Ghost Slaves

Although she was utterly shocked, Ding Wanyan knew that, as a senior sister, she had to remain composed and dignified. Forcing down the frantic pounding of her heart, she still couldn't keep her voice from trembling slightly. "Junior Brother Lei, tell me everything again, from beginning to end."

Lei Dong patiently recounted the whole story once more, from start to finish. After listening, Ding Wanyan pondered for a moment, then said heavily, "It's a shame you didn't capture one of them alive. Now that there's no evidence of the Extreme Yin Cave Disciple insulting the Ancestor, this will be difficult to handle."

"Senior Sister, actually, we have evidence." As Chen Ge spoke, he took out a strange talisman and respectfully handed it to Ding Wanyan. "This Sound-fixing Talisman recorded every sound from that time."

On the way back, Lei Dong had already learned about it. Chen Ge was a meticulous man who knew that trouble could easily arise when traveling outside, so he had spent Spirit Stones on several Sound-fixing Talismans long ago, just in case. No wonder Chen Ge had deliberately baited the other party into belittling Myriad Ghost Cave and slandering the Myriad Ghost Ancestor before the two sides fought.

Ding Wanyan took the Sound-fixing Talisman with some surprise and, guided by Chen Ge, listened to the recording. Sure enough, it matched Lei Dong's account exactly; the man's tone had been even more vile than she had imagined. Though her keen mind had picked up on Chen Ge's deliberate provocation, the Extreme Yin Cave Disciple really had been far too arrogant and overbearing.

With the evidence in hand, Ding Wanyan felt somewhat more at ease. She led the three of them straight to the Myriad Ghost Ancestor's residence, deep in Myriad Ghost Cave. She had them wait outside while she went in alone to pay her respects. A long while later, an elderly man whose cultivation was beyond anything the three of them could fathom came to summon them inside.

The three of them, Lei Dong included, followed the old man into the residence with trepidation. They were intensely curious about what lay within the Myriad Ghost Ancestor's abode, but fear and awe kept them all walking with their heads lowered, not daring to look around.

The faint shiver in Lei Dong's heart reminded him of the protagonists in the novels and TV dramas he'd seen before crossing over. He remembered those protagonists standing firm as iron, acting brazen and haughty in front of people hundreds of times stronger than themselves—people who could crush them like ants at any moment, yet whom they treated with contempt. He hadn't thought much of it then, but now it seemed laughable. What right had they thought they had? At least Lei Dong, who had lived two lifetimes, wouldn't dare do a single thing that might anger the Myriad Ghost Ancestor.

The gap between their stations was simply too vast. Just hearing the man's name made Lei Dong feel as if a towering mountain were pressing down on him.

The old man seemed pleased by the three's caution and respectful awe. At his age and standing, he most loathed young people who didn't know their place, swaggering about and showing no respect for their elders. His usually cold expression softened slightly, and he said in a low voice, "When you meet the Ancestor, tell him everything honestly. Don't hide a single thing. If the Ancestor discovers you've lied, no one will be able to protect you."

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior. May I ask your esteemed name?" Chen Ge replied respectfully, taking out several Spirit Stones and offering them to the old man.

"You've got a good heart, but keep them for yourselves." The old man's tense expression relaxed a little more as he waved them away. "I have no use for these few Spirit Stones. Your cultivation is low; you need them more than I do. As for my name, there's no need. I'm only a servant of the Ancestor."

"Yes, Senior." Chen Ge obediently put the Spirit Stones away.

Although the old man called himself a servant, not one of them dared to think of him as a mere underling.

After that, the old man said no more. He led them onward for a little while before they reached a grand hall filled with layers of Ghost Fire. There sat the Myriad Ghost Ancestor, eyes closed, upon a strangely shaped chair made mostly of skulls.

