Deep within Nanwu Mountain, amidst withered branches and decayed leaves, two figures stood.
A man dressed in black lowered his gaze, surveying the surroundings. His boots ground against the rotting soil underfoot, and the half of his face obscured by a mask was inscrutable. Beside him, a middle-aged cultivator in the robes of the Su family wiped his sweat nervously, casting a cautious glance at the man as he spoke in a hushed tone:
"The people from Tianlu Mountain have arrived, as have those from the Cangxue Sect. I really can't investigate further under these circumstances."
In the distance, rugged mountains rose steeply, and faint light glimmered at the horizon. Different factions were converging on the area.
Who would have thought that this place, once deemed unremarkable, would turn out to conceal so many secrets?
The man in black raised his eyes. "The matters in Nanwu Mountain have already reached that lord's ears. Now that you've drawn so many people here, if you weren't still useful, do you think you'd still be standing here?"
The middle-aged cultivator immediately fell to his knees. "Mercy, my lord! When I investigated earlier, I had no idea that the seal here was an ancient one. I've never encountered anything like it before. Who would've thought there was a Zhenshan Monument hidden here—"
The man in black remained silent, his expression icy. Lifting his foot, he kicked the middle-aged man several steps back.
He had thought that after dealing with the ominous star in the Southern Realm, he could report back and complete his mission. Who could have predicted that an ancient seal would surface at such a critical moment?
The man's demeanor grew colder, his gaze sharp and filled with menace.
After a long moment, he casually tossed a stone exuding dense demonic energy to the ground. As soon as it landed, the oppressive aura of demonic energy spread uncontrollably.
The middle-aged cultivator recoiled in alarm, chanting a cleansing mantra as he hastily distanced himself from the stone. "This is from the Extreme Northern Abyss of Demons..."
"If they're so eager to investigate, let them stay here and investigate to their heart's content," the man in black said coldly, casting a threatening glance at the cultivator. "But as for the matter in Jinzhou Town, there can be no mistakes. My patience is limited—don't disappoint me."
The middle-aged cultivator, drenched in sweat, kowtowed repeatedly. "Rest assured, my lord. I will see it done."
"Now leave," the man commanded.
The cultivator didn't dare linger. He turned and fled without a backward glance.
The man in black lowered his gaze to the shattered tombstone of the Living Dead not far away and the peculiar bloodstains buried in the soil. His expression grew darker, and his boot crushed a fragment of the stone beneath him, his eyes filled with vigilance.
What exactly had escaped from this mountain?
Ever since that sword cultivator had probed his inner palace, Su Yu had grown more cautious. When encountering other cultivators, he refrained from using his spiritual eye, instead carefully testing and observing them. The rescue ship carried three spirit vessels in total: two belonging to the Qi family and one to the Su family. Besides the wounded, the vessels carried cultivators from both families, including an elder from the Qi family and two from the Su family, the strongest among them at the Nascent Soul stage.
Onboard one of the spirit vessels, Qi Yan arranged for Su Yu to stay in a quiet, undisturbed room at the rear.
Once aboard, everything remained tranquil. Su Yu had initially expected to cross paths with that sword cultivator again, but days passed without any sight of him. However, during this time, a member of the Qi family delivered an eye veil, stating that it was sent by the sword cultivator.
"Mr. Gu said that while your eyes can't perceive things, the sunlight outside the spirit vessel could still affect them," the Qi family cultivator explained. "It's best to protect them when stepping outside."
Su Yu accepted the veil without much thought. The faint medicinal scent lingering on it suggested it had been soaked in some kind of remedy. Declining would have seemed even stranger, so he thanked the Qi cultivator.
With the sword cultivator absent, Su Yu felt more at ease. The free time allowed him to delve deeper into studying the Abyss of All Evil within his dantian.
The ink beast had grown craftier. Whenever Su Yu questioned it, it evaded him by spouting theories about the distribution of yin energy. Su Yu didn't expect to extract much useful information from it, but his observations during this period had helped him roughly understand what the Abyss of All Evil was.
It was essentially a real, separate world, and as its host, Su Yu served as its sole gateway. Anything entering or leaving the abyss had to pass through him. The Abyss of All Evil functioned like an otherworldly sanctuary tightly bound to him. Not only could he summon beings like Zhang Fugui or the living corpse from it, but he could also transport external objects into the abyss.
For instance, items like the candlesticks in his room could be sent into the abyss simply by touching them and could just as easily be retrieved.
Entities like Zhang Fugui and the living corpse, which possessed self-awareness, could freely move in and out of the abyss with Su Yu's permission.
