Chapter 12: Controlling Ghosts
Chapter 12: Controlling Ghosts
Hearing Liu Yuanshan ask like that, Mu Yuan and Mo Xue couldn’t help but laugh softly. With a smile and a shake of his head, Mu Yuan said, “That won’t be necessary. A few talismans will suffice. We don’t need wooden swords or an altar!”
Liu Yuanshan hurriedly had someone bring yellow paper and vermilion ink. Many itinerant Daoists had been here in recent days, so there were plenty. Mu Yuan took it and examined it. Although not top-quality, it was serviceable for fighting.
Mu Yuan and Mo Xue were both only at the Qi Refining Third Layer. If they reached the Sixth Layer Core Formation stage, they could condense qi into symbols and gather intent for curses. By then, they wouldn’t need external tools to subdue demons and ghosts. When they did use tools, they would be higher-grade ones, and the written talismans could be preserved much longer, becoming the equivalent of the lowest-grade talismanic tools stored for future use. Unlike now, where even drawn talismans didn’t last long; their effectiveness faded in under seven or eight days, the spiritual energy dispersing, turning into useless scraps!
Grasping the brush, he swiftly inscribed over ten odd symbols made of tadpole-like strange characters. These talismanic seals, drawn with vermilion ink, constantly emitted faint, shifting spiritual light, flickering faintly. When they bumped into each other, listening intently, one could almost hear a soft crackling sound. They looked less like demon-subduing talismans and more like rare, decorative jade stones.
Mo Xue also casually sketched a few talismanic seals, different from Mu Yuan’s. Each resembled a full moon but was constantly changing—phases shifting from new moon to full and back. They emitted a faint chill, like wisps of white smoke swirling above the seals, reminiscent of clouds covering the moon, appearing and disappearing.
Having made his preparations, Mu Yuan smiled at Liu Yuanshan. “Prefect Liu, let’s go in and take a look!” He casually handed over two talismanic seals flashing with cyan light. “Hold these in your hand, my lord. Do not let go.”
Liu Yuanshan hastily took them, gripping them tightly in his palm as he followed Mu Yuan and Mo Xue upstairs.
As soon as they neared the wing room occupied by Liu Yuanshan’s concubine, Mu Yuan and Mo Xue immediately felt the chilling energy thicken by many times, pressing against their skin and creating unease. Mu Yuan stirred his zhenqi slightly. His hand moved like a swift wind, sticking two talismanic seals onto the window lattice and door. A large swath of greenish-blue radiance instantly bloomed, merging into one piece and enveloping the entire room like a giant luminous cocoon!
The moment Mu Yuan acted, a sharp shriek pierced the air from inside the room. Like a night owl, like a ghost’s wail, the sound made Liu Yuanshan’s scalp prickle and his body tremble violently!
“Immortal Master, she wasn’t like this before!” he stammered.
Mu Yuan strode forward, pushing the door open with a smile. “Pressed hard, she naturally reveals her true form. Watch me subdue her!”
Entering the room, they saw a frail woman dressed entirely in flowing, watery-red robes. Her slender, pale hands featured long, thin fingernails. Like a cloud of crimson, she lunged headlong towards Mu Yuan!
“Mere trifles!” Mu Yuan smiled, unruffled, as if he had expected it all along. He flicked his right wrist, and a coil of profound, black light spiraled around his arm, surging forward. It transformed into a blazingly bright light blade, slashing down with incredible speed!
For cultivators at Mu Yuan’s stage, manifesting gathered qi into weapons was still far beyond them. What Mu Yuan used now was a water-attributed divine ability: Qi Vortex Slash!
Qi Vortex Slash was created by a predecessor in the Water Dao Path. Aware that those who hadn’t formed their core couldn’t wield the immense power of qi weaponry, he pondered deeply and ultimately devised this power, modeled after the might of qi blade light blades.
A mass of black light spun around his fingertip. After the bright long saber slashed out, it split off a strand that rippled in the air, transforming into a strange, ring-like instrument that descended toward Liu Yuanshan’s concubine!
