Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 447 Types of Ghosts. (First Update!)

Step, step, step...

In the deserted market, the footsteps of Yin Congyi and his entourage were particularly clear.

At this moment, the cultivator wearing a coarse cloth robe with a scar on his left cheek, and another middle-aged female cultivator wearing a crimson short jacket and a yellow-green tattered skirt, walked ahead to clear the way. The scarred male cultivator kept making hand seals as he walked, as if he was calculating something.

The elderly cultivator in the dark green robe and the last young cultivator, a gaunt figure with a withered vine wrapped around his waist, brought up the rear.

The four Foundation Establishment cultivators each occupied a side, surrounding Yin Congyi.

Yin Congyi walked with his hands behind his back, his expression calm. He focused his gaze ahead, his eyes sweeping over the rows of buildings and looking into the depths of the street.

At this moment, the elderly cultivator in the dark green robe frowned slightly and suddenly said, "Young master, I think I've been to this market before!"

"Furthermore, the layout, design, and style of this market seem to perfectly match the questions in the imperial examination for immortality."

"I wonder if these are traces left by our predecessors during the imperial examinations, only to be swallowed up by some strange entity?"

Upon hearing this, Yin Congyi shook his head slightly and said calmly, "The questions for each of the imperial examinations are different."

“This market town has nothing to do with the imperial examination.”

"However, this place is indeed left by our predecessors."

"Although Blood Pass is shrouded in blood mist all year round, and its internal evil energy and yin energy are strong, breeding many ghosts, it is also rich in resources. The outer area alone has many mineral veins and various medicinal herbs."

"Deep within, rare and precious materials grow, coveted even by high-level cultivators."

"Therefore, the imperial court once sent many cultivators to explore the Blood Pass and reclaim the wasteland, and they gained a large amount of scarce resources in the early stages."

"But later, I don't know exactly what happened, but in short, all the cultivators who came to explore the land disappeared without a trace overnight!"

"The court has conducted numerous investigations into this matter and has likely uncovered some things, but I do not know the specifics."

"All we know is that after that upheaval, the imperial court directly abandoned its plan to bring Xue Tong Pass under its control..."

"The market town we see today was built by the group of cultivators who came to Xue Tong Pass to reclaim the wasteland."

"The questions for this immortal examination were based on that experience of pioneering the land."

Upon hearing this, the four Foundation Establishment subordinates were all surprised, as they had never heard of such a secret before.

The four of them were all cultivators served by the Duke of Dingguo's mansion. Their main purpose in accompanying Yin Congyi to participate in the immortal examination was to protect this most talented descendant of the Duke of Dingguo.

What puzzled them was that the imperial examination was a grand ceremony for selecting talents, and even the descendants of high-ranking officials were not allowed to leak the questions.

Therefore, prior to this immortal examination, the Duke of Dingguo's mansion had not received any information related to it...

As he pondered this, the gaunt cultivator suddenly realized, "No wonder there's not a single person in this market."

"May I ask, young master, were you able to know this information in advance by predicting the exam questions?"

Yin Congyi couldn't help but chuckle slightly upon hearing this. Had he guessed the exam question correctly?

How is that possible!

He had only just learned this information himself…

As he was thinking, he suddenly realized that something was wrong.

How did he know all this when he had only just begun exploring this "strange" place?
In a flash, Yin Congyi frowned and quickly looked around.

At this moment, they had left the main street and entered a wide alley. The alley was lined with high walls on both sides, with only a few doors open occasionally. Most of these doors were open, some of which were shops, and some of which seemed to be ordinary homes. In the courtyards, some half-dried medicinal herbs and leather were drying, and in one courtyard, there was even a swing hanging on a tree.

Judging from the lush moss in the corner, this alley has obviously been around for quite some time. Some harmless weeds grow in the cracks, but overall it is very clean, indicating that someone has been taking good care of it.

The scarred male cultivator and the crimson-clad female cultivator walked ahead of Yin Congyi, with the scarred male cultivator continuing to carefully calculate.

The elderly cultivator in the dark green robe brought up the rear alone, and the three of them formed a tripod, surrounding Yin Congyi.

Yin Congyi withdrew his gaze and frowned slightly. There were four people in their group. Who was he talking to just now?
He was very puzzled, but soon, for some reason, he put all his questions aside and remembered the important matter at hand.

I came to this "strange" place to obtain the "law" of this place, but I cannot waste time on such trivial matters.

So Yin Congyi composed himself and strode forward.

Step, step, step...

