Two Kinds of Power

As his voice fell, a figure in white with black hair appeared beside Zheng Que, wrapped in thick Yin energy. It was Qing Li.

Qing Li glanced at Zheng Que, then nodded with great satisfaction. "Not bad, Human Race brat!"

"It was all thanks to your dull wits, your inability to be taught, and your being a rotten log unfit for carving that you finally managed to drive that old Daoist away!"

"Your granny's in a good mood today, so I'll graciously cooperate with you for once, brat!"

Zheng Que had already been feeling a little irritable. Hearing that only made him more annoyed.

But right now, he couldn't beat her. If he tried to teach this Female Hanging Ghost a lesson, the most likely outcome was that he'd get beaten up again.

He was the dignified lord of the Underworld. How had his life gotten so miserable?

At that thought, Zheng Que said nothing and began cultivating the [Spirit Descent Technique].

The Spirit Power in his body began circulating under the technique's guidance, and his hands formed one strange seal after another.

His master had just said that of the three techniques, the [Spirit Descent Technique] was the easiest.

Now that he was trying it for himself, he quickly discovered that the technique really was surprisingly easy to cultivate!

Before long, he had completed most of the seals. The spiritual energy in his body flowed like a wheel, drawing in all the Yang Energy throughout him.

At that moment, Zheng Que changed the seals with his hands and opened the palm bearing the "令" character.

Unlike the [Ghost Controlling Technique], the [Spirit Descent Technique] didn't require him to point this character at his Ghost Servant. The caster served as its vessel, allowing him to forcibly summon his Ghost Servant into his own body.

In the next instant, Qing Li seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, drifting toward Zheng Que's palm against her will.

Whoosh!

Qing Li immediately turned into a streak of blood-red light and was sucked into the center of Zheng Que's palm in the blink of an eye.

The streak of blood-red light didn't remain in his palm. Instead, it streamed along his hand and spread rapidly up his arm and across his body...

Soon, black-and-white patterns covered his entire arm.

The patterns were fine and branching, like the roots of some plant. In the blink of an eye, they had spread to his neck, growing rapidly along its side.

Zheng Que felt his body growing colder and colder as his body heat rapidly drained away. But the seals in his hands never stopped; instead, he sped up the flow of spiritual energy within him.

At the same time, he clearly sensed the power in his body beginning to climb steadily.

As Zheng Que formed the final seal, the patterns on the side of his neck seemed to reach their peak. Suddenly, a second head sprouted there!

Its face was deathly pale, its hair disheveled, and a purplish-black strangulation mark circled its lower jaw. It radiated a vicious, savage aura. It was none other than Qing Li!

The instant Qing Li's head appeared on the side of Zheng Que's neck, his entire presence turned chillingly sinister. Yet a vast power seemed to pour into his body from nowhere. Every movement brimmed with strength, and he felt more powerful than ever before!

He had successfully cultivated the [Spirit Descent Technique]!

The entire temple seemed to plunge into an ice cellar. The dense Yin energy laid another veil of black over his vision, and everything looked bleak and frigid.

Zheng Que stood in the open space, his face, neck, the backs of his hands... Every patch of exposed skin was covered in black-and-white patterns. They seemed to have grown there naturally, their shapes like nets and roots. They spread across his entire body, then converged in a mighty rush toward the side of his neck, clustering around the Female Hanging Ghost's head.

The sight was grotesque and terrifying, far more uncanny than any demon or ghost.

Zheng Que's expression remained calm as he carefully sensed the changes in his power.

The head of Qing Li beside his own suddenly spoke. "Human Race brat, this technique of yours is fascinating!"

"With this technique, there's no need to worry about your tribulation three days from now..."

"Enough. You, head, go to sleep. Don't hog this body. Your granny's going to study this technique properly now."

Go to sleep?

Don't hog the body?

Zheng Que laughed. His master had said the greatest risk of the [Spirit Descent Technique] was being possessed by one's own Ghost Servant. If an ordinary cultivator who'd learned the technique suddenly heard their Ghost Servant say this, they would surely be terrified.

But he was different. With his other identity in the Underworld, he could punch Qing Li right in the face and nothing would happen!

