Dragon Pearl

In the darkness, faint whimpering gradually began to rise.

It sounded like wolves howling, yet also like the roars of tigers and leopards.

A sense of impending calamity arose in the many stout guards as well.

Zhang Jian's expression was solemn. Spiritual power surged around him as yellow talismans flew from his hand one after another, forming a talisman array before the earthen shrine.

Should any aberration dare take one step closer, he would blast it to death at once.

At the same time, Zhang Jian noticed that the golden pearl in his hand was faintly heating up.

Whenever he circulated his spiritual power and activated his lightning arts, the spiritual aura within the golden pearl would ripple faintly, as though it might run wild at any moment.

An inexplicable spiritual aura was leaking out from within.

To Zhang Jian's exceptionally keen innate spiritual sense, that mysterious aura was immensely heavy and vast, carrying an unmatched air of dominance.

This change truly piqued Zhang Jian's curiosity. Once this was over, he intended to thoroughly study the golden pearl.

At that moment, Zhang Jian noticed that the surging, sinister spiritual aura deep within the forest had, for some unknown reason, suddenly halted. In an instant, it slowly receded.

Relying on the wondrous abilities of the Myriad Realms Spirit-Sense Pearl, he vaguely heard several hushed voices from the woods.

"It's the aura of a dragon!"

"We need to leave this place!"

Zhang Jian's brow twitched as he suddenly realized something. He glanced at the golden treasure pearl tucked within his sleeve.

"This is a Dragon Pearl?"

Zhang Jian found it somewhat unbelievable.

All beasts bowed before the azure heavens. Naturally, these ghosts feared the majesty of a true dragon and did not dare draw near.

Yet Zhang Jian still found it rather strange, with a thread of relief mixed in. Without this Dragon Pearl, the consequences today would have been hard to predict.

The information he had obtained from Gu Xiu'er had instead helped him greatly. Then again, if he had not been delayed for a time in Prince Mian's Tomb, he might not have run into such trouble.

No matter what, the retreat of these demons and ghosts allowed Zhang Jian to breathe a sigh of relief, though a trace of puzzlement remained in his eyes.

Why were there so many yin ghosts in Phoenix Nest Mountain?

He also looked toward the depths of Phoenix Nest Mountain. The erupting sinister spiritual aura had suddenly stopped as well.

Another obscure change emerged in the depths, but Zhang Jian could not make it out clearly.

His gaze shifted at once.

A guess also arose in his heart.

When he returned to the small shrine, the many stout guards all looked toward him with tense eyes.

Zhang Jian waved his hand, and the guards all breathed sighs of relief. Several of them were even swaying on their feet, on the verge of collapsing. The rustling sounds outside the shrine earlier had truly frightened them badly.

Seeing their expressions, Zhang Jian felt a reverence for heaven and earth rise in his heart, while his resolve to become strong grew even firmer.

Fear, too, was a source of motivation.

Yet Zhang Jian did not lower his guard afterward, lest the demons seize an opening.

At the same time, his mind remained fixed on the Dragon Pearl.

If that golden treasure pearl truly was a Dragon Pearl, then its uses should not be limited to warding off evil.

Deep within Phoenix Nest Mountain, the night was dark and cold. Two figures stood in the air. One was a middle-aged man in green robes, intense golden radiance flowing around his body as spiritual power churned violently about him.

The other wore a Daoist crown and purple robes, with a lotus crown upon his head.

They looked toward the depths of the mountain's belly, at the countless eruptions of yin energy, their expressions exceedingly solemn.

The green-robed middle-aged man wreathed in golden light sighed.

"What a sin. This place has practically become a devil's den!"

The purple-robed Daoist shook his head. "It has been cleared out many times, yet there are always fish that slip through the net, influenced by the Phoenix Spirit! We simply need to clear it out a few more times!!"

The green-robed middle-aged man said heavily,

"How terrifying!"

