Rivers and Mountains Cauldron Suppresses the Vicious Ghost

"Little girl, stop shouting!"

"I've sealed off a ten-zhang radius. Even if you shout your throat raw, no one will come."

The old Daoist waved his hand, conjured a chair, casually sat down, and crossed his legs as he sized up Chen Jinyu.

A twelve or thirteen-year-old girl, her posture quite upright. Judging from her hidden weapon techniques, she could easily crack open a man's skull.

Her appearance was ordinary, but she possessed a cold and resolute aura!

Chen Jinyu's brow furrowed, then suddenly relaxed, and she bowed respectfully, saying, "Chen Ya'er greets benefactor!"

"Lao Bai told you everything?"

The old Daoist was none other than Zhou Yi, who had come to visit Chen Ya'er as soon as he returned to Shenjing.

"Foster father told Jinyu that a benefactor would come to guide her in the Martial Path, so he didn't teach me internal energy."

Chen Jinyu replied, "But so many years have passed that I had almost forgotten. I couldn't recall it just now..."

"Well, you wouldn't understand. I wanted to leave you with a complete childhood."

Zhou Yi made up an excuse on the spot, certainly not because he had forgotten about it while refining treasures: "How have you been these years?"

"Safe and happy."

Chen Jinyu said, "My foster parents have cared for and taught me meticulously, treating Jinyu as their own daughter."

"That's good. Lao Bai is quite reliable in his work."

Zhou Yi suddenly didn't know what to say. The last time they met, she was just a melon-sized baby, and now she had grown into a person.

The two of them really didn't have any deep feelings. Zhou Yi wasn't the enthusiastic type either, so he remained silent for a long time before asking.

"Your hidden weapon techniques are quite ruthless. Lao Bai's skills tend to be handsome and unrestrained. Did someone else teach you?"

"This technique is called Life Severing Needles, and it was taught by Auntie Hua in the manor."

Chen Jinyu explained, "Rumor has it that Auntie Hua is some kind of saintess from the Jianghu. She betrayed her sect for foster father and married him five years ago. Benefactor, please don't misunderstand Auntie Hua. She treats Jinyu very well, and I begged her to teach me the hidden weapon techniques."

"..."

Zhou Yi's expression stiffened: "Lao Bai is an ungrateful bastard. He married the princess and still didn't forget his old flame!"

Chen Jinyu lowered her head, not daring to speak. The old Daoist before her was very similar to the legendary otherworldly experts and eccentric old monsters. It was said that such people were capricious and acted recklessly.

"I originally came to take a look at you. Since you're safe and happy, that fulfills my promise from back then."

Zhou Yi said, "Who knew that from what I saw during the day, you're not an easy-going girl. You're quite skilled in your words and actions..."

Chen Jinyu had a flash of insight and knelt on the ground, kowtowing.

"Please take me as your disciple, benefactor! After I've learned, I'll avenge my clan!"

Zhou Yi said, "Those defeated soldiers who massacred Chen Family Village have already been killed by me. Who are you going to take revenge on?"

"First, the person who led the troops. Second, the Fengyang royal family!"

Chen Jinyu gritted her teeth: "Jinyu has researched a lot of information and knows that Emperor Chongming was wary of Duke Who Pacifies the Nation, which led to the defeat at the Northern Frontier and caused the Chen clan to suffer a needless calamity."

"There's some truth to what you say."

Zhou Yi changed the subject: "Such revenge might kill many innocent people, especially since you're quite skilled!"

"Then let the innocent come to seek revenge on me!"

Chen Jinyu's voice was cold: "Jinyu is just a small woman who doesn't understand anything about the country or the world. I only know that if the father is not punished, the son can take revenge."

"Good!"

Zhou Yi clapped his hands in admiration: "I've seen someone who considered the big picture, and as a result, his whole family died, and he still couldn't stop the suffering."

Li Wu sacrificed himself for the stability of the dynasty, and Zhou Yi admired him greatly, but there was absolutely no way he would learn from or imitate him!

If Li Wu had hardened his heart and betrayed Emperor Chongming's kindness and cultivation, leading his army to seize the Fengyang Kingdom, the Northern Frontier wouldn't have been in chaos, and perhaps fewer people would have died.