Of course, if he actually did that, Qing Li would definitely take revenge once the [Spirit Descent Technique] ended. Until he was stronger than her, he'd have to endure it for now.

With that in mind, he answered without holding back. "Cut the nonsense! Which of us is the master—you or me?"

"Have you already forgotten how badly you lost in our master-servant battle last time?"

"You lowly Ghost Servant, remember this: only the master can occupy the Ghost Servant's body and study the Ghost Servant's abilities. No Ghost Servant gets to occupy the master's body, let alone study the master's techniques!"

Hearing this, Qing Li flew into a rage. "You Human Race brat! If you've got the nerve, fight your granny again!"

"Your granny will beat you until your teeth are scattered across the ground!"

"Oh, and you're not allowed to use the [Ghost Controlling Technique]..."

At this, Zheng Que chuckled. He wasn't as strong as Qing Li right now, so there was no way he could fight her again.

Of course, if they really did fight, he'd use the [Ghost Controlling Technique]—and he'd drag her into the Underworld, then use his other identity to scare her into kowtowing and confessing her crimes to the real-world version of himself...

Thinking this, Zheng Que ignored Qing Li. He tried moving his arms and legs, then made a few simple motions. Aside from Qing Li's head, which he couldn't control, the rest of his body felt perfectly normal.

Then he walked out of the ruined temple and threw a punch at the open space in the courtyard.

Boom!!!

A thunderous crash sent sand and stones flying. The blue-stone paving instantly caved into a deep pit. Water gurgled within it, while shards of stone and gravel rolled everywhere. The display was astonishing. A few nearby households had still been making faint sounds, but after the crash, it was as if some mechanism had been triggered. Even the sound of breathing vanished without a trace, as though Zheng Que were the only person here.

Zheng Que brushed away the dust flying toward him and looked at the pit, nodding slightly.

His strength now might have reached the Second Layer of Qi Refining, or even the Third Layer.

Still, he seemed weaker than Qing Li in her original form.

That was probably because his body was too weak to bring out the full power of Qing Li's Yin energy.

Zheng Que then tested his techniques. He quickly discovered that the area covered by the [Yin Gathering Technique] had more than doubled, and the Yin clouds it produced greatly boosted his strength.

He had no ghosts on hand to test the [Ghost Controlling Technique] on, while the [Spirit Eye Technique] remained unchanged from before.

Besides that, he could use all of Qing Li's abilities, and they seemed even stronger when he used them than when Qing Li did!

He was simply slower at using them than Qing Li...

After more testing and comparison, Zheng Que finally began to understand the general workings of the technique.

While the Spirit Descent was active, the caster risked being possessed by their Ghost Servant, but could control both a cultivator's Spirit Power and a ghost's Yin energy—the two kinds of power—at the same time!

Furthermore, aside from the [Spirit Eye Technique] and the [Ghost Controlling Technique], all the other techniques and abilities were enhanced to some degree.

However, he was still far too clumsy at using Yin energy, so the abilities he'd inherited from Qing Li came out stiffly.

To use them as skillfully as Qing Li, he'd need a lot more practice...

After figuring things out, Zheng Que immediately formed a seal and ended the [Spirit Descent Technique].

In the next instant, Qing Li's head separated from Zheng Que's neck like an overripe fruit. The black-and-white patterns fell away from his body along with it, and both tumbled to the ground.

Zheng Que felt his body heat quickly return, and soon he was back to normal.

Seeing Qing Li lying on the ground without getting up, Zheng Que was surprised and immediately asked, "Lowly Ghost Servant, what's wrong?"

Qing Li remained motionless, prostrate on the ground, her body trembling slightly. The Yin energy around her flickered violently like a candle flame buffeted by a gale. After a long while, she replied coldly, "Human Race brat, your technique consumes a great deal of your granny's Yin energy!"

"Your granny needs to rest now. Don't bother me, brat!"

With that, Qing Li finally rose slowly and drifted toward the dead old tree by the courtyard wall. Before long, she had hung herself from it.

Watching this, Zheng Que immediately understood: after the [Spirit Descent Technique] ended, the Ghost Servant entered a period of weakness...