Recently, Su Yu had released Zhang Fugui a few times, allowing him to grasp his current circumstances. Zhang Fugui quickly realized that he was no longer in Nanwu Mountain. Instead, he resided in the Daoist's domain, where yin energy was abundant, and he enjoyed the Daoist's protection. Occasionally being allowed outside only made his life more comfortable than it had ever been in the mountain.
The only downside was the necessity of tolerating the enigmatic living corpse. Fortunately, the corpse seemed uninterested in devouring ghosts for now and resided in a separate part of the Abyss of All Evil. Zhang Fugui also managed to strike up a peculiar friendship with the ink beast, which occasionally napped atop the abyss's monument. However, their encounters usually ended with the ink beast aggressively urging him to cultivate.
As Zhang Fugui was released more often, Su Yu discovered that as long as Zhang Fugui remained close, other cultivators found it difficult to detect his presence. According to the ink beast, this was due to the ancient seal's influence. Once, the seal had concealed Nanwu Mountain from the outside world for centuries. Now, with the seal residing in Su Yu, its effects extended to him directly.
"Otherwise, with your current Foundation Establishment cultivation and all that yin energy on you, it'd be strange if those cultivators didn't notice you," the ink beast muttered lazily, finishing off the calming incense sticks Su Yu had tossed into the Abyss of All Evil. It couldn't understand why Su Yu didn't value such things—whenever the Qi family cultivators lit one, Su Yu would simply throw it into the abyss. "As long as you don't actively reveal yourself, no one will find the Abyss of All Evil."
The more it talked, the more it felt like it had gotten the short end of the stick, letting this human brat profit off it.
The shadow of the Zhenshan Monument had grown increasingly solid over time. After Su Yu refined the spiritual energy left in his body by the sword cultivator, it seemed some of it had been absorbed by the Abyss of All Evil. Although the ink beast stubbornly refused to admit it, Su Yu suspected the solidification of the monument's shadow was connected to this, albeit less crucial than the presence of yin energy.
The spiritual energy Su Yu had extracted from the sword cultivator's body had propelled his cultivation from the Qi Refining stage to the Foundation Establishment stage in a single day. The ink beast explained that the sword cultivator's spiritual energy had widened Su Yu's spiritual veins, effectively filling the gaps in his energy reserves and allowing for a smooth breakthrough.
"You were born with a natural spiritual eye, and your meridians have been broadened by yin energy to an absurd degree," the ink beast observed. "Any other mortal subjected to this much yin energy would've died ages ago. I don't even know how you're still alive. With your current Foundation Establishment cultivation, the breadth of your spiritual and meridian channels almost matches that of a peak Nascent Soul cultivator. But you lack the necessary energy foundation. The sword cultivator's energy just happened to bridge that gap."
"But this also creates a problem," it added with a snort. "The spiritual energy from a Divine Transformation cultivator was just enough to get you to Foundation Establishment. For you to advance further, you'll need far more than ordinary human cultivators."
The ink beast let out a dissatisfied huff. "Now you see how important I am, don't you? We need to figure out a way to round up my scattered underlings as laborers. That way, you'll have enough resources to progress... Hey! Are you even listening to me?"
Su Yu ignored it. The ink beast had mentioned that the Qi family's spirit vessel was heading north, in the same direction the yin energy had surged from Nanwu Mountain.
Following the Qi family cultivators served a dual purpose for him: leaving Nanwu Mountain and finding more vagrant ghosts or malevolent spirits to replenish the Abyss of All Evil's depleted reserves. Traveling with demon-slaying cultivators was the optimal choice.
After a moment's thought, he turned to the Qi family cultivator delivering his medicine. "Where are we headed?"
"To Jinzhou Town," the cultivator replied.
Jinzhou Town was a remote area bordering several small sects in the southern realm. Over the past decades, it had grown increasingly prosperous.
The Qi and Su families' spirit vessels traveled from Nanwu Mountain to this point, deciding to stop here for rest and resupply.
In Donghuan's cultivation world, small towns inhabited by mortals were interspersed with areas teeming with cultivators. Towns like Jinzhou, near cultivation sects, were predominantly populated by cultivators who had already eliminated the need for mortal sustenance. The streets were lined with stalls selling spiritual herbs, forged spirit tools, spirit armors, and pills from alchemists.
The ink beast, having spent millennia confined to remote mountains, was mesmerized by the bustling sights. Its gaze was glued to the intricate buildings towering over the streets. "The mortal world has changed so much... Back in my day, there weren't houses this elaborate."
