Dilapidated Sect

Shi Xuan picked up the ink-colored porcelain cup and took a slow sip. He felt a cool sensation travel from his throat straight to his lower abdomen, then spread throughout his entire body, leaving him feeling refreshed. After savoring the taste for a moment, he praised, "Good tea, truly good tea!"

Han Shijin looked slightly pleased. However, upon seeing the ink-colored porcelain cup in Shi Xuan's hand, he added, "It's a shame this good tea doesn't have a good cup to go with it. Several sets of porcelain I brought when I was buried don't quite match the nature of this tea; only this ink porcelain is somewhat suitable. A pity, a pity." He truly looked regretful.

"Then why doesn't Elder Han have his descendants offer a few more sets?" Shi Xuan asked, slightly puzzled.

"It's not that easy. We cannot leave this underworld dwelling. Only during the three major ancestral rites at the ancestral hall each year can we connect with the spirit tablets and return home. But that's always in the early morning, separated by yin and yang, worlds apart though close. We can't speak, nor can we stay to send dreams to them at night." Han Shijin, rarely encountering a living person to talk to, couldn't help but become a bit chatty.

Shi Xuan recalled Madam Fang. "But Elder Han, you must have acquired some spell abilities over the years, right?"

Han Shijin waved his hand. "Ours are not like those malevolent ghosts that rely on Yin Energy and obsession to exist. After all these years, we can only command the paper figures burned for us, or make these teacups and trays float. Honestly, if we were truly desperate, we could still forcibly enter the dreams of our blood relatives here. But that would consume a great deal of our essence, making it not worth the cost, not worth the cost."

Shi Xuan had only read some notes from senior Daoist priests. His understanding of this matter was superficial. Hearing Han Shijin speak now, he listened with great interest. Beside him, Chu Wan'er was continuously eating fruit, but she still paid some attention to the conversation between her master and the old man, like listening to ghost stories.

"Oh, how does Elder Han know it's not worth the cost?"

"My father once sent me a warning in a dream, and it consumed his essence. By the time I came down here, my father had completely dissipated within a few years, lasting less time than my mother. My mother passed away before my father, but she didn't dissipate until more than thirty years after I came down here. That's why I say so," Han Shijin explained.

Although Han Jing had been dead for many years, he had been young when he died. Over these years, confined to the underworld dwelling and unable to go out, his intellect had only grown by a few years. Seeing the beautiful sister Chu Wan'er happily eating fruit, he couldn't help but feel curious. He quietly slipped from his mother Madam Wei's embrace and floated in front of Chu Wan'er.

Chu Wan'er was about to grab another piece of fruit when a tender, slightly transparent little hand suddenly reached out from beside her and snatched the fruit before she could. Wan'er looked over and saw it was just the little child with his pigtail tied up. Not daring to lose her manners, she secretly sent him a glare.

Han Jing was completely immune to glares. However, his intellect was low, and his ghost age was short. He couldn't control the fruit, so his small, pale, chubby hand passed right through the fruit, unable to pick it up no matter how many times he tried. He was on the verge of tears.

Shi Xuan and the Han family had actually noticed the interactions between Chu Wan'er and Han Jing. However, since they were both children, they let them play and continued their conversation. The women sat quietly nearby, not daring to interject, but constantly casting curious glances at the living person they hadn't interacted with for so many years.

"I see. By the way, Elder Han, you mentioned earlier that there are only three or four small Daoist sects on Mang Mountain. Could you tell me more about them?" After the pleasantries, Shi Xuan got to the main topic.

Seeing Han Jing about to cry, Chu Wan'er quickly picked up a fruit to appease him. To her surprise, the fruit passed through Han Jing's face and emerged from behind his head. Chu Wan'er was startled and leaned back, grabbing Shi Xuan's sleeve. Under Shi Xuan's reassuring gaze, she became curious again. She took the fruit and poked Han Jing with it, watching her hand pass through his body, her eyes shining with excitement.

Han Shijin squinted, stroked his beard, and recalled, "I've been dead for nearly fifty years. Back then, there was a large Daoist sect on Mang Mountain called the Ghost Control Sect. It had over a hundred disciples and was quite prominent for a time. Unfortunately, thirty years ago, for some reason, it declined. Now, the Ghost Control Sect only has five or six people and is often bullied by two other small sects, the White Bone Sect and the Ghost Refining Gate. It's truly pathetic."

Hearing "Ghost Control Sect," Shi Xuan thought of the "Great Method of Ghost Control" and the Soul Bewildering Banner, which was formerly called the White Bone Soul-Driving Banner, now in his hand. Could the decline of the Ghost Control Sect be due to the old Daoist priest dying on Tongxuan Mountain? However, seeing Han Shijin's lack of clarity, he asked about the others, "What about the White Bone Sect and the Ghost Refining Gate?"

"Daoist Priest Shi, think about it. The Ghost Control Sect only has five or six people, and they are still able to exist on Mang Mountain despite being jointly suppressed by those two sects. You can imagine the strength of those two sects. They are definitely not the Daoist sects you are looking for," Han Shijin said with a half-joking tone.

Shi Xuan thought it was indeed so. "Are there any other peculiar places on Mang Mountain?"

"No, no. Mang Mountain is just this high, this big. Countless people climb the mountain to worship and sightsee every year. If there were any peculiar places, they would have been discovered long ago," Han Shijin said, shaking his head.

