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Li Hong had neither treasures nor a Flying Sword. Relying on his agile movements, he kept circling around the Ghost King, and when pressed, he used the Summoning Technique to point at it. The Ghost King would definitely dodge. Li Hong took the opportunity to catch his breath for a moment, and when it lunged at him again, he repeated the same tactic.
In the cluster of Golden Lantern Flowers, a White Shadow and a strange black mist were entangled. Li Hongyu ran further away. Those Evil Spirits that had been immobilized earlier had been stuck for too long, and Li Hong felt anxious. Suddenly realizing that the Ghost King was not actually afraid of his Summoning Technique, but was deliberately stalling him to allow other ghosts to harm those young people!
Thinking of this made him furious. Not knowing where he found the courage, he broke off a branch of Golden Lantern Flower beside him, no longer using the Summoning Technique. When the Ghost King pounced again, he swung the branch of Golden Lantern Flower forcefully.
With a swish, the Ghost King was struck squarely and retreated with a wailing sound like a Whirlwind.
It feared the Golden Lantern Flower! With a weapon in hand, Li Hong felt reassured and began to whip the Ghost King with the branch like a whip. The Ghost King dodged left and right, but Li Hong's movements were skillful, landing hits about five or six times out of ten. The Ghost King cried out in pain, and its ghastly visage gradually emerged from the black mist.
Its eye sockets were deeply sunken, cheekbones high, and there was a long dark scar on its cheek that slashed diagonally from below its left eye across its nose to just in front of its right ear, deep enough to see bone, splitting its nose in two. It looked truly terrifying. Strangely enough, it had three long whiskers and wore a tattered high crown.
Li Hong recognized it; it was indeed the ghost of the Nine Li Sect cultivator he had summoned before! When did it become so powerful that it turned into a Ghost King and opposed him?
Li Hong sneered coldly, holding the branch of Golden Lantern Flower in his left hand while secretly preparing the Summoning Technique with his right hand. He sternly shouted, "You dare to oppose me! Know that even if you have some cultivation, what can you do to me? If I don't beat you until your soul flies away today, I won't be surnamed Li!" As he spoke, both hands drew back like bows, whipping and pointing.
The Ghost King showed fear and quickly retreated while making muffled sounds.
Li Hong didn't care what it wanted to say; he followed closely behind like a Whirlwind, striking wildly. The situation suddenly reversed; now it was Li Hong chasing after the Ghost King.
"Stop... please..." The Ghost King finally became frightened, covering its head as it dodged and awkwardly uttered these two words that sounded incredibly grating.
Li Hong was also panting heavily. Earlier, using the Summoning Technique to immobilize the group of ghosts seemed easy but consumed a lot of spiritual energy. After fighting with the Ghost King until now, saying he wasn't tired would be a lie. His eyes darted as he pressed forward but spoke with authority: "If you have something to say or any excuses to make, spit them out! If your reasoning is valid, I might spare your ghostly head for now; otherwise, I'll definitely beat you until your soul flies away!"
The Ghost King repeatedly bowed and stood about ten feet away from Li Hong, not daring to approach. It awkwardly said, "Immortal brother, please hold on. I... have my reasons..."
"Reasons? What reasons? You ghosts just want to deceive people!"
"No..." the Ghost King said anxiously, bowing repeatedly. "Nine Li Cave Heaven is the land of the Heaven and Earth Fire Spirit Eye, belonging to Extreme Yang. Where there is Extreme Yang, there must be Extreme Yin. Golden Lantern Gorge is the Extreme Yin place within Nine Li Cave Heaven, a blessed land for us. We occupy this place merely seeking comfort, allowing our souls to remain undispersed for a long time. If we are fortunate, we might even cultivate the Ghost Path to reshape our bodies. We dislike living people coming here. Living people have Yang bodies, which disturb our Yin Spirits, so we have tried every means to drive them away..."
"That's nonsense! What about the Golden Lantern Flower here? Isn't the Golden Lantern Flower the supreme Yang herb of heaven and earth?!"
