Chasing after her husband? Is it even possible to win him back?

In the very center of the circle, a line of numbers was displayed.

Current Targeted Refining Progress: 3.7%

This familiar feeling.

As Chu Xunfeng walked down the street, a slight smile appeared on his lips. After taking a deep breath, he headed towards the gatehouse at the entrance of the Ghost Market.

Now that we have a direction, let's wait until we've filled up this item in the refining function and obtained the physical item before making any further plans.

Chu Xunfeng now needs Yin Sha Pearls, a large number of Yin Sha Pearls, to feed the system's progress bar.

Just as Chu Xunfeng's work was making perfect progress, the Ning family in Liucheng, Bianzhou, fell into a deathly silence.

The news that Ning Qiu Ning brought back from the Supreme Sword Sect was like a thunderbolt to the two elderly people in the Ning family, shaking them to their core.

Giving up nearly 80% of the Ning family's assets at that time, the entire family moved away from Liucheng, abandoning the connections and resources accumulated over decades, and settled in Liangcheng, where the headquarters of the Cultivator Alliance was located in Bianzhou. From then on, they were no longer destined for wealth and honor.

The Ning family elders wrote a letter intending to use their daughter's identity, strength, or some other power they were completely unaware of but which might exist, to resolve this undeserved disaster caused by Chu Xunfeng.

But... the result Ning Qiu Ning brought to her parents after returning home was clearly unacceptable to them. Standing in the huge living room, Ning Qiu Ning looked at her parents, who were bowing their heads in silence, without saying a word.

In her view, the Bianzhou Cultivator Alliance was willing to protect the Ning family out of respect for the Supreme Sword Sect and to help the Ning family resist the pressure from the Bronze Fang Beast.

Zhu Han'e stood outside the reception room door, holding her sword, remaining silent.

"Qiu Ning, is there really no other way..." Ning's father's lips trembled as he uttered a sentence that sounded like a desperate plea.

Ning Qiu Ning shook her head at her father's pleading gaze. "There's no way."

"I told you back then not to take in that jinx, not to take in that jinx! He's brought bad luck to the entire Chu family! But you wouldn't listen." Mother Ning roared, but her voice was weak and strained.

Ning Qiu Ning frowned slightly, remaining silent. Having come this far, surely everyone had their problems? Herself, her parents, Zhu Han'e outside the door...

The only innocent one was Brother Chu, who knew nothing at all.

For a moment, only Ning's mother could be heard repeatedly in the living room, saying, "Say something!"

After a long silence, Ning's father suddenly stood up, turned and stared intently at his wife, letting out a roar like a lion, "Shut up after you've had your fill of howling!"

"Chu Xunfeng, what happened to Chu Xunfeng! All the gold and silver that followed Chu Xunfeng into our Ning family back then, is there still a single coin left?!"

"It's all retribution! It's all retribution!"

"You have long hair but short brains, and my eyesight is failing me!"

"It's all the Ning family's fault!"

"A jinx...this jinx is someone we ourselves brought into the Ning family!!"

After a furious roar, Ning's father, panting heavily, stood for a long time, leaning on the chair for support, before finally turning around and sitting heavily back down.

The man waved his hand helplessly at his daughter, "Qiu Ning, do as you wish. We don't understand the affairs of the cultivation world... Keep what we can. If it's difficult to keep and makes things difficult for you and the sect, it doesn't matter if we give it all to the Cultivator Alliance."

"They are all unclean things, all Chu Xunfeng's things. It all started because of him, and it all ended because of him. In the end, he was able to save the Ning family's life... It's really a cruel twist of fate."

"Father... Mother..." Ning Qiu Ning looked at her mother, whose hair was disheveled and who was silent, and her father, who looked as if he had aged ten years and whose spirit had been completely broken. "Is there something you're hiding from me?"

Ning's father looked up and met his daughter's suspicious and wary gaze, and sighed deeply.

"...When we arrive in Liangcheng, I will tell you..."

"Tell me about the foolish things I and your mother did."

Ning Qiu Ning remained silent for a while, then finally nodded gently and did not ask any further questions.

Now is certainly not the time.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Yin Qi, Calamity, and Turbid Qi

The sky over the Black Forest is always indistinct, making it difficult to discern light from darkness.

Having lived in the Black Forest for a long time, Hongzhu could barely tell the time from the sky, but for Lao Wang, he had almost no concept of time.

The sky was always gloomy and dark to him, as he was so engrossed in the stories about the ghost race's cultivation told by Hongzhu that he was completely unaware of the passage of time.

After Hongzhu finished speaking, she suddenly changed her mind and said, "Alright, that's enough for today. What I've told you today are just the basics. Take good care of them. If there's anything you don't understand, ask me now."

Old Wang pondered for a moment, then spoke directly, "Miss Hongzhu, there's something I don't understand. You said that our Ghost Clan needs to use Yin Sha Pearls to absorb Yin Sha during cultivation, so why don't we absorb Yin Sha directly from this... um, environment?"

As Old Wang spoke, he glanced around the courtyard. Yin Sha is a negative energy for living beings, but for the Ghost Clan, they are born with the ability to sense the presence of Yin Sha. At this moment, the courtyard was filled with turbid Yin Sha energy.

“It’s good that you’re asking this question.” Red Candle smiled. “Let me ask you, do you know the difference between Yin Sha and Turbid Qi?”

Old Wang shook his head.

