Stillborn Nezha

Yang He surveyed the yamen, finding mostly familiar faces. He even spotted the corpse of a wandering Daoist covered by a white cloth in the corner.

A yin wind blew past, lifting a corner of the white cloth.

The wandering Daoist lay dead in a gruesome state, only a thin layer of skin remaining on his body. His neck was severed by a red silk ribbon, and his limbs were positioned as if lifting a coffin.

Song Kuo hastily covered the body with the white cloth, muttering about Daoist Changhe.

Yang He felt that the role he was playing was flesh and blood, and that the Lore World was likely three thousand years before the Main World.

Would the traces he left in the Lore World affect the Main World?

Thump!

A muffled knocking sound came from within the coffin.

Everyone's faces changed drastically. Magistrate Qian muttered in confusion, but dared not question Yang He, instead praying repeatedly to the gods.

Li Feng, fearing Yang He wouldn't understand, quickly explained, "Every time the Third Young Master awakens, he uses knocking as a precursor."

Yang He remained expressionless, the pupil ghost on his brow constantly absorbing yin qi.

"Speaking of which, how could a mere locust wood coffin lid suppress Nezha for so long?"

An indescribable thought surfaced in his mind, and he asked himself, answering his own question.

"It's a difficult birth."

"What?" Li Feng, hearing Yang He's murmur, couldn't help but be startled.

Yang He didn't reply. The first time he saw the coffin, he felt as if Nezha were an infant about to be born in a birthing chamber.

Yang He walked up to Li Feng and lowered his voice, "Lord Li, I have a very important question, and you can choose to answer it selectively."

He then added, "It concerns both our lives, and it also concerns Senior Brother."

Li Feng hesitated for half a breath before nodding, "Daoist Yang, this humble general will tell you everything."

"How is the Third Young Master's... birth mother?"

Yang He's voice was extremely faint, unheard by others. Li Feng's pupils contracted, clearly indicating that the question touched upon a secret of Chentang Pass.

Li Feng hesitated for a long time, only speaking when Yang He shook his head, intending to continue his cultivation.

"Daoist Yang, you may not know, but the Third Young Master's birth mother died long ago. Madam Yin passed away after carrying him for two years."

Yang He's brows rose. No wonder Madam Yin had turned into a fierce ghost.

In the original work, Madam Yin carried Nezha for three years and six months. In the Lore World, it was highly likely that Madam Yin was already a corpse before giving birth.

A female corpse giving birth to an infant was a great taboo!

"It is said that the reason for carrying the child for two to three years in the original work was because the Investiture of the Gods had not yet occurred, and the pieces laid by the Chan Sect could not be born prematurely."

"This bizarre version of Investiture of the Gods is truly eerie!!"

Yang He's thoughts raced. He looked towards the coffin in the backyard. In the span of a moment, there were two or three more knocks, and yin qi surged around them.

He could feel Nezha's pain, the pain of being unable to be born.

"Wu Hong."

"I am here."

Wu Hong was slightly apprehensive, but more so filled with reverence.

"Wu Hong, I assume you can tell that the yamen is not entirely safe, and Cailian Town is filled with spirits and monsters. Do you have any plans?"

Upon hearing the current state of Cailian Town, everyone realized they had no other options.

Wu Hong said fearfully, "Immortal Master, I have no plans. You saved my life. If there's anything I can do to help you, please command me."

Yang He looked at Li Feng, who said decisively, "Daoist Yang, regarding the Third Young Master's affairs, we will certainly cooperate to the best of our ability."

"Wu Hong, are you familiar with the route to Qing Lake?"

"Yes, I am."

"Lord Li, could you dispatch two soldiers to accompany Wu Hong to Qing Lake?"

Yang He explained, "The changes in Cailian Town are likely to originate from Qing Lake. If anything happens, find a way to notify us."

"Alright."

Li Feng began arranging the personnel. In the end, three soldiers would accompany Wu Hong, one of whom even possessed cultivation.

