Chen Ming beat his Illusory Flesh Wings, wreathed in Poisonous Smoke. The Blood Bead bobbed within the smoke, appearing and disappearing from view.
Situ Yuelan held the Bronze Mirror, surrounded by Yin Cold Qi.
The two moved swiftly, reaching the vicinity of Soul Hook Cave before long.
The Ghost Cultivator who occupied Soul Hook Cave was also at the Contemplation Realm.
The mountain where Soul Hook Cave stood had been made gloomy and eerie by the Ghost Cultivator. Jagged boulders covered its slopes.
The birds flying overhead had lost their souls, and the beasts running along the ground had lost their spirits.
Everywhere, the Soul Hooking Yin Wind howled.
If ordinary creatures wandered into this mountain, a single gust of Soul Hooking Wind would rob them of their souls, leaving them unable to escape.
Passing cultivators gave the place a wide berth, unwilling to approach.
As soon as Chen Ming and Situ Yuelan neared the mountain, the Ghost Cultivator within sensed them.
The birds and beasts that had lost their souls and spirits all turned their heads, their eyes glowing with an eerie green light as they stared at Chen Ming and Situ Yuelan.
"We've been spotted!"
Situ Yuelan was highly sensitive to Yin Qi and immediately warned Chen Ming.
"Caw~"
At the cry of an old crow, the Soul Hooking Wind howled fiercely through the mountain.
In an instant, it swept right up to Chen Ming and Situ Yuelan.
Situ Yuelan raised the Bronze Mirror in her hand and stilled the Soul Hooking Wind. "It seems the Ghost Cultivator in Soul Hook Cave isn't one for easy conversation."
"Whether he's easy to talk to, we'll have to find out!"
"Once your strength is great enough, people naturally become much easier to talk to!"
"If you're weak, you naturally won't hear a kind word!"
"Courtesy demands that a gift be returned! This is the perfect chance to test my Supernatural Ability!"
As he spoke, a blue glimmer flashed across Chen Ming's forehead and vanished. A stream of Taiyin Cold Water appeared, gathering in his hand into a Great Yin Demonic Water Lightning.
"Go!"
Chen Ming shouted, and the Great Yin Demonic Water Lightning in his hand shot away.
At first glance, the Great Yin Demonic Water Lightning looked utterly unremarkable.
But the mountain was saturated with Yin Qi. As the Great Yin Demonic Water Lightning flew across it, it stirred up the Yin Qi everywhere, setting off a resonance!
Its momentum grew greater and greater. It trembled constantly, crackling with a "zzzt, zzzt" sound as blue arcs of electricity danced within it.
"Who goes there? Stop at once!"
A Soul Hooking Wind suddenly surged out from the mountain. Green lights flew from the eyes of the birds and beasts, gathering together into a ball of Eerie Ghost Fire.
A gaunt cultivator dressed in black, holding a White Bone Staff, emerged from the ghost fire.
He raised the White Bone Staff and sent out a Soul Hooking Wind to block the Great Yin Demonic Water Lightning.
Unexpectedly, the Great Yin Demonic Water Lightning split apart without a sound. With a quick sizzle, the electric arcs within it followed the Soul Hooking Wind and exploded across his White Bone Staff.
The black-clad cultivator hurriedly threw the staff away. The Great Yin Demonic Water Lightning blasted it to pieces.
"What powerful Yin Lightning!"
The black-clad cultivator was the master of Soul Hook Cave, named Wuhun.
He had once been a Black Crow in the mountains that had gained sentience. After being struck dead by a bolt of Heavenly Lightning that had fallen from the sky by chance, he gained Spiritual Intelligence and became a Ghost Cultivator. He devoured countless souls and took on human form.
He had feared thunder from birth, and becoming a Ghost Cultivator only made him even more afraid of lightning.
Wuhun had spent years hiding in Soul Hook Cave, sending out Soul Hooking Wind until the entire mountain became his territory.
He had never ventured beyond his own domain and couldn't fathom why Chen Ming and Situ Yuelan had come.
Could it be their disciples had their souls blown away by my Soul Hooking Wind?
