Qing Wan

In the silent night, A cluster of willow tips seemed to lash down like a whip, and a faint blood-red gleam flashed and vanished.

Bang!

In the air, a blurry figure staggered backward, letting out a cry of pain.

The figure floated as if illusory, its whole body shrouded in dense yin energy—it was unmistakably a Ghost!

"One strike, and you're already crying out in pain. Truly not worth mentioning."

Su Yi had already risen to his full height. Seeing this, he could not help shaking his head, and much of the anticipation in his eyes faded with it.

Rustle~~ Rustle~~

The Old Locust Tree in the courtyard shook violently. Countless branches thrashed wildly, whipping up Ghost Wind like the wails of ghosts and howls of wolves, sweeping up fallen leaves as it charged at Su Yi again together with that Ghost.

Su Yi held the willow switch as if gripping a Divine Whip. Instead of retreating, he advanced, striking forward.

Crack!

The crisp sound rang like thunder, and bloodlight suddenly appeared.

A bundle of willow twigs burst open, like thousands upon thousands of whip tips shooting out.

That Ghost did not even have time to dodge. Its body of yin energy was whipped until it hissed and crackled, streams of black smoke rising from it, and its figure staggered back from the intense pain as it screamed without end.

A trace of disappointment could not help rising in the depths of Su Yi's eyes.

The willow switch he held at this moment had merely been soaked in some rooster blood.

Though it had the effect of restraining Ghosts and evil beings, its power could hardly be called formidable.

Yet who would have thought this Ghost would actually be this weak...

Crack!

As Su Yi pondered, he struck out once more.

This time, the Ghost seemed unable to hold on. The yin energy shrouding its body exploded with a bang, leaving only a petite figure to fall from the air.

It was actually a female ghost!

Dressed in a blood-red skirt, with a face like a young girl's and skin snow-white and translucent, she curled up on the ground, her petite body trembling violently, her large eyes filled with pain.

"Immortal Master, spare my life! This little woman has never harmed anyone's life!"

The red-skirted female ghost begged in agony, lying on the ground and gasping rapidly.

Her appearance was outstanding, her brows and eyes like a painting, with shallow dimples and cheeks a little baby-fat round—an absolute seed of beauty.

Only, her figure was illusory, not a solid body, which added a somewhat ethereal air to her.

Su Yi held the willow switch and looked down at her, sighing softly. "So you're only the lowest-grade Yin Soul..."

The Ghosts of the world could be simply divided into four types: Yin Souls, Ghostly Apparitions, Ghost Monsters, and Ghost Spirits.

Among them, Yin Souls were the weakest and lowest class, as well as the most common.

Many ghost stories passed around in the mundane world were mostly related to Yin Souls causing trouble.

And in Su Yi's eyes, Ghosts such as remnant souls, resentful souls, and fierce spirits existing in the mundane world could all be classified as "Yin Souls."

After all, what could Ghosts that only dared to muddle along in the mundane world ever amount to?

Truly formidable Ghosts dared to seize mountains and proclaim themselves kings in the cultivation world!

"You've been attached to this Old Locust Tree all these years?"

Su Yi asked. With one glance, he could tell that this Red Skirt Girl's Yin Soul had no fierce, bloody Baleful Intent about it; instead, it was rather pure.

This meant the other party had never harmed anyone.

"Reporting to the Immortal Master, that is indeed so."

The red-skirted female ghost answered timidly, her delicate, pale face full of obedience and fear. Curled up on the ground, shivering, she gave off an utterly pitiful impression.

"No. You're lying."

Su Yi frowned.

Nine years ago, then, who had killed that physician and those two Medicine Apprentices?

Before the red-skirted female ghost could answer, a sudden change erupted—

Whoosh!

A smear of black light, like a cold gleam shooting forth, carried a ferocious, evil aura as it burst toward Su Yi.

"As expected, there is a problem."

A cold, sharp curve appeared at the corner of Su Yi's lips, and his hand turned casually.

A cluster of willow twigs stabbed out, straight as a sword.

Bang!

In a single strike, it pierced that smear of black light with incomparable precision.

