WVKWnovel Chapter 469: Frights and Surprises
Chapter 469: Frights and Surprises
liu xi looked at stone pan in surprise, then recalled, “before entering the wind cave, i caught sight of a fellow daoist in black robes and advised him to enter.”liu xi added, “but before i entered, he hadn’t moved. perhaps… he went to another cave?”
stone pan’s face paled instantly. “there’s only one wind cave nearby… all others are far away.”
realization dawned on him, followed by deep regret. he should have reminded that elder before leaving for the wind cave!
in the heavenly earth mystical land, many new cultivators, confident in their abilities, disregarded the spectral souls entirely or even found them interesting, choosing to stay outside on spectral soul nights. now, that elder didn’t make it into this wind cave.
as the nearby cultivator had said, he had yet to act when liu xi entered. reaching another wind cave in time would have been impossible.
outside, the occasional, sinister howls of the spectral soul army echoed, casting a shiver through stone pan as he began to grasp what might happen.
liu xi’s tone was calm. “seems this friend is new here… it’s unfortunate.”
he had witnessed countless similar cases.
once, a mighty figure, the son of a yang god, ventured into the heavenly earth mystical land in
instantly, he took off in the opposite direction.
then, a lazy voice drifted out, cutting through the silence.
“waking people up this early, how inconsiderate.”
at that, the spectral souls—some doing calisthenics, others working on construction—halted and shouted in unison at the retreating spectral soul controller.
“show some… manners!”
from afar, liu xi was left dazed by the spectacle, questioning his grip on reality.
had he overslept? or had the entire cultivation world gone mad?
as the army of spectral souls shouted, the spectral soul controller’s body disintegrated, dissolving into a mist of blood.
a calm voice remarked, “that’s what you get for lacking courtesy.”
the tone was nonchalant, laced with a touch of indifference.
hearing this, stone pan’s face lit up with joy. “that’s… the elder’s voice!”
“what? the black-robed cultivator from last night?” liu xi was visibly shaken.
this spectral soul army alone was enough to easily crush a yang god.
and there were tens of thousands of them here!
for that daoist to control so many spectral souls, he had to be… a supreme truth!
a yang god was trivial in comparison!
the realization filled liu xi with excitement.
after a moment’s hesitation, he turned to stone pan and asked, “stone pan, could you take me to meet this revered elder?”
stone pan looked both stunned and delighted. finally, he nodded. “alright.”
after about a hundred breaths, with great caution, liu xi followed stone pan through the ranks of the spectral soul army until they reached the black-robed cultivator.
immediately, liu xi bowed deeply. “liu xi, a mere wandering cultivator, greets the honorable sage!”
stone pan, eyes alight, exclaimed, “elder, how did you subdue all these spectral souls?”
liu xi, too, was deeply curious.
spectral souls were known to be enigmatic entities that even yang gods found daunting to confront.
he’d once heard of supreme truth cultivator who became intrigued with the spectral souls here. too fearful to enter himself, he paid a fortune for a single spectral soul to take back and study, only to conclude that spectral souls harbored a deep, mysterious danger.
qi yuan replied, “i’m soft-hearted; i can’t bear to see them wandering around aimlessly at night like homeless ghosts. so i took them in.”
sure enough, there were still kind people in the world.
some wealthy lords might drive away vagrants, while others rename and resettle them. qi yuan had gone so far as to provide them work.
this favor would be impossible to repay.
liu xi barely resisted the urge to scoff.
calling these wandering souls mere “vagrants” was absurd. and giving them “work”… what did that even mean?
he couldn’t begin to understand qi yuan’s reasoning.
“these spectral souls were originally benevolent, but… evildoers polluted them and used this bell to control them, forcing them to patrol the heavens and slaughter the living,” qi yuan said, holding up a bell.
stone pan’s eyes lit up. “grandfather niu was right! the spectral souls used to protect us. but then evildoers arrived and took control of them.”
qi yuan gazed at stone pan thoughtfully, lost in his own musings.
in life, these spectral souls had defended the borders.
but they were defeated; their world shattered, and their people nearly annihilated, with only a few managing to escape to the heavenly earth mystical land.
even as spectral souls, they had continued to protect their people, clearing obstacles for their descendants.
then the holy light clan came and took control of them.
now narrowing his eyes, liu xi leaned in and whispered, “anyone who can control the spectral soul army here is definitely from the holy light clan. elder, you may have antagonized the holy light clan, so please proceed with caution.”
liu xi had heard rumors about the spectral souls.
behind the holy light clan stood a formidable holy light lineage.
they were a force to be reckoned with.
“it’s fine. i’m quite familiar with the holy light lineage,” qi yuan replied with a smile.
after all, he’d hunted down an eastern lord before.
liu xi felt a surge of awe, finding this elder increasingly mysterious.
at that moment, qi yuan seemed to think of something. “daoist, would you mind helping me with a task?”
liu xi felt both honored and flattered.
this sage was referring to him as a “daoist” companion, which surprised him greatly.
