ATEG Chapter 51

In the Daqing Mountain range, within the Li Manor.

After resolving Yun Ling’s matter, Ding Qin returned here.

Having been away for two or three days, the mountain remained unchanged as ever.

The young pines before the gate swayed their branches, the silver fish in the pond flicked their tails, and the High God still sat in the corridor expounding the Dao, while eight or nine wild monkeys sat cross-legged on the stone steps below, listening quietly.

Shuigu Town was filled with the ever-changing bustle of mortal life, but the tranquil peace of the mountain was an eternal homecoming.

Ding Qin’s unsettled heart immediately calmed.

Two “ga-ga” bird calls came from the air as Jin Yan swooped down and landed on Ding Qin’s shoulder, immediately pestering her with questions about how she’d spent these past few days. This instantly broke the courtyard’s serenity but added a touch of endearing warmth.

On the stone table, many fresh fruits were piled on a large leaf, and Wen Qianzi crouched on the table, blinking at her.

Ding Qin couldn’t help but laugh as she sat down to tell them about her experiences over the past few days.

“…Afterward, the Little General followed the Ghost King back.”

The Yun family had neither the means nor the conditions to take him in. Unlike ghosts and spirits who cultivated the divine path, he carried a body full of cold ghostly qi that was harmful to the living.

Yun Ling had also become quite different from the General Mu Chao he once was. After the Little General’s obsessive delusion was resolved, he could finally embark on the righteous path of ghost cultivation. The Ghost King’s domain was truly the place where ghost-kind like them could settle and live peacefully.

After listening, Jin Yan smacked his beak twice and sighed. “How pitiful. After death, without the body’s constraints, they don’t grow any sense but only act stubbornly according to their obsessions. If not for fortunate circumstances, he probably would have been destroyed long ago.” 

This explanation was something Ding Qin had never heard before. She asked curiously, “Don’t ghost-kind act stubbornly because they harbor obsessive attachments?”

“It’s half and half,” Jin Yan explained. “They didn’t cultivate spiritual consciousness, so after death they transformed into ghost creatures. Having lost their body’s regulation, their thoughts become unrestrained and their actions more prone to obsession. Unless they embark on the righteous path of ghost cultivation and cultivate their soul after death, only then can this be resolved. Before that, even if they resolve their obsessive delusions, they still tend to be single-minded.”

“For example…” Jin Yan looked around, couldn’t find an example in the courtyard, and instinctively looked toward the silver fish in the pond.

The silver fish unhappily raised its head, and a stream of water condensed like a sword, splashing Jin Yan’s feathers with a pop.

While shaking off the water droplets, Jin Yan exclaimed in surprise, “Hey! You’ve been hiding sword qi?!”

The silver fish quite proudly swished its tail and mockingly blew out a string of bubbles.

Jin Yan wasn’t angry. After shaking dry, he turned to Ding Qin and asked curiously, “I only know there’s a powerful Ghost King in Daqing Mountain, but I’ve never seen her. What is the Ghost King like?”

“She wears bright red bridal robes, with vermillion lips and phoenix eyes that slant upward. She’s beautiful yet imposing. But her yin qi and resentful qi are also extremely heavy. Though well-restrained, I couldn’t help feeling cold just from looking at her. However… that didn’t seem to be the Ghost King’s true form,” Ding Qin said.

In her spirit eyes, the Ghost King’s body bore heavy resentment, enough to freeze one to the marrow and collapse one’s consciousness, almost obscuring the pure yin qi beneath. No matter how one looked at it, she didn’t resemble a cultivator who guarded a region with deep merit.

Jin Yan couldn’t help but be very curious upon hearing this, but Ding Qin couldn’t discern more, so he turned to look at Li Chi.

Ding Qin also looked over, and Wen Qianzi wore an even more eager, curious expression.

Li Chi smiled and said, “That is the Wedding Robe Manifestation that the Ghost King severed. Ghost path cultivators are often troubled by obsessive resentment, so there is a unique cultivation method—severing the obsessive resentment and transforming it into a manifestation to bear the excessively heavy resentment, preventing it from affecting the cultivation of one’s own spiritual consciousness. The stronger the obsessive resentment, the stronger the severed manifestation becomes, but the difficulty of severing also increases.”

