Preparing to Stay Temporarily

After carefully checking his surroundings and finding no issues, Shi Xuan walked to the table and inspected the books again. He confirmed there were no curses or poisons on them before picking up one of the volumes and beginning to flip through it.

The cover of this book was pure black, adorned with scattered white bone skulls that formed four large characters: "Great Method of Ghost Control." It looked bizarre and evil.

Shi Xuan carefully flipped through it. This was a decent evil cultivation method. Although it became unsustainable after reaching the Spirit Soul Stage, it was clear that the person who created this technique hadn't reached the Golden Core Stage yet. However, in this world where true methods were hard to find, it was still a good and wondrous technique. Of course, Shi Xuan's own cultivation wasn't high, but possessing a supreme grand method and a high-level method that directly pointed to the Golden Core Stage gave him the insight to judge the quality of a cultivation technique.

Most of the "Great Method of Ghost Control" was useless to Shi Xuan, who had already determined his cultivation path. For example, sacrificing forty-nine living people born at specific times to increase the chance of breaking through to the Soul Departure realm, as well as other methods of cultivating spells and Spiritual Power using living people. These were things that yielded fast results but had severe side effects.

Instead, the content about ghosts in the "Great Method of Ghost Control" benefited Shi Xuan greatly. After all, it was a cultivation method named after controlling ghosts. The explanations and applications of ghosts within it were all refreshing to Shi Xuan. Shi Xuan didn't like these ghost-controlling methods; rather, he saw some insights about souls within the content about ghosts. Ghosts were ultimately transformed from human souls, which was precisely what Shi Xuan needed to understand most at this stage.

It wasn't that the "Treasury Records" lacked content on this topic. It did, but it was too obscure and difficult to understand. Even with the "Returning to Truth Scripture" as a reference, Shi Xuan, without guidance from a master, found it incredibly painful to comprehend. If he misunderstood even a little, the consequences would be dire; dying from qi deviation wouldn't even be considered a luxury.

Now, having a cultivation method that offered a different perspective on souls, even if it was still superficial, it was precisely this superficiality that brought Shi Xuan sudden enlightenment. Many unclear parts of the "Treasury Records" were now explained one by one, making Shi Xuan's fingers itch with anticipation. If not for the wrong time and place, he would have immediately sat down to cultivate and verify his understanding.

Suppressing the urge in his heart, Shi Xuan continued to read the parts about ghosts in the "Great Method of Ghost Control," engrossed to the point of forgetting to eat or sleep. It wasn't until he heard footsteps that Shi Xuan was startled back to reality.

Yan Jujian and Ding Mingde walked cautiously towards the depths of the cave, looking around nervously. Cold sweat dripped from their heads. Upon seeing Shi Xuan, they breathed a sigh of relief, their expressions relaxed.

Seeing their appearance, Shi Xuan was a bit curious. "Brother Yan and Brother Mingde, what's wrong?"

Ding Mingde wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. "We saw Brother Zi'ang hadn't come out for almost an hour, so we were worried something might have happened inside and came to check, trembling with fear." In truth, the two of them hadn't dared to come in at first and had even considered fleeing. However, they thought that if Shi Xuan was finished, they wouldn't be able to run far anyway, so they might as well come in and fight for it.

"Haha, I was so engrossed by the book that I lost track of time," Shi Xuan said, realizing he had been reading too intently and hadn't paid attention to the passage of time at all.

Yan Jujian and Ding Mingde looked at the book on the stone slab and opened their mouths simultaneously, but they didn't say anything. Shi Xuan understood their curiosity and longing for Daoist Magic, but this cultivation technique wasn't suitable for widespread dissemination. As for techniques that were suitable for dissemination, it was best for them to seek them out themselves, so they would understand the preciousness of Daoist Magic and the principle that Dharma should not be lightly imparted. Therefore, he changed the subject. "Brother Yan, have you found your friend?"

Yan Jujian took out a belt. "This is my friend's belt. He was skilled in hidden weapons, so he asked someone to have Tang Tianqing of the Tang Sect specially make this belt. Because he provided the materials himself, it contains many rare items, so this belt should be unique. Alas, Brother Liu was arrogant his whole life. The last time we met, he even spoke of challenging the Five Great Grandmasters one by one after completing his arduous cultivation. I never imagined he would become food for monsters. How tragic and lamentable."

After a pause, Yan Jujian continued, "Those bones were mixed together, and it was impossible to distinguish them. Brother Mingde and I have buried them together and erected a large tomb. I will take this belt back to Brother Liu's former residence and establish a cenotaph."

"Brother Zi'ang, just now, Brother Yan and I also found a place that resembled a kitchen and a prison. Unfortunately, there were no living people inside. However, there were quite a few herbs and ingredients in the kitchen," Ding Mingde suddenly recalled their last discovery.

Shi Xuan remembered the herbs outside the manor that he couldn't take with him. It would be better to cultivate here for a while. Moreover, he had gained a deeper understanding of the "Treasury Records" and needed a quiet place to cultivate and verify his insights. Thus, he said to the two, "After this great battle, I've had some new insights regarding my cultivation and wish to focus on cultivating in this manor for a while. If you two have urgent matters, you may leave."

Yan Jujian and Ding Mingde exchanged glances. Yan Jujian spoke first, "I am but a wanderer in the Jianghu. Besides finding my old friend, I have no other important matters. Why don't I stay in this manor for a while and handle some trivial matters for Brother Shi, allowing him to focus on his cultivation? This can also be considered repayment for saving my life. Brother Shi, please don't stop me from repaying this kindness."

