Chapter 84: The Ghost of the Floating Cloud Sect

That night.

The Dark Mist surged, Mist Demons howled. In the pitch-black darkness, Kao Mountain Town was like a small boat on a raging sea, tottering and about to fall.

At this moment, in the east street of the town, inside a newly built temple hall, an oil lamp barely pushed back the nearby darkness. It cast light upon over a dozen figures that flickered and swayed, looking less like people and more like ghosts.

But this place was actually the base of the Lanshan Sect.

Because Zhang San was very poor. Even though he became one of the four giants of Kao Mountain Town, he still could not afford to build a large mansion for his family. So his whole family, young and old, as well as his disciples, all squeezed into the temple. Fortunately, the Kaoshan Patriarch did not mind. For over a month now, their lives had been much, much better than all the previous years combined.

But tonight, Zhang San felt restless. An uneasy feeling spread in his heart, making it hard for him to calm down. After thinking it over, he gathered his family members.

“I have a tribulation coming, and I probably won’t have a good end. Zhang Gong, come here.”

Zhang San called his eldest son to him, preparing to entrust his final affairs. “If I die, you will become the leader of the Lanshan Sect. Don’t shake your head. You must take responsibility. If the Lanshan Sect has no leader, do you think our Zhang family will have a good end? How can we give back the power we hold in our hands? Don’t forget the Ma family that disappeared not long ago.”

“Fortunately, this month brought great Divine favor. You three, and your junior brothers, have all mastered our Lanshan Sect’s Spirit Cultivation method, and you have all reached the Mind Stabilization realm. The future should be smooth. Now, step back. No matter whether I live or die tonight, do not enter this place again.”

Zhang San sternly sent everyone away. Suppressing the unease in his heart, he held his breath, sat quietly, and practiced Mind Stabilization cultivation.

He had set life and death aside.

Because this was a Divine Decree. A few days ago, he thought he might be able to build his foundation and was quite happy. But now, it had become a path to death.

He did not know where the unease in his heart came from. He only knew that the Kaoshan Patriarch wanted to use him as bait for fishing; he was the fragrant bait.

So, he needed to have the awareness of being bait.

For no other reason than for the sake of his large family, he would risk his life to be a good bait.

The night grew deeper. After covering his whole body with various Heart-searching Soul Seals, Zhang San finally achieved a state of forgetting both the external world and himself, successfully reaching Mind Stabilization and leaving his body.

Spirit Cultivation methods had a unique advantage in this aspect. Li Si, who was attached to the Divine Idol, felt envious. He had already placed a Tianji Array Rune behind this Divine Idol and made all preparations. Now, it remained to be seen whether the mysterious Evil Spirit would come to cause trouble.

After all, the Lanshan Sect was considered Li Si’s great treasure, one of very high value.

They were not ordinary Cultivators but Spirit Cultivators, similar to the Buddhist sect from Li Si’s hometown. They searched their hearts, not the Dao; they sought the spirit, not material things. It was quite amazing.

This sect’s philosophy seemed born specifically for the Illusory Realm. In short, they were quite effective at restraining Phantasmal Aberrations and Evil Spirits.

If Zhang San, their leader, could successfully build his foundation, it would be like giving the rise of the Floating Cloud Sect a real pair of wings.

So Li Si thought it over left and right. The mysterious Evil Entity stopping him from advancing to the Golden Core stage probably aimed to destroy Zhang San and the Lanshan Sect, especially Zhang San. He absolutely had to be destroyed.

This guy was simply a genius in Spirit Cultivation. After a half-life of sneaky cultivation, he actually achieved quite a lot. And now, after less than a month of good living, damn it, he was actually about to build his foundation. Ha ha!

Isn’t that infuriating?

Where does that leave the face of a genius like me?

So, if the mysterious Evil Entity’s scheme really landed on Zhang San, it was understandable.

“Whoosh!”

A top-tier Heart-Clearing Domain descended, followed by a top-tier Disaster-Averting Domain, and then another top-tier Heart-searching Soul Seal descended.

Ah, he wasn’t afraid that the mysterious Evil Spirit would know he had come. It didn’t matter. Don’t you just want to prevent me from advancing to Golden Core? Go ahead and harass me; I’m waiting for you here.

Zhang San was completely unaware of the outside world at this moment. The Mind Stabilization effect of their Spirit Cultivation was really good. One could almost see a faint treasure light enveloping his entire body. There were no spiritual power fluctuations, but a condensed and steadfast soul was practicing outside his body.

Yes, leaving the body. Cultivators of Li Si’s system could only leave their bodies at the Nascent Soul stage, but these Spirit Cultivators could do it at the Foundation Establishment Realm. They could travel ten li by day and a hundred li by night. Quite impressive. This also showed that their Spirit Cultivation school was truly formidable in strengthening the soul.

If nothing unexpected happened, Zhang San was bound to advance today.

Suddenly, without any warning, the Disaster-Averting Domain Li Si set up broke, followed by the Heart-Clearing Domain. It wasn’t that these two Divine Abilities were weak, but the attack came from the Illusory Void. It jumped directly into the two Domains, breaking them from the inside out in an instant.

Almost at the same time, Li Si also teleported behind the Divine Idol. With a wave of his hand, the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl, clad in various protections, flew up, illuminating the Illusory Void. What could be seen was a bizarre little flame figure.

This little flame figure was invisible to the naked eye. Wherever it passed, it ignited Illusory Void fires, directly burning away the Heart-Clearing Domain and the Disaster-Averting Domain. Such confrontation was incomparable; it was like forcing a tank to fly in the sky and fight a helicopter.

