Tang Muxi was very unhappy, so much so that she ate her meal listlessly.
She would face punishment when she returned in the evening.
The words of the Great Demon echoed in her mind, and with each repetition, the weight on her heart grew heavier, visibly draining her energy. She resembled a withered little plant, barely surviving in the autumn wind, ready to collapse at any moment.
How infuriating, why should she be punished again?
The Great Demon was so mean, always using such things to threaten her, lacking any grace.
Petty and calculative, you might easily lose me, your adorable and lively little junior sister, warmer than a cotton jacket! Tang Muxi gritted her teeth, her resentment almost palpable, her defiant eyes glaring at Jiang Yin like an angry little tiger, ready to bite at any moment.
But Jiang Yin seemed oblivious, leisurely eating, occasionally even placing a piece of meat on Tang Muxi’s plate with a few caring words.
So hypocritical.
Not long after noon, the wind and snow outside grew fiercer.
The weather was gloomy, with thick clouds pressing together like boulders piled in the sky.
Wen Fei listened to the loud sound of the wind hitting the windows and couldn’t help but worry, “With such heavy snow, could it be that she won’t come?” Her tone was a bit disappointed.
After all, she had changed her clothes specially, and if the appointment was missed, it would be somewhat disheartening.
Tang Muxi withdrew her resentment and also looked out the window, “Let me check.”
The entire Floating Immortal Island belonged to her, so she only needed to use her divine sense on the dome jade to easily perceive every place.
She tried to extend her divine sense through the island’s formation, gazing for a long time, and suddenly saw a rapidly approaching figure at the edge of the sky. She immediately stood up, “Mingyu is here, I’ll go bring her in.”
With that, she flashed out of the island.
Thanks to the Star Shift Technique, Tang Muxi had become increasingly adept at moving around her territory, often disappearing in the blink of an eye, sometimes even Jiang Yin and Wen Fei couldn’t keep up with her speed.
However, this was also due to the dome jade; once she left the immortal island, her speed greatly decreased.
Half an hour later, she brought Wen Mingyu into the house.
The small table in the guest room was square, just enough for four people.
Tang Muxi sat with Jiang Yin on one side, leaving only the seat next to Wen Fei vacant.
Wen Mingyu had just entered, still covered in snowflakes. Seeing the familiar figure, her nose tingled, and she sniffed, “Auntie.”
After many years apart, her aunt’s eyes had gained a few traces of weariness and gloom, who knew what kind of hardships she had faced.
She was looking at Wen Fei, and Wen Fei was looking at her. Since becoming busy, she had rarely seen this girl.
Now, upon closer inspection, aside from her appearance, it was hard to find the aura of the past; her every move was mature.
Wen Fei sighed softly, pulling her to sit down while brushing away the unmelted snowflakes, deeply moved, “Mingyu has grown up.”
The two relatives, who hadn’t seen each other in years, chatted about family matters, showing concern for each other, creating a very warm atmosphere. But on the other side, Senior Sister wasn’t so pleased.
Tang Muxi was still annoyed, deliberately moving the cushion aside when she sat down, distancing herself with a teacup.
Jiang Yin turned his head slightly, and she let out a light huff, making sure everyone knew she was upset.
Childish yet adorable.
Jiang Yin covered her mouth, unable to suppress her laughter. She didn’t want to disturb the two people across from her, but with a teasing tone, she leaned close to the other’s ear and whispered, “Not convinced?”
Tang Muxi hadn’t expected her to bring this up again and immediately burst out, “Of course not convinced!” Her voice was a bit loud, drawing the attention of Wen Fei and Wen Mingyu.
Tang Muxi paused, suppressing her dissatisfaction, and turned her head to sip her tea.
“What’s wrong, little junior sister? Did someone upset you?” Wen Mingyu, being a guest, had already been a bit rude by not greeting properly upon entering, so she couldn’t ignore it now. Besides, she had important matters to ask her junior sister for help with today, aside from visiting her aunt.
Tang Muxi pouted, shook her head, and spoke indirectly, “No, I just had bad luck earlier and accidentally kicked an old fox, only to be chased halfway up the mountain by that petty creature.”
Old… old fox… Jiang Yin’s fingers tightened, cracking a corner of her teacup. Her eyes turned cold, but her lips curled slightly. Before Wen Mingyu could speak, she interjected, “It was the junior sister who was rude first, so why blame others?”
First, she was a big demon, now an old fox. Very well, her adorable little junior sister was getting bolder.
Tang Muxi wanted to argue back, but seeing the cracked teacup in Jiang Yin’s hand, she fell silent, a bit scared. After a while, she felt it was too humiliating to admit defeat, so she huffed with a stiff neck. However, this time her voice was soft and weak, quite amusing.
Wen Mingyu, having navigated various powers for a long time, was naturally perceptive. Seeing this, she didn’t continue to ask blindly and instead glossed over the matter with some banter.
After some small talk and asking a few questions about her aunt, Wen Mingyu felt reassured and returned to her usual gentle demeanor.
She took out a beautifully crafted brocade pouch and handed it to Jiang Yin. “Miss Jiang, this is a small token of appreciation we discussed earlier. Please accept it.”
“A token of appreciation?” Wen Fei frowned, glancing between them, feeling something was off.
Friends don’t usually use terms like “token of appreciation” and “please accept” when giving gifts.
Wen Mingyu explained, “Yes, I owed Miss Jiang something before, and today I happened to repay it.”