The black light trembled violently, fell to the ground, struggled twice, and then stopped moving.

A closer look showed it was a black insect the size of a baby's fist, with six segmented limbs and mouthparts packed with sharp, dense teeth. It looked savage and vicious, and gave off wave after wave of a rotten, choking stench.

"A Ghost Corpse Worm. So it was this little thing."

Seeing this, Su Yi realized something. His gaze turned to the red-skirted female ghost. "Who refined and controls these Ghost Corpse Worms?"

A Ghost Corpse Worm was a kind of poisonous insect refined from the corpse of a Ghost, its body filled with Corpse Poison and Sha Qi.

If an ordinary person was bitten, they would die violently on the spot in moments. Even a Blood Moving Realm martial artist could hold out for an hour at most.

To Su Yi, Ghost Corpse Worms were nothing to fear. What was truly worth paying attention to was who had refined and was controlling them!

"This..."

The red-skirted female ghost hesitated, her face full of fear and dread, as if she did not dare speak.

Just then—

On the ancient well cover beside the Old Locust Tree, rusty, mottled Chains shook violently. The well cover shifted with them, and a crack opened over the Well.

Immediately after, a cluster of black lights shot out, like a mass of dark clouds, sweeping toward Su Yi and blotting out the sky.

It was a swarm of Ghost Corpse Worms!

There were over a hundred of them. From their savage, razor-sharp mouthparts came shrill, ear-piercing hisses, like a hundred ghosts wailing, and Yin Sha Qi swept through the entire courtyard.

That sight filled the red-skirted female ghost with terror and despair. She buried her head against the ground, not daring to look.

After all, that was over a hundred Ghost Corpse Worms attacking together. Any Blood Moving Realm figure in his place would likely have been scared out of their wits and filled with despair.

Su Yi merely frowned, his expression as calm as ever.

He abruptly took a deep breath, circulated his qi throughout his body, and the cluster of willow branches in his hand rose straight up like a sharp sword.

His broad sleeves billowed. He strode forward, using the willow branch as a sword, and suddenly turned it through the air.

In an instant, the cluster of willow branches swept out like a river of stars, with a momentum as if overturning heaven and earth, cleansing the mortal dust.

I Have a Sword to Draw Star River, Overturning Heaven and Earth to Sweep Away Mortal Dust!

Boom!

The black insect shadows filling the sky all shattered under that single sword strike.

The dense sounds of bursting seemed to ring out at the same moment. It felt like a sudden clap of thunder, and then the dust settled!

This was the first true sword strike Su Yi had made since his rebirth.

Though he only had the cultivation of the Blood Moving Realm, when this sword cut across the air, it was like a banished immortal dancing with a clear shadow. Once the sword momentum emerged, all ten directions fell silent.

Over a hundred Ghost Corpse Worms were ground to dust and swept clean away!

Looking again at Su Yi, he stood in the courtyard, his thin, tall figure as straight as a sword drawn from its sheath, so sharp it seemed to pierce the night curtain, utterly different from his usual calm, transcendent bearing.

When still, the edge was hidden in its scabbard; when moving, its brilliance was fully revealed.

Crack!

In Su Yi's hand, the cluster of willow branches shattered inch by inch, turning into drifting sawdust before dispersing completely.

After all, they were only ordinary willow branches. They simply could not withstand the power of Su Yi's sword strike.

Only now did the Yin Soul of the Red Skirt Girl curled up on the ground dare to lift her head. When she saw this scene, she grew even more frightened and uneasy.

To her, destroying over a hundred Ghost Corpse Worms with one strike was far too terrifying a method!

At this moment, the Old Locust Tree in the courtyard fell still and stopped swaying. The ancient Well beside it also had not the slightest movement anymore.

The watery night covered the quiet courtyard. Everything seemed to have returned to its original state.

Su Yi turned back and sat down in the bamboo chair before the stone steps, laying the Peach Wood Sword at his side horizontally in front of him. The aura around him quietly became tranquil and calm.

His gaze fell on the Red Skirt Girl curled up on the ground, and he said:

"I'll give you a chance. Tell me your origins and everything you know, one by one. If I'm satisfied, I'll point out a living path for you."