The Qi Vortex Slash collided with the red cloud. The clash sent shockwaves rolling, and surges of energy exploded forward. From under the red cloud, a vast, sinisterly cold energy blasted outward. Mu Yuan pressed both hands down as if containing it, stepping relentlessly forward. His powerful zhenqi turned into razor-sharp Qi Vortex Slash weapons! Simultaneously, countless vines extended from the emerald-green radiance, snaking upwards like dancing spirit serpents or chains striking through the air, cracking violently!
Under this impact, Liu Yuanshan’s concubine emitted a piercingly sharp, ear-splitting screech that could pierce clouds. She was flung several steps back, whole body convulsing violently. A plume of black smoke coiled above her head. Mu Yuan chuckled darkly. Two beams of jade light blazed fiercely in his hands, instantly bursting forth, writhing and shifting. They transformed into two cyan light dragons in an instant! Covered in talismanic script and curse characters, they intertwined with the countless vines, swift as lightning. They seized the plume of black smoke and ripped it outwards with immense force!
Freed from its host, the black smoke instantly morphed into a ghostly face! Fangs jutted out, and long, tangled hair hung loosely. Blood seeped ceaselessly from its eyes. It felt incredibly insubstantial, like rootless wood or duckweed on water. Suddenly, it exploded into a mist of smoke charging in all directions!
Mu Yuan watched with an amused smile, unconcerned. The black smoke crashed into the window lattice and immediately recoiled wildly, as if burned by fire, faster than a snake bite!
Quickly the black smoke coalesced back into a human form. Seeing the terror on its face, a sudden thought struck Mu Yuan. He made a hand seal. The force of the talismanic seals surrounding the house abruptly vanished! The world’s spiritual energy came flooding in immediately. Sensing the change, the ghost transformed into a fierce gale and fled at once!
Liu Yuanshan, who had been clutching the talismans while watching, felt both relief and worry upon seeing the ghost flee. He was about to speak when he heard Mu Yuan lightly command, “Sister Mo Xue! Let’s follow it and find out who is behind this!”
Mo Xue gave him a brilliant smile. “So that’s why you suddenly released the wards! You want to track down the mastermind!”
Pushing off lightly with their toes, both shot out of the house immediately. They saw the yin wind swirling towards a rockery not far away and instantly gave chase!
The rockery stood over a lake in the yard’s center. It was piled from jagged, oddly shaped rocks punctuated by countless holes and tunnels, connecting naturally with the surrounding formations, offering plenty of places to hide. The black smoke plunged into a stone hole and vanished!
What manner of people were Mu Yuan and Mo Xue? Such a simple trick couldn’t fool or detain them! Mu Yuan casually shot a beam of Greenwood Divine Radiance at the rock face. It struck and exploded! Immediately, a roar of rage erupted, “WHO DARES HARM MY SUBORDINATE YIN SPIRIT?!”
From the top of the rockery, a streak of eerie black light shot up into the sky! An aura of coldness, savagery, ferocity, and bloodlust immediately spread throughout the entire courtyard, thick and heavy. The clear autumn sky seemed blotted out. The temperature seemed to drop, and the air felt chilly!
“As expected! There’s a Qi Refining Practitioner harbored here!” Mu Yuan and Mo Xue exchanged a glance. Judging from the suddenly unleashed aura, the opponent’s cultivation level was also around Qi Refining Third Layer, only slightly higher than their own.
“Bold trespasser! How dare you let ghostly monsters rampage and harm people? Today, I’ll capture you!” Mu Yuan bellowed. Tide True Qi surged wildly from him, swirling within his palm. With a twist of his hand, it transformed into countless spheres of water—perfectly round, pearl-like, each sparkling with crackling electricity! Thousands of these spheres flew out together like a meteor shower falling upon the earth, a truly spectacular sight!
This technique, Water into Thunder, was also a Water-attributed divine ability. Among the Five Elements, each had methods for condensing qi into thunder. The Yi Wood Divine Thunder was said to be the most formidable, but Mu Yuan didn’t know its method. He was, however, very proficient in various Water-attributed divine abilities!
