Seeing ghosts again

"Daoist Master, are those things inside ghosts?"

Qin Yang asked, still shaken.

He never imagined that coming here to kill a wanted bandit would lead to something so bizarre and terrifying.

"Ghosts? In our line of work, we don't call them ghosts. We call them evil spirits."

"The heavens and earth are born of yin and yang—where there is life, there is death."

"In places heavy with yin energy, malice, or resentment, evil spirits are bred."

"And in recent years, with the chaos in the world, too many have died unnatural deaths. Yin energy, death energy, and malice have festered. Evil spirits seem to be growing more numerous."

The Daoist Master shook his head slightly.

"Evil spirits... then what should ordinary people do if they encounter them?"

Qin Yang asked in a low voice.

Going by the Daoist Master's words, he felt he might run into evil spirits again sooner or later.

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

So he wanted to know how to deal with them.

"You're not an ordinary person."

"Your blood energy is so strong. Ordinary evil spirits would have to step aside when they see you."

"It's just that this broken temple is especially fierce. Under normal circumstances, you won't encounter them. Rest easy."

The Daoist Master waved a hand dismissively.

"You mean blood energy can suppress evil spirits?"

Qin Yang looked thoughtful.

"Something like that."

The Daoist Master nodded.

Qin Yang let out a small sigh of relief.

"I haven't yet thanked you for saving my life, Daoist Master."

"Please, allow me to host you in Linjiang City and wash away the dust of your journey."

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

"No need."

"I've already delayed a few days. I'm in a hurry to get back."

The Daoist Master refused outright.

Qin Yang was resigned. He had wanted to invite the man back and ask more about evil spirits, but he had to let it go.

They walked together a bit further until they reached the edge of a dense forest, where they were about to part ways.

Before leaving, Qin Yang clasped his fists again. "By the way, I'm Qin Yang. May I ask the Daoist Master's name?"

"I am Yin Hezi."

The Daoist Master smiled faintly.

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

The bell let out a crisp ring.

Puff~

Suddenly.

Qin Yang heard footsteps coming from the dense forest.

The footsteps sounded stiff and heavy.

He stared in shock.

In the shadowy forest, heads were moving.

But those heads belonged to corpses with pale, deathly skin.

The corpses raised their hands high, resting them on the shoulders of the corpse in front, walking stiffly forward.

The smile froze on Qin Yang's face.

"Don't make such a fuss."

"What's so scary about leading a corpse procession?"

"I think your physical body is pretty good."

"How about this—after you die, I'll take your corpse and refine it?"

Yin Hezi asked with a serious expression.

"Uh... no thanks."

"I shouldn't die that easily."

"No need to trouble yourself, Daoist Master."

Qin Yang gave an awkward smile.

"What a pity. But you don't look like someone with a short life. I'll be off, then."

Sparse snowflakes still drifted through the sky. A Daoist shook a copper bell, chanting strange incantations while casually scattering paper money, followed by over a dozen corpses.

The scene—the more he looked, the more unsettling it became.

"Just what kind of world is this?"

Qin Yang scratched his head.

After steadying his mindset, he turned back toward Linjiang City.

Tonight's experience had shaken him to the core.

He had glimpsed a completely different, eerie, and terrifying world.

"Maybe... this is the true face of this world."

Qin Yang's heart tightened once more.

This world was too horrifying. To survive, he had no choice but to keep strengthening himself.

Wide awake, he pulled out the Primordial Qi Shield manual and planned to study it through the night.

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

Inside the body, one needed to condense a Qi shield seed within the heart. It would then gradually spread outward, forming the Primordial Qi Shield.

At first, the shield's coverage was small, requiring constant expansion of the Qi shield seed.

And the way this seed grew was unique.

Once successfully condensed, it had to be repeatedly shattered by external force. Each time it reformed, it would be larger than before.

When the Primordial Qi Shield was fully formed, the entire body would become impervious to blades and spears, immune to water and fire.

In the following days, Qin Yang devoted himself entirely to studying the Primordial Qi Shield.

When he felt the time was right, he began condensing the Qi shield seed.

He sat cross-legged on the bed, entering a state of Zen Meditation.

Then, the blood and Qi throughout his body surged, converging toward his heart.

Thump, thump, thump~

In an instant, his heart pounded violently, his chest bulging high, terrifying blood-red patterns surfacing on his skin.

Cultivating the Primordial Qi Scripture was no simple task. It required not only an extremely strong physique but also an exceptionally powerful heart capable of withstanding the impact of blood and Qi.

And this process had to be completed in one go.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be called the Primordial Qi Shield.

His heartbeat grew more terrifying, chaotic and wild.

The sound of his heart could even be heard outside his body.

Qin Yang maintained a deep, emotionless focus, continuously gathering blood and Qi onto his heart, as if he didn't care at all whether it might burst.

Boom, boom, boom~

The drum-like heartbeat shattered the paper on his window.

Then, the beats grew denser, as if reaching a critical point.

Boom!

Qin Yang felt his heart suddenly contract—and finally, a Qi shield seed took form.

Even though he couldn't see it, he could still sense its existence.

The feeling was extraordinary.

He could feel his heart wrapped in a current of Qi.

Qin Yang called up the System Panel.

Code
Host: Qin Yang

Arhat Fist: Perfection (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 time the Primordial Qi Shield breaks through, the shield seed must be shattered."

"For ordinary cultivators, that means walking through the gates of hell with each breakthrough."

"But I don't have to—I just need to max out my experience points to break through directly, saving a lot of effort on the technique."

Qin Yang discovered a major advantage of the Proficiency Panel.

Some techniques have extremely harsh breakthrough conditions.

But the Proficiency Panel doesn't care about any breakthrough conditions—all it takes is relentless grinding.

"One more martial art. The Po Jun Saber Technique's power is enough for now."

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

After some thought, Qin Yang made a few trade-offs.

A person's energy is ultimately limited, and time is limited too—some planning is necessary.

Another half month passed in the blink of an eye.

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

The matter of the Broken Temple was temporarily put to rest.

Aside from Qin Yang, no one in Linjiang City knew that Zhao Jiu was dead, assuming the bandit had simply moved on to the next place.

White River Gang's leader, Luo Jian, had some suspicions but kept them buried in his heart.

As an old hand in the Jianghu, he naturally knew that if the person involved didn't speak, it was best for him to stay silent too—otherwise, he'd only invite resentment.