Chapter 469: Fright and Surprise

Chapter 469: Fright and Surprise

Liu Xi glanced at the stone plate with slight surprise, then recalled: “Before entering the wind cave, I saw a fellow Daoist in black robes not far off and even warned him to enter the wind cave.

Before I entered the wind cave, he made no move—perhaps he went to another wind cave?”

Upon hearing this, the stone plate’s face turned deathly pale: “Around here… there is only this one wind cave. The others… are far away.”

Thinking this, a deep regret filled the stone plate’s heart.

Before he moved into the wind cave, he should have reminded that esteemed one!

In the Celestial Kun Strange Land, many newly arrived cultivators, confident in their profound cultivation, paid no heed to the Yin souls, even taking an interest in them and choosing to stay outside on the night of the Yin souls.

But now, that esteemed one had not entered this wind cave.

According to what this nearby cultivator said, before he entered, that esteemed one had yet to make a move.

It was already too late to reach another wind cave.

Outside, the howls of the Yin soul army came intermittently, eerie and terrifying. The stone plate could already foresee what would happen.

Liu Xi’s expression remained calm: “It seems this fellow Daoist is new here. A pity.”

He had seen many such cultivators.

Once, a mythical powerhouse, even a descendant of a Yang God, came to the Celestial Kun Strange Land to seek treasures.

Relying on the Yang God artifact left by his mother, he dismissed the Yin soul patrols entirely.

The result… he croaked.

Such things were common; seeing them often made one indifferent.

“There are still a few hours until dawn. Fretting will do you no good.” Liu Xi, being kind, comforted the stone plate: “When day breaks, go collect his corpse. If his bones are hard, there might still be some remnants left.”

The stone plate: “…”

Inside the wind cave, the voices of Yin souls came ceaselessly.

The stone plate, full of worry, craned his neck to look outside the cave, but he dared not go out, his heart anxious for Qi Yuan.

Liu Xi, however, remained calm, found a spot to sit, and closed his eyes to rest.

…

Meanwhile, beyond the mountain forest, as far as the eye could see, pairs of green, deep eyes were faintly visible in the dark mountains, like bats.

Thousands upon thousands of Yin soul troops stood in formation, heads bowed, as if holding a rally.

Qi Yuan stood in the void, surrounded by the Yin soul army, and began to preach with the Great Forgetfulness Heart Sutra, brainwashing them.

The previous night had been an uneasy one.

Under the leadership of the Yin soul army, Qi Yuan had galloped ten thousand miles, slaying all the Yin soul emissaries in the vicinity.

He had also taken the opportunity to gather the Yin soul army.

Now, their numbers were astonishing.

Qi Yuan stood in the void, and these Yin soul troops wore expressions of fervor and obsession, occasionally erupting in thunderous cheers, far more lively than any concert on Blue Star.

“To protect my land, we need a strong army, a disciplined one.

What is discipline?

Hmm… First, in the dead of night, do not disturb the people; you must keep silent.”

What was discipline?

Qi Yuan himself was a man of average discipline.

He would also get angry at Sister Bullhorn’s retorts.

As for how to build a disciplined army, he wasn’t entirely sure.

At the very least… not disturbing the people should count, right?

And… unifying ideology should also count?

Sure enough, as Qi Yuan spoke, these Yin soul troops, as if stamped with an ideological brand, all held their breath, making no sound.

“After discipline comes combat strength. This is the thirty-sixth set of broadcast calisthenics. Begin training.”

Qi Yuan felt increasingly clever.

Back when he watched TV, there was always a soldier king who dominated other worlds with a set of military boxing.

His broadcast calisthenics were no less impressive.

After teaching the calisthenics to the Yin soul army, Qi Yuan spoke calmly.

“Next, train your bodies, build barracks, and construct a hidden armory!”

Qi Yuan commanded.

These Yin soul troops still bore the restraints of the Holy Light Sect.

Qi Yuan could see that these Yin souls were originally harmless and did not need to patrol the night to slaughter beings.

The Holy Light Sect had polluted these Yin souls with strange creations, seemingly to achieve some nefarious purpose.

Qi Yuan passed on the thirty-sixth set of broadcast calisthenics to the Yin soul army, slowly grinding away the bell that controlled them, erasing the marks of their enslavement.

“Not bad, not bad. Once these Yin soul troops are fully normal, they can work in the underworld during the day, and when needed, they can enter my Human Sovereign Banner to fight for me!”

Qi Yuan was a kind-hearted man; he couldn’t bear to see these Yin soul troops without work, like unemployed vagrants.

So he generously provided them with jobs, reducing the unemployment rate.

Back on Blue Star, providing jobs for so many people would earn him the title of “Living Bodhisattva.”

Under Qi Yuan’s guidance, the Yin soul troops quickly scattered, well-ordered.

