Yin Soul Sect

Yin Soul Sect

"Finally, Qi Refining First Layer..."

Inside the crude room, a youth sat cross-legged on a cushion atop the bed and slowly opened his eyes.

The youth was around fifteen or sixteen, with delicate features. His eyes were not especially bright, yet they seemed to carry the weight of countless years. If one ignored his face and looked only at those eyes, one might have taken him for a middle-aged man past forty.

The youth's name was Hu Donghan. He had not originally belonged to this world, but had come from a planet called Earth.

On Earth, Hu Donghan had merely been an orphan. By chance, he had obtained a Daoist tome called the "True Exposition of the Ghost Path" and cultivated Daoist arts in the Age of Dharma Decline. In the end, he had suffered the backlash of the Evil Ghosts under his control and died without even leaving behind a corpse.

Yet after Hu Donghan died, his consciousness did not vanish. Somehow, it came to this world and possessed the body of a three-year-old child. He even gained a child bride three years older than him.

Perhaps Hu Donghan truly was a harbinger of disaster. He had only just possessed this body and had not even experienced parental love when bandits stormed in and slaughtered the entire household. Only he and his child bride, hidden behind a secret door in the cellar, escaped the calamity.

After narrowly surviving death, Hu Donghan and his child bride began drifting through life as orphans once more. In the end, they were kindly adopted by a wealthy Hu family, and he was given the same name as in his previous life. As for his child bride, she was named Hu Meier and became Hu Donghan's elder sister.

Three months ago, the Yin Soul Sect held its once-in-ten-years recruitment of disciples. Hu Meier was found to possess a Ghost Spirit Root, with extraordinarily high cultivation talent. As for Hu Donghan, although his talent was poor, he entered the Yin Soul Sect because of Hu Meier and became an outer sect disciple.

The Yin Soul Sect was located in Chao Prefecture, in the southern part of the Southern Heaven Region's cultivation world. Its sect grounds lay within the Soulbreak Mountains.

The entire Soulbreak Mountains were the ruins of the great battle between righteousness and evil a million years ago.

Back then, the righteous path, the evil path, and demonic cultivators led by countless fiends from beyond the heavens chose Heaven-Reaching Ridge, the Southern Heaven Region's largest mountain range, as their battlefield. Each side committed over ten million cultivators, and more than ten million cultivators perished there. Although the righteous and evil paths ultimately won the war, Heaven-Reaching Ridge, known as the Southern Heaven Region's greatest mountain range, was completely leveled. Its shattered rocks scattered throughout the surrounding lands, and because countless living beings had died there, this once-fertile land became a dead zone after only a few years of change. Any low-level cultivator who entered would have their soul devoured by the Yin Souls within.

Thus, the former Heaven-Reaching Ridge became today's Soulbreak Mountains. Yin winds blew through it in gusts, ghostly howls rang out day and night, and ordinary cultivators did not dare approach.

Once one entered this place, all souls were severed. Thus came the name Soulbreak!

After a period of recuperation, some of the evil-path cultivators who had survived the great war between righteousness and evil gradually recovered their strength. They began exploring this dead land, this yin land suited for ghostly creatures to dwell in. After another million years of transformation, it became the Soulbreak Mountains, where Ghost Way cultivators were now most heavily concentrated!

Within the Soulbreak Mountains, most cultivators belonged to evil sects that cultivated the Ghost Way, with sects of all sizes standing side by side. The Yin Soul Sect, where Hu Donghan resided, was one of the ruling sects of the Soulbreak Mountains and one of the most powerful evil-path sects in the entire Southern Heaven Region!

As its name suggested, the Yin Soul Sect was a sect that specialized in the path of ghostly creatures.

Within the sect, cultivators great and small all practiced the Ghost-Summoning Technique, raised ghosts and monsters, and refined ghost banners. The cries of ghosts never ceased throughout the day. One could encounter several wandering ghosts drifting past merely by strolling through the sect. Even beneath the blazing sun, the place remained thick with yin energy. Looking into the Yin Soul Sect from outside, one could see only a layer of pitch-black mist. Within that mist, the heads of strange ghostly creatures could faintly be seen poking in and out. If ordinary people from the mortal world saw it, they would likely wet their pants from fright.

"With the talent of a Middle-Grade Four-Spirit Root, I'm far too inferior compared to that girl. Reaching Qi Refining First Layer actually took me three whole months! If that girl hadn't made the request, I probably wouldn't even have been able to enter the Yin Soul Sect's mountain gate. I could only have become a Rogue Cultivator, or a servant who joined the Yin Soul Sect..."

Hu Donghan thought to himself, frowning slightly, his brow filled with distress.

"With that girl's High-Grade Ghost Spirit Root, and the Profound Yin Heart Method she cultivates, she probably has at least mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation by now. The next time we meet, won't she bully me to death? Her methods for tormenting people were terrifying enough when she was still a mortal. If she has learned spells too, then wouldn't that be the end of me!"

"Hmph! She's only this lord's child bride. Where did she get such nerve!"

As he thought, Hu Donghan seemed to recall something utterly terrifying. He shook his head and shuddered with lingering fear.

"Never mind! The urgent task now is to master the two spells mentioned in the jade slip, as well as the Ghost-Summoning Technique. Otherwise, if that girl really comes looking for me, I won't even have the strength to resist. And the Ghost-Summoning Technique... I wonder whether the many secret arts in my 'True Exposition of the Ghost Path' will be useful..."

