Xiuxian, I have a high martial arts world

Chapter 120 Jade ghost stealing souls, dog skin puppet!
Lin Chen walked to the pile of raw jade stones in the corner of the yard.

Several huge raw stones, each more than one meter tall, were piled together, with a lot of weeds growing in the gaps.

"Well, the raw stone is huge and indeed difficult to transport...but why not sell it before leaving Yudai City?"

Lin Chen was somewhat confused.

In the secular world, jade is very expensive.

Even an uncut raw jade stone is worth a fortune.

Even if the Zheng family left in a hurry, they should have sold these rough stones or cut them to extract the jade before leaving...

"Something's wrong..."

Lin Chen frowned slightly, waved his hand to release the protective true energy, and slowly approached the huge jade stones.

His spiritual sense extended out, and the details of the jade were clearly visible. He prepared to observe it carefully.

But from the appearance, these pieces are just ordinary jade, without any abnormality.

So, Lin Chen probed his consciousness into the jade...

Spiritual consciousness can amplify the five senses of a cultivator, and can also allow the cultivator to see things that are invisible beyond the five senses.

For example, his spiritual consciousness can directly penetrate the ordinary stones outside the original stone and see the beautiful jade in the original stone.

"Hmm? The Zheng family has a good eye... There are beautiful jades in these rough stones..."

Lin Chen nodded silently. If measured by ordinary money, it would not be an exaggeration to say that these beautiful jades are worth a fortune.

Even among cultivators, this jade is very valuable.

Lin Chen's spiritual sense carefully scanned several raw stones and quickly detected the innermost one.

After his spiritual sense penetrated, Lin Chen was stunned by the beautiful jade wrapped in the raw stone.

"Hiss... This jade is too big?"

Lin Chen was stunned. Most of the stone inside this raw stone, which was more than a person's height, was actually beautiful jade.

Moreover, the jade is naturally formed, emerald green and transparent...it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"The jade in this rough stone... can be called the king of jade!"

Lin Chen sighed.

But then he thought of something and his face changed...

"Wait, this kind of beautiful jade has already produced chalcedony... Could it be able to give birth to a jade ghost?"

Lin Chen's eyes were filled with doubt and uncertainty.

There are tens of thousands of ancient books in the Changchun Gate Sutra Library.

Lin Chen spent two years recording them one by one and moving them back to Blue Star.

During the recording process, Lin Chen would naturally read carefully when he encountered something that interested him.

Among them, there is a record of the jade ghost!

In the common people's cognition, jade can nourish people, but it can also hurt people...

If jade is worn correctly, it can prolong life, cultivate sentiment, and has many wonderful benefits...

But if worn incorrectly, it can even be harmful to your body.

For monks, beautiful jade is also extremely precious.

Whether it is setting up an array or refining an elixir, jade may be used...

Among them, there is one thing called chalcedony!

The so-called chalcedony is a by-product formed after jade has been nurtured for tens of millions of years.

It is as crystal clear as jade, but in liquid form.

It is not only beneficial to the practice of monks, but can also be used as medicine and in formations, and has many wonderful uses.

Even the Jindan cultivators covet the chalcedony.

But if a large amount of chalcedony gathers, it is easy to give rise to another existence...

Jade ghost!

Jade can gather and nourish souls, but it can also hurt people!
If there is too much chalcedony, it will attract wronged souls and spirits, and then it will gather into the legendary jade ghost!
According to rumors, the nature of jade ghosts is unpredictable, some are good ghosts, some are evil ghosts...

But Jade Ghosts are extremely rare, and are rare talents among ghost cultivators...

If a powerful jade ghost reaches a certain level of cultivation, it can even condense its body with jade marrow.

Various rumors flashed through Lin Chen’s mind.

Just as he was wondering, the jade in front of him suddenly moved.

A strange green light flashed from the raw stone, and then the sky above the Zheng Mansion seemed to be shrouded in dark clouds, and the sky suddenly darkened.

After a gust of wind blew the fallen leaves...

A strange sound came.

"Hehe, you actually discovered the little guy..."

After hearing this, Lin Chen's face changed.

However, a terrifying energy wave rushed towards Lin Chen.

This fluctuation completely ignored the body's protective essence...

Yes - soul attack!
Lin Chen immediately felt a shock all over his body and his head felt dizzy...

"Sure enough, there is a jade ghost..."

Caught off guard, Lin Chen immediately sat cross-legged, holding his Yuan and guarding his spirit.

Use your own spiritual power to resist this spiritual attack.

Lin Chen's expression kept changing, and he seemed to see a ball of black ghost fog surrounding him.

