Seeing Ghosts Again

"Daoist, are those things inside ghosts?"

Qin Yang asked, still shaken.

He had never expected that he would come to kill a fugitive bandit, only to encounter something so grotesque, terrifying, and bizarre.

"Ghosts? In our line of work, we do not call them ghosts. We call them evil entities."

"Heaven and earth, yin and yang, creation and transformation—where there is life, there is death."

"In places thick with yin energy, evil energy, and resentment, evil entities will breed."

"And in recent years, with the world in chaos and too many people dying unnatural deaths, yin energy, death energy, and evil energy have multiplied. Evil entities seem to be growing more numerous as well."

The daoist shook his head faintly.

"Evil entities... then what should ordinary people do if they encounter one?"

Qin Yang asked in a low voice.

Judging by the daoist's words, he felt that he was bound to encounter evil entities again sooner or later.

Next time, he might not be so lucky as to have a highly skilled daoist passing by.

That was why he wanted even more to know how to deal with evil entities.

"You are not an ordinary person."

"Your blood and qi are so vigorous that ordinary evil entities would have to step aside at the sight of you."

"It is only that Broken Temple was too sinister. Under normal circumstances, you will not encounter such things. Rest easy."

The daoist waved a hand casually.

"You mean blood and qi can restrain evil entities?"

Qin Yang fell into thought.

"More or less."

The daoist nodded.

Qin Yang let out a small sigh of relief.

"I have yet to thank you, Daoist, for saving my life."

"Please come to Linjiang City. Let me welcome you properly and wash away the dust of your journey."

Only then did Qin Yang remember that the man had just saved his life, and he hurriedly cupped his fists.

"No need."

"I have already been delayed for several days. I am in a hurry to return."

The daoist refused outright.

Qin Yang could only sigh helplessly. He had originally wanted to invite the man back and ask him more about evil entities, but now he had no choice but to let it go.

The two traveled together for some distance before parting ways at the edge of a dense forest.

Before they parted, Qin Yang cupped his fists again. "By the way, I am Qin Yang. May I know your esteemed name, Daoist?"

"This humble daoist is Yin Hezi."

The daoist smiled faintly.

As he spoke, he shook the copper bell in his hand again.

The copper bell gave off a clear, crisp chime.

Pfft~~~

Suddenly.

Qin Yang heard footsteps coming from the dense forest.

The footsteps sounded stiff and heavy.

He turned toward them in shock.

In the dark forest, heads swayed and surged.

But every one of those heads belonged to a dead person with deathly pale skin.

The corpses raised both hands high, placing them on the shoulders of the corpse before them as they walked stiffly onward.

The smile on Qin Yang's face froze.

"Do not make such a fuss."

"What is there to fear about driving corpses?"

"I think your physical body is quite good, kid."

"How about this? After you die, shall I refine your corpse?"

Yin Hezi asked with complete seriousness.

"Uh... no need."

"I should not die that easily."

"I will not trouble you with it, Daoist."

Qin Yang replied with an awkward laugh.

"What a pity. But you do not look like someone doomed to die young. I will be leaving first, then."

Snowflakes still drifted sporadically through the sky. A daoist shook a copper bell, muttered strange Incantations, casually scattered paper money, and led more than a dozen corpses behind him.

The scene was as eerie as it could possibly be.

"What kind of world is this?"

Qin Yang scratched his head.

After adjusting his state of mind a little, he headed back toward Linjiang City.

What he had experienced tonight had shaken him too deeply.

He had seen an entirely different world—a terrifying world of unfathomable strangeness.

"Perhaps... this is this world's true face."

Qin Yang's heart tightened once more.

This world was far too terrifying. If he wanted to survive, he still had to keep strengthening himself.

Sleep had completely fled from him. He took out the manual for the Primordial Qi Shield and planned to study it through the night.

The Primordial Qi Shield was a type of Iron Body Skill.

One needed to condense a Qi Shield Seed within the heart. It would then gradually spread throughout the body, forming the Primordial Qi Shield.

At first, the Primordial Qi Shield covered only a small area, and the Qi Shield Seed had to be expanded continuously.

Moreover, the way this Qi Shield Seed grew was especially unusual.

After it was successfully condensed, one had to constantly suffer heavy blows from outside, shattering the Qi Shield Seed again and again. Then, when it formed anew, it would become somewhat larger than before.

Once the Primordial Qi Shield had been completely formed, blades and spears would not pierce the body, and water and fire would not harm it!

Over the next few days.

Qin Yang spent all his time studying the Primordial Qi Shield.

When he felt the time was right, he began condensing the Qi Shield Seed.

He sat cross-legged on his bed and entered a state of Zen Meditation.

Then the blood and qi throughout his body began to surge, gathering toward his heart.

Thump, thump, thump~~~

In an instant.

His heart pounded violently, his chest bulged high, and horrifying, blood-red veins surfaced across it.

Cultivating the Primordial Qi Scripture was far from simple. Not only did it require an exceptionally strong physique, it also required an incredibly powerful heart capable of withstanding the impact of blood and qi.

Furthermore, the process had to be completed in one continuous burst.

Otherwise, it would not be called the Primordial Qi Shield.

His heartbeat grew increasingly terrifying, becoming chaotic and violent.

The sound of his heartbeats could even be heard outside.

Qin Yang remained in a deeply focused state, free of sorrow or joy, continually concentrating blood and qi within his heart as though he did not care in the slightest whether it might burst.

Thump, thump, thump~~~

The drumlike pounding of his heart even shook the window paper in the room until it split apart.

Then.

The heartbeats became increasingly rapid, as though they had reached some critical threshold.

Boom!

Qin Yang felt his heart suddenly contract, and at last, a Qi Shield Seed formed.

Though he could not see it, he could still sense its existence.

The feeling was incredibly wondrous.

He could feel that his heart seemed to be wrapped in a current of qi.

Qin Yang summoned the System Panel.

Host: Qin Yang

Arhat Fist: Mastery (Zen Meditation)

Azure Wave Blood Transference Method: Seventh Layer (356/2000)

Po Jun Saber Technique: Minor Accomplishment (174/1500)

Primordial Qi Shield: First Layer (1/100)

"Every breakthrough of the Primordial Qi Shield requires shattering the Qi Shield Seed."

"For ordinary people cultivating it, that means walking through the gates of hell once with every breakthrough."

"But I do not need to. I only need to grind my experience points to the max, and I can break through directly, saving me a great deal of trouble."

Qin Yang discovered a major advantage of the Proficiency Panel.

The breakthrough requirements for some martial arts were extremely harsh.

Yet the Proficiency Panel did not need to care about any breakthrough conditions. All he had to do was grind relentlessly.

"One more martial art. The power of the Po Jun Saber Technique is sufficient for the time being."

"From now on, I will focus on the Azure Wave Blood Transference Method and the Primordial Qi Shield."

After weighing his options, Qin Yang made his choices.

A person's energy was limited, and so was time. He had to make plans accordingly.

In the blink of an eye, another half month passed.

During that half month, Qin Yang cultivated the Primordial Qi Shield during the day and the Azure Wave Blood Transference Method at night.

The matter of Broken Temple was temporarily brought to an end.

Other than Qin Yang, no one in Linjiang City knew that Zhao Jiu had died. They thought the bandit had simply fled on to his next haunt.

Luo Jian, the Gang Leader of the White River Gang, had some suspicions in his heart, but he buried them deep within.

As an old hand of the Jianghu, he naturally knew that if the person involved said nothing, it was best for him to say nothing as well. Otherwise, he would only invite resentment.