Chapter Twenty-Two: Toying

When Zhou Xuanhong returned to the mouth of the Wind Cave with the old Black Ghost Daoist, the three Foundation Establishment disciples of the Fierce Ghost Sect and the trio of Yi Xia all cast questioning glances their way, though the latter group’s eyes were more haunted by dread of the unknown.

A disciple in black robes cupped his hands in salute to the old Daoist. “Elder, how should we deal with these four?”

The old Daoist waved dismissively. “Don’t ask too many questions. Notify the other disciples—we must prepare to leave this place.”

Under the old Daoist’s icy gaze, the three disciples dared not argue and slipped into the depths of the Wind Cave. They could tell that the Grand Elder and this mysterious core disciple had struck some kind of accord.

Once the three disciples departed, Yi Xia suddenly kowtowed to Zhou Xuanhong. “Brother Zhou, please save us! We are your fellow disciples—on this mission, we accompanied you, and if not for protecting you, we would never have ended up in such peril!”

But Zhou Xuanhong was unmoved. He studied the grand formation that trapped Yi Xia and his companions, curiosity evident in his gaze. “So this is a fourth-grade formation—is the old Black Ghost Daoist a master of arrays?”

The old Daoist shook his head. “Not so. This is our sect’s Mountain-Guarding Array, a fourth-grade formation plate, flexible and responsive to the master’s will. In the last great battle, our Supreme Elder foresaw the coming storm and handed the formation to me, leaving most of our sect to fight to the death. Restoring the Fierce Ghost Sect’s former glory is my solemn duty. I hope you will lend your efforts to this cause.”

Zhou Xuanhong was incredulous. “Enough. The Fierce Ghost Sect is a demonic cult—what real sense of belonging could you possibly have? You founded your sect for profit, not loyalty. I heard that on the day of the battle, your disciples either surrendered or fled, with precious few fighting to the end. Even your Supreme Elder was said to be among those who escaped.”

The old Daoist coughed. “You are shrewd, and that is enough. As a Nascent Soul cultivator, I have thousands of years ahead—why throw them away here? Since there are no outsiders, I’ll be frank: if my soul lantern weren’t in the Supreme Elder’s hands, I would have fled long ago.”

Zhou Xuanhong laughed. “I didn’t expect the old Black Ghost Daoist to be so forthright. It’s changed my view of ghost cultivators.”

The old Daoist produced a memory stone and smiled sinisterly. “Young friend, frankness is reserved for solitude. Now, isn’t it time for you to fulfill your promise?”

Yi Xia saw the danger and knew their fates had long been decided. Nonetheless, he crawled to the formation barrier, trembling. “Elder... Elder, I know the Fierce Ghost Sect is short-handed now. I’m about to break through to Foundation Establishment. Please, give me a chance to serve the sect faithfully.”

The old Daoist remained silent, turning to Zhou Xuanhong. “You seem to have just broken through to Foundation Establishment yourself. Should I seal their cultivation?”

Zhou Xuanhong shook his head and strode into the formation. Without a word, he kicked the kneeling Yi Xia in the face, then unleashed his spirit sword, stabbing directly at Yi Xia’s brow.

Yi Xia cried out in terror. “You’ve entered Foundation Establishment—how is this possible!”

But Yi Xia was a seasoned fighter, and scrambled to his feet, flinging talismans from his storage pouch that formed layer upon layer of protective shields, and summoned defensive treasures to block his front.

Crunch!

Under Zhou Xuanhong’s powerful soul control, the spirit sword shattered layer after layer of Yi Xia’s shields. Within dozens of meters, the flying sword’s reach was absolute and its attacks increasingly swift.

Meanwhile, Zhou Xuanhong did not neglect Lü Shi and Shi Xiu, summoning two more spirit swords. Facing three adversaries at once, he stood unmoving, as if it cost him no effort.

The old Daoist narrowed his eyes, thinking: This youth’s cultivation talent is ordinary, but his intelligence is astounding, his soul gifted, and his heart unyielding. In the future, he will certainly carve out a place in the Nameless Region.

Yi Xia and his companions huddled together under the onslaught of the three flying swords. Yi Xia roared at Zhou Xuanhong, “Zhou Xuanhong, how dare you slaughter your fellow disciples!”

Lü Shi cut him off. “Stop shouting—haven’t you figured it out yet? He’s going to kill us to silence us. We didn’t have good intentions ourselves. The cycle of karma never fails! My hands are stained with blood; today, my butcher’s life ends at last.”

Shi Xiu glanced at Lü Shi’s relieved expression and cursed him as a madman, then adopted a pitiful demeanor, calling out coyly to Zhou Xuanhong. “Xuanhong, let me go, please. If you spare me, I’ll be your slave girl from now on—you can do whatever you wish.”

Zhou Xuanhong smiled. Even at death’s door, the three were not united. He spoke, “I don’t truly wish to drive you to despair. Eat the pills I gave you—there’s poison inside, but it won’t act immediately. If you become my dogs, you’ll at least stay alive, won’t you?”

The three produced the pills he had given them the night before. After much hesitation, they glanced at the terrifying old Daoist and knew that refusal meant certain death.