And constantly devouring his own soul.

"Good boy, your physical aptitude is good... I want it!"

The jade ghost grinned fiercely and charged at Lin Chen's soul madly.

From time to time, he would say something to disturb Lin Chen's mind.

But Lin Chen was not at all panicked. He just kept practicing the Tian Yan Jue and fighting with his soul.

After a brief stalemate, the jade ghost let out a frightened sound.

"No, how is this possible?"

"Your soul strength...is not what a foundation-building cultivator should have!"

"You...are you a Jindan cultivator?"

The jade ghost rushed into Lin Chen's body, intending to take over his body.

But when he failed to disperse Lin Chen's soul, he panicked.

He tried to escape from Lin Chen's body, but was suppressed by Lin Chen's consciousness.

"Haha, the offensive and defensive forces are different!"

"If you had hidden in that jade, I would have been helpless against you... but now, you are seeking death yourself!"

Lin Chen sneered and continued to practice the Tian Yan Jue, constantly attacking the Jade Ghost's soul.

This jade ghost has only been conscious for a few years, but has taken the path of ghost cultivation.

He has already reached the late stage of Soul Condensation for ghost cultivators, which is equivalent to the late stage of Foundation Establishment for ordinary cultivators.

Moreover, ghost cultivators are good at spiritual cultivation, and their spiritual strength is not weaker than that of those who have completed the foundation building...

Unfortunately, the person he met was Lin Chen!

The strength of the soul at the ninth level of foundation building, coupled with the practice of Tian Yan Jue, made Lin Chen's soul far beyond the perfection of foundation building.

It's not even much worse than the Fake Dan Realm...

Now that the ghost cultivator's spirit had come to him, Lin Chen gradually fought back after stabilizing his position.

About half an hour passed.

The Jade Ghost's soul was getting weaker and weaker, and had been badly beaten by Lin Chen, almost falling from the Soul Condensation stage to the Soul Gathering (Qi Refining) stage.

At this time, the jade ghost began to beg for mercy.

"Have mercy! Fellow Daoist, please have mercy!"

"I lost my mind for a moment and made a mistake... I hope you will spare my life. I am willing to give you all the chalcedony..."

Lin Chen remained unmoved and continued to suppress the jade ghost's soul.

It was not until his realm completely fell to the Soul Condensation Realm that Lin Chen slowly spoke:

"You Jade Ghost, who are you? Why did you attack me... Tell me quickly!"

The Jade Ghost knew that his life and death depended on Lin Chen's thoughts, so he quickly said:
"I am a jade ghost nurtured by chalcedony... As for my appearance in the Zheng residence, it is because my current identity is also Zheng Sanyuan..."

Soon, the jade ghost explained his origins clearly.

Just as described in the story Lin Chen had seen.

This jade ghost is condensed from the residual souls and spirits wandering in the human world, and is naturally nurtured by chalcedony.

After the jade was dug out by the Zheng family, it remained in the Zheng Mansion for several years.

Until one day, he became evil-minded and killed the son of the Zheng family (Zheng Sanyuan) and devoured his soul.

Since the Jade Ghost had no physical body, after devouring Master Zheng's soul, they essentially merged into one and could be considered one person.

From then on, he called himself Zheng Sanyuan.

After hearing Yu Gui's introduction, Lin Chen already had a rough guess in his mind.

So he asked:
"Humph, the Jade Ghost is originally the spirit nurtured by heaven and earth, but you are doing something like stealing its soul. You are really ruining your own cultivation!"

"Let me ask you, the nightmare spell that Nan Lingling from Mufang was cast by...was it you who cast it?"

Although this jade ghost has some cultivation, he is still young, so he nodded honestly and said:
"Yes, it was the little ghost who did it... After I devoured Zheng Sanyuan's soul, I was influenced by him and naturally developed a liking for Nan Lingling. I wanted to combine with her in a dream..."

Lin Chen sneered when he heard this and was about to ask again.

Unexpectedly, the Jade Ghost continued:
"Of course, this is only one of the reasons... More importantly, Nan Lingling is born with a Yin-pulse ghost body, which is the supreme physique for ghost cultivators!"

"In the past three years, every time I met her in my dreams, my realm and cultivation level continued to improve... If I don't seize this great opportunity to condense the ghost pill, wouldn't it be a waste of God's gift?!"

The jade ghost spoke with confidence, and there was even a hint of grievance in his tone.

Lin Chen was also stunned after hearing this. He didn't expect that the kid would explain it so straightforwardly.

"Well, Nan Lingling's problem has been solved...but what does that skinning incident have to do with this little ghost?"

