The Death of Grandmaster Taiyi

It was only because he was in the Lore World that Yang He managed to keep his composure.

"Disciple."

Grandmaster Taiyi turned around with a beaming smile. "We must reach Cailian Town before nightfall, or there will be a disaster of bloodshed."

"Your disciple understands."

Yang He quickened his pace, the black cat perched on his shoulder keeping watch.

No matter what, since he had obtained the Ghost Lotus's Ghost Nurturing Method, it didn't matter if he had to face mountains of blades and seas of fire ahead; dying was just a possibility.

In the Main World, I, Yang He, might be subservient, but this is the Lore World!

Yang He took out a Great Replenishing Pill and swallowed it. It wasn't bad; even though the herbs were bitter, there was a sweet aftertaste.

A warm current spread through his stomach and intestines, stimulating his yang energy.

"Not bad."

Yang He nodded in satisfaction. He ignored the slight stinging in his organs for now and then used the ghost eyes to draw in the external yin qi.

In terms of yin qi concentration, the Lore World, lacking the human-ghost barrier, far surpassed the Main World.

As Yang He inhaled and exhaled the yin qi, a chill coursed through his body. A faint glow flowed around his mouth and nose, truly giving him the air of a Qi Cultivator.

"Mew..."

The black cat stretched comfortably, also enjoying the nourishment of the yin qi.

Yang He could feel blood vessels wriggling at the end of his ghost eyes, indicating that new yin meridians were growing, albeit at an extremely slow pace.

The two walked along the official road, one after the other.

Before long, a bit of mist began to rise from the mountains.

After walking two or three more li, the mist had become visible to the naked eye. The concentration of yin qi also increased, accompanied by the howling mountain wind.

The black cat nuzzled close to Yang He's ear and let out a soft meow.

Yang He's heart skipped a beat. "Master, are we about to reach Cailian Town?"

Grandmaster Taiyi didn't reply. He stiffly merged into the mist, his limbs unnaturally straight, as if possessed.

"Master!"

Yang He quickened his pace, yet he could only watch as Grandmaster Taiyi disappeared.

It was as if he had been swallowed by the clouds and mist.

"Damn it! Grandmaster Taiyi, you're supposed to be an immortal god, how can you be so weak?"

Yang He cursed inwardly and opened his ghost eyes. Perhaps due to the development of his yin meridians, a vibrant blood thread had appeared in the whites of his eyes.

Traces of yin qi flow were clearly visible, the surroundings shimmering like ripples on water.

Yang He noticed that by activating his ghost eyes, he could exert some influence over the external yin qi. Against living beings, he could affect their yang fire.

[Spiritual Vision: 7.1 points]

His Spiritual Vision had increased for no reason. He understood that the mist was caused by ghosts!

Yang He's ghost eye cultivation was insufficient. The only thing he could do was continue on the road, marking the trees along the roadside as he went.

About half an hour later, the young acolyte's body began to succumb to the external yin qi.

Yang He repeatedly consumed Great Replenishing Pills, relying on the medicinal power to forcibly boost his yang energy. Otherwise, his yang fire extinguishing would also lead to death.

"Logically, with Spiritual Vision enhancing my ghost eyes, even Hungry Ghosts shouldn't be able to trap me..."

"Hmm?"

Yang He slowed his steps. A flickering figure appeared in the distance. His ghost eyes widened to their limit before he could make out the silhouette of the figure.

He realized it was a horse's corpse.

The horse's corpse was suspended in mid-air, not held by ropes, but by long black hair tightly wrapped around a tree branch.

Yang He felt an indescribable terror, his breathing becoming rapid.

[Spiritual Vision: 7.4 points]

"This isn't Nezha's Chaos Tunic. Could it be that besides Nezha and the Three Mountains Goddess, the Ghost Lotus lore has a third major ghost..."

The black cat bared its teeth, hissing at the horse's corpse.

Yang He noticed various letters scattered around the horse's corpse and remembered the optional character, the courier. He bent down to pick up a letter and examine it.

The sender addresses were varied, and he couldn't find any clues for the moment.

[Spiritual Vision: 7.7 points]

Yang He moved away from the tree. The source of his Spiritual Vision was getting closer.

"Even if I die, I must understand the origin of this ghost."

Yang He chose to press on down the official road, knowing that even if he tried to avoid it, he wouldn't survive much longer. It was better to court death, at least he could increase his Spiritual Vision.

He hadn't walked far before the chilling scene became even clearer.

Numerous corpses were hanging from tree branches, their long black hair digging into the flesh of their necks.

Yang He could see that the corpses were from a merchant caravan that had passed by the official road. Their faces were contorted in agony.

"Cough, cough, cough."

A faint cough could be heard, and one person was still breathing, their limbs struggling.

"Save... save me..."

Yang He raised an eyebrow and found it was an old courier in his early fifties.

As his ghost eyes opened and closed, the old courier felt an icy wind blowing towards him, instantly chilling him to the bone and making his limbs tremble.

Three wisps of yang fire were extinguished by the ghost eyes.

The old courier's lifespan was reduced, and he became no different from the corpses. He barely managed to break free from his restraints and fell to the ground, coughing violently.

The ghost eyes closed, and the old courier's three wisps of yang fire reignited.

Yang He heard the old courier, completely terrified, muttering madly, "There's a ghost in the letter! There's a ghost in the letter, ahhhh!!"

"I didn't open it myself! There was a clump of black hair in that letter!!!"

"The black hair is growing, growing into a woman's face. Don't blame me! You can't blame me for being hanged to death by a ghost! I, I..."

Goosebumps erupted all over Yang He.

The old courier clutched his head, staring at the end of the official road in terror.

"She's here! She's here to kill me! I shouldn't have opened that letter!!"

Yang He felt as if he were facing a formidable enemy. He shifted his ghost eyes to the back of his head to ensure there were no blind spots, then grabbed the old courier by the collar.

"Tell me, who sent the letter to whom?"

"I haven't seen her, don't kill me, please don't kill me!"

The old courier mumbled incoherently, blood flowing from his facial features.

Yang He pushed the old courier away. The black cat on his shoulder had already curled into a ball. The fog was boundless, and he had nowhere to escape.

"Have you seen a gaunt Taoist priest?"

He didn't expect the old courier to answer, but the latter trembled and said, "Dead, I saw the Taoist priest being killed with my own eyes..."

Yang He's expression was one of shock. Grandmaster Taiyi died inexplicably in the wilderness? Impossible. How could the Mythical Dao of Ghosts continue?

"Madam Yin! Madam Yin is here!"

The old courier pointed towards the depths of the forest. Yang He noticed that the former had six fingers.

Yang He pondered the slightly familiar name, realizing that Nezha's birth mother seemed to have the surname Yin. But how could Madam Yin have degenerated into a ghost?

"I knew I should have brought a knife. If I encounter danger, I'll just stab myself."

Thump, thump, thump.

Footsteps approached, accompanied by the sound of something heavy being dragged.

[Spiritual Vision: 8.5 points]

The increase in Spiritual Vision was comparable to facing Nezha directly. It was hard to imagine what Madam Yin was. Was Chentang Pass a mass grave?

A few breaths later.

A woman over three meters tall appeared intermittently in the thick fog. Blood flowed incessantly from her limbs, and traces of iron chains piercing through them could be seen.

Yang He stood there, frozen in disbelief. The woman was dragging a corpse.

The corpse was Grandmaster Taiyi.

His internal organs had been hollowed out; he was deader than dead.

[Seeking Monthly Votes!!!!]