Profound-Heaven Glazed Lamp

Wang Chong had been taken away by Sun Yougui, and Zhu Ying had worried herself sick. Though Sun Yougui was not a bloodthirsty man, he had, after all, come from—an evil sect.

Now that Wang Chong had returned and had even been accepted into Xiao Nan's school, Zhu Ying was overjoyed beyond herself. She quietly said to Little Bug, "If you think this place is nice, I'll ask Second Brother for it. He has plenty of other estates anyway."

Little Bug hurriedly refused. "How can a scholar indulge in pleasure? So long as I have a roof over my head, tea to drink, and food to eat, that is more than enough."

Zhu Ying giggled and did not argue with him, merely thinking to herself, I must find a way to make him give up his thoughts of earning official rank. If one studies too long, one becomes rigid and pedantic.

Host and guests took their seats, and Zhu Xiong laid out a banquet. To this little Dragon King, the place was crude and could not provide delicacies from mountain and sea, but to an ordinary household, it was already extravagantly luxurious.

Xiao Nan came from an immortal sect. Though he had not been qualified to ascend to the heavens for banquets, he had seen plenty of feasts held by the various immortal schools and naturally paid it no mind.

He had originally worried that his disciple, having never seen such a scene, might feel awkward. But he soon noticed that Little Bug's manner was open and graceful, without the slightest restraint, and was finally reassured.

Wang Chong's father was a vice minister of the current dynasty. Since childhood, he had attended banquets at countless homes of court officials. The display of a mere little Dragon King could not possibly daunt him.

Raising his cup, Zhu Xiong said, "This place is humble. I hope Master Xiao and little brother Wang Chong will not take offense."

Xiao Nan smiled. "Thank you for the little Dragon King's hospitality."

Little Bug thought, Since the elder has spoken, I need only remain silent. He followed with a bow as well.

Afraid that he would be neglected, Zhu Ying deliberately sat beside him and whispered with a smile, "There's nothing much here. When you have time, come to the East Sea, and I'll catch you a few clam beauties to eat."

A clam beauty happened to be passing by. She shuddered all over in fright and nearly dropped the platter in her hands.

Little Bug hurriedly said, "These spirits already possess awareness. How can you still eat them? Isn't that too cruel?"

Zhu Ying laughed. "I am the cruelest creature in the sea. If I came ashore, I would eat people too."

Little Bug hesitated for a moment, then said, "Then... perhaps you should eat me instead."

He did not believe that Zhu Ying, who usually preferred vegetarian noodles, would actually eat clam beauties. Yet he did not bluntly refute her, instead making a somewhat foolish joke.

Zhu Ying had not expected this dull, simple fellow Little Bug to know how to joke. Thinking that he truly feared she might eat people, she laughed so hard her body swayed like blossoms in the wind. "Fine, then I'll eat you. Tonight, I'll have red-braised scholar and lightly stewed Wang Chong."

While the master and disciples were being entertained by the little Dragon King Zhu Xiong, several hundred li away, within a small temple, three streams of evil qi shot into the sky, faintly carrying the stench of corpses.

Three black-robed Daoists were refining a formation. One of them was Sun Yougui, the fourth elder of the Heavenly Corpse Sect.

He had lost his three Flying Yakshas, and his magical power had greatly declined. After returning to the mountain, he invited two fellow disciples to join him in refining the Ten-Thousand Ghost Formation. They intended to break open Little Cold Mountain and seize the Celestial Stele, then seek out Xiao Nan for revenge.

Though the three yakshas had not died at Xiao Nan's hands, Sun Yougui still put that debt on his head.

Now, the origins of the Celestial Stele were gradually spreading, and more and more people had come to spy upon it.

After refining for a while, Sun Yougui felt stifled and thought bitterly, My three yakshas, painstakingly refined over two hundred years, were burned away by that thief Xiao Nan with a single blast of true fire. Without the Flying Yakshas to protect me, I may not be able to defeat him alone. I can only rely on these two fellow disciples and the Ten-Thousand Ghost Formation.

