Yin Soul Sect, Hundred Ghosts Gate

The next morning's lessons proceeded as usual.

Only after the lessons ended and the disciples bowed and dispersed did Shen Hui step forward a few paces.

"Master."

Ji Chen opened his eyes and looked at him. "What is it?"

"Disciple went to the back mountain yesterday and encountered someone."

The old Daoist, who had been leaning back in his chair, gradually sat up straight, his gaze pausing on Shen Hui's face for a moment. "What kind of person?"

Shen Hui weighed his words, then recounted yesterday's experience in full detail.

He omitted some details, however, only saying that while walking in the mountains he had run into a White-headed Macaque, and while tracking it, he had encountered an old man wielding a soul banner.

When he mentioned the old man using Black Wind to corrode objects and ghosts to seize people, the old Daoist's brow had already furrowed.

"You say he was refining a banner?"

The old Daoist set down his tea bowl, his voice dropping a few notes. "What kind of banner?"

"A white banner, with black qi coiling around its surface, and the faint sound of ghostly wailing could be heard from within."

Shen Hui thought for a moment, then added, "He also released many yin souls and vicious ghosts from a gourd—extremely fierce and malevolent."

The old Daoist's expression shifted completely.

"Soul banners, yin souls, ghosts and monsters..." The old Daoist spoke slowly, each word weighted, his voice sinking. "This is the path of the Yin Soul Sect, the Hundred Ghosts Gate."

"The Yin Soul Sect?"

"A sect that specializes in yin soul evil arts, divided into several branches, of which the Hundred Ghosts Gate is one."

The old Daoist's voice carried a rare note of gravity. "The people of this branch mostly use soul banners as their lifebound artifacts, relying on imprisoning dead souls to raise their cultivation. The more times a soul banner is refined, the more souls it absorbs, the more powerful it becomes. At first, with only a hundred souls, it can corrode flesh and blood; next, with a thousand souls, it can command a hundred ghosts and wreak havoc even in daylight; as for ten thousand souls..."

He paused, his gaze turning somber.

"Once a Ten Thousand Soul Banner is complete, it can form a ghost domain. It can even trap and kill a Golden Core True Person."

Shen Hui's heart tightened.

"You say you killed him?" the old Daoist suddenly asked.

"Yes."

"How?"

Shen Hui briefly recounted the process of the fight, though he didn't mention using his other techniques.

After listening, the old Daoist was silent for a long moment, then suddenly raised his hand and knocked Shen Hui on the head.

"You've got quite the nerve!"

The knock was not light. Shen Hui winced, shrinking his neck, but didn't dare dodge.

"Less than a year of cultivation, and you dare to fight and clash with an evil cultivator of the Yin Soul Sect?"

The old Daoist glared at him, his beard bristling. "If that man had been prepared, with his soul banner fully refined, with your meager Dao Xing, you might not have come back alive."

"Disciple knows his mistake, but Disciple truly had no choice."

Shen Hui admitted his fault honestly. "At first, the White-headed Macaque he raised targeted me. Later, I saw the white bones on the clearing..."

He paused, his voice lowering. "There were at least ten sets. I wanted to retreat, but the old man wouldn't let me leave. He said I had to 'guard the ritual' for him. I had no other option, so I struck first."

The old Daoist's anger gradually faded, replaced by a look of contemplation.

"Dark Yin Hermit..."

He muttered the name once, then shook his head. "Never heard of him. But for an evil cultivator like that who refines soul banners, the innocent commoners he's killed must number at least eighty or a hundred."

He stroked his beard, his tone softening. "Killing him is fine. Consider it ridding the people of a scourge."

Shen Hui breathed a sigh of relief at this, then remembered something. He pulled the Jadeite Gourd from his bosom and offered it with both hands.

"Master, Disciple also obtained this from him. I don't know its origin."

The old Daoist took it, examining it in his hand for a moment.

The gourd was a deep emerald green, its luster warm and smooth, with a slight weight in the hand.

He turned it over several times, pulled out the stopper to look inside, and finally held the gourd in his palm, closing his eyes. A faint green light glowed from his hand.

After a moment, he spoke. "This object has the effect of a mustard seed containing Mount Sumeru. It can change size freely, and can also hold refined yin souls and ghostly things."

He reinserted the stopper and handed the gourd back to Shen Hui. "It's a useful treasure. Hard to say where that man got it."

Shen Hui took the gourd and asked, "Can Disciple use it?"

"Naturally."

Ji Chen explained the method of refinement.

It wasn't difficult. He only needed to warm it daily with his own spiritual qi, and within ten days, he would be able to change its size at will, storing and releasing objects as he pleased.

Shen Hui happily put away the gourd, hesitated, then asked again, "Master, that man also seemed to have cultivated a technique called 'Corpse Condensation Sword Refinement.' Have you ever heard of this name?"

The old Daoist frowned in thought. "Corpse Condensation Sword Refinement?"

"Yes."

Shen Hui nodded. "This disciple killed him before he could fully execute it, only catching a fragment of it, but I don't know the specifics of the technique."

Ji Chen pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "Never heard of it. The methods in this world are as numerous as ox hairs; your master isn't an immortal, how could I know them all?"

He glanced at Shen Hui. "Why do you ask?"

Shen Hui sighed helplessly. "This disciple felt that man's methods were somewhat sinister, and worried he might have senior masters from his sect. That's why I wanted to know more, to be better prepared in the future."

"No need to worry."

The old Daoist waved his hand dismissively. "The Yin Soul Sect's lair is on East Sea Yingzhou, tens of thousands of li from here."

His tone turned stern. "But next time you encounter something like this, first weigh your own measure. Otherwise, some mistakes—make them once, and regret will be too late."

Shen Hui obediently replied, "Yes."

He intended to take his leave, but at the door, he remembered something.

"Master, does the temple have any books introducing cultivation sects? This disciple knows too little on this subject and would like to read up. If I run into another evil cultivator in the future, I can recognize their origins at a glance and know their strengths and weaknesses."

Ji Chen looked at him. "There's no such book."

Shen Hui was taken aback.

"Would the secret techniques and methods of each sect be written in a book for anyone to read?"

Ji Chen stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to him. "In a few days, you'll come down the mountain with me. When we have leisure on the road, your master will tell you slowly."

Shen Hui felt a surge of joy and was about to thank him when Ji Chen spoke again: "But before we go down the mountain, there's something you need to do."

"What is it?"

"Learn a few talisman techniques."

The old Daoist turned around. "The Medicine Art can be set aside, but you still need to learn some simple talismans for curing illness and expelling evil—they'll be useful once we descend."

His voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction. "Our Clear Wind Temple is, after all, a proper Daoist sect. Don't just focus on fighting and killing. After all, when you walk the jianghu, you can't just burn every patient possessed by evil spirits, can you?"

"...This disciple understands."

"Books on talisman studies..." The old Daoist thought for a moment. "Jinghui took them. If you want to read them, go find her."