Su Yu couldn't see the buildings the ink beast described. Outside the spirit vessel, his vision was limited to figures imbued with spiritual energy or the occasional scattered fragments. Without much to focus on visually, he followed the cultivators leading him.
"There are a lot of people here; I'll guide you," the Qi family cultivator offered helpfully.
Su Yu lowered his head, concentrating on the people brushing past him. He realized he wasn't fond of crowds. The myriad noises surrounding him gave him a sense of disconnection, as though he were a stranger to it all, simultaneously familiar and out of place.
This unfamiliar emotion unsettled him. Disliking the lack of control it brought, he instinctively distanced himself from the lively chatter and shouts.
The sounds faded quickly.
Upon arriving in Jinzhou, Qi Yan's first task was to withdraw money from the Qi family bank. The Qi family's wealth spanned the entirety of Donghuan, providing an inexhaustible resource. The Qi family had covered most of the expenses for treating the injured aboard the spirit vessel, including the continuous supply of necessary medicinal herbs.
"Do you want anything in particular?" Qi Yan asked Su Yu.
Su Yu shook his head but was handed a pouch of spirit stones by Qi Yan regardless. "Get yourself something you like."
Qi Yan waved off Su Yu's protest. "You've done our Qi family a great favor. Don't be shy."
Su Yu gained a new perspective on Qi Yan: wealthy and skilled at currying favor.
The ink beast was the most thrilled. "Buy me something to eat! I haven't had spirit fruits in ages."
Su Yu cast it a glance. "How would you eat it?"
"You just toss it into the Abyss of All Evil, and I'll eat it," the ink beast said, drooling. It had been envious for days of the little ginseng spirit accompanying Qi Yan, which happily munched on various treats. "The South Peak had none of this stuff. I've been working hard supervising those two in their cultivation. Even if I don't deserve a reward, I've earned one. How about a spirit fruit?"
Su Yu: "Oh."
The ink beast: "And when I eat it, the Abyss eats it too. Isn't that the same as you eating it?"
The Abyss of All Evil was barren, with nothing but Zhang Fugui, the living corpse, rocks, and trees. There weren't any spirit fruits to be found. In the South Peak, the ink beast had subsisted on yin grass and fruits, but after the collapse of the spiritual veins, the mountain became a wasteland. The abundance of treasures in the outside world was overwhelming by comparison.
Taking advantage of the brief moment when the Qi family cultivator stepped away, Su Yu approached the nearest stall.
The young cultivator selling spirit fruits brightened when Su Yu mentioned making a purchase, eagerly displaying his entire stock. The ink beast disdainfully criticized the fruits as immature but ultimately selected the one most saturated with spiritual energy.
The young cultivator glanced at the veil over Su Yu's eyes and said, "Two spirit stones."
Su Yu didn't argue, taking two spirit stones from the pouch given to him by the Qi family cultivator.
The young cultivator's eyes lit up. "Thank you, sir!"
It turned out that the fruit, once swallowed into the Abyss of All Evil by the ink beast, did provide a faint trace of spiritual energy—not nearly as potent as what the sword cultivator had offered, but still discernible.
However, Zhang Fugui, who had emerged from his cultivation within the Abyss to see the commotion, caught sight of the ink beast perched atop the monument licking the spirit fruit. Upon learning that it cost two spirit stones, he almost fainted.
"That's a rip-off!" Zhang Fugui exclaimed.
For the past few days, the ink beast had been relentlessly driving Zhang Fugui to cultivate. Only after stepping out of the Abyss did Zhang Fugui discover that the duo had arrived in Jinzhou Town. As a wandering physician during his lifetime, Zhang Fugui had traveled to many towns and cities, often gathering herbs and meeting all kinds of people. While he was just a mortal, he was well-versed in the workings of small marketplaces like this one.
"These fruits are likely homegrown by cultivators," Zhang Fugui explained. "They seem rich in spiritual energy but are all show and no substance. You have to judge them by appearance, not scent." Gesturing at stalls in the distance, he continued, "You've been swindled!"
"You know a lot?" Su Yu asked.
Zhang Fugui puffed up his chest. "I've been a ghost for decades. Prices for these things can't have risen too much—they're worth at most one low-grade spirit stone."
He paused, eyeing Su Yu's pouch. "Let me help you pick next time. What's our budget?"
Zhang Fugui then caught sight of the bag in Su Yu's hand—eight mid-grade spirit stones, at least.
"Qi family gave them to me," Su Yu said.
