Demoness, Stop! - Chapter 13 - Chapter 13 – Not Again

Before Li Yu could make a decision, Chen Ming and Zhou Zixuan were already arguing.

Among the many outer sects of Kunlun, Baiyun Temple held relatively high status. Even some minor royal families from small nations would go to great lengths to send their children there. Chen Ming was a prince of the Chen Dynasty, and Zhou Zixuan was also from a noble family. It was hard to imagine that people of such backgrounds could bicker like fishwives in the street.

In the end, both sides compromised. Zhou Zixuan would join the ghost-hunting mission, and the spirit coins would be divided based on contribution. Only then did the argument finally come to an end.

Li Yu originally wanted to invite Jiang Li along, but she said she wasn’t feeling well, so he didn’t push it and went down the mountain with Zhou Zixuan and Chen Ming.

With their current cultivation, they couldn’t fly for long. Just like last time, they flew for a bit, then walked while their spiritual power recovered, before flying again. Since Chen Ming and Zhou Zixuan had entered the Qi Refining stage earlier than Li Yu, they could fly a bit farther each time.

But this time, they noticed something unusual.

When their spiritual power was nearly exhausted and their speed significantly dropped, Li Yu was still calm and composed, flying at full speed. And along the way, they hadn’t seen him use any recovery pills.

This meant that Li Yu’s spiritual power was deeper than theirs.

How early one entered the Qi Refining stage didn’t mean much—success could largely depend on luck. Someone who succeeded after three months wasn’t necessarily less talented than someone who succeeded in three days.

The speed of cultivation after entering Qi Refining was the true measure of talent.

Although Li Yu had entered the stage a few months later than them, his cultivation speed clearly surpassed theirs.

Zhou Zixuan couldn’t help but ask, “Junior Brother Li, have you already opened your second acupoint?”

During the Qi Refining stage, spiritual energy was mainly stored in acupoints, with only a small portion flowing through the meridians. So even though Chen Ming and Zhou Zixuan had reached Qi Refining earlier, they had only opened one acupoint just like Li Yu, and their strength wasn’t much higher than his.

Only by opening another acupoint would their spiritual power increase significantly.

Li Yu didn’t deny it and nodded. “Just lucky, that’s all. I stumbled upon a rare fruit in the Baiyun Mountains yesterday. After taking it, the second acupoint opened.”

As for his true cultivation level, Li Yu couldn’t hide it—nor did he intend to.

High-level cultivators possessed powerful spiritual senses and could see through low-level cultivators at a glance. Someone like Elder Sun, who was already in the late Foundation Establishment stage, would see through him immediately. He might as well admit it now and avoid arousing suspicion.

Zhou Zixuan and Chen Ming could only envy his luck. They had been at the Qi Refining stage for months and still hadn’t opened a second acupoint.

The three of them flew and walked in turns and arrived at a village by noon.

The location of this mission was once again near Fengzhou City. Just outside the city was a yizhuang—a mortuary—where strange noises had been reported at night, frightening the nearby villagers. Eventually, they turned to Baiyun Temple for help.

A yizhuang was a place where corpses were stored. Bodies without known relatives or whose families couldn’t yet bury them were temporarily kept there.

When Li Yu and the others arrived at the mortuary, it was still early. They first asked for specific details.

According to the locals, a few villagers had heard noises from the mortuary late at night. When they approached out of curiosity, they saw corpses sitting up in their coffins. Terrified, they fled in a panic.

Chen Ming was a little surprised and muttered, “The terrain here is low-lying. It really is prone to gathering yin energy. Could it be a corpse transformation?”

But he quickly shook his head. “Impossible. Zombies are different from ghosts. Those things are inhuman. If a corpse had really transformed, the nearby village would’ve already seen bloodshed…”

He summoned the village head from a nearby village and asked, “Have there been any unusual deaths among people or livestock in the surrounding villages these past few days?”

The village head thought for a moment, then shook his head. “No.”

Chen Ming said, “Then it probably isn’t a corpse transformation. Just to be safe, let’s get a few people to open up all the coffins and take a look.”

Though the nearby villagers were afraid, with a few immortals present, several bold and sturdy men stepped forward and opened the dozen or so coffins laid out in the mortuary. According to Chen Ming’s instructions, they also checked the corpses’ teeth and fingernails—but found nothing unusual.

After thinking for a while, Chen Ming said, “I think I know what’s going on. It’s probably a case of a yin spirit causing trouble…”

Chen Ming clearly knew much more about ghosts and spirits than Li Yu or Zhou Zixuan. Li Yu also took this opportunity to learn more.

Yin spirits are remnants of a person’s soul after death. In rare cases, a person’s soul can turn into a yin spirit. Most of these spirits are extremely faint and gradually dissipate over time. But a few may, through instinct, find a place rich in yin energy to reside, allowing them to linger for a long time.

The longer a yin spirit exists, the more yin energy it gathers and the stronger it becomes. Eventually, it may even manifest a physical form, making it visible to the naked eye—like the female ghost they encountered last time.

Weaker yin spirits cannot fully manifest or possess living people. Sometimes, they’ll attach themselves to corpses and move around by controlling the body—appearing much like a corpse transformation.

That’s why, in many households, after a family member dies, strange things happen—such as the body twitching or, in some cases, the deceased seemingly crawling out of the grave at night. These are typically the tricks of yin spirits.