Of course, that's hindsight!

Zhou Yi said, "When I saved you back then, I already used my magic power to test your aptitude. Today, I'll pass on a cultivation art to you."

"Thank you, mas..."

Chen Jinyu felt a vast power sealing her body, and she couldn't say the last word no matter what.

"I don't accept disciples."

Zhou Yi saved Chen Jinyu purely out of a protective instinct for human children, and it had nothing to do with despising the Fengyang royal family, lamenting the hardships of the world, or any other reason!

Don't force cause and effect, only then can you walk towards Longevity!

Therefore, there can be no master-disciple relationship.

"This cultivation art is called Origin Returning Art..."

Zhou Yi recited the Origin Returning Art once, and Chen Jinyu had already memorized it word for word.

Chen Jinyu bowed her head and kowtowed, saying, "I will forever remember the grace of passing on this art!"

Zhou Yi said, "Cultivate diligently before you turn twenty. I will protect you in Shenjing. After that, the cause and effect will be settled. Even if you die on the road to revenge, don't think about me coming to save you!"

Chen Jinyu bowed again, "Such immense grace, I dare not ask for more. If benefactor has need of anything in the future, I will not hesitate to die for it!"

Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow. "That sounds somewhat familiar..."

The voice was ethereal and indistinct. Chen Jinyu looked up, but there was no one in the room.

Just as she was about to stand up, a voice sounded in her ear again.

"Little girl, the plum blossoms in your courtyard are blooming vigorously. There are quite a few corpses buried under the trees. This kind of method suits my taste quite well, so I'll give you another pointer!"

"Go to Barren City, seek out General Zhou!"

Courtyard.

Ten years since he'd returned, the lock was already rusted.

Zhou Yi casually snapped the lock, pushed open the door, and found a skeleton lying in the courtyard.

Coarse linen clothes, slender bones, the attire was not that of a thief who climbed over walls, and there was no Martial Path training during her life.

"This is a commoner?"

Zhou Yi frowned slightly. Before leaving, he had deliberately removed the traps in the courtyard to avoid harming ordinary people.

The mechanisms and traps set up in the courtyard originated from a master of mechanisms in the Heavenly Prison. The blades and sword edges were smeared with highly toxic poison, and even ordinary Martial Path experts would die if they entered.

Commoners who become greedy upon seeing an empty house are guilty of theft, but it shouldn't be a capital offense.

Zhou Yi wrapped his palm in mana and turned the corpse over to examine it, but there were no wounds or traces of poison.

"Normally, after ten years of death, even if it's dried, it wouldn't be reduced to just bones!"

Zhou Yi suddenly revealed a sneer, took out a House-Protecting Talisman from his bosom, and cast it, the aura of warding off evil spirits swept through the courtyard.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

The yin wind howled, and a fierce ghost manifested out of thin air, squatting on the jujube tree branch, staring at Zhou Yi.

This fierce ghost was different from the ones he had seen before, hideous and terrifying, not resembling a human form. Seven or eight scarlet eyes were randomly growing on its face, and it opened its mouth to reveal jagged fangs.

Four arms grabbed the jujube tree branch, and its lower body was bulging like a spider's abdomen, with many strange human faces on it.

"Hiss hiss hiss!"

The fierce ghost's tongue was forked, and between its exhalations, it was like a poisonous snake spitting its tongue.

Zhou Yi sensed the fierce ghost's aura, which was not even as strong as the first level of Qi Refining, and immediately said proudly, "A mere wandering ghost dares to cause trouble, you deserve to be killed!"

The fierce ghost's anger surged upon hearing this, and it leaped from the tree to attack, its spider sac-like lower body spewing out a foul-smelling black mist.

Buzz!

A bronze cauldron appeared out of thin air, emitting a sound like morning bells and evening drums, shaking the fierce ghost's soul to the point of almost collapsing, followed by a head-on suppression.

Boom!

The loud noise traveled for miles, and the fierce ghost instantly turned into ashes.

Zhou Yi recalled the Rivers and Mountains Cauldron, looking at the soil in the courtyard, with piles of white bones buried underneath.

"In the future, if any more thieves come in, they must be cremated to prevent unrest in the house."