To Su Yu, the spiritual energy in the stones seemed roughly the same.
Zhang Fugui was stunned. He had known Su Yu's abilities were extraordinary but had forgotten that the Taoist was blind. A pouch of mid-grade spirit stones had been used indiscriminately as if they were low-grade stones. And as for the ink beast, it only picked the best-looking fruit, completely ignorant of its actual value. No wonder they were such easy targets for cunning merchants!
The ink beast, upon hearing this, was indignant. "Then he still owes me one! I'll go demand it!"
Demand what? Start a fight? This place was crawling with cultivators!
Zhang Fugui worked tirelessly to convince the ink beast to stay calm, feeling more exhausted than when he'd been running for his life in the mountains.
Jinzhou Town had changed significantly over the years. Zhang Fugui remembered when it had been a barren place without the elegant pavilions and bustling streets full of cultivators and merchants. Back then, the town was primarily inhabited by mortals.
Now, the Qi and Su families' spirit vessels were docked outside Jinzhou's gates. Merchants flocked to the Qi family, eager to trade their wares. Many even brought medicinal herbs to sell near the gates. Zhang Fugui, unwilling to let his companions be taken advantage of, began explaining which goods were worth buying and which were scams. His practiced demeanor, fluency in jargon, and familiarity with the market revealed his years of experience.
"He's more knowledgeable than the Qi family cultivators," Su Yu thought.
"Those cultivators? What do they know? They're rich and rarely interact with the mortal world," Zhang Fugui sighed. "Mortal merchants love to hike prices for cultivators. A few spirit stones may mean nothing to a cultivator, but to a struggling mortal family, it could sustain them for years."
Su Yu remained silent, watching Zhang Fugui and the ink beast, visible only to him, moving from stall to stall. Their interactions with the invisible vendors created a surreal sense of separation between two worlds.
Raising a hand, Su Yu touched the veil over his eyes, his thoughts drifting to the chaotic memories in his mind. Beyond the fragmented recollections of the Su family, there seemed to be even older, more distant memories. It felt as though, long ago, he had walked similar streets.
Su Yu tried to recall more, but the effort brought a piercing headache.
While Zhang Fugui and the ink beast argued over the price of fruits, Su Yu's attention shifted to the Su family's spirit vessel hovering outside the town. Over the past few days, he had observed a distinctive spiritual energy aboard the vessel. It was cautious and alert. Every time Su Yu tried to examine the vessel's protective array, that energy quickly noticed him.
The growing hunger gnawed at him. The Abyss of All Evil had far less yin energy now. The bruise he had sustained two days ago still hadn't healed—a clear sign that the Abyss could no longer provide sufficient energy for recovery.
Perhaps he needed another bite of that sword cultivator.
While he pondered, more people began gathering around the spirit vessels. The increasing noise prompted Su Yu to retreat instinctively, leaning against a wall at the edge of the road. The Qi family cultivators were busy buying medicinal herbs and hadn't returned for a while.
At that moment, Su Yu suddenly sensed a presence drawing near. He took a cautious step back, pressing against the wall.
Jinzhou Town was bustling, the noise overwhelming. Su Yu hadn't noticed someone approaching until they were too close. Alarmed, he turned his head—and saw the familiar spiritual energy of the sword cultivator.
Not far away, a figure stood quietly.
Beneath his mask, Gu Qi's expression didn't change. He observed the young man retreating half a step, his movements subtle but telling. Gu Qi's eyes lingered on the veil covering Su Yu's gaze—the very veil he had entrusted the Qi family to deliver.
At this moment, the veil over Su Yu's eyes appeared slightly loose, with the strap tied in a careless dead knot behind his head. A few stray strands of hair were caught in the knot, giving the impression that the veil had been hastily and casually secured.
Over the past few days, Gu Qi had been observing him. Su Yu rarely left his room and was even more quiet and reserved than the other injured individuals.
Gu Qi's gaze shifted slightly, landing on Su Yu's partially exposed arm. There were several bruises on it—something that wouldn't normally linger on a cultivator's body. Yet, these marks had remained for days, not a sign of weak cultivation, but of repeated collisions.
Ordinary injuries. Repeated ones.
To all appearances, just an ordinary cultivator, with nothing out of the ordinary.
"Mr. Gu, the herbal merchants are just ahead," a Qi family cultivator informed him.
Gu Qi retracted his gaze and gave a slight nod to the man beside him. As he turned his head, his peripheral vision lingered briefly on the roadside stalls. He frowned slightly, as if scrutinizing something, but found nothing unusual.
