Yang He planned to devote himself wholeheartedly to cultivation.
He had a premonition that Madam Yin would inevitably cause trouble after arriving at Five Lights Temple. Whether his temple attendant identity could survive for long was itself a question.
He had to develop the Pupil Ghost's three Yin Meridians within just a few days.
"Five Lights Temple is crawling with evil entities, and its Yin energy rivals Qing Lake. There should be enough time."
"Advancing to the Hungry Ghost stage must also be done in the Lore World. I can't leave any traces in the Main World."
Yang He noticed that after being reforged several times, the Pupil Ghost no longer needed his guidance to refine Qi and could already circulate it through a complete cycle on its own.
He closed his eyes and meditated until Miaoyin arrived with two temple keepers.
Miaoyin had the temple keepers move his daily belongings into the side room. Their attitude was exceedingly respectful, showing the attendants' exceptional status within Five Lights Temple.
"I'm the most senior among us at Five Lights Temple. From now on, just call me senior brother."
Yang He did not bother with pleasantries. "Senior brother, this junior brother will be staying in the side room to recover for a while. I hope you'll be understanding."
"No problem."
Miaoyin agreed readily, his gaze flickering as he stared at Yang He.
Yang He could not be bothered to care whether Five Lights Temple was rife with theft and skulduggery. If Miaoyin bore him ill will, he would not mind using the Ghost Hand to twist off his neck.
He opened the wooden box containing dinner and found nothing but vegetarian food. Still, compared to the foul clear noodle soup in the Main World, it was at least fit for human consumption.
Miaoyin handed Yang He a medicine jar. "These are Fire Suppressing Pills. Take one before nightfall to keep the fire punishment from harming you."
Yang He frowned slightly when he saw that the jar contained twelve pills.
Fire Suppressing Pill After consumption, it spared one from the agony of the fire punishment's cleansing and prevented Yin energy from entering the body and scorching it. Long-term use easily shortened one's lifespan.
"Senior brother, could it be that we have to undergo the cleansing every night?"
"Not necessarily, but it's better to be prepared."
Yang He's eyelid twitched. It truly was not easy for the attendants to remain sane one after another.
Miaoyin hesitated for a few breaths without saying more, then took out a scripture. "Though you and I have no chance of becoming living immortals, we can still cultivate some unorthodox arts. Read it when you have time."
"Thank you, senior brother."
Miaoyin seemed to want to say something but stopped himself. Seeing that it was already getting late, he left the side room.
Before leaving, he repeatedly stressed that the doors and windows of the side room had to remain shut, and that no matter what sounds came from outside, they must not be opened.
"How bizarre. Five Lights Temple actually dared to establish itself openly on the outskirts of Chaoge."
Yang He shook his head and casually skimmed through the scripture.
He had not held much hope before reading it. Since it had already been called an unorthodox art, it would likely be meaningless even if it took great effort to master.
But surprisingly, the cultivation method actually had some substance.
The technique was called the Bone Accumulating Fire Incantation, and its entire text concerned using the fire punishment to temper one's bones.
The reason it was considered an unorthodox art was that the Bone Accumulating Fire Incantation did not involve ghosts. Instead, it gradually transformed one's own bones into Yin objects.
Though the bones would become as hard as copper and iron, one's lifespan would rapidly diminish.
"By rights, if my own bones become Yin objects, I should be able to bring them back to the Main World, right?"
Just right, the Ghost Hand needed bones. Perhaps using the temple keepers' bones instead would be a better fit.
Yang He memorized the contents of the Bone Accumulating Fire Incantation in moments. Its cultivation steps were not particularly troublesome, so he turned his attention back to refining Qi.
Cultivation knew no passage of years, and he could barely sense time slipping away.
As night arrived.
The bell at Five Lights Temple rang three times, and the number of moving figures gradually dwindled.
Yang He did not rush to take a Fire Suppressing Pill, instead waiting vigilantly for the fire punishment to arrive. Yet the waning moon hung high for a long time, and nothing unusual happened.
He spent the night awake, with faint rustling sounds coming and going.
Yang He did not care either, and for the next six or seven days, he never stepped outside.
The Pupil Ghost's progress went smoothly, with no obstacles in developing the three Yin Meridians.
