Listening quietly to the cicadas, he watched the moon gradually rise in the east, its silvery radiance brushing over the mountains and illuminating the hillsides, making the old residence steeped in ancient charm look as if it had been draped in a layer of snow and frost.
After finishing the soup, Mistress went to rest only after You Su repeatedly urged her to. Though Mistress was a night owl, even she could not withstand caring for You Su for two days without closing her eyes. What was more, You Su could not bear to let her continue, so he sternly ordered her to go to sleep.
You Su had recovered quite a bit of strength. Leaning against the headboard, he felt around inside the Universe Bag in his hand.
He had lied to Mistress, telling her it was spoils he had won from the likes of Wu Ping after their defeat—a brocade pouch made from special materials. If fresh Ganoderma and other heavenly treasures were placed inside, it could lock in their spiritual energy to the greatest extent. It was a very valuable treasure.
Since they had no use for it anyway, he would sell it another day for a large sum of money and split the proceeds fifty-fifty with Mistress. The girl wiped away her drool, patted You Su's head in satisfaction, and even washed the brocade pouch clean for him.
Nor could Ji Lingruo be blamed for believing him so readily. After recognizing its master, the Universe Bag could only be opened by infusing it with its master's Mystic Qi. In an outsider's eyes, it was merely a brocade pouch with somewhat more exquisite embroidery.
And You Su was the Universe Bag's new master.
There were two ways to remove the restriction on the Universe Bag. One was extremely troublesome: going to Tian Qi Divine Mountain and asking an array master to perform a complicated "unbinding" procedure. The other was exceedingly simple: making the Universe Bag's former master disappear.
Establishing a connection with the Universe Bag after it had once again become ownerless was also extremely easy. It was similar to the "imprinting" of hatchlings in nature: whoever was the first to input Mystic Qi into it would become its new master.
You Su circulated the Mystic Qi he had recovered within his body and infused it into the bag. Suddenly, he sensed a connection of consciousness. The feeling this connection gave him was as if the Universe Bag were not an independent little space at all, but a branch of his own Sea of Consciousness.
The dazzling array of items inside seemed to be placed directly in You Su's mind. As long as he wished, he could immediately take out whatever he wanted.
You Su also began counting this hard-won windfall in his mind.
The space inside was not actually very large. A set of sandalwood tables and chairs occupied most of it. Beneath them were three sets of different tea ware, along with several jars of various teas in elegant packaging. It was clear that True Man Ling truly loved tea.
You Su had not expected that such a repulsive evil cultivator would also have a side that affected an air of refinement. It felt strange, yet somehow reasonable.
Searching more closely, he found many Magic Treasure implements whose uses You Su did not know. More or less, all of them were tainted with evil aura. They must have been what True Man Ling used while practicing evil arts.
Several classic texts caught You Su's attention. They were titled Ruyi Wind-Controlling Technique, Selected Five Elements Sorcery, and Spiritual Treasure Knowledge. Dots of dried blood could still be seen on their worn pages. Clearly, these were stolen goods True Man Ling had seized from someone else.
Strangely enough, although he had never learned these characters, he naturally recognized their meanings.
You Su flipped through them briefly. Aside from the Ruyi Wind-Controlling Technique being somewhat interesting, the other two were probably basic books from the Spiritual Treasure Sect. No wonder True Man Ling had falsely claimed to be a member of the Spiritual Treasure Sect.
Though the contents of these two books were broad and general, they contained their own mysteries. To You Su at this moment, they were even more rare and precious. He had been a Sword Cultivator since childhood, and his master had only taught him sword techniques. Aside from wielding a sword, he knew almost nothing about the other uses of Mystic Qi. These two books were an excellent path for him to understand Mystic Qi.
Next, You Su also found several books about evil cultivators. From the names of these techniques, he learned True Man Ling's original sect: the Evil Banishing Sect. He secretly committed it to memory.
But he had no interest in the techniques of evil cultivators. Only the Tome of Evil Spirits drew his attention. He searched through it for a long time, yet found nothing resembling Mistress or his junior sister.
Apart from that, there were only miscellaneous items of little value. Unexpectedly, he also found a large quantity of Spirit Stones. They were the currency used in the cultivation world. Besides their extremely high trade value, they could also be used to rapidly recover Mystic Qi.
With this unexpected fortune, You Su could truly be considered well-off.
He took out the Evil Warding Token, which had already regained its emerald-green color, and turned it over between his fingertips. While thanking True Man Ling, he also began carefully reflecting on the changes that had occurred around him and within him over the past few days.
He already had a preliminary judgment regarding the cause and effect of everything: True Man Ling had targeted the Mandarin Sword Sect for reasons unknown. His original plan had probably been to use an evil spirit to invade my body, throw me into chaos, and make me cooperate with him in killing myself and Mistress. But this plan had not only been seen through by me—it had also been severed at the very beginning by that sword strike from Mistress.
Sure enough, Mistress's sword had not been meant to kill me. It had been meant to cut the Dream Centipede around my neck. She had saved me, yet I had misunderstood her.
The evil spirit that had contaminated my junior sister and Mistress must have been extremely powerful. Only after seeing them in my dreams was I able to see the Lantern Ghost, just as True Man Ling had expected, causing True Man Ling to mistakenly believe that his plan was proceeding smoothly.
There had also been many incomprehensible points in the later battle with True Man Ling.
For example, why had I suddenly been able to see True Man Ling after he transformed into a monster? If it was because my cultivation was sufficient, then I should have been able to see him from the very beginning. And the thing on his body was clearly an evil spirit of the Flesh and Blood Type. According to True Man Ling, the authorities of different types were not interchangeable. Then what was the reason I could suddenly see him?
You Su made a reasonable guess: there had not been one evil spirit within Mistress and his junior sister, but two.
The one attached to his junior sister was an evil spirit of the Flesh and Blood Type, while the one inside Mistress belonged to the Dream Master Type. Moreover, their authorities were so high that True Man Ling had completely abandoned resistance after becoming aware of them.
Thus, after eating the piece of rotten flesh his junior sister had cut off, I had also fallen into evil and gained an explosive surge of flesh-and-blood power. I had even been able to briefly regain my sight, ultimately turning defeat into victory.
From this perspective, although his junior sister and Mistress had both fallen into evil, they had each saved him once.
At this thought, You Su was overcome by mixed emotions.
He seemed to see how arduous the road ahead would be. He would have to conceal from everyone the fact that the three of them had fallen into evil, while also searching for a way to purge the evil spirits from them.
But he would not regret his choice.
"It's all right now. Whatever True Man Ling, whatever the master, whatever Divine Revelation Chuyun and all that other nonsense—none of it can stop me."
You Su clenched the Evil Warding Token in his hand and let out a heavy roar in his heart, like a wounded lion surrounded by hyenas yet refusing to yield.
Suddenly, he sensed a disturbance from the Evil Warding Token. It began to tremble slightly. You Su did not know why. Only after he infused it with Mystic Qi did the Evil Warding Token return to stillness, while several lines of text appeared of their own accord in his mind:
At the grand ritual for the Immortal Ancestor at Tian Qi Divine Mountain in Southern Yang Continent, a Dream-Eating Ghost stole the ritual altar's treasure and fled. It is feared to have already reached the borders of Central Yuan Continent. Anyone in possession of an Evil Warding Token at Mount Henggao, if you have any clues, report them immediately! Remember! Anyone below the Feather Transformation Realm must not act rashly! —Mount Henggao Evil Warding Department
As soon as You Su finished reading, before he had time to think, he felt his eyelids grow heavier than a thousand catties and fell into a deep sleep.
Before you continue