Yin Gathering Token

Before long, Qianqian came in, and I suddenly remembered what had happened last night.

I had Qianqian tell me what had happened after I lost consciousness last night.

With lingering fear on her face, Qianqian said, "It was already very late when we returned to the little wooden cabin last night. You had passed out halfway there.

"You really scared me. Then Sister Nangong brought us back."

Hearing that, I asked Qianqian, "What about your body? Where did you put it after bringing it back? Was it properly taken care of?"

Qianqian replied, "Mm. After we came back, Sister Nangong wrapped my body in yin energy.

"It's in another room now. Your martial uncle said to leave it there for now and wait until you wake up."

A while later, Martial Uncle returned with a bundle of herbs, and I hurriedly asked,

"Martial Uncle, Nangong Yiyi said Qianqian could be brought back to life. Is that true?

"She said Qianqian could be revived with two treasures: the Soul Returning Grass and the Shore Flower."

"It can be done, but those two things are extraordinarily rare.

"As for the Soul Returning Grass, it is at least in the Mortal Realm. With enough effort and time, you can always find it.

"But the Shore Flower..."

At that, Martial Uncle sucked in a cold breath. "Hiss... That thing only exists in the underworld. Getting it will be very troublesome."

I asked Martial Uncle, "Has anyone obtained a Shore Flower over the years?"

Martial Uncle said yes. Someone had obtained one just a few years ago, but nobody knew where that person had gone afterward.

As long as someone had gotten one, that was enough. It proved this thing really existed.

As long as it existed, there had to be a way to obtain it. Once I figured that out, I felt much more at ease.

Martial Uncle told me to lie still, and Qianqian carefully removed the gauze from before.

Then she took the herbs from Martial Uncle and bandaged me up.

Martial Uncle looked at me with worry written all over his face. "If you want to revive her, I'm afraid you'll have to suffer a great deal more."

I said it didn't matter. As long as Qianqian could be revived, I feared nothing.

Then he asked what I planned to do next, so I told Martial Uncle everything my father had left me.

Martial Uncle thought for a while before saying, "All right. Go to Sichuan Province first. You can't go wrong listening to your father.

"Kid, from now on, you'll have to rely on yourself. Be careful in everything. When trouble comes, think things through. You can't go wrong with that."

I nodded at Martial Uncle, then asked what we should do with Qianqian's body. I couldn't carry it everywhere I went, could I?

Martial Uncle thought for a moment and said, "Mm, that is a problem. Let me think of a proper solution.

"Once you gather the two treasures, you can help revive her."

"Little brother, don't worry. I've already thought of where to put her body."

As the voice fell, Nangong Yiyi walked in through the doorway.

"Where? Do you have a good place, Sister?" I asked.

"Of course. Put her body where I was sealed before.

"There's still a little yin energy there, more or less. For one, you won't have to worry about the body rotting.

"For another, that formation is very powerful. Nothing else will be able to get inside."

"What would happen if something got in?" I asked.

Nangong Yiyi furrowed her lovely willow-leaf brows and replied, "That would be troublesome. A Pure Yin Body is a treasure to ghosts.

"Any ghostly creature could enter the body, then occupy it for its own use."

Martial Uncle suddenly spoke up. "Right. That place is excellent. The only thing to watch out for is people, but this old man has a way."

Nangong Yiyi looked at Martial Uncle and asked, "What way do you have?"

Martial Uncle smiled and said I would find out when we got there. With no other choice, I shut my mouth.

Just then, Nangong Yiyi suddenly looked at me and said, "Oh, right, little brother. There are truly quite a few good things in your bag."

I had no idea what she meant, so I asked what good things there were.

Nangong Yiyi asked, "You know about that little dark brown wooden plaque, right?"

I said I did. I just didn't know what it was for. It had been sitting in my bag all this time, and I had never properly studied it.

Nangong Yiyi asked whether I had ever heard of a Yin gathering token.

