Red Lotus Tribulation Fire

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The situation quickly took a bizarre turn.

The Sword Qi that had already left the body and descended from the sky was something that Li Qingjun would have been unable to control, but this Ghost Cultivator managed to twist its direction in mid-air and plunge into the Red Rock Mountain dozens of miles away, blasting the entire mountain to pieces.

Qin Yi had already unleashed the blazing Demon Slaying Sword, but he forcibly withdrew it. The sudden reversal of his Law Power almost caused his meridians to become disordered, but he managed to suppress and straighten them, forcibly dimming the light of the Demon Slaying Sword.

A moment of silence fell, and then a phantom appeared in front of everyone in an instant.

It's not quite right to call it a phantom; it's more like a half-illusory, half-real thing. It's clearly an invisible and intangible form of Yin Spirit, but it has strangely condensed into a grayish-brown body. You can tell it's a woman with a pale, ashen face and dried bloodstains around her eyes, making her look horrifying.

That is the ghostly aura formed by the influence of the resentment, obsession, bloodlust and other attributes of the dying. Ghost Cultivator rely on this to keep it from dissipating, and absorb the netherworld energy and Death Qi to cultivate, thus finding a new path to immortality.

Essentially, it's just a soul form like Liusu, but because of those special attributes, it can be seen and touched, and thus used to exorcise and purify evil. Generally, Ghost Cultivator cultivate in the Netherworld Realm, because a soul without a physical body cannot stay in the Main Plane; it will weaken and dissipate in no time.

Unless you reach the Yang God level, you can leave your body at will and exist eternally out of thin air. But even a Yang God can't be powerful if he's crippled. Even someone as powerful as Liusu had to have his soul residing in a divine artifact to survive, so it's even less likely for others.

Therefore, since the collapse of the Netherworld Realm, lacking the plane transfer rules between the Main Plane and the Netherworld Realm, no Ghost Cultivator have appeared for a very long time...

"Who... who are you?!" the Ghost Cultivator demanded of Qin Yi. His gray expression seemed to reveal something unusual, as if he feared the aura of the Demon Slaying Sword, yet couldn't help but want to get closer.

Even when speaking, it's the same as Liusu's mode—not spoken, but conveyed directly through divine thought.

This kind of divine thought is so direct that you can't tell if someone is male or female; it simply forms a sentence in your mind. Qin Yi is very used to this kind of communication.

But without needing to discern the gender, Qin Yi already knew who it was.

This is clearly the female protagonist in that Sword Pavilion Maiden Painting...

The woman from Jian Ge who ran away with Gu Song Layman years ago explored this place with him and Ye Bieqing Gu Song Layman, and died here. It is very likely that due to the influence of the "gate" here, her soul did not dissipate, and after many years, it transformed into a Ghost Cultivator form that has not been seen for a long time.

However, she was clearly unable to exist outside the "gate," trapped on this red rock, keeping company with the mountain demons, and waiting bitterly for the Gu Song Layman to return to this place one day...

However, the Gu Song Layman has been dead for hundreds of years.

She waited day after day, her resentment growing stronger and her anger increasing. She even became annoyed when she saw other couples together.

Qin Yi felt a pang of sadness. He swallowed hard and said in a low voice, "The Demon Slaying Sword was a gift from the Gu Song Layman to this junior."

The female Ghost Cultivator shouted, "Nonsense! His natal treasure, you're giving it to him?"

Qin Yi knew that this vengeful spirit, formed from a combination of malevolence and resentment, wasn't inherently ferocious, so he disregarded her tone. He actually felt that being able to communicate was a good thing; even the fiercest spirit could be spoken to...

He considered it for a long time before choosing a relatively tactful way of putting it. "Senior Gu Song is now... in a similar state to you."

"Dead? Dead...?" The woman was visibly stunned for a moment, her expression quickly turning ferocious. "You killed him... you killed him!"

The Ghost Cultivator went completely mad, and the surrounding ghostly cries were extremely shrill. The dark clouds in the sky instantly turned black, and the entire Red Rock Area resembled a ghost prison.

That's it. I've already used such a tactful way of putting it, but it's still no use. You're a dead person yourself, haven't you ever thought that your lover could exist in the same way as you?

"So noisy..." Liusu's voice suddenly rang out. "What are you little Yin Spirit making all this noise about! Freeze!"

Space suddenly stopped, and the shrill Ghost Cultivator was completely frozen in place, his expression still showing the ferocity and sharpness he had when he was about to unleash a powerful attack.