The predetermined goal of this trip had been accomplished.
The only regret was that he had not gotten the chance to begin cultivating the Bone Accumulating Fire Incantation.
Yang He gradually grew used to living in seclusion. No one paid attention to him in the side room at all, aside from Miaoyin occasionally coming by to check on him.
Finally, on the seventh night, the long-absent burning sensation returned.
Yang He narrowed his eyes. The sky had only just begun to darken when faint rustling came from the neighboring East Hall.
The temperature of his blood began to rise, and Yin energy guided the scorching heat deep into his marrow.
The Bone Accumulating Fire Incantation naturally entered the beginner stage.
Yang He felt a stabbing pain in his spine, then heard the sound of metal falling in the East Hall. It likely came from the rivets securing the living immortals.
He frowned as the burning sensation inside him intensified.
"According to Miaoyin, the East Hall lacks a living immortal to keep watch over it. But the newly added living immortals were already sent inside. It should have..."
Spiritual Vision: 109.6 points
His Spiritual Vision had abruptly surged by five points.
Yang He's scalp went numb. Not even Madam Yin's avatar had caused such a violent reaction from his Spiritual Vision. Just who was raising evil entities in this temple?
He could not help growing tense and simply held a Fire Suppressing Pill in his mouth.
He had originally wanted to remove the Skin Pouch Dharma Robe to intensify his cultivation of the Bone Accumulating Fire Incantation. Now, it seemed that the slightest carelessness could get him killed in this room.
Suddenly.
A bone-chilling scraping sound came from the corridor outside the East Hall.
It was as though a giant python were dragging itself across the ground, or decayed bark were rubbing together.
The sound abruptly stopped.
Yang He pricked up his ears to listen. The intermittent chirping of insects seemed incomparably strange, while blood seeped from his nose and mouth. The fire punishment had already begun affecting his internal organs.
He swallowed half a Fire Suppressing Pill, then looked up and saw... a massive shadow before the door.
The shadow stood a full three meters tall, with long limbs. Yang He had only glimpsed its outline, yet the thought arose in his heart: This was what a Buddha looked like.
The instant Yang He blinked, heavy footsteps suddenly drew near from afar.
The massive shadow shifted through the air and appeared within half a meter of the door.
Yang He saw it more clearly.
The massive shadow's Skin Pouch was layered upon layer of deeply sunken folds, resembling scriptures inscribed with words. Yin energy rushed toward him.
"I have to look directly at it. Same problem as the Stone Crone Ghost in the mine!!"
The Pupil Ghost opened on his forehead, keeping its gaze fixed on the living immortal.
"But the living immortal in the East Hall is clearly more terrifying than the Stone Crone Ghost. It might be a Fierce Ghost, and Five Lights Temple has at least four or five hundred living immortals."
Cold sweat streamed down Yang He's face, but the Bone Accumulating Fire Incantation progressed by leaps and bounds.
With the Pupil Ghost providing Yin energy, his vertebrae transformed into Yin objects one after another.
The Force Ghost stirred restlessly, wanting to devour his spine. This showed that the Yin objects produced by the Bone Accumulating Fire Incantation could indeed serve as bones for the Ghost Hand.
Yang He wore a helpless expression and did not dare look away all night.
By sunrise.
As light and darkness shifted, the living immortal before the door vanished once more.
Yang He stepped out of the side room, but there were no traces of passage on the ground.
He came outside the neighboring East Hall and peered through the window. In a corner, he saw a living immortal surrounded by blood-stained rivets.
The living immortal's posture was exaggerated and grotesque, its limbs and body already twisted out of shape.
Yet the temple keepers seemed long accustomed to it. Before long, four or five of them came over and used hammers to drive the rivets back into the living immortal's body.
The living immortal's posture was corrected, but its expression became increasingly ferocious and terrifying.
"Attendant."
A temple keeper bowed to Yang He. "Madam Yin of Chentang Pass has arrived at the foot of the mountain. Temple Master Miaoyin is busy reinforcing the living immortals, while the other attendants are unwell. They would like you to receive them for a while."
"I'll go at once."
Yang He looked back at the living immortal, unsure whether it was an illusion.
The living immortal seemed to be... smiling?
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