Ever since entering the town, Gu Qi had been haunted by an inexplicable sense of discord.
Where was the problem?
Jinzhou Town was abundant in spiritual plants, which was why the Qi family had chosen it as a rest stop to purchase herbs.
After a short while, Su Yu noticed the sword cultivator walking off into the distance, seemingly headed to procure medicinal supplies.
His wandering thoughts were interrupted by the ink beast's urgent call. Turning his head, Su Yu saw Zhang Fugui emerge from the Abyss of All Evil. Protected by the Abyss's seal, Zhang Fugui stood not far away alongside the semi-transparent ink beast, waving at him in greeting.
The ink beast had made some progress in its cultivation. Previously, it had hidden inside Su Yu's body, but now it could manifest as a small beast and follow Zhang Fugui around.
Zhang Fugui, unwilling to stray too far from Su Yu, cautiously moved forward only after Su Yu started walking. "This one's a sure bet," he said. "Jinzhou Town might be remote, but it's prosperous. The most famous spiritual fruit here is this Qingling Fruit. It's rich in spiritual energy, and its peel can even be used to treat external injuries."
"External injuries?" Su Yu paused.
Zhang Fugui glanced at Su Yu's arm and leg. In a low voice, he said, "Daozhang, didn't you bruise yourself the other day? Apply this, and it'll heal quickly."
Me? Su Yu touched his arm. He hadn't noticed the pain on the surface of his body.
He frowned slightly, but Zhang Fugui had already moved ahead, using the Abyss's protective concealment to hurry to a quieter stall in the corner.
The stall owner sat on the ground, clad in black, dusty robes. A large hood obscured his face, and his appearance was unkempt and dirty. He had been sitting there for some time, but none of the passing cultivators paid him any attention. They scorned his wares without a second glance.
At the sound of footsteps, the stall owner lifted his eyes slightly, peering through the shadow of his hood. He saw someone standing in front of his stall. Just as he was about to look away, his gaze caught on the boy's eyes.
The boy stood silently by the stall, a few loose strands of hair framing his face. After a moment, he asked, "Are your goods for sale?"
The stall owner's eyes shifted beneath his hood. A blind person?
When no response came, the boy asked again.
The vendor's voice was hoarse and grating. "For sale. No haggling. One low-grade spirit stone."
"That's cheap! He's not scamming you," Zhang Fugui remarked. "This one's worth buying."
The ink beast chimed in, "One is cheap!"
Su Yu: "..."
The vendor paused, glancing first at Su Yu, then at the space beside him. Seeing Su Yu remain motionless, the vendor amiably handed the fruit over, his rough voice murmuring, "Here."
Su Yu reached out to take the Qingling Fruit. As their hands touched, he noticed the vendor's skin was unusually coarse, like the dried bark of trees in the southern hills. Before Su Yu could think further, the vendor shoved the fruit into his hand.
The ink beast complained, "Only buying one?"
Su Yu replied, "Then I won't buy it."
The ink beast was indignant. "!!! Buy it!"
Ignoring the ink beast, Su Yu retrieved a spirit stone from his pouch, handed it to the vendor, and said, "Thank you."
The vendor quickly pocketed the stone, casting another heavy glance at Su Yu. Then, as if making a casual remark, he selected a few more fruits from his stall and handed them over. "I don't have change. Take these."
In a low voice, the vendor added, "It's getting dark. Don't stay in town."
Su Yu was puzzled, but the ink beast and Zhang Fugui were already urging him to find a quiet place.
The vendor paid them no further attention. After selling the fruit to Su Yu, he began packing up his stall. His warning seemed like an afterthought.
The surrounding area was crowded with stalls, but the alley itself was deserted.
After securing the fruit, Su Yu tucked it into his sleeve. The ink beast eagerly pulled Zhang Fugui back to the Abyss. Zhang Fugui peeled the fruit's skin and applied it to Su Yu's arm. The cool, sticky sensation was almost immediate.
Due to the persistent depletion of yin energy in his body, Su Yu instantly detected a subtle change on his skin. Beyond the spiritual energy, there was something more invasive seeping in.
Reacting instinctively, he flung the peel away, and it landed on the ground.
"What happened?" Zhang Fugui reached to retrieve it. "It needs to stay on for half an incense stick to—"
"Don't touch it," Su Yu said coldly.
Zhang Fugui froze. "Huh?"
The ink beast, nibbling on the Qingling Fruit, sniffed it carefully. "This thing has a strange smell. Kind of stinky."