Seeing Yan Jujian intending to stay, Ding Mingde immediately chimed in, "I, I, I don't even have the money for the journey back. No, I mean, why don't we stay in the manor for some time? It wouldn't be a wasted trip."

When Ding Mingde got flustered, his words became jumbled and incoherent. Shi Xuan suppressed a smile and agreed to both of them. Having someone help with cooking while he cultivated was indeed a good thing. However, it didn't mean he would always have people cooking for him. If he encountered such a situation, he would enjoy it; if not, he would cook for himself. Enjoying but not becoming addicted – this was Shi Xuan's mindset for cultivation.

Seeing Shi Xuan nod, Yan Jujian thought for a moment and said to him, "Brother Shi, the ingredients we saw in the kitchen earlier were mainly live sheep, live cattle, and live pigs. I estimate they are enough for the three of us to eat for a month. It's just that there are no ingredients for vegetables, which is a bit inconvenient."

"These demonic and ghostly creatures eat Blood Food; they don't eat vegetables. Later, I'll trouble Brother Yan to go out and purchase some fruits and vegetables. Eating only meat isn't good for the body," Shi Xuan added silently in his heart, though for him, his cultivated body could handle a meat-only diet without issues.

"Oh right, Brother Yan, here is the money for purchasing supplies," Shi Xuan took out some silver from his embrace.

Yan Jujian refused, "Actually, Brother Shi, you might not know this, but when we were looking for the bones earlier, we found quite a bit of gold, silver, jade, and gemstones from those corpses. I estimate there's over ten thousand taels."

"T-ten thousand taels! Brother Yan, why didn't I see any?" Ding Mingde exclaimed in shock.

"Younger Brother Mingde, you were disgusted by those corpses at first and didn't dare to go near them. You only came over when we were digging the pit together in the end," Yan Jujian glanced at Shi Xuan. Seeing that Shi Xuan wasn't very interested in the money, he continued speaking to Ding Mingde, "Don't worry, I'll leave you enough money for your journey back, and hehe, I'll leave you enough for a wife too." The other two, who hadn't seen Yan Jujian joke since they met, were a bit taken aback. However, it was understandable that Yan Jujian was relaxed now that his great revenge was achieved.

After saying this, Yan Jujian and Ding Mingde took their leave to prepare the midday feast of tiger meat, allowing Shi Xuan to cultivate in peace.

Since his cultivation had been interrupted, Shi Xuan put down the "Great Method of Ghost Control" and picked up another book. This book looked very new, but it was very dirty, with grease and bloodstains. There were no words on the cover. Upon flipping through it, it turned out to be the cultivation notes of a two-headed tiger!

According to the two-headed tiger itself, it was born with two heads. Its mother died, and its father disappeared somewhere. But it was clever from a young age and secretly came to Li Family Village to hunt livestock. While eavesdropping on lessons in a private school, it surprisingly learned to read. Later, it obtained two Daoist magic manuals and a long banner from the corpse of an old Daoist in the deep mountains. One was the "Great Method of Ghost Control," and the other was the method for refining and sacrificing the "White Bone Soul-Driving Banner," a Magic Tool accompanying the grand method. That long banner was naturally the "White Bone Soul-Driving Banner."

The two-headed tiger naturally treasured them and began to cultivate. However, it soon discovered a major problem: its two heads often argued, even causing memory problems and occasional forgetting of Daoist insights. Later, it learned to take notes from the private school teacher in Li Family Village, which gradually minimized the impact of this problem.

After learning to take notes, the two-headed tiger also developed a fondness for writing them, often recording its personal affairs. This also allowed Shi Xuan to understand some things through the notes.

Seeing this, Shi Xuan finally felt less ashamed. A monster that could take notes was, after all, an exception. Continuing to flip through, the later pages contained some of the two-headed tiger's cultivation insights. Comparing them with the "Great Method of Ghost Control" was somewhat helpful to Shi Xuan. Further on, it detailed how the two-headed tiger, upon completing its initial cultivation, massacred Li Family Village and occupied this place.

The notes mentioned that the ghostly creatures Shi Xuan hadn't seen before were the Physical Ghoul Slaves that the two-headed tiger refined by combining its innate ability to transform into a childeater with the corpse-slave refining method from the "Great Method of Ghost Control" and certain functions of the "White Bone Soul-Driving Banner." Some of the villagers of Li Family Village were eaten by the two-headed tiger, some failed to be refined and were eaten, and a small portion became these Physical Ghoul Slaves.

These Physical Ghoul Slaves ate Blood Food, were not afraid of intense sunlight, had tough bodies as strong as bulls, and could absorb Yang Qi like ghosts. They were divided into high, medium, and low grades based on the completeness of their intelligence preserved after successful refinement. Those farmer and peasant ghosts were low-grade Physical Ghoul Slaves with low intelligence, only able to follow simple commands and move slowly. It was only after the two-headed tiger learned to cultivate herbs to meet the requirements of its prescriptions that these low-grade Physical Ghoul Slaves became useful.

Medium-grade Physical Ghoul Slaves retained their complete memories from their previous lives, with intelligence inferior to when they were alive but capable of normal actions. Because the two-headed tiger cultivated an evil grand method and often required living people as Blood Food or materials, these medium-grade Physical Ghoul Slaves were dispatched to various places to liaise with human traffickers, buying living people to send to the mountain. If they encountered suitable targets, they would often personally trick them into coming to the mountain.