Wuhun thought it over and decided that was the only reason these two might have come after him.
Even after his White Bone Staff had been blasted apart, he didn't dare make a fuss. His tone softened as he asked, "Fellow Daoists, what brings you to my humble abode?"
"If someone you know had their soul blown away by my Soul Hooking Wind, just tell me. I'll look for where it fell on the mountain. Once it's returned to its proper place, there won't be any serious harm!"
"Though I'm a Ghost Cultivator, I've always been kind to others. You can't just ignore right and wrong and blast me with Yin Lightning!"
Seeing how agreeable he was, Chen Ming said, "I see Fellow Daoist Wuhun is quite the amiable fellow. Fellow Daoist Situ, see? He's perfectly easy to talk to!"
Situ Yuelan's lips pulled into a stiff smile. "Indeed. Fellow Daoist Wuhun is very easy to talk to. I was mistaken before!"
A sheepish smile appeared on Wuhun's face, though it looked more like a grimace. In his hoarse voice, he said, "Please don't make fun of me, Fellow Daoists. My Soul Hook Cave is poor, and there's no Spiritual Inspiration here to speak of. What exactly brings you two to my door?"
Wuhun smiled obsequiously, ever so cautiously. Given his strength at the Contemplation Realm, he shouldn't have needed to act this way.
But his physical body had perished beneath Heavenly Lightning, and his fear of it was etched into his very soul. Whenever he thought of lightning, he trembled.
Ordinarily, it was other people who feared his Soul Hooking Wind.
Wuhun had been born and raised in Vast Mountain and had cultivated there. He had encountered many cultivators over the years, but few had mastered lightning-based Supernatural Abilities.
Practitioners of Yin Lightning like Chen Ming were rarer still.
And Chen Ming had already hit him with a Great Yin Demonic Water Lightning, destroying his White Bone Staff. The body formed from his Ghost Fire Yin Wind still felt numb.
Chen Ming glanced at Situ Yuelan. She released a little of her aura and asked, "Some Spiritual Items fell into your Soul Hook Cave before. Their auras resemble mine. Have you seen them, Fellow Daoist Wuhun?"
Wuhun narrowed his eyes and sensed for a moment before rasping, "I have, I have!"
"That day, I was inside the cave refining Soul Hooking Wind when I suddenly heard something in the sky.
"I looked up, and the Buddha Light that filled the heavens scorched my eyes. Then I sensed flesh and blood falling from above.
"I thought disaster had befallen me, but when the flesh and blood landed, they turned into Spiritual Items—neither metal nor wood, and wondrous beyond compare.
"I'd only just picked them up when a Spiritual Light shone over and swept away those few Spiritual Items.
"Luckily, I acted quickly. I sent out Soul Hooking Wind and blew one of the smaller Spiritual Items into the cave. That's how I managed to keep it!"
"Once that Spiritual Item entered my Soul Hook Cave, it turned into a Profound Yin Cold Stone and couldn't be moved."
"Ever since I obtained that Profound Yin Cold Stone, my Soul Hooking Wind has grown much more powerful!"
Wuhun prattled on at length, his voice rather grating.
He didn't hide anything. The Profound Yin Cold Stone had already taken root in Soul Hook Cave and couldn't be moved.
Wuhun had tried many methods before, but none could refine or move it, so he had given up.
"Have you two come looking for that Profound Yin Cold Stone?" Wuhun asked.
After hearing what Wuhun said, Situ Yuelan's emotions stirred.
The parts of her body that could turn into Profound Yin Cold Stone were crucial places she had refined using a Secret Method.
The other Spiritual Items mostly held traces of memories and aura, but she couldn't let the ones that had turned into Profound Yin Cold Stone go. They were crucial to restoring her strength to the Spirit Condensation Realm.
"Fellow Daoist Wuhun, that Profound Yin Cold Stone is quite important to me. If what you say is true, I'm willing to trade you a treasure for it!" Situ Yuelan said.
Wuhun was delighted. "That's wonderful! The Profound Yin Cold Stone can't be moved and only adds a little power to my Soul Hooking Wind. It would be far better to trade it for a treasure!"
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