Half-Human, Half-Ghost Daoist Initiate

The scene outside was starkly different. The present world basked in bright sunshine, while the underworld was deluged by a downpour, the water level rising unnoticed to knee-height.

Yang He's expression was grave. The century-old Treasure Fish at the market entrance had already been dismembered.

The butcher was smoking the fish stomachs, leaving the offal inside for now to make the material more resilient for later processing.

[Mundane Item: Lotus Born Lotus]

[Related Lore: Ghost Lotus, consume 1 Spiritual Vision to enter the Lore World?]

"I must improve my cultivation as much as possible in the Lore World this time."

[Consume 0.5 Spiritual Vision to bring 263 Great Replenishing Pills into the Lore World?]

[Consume 1 Spiritual Vision to bring the Blood Copper Coin Sword into the Lore World?]

Yang He had considered it carefully. Cailian Town was already rife with spirits and monsters, making the Black Cat's warning less impactful. However, carrying the copper coin sword was necessary to increase his chances of survival.

"I can't afford to worry about the copper coin sword being damaged anymore. The Main World is in grave danger, and every trip to a Lore World is precious."

After much hesitation, Yang He remembered the Child-Mother Ghosts filling Qing Lake and decided to bring the sword along.

[Consume 0.3 Spiritual Vision to bring the Grudge-Soaked Red Rope into the Lore World?]

"Confirm."

[Role Clay Figurine Vendor is dead, cannot select.]

[Clay Figurine Vendor: You made a living selling clay figurines in Cailian Town. Unexpectedly, the clay figures you made seemed to come alive. Disbelieving, you paid them no mind, only to die in the street the next day.]

Yang He breathed a sigh of relief. Since the Night Watchman role was not dead, it meant his situation before leaving the Lore World had been relatively safe.

He didn't refresh his roles; the Daoist Initiate was his advantage.

Three faces appeared.

[Daoist Initiate (Green): You followed your master to Cailian Town and discovered it was overrun with Malevolent Spirits. Your master is currently trapped outside the town, leaving you to rely on your family's Qi Gazing Technique to handle the situation.]

[Night Watchman (White): Since Cailian Town imposed a curfew, the nights are no longer safe. How many nights can you survive?]

[Lotus Root Harvester (White): You are the sole survivor of a night raid for lotus roots. Discovering the constant misfortunes in Cailian Town, you didn't return home and have been living by Qing Lake.]

[If no role is selected, you will enter the Lore World in your true form.]

"Select Daoist Initiate."

[Consume 4 Spiritual Vision to enter the Lore Ghost Lotus?]

"Confirm."

The moment Yang He's consciousness cleared, he felt an indescribable weakness. Immediately, he heard Wu Hong's anxious call.

"Immortal Master!"

"Immortal Master, are you alright!!"

Wu Hong looked around, sensing a malicious presence lurking in the shadows.

"I... I'm fine."

Yang He forced his eyes open. The surroundings were dim. He was in the depths of the alley from before, and a third arm was squirming within his chest.

Then, the Potential Ghost burrowed back into his flesh and disappeared within him.

"Immortal Master, you..."

Wu Hong looked extremely worried. Seeing Yang He's pale face, devoid of any color, he grew more anxious.

Yang He tried to speak, but found he lacked the strength even to open his mouth. Following that, his limbs gradually lost sensation.

The pupil ghost opened on its own, guiding the external yin qi into his body.

It was trying to slow down Yang He's death.

However, the last time he left the Pawn World, he had already exchanged his remaining yin meridians. The pupil ghost was now akin to a newly born weak ghost.

Yang He realized the dire situation, and his vision began to blur.

"I'm going to die."

The Daoist Initiate was only eleven or twelve years old. He had been severely injured by Madam Yin's yin qi and had his life force prematurely drained by constantly consuming Great Replenishing Pills.

Yang He's peripheral vision caught sight of the Daoist Initiate's yang fire nearing extinguishment.

"Grandmaster Taiyi is unreliable! If he was going to help, shouldn't he have also taken care of his disciple's body? What a cheap master!"

His internal organs began to wither, and corpse spots spread across his skin.

