I Took In a Female Ghost?

Qin Yi couldn't accept it. He had clearly been in the corridor just a moment ago, so how had he suddenly appeared here? Either this place was false, or he had dreamed the whole thing.

Qin Yi tried circulating the Blazing Yang Thunder Asura Instruction, and sure enough, he felt a familiar power reappear within him. It seemed he had fallen under an illusion. Looking at Prince Qing, who was exactly as he remembered him, Qin Yi dispersed the spiritual power he had gathered in his hand.

"Yi'er, why don't I take you out to clear your head this afternoon?" Seeing that Qin Yi looked unwell, Prince Qing thought of taking him out for a bit of fun.

"All right."

Spring passed and autumn came, flowers bloomed and fell, and Qin Yi turned eighteen that year.

On the training grounds of Prince Qing's residence, Qin Yi was practicing with his spear. He had stayed with Prince Qing for eight years, and in all that time, he had never thought of breaking the illusion. He had only wanted to spend a little longer with Prince Qing. But he had to leave in the end. This place was not the destination he sought.

"Good, not bad," Prince Qing said with a smile as he walked over from a distance.

Qin Yi fell silent for a moment when he saw Prince Qing, then said in a low voice, "Father, I'm leaving."

Prince Qing froze, then hurriedly asked, "Leaving? Where are you going?"

"To see the world outside. I haven't yet witnessed its grandeur, and its winds and clouds are still waiting for me to stir them up. I have no choice but to leave."

Qin Yi thought Prince Qing would stop him and make him sink into the illusion, but to his surprise, Prince Qing merely smiled. "All these years, I've always known your heart wasn't here. How could this little Qin Kingdom hold you back?"

"It's dangerous out there. If you ever want to come home, then come back. I'll be waiting for you."

Qin Yi's eyes reddened. He stepped forward and embraced Prince Qing. "Father, I'm sorry."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the spear in Qin Yi's hand pierced Prince Qing's body. Prince Qing was still smiling, but his body gradually dissolved into motes of light and scattered on the wind. At the same time, the scenery around Qin Yi rapidly faded away. A moment later, Qin Yi opened his eyes and found that he had remained in the same spot all along, surrounded by streams of black Qi.

"Hmph, courting death."

Bolts of lightning gathered around Cangyuan. As Qin Yi smashed it against the ground, they instantly spread in all directions. The black Qi vanished without a trace the moment it touched the lightning.

"Ah!"

With a miserable scream, a kneeling woman in red slowly appeared before Qin Yi. The woman, however, was insubstantial. Qin Yi frowned. "Is this a Spirit Body?" A Spirit Body was a special state in which one existed as a soul without a physical body-in other words, what people commonly called a ghost.

A Spirit Body was immune to most physical attacks and adept at illusions. If an ordinary Qi Refinement cultivator had encountered this ghost, he might have fallen victim to her illusion. But she had encountered Qin Yi, who had already reached Foundation Establishment. What the Spirit Race feared most were lightning and flames, and Qin Yi was born with both lightning and fire Spirit Roots, making him a perfect counter to her.

With lightning coiling around the tip of his spear, Qin Yi pressed it against the female ghost's chin and asked, "How did a ghost like you end up here?" According to the books, the Spirit Race lived in the Western Region, unless the Golden Core cultivator who had fallen here had left her behind.

Sure enough, owing to her innate fear of lightning, the female ghost hesitated only briefly before answering, "I was cultivating in the Western Region when I ran into True Person Chiyu. He captured me, and after he fell, I found myself sealed inside the formation, unable to get out."

She couldn't get out because of the sealing formation the six great Lineages of Star City had jointly placed outside. But after spending a long time here, she discovered that someone would send "Cultivation Resources" in to her every few years, so she simply stayed.

Qin Yi looked at the corpses scattered across the ground. They had probably died after the female ghost devoured their souls. The Spirit Race was good by nature, but those who did evil became ghosts. Some members of the Spirit Race were cruel and bloodthirsty, cultivating by devouring souls. Once discovered, they would be driven from their ancestral land to become wandering souls and wild ghosts. A group of ghosts then formed the Ghost Race to protect themselves.

Just as Qin Yi was about to summon lightning to strike the female ghost dead, he suddenly changed his mind. He put Cangyuan away and asked her, "Are you willing to submit to me?"

The female ghost's eyes lit up. "Of course I am." She had noticed that something about Qin Yi seemed to be drawing her in.

Qin Yi's gaze hardened. He bent down and gripped her chin. "I don't like being betrayed."

A drop of Essence Blood flew from Qin Yi's fingertip. Seeing this, the female ghost gritted her teeth, separated a wisp of her soul's essence, and infused it into the blood. Once the two had fused, she turned into a wisp of smoke and drifted toward Qin Yi, then settled on his wrist, becoming a venomous snake tattoo. Now, a single thought from Qin Yi would scatter her soul.

"My name is Hong She." The female ghost's voice rang out in Qin Yi's mind. Once the contract was made, Qin Yi could communicate with Hong She in his mind.

After asking Hong She about the treasures ahead, Qin Yi learned that this was indeed a Golden Core cave abode. A Golden Core cultivator named True Person Chiyu had been pursued here from the Western Region and had later fallen from his severe injuries. Most of the treasures here were hidden deep within.

Qin Yi swiftly sped forward under Hong She's guidance. If those good-for-nothings got their hands on the treasures, he would have to go to some trouble.

As time passed, Qin Yi ventured deeper and deeper, while the Spiritual Qi around him grew increasingly dense. Hong She said there was an Alchemy Chamber ahead, where True Person Chiyu had left most of his pills. Qin Yi stopped concealing his cultivation and moved faster and faster, until a light gradually appeared ahead.

Two groups confronting each other appeared within Qin Yi's Divine Sense. One of them was led by his old acquaintance Song Qingyun, but by now he had lost more than half his men and was covered in dust and grime, with none of the high spirits he had shown before entering.

"Song Qingyun, if you still won't get out of the way, don't blame me for showing no mercy. If I kill you here, your father Song Yunian won't know a thing," the leader of the group facing Song Qingyun said bluntly.

Song Qingyun clenched his teeth. If the path he had chosen hadn't contained several formidable traps that cost him some of his men, he wouldn't have been in such a sorry state. Even though he was at a disadvantage, however, he still refused to give way. He wanted to prove to everyone that he, Song Qingyun, was no weaker than his elder brother.

Standing in the distance, Qin Yi watched as neither group was willing to make the first move. He shook his head helplessly and sighed. "Looks like I'll have to do it myself."

"Hong She, you've been trapped for so long. It's about time your cultivation advanced another step, isn't it?"

The tattoo on Qin Yi's wrist flickered, then turned into a red venomous snake that slithered down below. Qin Yi folded his arms across his chest and quietly waited for the feast of slaughter to come.