As his irritation mounted, he suddenly sensed an aura. With a flick of his fly whisk, dozens of fierce ghosts wrapped in thick black qi shot into the heavens. At once, he saw two streaks of escaping light pursuing one another.

The one fleeing ahead was Hu Chimei, the great fox spirit who had recently been rather "glorious." Dressed in black, he was also a handsome young man with a graceful bearing, but his face was wickedly seductive and his eyes long and narrow. One look was enough to tell that he was no decent man.

The one pursuing him was an evil cultivator, letting out an enraged howl that stretched across the sky. Billowing yellow clouds rolled forth as he insisted on capturing this great fox spirit alive, so he could learn more about the Celestial Stele.

The sight delighted Sun Yougui. He shouted, "Junior brothers, join me in capturing Hu Chimei and slaying this scoundrel!"

The two Daoists of the Heavenly Corpse Sect possessed less magical power than Sun Yougui, but they were still cultivators of considerable attainment. They each flicked their fly whisks, and thousands of fierce ghosts clustered around the three as they soared into the air.

Seeing the three Daoists of the Heavenly Corpse Sect activate such a vicious formation, Hu Chimei was startled. He called out, "Elder Sun, it has only been a little over a month since we last met, yet your cultivation seems to have advanced greatly!"

Sun Yougui roared in fury, "Advanced my ass!"

Hu Chimei's words had struck him squarely in the sore spot.

The three Daoists of the Heavenly Corpse Sect activated their fly whisks together. The Ten-Thousand Ghost Formation transformed into layer upon layer of surging black clouds, filling the sky with wailing ghosts and howling spirits as it charged toward the two men.

This formation was a secret transmission of the Heavenly Corpse Sect, but refining it was arduous. Most Daoists of the Heavenly Corpse Sect were not evil people, and throughout the generations there had only been a few who slaughtered innocents without restraint to refine their arts. Most traveled the world, settling haunted homes and capturing ghosts for others, gradually gathering fierce ghosts bit by bit. It took at least decades of wandering, and very few were willing to refine this formation.

Originally, with Flying Yakshas to protect him, Sun Yougui had not been in any hurry to refine this art. But after Xiao Nan burned his three Flying Yakshas to death, the old ghost could no longer endure it. He found two fellow disciples whose refining had yet to succeed, and each of the three contributed the fierce ghosts they had collected over the years, joining forces to complete the formation.

Though refining it together saved time, when fighting, the three had to act as one and could not separate.

When Hu Chimei's protective demon light made slight contact with the Ten-Thousand Ghost Formation, it could no longer hold out. He was swallowed into the formation.

The evil cultivator pursuing from behind shouted angrily, "Sun Yougui, do you think I'm afraid of you?" Activating the rolling yellow clouds, he fought as he retreated, luring Sun Yougui and the others away from the small temple.

Such battles occurred once every few days within a thousand li of Little Cold Mountain, so no one paid them any attention. A few people glanced over briefly, then stopped caring.

The banquet ended!

Xiao Nan called Wang Chong and Zhu Ying aside, then said to Wang Chong, "Take out the Black-Wind Baleful Cloud."

When he had thrown the Black Wind Bag to Wang Chong, he truly had not examined it. But the Black-Wind Baleful Cloud had been Old Demon Luo's chief weapon in battle. Since he had personally collected it and stored it inside, he naturally knew it was there.

Little Bug hurriedly released the Black-Wind Baleful Cloud. Xiao Nan took out a treasure the size of a teacup and drew it inside, saying, "Old Demon Luo gathered this cloud qi bit by bit, then refined into it the baleful qi of the earth's core and wind and thunder from the Ninth Heaven, creating this treasure."

"None of you understand the Black-Wind Spell, so keeping it would be useless. Today, I will dismantle it and teach you how to refine an orthodox Daoist treasure."

Behind the bronze gate, Xiao Nan had obtained five treasures. One of them was the Profound-Heaven Glazed Lamp in his hand. It was not a supreme treasure of slaughter, but it contained boundless magical power and could replenish its owner at any time. With this one item, one could stand firmly undefeated in battle.

His use of it to contain the Black-Wind Baleful Cloud was merely done in passing, borrowing its ability to hold all things.