The person and two demons were hearing of this cultivation method for the first time and became even more curious.

“Then why is she wearing bridal robes? Is it related to the Ghost King’s life before death?” Jin Yan asked.

“The various manifestations formed by severing obsessive resentment are also related to that resentment. The Wedding Robe Manifestation should be connected to the obsessive resentment that turned her into a ghost. As for the more specific story, I don’t know,” Li Chi said.

Ding Qin was about to say something when she suddenly exclaimed “Oh my!”

The white-cheeked little monkey had somehow jumped down from the tree and was quietly rummaging through the bundle she’d brought up.

Realizing it had been discovered, the little monkey immediately jumped aside, spreading its paws and chirping. It hadn’t meant anything by it—it just smelled something fragrant and wanted to take a look out of curiosity.

Ding Qin opened the bundle. Inside was a box of pastries and dried fruits. She picked out a package of dried fruit and handed it to the little monkey. “Thank you for watering the plants these past few days. If you want to know something, you can ask me, but don’t rummage around like this again!”

The little monkey chirped and squeaked a few times, then ran off jubilantly with the oil-paper package to present its treasure to the old monkey.

Watching this, Ding Qin couldn’t help but laugh again. The bundle was filled entirely with pastries the Yun family had given her. The Yun family had wanted to thank her with generous gifts, but she refused and only accepted this package of pastries and fruits to bring back.

Though the matter had been peacefully resolved, the Yun family still felt uneasy.

She wondered how the Medicine Divine Lady Wangyue was doing…

……

Wangyue was currently stabbing voodoo dolls frantically in her heart.

She had already found Shuoyue by following the mysterious sensations, but because of Li Chi’s instructions, she didn’t dare approach or make contact with Shuoyue.

Shuoyue was currently staying with a Daoist in brocade robes and jade crown whose appearance was excellent. This Daoist carried himself with a solemn bearing that could easily fool unenlightened mortals into taking him for a man of the Dao. However, Wangyue detected extremely well-hidden blood-evil qi from this Daoist.

This was the trace left from cultivating by refining other living beings. Even with every concealment, it was like ink mixed into water—unless completely poured out and fresh water accumulated anew, the ink stain would remain forever.

Shuoyue had transformed into her true form and spent her days with this kind of Daoist. How could Wangyue not be anxious?

But she dared not rashly contact Shuoyue, fearing that, as Li Chi had said, it would bring about bad results instead.

The Daoist’s cultivation was considerable. Afraid of being discovered by him, Wangyue only dared observe from afar.

The Daoist called himself Daoist Feiying. Over these past few days, with his excellent appearance and array of techniques, he had gained much admiration. But he didn’t seem to lack wealth—if someone offered tribute, he accepted without refusal, but if they didn’t mention it, he never asked. He didn’t seem to be lingering here and interacting with people for money, but rather seemed to be searching for some clue.

Wangyue could faintly sense Shuoyue’s emotions through their karmic thread. Shuoyue seemed to have perceived what Daoist Feiying was truly searching for, and had become increasingly restless and anxious these past few days. This emotion transmitted to Wangyue’s heart, making her increasingly anxious as well.

But Wangyue could only force herself to endure. Since Daoist Feiying hadn’t harmed Shuoyue in hundreds of years, he probably wouldn’t strike immediately in these few days either.

When would the opportune moment that the High God Li Chi spoke of finally arrive?

……

While Wangyue waited anxiously for the right moment, Shuoyue was also waiting. She had been waiting for an opportunity to escape Daoist Feiying for a full six hundred years.

Shuoyue remembered very clearly the first time she met Daoist Feiying six hundred years ago.

At that time, she was fighting desperately against a snake demon and gradually falling into defeat.

Snakes naturally hunted rabbits, let alone this snake demon whose cultivation far exceeded hers.

She might not be able to hold out until Wangyue returned, but at least one of the two of them could survive.

Shuoyue’s demon power was completely exhausted, and blood soaked through her black fur.

She couldn’t run anymore.

That ferocious snake maw lunged toward her. Was she going to die?

Shuoyue twitched her ears.

Wangyue should have run to safety by now, right?

The snake demon’s giant mouth flattened into a line, its snow-white venomous fangs carrying a foul wind as they struck at her.

