Who Let Him Cultivate Immortality

Chapter 424: Lu Yang: It’s My Turn to Act

“In the southeast direction of Han Shui City, there is a small village called Baishui Village. In the village, there was a couple. The husband, Liu San, woke up one morning and found that his wife had not woken him up as usual, which he found very strange.”

“Liu San called for his wife at home, but there was no response. He started searching for her and eventually discovered that she had drowned in a water basin.”

“The coroner found no signs of struggle when the wife died, as if she had willingly drowned herself in the water basin. This baffled everyone, and it was reported through various channels. After thorough investigation, the authorities concluded that it was the work of a Drowning Ghost.”

“A Drowning Ghost is a ghost formed when someone dies by drowning with unresolved resentment, and coincidentally, at the time of death, they encounter a surge of yin energy, turning them into a ghost that haunts the mortal world.”

“Drowning Ghosts usually reside in rivers, lakes, and seas. Coincidentally, there is a cold pond near Baishui Village. The water is so cold that long-term consumption by mortals causes illness. The yin energy is heavy there, making it an ideal dwelling for a Drowning Ghost.”

“One of our senior brothers in the late Golden Core Stage happened to pass by while returning to the sect. After hearing about this incident, he went to the cold pond to investigate and ordered his Living Corpse to dive into the pond to capture the Drowning Ghost.”

“But that Drowning Ghost was powerful, at least at the half-step Nascent Soul Stage, or possibly even in the early Nascent Soul Stage.”

“There are too many ghost-related disasters in Han Shui City, and both the government and the sects are stretched too thin to handle them all, leaving no manpower to deal with the Drowning Ghost.”

“So, what do you think? Want to take this mission?” Zhao Po had obtained the details of a mission and briefly explained it, asking Lu Yang and the others.

Meng Jingzhou found a mere Drowning Ghost unchallenging: “Doesn’t sound too difficult. Is there anything more challenging?”

“Well, there’s this female ghost looking to marry in a ghost wedding…”

“The Drowning Ghost mission it is,” Meng Jingzhou quickly interrupted Zhao Po.

He wasn’t joking. Given his current situation, either the female ghost wouldn’t bother showing up because she disliked him, or she’d slap him to death because she disliked him.

“Alright then, let’s set off.” Before leaving, Zhao Po handed each of them a talisman.

“What kind of talisman is this?”

“It’s the Soul Dispelling Talisman, specially crafted by the sect. Every disciple assigned to resolve ghost calamities is issued one. The sect discovered that it’s difficult to completely destroy ghosts, even when they are severely weakened. Without the appropriate methods, it’s hard to kill a powerful ghost. So, the sect collaborated with the government’s talisman masters and ghost-exorcising Daoists to create this talisman overnight.”

Disciples of the Corpse-Driving Sect are all Corpse Driver, practicing yin-based cultivation techniques, which align closely with the nature of fierce ghosts. While they can defeat such ghosts, they find it difficult to kill them.

“Once we defeat the Drowning Ghost, we can use this talisman to finish it off!”

“Your sect really thought this through.” Lu Yang grinned as he put away the Soul Dispelling Talisman, although, truthfully, it wasn’t really necessary for them.

With Meng Jingzhou, the ultimate nemesis of ghosts, they could simply burn the fierce ghost to death.

Whether it was the Pure Yang True Fire or the Three Flavours True Fire, both were highly effective against fierce ghosts.

The cold pond was located at the opposite end of Han Shui City from the Corpse-Driving Sect, separated by the entire city. As they left the Corpse-Driving Sect and passed through Han Shui City, they walked by the Come Again barbecue shop, which was still in its trial phase.

Han Shui City remained bustling, with people coming and going, and the ghost calamity didn’t seem to have had much impact on the city’s prosperity.

Firstly, Han Shui City had a large population, and the abundance of yang energy made it difficult for fierce ghosts to easily enter and cause havoc.

Secondly, staying at home wasn’t necessarily any safer. A single door wouldn’t stop a determined ghost from causing trouble. In fact, being outside in crowded areas might be safer.

Following the task description, the four people and the Living Corpse passed by Baishui Village and arrived at the cold pond.

Standing by the edge of the pond, they could feel the coldness emanating from it.

The cold pond was surrounded on three sides by mountains, and it never received sunlight throughout the year. The area was also covered in lush vegetation, with a few particularly conspicuous old locust trees.

Under these conditions, the pond water had become icy cold.

The water was crystal clear, but the bottom couldn’t be seen, making it impossible to locate the Drowning Ghost’s exact position.

“How strange, why aren’t there any fish?” Meng Jingzhou was puzzled. Normally, a place like this should be teeming with fish, and it wouldn’t even be surprising to find some large ones weighing a hundred or so pounds.