"The way of ghost cultivation... doesn't seem to require skinning and blood sacrifice..."

Lin Chen frowned and thought, then asked:

"Then let me ask you again, the skinning incident in the city... was done by you!" The Jade Ghost nodded and admitted:
"It was the little devil who did it..."

Lin Chen frowned slightly.

But the Jade Ghost continued:
"But it's not all done by just one little ghost..."

"..." Lin Chen raised his eyebrows, used his soul to charge at the Jade Ghost to teach it a lesson, and then scolded:

"Are you still keeping me in suspense? If you have anything to say, just say it all at once!"

Jade Ghost was frightened and begged for mercy:

"The little devil has confessed everything... Daoist friend, please spare his life!"

"In fact, for a little ghost, peeling off a person's skin is of no use at all..."

"But a few years ago, I met a man who told me to peel off people's skin and use it for their own purposes?"

"Who?" Lin Chen frowned.

"I don't know either...but from what he said, it seems to be from a force called Puppet Hall..." Yu Gui explained honestly.

Puppet Hall! ?
One of the four major demonic forces!

Lin Chen's heart skipped a beat, guessing that he might have found the real culprit.

So he asked again: "Why does the Puppet Hall peel people's skin?"

Yu Gui did not hide anything and explained:

"Of course it's for refining puppets..."

"That person told me that they have a secret method to destroy the soul of a mortal, leaving only the body... and then peel off the mortal's skin, leaving only the flesh and blood skeleton."

"Skin the black dog and put it on the dead. The resulting dog-skin puppet is very powerful, invulnerable to water and fire, and difficult to be damaged by swords. Ordinary Qi Refining cultivators are no match for it..."

After hearing this, Lin Chen had already guessed the whole story.

The people from the Puppet Hall came to Yudai City several years ago in order to refine this dog-skin puppet, and they happened to encounter the Jade Ghost.

So the Jade Ghost killed people and took their souls for him...

Then, the black dog skin is draped over the dead body, and finally a dog skin puppet is made.

So, here comes the second strange thing in the city.

Someone in the south of the city saw a monster staring at a dog's head walking around the city, and it was clear...

Maybe it’s not a dog’s head, but just a person in dog’s skin.

But as the sky gradually darkened, it was understandable that passers-by made mistakes...

"Let me ask you again, since the Black Dog is used to skin and refine puppets...what about the Black Dog Gang in the south of the city?"

"The Black Dog Gang is a stronghold of the Puppet Hall... They raise black dogs just to skin them! Tsk tsk, fellow Daoist, you have no idea how bloody the skinning scene is... It takes several dog skins to refine a puppet!"

Before Lin Chen finished asking his questions, the jade ghost confessed everything in one breath.

After hearing this, Lin Chen frowned slightly again.

But according to what the blind fortune teller said before, the people from the Black Dog Gang also helped Yudai City drive away the vengeful ghosts.

Why is the cemetery outside the city haunted and causing harm to people?

Thinking of this, Lin Chen asked again:

"Then let me ask you another question... Is there something haunted about the cemetery outside the city?"

Hearing this, Yu Gui hurriedly said:

"Fellow Daoist, I know about this! But after I've confessed everything, can you let me go?"

Lin Chen nodded and said, "It depends on your performance."

Jade Ghost then said:

"The cemetery outside the city, oh no...it was originally a mass grave!"

"Ghosts have been gathering there for years...until two years ago, a few people came there, claiming to be ghost exorcists."

"They raise ghosts and fight ghosts in that mass grave, saying that they want to raise a top-notch evil ghost..."

"Actually, I didn't know about this, but I was born a Jade Ghost and was blessed by nature. The people from the Ghost Exorcist Sect came to me and wanted to recruit me!"

Lin Chen raised his eyebrows after hearing this. There was actually a hint of pride in the words of this Jade Ghost.

"The Exorcist Sect, the Puppet Hall... Two of the four great demonic forces have come directly!"

"It seems that the devil's plan is indeed very big..."

Lin Chen thought silently in his heart.

"Let me ask you again, what is the approximate strength of the people from the Ghost Exorcist Sect and the Puppet Hall?"

After hearing this, Yu Gui flattered:
"They are similar to the little ghost. They are both cultivators who have completed the foundation building or soul condensation... They are far inferior to the great cultivation level of Daoist friend!"

Jade Ghost must have mistaken Lin Chen for a Jindan cultivator.

But this made Lin Chen even more confused.

"How can a mere foundation-building cultivator seal off a city?"

