Evil Ghost and Jade Buddha

Qin Sang woke from his cultivation, the corners of his mouth rising despite himself, unable to hide the joy in his heart.

He raised his arm to inspect it, then pinched it. It seemed no different from before, and he could not tell what benefits this breakthrough had brought him.

He drove a portion of his Qi into his fingertips. A moment later, a hazy blue aura faintly appeared around them.

Was this the True Qi release Bai Jianglan had spoken of?

Curious, Qin Sang tried to gather the aura into the shape of a sword, only to find that he could not. Unwilling to accept it, he suddenly jabbed his fingers at the bamboo table beside him. With a bang, not only did he fail to pierce the table, but a piercing pain shot through his fingertips.

"Right!" Qin Sang slapped his forehead. "I almost forgot about the Yanluo Banner!"

Qin Sang hurriedly pulled open his shirt, untied the cloth wrapped around his chest, and took out the items hidden inside. He set the other things aside first and held the Yanluo Banner in his hand.

This tiny banner gave off a sinister air, and it had been the black-clothed man's weapon. Qin Sang had not dared defy the Netherworld Scripture before, and for an entire year, he had endured without daring to meddle with it.

Now that Qin Sang had broken through to the second level, he could wield the Yanluo Banner according to the cultivation method.

Qin Sang turned the banner over in his hands, thinking of that dried corpse, and hesitated.

The evil ghost on the banner was lifelike, as though it were alive and might pounce out the next instant. Even if it was a weapon of immortal cultivators, it might still be a demonic artifact or an evil artifact.

But he had even cultivated the Demon Lord's cultivation method. Wasn't it a little late to worry about such things now?

Qin Sang secretly hardened his heart and made up his mind, gripping the Yanluo Banner with both hands.

Following the steps written in the book, he circulated his cultivation method, drove the Qi within him into his meridians, guided it to gather in his palms, and finally urged it into the Yanluo Banner.

Qin Sang stared fixedly at the Yanluo Banner, his heart taut with nervousness.

The hazy blue aura wrapped around the Yanluo Banner. The pitch-black banner suddenly flashed, and the evil ghost upon it seemed to move as well. Qin Sang thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

The next moment, the hazy aura abruptly swelled, then was instantly swallowed whole by the Yanluo Banner like a whale gulping down the sea.

Immediately afterward, an incomparably powerful suction came from within the Yanluo Banner, and the remaining Qi in Qin Sang's dantian surged out frantically.

Qin Sang's face drained of color. He tried to pull the Qi back, only to find it completely futile. In his panic, he violently flung his hand, but the Yanluo Banner seemed glued to him, firmly stuck to his palm.

Powerlessly watching the Qi he had painstakingly cultivated be drained completely by the Yanluo Banner, Qin Sang nearly wept without tears.

Just then, another strange change occurred.

The Yanluo Banner moved without wind, its surface fluttering. The evil ghost on it faced Qin Sang, blinked once, and then, with a savage grin, suddenly pounced out of the banner.

Qin Sang had never seen such a terrifying sight. He screamed in horror, but had nowhere to hide, and could only watch helplessly as the dreadful evil ghost lunged at his face.

Qin Sang felt as if he had been violently struck by an immense force. His mind went hazy, then he woke to find that he was still conscious.

"Where is this? Where did that evil ghost go?"

Qin Sang widened his eyes. All around him was boundless darkness, and he could see nothing.

What place was this?

Had he been killed by the evil ghost? Was this the underworld?

Qin Sang was utterly bewildered. Looking down, he was so startled that he jumped—his body had shrunk to the size of a palm, transparent all over and faintly glowing blue. A slightly yellow layer of light surrounded him, making him look like a ball of light from the outside.

Why had he become like this? Could this be his soul?

Where had the evil ghost gone?

Qin Sang stared wide-eyed, raised his transparent legs, and tried to take a step, only to suddenly fly far away.

Just then, he heard a terrifying howl from the depths of the darkness. Looking up, he saw a black shadow fly out from the dark—it was that evil ghost!

The evil ghost was far larger than Qin Sang. Its blood-red eyes stared fixedly at him, filled with greed. It moved with astonishing speed, pouncing at him with a fierce and malevolent air.

Just from their difference in size, Qin Sang felt incomparably weak. Seeing the evil ghost chase after him, he was terrified and fled like a headless fly.

Yet he was far slower than the evil ghost and was easily caught.

Whoosh!

The evil ghost moved like the wind. In the blink of an eye, it blocked Qin Sang's path, grinned savagely, opened its gaping bloody maw, and prepared to swallow him whole.

Qin Sang's face was filled with despair.

Unexpectedly, at the very moment Qin Sang was about to be devoured by the evil ghost, the yellow light around his soul suddenly burst forth with boundless radiance. Within the dense golden Buddhist light appeared a Buddha statue.

The Buddha statue was missing one arm and sat cross-legged, its gaze lowered as Buddhist light shone everywhere. The tiny Qin Sang stood within the statue's body.

"Amitabha!"

A vast Buddhist mantra rang out in Qin Sang's mind like great bells and mighty chimes. Qin Sang opened his mouth in shock.

The Buddha statue remained motionless, but the evil ghost's face filled with terror, as though it had seen its natural nemesis. It turned and fled, without a trace of its former arrogance.

This... wasn't this the Jade Buddha from his previous life?

Qin Sang paid no attention to the fleeing evil ghost. Instead, he stared at the Buddha statue's severed arm, enormous waves surging in his heart. He had worn the Jade Buddha from his previous life for thirty years, and it had been the last thing he saw before his death. How could he possibly forget it?

The Jade Buddha had been passed down through his mother's family. It had already been damaged, with one arm broken off in precisely the same place as the Buddha statue's.

Qin Sang had thought he was merely a lone wandering soul that had drifted into this world. He had never expected the Jade Buddha to come with him in this form—and even save his life.

"Dad... Mom..."

Qin Sang covered his face with both hands and burst into tears for the first time, though his soul could shed no tears.

After venting his emotions, Qin Sang quickly calmed down and considered his situation. Yet endless darkness stretched in every direction, leaving him somewhat lost.

"The Jade Buddha saved me. I might not be dead yet. Could this be inside my body? How do I get out? The evil ghost is still outside—will it still want to eat me?"

To his surprise, the instant Qin Sang formed the thought of leaving, he became dizzy. Then his vision changed dramatically, and the familiar room appeared before him.

Qin Sang's heart tightened when he discovered he was still clutching the Yanluo Banner. He hurriedly threw it far away, then swept his gaze around and spotted a dark shadow in the corner of the room—it was the evil ghost.

The evil ghost was curled up in the corner, looking at Qin Sang timidly. Its face was thick with fear, and it trembled all over.

Qin Sang's body was somewhat stiff, but seeing the evil ghost like this, the fear in his heart faded considerably.

"It is afraid of the Jade Buddha."

"The Jade Buddha is inside me, fused with my soul, so it is afraid of me too."

"Can I command it, or make it serve me?"

As these thoughts turned over in Qin Sang's mind, he was about to speak when bang bang knocking suddenly sounded outside the door, followed by Old Wu's muffled cries of inquiry.

His earlier loss of composure and scream had probably woken Old Wu.

With so many secrets, he absolutely could not open the door.

"I..."

Qin Sang's thoughts raced. Just as he was about to explain, he caught sight of the evil ghost suddenly plunging into the bamboo wall, and inwardly cried out in alarm.