Some began practicing the calisthenics, while others started cutting trees to build barracks and a treasure pavilion.

But they all maintained discipline, making no noise.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

The sky slowly began to lighten.

Inside the wind cave, the stone plate had two dark circles under his eyes. He hadn’t slept all night, and his mental state was poor.

Outside the wind cave, the howls of the Yin soul army had long ceased, leaving an eerie silence, though faint strange sounds could still be heard.

His heart was anxious; he desperately wanted to see what had happened outside.

How was that esteemed one, who had always protected them, faring now?

“Day has broken, and the Yin soul army has dispersed. How wonderful.” Liu Xi spoke cheerfully, stood up, and walked out of the wind cave.

The stone plate and the other refugees, seeing this, also rose and followed him out.

The stone plate, especially, was filled with urgency. He had been near the cave entrance all along, and now, hearing the sounds, he hesitated no longer, rushing out of the cave and running toward where Qi Yuan had been.

“Ah?”

About ten breaths later, the stone plate suddenly let out a terrified cry.

His legs trembled unsteadily, suddenly losing all strength, and he collapsed onto the ground, his face twisted in terror.

“What’s wrong?” Inside the wind cave, Stone Plate’s mother cried out in alarm, rushing outside.

“Don’t… specters, so many specters!”

Stone Plate was both shocked and bewildered.

In the distance before him, the mountains were covered with a dense mass of terrifying beings.

They were ethereal, their eyes gleaming with green light, like wisps of smoke.

Now, some of these terrifying beings were chopping trees, some were carrying logs, and others were gathered together, seemingly performing an extremely bizarre set of movements, which looked especially absurd and laughable.

Stone Plate had never seen specters before, but the moment he laid eyes on those beings, the first thought that arose in his heart was that they were specters.

“Child, it’s broad daylight now—how could there be specters? You’ve probably just scared yourself,” Liu Xi said with a hint of amusement in his eyes, having just finished tidying his clothes as he slowly emerged from the wind cave.

Clearly, he thought Stone Plate, a mere mortal, was simply overwhelmed by fear and frightening himself.

But the moment he stepped out of the wind cave and cast a steady glance outward, his expression instantly froze.

The refugees inside the wind cave immediately saw a blur of white shadow dart frantically back into the cave.

Then they heard Liu Xi exclaim in shock, “Specters in broad daylight?”

Utter confusion filled his mind.

In the Celestial Kun Wondrous Land, where he had dwelled for a hundred years, what hadn’t he encountered?

But specters in broad daylight—truly, he had never seen such a thing.

Moreover, from just a casual glance, the number of specters he spotted already exceeded a thousand.

It was utterly terrifying.

“Damn it, that boy Stone Plate is still outside…” A flicker of anxiety stirred in Liu Xi’s heart.

Last night, he had talked quite a bit with Stone Plate and had grown somewhat fond of the lad.

Now, with Stone Plate outside, given the horror of specters, the boy was surely doomed.

Hmm… why wasn’t he dead yet?

Meanwhile, inside the wind cave, the other refugees were stunned—some stumbling about, others pale with terror.

“How can there be specters in broad daylight!”

“We’re done for—the specters have seen me; I’m about to meet my ancestors!”

These people were terrified out of their wits.

The dread of specters loomed over them like a black cloud.

But Liu Xi, peering outward, wore a curious expression: “Why hasn’t Stone Plate died yet? These specters are powerful—they noticed us long ago. Why haven’t they made a move… and what are they doing?”

Liu Xi stared at the specters, his face twisted in bewilderment, his expression grave.

What was happening today was truly bizarre.

Just then, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted from beyond the heavens.

“Who is so bold as to dare kidnap my specters!”

A Purple Mansion cultivator bellowed, his voice shaking the sky and earth.

The night before, he had been leading his specter army on a patrol through the heavens when, passing a desolate ridge, he was suddenly seized by a certain “urge.” He ducked into a dilapidated wind cave to engage in a wild sparring session with his concubine.

But when the sparring was over, his specter squad had vanished.

This was no small matter.

Following the imprint on his bell, he sped toward his specter squad.

Yet, no sooner had he finished his curse than the specter envoy froze.

He stared at the countless specter army covering the mountains and fields, his eyes wide.

“Ah… I was just passing by, passing by—my mistake!”

If it had only been his single specter squad that was taken, he might still have dared to invoke the tiger-skin of the Holy Light Sect.

But this… this was countless—utterly countless.

He turned to flee, his feet slipping away like oil.

But at that moment, a slightly languid voice suddenly rang out.

“Disturbing one’s dreams so early in the morning—so uncivilized.”

At his words, the specters that had been doing calisthenics, chopping trees, and building houses all stopped their movements and, in perfect unison, roared at the specter envoy:

“Have… some… decency!”