His words were casual, but they made the Red Skirt Girl shudder violently.

In her eyes, Su Yi at this moment was undoubtedly far too frightening.

She steadied herself, her voice soft, tender, and weak as she said timidly, "In reply to Immortal Master, I... I only remember that my name is Qing Wan. When I became conscious, I had already been captured by a Daoist named Wu Ruoqiu. He used a secret art to imprison me inside the locust tree in this courtyard, and said that as long as I behaved, he would let me go in the future."

Su Yi asked, "Wu Ruoqiu? Why would he imprison a useless Yin Soul like you here?"

Qing Wan lowered her delicate head and said bitterly, "He made me frighten people. He said that as long as any living person appeared in this abandoned courtyard, I was to go scare them. Then the Ghost Corpse Worms he raised would rush out from the depths of the Well and gnaw away the blood essence of the frightened living person."

At this point, Su Yi finally understood.

This courtyard was the Insect Rearing Pool arranged by that Wandering Daoist, Wu Ruoqiu!

It used the blood essence of living people as food to nourish the Ghost Corpse Worms and make them transform.

As for the female ghost Qing Wan, she was responsible for frightening living people...

From this point of view, that Wu Ruoqiu probably also knew that a female ghost like Qing Wan was of no real use at all.

"After nine years, this place had fallen into ruin and gone long uninhabited. Was Wu Ruoqiu not worried those Ghost Corpse Worms would starve to death?"

Su Yi asked.

Qing Wan shook her head. "No. He comes once every three days, and every time he captures several living people, using them as food to feed the Ghost Corpse Worms in the well."

Su Yi looked thoughtful. "When was the last time he came?"

"The day before yesterday."

At this point, Qing Wan seemed to react all at once. As if terrified, she stammered, "Immortal Master, Daoist Wu will come tonight at the hour of the Ox!"

"It is now three quarters into the hour of the Rat. If we calculate the time, that fellow really is about to arrive."

Su Yi's fingers lightly rubbed the Peach Wood Sword lying across in front of him. He pondered, then said, "Do you know what his cultivation is like?"

Qing Wan said, "I remember he once said he was at the Qi Gathering Realm's 'Aperture Opening' level. In less than a year, he would be able to try 'Meridian Opening.'"

The Four Martial Realms were Blood Moving, Qi Gathering, Furnace Nourishing, and Flawless Realm.

The Qi Gathering Realm was the second realm of the martial path, divided into three levels: Aperture Opening, Meridian Opening, and Qi Solidification, corresponding respectively to the early, middle, and late stages of the Qi Gathering Realm.

In Guangling City, possessing Qi Gathering Realm cultivation already made one a top-tier existence.

People like City Lord Fu Shan, the clan heads of Guangling's Three Great Clans, City Lord's Mansion Guard Commander Nie Beihu, as well as some senior renowned figures in the city, all had cultivation at this level.

"If he's merely a character at the Qi Gathering Realm's Aperture Opening level, then he should be easy enough to deal with."

Su Yi became even more calm and composed.

After thinking for a moment, he instructed, "Return to the locust tree for now and act as though you know nothing. Once I've dealt with Wu Ruoqiu, I'll decide whether you stay or go."

"Many thanks to Immortal Master for sparing my life!"

Qing Wan kowtowed in excitement. Only then did she muster the courage to rise. As the blood-red dress on her body fluttered, she swept through the air toward Old Locust Tree and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Su Yi, meanwhile, sank into thought.

With his cultivation at the perfected second stage of the Blood Moving Realm, "Flesh Skin," under normal circumstances, he would have to go all out to kill a Qi Gathering Realm figure.

But this time was different. His opponent was an evil cultivator, skilled in certain vicious secret arts of the ghost path.

To guard against the unexpected, it would be better to be a little more cautious.

"Looks like I'll have to reveal a tiny bit of my trump card this time..."

Leaning back in the bamboo chair, Su Yi waited quietly.

P.S. Ding, the female ghost Qing Wan is online.

Thanks to good friends like "Bandit Bro" for the tips and monthly tickets~ Here's an extra update~~