Yaksha Devours Ghosts

"Yin energy!"

Zhou Yan raised an eyebrow, basically confirming that a ghost was causing trouble rather than a human.

However, with Yin energy inside the wine vat, could it be a Wine Ghost?

He stepped forward to examine the vat, breaking the clay seal to find it filled to the brim with liquid.

Yet, upon taking a faint sniff, he couldn't detect a hint of alcohol; it was as if it were a vat of clear water.

Zhou Yan reached out to scoop some up and tasted it lightly.

"Ptooey, ptooey..."

As soon as it touched his tongue, Zhou Yan spat it out, his face twisted in disgust.

The water in the vat looked clear, but the taste was incredibly bitter, carrying a trace of decay.

That was right; it was something ruined by a ghost.

Generally speaking, ghosts only consume offerings and require the shroud of incense to do so.

For the wine in this vat to end up in such a state, only a Wine Ghost could be responsible.

No wonder no one was hurt.

Zhou Yan mused to himself.

This didn't deviate much from his previous hypothesis.

Having confirmed the situation, Zhou Yan went to a corner and sat down, rapidly retracting his Yang energy and letting Yin energy permeate his body.

In this way, even if a ghost approached, it would not easily detect Zhou Yan's presence.

As the night deepened, movement finally stirred within the winery.

Zhou Yan slowly opened his eyes and secretly cast the Dharma Eye Curse.

Suddenly, within his field of vision, he saw a ghost drifting toward him from the distance.

Upon arriving, the Wine Ghost instinctively looked toward the wine vat and immediately prepared to pounce.

However, a moment later, the Wine Ghost suddenly stopped in its tracks, eyeing the broken clay seal.

Watching from the side, Zhou Yan saw it clearly: this was the most intelligent ghost he had ever encountered, as well as the most sober and composed.

It had actually noticed such a minor detail.

Zhou Yan, accustomed to dealing with malevolent ghosts whose minds were clouded by resentment, had been a bit negligent.

Realizing something was wrong, the Wine Ghost immediately prepared to flee.

But by then, Zhou Yan had already leaped out, blocking the ghost's path and striking it with his Peach Wood Sword, sending it flying.

After being knocked back, the Wine Ghost immediately changed direction, preparing to escape again.

This time, however, it was blocked once more.

It wasn't Zhou Yan blocking the way, but his two Corpse Controlling puppets.

Positioned left and right, they cut off the Wine Ghost's escape route.

"Roar..."

The Wine Ghost's ferocity was stirred, and its Yin energy surged violently.

Just as Zhou Yan braced himself, thinking the ghost was about to fight to the death, it suddenly bolted in the opposite direction.

In that instant, the Wine Ghost moved with incredible speed, appearing as if it were about to escape the winery.

The intelligence of this Wine Ghost was so high that it had even deceived Zhou Yan.

"Bang..."

The Wine Ghost's figure flew back, and from the direction it had tried to escape, a figure slowly emerged.

This figure had wings on its back, a green face with fangs, and held a steel fork; it was the Yaksha Guardian Deity.

After the Yakshas Meditation Method broke through to the proficiency level, the Yaksha manifested by his thoughts could travel further and move with greater agility.

As the saying goes, the devil is one foot tall, but the Tao is ten feet high.

Zhou Yan had been prepared all along, simply keeping the Yaksha Guardian Deity hidden.

He hadn't expected the Wine Ghost to choose the worst possible path.

Against malevolent ghosts, the power of the Yaksha Guardian Deity was even greater.

The Yaksha Guardian Deity moved with lightning speed, its steel fork piercing toward the Wine Ghost and running it through.

Zhou Yan was secretly startled; he discovered that the Yaksha Guardian Deity's steel fork seemed to have a homing effect.

Whether it was dealing with the infant spirit before or the Wine Ghost now, the fork didn't seem particularly fast, yet these ghosts appeared to have no power to resist, getting struck squarely every time.

And once skewered, breaking free was harder than ascending to heaven.

"Roar..."

The drunkard roared incessantly, struggling with all his might to break free.

However, the Yaksha Guardian Deity was, after all, a guardian of the Buddhist faith; how could an ordinary vengeful spirit hope to break its grasp?

The more violently the drunkard struggled, the worse its condition became. Massive amounts of yin energy and ghostly aura were continuously stripped away, and it quickly reached the brink of annihilation.

Just as Zhou Yan prepared to step forward and seal the drunkard, the Yaksha Guardian Deity suddenly raised its trident, held the drunkard before its face, and sniffed it twice.

The next moment, before Zhou Yan's wide eyes, the Yaksha abruptly opened its massive maw and swallowed the drunkard in one gulp.

This sudden turn of events made Zhou Yan's body tremble violently.

Immediately after, the Yaksha transformed back into a thought and returned to Zhou Yan's soul.

Feeling a new segment of information suddenly appear in his mind, Zhou Yan hurriedly sat cross-legged and began to absorb it rapidly.

It turned out that the Yakshas Meditation Method possessed a hidden effect and benefit: it could devour vengeful spirits to strengthen one's own soul.

However, the vengeful spirits devoured by the Yaksha had to be those burdened with blood debts and human lives.

Furthermore, the soul power gained from devouring spirits came with a drawback: it required purification through Buddhist teachings.

Otherwise, one's soul would be gradually corrupted, malice would surge, and one might even suffer a qi deviation.

After a long while, Zhou Yan slowly opened his eyes, his expression extremely grim.

"Damn it, I never expected the Yakshas Meditation Method to have such a hidden trap. These bald donkeys are truly black-hearted."

In that instant, he couldn't help but think of Xiao Feng and Murong Fu's fathers from Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils; both were sabotaged in the end because they practiced Buddhist martial arts without understanding the hidden terminology.

Yet, Zhou Yan knew in his heart that this wasn't unique to Buddhism; the Daoist sects were the same.

Unless one was initiated into a sect and received proper instruction, a rogue cultivator who obtained secret manuals from major sects would likely never decipher the hidden jargon and implications within.

The more powerful the manual, the more hidden traps it contained.

Once one began practicing, if the correct method wasn't mastered, it was easy to suffer a qi deviation at any moment.

In this regard, Buddhism was slightly better; the metaphors in Daoist techniques were even more numerous.

A single sentence of true transmission is worth more than ten thousand scrolls of false teachings.

There is a reason and logic behind why the Dharma is not easily transmitted!

Whether Zhou Yan asked a high monk to purify him or practiced Buddhist teachings himself, he would gradually begin to identify with Buddhism in his heart, eventually becoming exactly what the Buddhist sects desired.

"Saving all sentient beings—what a fine 'saving all sentient beings'!"

Zhou Yan stood up, realizing he had underestimated the Buddhist sects.

It might be easy to talk as a keyboard warrior, but only when one truly comes into contact with them does one understand the power and terror of these sects.

This was an open conspiracy!

Unless Zhou Yan abandoned the meditation method, the influence would only grow, and the price he would have to pay later would only increase.

I cannot practice Buddhist teachings. To resolve this, I would need to truly accept the Dharma in my heart, and by then, I'd probably end up bald. Aside from that, I wonder if practicing Buddhist martial arts could neutralize it, Zhou Yan pondered secretly.

This was his line of thinking—a desperate measure among desperate measures.

Without a lineage or guidance, he had to cross the river by feeling the stones alone, bearing the consequences of every step, right or wrong.