In the distance, Liu Xi watched this absurd scene, feeling as if his mind could not keep up.

Was he still asleep?

Or had this cultivation world gone mad?

With the specter army’s unified shout, the specter envoy’s body suddenly shattered, dissolving into a mist of blood.

A faint voice drifted over. “This is the price of incivility.”

The voice was calm, tinged with a trace of indifference.

Hearing this voice, Stone Plate’s face lit up with surprise: “That’s… that’s the voice of the Lord, the Lord!”

“What? That black-robed cultivator from last night?” At this thought, Liu Xi’s body couldn’t help but tremble.

The specter army here—a few dozen of them could easily suppress and slay a Mythic.

And the number of specters here was no less than ten thousand!

That fellow cultivator… to be able to subdue so many terrifying specters, he must be at least… a Principle!

Even a Celestial Realm Yang God would not be enough!

At this thought, excitement surged across his face.

He hesitated for a moment, then mustered his courage: “Stone Plate, can you take me to meet that senior master?”

Stone Plate’s face showed a mix of shock, confusion, and joy, and he finally nodded. “Alright.”

After about a hundred breaths, Liu Xi, his heart in his throat, finally threaded his way through the specter army and saw the black-robed cultivator.

He immediately bowed low: “I, the rogue cultivator Liu Xi, pay respects to the Celestial Venerable!”

Stone Plate, his eyes gleaming, asked, “Lord, how did you subdue all these specters?”

Liu Xi’s eyes also showed curiosity.

Specters were bizarre—it seemed even Yang God Celestial Venerables could do nothing about them.

Liu Xi had once heard that a certain Principle Yang God had taken an interest in the specters here but dared not enter himself. He spent a great price to buy a specter for research, only to conclude that specters were unfathomable and harbored great terror.

“I’m a kind-hearted man. I couldn’t bear to see them wandering homeless in the dead of night, like lonely ghosts drifting about, so I took them in,” Qi Yuan said.

There were still many good people in this world.

Some lords could not stand vagrants and drove them away, while others gave them new names. Qi Yuan chose to take them in and set them to work.

This debt of kindness could never be repaid in a lifetime.

Liu Xi heard this and nearly curled his lip.

This was not like wandering ghosts—these were real ghosts!

And what did he mean by giving the dead a job?

He could not keep up with Qi Yuan’s train of thought.

“These legions of ghostly souls were once kind-hearted, but… evil men have tainted them, using bells to control them in their patrols across the heavens, slaughtering the living,” Qi Yuan said, producing a bell.

Upon hearing this, Shi Pan’s eyes lit up. “So what Grandpa Niu said was true—the ghosts of old… they protected us. It must be because the bad men came and took control of them.”

Qi Yuan looked at Shi Pan, his thoughts drifting far away.

These ghostly legions had once guarded the border in life.

Later, they were defeated, the world shattered, and their people nearly wiped out, with only a few escaping to the Land of Tiankun’s Wonders.

And they, having become ghosts, still guarded their kin, clearing obstacles for the survival of their race.

But alas, when the Holy Light Sect appeared, these ghosts were seized.

Liu Xi narrowed his eyes, thinking of something, and lowered his voice. “In the Land of Tiankun’s Wonders, the only one with the power to control the ghostly legions must be the Holy Light Sect. Senior, you have offended them—you must be careful!”

Liu Xi had vaguely heard some rumors about the ghosts.

Behind the Holy Light Sect stood a Holy Light Clan.

Truly terrifying.

“No matter. I am quite familiar with the Holy Light Clan,” Qi Yuan said with a grin.

He had once hunted an Eastern Lord.

Hearing this, Liu Xi’s heart tightened, feeling that this senior was unfathomably mysterious.

Just then, Qi Yuan thought of something and suddenly said, “Fellow Daoist, would you do me a favor?”

Liu Xi felt a flattering surprise at these words.

This Celestial Venerable actually called him “fellow Daoist”—how could he not be startled?

“I wish to collect some rare treasures—no need to mind their quality, only their quantity.

Originally, I thought to have these ghosts gather them for me, but alas… the world’s eyes are always full of prejudice. Of course, I cannot blame them. I fear others would be frightened at the sight of ghosts.

Since you are alone, you can take some ghosts and help me gather them.

I lack neither celestial jade nor treasures.”

Qi Yuan casually tossed a storage pouch to Liu Xi.

He had no shortage of money.

Especially after killing so many Yang Gods and even emptying the Mara Clan.

Liu Xi’s expression grew uneasy.

Serving a Celestial Venerable naturally brought many benefits, but… there were also risks.

After all, this Celestial Venerable had slapped the Holy Light Sect in the face.