“Very well. It’s an honor to be the master’s dog!” Yi Xia, stripped of dignity, knelt and swallowed all the pills, abandoning any defense.

Shi Xiu followed, crawling to Zhou Xuanhong’s feet and kissing his shoe.

Lü Shi hesitated. He knew the ways of demonic sects—if he died here, his soul would suffer unspeakable torment. He swallowed the pills as well.

“Greetings, master!”

The old Daoist frowned. “Young friend, this isn’t what we agreed. You didn’t kill them.”

Zhou Xuanhong did not look back. He patted Shi Xiu’s cheek, smiling. “Good girl. Now, your master commands you to die.”

At his words, the three’s eyes widened, agony tearing through their hearts. They stared at Zhou Xuanhong, hatred burning in their gaze.

“Zhou Xuanhong, even as a ghost, I won’t—”

Life fled before the curse could finish.

Zhou Xuanhong laughed. “I want you to be ghosts!”

The old Daoist now understood Zhou Xuanhong’s purpose. He flew into the formation, inspected the intact corpses, and gave Zhou Xuanhong a thumbs-up. “Young friend, every move you make is a trap. First, you destabilized their spiritual power with your sword attacks. Then, you exploited their will to survive to make them swallow pills containing strange insects. Now, you have three bodies with not a mark upon them. The rest is up to me.”

“Soul, come forth!”

With a sweeping gesture, the old Daoist drew three pale souls from the corpses. Lü Shi’s soul was tinged with black, stronger than Yi Xia and Shi Xiu’s.

“This one has killed many; the murderous energy has taken hold. If his hatred for you grows, he might become a formidable vengeful spirit.”

Black mist coiled and wrapped the three bewildered souls. The old Daoist refined them in an instant, turning them into puppets he could manipulate.

“Go!”

At his command, the three dusky soul puppets entered their bodies. After wiping the blood from their faces, they stood upright, eyes vacant and exuding a faint aura of malice.

“Your soul is strong enough. You can control these three soul puppets yourself.”

Zhou Xuanhong sent his divine sense into the puppets, dividing his mind three ways to control them. The sensation was strange, as if their bodies were his own—lacking only the sense of touch, but otherwise uncannily real.

The old Daoist asked, “How do you plan to fool the elders of the Formative Sect? Their eyes are sharp—if they discover our plot, you’ll be crushed to pulp.”

Zhou Xuanhong replied confidently, “They won’t suspect me. They’ll only increase their pursuit of you. You need only be hunted by the two Supreme Elders of the Formative Sect.”

The old Daoist laughed coldly. “Those two have an agreement with our Supreme Elder: they cannot personally hunt the Fierce Ghost Sect, or our Supreme Elder will forsake the Nascent Soul cultivator’s limits and massacre their outer disciples. Do not underestimate the power of any Nascent Soul. As long as our Supreme Elder lives, those two won’t dare act.”

Zhou Xuanhong nodded. “I thought as much. Otherwise, you’d never dare hide so close to the Formative Sect. For my safety, you’ll need to do a few things, or else I’ll be suspected.”

“What things?”

Zhou Xuanhong tossed a jade slip to the old Daoist. “I know there are other Fierce Ghost elders here besides you. I don’t trust them.”

The old Daoist scanned the contents, startled at first, then laughed. “Young friend, you are indeed cautious.”

“Better safe than sorry. I don’t want to be branded a traitor by the Formative Sect.”

The old Daoist reduced the jade slip to dust, casually pinched Shi Xiu’s cheek, and a tiny bloodthirsty insect flew into his black mist as if by accident.

“Take these three soul puppets with you. I’ll instruct my disciples on what to do.”

Zhou Xuanhong smiled, cupped his hands in farewell, and—after the old Daoist’s permission—left the grand formation with his four companions. He reached the outskirts of the forest, produced a memory stone, activated it, and, as before, applied an invisibility talisman and quietly approached Lingbei Village.

This time was different, though; the late-stage Qi practitioner of the Fierce Ghost Sect who had been tailing him was discovered, and Zhou Xuanhong informed Yi Xia and his companions. Soon, the three Foundation Establishment disciples burst from the Wind Cave, calling for blood and summoning fierce ghosts to attack the four.

The three disciples pursued them like cats playing with mice. After a certain distance, Zhou Xuanhong used a one-time treasure from Xuan Qizi to stall them, then revealed his Foundation Establishment cultivation and escaped.

Inside the Wind Cave, the formation concealed itself. The old Daoist returned to his chambers, where three other black mists awaited.

“Black Ghost, are you sure you want to trust that boy?”

The old Daoist grinned wickedly. “Of course not. You three take the disciples and seek refuge with the Corpse Sect. I’ll remain alone. If the boy spoke truth, all is well. If he deceived me, I’ve left a double soul imprint on him—wherever he goes, I’ll make him taste the agony of soul extraction!”

The three mists soon departed, leaving the old Daoist alone. He opened his palm, where a tiny bloodthirsty insect lay motionless.

“If you can truly lift the restrictions of the soul lantern, I will protect you without hesitation.”