Ding Wanyan stood carefully at his side. The three of them wouldn't dare show the slightest disrespect before the Myriad Ghost Ancestor. They hurriedly knelt and said in unison, "Disciples Lei Dong, Chen Ge, and Wei Hua pay their respects to the Ancestor. May the Ancestor be in good health. We wish the Ancestor an early breakthrough to Nascent Soul." Their reverence surpassed what they might have shown even an emperor of the mortal world. And rightly so: the Myriad Ghost Ancestor was far more powerful than any emperor. An emperor might know every secret of health and longevity and still struggle to live a hundred years. The Myriad Ghost Ancestor wasn't immortal, but he could live three or four hundred years.

"Rise." The Myriad Ghost Ancestor's face was calm, giving no hint of whether he was pleased or angry.

Even without the Ancestor exerting any pressure on them, the three felt the backs of their shirts dampen after thanking him and rising. The man before them controlled not only their futures and destinies, but their very lives. No—more precisely, if they angered him, even dying might not be so simple.

"Lei Dong, tell me again what happened." The Myriad Ghost Ancestor suddenly opened his eyes and fixed them on Lei Dong.

Lei Dong felt as if he'd been struck by lightning, the pressure stealing his breath. Even so, he gritted his teeth and answered before recounting the whole story, laying out every detail without daring to make anything up. He didn't even conceal how many items he had obtained after killing the men, or how he had ordered the Ghost Soldiers to devour their flesh and blood.

The Myriad Ghost Ancestor listened in silence, his eyes fixed on Lei Dong the whole time. When Lei Dong finished, he finally looked away, as if nothing had happened. Lei Dong, meanwhile, was drenched in sweat. Had his will not been reasonably firm, his legs might have given way beneath him.

"Chen Ge!" The Myriad Ghost Ancestor called his name, his voice turning cold. "Did you prepare this Sound-fixing Talisman long ago? Did you know someone would target you? Had you planned this all along—stirring up trouble, goading them into disrespecting me, then using this talisman as evidence to come crying to me?"

"This disciple would never—" Chen Ge's face had gone as white as paper with fright, and he was just about to deny it when he remembered what the old man had said. He could only grit his teeth and admit it. "In reply to the Ancestor, yes. Not long after joining the sect, I learned that disciples from the various caves and abodes of the Yin Sha Sect often had friction with one another. This was especially true when carrying out missions in the wild, where all kinds of conflicts could arise. I prepared several Sound-fixing Talismans just in case. And I did deliberately provoke them with my words. However, the Extreme Yin Cave Disciple at Qi Refining Second Layer really was too arrogant. He never took the Ancestor seriously. I ask the Ancestor to judge the matter fairly." Chen Ge's voice trembled more and more as he spoke. He knew that his life or death was no longer in his own hands; whether he lived or died depended on the Ancestor's whim.

Wei Hua, who hadn't been questioned, was also trembling with fear. He knew that even if he said nothing, the three of them were bound together in this.

The Myriad Ghost Ancestor pondered, while the three felt each passing second stretch into a year, their hearts sinking lower and lower.

After a long while, a rare trace of a smile appeared on the Myriad Ghost Ancestor's otherwise impassive face. "Good, good. I hear that the three of you are among the best of those who have reached Qi Refining First Layer. Your aptitude isn't outstanding, but it's passable. I didn't expect you to have both courage and cunning. Even under my pressure, you managed to hold yourselves together, without talking nonsense, and you spoke in a reasonably orderly fashion. Ghost Slave, you have a good eye for people. Tell me, what do you think of these boys?"

Hearing the Ancestor's praise, the three felt the hearts lodged in their throats finally sink most of the way back down. An irrepressible joy welled up inside them. It was clear that the Ancestor didn't disapprove of what they had done. In fact, he rather admired it.

"Master, those ignorant Extreme Yin Cave brats truly deserved to die. Had they fallen into this old servant's hands, I would have ripped out their souls, made them into Soul Lamps, and kept them burning with Nether Fire for ten or eight years before I was satisfied." The old man's face showed a trace of approval. "But the boys from our Myriad Ghost Cave did well. They're brave and cunning, ruthless and decisive. They're rare treasures indeed."