Mass Grave

Mass Grave

Lei Dong furrowed his brow slightly. "Then why could Senior Brother get a Soul Nurturing Pagoda for six bottles of Lesser Vitality Pill?"

"Actually, there's no harm in telling you, Junior Brother. For one thing, this Soul Nurturing Pagoda is a castoff, not worth as much as a new one. For another, even if you traded in a new one for sect contribution, you'd only get five points—worth five bottles of Lesser Vitality Pill. I'm buying it for six bottles, which is an extremely fair price. If you took it outside and sold it, you could probably get twelve or thirteen bottles. But that Senior Brother wouldn't go all that way just to make a few extra bottles of Lesser Vitality Pill, especially when he might not even find a buyer." Zhao Baiwan chuckled. "Truth is, it's the sect's rather strict exchange system that gives merchants like us room to make a living. If you're willing to trade me a Spirit Stone, I'll even give you four bottles of Lesser Vitality Pill in return."

Lei Dong breathed a sigh of relief. Good thing he'd had the presence of mind to come here and look around. Otherwise, if he'd gotten carried away and traded two Spirit Stones for a Soul Nurturing Pagoda just now, he would've taken a huge loss. Zhao Baiwan seemed to be hoping he'd trade a Spirit Stone for one, and Lei Dong knew Spirit Stones really were valuable, sought-after goods. A thought struck him, and he asked, "How many Soul Nurturing Pagodas do you have here, Senior Brother? If possible, I'd like to choose one that's in better condition."

"Of course. I have three more here." Zhao Baiwan hurriedly rummaged through his boxes and cabinets, bringing out the three remaining Soul Nurturing Pagodas. Then he suddenly slapped his forehead. "Almost forgot—I have one more here." After searching for a while, he seemed to fish an ashen-gray Soul Nurturing Pagoda out of a pile of junk.

Lei Dong turned the pagodas over and examined them several times. The first few looked much the same, clearly standard-issue goods from the Yin Sha Sect, with the only difference being that some were newer than others. The last one Zhao Baiwan had pulled out, though, looked quite different. Compared with the others, its craftsmanship and design were both much worse. It was also terribly worn, as if it had existed for countless years—a genuine antique. Its exterior was utterly unremarkable, yet when Lei Dong touched it, his heart stirred for no apparent reason. He felt as though this Soul Nurturing Pagoda were connected to him by blood.

"Don't be fooled by how old it is, Junior Brother. This thing has quite a history." Seeing that Lei Dong seemed interested in the last Soul Nurturing Pagoda, Zhao Baiwan launched into a long-winded account of its past. To Lei Dong, though, he sounded just like a crooked merchant trying to palm off an unsellable dud.

Truthfully, Zhao Baiwan had his own reasons. When he'd first started doing business, he'd trusted the seller's claims and paid a Spirit Stone for this Soul Nurturing Pagoda. He'd thought it was some kind of treasure. But after recommending it to his fellow disciples a few times, it was returned within days. They said the thing was complete junk. Even the worst-quality Soul Nurturing Pagoda gradually nourished the Spirit Ghosts inside and helped them grow. But when a Spirit Ghost was kept in this one, it seemed to have all its vitality drained within days, growing listless and weak. One Senior Brother's Spirit Ghost had even died inside it. Zhao Baiwan had nearly been skinned alive over that. What kind of Soul Nurturing Pagoda was this? It was a Soul Annihilation Pagoda!

Zhao Baiwan didn't dare sell the thing to an auction house, either. He knew what those people were capable of; they didn't care whether you were a disciple of the Yin Sha Sect or not. But Zhao Baiwan considered himself a businessman, and he had a businessman's pride. Having goods that wouldn't sell stuck in his hands was more agonizing than having a fishbone lodged in his throat. Now he'd met Lei Dong, a naive fellow who didn't know how high the heavens were and was cultivating a Soul Nurturing Pagoda despite being only at the first layer of the Qi Refining Stage. Zhao Baiwan had decided to sell him the thing. After all, the kid was only at the first layer of the Qi Refining Stage. Even if something went wrong, he wouldn't dare come back and cause trouble.

Lei Dong had lived two lifetimes and had come from an era when the whole country was full of swindlers. He'd seen this kind of face plenty of times. Normally, no matter how much Zhao Baiwan sang its praises, Lei Dong wouldn't have bothered listening. But when he'd touched the Soul Nurturing Pagoda just now, that strange stirring in his heart, that feeling of blood ties, made him instinctively sense that there was something odd about it.

Of course, he couldn't let on.