If they retaliated, he dared not face it.

After some hesitation, he struggled to refuse. “Forgive me, Senior. I am a solitary man, rarely interacting with others. I fear I would bungle your task.”

Liu Xi gritted his teeth and declined.

Compared to opportunity, life was more important.

Seeing this, Shi Pan could not help but say, “Sir, what about me?”

He was very nervous.

First, he was very young.

Second, he had no cultivation.

Hearing Shi Pan’s words, Liu Xi almost laughed to himself.

This boy Shi Pan really dared to think—and was seeking death.

Qi Yuan, however, seemed thoughtful. “Of course… you can.”

Even in Liu Bang’s Pei County, so many extraordinary men had emerged.

So to Qi Yuan, besides top-tier talent, the world had no shortage of “capable people.”

What a person lacked most was opportunity.

As long as one was not too absurd, placing them in that position to gain experience might yield results no worse than others.

Besides, he never cared much about others’ abilities.

Otherwise, why would he have let Sister Niujiao join his team?

Hearing this, Shi Pan’s face lit up with wild joy. “Th-thank you, Sir!”

“I grant you this talisman to protect you,” Qi Yuan said, casually tossing a talisman to Shi Pan. “I give you one legion of ghostly souls to accompany you in your dealings.

All matters are in your hands; do not disturb me lightly.”

Qi Yuan looked like a hands-off boss.

His main goal was the Ten Thousand Ghosts Soul Banner.

Everything else was secondary.

“As you command!” Shi Pan took the storage pouch and talisman, his heart bursting with joy.

“If you cannot open the storage pouch, have the ghosts open it for you,” Qi Yuan said, tossing over a jade slip. “Practice this on your own.”

This technique was collected from the Mara Clan.

To Qi Yuan, it was nearly junk.

But to outside cultivators, this method would make even Yin Gods fight to the death over it.

Seeing this, Liu Xi felt a pang of envy for Shi Pan, then shook his head.

What good were so many benefits? Pity he might not live to use them.

…

The Holy Light Sect.

Heavenly Cripple Celestial Venerable narrowed his eyes, his body hunched like an old servant.

Before him, a Mythical bowed his head, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Yesterday, the ghostly patrol had gone terribly wrong, losing hundreds of thousands of ghostly souls.

How could he not be afraid?

Heavenly Cripple Celestial Venerable’s eyes were murky. “To be able to control the ghostly legions… this matter is beyond our control.”

This matter also took the Heavenly Lord Tiancan by surprise.

Back then, for the sake of his son, he had no choice but to enter the Realm of Tiankun Marvels, only to be imprisoned by the Holy Light Clan and become a slave to that clan.

Most of the Yang Gods of the Sixth Heaven knew that the Holy Light Clan dwelled within the Realm of Tiankun Marvels.

Logically, they would never enter that realm.

Even if they did, they would avoid the Holy Light Clan.

But that one—not only did he not avoid them, he even imprisoned the Yin souls.

Was he not alarmed now?

Was that Yang God tired of living?

“Heavenly Lord, what should we do?” the Mythical asked nervously.

The Heavenly Lord Tiancan narrowed his eyes: “For the upcoming Yin Soul Sky Patrol, stay far away from that one. Wait until the master emerges from seclusion.”

Hearing this, the Mythical finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Yet the worry between his brows never fully dissipated.

If the master came out and blamed him, he would likely face death.

Spring passed, autumn came.

Sun and moon cycled.

Six years flashed by in an instant.

In the military camp, Qi Yuan lay sprawled without any decorum.

“Sigh, these Yin Soul Envoys have grown clever—they’re patrolling underground now for the Yin Soul Sky Patrol!”

Indeed, over the years, Qi Yuan had not only been secretly watching the Ten Thousand Ghost Soul Banner but also gathering Yin souls.

He gave those homeless Yin souls a proper job.

The Holy Light Gate was not as overbearing as imagined; their patrols always avoided Qi Yuan.

At first, it was tolerable—they just kept a great distance from him.

It cost Qi Yuan much effort to bring back those homeless Yin souls.

Their patrols grew more remote and more concealed, no longer daring to act openly.

And now, they had stopped patrolling the sky altogether, burrowing into the earth to patrol!

Fortunately, Qi Yuan’s ears and eyes were sharp; he immediately spotted the traces of those Yin Soul Envoys and rescued his Yin soul brothers from underground.

“My lord, Shi Pan requests an audience!”

Just then, a voice rang out, and not far away, a tall, spirited youth appeared.

That young man was none other than Shi Pan.

Compared to his naivety six years ago, he had matured greatly and had become a cultivator.

“Enter,” Qi Yuan said lazily.

It seemed there would be another gain this time.

ps: I’ll make up for the missing word count later!

(End of chapter)