Even the dark clouds in the sky seemed to freeze, as if time had stood still.

"Huh?" Liusu finally jumped out of the ring. The Little Ghost floated around the great Ghost Cultivator several times, its eyes wide with surprise. "The Netherworld has collapsed, so where are the ghosts coming from? Shouldn't they be endlessly reincarnating without even a transit point?"

Qin Yi hurriedly asked, "Bangbang, what should we do about her condition?"

Liusu opened its little mouth. "Awoo..."

"Hey!" Qin Yi grabbed it by the arm. "This isn't a bad guy."

"If I don't immobilize her, you'll all be subjected to the forbidden technique of the Thousand Wrath Ghost Devour. Stop being so hesitant." Liusu pouted. "You're going to soften your stance just because she's affected by resentment? Don't you value your own lives?"

"Well, since we're fine now, could we try to help her regain her senses? Like we did with the dream she had of her husband."

Who is her husband?

"The Gu Song Layman"

"..." Liusu thought for a moment, and seemed to remember the old favor that Gu Song Layman had given Qin Yi a lot of start-up capital, so she didn't plan to eat ghosts anymore.

He stroked his chin and thought for a while before shaking his head and saying, "Her intelligence is a bit difficult to assess... because it's tainted by karma and resentment invading her soul. It can only be restored through purification."

"How can I purify it? Can I use my Buddhist prayer beads?"

Liusu was both amused and exasperated. "Does carrying prayer beads equate to Buddhism? Does shaving your head make you a monk?"

Li Qingjun whispered, "Little Ghost, please help her. She's an elder in my sect."

Liusu scratched her head. "I haven't heard her treat you any differently... Alright, alright, I can help with this, either by inviting a monk with profound Buddhist knowledge, or by setting up a suitable fire to burn away the karma. It seems there are indeed places to find such people, but you might have to deal with some troublesome dealings."

Qin Yi asked, "What kind of fire?"

"Karmic Fire... the easiest to obtain right now is the Red Lotus Tribulation Fire," Liusu said. "You still had some Heavenly Heart Lotus left, right? Paired with the Burning Flame Fruit, it can be refined into the seed of the Heaven Burning Red Lotus, a fire with extremely strong Yang energy... It just so happens that it can be combined with your own sacrificial fire. Your sacrificial fire contains the Square Inch Tribulation Fire, which is used to break through inner demons, while the Witchcraft Sacrifice Fire and the Vermilion Bird Flame both have purifying effects. Together, they can barely be considered the Red Lotus Tribulation Fire. But that Burning Flame Fruit... isn't it a bit troublesome for Tai Huang Jun?"

"..." Qin Yi took out the Burning Flame Fruit: "Is this it?"

Liusu: "... Did you go to sleep with Tai Huang Jun while I was sleeping?"

Qin Yi truly felt that Immortal Dao path to the Unseen was governed by some inescapable cause and effect, and that One sip, one peck was predetermined.

Remembering to fulfill the promise made to Tai Huang Jun, he voluntarily gave him the Heavenly Heart Lotus. Tai Huang Jun, grateful for this, reciprocated by giving him the Burning Flame Fruit as promised. He had thought it was merely a matter of fulfilling a promise across time with a clear mind, without much practical significance, but unexpectedly, it was fulfilled right here.

Without delay, while Liusu's Soul-Stabilizing Technique was still in effect, Qin Yi quickly took out the Nether Emperor Pill Furnace, put in the Heavenly Heart Lotus and the Burning Flame Fruit, and refined the fire seed. Then he fused it into his own fire seed, and it all disappeared into the Ming Tang.

In fact, it's time for his own flame power to be upgraded.

Before long, a crimson lotus formed of flames quietly bloomed at the feet of the female Ghost Cultivator. The scene was beautiful; the ferocious ghost, though clearly menacing, seemed to possess an aura of sacred solemnity within the crimson lotus.

The flames miraculously did not burn her body, but instead clung to the ash and Blood Qi on her body, burning her like silk threads.

A myriad of resentful wisps dissipated around, as if countless vengeful spirits were scattering and fleeing.

"How many years has this resentment been accumulating..." Liusu clicked her tongue as she sat on Qin Yi's shoulder. "She has a lot of blood on her hands. If she doesn't purify it, she won't even be able to reincarnate. Meeting me is her luck."

Qin Yi focused intently on controlling the flames, his face expressionless. "Is it easy manipulating these flames, burning only karma and not people? My nerves are stretched to the limit, how come all the credit is yours?"