At that time, the ancestor in charge of Earthfire Hall was one of the strongest cultivators in the entire Yin Soul Sect. His alchemy disciples had even run out of spiritual herbs, so naturally he flew into a rage and reported the matter directly to the sect master. The sect master had not thought much of it at first, but upon discovering that Qi Refining Stage cultivators had no cultivation pills left, he felt that the matter had already affected the sect's foundations to a certain extent and ordered Enforcement Hall to deal with it strictly. Then, every disciple who had damaged the medicinal fields was rooted out and executed one by one. The first disciple to damage the fields had his soul searched, and after the mastermind was found, three Golden Core Realm ancestors were killed. In short, that ruthless slaughter left the entire sect in a state of panic, with countless disciples trembling in fear.
After that incident, the sect's management of medicinal fields became much stricter, and specialized requirements naturally emerged, written directly into the Sect Law Code. Still, the ancestors of the various peaks remained uneasy. In the end, they directly restricted all tasks concerning medicinal fields to tasks exclusive to their respective peaks, requiring any task related to medicinal fields to be reported to the peak master, and so on.
As Hu Donghan listened, he naturally sighed again and again.
Such matters would naturally not receive any special record in the sect's history. If this steward had not explained it, Hu Donghan likely would have remained puzzled forever.
This Mass Grave Mound covered an enormous area. Looking from one end to the other, one could even see two gate towers. Countless corpses and bones were piled within the Mass Grave Mound, and many weapons still lay upon them. Clearly, this was a Mass Grave Mound fashioned after an abandoned battlefield!
The steward continued in a low voice, "This is the ancestor's residence. The ancestor's Ghost Wraith is a high-grade War Ghost, so he specifically built this battlefield-like Mass Grave Mound near his residence..."
"Oh..." Hu Donghan suddenly understood, but immediately afterward, he inwardly dismissed it.
In Hu Donghan's eyes, so-called Ghost Wraiths were nothing more than tools. Building an entire Mass Grave Mound just for a tool was truly making a mountain out of a molehill.
The steward had no idea what Hu Donghan was thinking. He first knelt on the ground, then called out loudly, "A steward from Overlapping Peaks' Outer Affairs Hall requests an audience with Ancestor!"
Not long after the steward's words fell, a figure clad in armor and shrouded in mist flickered rapidly from the depths of the Mass Grave Mound. In only a few breaths, it had arrived beside the Outer Affairs Hall steward and asked, "Are you two here to see Master? Hm? There is even an Enforcement disciple?" When it spoke the words "Enforcement disciple," the voice from within the armor seemed rather wary.
Before Hu Donghan could speak, the steward said again, "Ancestor Bing, this senior brother wishes to accept the task of overseeing the medicinal fields at Little Jade Flat. I specially brought this senior brother here to report it."
"So that's how it is." The mist around the armor finally dispersed, revealing a face covered in knife scars. Yet parts of that face were faintly translucent.
This is a Ghost Wraith? Hu Donghan was astonished. Then he recalled the steward's earlier form of address, "Ancestor Bing," and suddenly understood. This should be Mad Demon Ancestor's War Ghost Ghost Wraith! The stronger a Ghost Wraith becomes, the greater its intelligence and autonomy. It seems that is indeed true. This War Ghost should possess Golden Core Realm strength. Its intelligence is likely no different from that of an ordinary person! The War Ghost had no idea that Hu Donghan was muttering idle gossip about it in his heart.
Speaking of which, the War Ghost was currently gossiping about Hu Donghan in its own mind. Having accompanied Mad Demon Ancestor as he grew, the War Ghost had also reached late Golden Core Realm strength, and its mind worked even better than an ordinary person's. Naturally, it knew the Yin Soul Sect's many rules like the palm of its hand.
Hu Donghan was wearing the robes of an Enforcement disciple, yet he wanted to take on an Overlapping Peaks task meant for disciples of Overlapping Peaks. In the War Ghost's eyes, this situation was exceedingly strange!
"You're an Enforcement disciple. There are countless things you could do, yet you insist on guarding medicinal fields? How utterly baffling! Could someone from Overlapping Peaks have killed someone from another peak and buried them in the medicinal fields at Little Jade Flat? That seems impossible too..."
After letting its thoughts run wild for a while, the War Ghost finally said, "You two, follow me."
"Yes." The steward hurriedly answered.
The War Ghost led the way ahead, while Hu Donghan and the steward followed behind. They had not gone far when, after the War Ghost took a single step, the surrounding scene changed. The originally gloomy, yin-filled Mass Grave Mound had unexpectedly become a dark cave dwelling. Before the cave dwelling stood a massive boulder, bearing the three words: "Mad Demon Cave."
"This is a formation?" Hu Donghan exclaimed in amazement.
In his previous life, Hu Donghan's study of the True Exposition of the Ghost Path had only been preliminary. Among the miscellaneous categories of the True Exposition of the Ghost Path were formations composed of Soul Bodies and ghostly creatures, as well as formations composed of Zombies and skeletons, and so forth. However, Hu Donghan's strength back then had been far too weak. He had not even been capable of coming into contact with such things...
Actually, in Hu Donghan's understanding, a Soul-Forming Ground was, in a certain sense, an exceedingly simple formation. It was only that this formation was far too basic. Perhaps it did not even count as introductory material in the True Exposition of the Ghost Path, which was why it had naturally not been classified as a formation.
The War Ghost slapped the boulder. No one knew exactly how it channeled its spiritual power, but the cave dwelling's doors immediately opened, and the War Ghost continued leading the way.
Before long, they arrived before a stone chamber. The furnishings within were extremely casual, without the slightest trace of luxury, while an unknown number of Wandering Souls drifted faintly about the surroundings. On the bed in the stone chamber sat a middle-aged man with graying temples, cross-legged. When Hu Donghan and the others arrived before him, the middle-aged man abruptly opened his eyes. A sharp gleam mixed with wisps of yin energy swept from his eyes across Hu Donghan and the steward—this middle-aged man was clearly Mad Demon Ancestor!
Hu Donghan was not overly fearful. He merely narrowed his eyes. The steward, however, immediately knelt and bowed, saluting, "A steward of Outer Affairs Hall greets Ancestor."
Enforcement disciples and Battle Hall disciples held extremely high status within the sect. Unless they encountered the people in charge of Enforcement Hall or Battle Hall, or the Yin Soul Sect's sect master, disciples of this kind did not need to kneel before anyone, regardless of who they were. Enforcement disciples represented the majesty of Enforcement Hall! Battle Hall disciples, meanwhile, represented a kind of respect for the battlefield!
"Hu Donghan, disciple of Overlapping Peaks, greets Mad Demon Ancestor." Hu Donghan slightly cupped his hands and bent at the waist, treating it as a salute to Mad Demon Ancestor.
Mad Demon Ancestor nodded, then said in a hoarse voice, "You? You must be that Hu Donghan, right? Your elder sister is the personal disciple of Soul-Devouring Ancestor from Enforcement Hall, correct?"
Hu Donghan nodded. "That is correct, Senior."
"So it really is you!" Mad Demon Ancestor's words carried a sinister cackle. "Because of you, one-tenth of the Qi Refining Stage disciples in Overlapping Peaks' outer disciple compound died this time! Hahaha! Your elder sister truly did not go easy when killing people!"
(End of Chapter)
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