Lei Dong kept up the act of a naive newcomer, listening to Zhao Baiwan's pitch with shining eyes and acting as though he couldn't bear to part with the thing. In the end, however, he shook his head. "Senior Brother, I'll take this one."

Seeing that he'd chosen an ordinary Soul Nurturing Pagoda, Zhao Baiwan couldn't help feeling disappointed. Still unwilling to give up, he said, "Junior Brother, why not think it over a little longer? This one's top quality."

"I'm short on funds," Lei Dong said with a bitter smile. "To be honest, I only have one Spirit Stone on me. My family scraped together everything they had to get it before I came up the mountain."

"One Spirit Stone?" Zhao Baiwan hesitated, then gritted his teeth. "All right. To make a friend of you, Junior Brother, I'll take the hit today. One Spirit Stone it is. Take it."

"But, Senior Brother, what if I take such an old thing home and it doesn't work?" Lei Dong blinked with an innocent, guileless look. It wasn't hard for him to act. For one thing, he really wasn't very old. For another, since crossing over, he'd gotten used to pretending to be naive around his family.

"How could that be? This thing of mine..." Zhao Baiwan seemed to have suffered a grave insult. His face reddened as he defended and lectured Lei Dong at length. But no matter how far he went, Lei Dong only looked more and more undecided.

Finally, Zhao Baiwan was probably getting hoarse. Only then did Lei Dong speak bashfully and apologetically. "If Senior Brother throws this Soul Nurturing Pagoda in as a bonus, just to give me some peace of mind, I'll hand over my Spirit Stone."

"What? A bonus?" Zhao Baiwan gaped.

"Didn't Senior Brother say you wanted to make a friend of me?"

After haggling with Zhao Baiwan for ages, Lei Dong finally wore him down. Zhao Baiwan sold him two Soul Nurturing Pagodas for one Spirit Stone. In the end, he'd also been afraid Lei Dong might really be unable to use the pagoda, then make a scene afterward. Besides, although he'd taken a bit of a loss, at least he'd sold it. Having that Soul Nurturing Pagoda lying around had felt like it was constantly mocking Zhao Baiwan's business acumen. Before selling it to Lei Dong, however, he'd made it clear that he wouldn't accept returns if Lei Dong wasn't satisfied with the goods.

After leaving Zhao Baiwan's place, Lei Dong immediately returned to his quarters and carefully examined the ancient Soul Nurturing Pagoda. It felt slightly warm in his hand, and he had no idea what material it was made from. Most importantly, whenever he touched it, that feeling of blood ties would well up inside him. That feeling was really what had driven him to bring it back. Even if he was mistaken, at least he hadn't spent much extra, and he still had another pagoda he could use as a backup.

Yet after spending several days on it, he still couldn't figure out what was special about the thing. But without a Yin Soul on hand, there was no point in studying it further. He contacted Chen Ge through the Gatehouse Restriction, only to learn that Chen Ge was in seclusion. It seemed he'd have to rely on himself.

Fortunately, the Yin Sha Sect's territory was one of the most notorious places of ill omen in the world. Countless people had died there over the years, and it was a land where Yin energy gathered. Yin Souls should be fairly common.

After asking around a little, he learned that near Myriad Ghost City, the great human city within the territory of Myriad Ghost Cave, there were several Yin Sha mass graves. After packing his belongings, Lei Dong set off for the city.

The city had imposing walls more than ten zhang high. It was home to no fewer than a million ordinary people, and it served the Myriad Ghost Cave of the Yin Sha Sect entirely. Even though Lei Dong had only just joined, his status as a Myriad Ghost Cave disciple made him quite popular here. He quickly learned that there was a Mass Grave not far to the west of the city. Most Myriad Ghost Cave disciples with low cultivation who wanted to capture Yin Souls went there.

He had nothing valuable on him, let alone any Flying Magic Tools or the like. Fortunately, Lei Dong had undergone an initial Marrow Cleansing and Hair Washing at the first layer of the Qi Refining Stage. He was light as a swallow, and although he hadn't learned any movement techniques, he could still run at a decent speed. In less than half an hour, he reached the bleak, windswept Mass Grave.

It was only midday, yet the sky already looked a little gray. Mist hung over the graveyard, obscuring the distance.

Not daring to go deeper, Lei Dong gripped his Small Sword and cautiously circled less than halfway around the Mass Grave, which was only a few li across. He didn't see a single Yin Soul. After glancing at the sky, he understood. The blazing sun was high overhead. Unless they were exceptionally powerful, ordinary Yin Souls wouldn't dare come out and face the sun's scorching wrath.