"The huge Jade Belt City, with a formation covering dozens of miles in radius... would require several Jindan cultivators to work together to set it up!"

Lin Chen was very confused and asked the Jade Ghost again, but he didn't know either.

After all, he had never left Yudai City.

"Okay, is there anything else you want to say?"

"The little devil has said everything he needs to say."

"Well, in that case, then go and die!"

"Wait...wait! The little devil has something else to say!"

Jade Ghost Sword Lin Chen wanted to take action, but was instantly frightened.

He felt a little resentful. Why were the human cultivators so distrustful?

But in order to survive, he still said:
"Daoyou, if you don't kill me... I will tell you a place where there are countless chalcedony! It is the place where I was born..."

Lin Chen raised his eyebrows when he heard this. He didn’t know whether the jade ghost was lying or telling the truth.

But he had no means to control the jade ghost, so he still prepared to kill it.

Seeing this, the Jade Ghost said quickly:
"Fellow Daoist, spare my life! I can serve you like a slave and obey your orders!"

"Oh! How can I guarantee your sincerity? It's better to kill you and save yourself the trouble!" Lin Chen sneered.

"I can hand over my soul to you... From now on my life and death will depend on your decision! I only ask you to spare my life..." the jade ghost begged for mercy.

The soul of the natal...

Lin Chen narrowed his eyes. He had heard that ghost cultivators had treacherous methods.

It can be divided into thousands of souls... but there is only one natal soul. As long as the natal soul does not disperse, the ghost cultivator will not die.

At the same time, controlling the ghost cultivator's soul is equivalent to controlling the life and death of the ghost cultivator!
Thinking of this, Lin Chen said:

"Well, you hand over your soul first!"

The jade ghost nodded, and although he was extremely reluctant, he still separated his soul.

He separated a green soul, which turned into a piece of jade when it entered Lin Chen's hand.

The jade was crystal clear, but it seemed as if a miniature ghost face was sealed inside.

"The soul of the Jade Ghost condenses into jade..."

"But this Jade Ghost has revealed so much, it's not clear if he's just pretending to be stupid or if he's really stupid..."

Lin Chen nodded slightly and thought silently in his heart.

Then he asked again: "Then how can you follow me?"

"The little ghost was born from the warmth of chalcedony and can live in any jade artifact!" the Jade Ghost confessed.

Lin Chen then nodded, took out the flying knife, and cut all the jade stones.

He took out several tons of jade, polished it into a jade pendant, and let the jade ghost live in it.

Afterwards, he took out chalcedony from the innermost jade.

First, take out the purple jade gourd, which is a natural treasure for storing liquids.

Afterwards, he used a knife to cut a very deep cut in the raw stone.

Immediately afterwards, the emerald green and crystal clear chalcedony flowed out like liquid and was put into the purple jade gourd by Lin Chen.

Lin Chen estimated that this chalcedony weighed at least one ton.

"Tsk tsk, chalcedony is worth ten thousand kilograms... This more than ton of chalcedony must be worth more than hundreds of thousands of spirit stones, right?" he thought silently.

However, chalcedony has many wonderful features.

It can heal wounds, make elixirs, speed up cultivation, and even make weapons and set up formations...

Lin Chen naturally wanted to keep such a treasure for himself.

At the same time, he was a little curious.

"Is what the Jade Ghost said about the place where many chalcedony are hidden true or false?"

Looking at the mysterious look of Jade Ghost, Lin Chen could believe it about 60 percent.

However, Lin Chen did not need to ask him about the location of the chalcedony.

Wouldn't we know the answer if we just find out where the Zheng family dug out these raw jade stones?

After erasing all traces in Zheng’s mansion, Lin Chen turned and left.

After returning to the inn, Lin Chen thought silently in his mind.

According to Yugui, he skinned people almost every day.

But now that he has been captured by me, it means that tomorrow at the latest, the Puppet Hall monks in the city will know about it...

"However, I am currently in the dark... As long as I am careful, the Puppet Hall may not know that it was me who did it!"

Lin Chen murmured.

Besides, Yugui said that he was not the only one who skinned people in the city.

There were also several other evil foundation-building cultivators from the Puppet Hall who were skinning people.

"If we can capture the cultivators of the Puppet Hall... maybe we can figure out the strength of the person behind the scenes."

"There's also a mass grave outside the city... maybe we can go check it out."

Lin Chen rubbed his fingers, thinking carefully in his mind.

Although Yu Gui said that the strength of those evil practitioners has not reached the Jindan stage, it is still better to be cautious.

"Tonight, let Long Ba and Feng Jiu go and test it out..."

(End of this chapter)