Phantom's Trace

In front of the Wang Mansion gate, Wang Fu paced back and forth anxiously. Seeing Ye Yun rushing over, the old butler greeted him like a savior: "Lord Ye! You've finally arrived! That Lord Zhou brought four black-robed figures into the backyard and ordered no one to approach..."

Ye Yun's footsteps didn't stop, but his voice deepened: "How long have they been inside?"

"About half an hour." Wang Fu wiped the sweat from his brow. "This old servant feels something is wrong. Those people don't look like proper officials, more like..."

Ye Yun had no time for more words. His figure flashed, and he had already passed through the front courtyard. The closer he got to the haunted courtyard, the more oppressive the chilling aura in the air became. It was noon, yet the sunlight seemed to be blocked by some invisible barrier. The vines climbing the courtyard walls were a sickly gray-black, and tiny ice crystals formed on the edges of their leaves.

Something is indeed strange...

Ye Yun stopped at the courtyard gate, his ears twitching slightly. Through the heavy wooden door, he heard a low chanting sound, occasionally mixed with the crisp clatter of chains dragging on the ground. Even more bizarre, the temperature inside the courtyard was noticeably lower than outside. Wisps of white mist seeped from the cracks in the door, condensing into frost on the ground.

Ye Yun kicked open the courtyard gate, and the scene before him made his pupils contract—

In the center of the courtyard, four black-robed figures stood in a square formation, each holding a chain as black as ink. The other ends of the chains were submerged in an ancient well, vibrating violently with the sounds of impact coming from within. Prefect Zhou stood by the well's edge, holding a blood-red banner and chanting incantations. A complex formation was drawn on the ground with Vermilion, its patterns flowing with a dark red light that writhed like living creatures.

Most horrifyingly, a white figure floated above the well opening—it was the white-clothed female ghost from yesterday! However, she was now entwined with blood-red runes, her face contorted, emitting a piercing shriek.

"Didn't I say no one is allowed in without my orders?" Prefect Zhou turned abruptly, his narrow eyes flashing with cold light.

Ye Yun feigned ignorance, cupping his fists in a salute: "This subordinate has come to assist Your Excellency. This female ghost is dangerous; do we need to send more men?"

"Get out!" Prefect Zhou roared, swinging the banner in his hand. A streak of blood-red light shot out, exploding before Ye Yun's feet. A bowl-sized pit was instantly corroded into the ground.

Ye Yun's eyes flashed with cold light. This was hardly the method of an official meant to guide lost souls; it was clearly the Blood Corrosive Curse, a technique of evil cultivators! He subtly retreated half a step, his gaze quickly sweeping across the entire courtyard—the four black-robed figures were bound by the formation and couldn't move; Prefect Zhou's cultivation was around the peak of the seventh rank; and the female ghost, though seemingly trapped, was actually several times more potent in her yin energy than yesterday...

"Submit to me, and I shall grant you freedom." Prefect Zhou ignored Ye Yun and said sinisterly to the female ghost, "Otherwise, today will be the day your soul is scattered!"

The female ghost's shriek abruptly stopped. She slowly raised her head, a grotesque smile appearing on her pale face: "Thirty years ago, you said the same thing..."

Before she finished speaking, she suddenly erupted in a frenzy! The blood-red runes that had been entwined around her snapped one by one. Her long hair, like venomous snakes, grew rapidly, instantly coiling around a black-robed figure's neck. With a crisp snap, the man's head twisted at an unnatural angle, and he died on the spot.

The formation immediately showed a gap. The female ghost seized the opportunity to break free from her restraints and floated gracefully onto the courtyard wall. A cold wind suddenly rose, her tattered white dress fluttering. Her fingernails, grown to over a foot long, gleamed with a faint blue light under the sun.

"You ungrateful wretch!" Prefect Zhou roared in fury, swinging his banner to unleash three more streaks of blood-red light. "Do you know how many strange entities want to join our Youming Sect?"

"Youming Sect?" Ye Yun's heart jolted. Uncle Fu had mentioned this evil sect before—a thousand-year-old lineage that specialized in sinister cultivation techniques, using the vital essence of living people to nurture ghosts and refine corpses. They were considered a thorn in the side by righteous cultivators. Thirty years ago, they were besieged by the Seven Great Sects; he never expected them to appear so openly!

