Old Ghost in the Contract

Late at night, in the southwestern corner of Tea Mountain, a troop of cavalrymen looked at the low hills with cold expressions.

They were precisely the extermination team sent out by the Zhang Family, numbering thirty-five in all, every single one of them a loyal retainer raised from childhood and meticulously trained by the Zhang Family.

Not only had they reached Second Stage Body Tempering, but they also had participated in many monster-slaying operations, possessing immense courage and rich experience.

On their persons they carried such items for subduing monsters and evil entities as cinnabar and realgar, and they had forged for themselves a body of blazing yang true qi that even weak evil specters dared not approach.

"Sir, there is demonic qi in the southwestern mulberry grove, but no horseshoe prints have been found."

"We dare not venture deep, lest we startle the snake in the grass."

Tea Mountain was not tall, merely a few hundred zhang, yet it occupied a radius of several dozen miles. Carrying two paper talismans, they searched for demonic qi from afar and near, finally converging here to deduce that the abomination had not gone far and was still within this ravine in the southwestern corner of Tea Mountain.

Hearing the report, Zhang Quan raised an eyebrow and said, "That abomination intentionally used spellcraft to make its horseshoes tread the waves in midair, and thus left behind no footprints."

"Only, I didn't expect it hadn't even gone far. Truly audacious! Daring to mock my Zhang Family as having no one?"

"Since the general location is determined, the rest can be left to Mr. Feng."

Zhang Quan ordered his subordinates to arrange an offering table, place a censer high upon it, light agarwood, and lead forth the three sacrificial victims of muntjac, deer, and roe.

He then walked to the front of the offering table, took out a strip of copper foil resembling a documentary contract, and presented it respectfully with both hands, placing it upon the altar.

"Pfft!" He bit the tip of his tongue and spurted out a mouthful of essence blood.

"I invite Mr. Feng to partake of the feast!"

The essence blood spilled upon the bronze contract, yet for a long time there was no movement...

Zhang Quan's face darkened, and he directly rolled up the bronze contract: "So be it!"

"Hey!" Suddenly, a stream of nether light escaped from the contract, and everyone present instantly felt a chill throughout their bodies, as if the temperature had plummeted abruptly.

They saw the agarwood burning at a speed visible to the naked eye; the curling blue smoke, which should have risen straight up, suddenly flickered and diffused into a ghostly figure.

That ghostly figure was hazy and indistinct, dressed in a green scholar's robe, wearing a scholar's scarf and a worn sword, attired like a man of letters, peerlessly handsome, and looking to be around thirty years of age.

"Spit out a bit more essence blood! Are you feeding mosquitoes with this little bit?" He wore a full of complaints expression, his voice no different from an ordinary person's, save that his speech carried an inherent chill that involuntarily made one's hair stand on end.

Zhang Quan bowed and said, "It is good that Sir has come out. Please enjoy the blood food first."

"It was already offered this month. When have you Zhang Family members ever been so good to me, adding yet another offering? Hehehe, you certainly harbor evil intentions!" Mr. Feng smiled faintly.

"Mr. Feng, my Zhang Family has not treated you poorly, offering sacrifices month after month without cease, with incense and faith never cut off..." Zhang Quan said.

Yet that Mr. Feng directly interrupted him: "Spare the nonsense! The incense and faith of you Zhang Family members are worth a fart!"

He looked around at this desolate wilderness and caught sight of the muntjac, deer, and roe. The ghost shadow immediately lunged over, and those three small deer were seen leaping about in panic, only to be held back by ropes, unable to break free.

Before long, smoke billowed from their mouths and noses, and they fell down withered, emaciated, and dry.

"You ask me to do work, and this is the only blood food?" Mr. Feng had not eaten his fill, and knowing the Zhang Family had business to ask of him, he opened his mouth wide.

Zhang Quan had long since prepared, and he ordered men to bring over many more livestock, subsequently bowing as he said, "Please enjoy yourself to the fullest, Mr. Feng. We only hope that afterward you will assist us in eliminating the monster to avenge Third Young Master's bloody grudge."

