What is soul transcendence?
According to both Buddhist and Daoist doctrines, it's helping the deceased's souls escape from suffering.
Xu Yang thought the world was already a vast sea of suffering.
He had slain the fire ghost, freeing it from the torture of the mortal world, which seemed quite fitting.
Physical soul transcendence, perhaps, was just like that.
"Scaring ghosts can earn you merit points and gain abilities from their essence."
"Additionally, soul transcendence can also rack up merit..."
Xu Yang glanced at the system property interface.
The number next to the [Merit Points] column had reached 394 points.
Setting aside the 104 points provided by the four Minor Demons, the fire ghost had given him a total of 290 points of merit.
"It's a pity I killed it too quickly."
"If I had known this thing would go down so easily, I definitely would have gone easier and farmed more merit points from it first!"
He felt regretful.
Xu Yang's gaze shifted, looking towards the ghostly figure that had flown out of the fire ghost's body.
The aura of this ghostly figure was very weak, and as it landed in front of the four Minor Demons, it transformed into a woman.
"Mr. Huang!"
The four Minor Demons were both shocked and overjoyed, and Wang Xiaomao was especially emotional, crying and holding the woman's hand, wailing, "Wuwuwu, Mr. Huang, you're actually not dead..."
The weakened female ghost stroked the heads of the four Minor Demons a few times, then looked at Xu Yang and said, "Thank you, Daoist Master, for your help. If not for your intervention, I might have been trapped inside that monster forever, and unable to escape. If not for the Daoist Master eliminating that monster, Xiaomao and the others would surely have been harmed."
"It's just a simple gesture; it's nothing significant."
Xu Yang waved his hand and said, "Although you have died, your heart is still with your students. Just this virtue alone makes you worth saving several times over."
Speaking of which,
He changed the topic and took out the test papers and exercise books, saying, "Alright, now that the monster has been eliminated and your teacher has been rescued... it's time to burn these papers and workbooks for you."
"Ding!"
"Scaring the ghost, merit points +1."
"Ding..."
In an instant, expressions of terror appeared on the faces of the four Minor Demons.
Wang Xiaomao was the cleverest among them. Before Xu Yang could start burning the exercise books, he spoke up, "Thank you, uncle. I truly appreciate your kindness... But now that uncle has defeated that monster and our teacher has been saved, our vengeance is fulfilled, and I feel... I can leave this place."
As he spoke,
His body gradually became ethereal.
In just a few seconds, he completely vanished into the world.
At that moment, Xu Yang vaguely felt a specific power descending, as though a gateway had opened somewhere, leading Wang Xiaomao away.
"Is this..."
"The legendary Hell's Gate, the Ghost Gate?"
Xu Yang thought to himself, "I killed the fire ghost, rescued their teacher, avenged them, and now their obsessions have dissolved, ready to return to the underworld?"
"Ding!"
"Congratulations, you have successfully transcended a soul, rewarded with: merit points +10."
The other three children followed suit and also dissipated into the cosmos.
"Ding!"
"Congratulations, you have successfully transcended a soul, rewarded with: merit points +10."
"Ding..."
The form of Mr. Huang also began to fade. Xu Yang quickly called to her, asking, "Mr. Huang, what are the names of the other three kids?"
Mr. Huang questioned, "Why do you ask, Daoist Master?"
Xu Yang pointed to the test papers and exercise books in his hands, "I've already bought them; it would be a waste not to use them. I'll write their names on them so I can burn them for you... You wouldn't want your students to be unable to study after they've gone down there, would you?"
Mr. Huang: "......."
After disclosing the names of the remaining three kids, she bowed to Xu Yang. Then, her figure gradually became more ethereal, disappearing into the night sky.
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"Ding!"
"Congratulations, you have successfully ferried a soul to the afterlife and received a reward: Merit Points +100."
The system prompt sounded once more.
"Oh?"
"This Mr. Huang actually provided me with 100 merit points? It seems that her level is the same as the fire ghost's, otherwise she couldn't have remained undigested after being devoured by the fire ghost for so long!"
Xu Yang thought to himself.
He took out a pen, wrote his name on the remaining exam sheets and exercise books, and then burnt them all in one go before stepping out of the classroom.
Outside the classroom, Taozi and her cameraman were staring dumbfounded at Xu Yang, as if they had turned to stone.
"Hmm..."
Just then, the assistant who had fainted earlier moaned and came to consciousness. She jumped three feet into the air from the ground and screamed, "Ghosts, there's a ghost! Taozi, run... Help me..."
And then, she fainted dead away again.
Taozi and the cameraman hurriedly went over to help, pinching her Renzhong acupoint and slapping her cheeks, but the girl didn't come around this time.
"Master!"
Taozi suddenly came to her senses, approached Xu Yang, and bowed, "Master, you have great divine powers, please save her."
Her clothes for the livestream were already quite revealing.
With the bow, a generous amount of cleavage dazzled right before Xu Yang's eyes.
Xu Yang looked deeply, thinking to himself, "The moonlight isn't very bright tonight... It seems that after stepping into the third layer of the Qi Refining Realm, my eyesight has greatly improved; I can even see the mole on the right side of her..."
"This mole is really white and big!"
He thought to himself.
Xu Yang said indifferently, "She's just overly frightened, it's no big deal. Just let her rest up, drink some chicken soup to recover... Bro, stop pinching the Renzhong, her mouth is already bruised."
After stopping the cameraman's actions,
Xu Yang turned back to Taozi and said, "I know you've been doing a lot of supernatural live streams lately, attracting a lot of fans and making a good amount of money."
"As the saying goes, 'You can't walk along the river without getting your shoes wet.'"
"It's best to quit while you're ahead."
Taozi was still feeling weak in the knees, and at his words she said, "You're right, Master... and even if you lent me several guts, I wouldn't dare to do such live streams anymore... By the way, Master, what's your WeChat?"
"For what?"
Xu Yang was on guard.
What does this woman want with my WeChat?
"Transfer money, wasn't it agreed upon earlier? You help out as a ghost on our show, and we give you a reward,"
Taozi explained.
As for whether she had other plans in mind, that remained unknown.
Xu Yang didn't need the thousand dollars.
He said, "No need for a reward, I actually have something I want to ask you about... Did you live stream at the city's northern cemetery on the night of June 18th?"
"Do you still have the video of the live stream?"
...
Meanwhile.
In Lingzhou City.
At the funeral home,
Wang Wei, dressed in hemp and mourning clothes, was kneeling in front of his master's memorial tablet.
His master had been devoted to martial arts his whole life, with hardly any relatives or friends. The vast memorial hall was extremely quiet, with only Wang Wei, the disciple, and no one else.
"Your name is Wang Wei?"
Just then, a figure appeared behind Wang Wei.
The man was about fifty years old, slightly hunched, and his left leg seemed to have some trouble, causing him to limp as he walked. He spoke coldly, "What exactly happened?"
"My junior brother was a high-level Daoist practitioner, who cultivated profound Daoist skills from our Lu Shan Sect. How could he have suddenly died so violently?"
"A mere Red Attire Malevolent Spirit couldn't possibly kill a practitioner of the realm of Daoism from afar!"
"Tell me everything in detail. If you dare to leave out or alter a single detail, I will hold you accountable!"
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