All disciples who entered the Yin Soul Sect received a low-grade storage pouch bestowed by the sect, thirty Spirit Stones, a bottle containing ten Lesser Qi-Nourishing Pills, and a jade slip.

A low-grade storage pouch was bound to its owner by a drop of blood and held roughly one cubic meter of space. The thirty Spirit Stones and ten Lesser Qi-Nourishing Pills were cultivation resources the sect issued to each disciple upon entry. As for the jade slip, it mainly recorded the Yin Soul Sect's history, sect rules, the Qi Refining Stage cultivation method of the Profound Yin Heart Method, and the usage methods for Spirit Stones and Lesser Qi-Nourishing Pills.

Generally speaking, someone with Middle-Grade Three-Spirit Root talent, supplemented by Lesser Qi-Nourishing Pills and Spirit Stones, could cultivate to Qi Refining First Layer in about one month by using one Spirit Stone each day and taking one Lesser Qi-Nourishing Pill every three days. The resources the sect provided for entry-level cultivation were precisely enough. Once one reached Qi Refining First Layer, one could receive five Spirit Stones and two Lesser Qi-Nourishing Pills from the sect each month as basic cultivation resources.

However, for someone like Hu Donghan with a Middle-Grade Four-Spirit Root, that was still somewhat insufficient. Therefore, Hu Donghan had exhausted all his entry-level Spirit Stones and medicinal pills in one month. Apart from eating and sleeping, he spent every moment cultivating, yet it still took him three full months to reach Qi Refining First Layer!

"At Qi Refining First Layer, I should be able to cast the two spells mentioned in the jade slip. Although my cultivation was insufficient to use them over the past three months, I did study them roughly. Casting them now shouldn't be much of a problem."

As he thought this, Hu Donghan formed several hand seals and shouted, "Spirit Bolt Technique!" A mottled Spirit Force Bolt then appeared from thin air, tearing through the air and smashing fiercely into the room's wall. Though the Spirit Force Bolt's power had been unleashed, its might was far from satisfactory. It merely left a shallow hole in the wall before dispersing.

Even so, Hu Donghan felt a surge of excitement—spells! These were real, tangible spells! Their power might not be great, but as long as he was willing to work hard, the Spirit Bolt Technique's might could certainly improve further. Besides, the Spirit Bolt Technique was the most widespread and simplest spell in the entire cultivation world! So long as fate granted him the opportunity in the future, he would naturally be able to learn even more powerful spells!

In his previous life, although Hu Donghan had cultivated the "True Exposition of the Ghost Path," it contained nothing but methods for playing with ghosts, skeletons, and Zombies. Even its secret killing arts relied on commanding ghost servants to slaughter others. This was truly the first time Hu Donghan had cast such a solid, straightforward spell.

After trying the Spirit Bolt Technique, Hu Donghan immediately attempted the other spell in the jade slip—the Spirit Shield Technique.

The Spirit Shield Technique could manipulate spirit force into a shield around one's body, blocking simple attacks. For Qi Refining Stage cultivators, it could be considered a certain degree of defensive power.

After Hu Donghan cast the Spirit Shield Technique, a mottled four-colored spirit force shield immediately appeared around him. Its colors were exceedingly beautiful, so dazzling that one seemed liable to become intoxicated at a glance. Yet Hu Donghan, who had conducted some theoretical study of the Spirit Shield Technique, knew clearly that although this Spirit Shield looked beautiful, its true defensive strength was far inferior to that of a single-colored shield!

A single-colored spirit shield meant it contained only one kind of spirit force, making that spirit force more condensed and naturally giving it far greater defensive strength.

This was also why cultivators with fewer spirit roots were stronger than cultivators with more spirit roots.

Fewer spirit roots meant pure, focused power; more spirit roots meant chaotic, mottled power. One was pure and refined, the other chaotic and mixed. Once they fought, who would win and who would lose was obvious at a glance.

The Spirit Shield Technique was like this, and so was the Spirit Bolt Technique.

"Ah... Four-Spirit Root talent is simply too poor! And with my talent, I can't even be considered good among Four-Spirit Roots. It seems that when casting spells in the future, I should choose spells of a single attribute whenever possible. Otherwise, with this kind of power..." Hu Donghan tried the Spirit Bolt Technique and Spirit Shield Technique several more times before stopping only after exhausting all his spirit force.

Afterward, Hu Donghan sat cross-legged and began restoring his spirit force.

Qi Refining First Layer cultivation was, after all, far too low. In less than two hours, Hu Donghan's spirit force had fully recovered.

"Besides the Spirit Bolt Technique and Spirit Shield Technique, there is also the Yin Soul Sect's signature spell, the Ghost-Summoning Technique!"

"The Ghost-Summoning Technique can command Ghost Wraiths for one's own use and can even raise one's cultivation through it. The evil path truly prefers taking shortcuts! But I have no Ghost Wraiths right now, so I cannot cultivate this spell. For now, I should first stabilize my Qi Refining First Layer cultivation, then find a way to acquire a Ghost Wraith!"

"And I still don't know whether those secret arts of mine are useful. If the secret arts in the 'True Exposition of the Ghost Path' truly work... then I'll have struck it rich! At that time, even with only Middle-Grade Four-Spirit Root talent, I might not be much weaker than that girl! Once I become stronger than her, I'll definitely give her a hard spanking!"

With those thoughts in mind, Hu Donghan slowly drew back his spirit force.

Feeling the slow circulation of spirit force within his body, Hu Donghan waited until it gradually calmed before rising to his feet and walking out of the room.

(End of chapter)