"Fortunately, half of the Jade Sage Manuscript is suppressing it and keeping this land safe. But judging by things now, the power within that half of the Jade Sage Manuscript will not hold much longer. It is only a fragmentary scroll, after all, and its power is limited!

Brother Yuhe, when will the expert from your sect arrive?"

He looked at the purple-robed Daoist, his eyes carrying a trace of reverence.

The horsetail whisk in the purple-robed Daoist's hand drifted gently as he said calmly,

"There will always be a solution! The Imperial Preceptor will not ignore such fierce ghosts and Baleful Intent. When the time comes, an expert will naturally come to deliver these vicious spirits!"

Though he spoke so, the purple-robed Daoist's heart was exceedingly heavy.

The roaring Phoenix Spirit in these mountains was a ghost phoenix born from a phoenix egg in the Twin Phoenix Mountain Range that had failed to hatch. Its resentment was vast and boundless; it could be called a born resentful spirit.

Every so often, it could not restrain itself and would summon evil beings from all directions, seeking to break out of the mountain's belly.

If they wanted to destroy it, it would not actually be too difficult.

The Divine Cave Sect had no shortage of demon-slaying treasures, but the problem was that this Phoenix Spirit had been nurtured by the Twin Phoenix Mountain Range. Its foundation was linked to the Twin Phoenix Mountain Range, making it equivalent to a mountain god born of heaven and earth. If they killed it by force, it would surely cause the earth dragon to turn over. That would damage the earth veins and affect their own cultivation.

Most of the sect's great experts cherished their feathers. Who would be willing to get entangled in such troublesome business?

To resolve this resentful ghost Phoenix Spirit, they would have to help her reincarnate and deliver her beyond.

That was far too difficult to accomplish.

There were already few experts within the Divine Cave Sect skilled in delivering spirits, and there was even less chance of finding one capable of delivering an existence nearly equal to a born Ghost King.

Besides, it was far too dangerous.

Seeing the valley below gradually fill with golden patterns as countless runes completely emerged, the two hurriedly departed. They did not wish to remain here long.

After all, wandering about on a Ghost King's territory was exceedingly dangerous.

After the two left, a dense golden radiance suddenly appeared from the depths of the valley below. In an instant, it shot out of the valley, then vanished without a trace.

When dawn had just begun to brighten the sky the next day, the many stout guards in the small shrine set out with the carriages.

There was only one more invalid among them.

The young stout guard called Little Xie had fallen ill after the previous night. His body lay limp on the flatbed cart, his face deathly pale.

"He was frightened. His soul was startled!"

Zhang Jian was somewhat speechless. This guard had such a sharp tongue, yet he had still been scared out of his wits yesterday.

Among the common folk, this was called losing one's soul. Once they reached the commandery city, they would have to find a Daoist priest to summon his soul back and soothe it.

Or prescribe medicine to calm his mind!

Though Zhang Jian possessed the Soul-Cleansing Spell, it was a rite of deliverance used to suppress evil entities, not an art for settling souls.

At the same time, an idea surfaced in Zhang Jian's mind. Although he had embarked upon the path of immortality, he was indeed still learning to walk, and his knowledge was lacking in many areas. On this trip to the commandery city, perhaps he could visit some nearby Daoist temples and study their scriptures.

The journey over the next two days was peaceful and uneventful.

Before long, the commandery city came into view.

At the commandery city, the Qi family had long received word that Zhang Jian would soon arrive. However, they had only a lukewarm reaction toward this "maternal grandson" of the Zhang family.

This involved an old case from years ago, one that everyone in the Qi family understood perfectly well.

Thus, they merely sent a steward from the inner residence to receive him.

Yet deep within the Qi family's inner quarters, things were rather unsettled. The Zhang family relative had come early to offer birthday congratulations, and many of the women in the Qi family's inner residence more or less understood the intent behind it.

Their reactions, however, were entirely different.

"Coming of age at fifteen and already passing the provincial examination to become a juren, he truly can be considered a prodigy. Though a juren is nothing much in a family like ours, with generations of officials and nobility, his prospects are bright..."