"Prefect Zhou!" Ye Yun interrupted sternly. "A court official colluding with an evil cult, what crime is that? This female ghost must be eliminated!"

"You court death!" Prefect Zhou's face contorted, pointing his banner directly at Ye Yun. "I was going to spare your life... you four, kill this brat!"

Hearing this, the four black-robed figures immediately shifted their formation. Three continued to maintain the formation to trap the female ghost, while the one whose neck had been snapped actually staggered to his feet! His neck was still bent at an unnatural angle, but his eyes glowed with an eerie green light, and he let out a strange growl as he lunged at Ye Yun.

"Corpse Puppet technique!" Ye Yun's pupils constricted. This was a signature evil art of the Youming Sect, capable of refining the recently deceased into puppets, retaining seventy percent of their original strength. The Corpse Puppet before him had been at least an 8th Rank martial artist in life. Although its movements were stiff now, its strength was even greater than before!

The Corpse Puppet threw a punch, its fist carrying a stench of decay. Ye Yun dodged to the side, then slashed his saber towards its neck—clang! The blade struck as if hitting iron or stone, leaving only a shallow white mark.

"Useless." Prefect Zhou chuckled sinisterly. "A Corpse Puppet has skin and bones of bronze; ordinary blades and swords can hardly wound it... What?!"

Before he could finish speaking, Ye Yun's saber technique suddenly changed! Golden light erupted from the long saber, and he struck the Corpse Puppet squarely in the chest. This time, the blade cut through the tough flesh like slicing tofu, splitting the Corpse Puppet in half!

True Martial Gangqi is indeed effective against the sinister. Ye Yun's heart settled. He pointed his saber at Prefect Zhou. "Next is you."

Prefect Zhou's expression flickered. Then, he suddenly grinned sinisterly. "Well done, a Constable hiding his strength! But..." He bit his tongue, spraying a mouthful of blood mist onto the banner. "Did you think that was all?"

The banner instantly blazed with blood-red light, and the formation patterns on the ground writhed like living things. The remaining three black-robed figures simultaneously let out piercing screams—their bodies shriveled at a visible rate, their vital essence drained by the formation and shot towards the female ghost as three blood arrows!

Blood Sacrifice Soul Refinement! Ye Yun's heart pounded with alarm. This was one of the Youming Sect's most vicious secret arts, using the vital essence of living people to forcibly increase a ghost's cultivation. Once successful, the female ghost would completely lose her sanity and become a vengeful spirit driven only by slaughter!

Struck by the blood arrows, the female ghost let out a painful shriek. Her form twisted and expanded, her white dress stained with blood, her fingernails growing even longer and sharper. Most terrifyingly, the yin energy surrounding her condensed into a tangible substance, causing the temperature in the courtyard to plummet and thick frost to form on the ground.

"Hahaha!" Prefect Zhou cackled uncontrollably. "Since I can't subdue you, I'll refine you into a Blood-Fiend Ghost Slave! Brat, dying at the hands of a seventh-rank vengeful spirit is your good fortune!"

The female ghost's pupils had turned completely blood-red. She slowly turned her head, her gaze locking onto Ye Yun. The next moment, her figure vanished, and she reappeared three feet in front of Ye Yun!

So fast! Ye Yun only had time to block with his saber. The ghost claws collided with the blade, erupting in a burst of dazzling sparks. The immense impact forced him back seven steps, his tiger's mouth split open, blood dripping down his wrist.

The female ghost pressed her advantage, her figure flickering like a phantom, attacking from all angles. Ye Yun unleashed his Mountain-Crushing Saber Technique to its limit, yet he was still forced to retreat steadily. Even more terrifying was that with each clash of saber and claw, a surge of chilling energy infiltrated his meridians through the blade, gradually slowing his movements.

I can't go on like this... Ye Yun's mind raced. He suddenly recalled the Soul-Suppressing Seal recorded in the True Martial Secret Manual. This seal was specifically designed to counter spirits, but it required vital blood as a catalyst, placing a heavy burden on him in his current state.

At this moment of life and death, Ye Yun no longer hesitated. He bit his tongue, spraying a mouthful of vital blood onto the saber, while simultaneously forming a seal with his left hand, drawing a complex trajectory in the air. The blood drops on the saber eerily suspended, gradually forming a blood-red rune as the seal changed.

