Soul). Did you see her consciousness? Now she has hands and feet.”

“How many of you have spent half your lives just to form a core, yet still dare to point fingers and label others as filth?”
“Crossing over to the golden core?” Although controlled, many faces twisted with jealousy, forcing them to drink a few gulps of cold tea to regain their composure.
Xu Binglai also let out a breath, inwardly cursing; that girl Xu Qianyu always stirs up trouble, making people anxious.

He thought again, looking so lively and jumping around, yet she was still incomplete in soul. Even his weakest daughter, Xu Qianqian, had a complete soul, yet Xu Qianyu was a Yin body.

Could it be that the Shui family didn’t raise her well, causing her to suffer from a shock in her childhood?
As these chaotic thoughts crossed his mind, a trace of indescribable emotions swept through him for the first time.
However, as long as she entered the inner door and received careful training and education, this minor flaw wouldn’t be a big deal. Having such a special constitution was an unexpected bonus. Listening to the praises from those around him, Xu Binglai smiled slightly and calmly sipped his tea.
In the next moment, however, he could no longer smile. The Hua Qingyu pointed at Xu Qianyu and loudly declared, “I want her.”
Lin Jin couldn’t help but laugh, glancing at Xu Binglai’s expression before hurriedly covering his mouth.
“What did you say?” Xu Binglai exclaimed in surprise.

“Master, I said I want to take her as my disciple,” Hua Qingyu replied. “According to the sect rules, the winners of each group are given priority for selection by elders who have not taken disciples. Do you remember?”
Indeed, Penglai had such a rule to ensure elders could choose excellent disciples and prevent the master from monopolizing them.
Xu Binglai felt a bit suffocated: “No, you have a grudge against her.”
“There are some grudges,” Hua Qingyu disregarded him. “However, I have always been one to repay grievances with vengeance. After I teach her a lesson, I will properly educate her and help her soon step into the Yuanying True Monarch realm.”
“… I think that’s inappropriate.” Xu Binglai caught a glimpse of Elder Fang Zheng from the armory raising his hand and thought he was going to speak some fair words, so he said, “Fang Zheng, what do you think?”
Fang Zheng smiled foolishly, “Master, I also want her, Xu Xu Xu.”
“That’s really ridiculous,” Xu Binglai coldly interrupted with disbelief. “You want her? With your capabilities, can you handle her?”
Fang Zheng’s face turned completely red, leaving only an awkward smile.

It was precisely because he was too easygoing that he wanted a more formidable disciple. That way, when matters arose that required assertiveness, he could let his disciple take the lead.
Hua Qingyu said, “You’re an artifact refiner; she’s a sword cultivator. Don’t delay her.”
Fang Zheng stammered after a long pause, “Then you… you’re still a talisman cultivator.”
Xu Binglai heavily placed his teacup down, coldly saying, “Enough noise. I intend to take Xu Qianyu as my disciple.”
Both of them turned to look back. Hua Qingyu said, “Why? You already have three disciples; that’s quite a lot. Can you even teach them all?”
“To be honest,” Xu Binglai took a sip of tea to suppress his rising anger. “Xu Qianyu is my relative.”
Hua Qingyu: “You’ve cut off worldly ties for a hundred years; where do you have relatives from?”

…
Xu Qianyu was completely unaware of these debates.
After she embraced the ghost infant, the spiritual pool suddenly expanded by a circle, and the abundant spiritual energy circulated for a small cycle, making her feel as if she had slept for an entire day and night, her body light and her mind clear.
As she slowly opened her eyes, she saw that the formation had been broken, and the holy maiden was kneeling on the ground, supporting the injured Guo Yi.

“You all…”

When Xie Yuzhen saw her wake up, he gently withdrew from Lu You, “Zhao Mingtang, are you okay?”
Lu You was on the verge of collapse. It took her a lot of effort to find Xie Yuzhen and break the formation to rescue him, only to find him together with Zhao Mingtang. Why was he always entangled with Zhao Mingtang?
The holy maiden frowned and accused, “Is the injury on him… caused by you? How could you be so ruthless?”
Xu Qianyu removed the talisman paper from her head, brushed past her, and reached out to Xie Yuzhen, “Return the talisman paper to me; you can leave now.”