Chen Ming had already dealt with several similar cases during his two years at Baiyun Temple.

After listening, Zhou Zixuan rolled her eyes at him and said, “If this task is so simple, you could’ve handled it yourself. Why drag Junior Brother Li along…”

She was clearly voicing her complaint, but Chen Ming didn’t argue back.

Ever since he was possessed by a ghost last time, he’d felt uneasy dealing with anything related to spirits. Other missions were fine, but when ghosts were involved, he couldn’t shake his anxiety unless he brought backup.

Looking up at the sky, Chen Ming said to Li Yu, “Junior Brother, it’s still early. Why don’t we head into Fengzhou City first? I’ll take you to have some real fun. I know all the good places in town…”

As he spoke, he gave Li Yu a wink and made a face all men would understand.

Before Li Yu could respond, Zhou Zixuan snapped angrily, “Chen Ming! It’s bad enough that you’ve let yourself go—don’t corrupt Junior Brother too!”

Li Yu also said, “That won’t be necessary. But since it’s still early, we could go into Fengzhou City for a meal and return later tonight.”

Normal yin spirits don’t appear during the daytime—they only manifest at night.

The three of them headed into Fengzhou City, first finding an inn to stay in. After eating, Li Yu went out alone, bought a few things on the street, then returned to his room to cultivate. It wasn’t until nightfall that he regrouped with Chen Ming and Zhou Zixuan.

The trio flew at low altitude, moving slowly to conserve and gradually restore their spiritual power.

From a distance, they could already see the mortuary.

Under the ghastly pale moonlight, a tattered white lantern hung above the mortuary gate. The cold night wind howled mournfully, causing the lantern to sway wildly. The flickering shadows around the mortuary added a layer of eerie dread.

As they got closer, the three of them could feel the thick yin energy emanating from within.

With Li Yu and Zhou Zixuan at his side, Chen Ming felt much braver. Standing outside the mortuary, he shouted loudly, “Wandering ghosts and wild spirits—this is not a place for you! Leave now or face the consequences!”

As for demons and spirits, so long as they didn’t harm civilians, cultivators of the righteous path typically wouldn’t exterminate them outright. They would usually attempt reasoning first.

Of course, not all yin spirits and ghosts are willing to listen.

Some yin spirits retain the memories of their past lives, but a large number lose their intelligence after becoming spirits and act solely on instinct. If left unchecked, once they gain strength, it’s the common people who will suffer.

For those that are stubbornly unresponsive or lacking in sentience, there’s no choice but to eliminate them to prevent future harm.

As Chen Ming’s voice echoed, a violent surge of yin energy erupted from within the mortuary.

Poof—

A ghostly blue flame suddenly flew out from inside, heading straight for the three of them.

As it approached, Li Yu didn’t feel heat from the fire—instead, a chilling cold. As that wisp of flame flew forth, another seven or eight followed close behind. These yin spirits were no weaklings; they had already reached the level where they could condense ghost fire.

With a flick of his finger, Li Yu shot out several fireballs. They collided with the blue flames and both sides were extinguished upon impact.

Over a dozen phantom-like figures flew out from the mortuary.

Li Yu hadn’t expected so many yin spirits to be occupying the mortuary—and not weak ones either. While they weren’t as strong as the female ghost they’d encountered previously, they were on par with that old spirit that had led the group of yin spirits last time, exuding yin energy as powerful as a cultivator in the Qi-gathering stage.

These spirits were clearly more violent than the ones that had taken over the Ren residence. The moment they noticed the trio, they lunged at them directly.

Twelve ethereal figures formed vicious claws from condensed yin energy and attacked.

When dealing with yin spirits and ghosts, lightning spells are effective—but so are fire-based techniques. Chen Ming summoned a flaming saber in his hand, while Zhou Zixuan formed a long whip of flame. Each took on several of the ghosts attacking them.

Whoosh!

The whip cracked through the air. Two spirits were struck head-on, their illusory forms instantly shattering. She whipped again with a backhand, destroying two more.

On the other side, Chen Ming chased down several spirits with his flame saber, cutting them down with ease.

When they turned to look at Li Yu, they found he had already finished his fight—there wasn’t a single spirit left around him. With all three of them in the Qi Refining stage, taking out these ghosts—whose strength only equaled Qi-gathering—felt almost like bullying.

Li Yu looked down at his palm, then glanced at his chest.

In truth, he hadn’t even used any techniques. The moment those spirits came into contact with his palm, they dissolved into pure yin energy, which was then absorbed by the incense burner—confirming the suspicion he’d held in his heart.

Though there were quite a few spirits this time, it was still a task possible for someone at the Qi Refining stage. Chen Ming was already beginning to regret his decision—maybe he shouldn’t have brought Li Yu and Sister Zhou along after all…

Just as this thought crossed his mind, he heard both Li Yu and Zhou Zixuan shout at once:

“Watch out!”
“Look out!”

A chill shot straight to Chen Ming’s scalp. His heart sank as he whipped around—and saw the two lanterns hanging at the entrance of the mortuary suddenly burst into flames. Blazing fire transformed into a crimson figure that lunged straight at him.

“No way—not again!”

That was his last conscious thought before his body trembled. Something forcibly entered him, and in a daze, he seemed to see his late imperial grandmother waving at him once more…