"The Golden Lantern Flower's nature is Extreme Yin; it loves Extreme Yin lands the most, and can stabilize both living and dead souls, making it our favorite thing. However, the branches and leaves of the Golden Lantern Flower are Extreme Yang, which makes us fear it greatly. Moreover, the people of the Nine Li Sect treat the Golden Lantern Flower as a treasure; who would be willing to break off such a large branch to whip us?" the Ghost King whispered.
Li Hong was surprised to learn such things; after thinking carefully, he realized that the Ghost King was speaking the truth. However, he did not relax his guard. With a sharp mind, he shouted again, "Alright! For now, I will trust you. Since you have some skill, tell your kind not to harm the young man in the valley!"
The Ghost King nodded repeatedly, making strange sounds with his mouth. Waves of ghostly shadows and black mist rose from Golden Lantern Gorge and slowly dispersed into the surroundings.
The black mist in Golden Lantern Gorge immediately lessened significantly, and looking up at the sky revealed it to be exceptionally clear.
Li Hong nodded and lowered the branch of Golden Lantern Flower in his hand, saying, "You are sensible." Looking at the Ghost King, he became curious again: "From your attire, you are one of the Nine Li Sect members and should have been an elder in life, at least at the Golden Core Stage. Your cultivation is quite high; why did you die?"
The Ghost King's expression turned grim as he sighed deeply. "In life, I was unable to advance to Nascent Soul Stage. As time passed, my cultivation continuously regressed until I encountered a strong enemy and lost my life. I was relatively fortunate; I prepared in advance and managed to preserve a trace of my spiritual consciousness. Many like me have completely lost their souls and cannot even reincarnate to cultivate again."
Li Hong listened intently with bright eyes. He had thought that as long as one cultivated immortality, they would continuously advance until they ascended to the immortal realm and lived as long as heaven and earth. He hadn't expected such circumstances to exist. It seemed that cultivating immortality was indeed like rowing upstream; if one did not progress, they would regress. To achieve final ascension, one must keep moving forward.
"One more thing: last time I saw you, you had little skill; how come you've improved so much this time?"
"When I died, my spiritual consciousness was damaged; for thousands of years I remained in a daze. Last time when summoned by Brother Xian, I suddenly awakened and gradually recalled some past events over these days; that's how I began to re-cultivate the Ghost Path."
Now it made sense. Li Hong understood and waved his hand: "You may go now. In the future, make sure to restrain those little ghosts; they must not harm people indiscriminately!"
The Ghost King bowed respectfully but did not leave; his mouth opened and closed again as if he had something else to say.
"What else is there?"
"To reconstruct the Ghost Path, we need to gather form. Seeing that you are a kind person, I dare to ask for your help..." The Ghost King paused, looking at him with a mix of fear and hope.
Li Hong frowned and said, "Go on."
"Well... gathering form can be greatly aided by the Gongxin Pill, which can enhance one's cultivation significantly. I seek your grace for just one pill. Just one will do." The Ghost King looked at Li Hong with a pitiful expression.
The Gongxin Pill! An elixir primarily made from the Golden Lantern Flower, said to be a supreme treasure when forming the Golden Core to conquer the Heart Demon. Where could one find such a precious elixir? Li Hong was immediately troubled, but he also felt a bit sorry for the Ghost King and fell silent.
"Haha, this little ghost dares to threaten others! Young friend, do not fall into his trap." A voice rang out with hearty laughter as someone stepped forward.
Li Hong was taken aback; this person had an incredibly high level of cultivation. How had he gotten so close without Li Hong noticing?
Standing before him was a man dressed in tattered coarse cloth, wearing oversized shorts and worn Grass Shoes. He looked nothing like a member of the Nine Li Sect; he resembled a beggar, reminiscent of how Li Hong had first seen the Spirit Stone. He stroked his grizzled beard and chuckled at Li Hong, his hands as large as fans. The man was extraordinarily tall and robust, standing at least eight feet tall. Though his appearance was rough, there was an air of refinement about him that suggested he was anything but ordinary.
Seeing such a strange and unique figure for the first time left Li Hong momentarily stunned. He quickly realized that in front of this man, he felt as vulnerable as an infant. Li Hong was frightened; this must be a senior from his sect!
However, the strange man showed no signs of superiority; he smiled warmly at Li Hong while casting a slight glance at the Ghost King.