As he walked, Yin Congyi sensed something was amiss again. A female cultivator in crimson robes led the way, followed by an elderly cultivator in dark green robes. The three of them formed a single file, moving through the market, searching for traces of the "Law." This…

However, just like before, he pondered for a moment, then subconsciously dismissed the thought and continued on his way. After some time, Yin Congyi arrived at a secluded residence. The residence was not imposing, but it maintained a distance from the other buildings around it, sitting alone on the shore of a clear lake, its understated elegance revealing its refined taste.

At this moment, the house was quiet, and the plaque above the main gate simply read "Yuwen Mansion".

Yin Congyi raised his head, looked at the plaque, and nodded slightly.

This is it!
This is where the ward master who once established this market lived.

He could sense that there was something he needed in there!

The fragments of "law" should be here!

"strangeness!"

"Even the sons of wealthy families wouldn't sit under a dangerous roof, yet I entered this 'strange' place without bringing a single subordinate with me?"

"do not care!"

"Let's get our hands on the 'Law' first!"

In a flash, Yin Congyi walked straight to the door and reached out to push it open.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch the door in front of him, his entire body vanished like a bursting bubble.

The bright sunlight illuminated the empty space beneath the plaque of the Yuwen Mansion, where not a single person could be seen.

※※※

In the deserted market, Liao Zhanbo, with his flowing sleeves, led three candidates at the ninth level of Qi Refining through the streets and alleys, and soon arrived in front of a shop.

Without any hesitation, he went straight in.

There were no obvious signs outside the shop, so it was impossible to tell what it sold. The three Qi Refining Level 9 examinees followed Liao Zhanbo closely and squeezed inside.

Upon entering, they felt a chill. The three Qi Refining Level 9 examinees immediately noticed that the shop was made up of several rooms connected together, creating an exceptionally spacious interior.

In the main hall directly opposite the entrance, there was a long offering table with a bronze incense burner on it, containing a single, unlit incense stick.

Above the altar hangs a painting of water lilies, in which the water lilies are in full bloom, with a few bright red spots dotting the lush green, making it a vibrant sight.

On the open ground on both sides, there were coffins of different styles, exuding a gloomy atmosphere, which was completely different from the vibrant life of the water lilies.

The coffins were arranged neatly, supported by two long benches. The air still smelled of fresh paint, and on the shelves next to them were incense, candles, and paper money.

Seeing this scene before them, the three Qi Refining Level 9 examinees felt a chill run down their spines. Jiang Zhaojie swallowed hard and hesitated before asking, "Senior Liao, aren't we supposed to be looking for an exit?"

Why did you come into this coffin shop?

Liao Zhanbo stopped in the middle of the main hall, flicked his sleeves to close the door, and then turned to look at Jiang Zhaojie, Chu Xiuping, and Bu Jianliang in front of him, a strange smile appearing on his face.

"Don't rush," he replied unhurriedly, walking towards a completely black coffin. He said, "You are all cultivators of the imperial court. Do you know how many types of ghosts there are in this world?"

Hearing this, Jiang Zhaojie, Chu Xiuping, and Bu Jianliang were all confused, not understanding why Liao Zhanbo would ask such a question. However, considering that the three of them had low cultivation levels and still needed to rely on the other party to survive in this "strange" place, they exchanged glances and then Chu Xiuping said, "Ghosts can be broadly classified into 'vengeful spirits,' 'fierce spirits,' 'mysterious,' 'evil spirits,' 'wickedness,' and 'strangeness.'"

"Among them, 'vengeful spirits' and 'fierce spirits' are the weakest and are the primary targets of the [Ghost Control Technique]. They are usually wandering ghosts."

“‘Strange and mysterious’ is relatively rare. It is a collection of many resentful thoughts. The more resentful thoughts there are, the more chaotic it becomes…”

"As for 'evil spirits,' they are rather special."

"It is said that it existed in the world before the celestial changes, and therefore it has a very high resistance to yang energy."

"Under normal circumstances, neither the [Ghost Control Technique] nor the [Soul Contract] is very effective against 'evil spirits'."

“The birth of ‘evil’ is basically related to man-made disasters. They usually have an unspeakable hatred for the living and are very difficult to kill.”

“'Strange'... What we are encountering now is 'strange'.”

"'The strange thing' isn't a single entity, but an entire area that has turned into ghosts..."

At this moment, Liao Zhanbo had already walked to the side of the dark coffin. He stretched out his palm and placed it on the coffin lid, saying in a booming voice, "Wrong!"

"There are only two kinds of ghosts in this world."

"One type is a born ghost!"

"There is another type, which is a ghost that has been transformed from a human!"

(End of this chapter)