I said no. Was it the kind of wooden plaque I wore around my neck, the kind ghosts could enter?

Martial Uncle said uncertainly from the side, "Could it be... your grandfather's?"

Nangong Yiyi's eyes lit up as she looked at Martial Uncle. "Oh, old man, you know about this? This is a good thing.

"If the ghostly creatures outside learned of it, forget Ghost Kings—even Ghost Emperors would fight until their heads bled for it."

I was completely baffled, so I told them to stop speaking in riddles.

I was a rookie who understood nothing. They should just tell me directly.

Nangong Yiyi smiled, then looked at Martial Uncle. "Then let the old man explain it."

Martial Uncle then began introducing the item to us. "This Yin gathering token is one of the few works your grandfather made.

"Unlike ordinary yin plaques, it can generate yin energy on its own.

"That's because more than a hundred different formations have been inscribed inside it. These formations repel one another even as they draw one another in.

"It is like the circulation of cultivation techniques within the human body, ceaseless and unending.

"Its greatest feature is that while these formations operate,

"they continuously produce yin energy, like a small, independent underworld.

"Ghostly creatures can hide inside it just as they would live in the yin well behind the mountain.

"They can hide inside while cultivating. The yin energy it produces is not the least bit weaker than that of a naturally formed yin well.

"Of course, it also has a drawback: humans and living creatures cannot enter.

"This is indeed a good thing, but to ghosts, it is a rare treasure seldom seen in a hundred years."

After Martial Uncle finished, he solemnly warned me, "When you go out in the future, try not to let others know about it. Otherwise, it may bring a fatal disaster upon you."

I seriously agreed. I truly didn't have the ability to protect these things right now.

Then Martial Uncle muttered to himself at the side, "Your grandfather was really willing to part with it. He must have prepared it more than ten years ago."

I asked Nangong Yiyi to bring me the Yin gathering token so I could have a look, and she went out.

Suddenly, Martial Uncle's eyes flashed with vicious light. "Strange. That female ghost saw such a treasure, yet she wasn't tempted?"

Just then, Nangong Yiyi came back in and said, "Of course I'm tempted. I even want to kill someone and seize the treasure."

Martial Uncle and Qianqian rose to their feet, staring at Nangong Yiyi as though facing a formidable enemy. I even saw Martial Uncle's hand reach into his clothes.

Nangong Yiyi burst out laughing. "Don't be nervous. Leaving aside the fact that I made a Ghost Oath,

"if I attacked you, I would suffer heavenly retribution. Besides, this Yin gathering token has restrictions on it. I can't enter it at all."

With that, she handed the Yin gathering token to Martial Uncle. He took it, examined it, and said, "There's divine sense on this thing?"

I asked Martial Uncle what divine sense was.

Martial Uncle said that if divine sense was left on an object, anyone else who wanted to use it needed the permission of the owner of that divine sense.

"Otherwise, even if you smashed it to pieces, you still couldn't enter it. It's similar to the old practice of recognizing a master through a drop of blood.

"But divine sense is a hundred times stronger than recognizing a master through blood."

After examining it, Martial Uncle said somewhat awkwardly, "Uh... I don't know whose divine sense is attached to it either."

Nangong Yiyi pointed at me and said, "Why not let this kid try? I have a feeling it seems familiar."

Martial Uncle nodded and said it seemed somewhat familiar to him too.

I took the Yin gathering token and simply stood there, utterly confused, staring at Martial Uncle and Nangong Yiyi.

A long while passed...

"Hurry up and try it!" Martial Uncle urged, glaring at me.

Nangong Yiyi and Qianqian both looked at me expectantly.

I replied weakly, "I don't know how."

At once, the words Martial Uncle had been about to say caught in his throat.

Nangong Yiyi slapped a hand over her face, while Qianqian's mouth twitched.

We just stared at one another with wide eyes, you looking at me and me looking at you, silent for a long, long time...