Yang He looked helpless, unable to even ask Wu Hong to retrieve the Great Replenishing Pills for him.

He tried to communicate with the pupil ghost, but its spiritual intelligence was lacking. It only knew to absorb yin qi, further accelerating the extinguishment of his yang fire.

"Wasting a trip to the Lore World for nothing?"

"Why not try... the Inner Elixir Art?"

Yang He gritted his teeth. His purpose for this trip was the Inner Elixir Art. If the Daoist Initiate died from containing the Potential Ghost, at least it would have been for a reason.

He silently recited the Inner Elixir Art, then communicated with his pupil ghost to accelerate the absorption of yin qi.

According to the cultivation of the Inner Elixir Art, entry requires taking a specially made talisman water to suppress the second ghost. Furthermore, the higher the realm of the first ghost, the better, to ensure the smooth refinement of the elixir pill.

Yang He didn't have any talisman water, so he directly used his yin qi to subdue the potential ghost.

A potential ghost in the weak ghost stage hides between the organs. Without transforming into a third arm, it's essentially just a faint, intangible piece of soft cartilage.

The yin qi circulated along a specific route, weaving an invisible net within the blood vessels and meridians.

Upon sensing the Inner Elixir Art, the potential ghost reacted intensely, as if invisible arms were constantly churning within his body.

Puff.

Yang He spat out black blood, which sizzled upon hitting the ground.

The Daoist Initiate's blood was already mixed with yin qi. In this state, he was no different from a dead person, yet he still clung to a sliver of life.

The yin qi contracted. The pupil ghost had failed to suppress the potential ghost, and the two fell into a stalemate.

Yang He's internal organs throbbed with intense pain, and his skin turned a grayish-white. Not only did he have corpse spots, but a faint smell of decay also emanated from him.

"As expected of the Immortal Master! Our Cailian Town is finally saved!"

Wu Hong's face was filled with excitement. He noticed that the surrounding ghostly shadows had vanished, and at the same time, substantial yin qi was radiating from Yang He's body.

Crack, crack, crack.

As the sound of bones breaking echoed, Wu Hong's pupils widened in shock. A third arm, over half a meter long, actually appeared behind Yang He.

"Immortal!!!"

He kowtowed repeatedly, uncaring that his face was scraped raw against the floor tiles.

Yang He's expression was unreadable. His consciousness sensed the presence of the third arm and he quickly controlled it to retrieve ten Great Replenishing Pills and consume them.

The third arm disappeared, and immediately the medicinal effects began to take hold.

The warmth in his stomach spread through his blood vessels and meridians.

The yang fire reignited, burning perhaps a little too vigorously.

Yang He's corpse spots vanished, but his skin remained grayish-white, his body temperature was akin to a corpse, and his heartbeat was extremely slow.

After regaining some strength, he realized he had formed a slight connection with the potential ghost.

Although the connection was very weak, after expending a large amount of yang energy, he could barely control the third arm for a short period.

"It's probably a contingency set up by Grandmaster Taiyi in advance, preventing the potential ghost from retaliating against me."

"I didn't complete the Inner Elixir Art, nor did I refine the potential ghost, yet now I can control it."

Yang He examined himself. His current half-human, half-ghost physique also played a role.

Although the Daoist Initiate was alive, he was no different from being dead.

Grandmaster Taiyi had mentioned that the Daoist Initiate was born in a yin year and a yin day, causing his yang fire to be weaker than that of ordinary people. As a result, after this ordeal, he was like a cracked earthen jar that constantly needed refilling.

If Yang He didn't take Great Replenishing Pills now, his yang fire would extinguish.

Once the yang fire extinguished, he would immediately suffocate.

"Two hundred Great Replenishing Pills should last for a while, right?"

Yang He sighed, but it wasn't entirely without benefit. After becoming half-human, half-ghost, his speed of digesting yin qi was at least far beyond normal.

"Wu Hong, your Night Watchmen are also affiliated with the yamen, right?"

"Take me to the yamen."

"Alright!"

Wu Hong's face flushed red; he already regarded Yang He as a living immortal.