They hastily packed their belongings and immediately set off.

Yang He felt uncertain, but he knew that the Lore had reached its most critical juncture. With the slightest carelessness, Cailian Town would fall.

"I fear Grandmaster Taiyi doesn't care about the lives of mortals at all."

Seeing the corpse of the wandering Daoist, Yang He suddenly realized that if Cailian Town fell, the Ghost Lotus would be completely trapped in a dead end, and the difficulty of the Lore World would directly become a death sentence.

Even if he kept playing roles, upon entering the Lore World, he would most likely die instantly.

"I hope it's just overthinking."

With his thoughts clarified, Yang He's cultivation became even more unrestrained. The massive amount of yin qi accumulated from Nezha's difficult birth was too much of a waste not to be used for refining qi.

"En, at most a little dangerous."

"Even if I lose my Daoist Initiate guise, I must seize this opportunity."

Yang He sat grandly in front of the backyard gate.

Yin qi continuously overflowed from the coffin, making the yin qi in front of the gate the most concentrated. Practicing qi refinement here would yield twice the results with half the effort.

The pupil ghost's second yin meridian began to develop bit by bit.

The Potential Ghost lacked the Ghost Nurturing Method, making its absorption of yin qi extremely inefficient. Before long, the pupil ghost had already begun to suppress the Potential Ghost.

Li Feng couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine seeing Yang He's condition.

He could sense the vitality of Yang He's yang energy. As it turned out, ever since Yang He started refining qi, his yang energy had been visibly weakening.

"Huh?"

Li Feng retreated several steps, only to see faint corpse spots appearing on Yang He's face.

"Daoist Yang, are you alright!!"

Yang He opened his cloudy eyes and reached out to wipe the blood flowing from his features.

"Am I alright?"

He tossed two Great Replenishing Pills into his mouth. His yang fire reignited, and the signs of corpse transformation vanished instantly. A corpse stench? It was clearly just the fragrance of medicine!

Li Feng's tongue felt bitter. Was he simply ignorant?

Perhaps this was how the disciples of immortal families cultivated? Otherwise, Yang He was merely in the Acquired Realm, yet his immortal body was already nascent. His talent was no less than that of the Third Young Master.

Thump, thump.

The knocking grew more intense.

Yang He was satisfied and turned his attention back to Li Feng. "Lord Li, does Chentang Pass have any methods for refining artifacts?"

Li Feng was taken aback, not understanding why Yang He asked this. "The artifact nurturing methods in the army are rather crude, merely utilizing blood refining."

He belatedly realized that Yang He had only recently entered Qianyuan Mountain and was likely scouted by Grandmaster Taiyi when he went out. It wasn't surprising that his cultivation was not high.

"No matter."

Li Feng said resolutely, "Good. Since Daoist Yang does not mind, this humble general will no longer hold back."

"This method is called Blood Refining Three Hearts. It allows for the long-term refining of magical artifacts using heart blood, thereby establishing a connection between the artifact and one's mind."

Li Feng recounted the method meticulously, while others deliberately kept their distance from the two.

Yang He had many questions and would inquire from time to time. Li Feng did not conceal anything, as there was no need to offend Qianyuan Mountain over this.

Li Feng was secretly surprised. In just half an hour, Yang He had already grasped the method.

"Thank you, Lord Li. I have memorized the Blood Refining Three Hearts method."

Yang He closed his eyes to delve deeper into the method. The content was indeed not profound.

He cut open a wound on his palm, then held the copper coin sword, concentrating his mind on the stinging pain from the wound as he slowly refined the yin artifact.

The copper coin sword hummed, and blood gradually seeped into the individual coins.

Yang He couldn't control the sword in flight, but it was not a problem to protect the copper coin sword with yin qi. At the very least, it could compensate for the copper coin sword's tendency to fall apart.

At the same time, he did not neglect his cultivation. The second yin meridian was about to take shape.

Thump, thump, thump.

The continuous knocking became increasingly rapid.