"Ye Yun roared, and the long saber, carrying the blood-red rune, slashed towards the female ghost. The female ghost instinctively felt a threat and tried to dodge, but it was too late—the rune landed precisely on her forehead, and the blood-red light flared intensely!

"Ah—!"

The female ghost let out a heart-wrenching scream, the yin energy around her churning like boiling water. Her form began to blur, as if she might dissipate at any moment. But just then, Prefect Zhou suddenly threw his banner. The banner unfurled like a gaping bloody mouth, swallowing the female ghost!

"I didn't expect you to know the long-lost Soul-Suppressing Seal..." Prefect Zhou's face was as dark as water. "It seems I cannot let you live!"

He formed seals with both hands, and the banner trembled violently. The female ghost's screams grew weaker. Ye Yun knew this was the Youming Sect's ghost refining technique. Once completed, the female ghost would be completely refined into a mindless killing tool.

I must stop him!

Ye Yun endured the searing pain of the yin energy eroding his meridians and charged towards Prefect Zhou with his saber. Just then, an unexpected change occurred—

The banner exploded! A figure of red and white burst out of the tattered banner—it was the female ghost! However, half her face was now as pale as paper, and the other half was as red as vermilion. Her eyes flickered between clarity and madness.

"You... all deserve to die!" The female ghost's voice shifted between a shrill cry and a soft whisper, clearly caught in the tug-of-war between refinement and backlash. With a wave of her hands, ten streams of yin energy shot out like arrows towards Prefect Zhou!

Prefect Zhou dodged hastily but was still struck in his right shoulder by three streams of yin energy, his flesh instantly becoming a bloody mess. He grunted, pulled out a small, ink-black bottle from his robes, and gritted his teeth. "Since I can't control you, then let's perish together!"

The moment the stopper was pulled, a nauseating stench filled the air. Dozens of black wisps flew out of the bottle, transforming into small, hideous ghosts upon landing. They shrieked and pounced towards the female ghost and Ye Yun.

"Soul-Devouring Ghosts!" Ye Yun's heart pounded in alarm. These were evil creatures refined from stillborn infants, specializing in devouring living souls and incredibly ferocious. He quickly circulated his True Martial Gangqi to protect himself, his saber dancing in a blur, slaying the attacking small ghosts one by one.

The situation with the female ghost was even more brutal. Although her power had greatly increased, her sanity was compromised. She shrieked repeatedly as the small ghosts gnawed at her. Amidst the chaos, she suddenly looked at Ye Yun, a flicker of clarity in her blood-red eyes: "Help... help me..."

Ye Yun blinked, and before he could react, the female ghost transformed into a white light and merged into the long saber in his hand. The blade was instantly covered in frost, but it was quickly dispelled by his True Martial Gangqi.

"Bitch!" Prefect Zhou trembled with rage. How dare she recognize a master to save herself?!

He violently tore open his collar, revealing a hideous ghost face tattoo on his chest. As he chanted an incantation, the tattoo gradually bulged from his skin, transforming into a giant spectral ghost head that lunged towards Ye Yun, its maw agape!

At the critical moment, the long saber suddenly vibrated violently, and the female ghost's voice echoed in Ye Yun's mind: "Use me... to slay it..."

With no time to think, Ye Yun poured all his Essence Qi into the long saber. The blade erupted with unprecedented radiance, half a brilliant golden light, half an icy, ethereal blue. As the ghost head lunged before him, he unleashed the ultimate move of the Mountain-Crushing Saber Technique with all his might--

Mountain-Crushing Saber Technique, Sixth Stance: Annihilation!

The saber light poured down like a celestial river, colliding with the ghost head in a thunderous roar. The terrifying shockwave leveled the entire courtyard wall, sending dust and smoke soaring into the sky. When the dust settled, Ye Yun was seen kneeling on one knee, the long saber plunged into the ground for support, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth.

Ten feet away, Prefect Zhou bore a ghastly wound across his chest, as if he had been split in two. He stared at Ye Yun in disbelief, his Adam's apple bobbing as he choked out his final words: "You... the Youming Sect... will not let you go..." Then, he breathed his last.