The process involved compressing his zhenqi endlessly, pulling it inward to form spheres, then generating electric sparks within! The method was incredibly complex, demanding countless tiny manipulations of zhenqi flow, the application of talismanic seals, micro-controls of intent, and spiritual sense. Mu Yuan had contemplated and practiced this move extensively, achieving mastery only recently. Attempting it without thorough understanding risked not just failing to defeat the enemy but also harming himself!
Ghostly monsters and yin-demons feared thunder methods most. Although Water Thunder Art was not the primordial power of heavenly thunder, it was still a form of thunder technique, possessing unimaginable might. As the thousand sparkling thunder-water spheres rained down, the sky-filling yin energy was instantly blasted into shattered, fragmented wisps!
“Hmph!” A furious snort rang out. A gaunt-faced man finally emerged from within the rockery. He wore pitch-black Daoist robes; his face was deathly pale, like paper. In his hands, he gripped a Soul Banner about three feet high. Foul black fumes poured ceaselessly from it, rank with demonic energy. Innumerable overlapping talismanic scripts covered the banner shaft and cloth, shimmering with a sinister sheen, casting an atmosphere of chilling dread, as if trapping one within the depths of hell!
Having revealed himself, the man shook the banner vigorously. Mist instantly filled the air—pale as powdered bone ashes swirling madly. A sharp, piercingly cold, wind charged at them, radiating killing intent as it swept furiously towards Mu Yuan!
Under the brunt of this assault, Mu Yuan shuddered slightly. He immediately activated his prepared talismanic seals. Emerald brilliance surged out like countless intertwined vines and branches. Threads of spiritual energy condensed upon them, coalescing into a roar! It formed a cyan dragon that roared, vibrating the very space around it!
Mu Yuan protected his own body with the circling talismanic seals. Simultaneously, he drew the Iron Sword from his back, channeling a torrent of his zhenqi into it! Greenwood Divine Radiance erupted in a beam of keen, sharp light! It shot forward, tearing open a gap in the swirling ash-grey fog. Its piercing point aimed unerringly at the newcomer!
“No matter who you are, I’ll subdue you first! Only then can we have a proper talk with weight!” Mu Yuan understood that at this moment, words were futile trash. Both sides were Qi Refining Practitioners with firm Dao Hearts; neither would yield to mere words. He needed to seize the initiative. Only by gaining the upper hand could the situation be resolved more easily! His Iron Sword swept through the air. The energy light of Greenwood Divine Radiance surged and thundered, bursting with vibrant vigor!
The opponent clearly thought the same way. The talismanic script on his Soul Banner blazed intensely, instantly spawning infinite variations. Ghastly crying noises erupted from the banner, shaking the spirit, harsh and grating! Black smoke furled out, coalescing into sharp-clawed, fanged monstrous ghosts that leaped towards Mu Yuan!
Countless ghosts, swaying phantom-like in the wind, instantly crowded the space before Mu Yuan, each throwing itself forward heedless of damage. Their ghostly energy and yin-qi fused together, forming a concentrated force powerful and sharp as the rushing, mighty Yellow River bearing down upon him!
Mu Yuan unleashed wave after wave of Greenwood Divine Radiance, slashing horizontally and thrusting forward against the tide! He swept down group after group of ghosts, yet they seemed endless. Where his energy light passed, the ghosts merely dissolved into scattered yin-qi, only to be sucked back into the Soul Banner and reconstituted as new monstrous ghosts! Thus, they couldn’t be truly finished off, but neither could they breach Mu Yuan’s defensive ring of Greenwood Divine Radiance!
“Do you think this means I’m helpless? Witness Frost for a Thousand Li – Freeze the Yin!” Mu Yuan roared furiously. Icecold Path was instantly catalyzed by his Tide True Qi! Frost abruptly crystallized in the surrounding air. The ambient yin-cold energy seemed to be actively drawn in, transformed into fuel for Icecold Path’s power! Frost flowers began to drift in the air, swiftly coalescing into ice crystals that linked together, turning the entire courtyard into a world of ice and snow!