Wen Fei was skeptical.
She didn’t specify what was owed or why, which was very tactful. Jiang Yin was quite satisfied with this, accepting the brocade pouch and examining it briefly.
Inside was a complete demonic vein, full of power, and a whole lake of Yellow Springs water, not a drop missing.
In addition, there was a delicate storage brocade pouch included, showing great sincerity.
Jiang Yin was slightly surprised by her generosity, having expected to have to decline several times before receiving it.
“I’ll accept it,” she said, placing the pouch into her storage ring.
“By the way, I have another matter to discuss today.” Wen Mingyu temporarily set aside her joy at seeing her aunt, her expression turning serious.
She had planned to visit earlier, but the Xia family’s problem was more troublesome than expected, causing the delay.
“Could I trouble my junior sister to refine a bottle of pills for me?”
Tang Muxi didn’t think much and was about to agree when Jiang Yin stopped her, frowning, “What kind of pills?”
A hint of bitterness flashed in Wen Mingyu’s eyes, thinking how perceptive this person was.
She had intended to slightly take advantage of Tang Muxi’s innocence to get her to agree first. Someone as sincere as Junior Sister Tang wouldn’t easily break a promise even after learning the truth later.
However, Jiang Yin’s single question exposed her plan.
Wen Mingyu sighed slightly, realizing she couldn’t continue to hide it, and had to speak the truth: “Soul Dispersion Pill.”
At these three words, both Wen Mingyu and Jiang Yin’s expressions turned grim, while the clueless Tang Muxi asked suspiciously, “What is a Soul Dispersion Pill?”
Even though she had lived through many lifetimes, she had never heard of such a strange and rare pill.
“The Soul Dispersion Pill is a highly malevolent pill refined from the three souls and seven spirits of a living person. It has only one use: to forcibly cause the consumer’s soul to scatter, making it a bane for corpse cultivators and ghost cultivators.”
However, the cost of the Soul Dispersion Pill is exorbitant, often requiring the sacrifice of tens of thousands of souls to destroy a Corpse Cultivator or Ghost Cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage. Moreover, it has a high probability of creating a sinister and bloody cursed land, so it is never used unless absolutely necessary.
Now that Wen Mingyu has asked her to refine a Soul Dispersion Pill, it seems a truly malevolent and sinister ghost has appeared.
Refining the souls of living people… Tang Muxi imagined the scene, her face turning pale with fear. She trembled as she asked, “Mingyu, why do you need to refine a Soul Dispersion Pill?”
Wen Mingyu’s face was more serious than ever before. Her red lips parted slightly, and she uttered just one word: “Zhan.”
Everyone present turned pale.
In the cultivation world, any living being that dies becomes a spirit and enters the ghost realm, then reincarnates. A few spirits with deep obsessions can become fierce ghosts after death, and if they cultivate and transcend tribulations, they become ghost cultivators like the original ghost race.
If a ghost cultivator dies, their soul truly disperses, and they have no afterlife.
But it is said that there is a fierce creature called Zhan, which is clearly a ghost but has not exhausted its lifespan. It is wrongfully killed, and after death, it suffers unbearable torment, is abandoned by the six paths of reincarnation, dies again, and becomes a Zhan.
This is just an untraceable legend, with no way to verify it.
For thousands of years, no one has ever seen a real “Zhan.”
Yet, through word of mouth, the term Zhan has gained a mysterious and ghostly aura, making it fearsome.
Wen Fei couldn’t sit still, panicking as he slammed the table and stood up, “Mingyu! Don’t speak recklessly!”
The power of a Zhan is sinister, feeding on the flesh and blood of spirits. Moreover, since it is not within the six paths, ordinary attacks cannot kill it.
If it appears in the world, it would be even more terrifying than the drought demon corpse cultivator that once shook the cultivation world, a true catastrophe.
Wen Mingyu sighed deeply, her brows and eyes filled with fatigue, “I know this sounds absurd, but aside from a Zhan, I truly don’t know how to describe ‘it.'”
“A while ago, the Xia family suddenly sought my help, wanting to find a skilled person to save their patriarch. I went to visit and found that Patriarch Xia Ci was on the brink of death, with all his meridians severed and countless wounds. I used my connections to find a reclusive master healer to provide emergency treatment, but unexpectedly, a few days later, the master healer suddenly died tragically.”
Wen Mingyu paused here, glancing at the pale-faced Tang Muxi, not describing the death in detail.
“Later, every night, someone would die miserably. It started with the Xia family, and then even the Treasure Pavilion got involved. I had no choice but to find a powerful cultivator to lay in ambush in the city, and finally, we caught the murderer, who was Xia Ci.”
“Many cultivators rose in anger and attacked, cutting him down. However, Xia Ci’s physical body was destroyed, but his spirit remained, and it was extremely ferocious. No matter what magical treasures or secret techniques were used, they couldn’t kill him, and instead, many cultivators suffered heavy casualties.”
“I saw with my own eyes Xia Ci being beheaded by a soul weapon, the wound emitting sinister energy, but it healed in an instant.”
Generally speaking, under the same cultivation level, ghost cultivators are slightly weaker than ordinary cultivators because they are soul bodies, and there are specialized soul weapons that can severely injure ghost cultivators.
But for something that even soul weapons can’t kill, aside from a Zhan, Wen Mingyu couldn’t think of any other possibility.