The Ghost King was so frightened that he immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly: "Master, spare me! I beg you to let me go for the sake of our past as fellow disciples." His voice was filled with despair.
Li Hong felt pity and bowed respectfully to the strange man: "I cannot dare to call myself your junior. I only ask you to spare this ghost for the sake of our shared past as disciples. Cultivating immortality is not easy..." He expressed his sentiments but felt uneasy since the other party's cultivation level was so high that he might not take his request seriously.
Unexpectedly, the strange man laughed heartily: "Since you say so, good! Consider it your fortune! Here!" He tossed a small jade vial to the Ghost King. "But this is not from me; it is given by this young friend here. Remember this point well. If you dare not listen to him in the future, haha, I have my ways of reclaiming the Gongxin Pill!"
The Ghost King was both surprised and delighted, repeatedly bowing and solemnly saying to Li Hong, "From now on, I will not dare to disappoint you!" A gust of cold wind swept through, and the Ghost King disappeared with a low wail.
The strange man chuckled and said, "Though your heart is kind, you must know that human hearts are already quite treacherous, let alone those of ghosts! You still need to be cautious in the future."
Li Hong nodded, "Thank you for your guidance, senior." Suddenly recalling something, he felt a pang of anxiety.
The strange man seemed to see through his thoughts and stroked his beard with a smile, "It's nothing to worry about; I know what you're concerned about. I have indeed seen all your actions, but I won't say a word to anyone, including those you are worried about. In the future, there's no need to keep calling me senior; let's treat each other as equals. If you have matters to discuss, just come here. We can talk late into the night. Hehe, it won't be long before that happens. I'm leaving now; remember to bring a good bottle of wine when you come to find me..." As he mentioned wine, his figure was already several meters away, his voice lingering in the air.
Li Hong suddenly felt that this scene was somewhat familiar and realized with a start—it was him! The one who sang that night to help him cross the Heart Demon Barrier!
The bold singing still echoed in his ears. Li Hong's emotions surged as he shouted towards the direction where the strange man had vanished, "I cannot express my gratitude enough; I will definitely come to disturb you next time!"
********
"How do you feel?" Spirit Stone asked a young man with a frown. "Did you gain any insights last night?"
"There were restless spirits disturbing me last night; I fought with them all night and indeed gained some understanding," the young man replied respectfully.
"What insights?" Upon hearing this, Spirit Stone's expression did not brighten; instead, his brows furrowed even tighter.
"The Dao is formless and resides entirely within the heart. When the heart has righteousness, evil spirits cannot invade," the young man said cautiously while observing Spirit Stone's expression.
Indeed, two ghosts had clung to him last night, but they fled shortly after. No matter how beautiful the scenery was, he soon grew tired of it and spent the entire night dozing off. When dawn approached and he woke up in a hurry, he spent an hour crafting these words, thinking they were flawless.
Spirit Stone's face grew increasingly grim as he snorted through his nose and coldly said, "Get out of here! How can our Nine Li Sect accept someone who speaks nothing but lies!"
The boy looked wilted like a frostbitten eggplant, walking listlessly past.
The next boy.
"What about you? What have you realized?"
"I have no realization; I fell asleep." This boy, seeing the fate of his companion who lied, dared not hide anything.
The Spirit Stone's mouth dropped open in shock: "What! You actually fell asleep while being haunted by an Evil Spirit?!"
Unexpectedly, the boy's mouth opened wider than the Spirit Stone's: "There was no Evil Spirit! I just saw some shadows passing by..."
"Go away! Over there! Someone with such mediocre talent who can't even attract the attention of the Evil Spirits in Golden Lantern Gorge will never succeed!"
...
All the boys were questioned, and the Spirit Stone gradually felt something was off. Clearly, the Evil Spirits had not come to find them last night for some reason, easily letting them go. With that said, who could successfully refine their heart? However, there had never been such a precedent; even he himself would never dare to spend the night in Golden Lantern Gorge unprepared. This... The Spirit Stone pondered and suddenly turned his gaze toward Li Hong.
Li Hong stood with his head down and hands at his sides, appearing very respectful and honest.
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