They chatted for a while longer until Chu Wan'er grew tired of playing. Shi Xuan then pulled her up and bid farewell to the Han family. Han Shijin and his family escorted them to the entrance of the underworld dwelling. Chu Wan'er was stuffed with a bag of assorted fruits.

"Elder Han, please stop here. You don't need to see us off further," Shi Xuan said, turning back at the entrance to bid Han Shijin farewell again.

Han Shijin sighed emotionally, "In the past fifty years, Daoist Priest Shi is the first living person to visit our mansion. You have also allowed my family and me to feel a connection to the living world, filling our hearts with joy. After this parting, who knows when we will meet again? I fear I will no longer be in this world by then, having dissipated into heaven and earth."

"Elder Han, what do you mean by that?"

"In these past few years, I've already felt my body slowly beginning to dissipate. I suppose I overexerted myself during my lifetime, damaging my essence. I won't last as long as others. It will likely be within the next year or two," Han Shijin lamented with some sadness.

"Dad!" "Father!" "Grandfather!" "Great-grandfather!"... The other members of the Han family, except for Han Jing, cried out sadly to Han Shijin, but they all looked helpless.

Shi Xuan could only offer a few words of comfort and then proposed to leave again. Amidst the Han family's reluctant farewells, he pulled the impatient Chu Wan'er away.

After only a few steps, he heard Han Shijin call out, "Daoist Priest Shi, I just remembered something. If you are seeking immortality, you might try Huilong Temple in Luojing. I once heard from Prince Rui of the imperial family that it is where true immortals reside."

Shi Xuan was surprised by this news and overjoyed. He turned back and bowed respectfully, "Thank you, Elder Han! This humble Daoist is immensely grateful."

After bidding farewell to the Han family ghosts, Shi Xuan took Chu Wan'er and continued walking into the mountains. Although he knew from Han Shijin that there were only two or three small Daoist sects of no value for his search, Shi Xuan wasn't a child. He didn't believe everything he heard and felt he had to investigate himself before returning.

"Master, those people didn't seem like ghosts just now!" Chu Wan'er asked, holding Shi Xuan's hand.

"Oh, Wan'er, aren't you..." Shi Xuan made a gesture of passing through something.

Chu Wan'er rolled her eyes. "I would believe they were ghosts then! And they were floating, but it was all different from what Wan'er knew before. They had a home, food, and drink, and they spoke so... so... not scary at all, really not like ghosts!"

Shi Xuan chuckled inwardly. "Then what do you think ghosts should be like?"

"Hmm, green faces and fangs, a head without a body, a body without a head, eyes without mouths, mouths without noses, intestines spilling out, rotten insides. That's what they should be like!" Chu Wan'er said all this in one breath, completely unlike her earlier inability to recall how to say "refined." He wondered where she had heard it.

"Where did you hear all that?" Shi Xuan began to explain the matters of the Ghost Path to Chu Wan'er, distinguishing between ordinary ghosts and malevolent ghosts.

Chu Wan'er mumbled softly as she listened, "That's what everyone else says."

They walked and talked. Along the way, they actually encountered two malevolent ghosts. Unfortunately, both were shallow in their cultivation, and some hadn't even regained their sentience. Shi Xuan dealt with them using a Golden Blade Divine Wind Slash, satisfying Chu Wan'er's curiosity. She finally saw malevolent ghosts with green faces and fangs, and those with spilling intestines. It was worth staying up late instead of sleeping soundly to follow her master up the cold, windy mountain. Well, there was also delicious fruit.

When they reached a secluded spot, Shi Xuan saw a complex of buildings built there. There were many houses, and the exterior was quite luxurious, adorned with carvings of malevolent ghosts. It looked somewhat eerie but was dilapidated, as if no one had maintained it for a long time.

Approaching the main gate, a crooked plaque hung above it, inscribed with the seal script for "Ghost Control Sect." Shi Xuan chuckled inwardly. He had found this sect so quickly. He decided to go in and take a look.

Picking up Chu Wan'er, under her curious gaze, he cast the Invisibility and Qi Concealment Spell. The two of them slowly faded into the air until they were completely invisible. Chu Wan'er's clear voice rang out from the spot, "Master, Master! Is this the invisibility spell?! It's so fun! Wan'er wants to learn!"

Shi Xuan quickly told her to be quiet, then cast the Wall-Piercing Technique. The two of them passed through the bluestone wall and entered the Ghost Control Sect. Chu Wan'er tightly covered her mouth with her small hands, afraid that if she got too excited, she might accidentally speak. Immortal Methods were truly magical! So fun!

Shi Xuan led Chu Wan'er through several courtyards, heading towards the house where the lights were still on. He then poked a small hole and observed what the people inside were doing.

Inside were two middle-aged men dressed as Daoist priests. Both paid attention to their appearance and had an air of immortal grace. One of them, a Daoist priest with a pale face and long beard, sighed to the other, "Martial Brother Sect Leader, you should come down the mountain with me. This Ghost Control Sect is finished. Why not go down the mountain and find some influential figures or wealthy merchants? With our skills, why worry about not achieving glory and wealth? It's much better than staying in this broken, desolate sect!"

"Alas, Junior Brother, Senior Brother knows your plan is wise. But Senior Brother was raised by our master since childhood. Before he died, I promised him I would take over this sect. How can I abandon our ancestral legacy and go down the mountain?" the Daoist priest with a slightly dark face and short beard replied with a sigh.

---- We advanced by two places today, to eighteenth place. Thank you, everyone. The gap with the top four is not large. We continue to beg for your support.