Mr. Feng sucked upon the vitality and essence soul of the cattle and sheep, gorging himself to his heart's content, and upon hearing these words he laughed, "Oh? So it's to eliminate a monster? Your Zhang Family still needs to find me to eliminate monsters? What? Is the Three Lights Divine Qi exhausted?"

In his heart, Zhang Quan could only sigh. If the iron token were still here, how would there be any need to beg this old ghost?

It was a pity Third Young Master didn't know what he had been up to; even possessing such a magical artifact, he had still been beaten to death by a monster, to the extent that the artifact was ruined as well.

"Old Ancestor's iron token has other uses, and today this monster is extraordinary, fearing it has Spiritual Sense Stage cultivation. We have no choice but to request Mr. Feng's assistance."

Hearing that it was the Spiritual Sense Stage, Mr. Feng's facial expression turned solemn: "Spiritual Sense Stage? Why didn't you let Zhang Tong return?"

Zhang Quan opened his mouth and said nothing more. It was simply because Zhang Tong was precisely the Zhang Family's Old Ancestor, a Calamity Tribulation Stage cultivator who could sense heavenly secrets, court good fortune and avoid calamity. If anyone intended him harm from ten thousand li away, he could generate karmic calamity in his heart and know it with crystal clarity.

A cultivator of this tier was already very difficult to perish, but as the Dao rose one foot, the demon rose ten. A few years ago, exploring Nine Dragon Mountain, he had actually perished at the hands of the Demonic Path.

And for some reason, the heavenly Dao seemed not to have warned him that this trip held a killing tribulation; otherwise, he would not have gone at all, and naturally would not have perished.

"Old Ancestor is in seclusion studying divine abilities and it is not suitable to disturb him." Zhang Quan casually found an excuse to stall.

Mr. Feng hummed and couldn't be bothered to care. Just as well, the Zhang Family had a request of him, and he could seize the opportunity to raise demands, so he said, "A Spiritual Sense Stage monster—I am no match for it. Go invite someone more brilliant!"

Zhang Quan hastily said, "Mr. Feng, do not be anxious. As for the matter of eliminating the monster, we martial artists will naturally strive our hardest, we only ask Mr. Feng to help neutralize the abomination's spellcraft, plus communicate with the spirits and sense the qi so as to prevent the abomination from escaping..."

Mr. Feng knew it would be like this; he was merely putting on airs deliberately.

Although he was only a Mystical Stage ghost cultivator, with the addition of a group of great-clan martial artists, he was not afraid of a Spiritual Sense Stage monster either.

"No, no, no! This humble one is merely a minor ghost, with lowly cultivation, and moreover trapped within this bronze contract. How many spells can I neutralize? If my essence soul is injured, how could this tiny bit of blood food make up for it? It's not worth it! Not worth it!" Mr. Feng refused repeatedly.

Zhang Quan said in a deep voice, "How could it be made up for?"

"At any rate, I'll need a few catties of jade marrow." Mr. Feng probed tentatively.

Zhang Quan stated flatly, "I am willing to offer up three human sacrifices for you to feed upon at will, and after the matter is accomplished there shall be three more!"

Hearing the words "human sacrifices," Mr. Feng's eyes widened. Ordinary livestock could only be considered blood food, guaranteeing he wouldn't starve to death, but they provided little benefit to his cultivation... Yet humans were different!

Their spirits and souls were complete, their breath and essence full, their heavenly cycle perfected, and they were favored by the heavenly Dao. They were the spiritual leaders of all living things, the ancestral nature of all phenomena! The wondrous fates of heavenly materials, the marvelous essences of earth treasures!

The Dao of harvesting and ingesting involved harvesting or consuming spiritual objects daily, and then practicing cultivation for half an hour to increase one's Dao cultivation by a single day.

The Zhang Family had locked him inside the bronze contract, offering blood food only once a month, which had long since caused his Dao cultivation to stagnate.

However, if it were heaven-defying materials or spiritual elixirs, he wouldn't need to ingest them day after day.

For example, a catty of jade marrow could offset half a year of cultivation. Thus, after eating it, although he would still need to increase his Dao cultivation day by day, at least for the next half year he wouldn't need to feed every single day; he could rush straight through seclusion in one breath, and his Dao cultivation would increase automatically.