A black cord suddenly shot forth like lightning, flashing in the blink of an eye across the snake demon’s gaping maw. It twisted backward and coiled around the snake demon’s body, tangling into a ball and binding the snake demon tightly!

Shuoyue stared blankly at this scene. The reversal between life and death happened too quickly, and the poison injury had temporarily dulled her thinking, but she still remembered the Daoist who emerged from behind the tree.

Ice-silk robe, cold and arrogant face, every movement revealing self-importance. With a downward glance, a ghostly light flashed on the rope binding the snake demon, and the violently struggling snake demon instantly went still.

…Was she saved?

Shuoyue thought sluggishly.

But immediately after, she was roughly grabbed, and two pills were stuffed into her mouth.

The pills neutralized the snake poison she’d been affected by, but they also released a strong bloody qi in her mouth and throat. This was… this was a pill refined from the flesh and blood of living beings, a heretical method!

Shuoyue had no time to react. The next second, she was unceremoniously stuffed into a Beast-Containing Bag, her world spinning.

Later, that Daoist took her somewhere unknown. When she was released from the Beast-Containing Bag, she saw that the originally fierce and formidable snake demon had had its demon soul forcibly extracted by the Daoist and refined into a magical artifact wreathed in black qi.

Shuoyue was so frightened she didn’t dare move. Though Daoist Feiying was impeccably dressed, he carried unconcealed fierce blood-evil qi, and every magical artifact he used was steeped in malevolence and resentment.

The snake demon’s spirit wailed and struggled, writhing in agony. The deeper the suffering, the stronger the resentment that arose from the demon soul; the stronger the resentment, the greater the power it contained.

Later, the snake demon spirit’s eyes no longer showed any clarity, only sinister, murky crimson. The snake’s cold vertical pupils could make anyone’s bones turn to ice.

Yet the Daoist didn’t even furrow his brow as he forcibly refined the snake demon’s spirit into the magical artifact.

After finishing his work, his gaze turned toward Shuoyue.

Shuoyue froze completely in place.

Those eyes were cold as knife blades. The way he looked at her wasn’t like looking at a living being, but rather appraising whether a piece of meat was fat or lean enough to be palatable.

Apparently not palatable enough. At that time she was still too weak, and having fought desperately with the snake demon, she was gravely injured. The little essence she had remaining probably wasn’t even enough to pick from his teeth.

Perhaps he wanted to fatten her up before refining her. After tossing her a few crude healing pills, he went to refine the snake demon’s flesh and blood essence.

Once he finished refining the snake demon, her injuries would be mostly healed. Then would it be her turn to have her soul extracted for artifact refinement and her flesh refined?

But Shuoyue also had no choice but to heal. If she didn’t heal, would this Daoist spare her? Facing such a cruel-hearted cultivator with brutal methods, what other options did she have?

Shuoyue nearly despaired.

But in the end, she didn’t die.

……

The door clicked open, and Daoist Feiying entered the room, his calm gaze falling on the small black rabbit on the couch.

Shuoyue’s ears twitched as she remained calm and composed under Daoist Feiying’s gaze.

After a long while, that gaze that made Shuoyue’s whole body tense finally withdrew.

“You’ve been restless these past few days,” Daoist Feiying said unhurriedly as he approached. “Have you discovered something?” 

Shuoyue shook her head. “Nothing. It’s just that the atmosphere here makes me uneasy.”

This was a town neighboring Taiwu County, which had recently experienced a tragedy. Its atmosphere of grief and unease inevitably affected the surroundings.

It was a plausible reason.

Daoist Feiying didn’t press further. He sat beside Shuoyue, his cold fingers slowly stroking down her spine, raising goosebumps beneath the thick fur.

To an outsider, a dignified Daoist gently stroking an obedient little rabbit would seem harmonious and adorable. But only Shuoyue knew how tense she truly was, wishing she could directly flee from beneath his palm, yet she could only force herself to relax.

It wasn’t time yet. She couldn’t defeat Feiying—his cultivation was unfathomable. She must, and could only, force herself to endure and quietly await the opportunity.

“Once you help me find the clue,” this person who presented himself as a solemn and pure Daoist lowered his head, his voice dropping its disguise to become cold and beguiling, “I’ll let you leave.”

“Don’t you want to leave? Want to go find….your sister?”

Shuoyue’s fur bristled in alarm.