Very unfair.

However, the little flame figure could not break the Heart-searching Soul Seal. It was also being restrained. So the other side would certainly use Mortal Realm means next. So clever.

With a thought from Li Si, another Heart-Clearing Domain enveloped Zhang San. Before the little flame figure could break it again, a low-tier Soul-Searching Curse was cast on it, directly pulling it out of the Illusory Void and making it fall into the Mortal Realm. Followed by a supplementary low-tier Demon Slaying Thorn, the battle ended.

And this little flame figure couldn’t even bring Li Si the slightest bit of Soul Alienation Contamination.

Seemed a bit easy?

But the next second, a full ten little flame figures emerged from the Illusory Void, swaggeringly broke the Heart-Clearing Domain on Zhang San, and even tried to turn around and attack Li Si.

This was a provocation!

Li Si kept his composure. He cast a Bane of Illusions spell, forming a Bane of Illusions Domain that covered the entire temple. This Divine Ability also specifically countered the Illusory Void. It meant any Evil Entity or attack from the Illusory Void would inevitably reveal itself upon entering the Bane of Illusions Domain.

Then he added an Evil-Repelling Domain. With the combined force of the two Domains, no matter how many little flame figures appeared, they could be dealt with.

So this time, it became quiet.

But for some reason, Li Si still felt somewhat uneasy, as if he had overlooked a very important detail.

Suddenly, his heart palpitated, his spirit greatly shaken. Then, through the Primary Alert Dharma Seal, he detected the enemy situation. North of Kao Mountain Town, over a hundred li away, at least a thousand Fallen Demons, under the cover of the Dark Mist, were charging into his territory.

On the river, a total of nine pitch-black warships were sailing downstream, needing just over an hour to arrive.

As for due south, there were also six warships, setting off from downstream’s Blackstone Town, sailing upstream.

Besides this, within the Dark Mist, the howls of the Mist Demons were especially terrifying. Countless Mist Demons seemed to be gathering, as if by agreement, coming to attack.

At this moment, Li Si felt his hands and feet turn cold. With such a formation, even if he could win the final victory, Kao Mountain Town would likely suffer heavy casualties.

But the Evil God’s side had nine Puppet Kingdoms and the Evil God Cult. They could dispatch large numbers of troops wave after wave. How could he withstand it?

No wonder the Twelve World-Quelling True Immortals ended up so miserable, having to act carefully and keep their heads down.

Damn it!

Right at this moment, Li Si heard a giggling sound coming from outside the temple. It was Zhang San’s young wife. She suddenly rolled her eyes white, then broke free from others’ attempts to stop her and walked into the temple. In just those few steps, black, bloody tears streamed from her eyes, and her eyeballs popped out on their own, bouncing around like ping-pong balls.

Immediately after, her body and limbs began to rot rapidly, growing maggots, and finally collapsed on the ground, turning into a puddle of blackish-yellow corpse fluid.

Only her eyeballs remained, black as ink, as if lifted by an invisible force, staring directly at Li Si. Then a voice sounded, coming from who knows where.

“Junior Brother Li, it’s been many days since we parted. Do you still miss your senior sister?”

Li Si frowned, recognizing who it was—the Thousand-Eyed Evil Spirit. But this probably wasn’t its main body. And its form of address made his heart sink.

“Giggle, giggle!”

The voice continued, coquettishly laughing. “I am actually just a merchant. Over the years, I haven’t involved myself in the conflicts between you Cultivators and the Evil God. At most, I’ve engaged in some mutually agreeable, conscientious business. But Junior Brother Li, you have such a cruel heart. You smashed my sign, stole my subordinates, and brought trouble upon me. Yet you yourself received a Heaven and Earth Decree, became the so-called Kaoshan Patriarch. Ha ha ha!”

“I wonder what our undying master would think if he learned your true face?”

“Don’t be overly suspicious. Unless you teleport back to the Floating Cloud Sect’s base village right now, like a frightened child hiding in the embrace of my Junior Sister Jiang Ying and crying, otherwise, you are dead.”

“However, I suggest that before you leave, you tell me the location where you buried the Hundred-League Law Seal. Look, after all, I was also a disciple of the Floating Cloud Sect before my death. It’s better for me to be the master of this Pure Land than to let outsiders have it. Oh, they can’t even be considered human. Time is limited. I suggest you decide quickly.”

Li Si’s face was expressionless. “Fifty years ago, the mysterious Evil Spirit that caused my senior sister Jiang Ying to miscarry was you?”

“You guessed right, but there’s no reward.”

“Why?”

“At that time, I had just died in battle not long ago. The Evil Spirit I became was very weak. I needed a hundred children to be my eyes. And unfortunately, Junior Sister Jiang could fulfill this condition for me.”

“However, I’m not ungrateful. Over the past fifty years, I have secretly looked after them. Otherwise, do you think cowards like Xu Shen and Ji Chang could avoid being discovered by the Evil God Cult?”

“Even now, I am still striving to protect the Floating Cloud Sect’s last stronghold. I just occasionally collect some interest. I think even if they knew the truth, they would be grateful to me.”

“Little Junior Brother, you are too aggressive. You actually dared to establish a Pure Land. Your death-seeking path is truly unprecedented. Do you know that if you attract the army of the nine Puppet Kingdoms, even the Floating Cloud Sect’s base will be unable to hide.”

“So I used a little trick to help you destroy this Kao Mountain Town before the situation got out of control. Go back, little brat. As long as you live one more day in the future, you will be grateful to me.”

“After all, a poor life is better than a good death.”