But in reality, there wasn’t a single fish in the pond—not even fish fry.

“Did the ghost eat them? Do ghosts even eat fish?”

Lu Yang pushed the ever-questioning Meng Jingzhou aside and squatted down to observe the pond, “Don’t worry about whether it eats fish. We can ask it after we catch it. The real question is how we get in. Who among us is skilled in water? We need to lure the ghost out.”

The four of them looked at each other in dismay. Lu Yang had the Sword Spirit Root, Meng Jingzhou had the Single Bachelor’s Spirit Root, Barbarian Bone was from the Ancient Barbarian Tribe, and Zhao Po was a Corpse Driver. None of them were skilled in water techniques.

“I’ll do it. I’ll send the Living Corpse down!”

Zhao Po lit three incense sticks and bowed three times to the Living Corpse. The Living Corpse absorbed the incense’s qi, and its pale skin gained a hint of redness, while its hollow eyes seemed to flicker with some life.

The Living Corpse jumped into the cold pond, causing ripples to spread across the calm water. Clearly, the Living Corpse had found the Drowning Ghost and was now engaged in combat.

A ghost’s power comes from the fear in living beings and the fragility of their souls. However, these two factors had no effect on a Living Corpse.

Zhao Po broke out in a cold sweat, his teeth chattering. He could synchronize with the Living Corpse’s senses and could feel just how powerful the ghost it was facing was, increasing the pressure on him immensely.

“Brother Zhao?” Lu Yang asked, concerned.

“The information was wrong! The Drowning Ghost below isn’t half-step Nascent Soul or early Nascent Soul; it’s mid-stage Nascent Soul!”

“The Living Corpse also saw a female corpse below, likely the wife who drowned in Baishui Village!”

“The Living Corpse is luring the Drowning Ghost out, get ready!” Zhao Po shouted.

Upon hearing this, Lu Yang and the others quickly assumed battle stances. The moment the Drowning Ghost surfaced, it would face a violent barrage of attacks.

Bang—

The water exploded, and a figure leapt out of the pond.

“Three Flavours True Fire!”

“Pure Yang True Fire!”

“Barbaric Tyrant Fist!”

The three attacked simultaneously, their strikes about to hit the figure when Zhao Po hastily shouted for them to stop.

“Stop, stop, stop! That’s not the Drowning Ghost; it’s my Living Corpse!”

They quickly redirected their attacks, missing the mark and instead striking the cliffside, sending massive rocks tumbling down with loud crashes.

Zhao Po’s eye twitched at the sight. The power of their attacks clearly didn’t seem like it came from Golden Core Stage cultivators.

“Where’s the Drowning Ghost?” Lu Yang asked, puzzled.

Zhao Po gave a sheepish smile. “When I yelled for you all to get ready, I was too loud. The Drowning Ghost heard us and, realizing it was an ambush, fled back into the pond.”

“This is a problem. Now that it knows there’s an ambush, it definitely won’t come out,” Barbarian Bone said, unsure of what to do.

“Should we just use a storage ring to drain the water?” Meng Jingzhou suggested.

Zhao Po shook his head. “No, this cold pond has become the Drowning Ghost’s domain. The storage ring can’t absorb something that has an owner.”

Lu Yang smiled confidently. “Leave this to me. This is the perfect chance for you all to witness the technique I’ve been practicing for days!”

“What new crooked magic have you learned now?” Meng Jingzhou asked, curious.

“This divine ability is renowned. You’ll know it when you see it!” Lu Yang said, acting mysterious, which only piqued Meng Jingzhou’s curiosity more.

“Come on, show me!”

Lu Yang paced by the pond, using his spiritual qi to make his robes flutter, giving off an aura of someone ascending to immortality.

“Listen, ghost in the water, I’ll give you one chance. If you don’t come out now, don’t blame me for using force!”

The pond remained still.

Lu Yang had already anticipated that the Drowning Ghost wouldn’t respond. He flipped his palm, pressing it against the water’s surface, and then suddenly lifted it upwards. The water formed into a waterspout, all of it being sucked into his palm, revealing the Drowning Ghost lurking at the bottom of the pond.

Lu Yang turned around and elegantly waved his sleeve, looking utterly carefree. “Take a guess. This is the technique I’ve been practicing so diligently…”

Zhao Po stared in shock, unable to speak for a long moment. “This… this is the legendary Universe in Sleeves Art!”

With a flick of the sleeve, the entire pond’s water was sucked in and disappeared. What else could it be but the Universe in Sleeves Art?

“…Right, this is exactly the Universe in Sleeves Art!”

(End of the chapter)

This chapter upload first at NovelBin.Com