“i’m looking to gather some rare treasures—not necessarily high quality, just ample quantity.”
“i thought about having these spectral souls gather them for me, but… unfortunately, people always misunderstand. it’s not their fault. i worry others might be frightened if they saw spectral souls collecting things.”
he paused. “you, however, are just one person. could you lead a few of the spectral souls to collect treasures for me?”
“spiritual jade, treasure—anything you need, i’ll provide.”
as he spoke, qi yuan tossed a storage pouch to liu xi.
money wasn’t an issue for him.
he’d already killed enough yang gods to make the wealth of the molo clan his own.
liu xi hesitated, his expression uneasy.
serving a sage was beneficial, but it came with risks.
after all, this sage had directly challenged the holy light clan.
he feared the consequences.
after a brief struggle, liu xi declined, saying, “i apologize, senior. i’m somewhat of a loner and rarely interact with others. i fear i might make a mess of things.”
liu xi gritted his teeth, opting to decline.
given the choice between opportunity and safety, his life mattered more.
stone pan, however, couldn’t help but pipe up, “elder, do you think i could manage it?”
he was nervous.
for one, he was young.
for another, he lacked cultivation.
hearing stone pan’s audacious suggestion, liu xi stifled a laugh.
the boy was courageous, if a little reckless.
but qi yuan looked thoughtful. “of course… you can.”
even the small county of peixian, where liu bang came from, had produced great people.
in qi yuan’s view, this world held no shortage of “capable individuals” besides those with top-tier talents.
for any person, the scarcest thing was opportunity.
if the individual wasn’t too unconventional, it was worth trying. experience could refine them.
besides, ability was never his main focus.
if it had been, why would he have allowed bull horn sister onto his team?
stone pan’s face lit up with delight. “thank you, elder!”
“this talisman will protect you,” qi yuan said, casually tossing him a talisman. “i’ll assign a squad of spectral souls to accompany you. handle all transactions, and do not disturb me unless necessary.”
qi yuan had no intention of micromanaging.
his primary goal was the ten thousand ghost banner.
everything else was secondary.
“yes, sir!” stone pan accepted the storage bag and talisman with joy.
“if you can’t open the storage pouch, have one of the spectral souls open it for you,” qi yuan added, tossing him a jade slip. “practice with this as you please.”
the technique inside was something he had obtained from the molo clan.
to qi yuan, it was barely more than a trinket.
to other cultivators, however, the technique could provoke infighting among the lesser souls.
liu xi eyed stone pan enviously before ultimately shaking his head.
no reward was worth dying over.
...
at the holy light clan.
heaven remnant sage squinted his eyes, his stooped figure resembling a decrepit servant.
before him, a mythic cultivator stood, sweating with anxiety.
the previous night, the spectral soul patrol had suffered an astonishing failure, resulting in the loss of hundreds of thousands of souls.
it was no small matter.
the heaven remnant sage’s eyes were cloudy as he spoke. “someone who can command such a large force of spectral souls is beyond our control.”
this news had caught him off guard.
years ago, in pursuit of his son, he had ventured into the heavenly earth mystical land and fallen into the thrall of the holy light lineage, forced into servitude.
most yang gods in the sixfold heavens knew the heavenly earth mystical land was under the holy light lineage’s rule.
no one would dare venture there lightly.
if they did, they would surely avoid the holy light lineage.
but this person seemed to have no such concerns, going so far as to capture and command spectral souls.
was this yang god courting death?
“senior, what should we do now?” the mythic cultivator asked with trepidation.
the heaven remnant sage narrowed his gaze. “for now, avoid him on the next spectral soul patrol. we’ll wait until the master comes out of seclusion.”
hearing this, the mythic cultivator finally exhaled in relief.
but unease still clouded his face.
if the master blamed him upon return, he would be doomed.
spring turned to autumn.
time passed.
six years drifted by like sand through an hourglass.
inside the barracks, qi yuan lay in an ungraceful sprawl.
“sigh… these spectral soul controllers have grown clever. they’re patrolling underground now!”
indeed, over the years, qi yuan had not only been observing the ten thousand ghost banner but also continued gathering spectral souls.
providing decent work for these wandering souls.
the holy light clan hadn’t shown the domineering presence he’d expected. their patrols actively avoided him.
initially, it had been enough to simply stay distant.
qi yuan had expended considerable effort rounding up these wayward spectral souls, only for the holy light clan to patrol further and further, hiding their routes to avoid him.
now they weren’t even patrolling the skies but had taken to patrolling underground!
fortunately, qi yuan’s keen hearing had caught wind of them, allowing him to rescue his spectral soul companions from the depths of the earth.
“elder, stone pan requests an audience!”
a voice echoed from afar, and soon a tall, spirited young man strode forward.
it was stone pan.
matured from the boy he had been six years ago, he now stood tall, having become a cultivator.
“come in,” qi yuan replied lazily.
it seemed he’d made some gains.