Therefore, providing him with cultivation resources had always been a precedent the Zhang Family was unwilling to set! The primary reason was the fear that once he possessed a few years of Dao cultivation, he would break through to the Spiritual Sense Stage and break free of the bronze contract's constraints.

Never had he imagined that today, for the sake of eliminating a monster, they would finally loosen their mouths and actually agree to give him humans as blood food?

After Mr. Feng sucked the livestock dry, two cavalrymen were seen riding over, dragging three servants behind them with ropes.

They were all menial servants from Tea Mountain Fort, their hands bound behind their backs and their bodies covered in injuries. Pushed by the cavalry, they knelt upon the ground, their facial expressions tense and panicked.

They had already been coerced beforehand into shouting chaotic curses and reviling the heavenly Dao. Now dragged over and witnessing this array, how could they not know they were to be sacrificed alive? They burst into weeping and shouting one after another.

"Such grand treatment you've prepared for me." Mr. Feng smiled coldly.

Zhang Quan said indifferently, "What does Sir think?"

"Not much. I only want jade marrow." Mr. Feng didn't even look at those three servants.

Zhang Quan raised an eyebrow, feeling somewhat troubled. A catty of jade marrow was half a year, and three ordinary humans were also half a year.

However, jade marrow was precious, scarce, and exceptionally expensive. From the perspective of cost-effectiveness, humans were naturally cheaper.

He hadn't expected that after being locked away for so many years, this old ghost would still be picky.

"Very well. One catty of jade marrow, and after the matter is accomplished, there shall be another catty." Zhang Quan nodded and said.

"It seems this monster is truly formidable. Tell me the details!" Mr. Feng still did not rush to agree; since he could finally obtain resources, how could compromise come so easily?

Zhang Quan immediately said, "This monster has a superior foundation and an appearance of spiritual elegance. It was transformed from a clear spring on Mount Laoshan in Jiaodong, and excels in water-spirit spellcraft. Twenty years ago, it obtained orthodox mysterious-gate methods, studying the Shen Family's Jade Flower Scripture, and perhaps it even understands the method of generating wood through water. Her name is Shen Leling, and she goes by the title of the Water Nymph of Laoshan."

Mr. Feng raised an eyebrow and said, "The Water Nymph of Laoshan? This monster has a profound connection with me! I cannot harm her!"

Zhang Quan curled his lip, disbelieving his ghost words in the slightest!

It was simply because this Mr. Feng had been subdued by the Old Ancestor and placed into the bronze contract fifty years ago, and back then the Water Nymph of Laoshan probably hadn't even opened her spiritual apertures yet, remaining merely a pool of ordinary clear spring water. How could there be any connection?

Yet Mr. Feng wore a completely earnest expression as he said, "Do not disbelieve me! That Laoshan has been a famous mountain since ancient times, bordering the Eastern Sea, with tigers crouching and dragons coiling, which is why immortals from overseas frequently travel west and stop to rest at this mountain... When the First Emperor went on an eastern tour back then, he once wandered this mountain, setting up high altars to seek out Penglai Anqisheng."

"With such a famous mountain, how could I not have traveled through it when I was alive? I still remember that it was the height of summer..."

Zhang Quan interrupted him: "Two catties after the matter is accomplished!"

"Tsk!" Mr. Feng said solemnly, "I truly cannot harm her! Listen to me finish! That height of summer, I climbed Laoshan, gazing eastward at the vast sea. When my mouth was dry and my throat parched, suddenly a clear spring gushed forth from the rock crevices. After drinking deeply, I instantly felt my entire body refreshed and my fatigue completely dispelled, and I cried out: What sweet spring!"

Zhang Quan looked toward the mulberry grove of Tea Mountain, worried that by lingering too long the abomination would notice, and said, "Three catties!"

"Hey~" Mr. Feng waved his hand and said, "That sweet spring relieved my suffering from thirst, and on the spot I performed three prostrations, pointing to the spring water and saying: You, this sweet spring, certainly possess spiritual intelligence. If by next year you attain a monster form, I shall surely repay this!"

Zhang Quan took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Sir, do not be too greedy."

Mr. Feng wore an excited expression as he said, "Do you understand at all? That spring had a debt of gratitude toward me! How could I harm my benefactor?"

"I will give you a total of five catties of jade marrow. If you do not agree, Sir, please return!" Zhang Quan said coldly, and with that he made to roll up the bronze contract.

Seeing this, Mr. Feng immediately said with a look of heartache, "Alas, it is not that I refuse, I merely sigh... All things remain, but the people of the past are gone!"

"Back then, she was a gushing spring and I drank deeply, who knew today would bring a fight to the death... Can those five catties be given in advance?"

"I have only prepared two catties." Zhang Quan waved his hand, and someone stepped forward holding a box, inside of which lay several chunks of pure white, warm jade resembling ointment.

"Good, good, good!" Mr. Feng's ghost shadow drifted over, his hands stroking back and forth across the fine jade with an expression of enjoyment.

Before long, those two catties of fine jade marrow had lost their luster, becoming crude and ugly pieces of jade, even turning soft to the point that pressing them with force turned them into powder.

"Set out at once." Zhang Quan urged.

Mr. Feng glanced at them: "No rush. To deal with a Spiritual Sense Stage monster, how can you not prepare Yellow Springs Water?"

"Yellow Springs Water flows dozens of zhang beneath the earth; once extracted, it loses its effect." Zhang Quan said.

He was naturally aware that Yellow Springs Water was the common item most capable of subduing primordial spirits and essence souls, but it had to be living water.

Mr. Feng smiled and said, "That's because you don't understand how to preserve it. When cultivators use Yellow Springs Water to refine elixirs, do they also need to stay dozens of zhang underground?"

"Please enlighten me, Mr. Feng."

"Just drink it down yourselves. This is the simplest way, hehehe."

Hearing these words, Zhang Quan's facial expression sank. Yellow Springs Water was filthy and freezing, and moreover muddy water; drinking it down would ruin one's physique!

Mr. Feng spread his hands: "I've given the idea anyway. The human body possesses all five elements complete, making it the finest vessel. If you let the frigid cold of the Yellow Springs disperse throughout your whole body, then when that monster sweeps over you with her spiritual sense again, it will definitely injure her primordial spirit."

Zhang Quan said, "Digging for Yellow Springs Water now will delay time, and I fear the abomination will run away!"

Mr. Feng surveyed the mulberry grove, communicating with the spirits and sensing the qi, before speaking after a long moment: "The monster is not in the mulberry grove. This demonic qi was deliberately gathered here to deceive you."

Mortals could only rely on items like the Demon-Startling Bell or talismans to detect demonic qi, and an experienced monster could easily deceive and lead them astray.

"Then... where is the monster?" Zhang Quan asked in a condensed voice, thinking to himself that it was fortunate he had invited this ghost cultivator; otherwise, let alone defeating the monster, they probably wouldn't even be able to track it.

Ghosts were most sensitive to auras, and thus their ability to communicate with spirits and sense qi was superior to monsters and humans of the same tier.

They saw Mr. Feng pointing toward a barren stone peak in the southeastern corner of Tea Mountain as he said, "There is the phenomenon of lunar moonlight congealing there, with faint traces of demonic qi. No doubt the abomination is cultivating right within that stone peak."

"Rest assured, with me watching, she won't get away! Hurry up and fetch the water!"

Only then did Zhang Quan send men to carry it out. By the late night, approaching the hour of dawn, everyone had a belly full of dirty water, their facial expressions ugly to behold.

"The poison won't kill you in a short time. At the crucial moment, circulate your internal energy to force it out by vomiting, and it can even taint the abomination's primordial water." Mr. Feng said calmly.

Zhang Quan looked at the sky and said, "The sky is about to brighten. Are you going to be alright?"

Mr. Feng curled his lip and said, "What kind of ghost do you take me for? I am a ghost cultivator! So long as it is not the midday sun, I fear nothing."

"Bring the bronze contract and follow me!"

They saw him take the lead, with Zhang Quan putting away the bronze contract and following behind. Although Mr. Feng's ghost body could roam freely, he could not leave the bronze contract by more than three zhang.

p.s: Sorry.