He himself didn't know how long he listened to Hongzhu talk before he could barely remember the Ghost Clan's cultivation system. As for the turbid energy and such, Hongzhu hadn't mentioned it, so he definitely didn't know.

"That's it. You should know that the Ghost Clan has existed for a very long time. If there really were such an easy way to filter out the turbid energy in Yin Sha, the Yin Sha Pearl wouldn't be the lifeblood of the Ghost Clan."

“Since we’ve brought it up, I’ll tell you more about turbid energy, so you won’t be tempted to try it out and kill yourself a second time.” Hongzhu, who was about to get up and rest, started talking again. “There are many kinds of energy in this world. The blood and qi that humans forge and temper, the military intent gained from cultivating weapons, and the spiritual energy used by magic cultivators are all [pure].

"clear?"

“Clear Qi.” Hongzhu nodded. “Clear Qi rises, and turbid Qi sinks. As you can tell from the name, clear water can be drunk directly, but turbid water will upset your stomach or even kill you.”

"The same applies to the nature of power. The Yin Sha used by the Ghost Clan and the Demon Qi used by the Demon Clan are both leaning towards turbid Qi."

“Turbid energy is inherently turbid.” Red Candle stared at Old Wang. “But even the most turbid energy has a usable part. In this respect, it depends on each person’s talent, and the same applies to us ghosts.”

"The Yin energy within the Yin Fiend Pearl is like water that's been tempted by a few grains of sand. If you're careful, you can absorb most of it to strengthen yourself." Red Candle looked at Old Wang, who seemed lost in thought. "Now, feel for yourself what state the Yin energy in this Black Forest is in."

"...silt." Old Wang sensed it for a while before muttering the answer to himself.

Even the mud is an exaggeration. Mud can at least be squeezed to produce some water, but the Yin energy that fills the Black Forest is almost as murky as damp clay.

Is there any water?

Have.

Can the water in the clay be squeezed out and used?

impossible.

With the metaphor of the red candle, even a ghost like Old Wang, who didn't know much about the cultivation world, could understand some of the principles.

“You are a glass of clear water. All newborn ghosts can be seen as a glass of clear water. In order to maintain their ‘purity’ as much as possible, the purer the Yin energy they absorb during cultivation, the better.” Red Candle looked at Old Wang. “You don’t understand, you don’t know, but I’m telling you clearly.”

“Randomly absorbing the Yin Sha from the Yin Sha Pearl also carries great risks.” Hong Zhu warned Lao Wang with a serious expression. “The Yin Sha Pearl is a remnant of other ghosts after they have disappeared. It contains certain emotions and memories of its former owner. If you absorb and use the Yin Sha Pearl without screening, you will gradually become another ghost in the eyes of others, but you will not be aware of it yourself.”

"Until one day, you suddenly realize you've changed, and you're no longer the 'clear water' you were at the beginning..."

Hongzhu raised her clenched fist, placed it in front of Lao Wang, gently exhaled, and opened her five fingers.

"Whoosh... With a gust of wind, you shattered into pieces and vanished."

"Because your obsession has changed?" Old Wang frowned.

"Similar, but more complicated. Your existence is because you are 'Old Wang' and remember the name 'Wang Yuan'er'."

“When these things that support your existence increase, you will no longer be yourself.” Hongzhu pointed at Old Wang. “In short, I have told you everything I needed to tell you. Now it’s up to you to see what arrangements the young master has when he returns.”

"Thank you, Miss Hongzhu." Old Wang breathed a soft sigh of relief and calmed down, but his expression flickered, clearly still digesting the knowledge that Hongzhu had taught him throughout the day.

Old Wang does have some wisdom. He can quickly understand things in the cultivation world as long as there are obvious examples. However, this makes things difficult for Hongzhu, who teaches Old Wang, because some things are difficult to explain and must be understood intuitively.

However, she racked her brains to complete the task assigned by the young master.

Just as she was thinking about Chu Xunfeng, the gate to the courtyard suddenly opened, and Chu Xunfeng, with the speed of the wind, strode into the courtyard. "Hongzhu, I have something for you to see."

Hongzhu and Lao Wang were interrupted from their train of thought, and the two ghosts looked at the young man who quickly walked to the stone table.

Chu Xunfeng didn't waste any words. He placed what he was holding on the table and looked at the dazed Hongzhu. "Have you seen this before?"

Two round beads the size of a thumbnail, and an irregularly shaped crystal.

A piece of something that was dark in color yet transparent, filled with murky impurities.

It was translucent, filled with a grayish-purple mist.

A lump of dark color, resembling a natural, translucent, dark red crystal.

"Young Master... this is..." Hongzhu stared in disbelief, as if struck by lightning, and turned to look at Chu Xunfeng in a daze.

Chu Xunfeng noticed Hongzhu's exaggerated expression and understood what was going on. "This one, full of impurities, is the Turbid Qi Pearl."

Old Wang had a sudden thought and made a guess about the remaining two beads. In order to verify his guess, he tried to judge for himself using the method that Hongzhu had taught him.

Then, he was stunned.

“This grayish-purple one is a Yin Qi Bead.” Chu Xunfeng suppressed his emotions.

"Then, this black and red crystal is called the Calamity Fiend." Chu Xunfeng took a deep breath.

“Yin Sha has never been the same thing.” Chu Xunfeng looked at the two impurities and one pure substance produced by the system after continuously refining hundreds of low-grade Yin Sha beads, and took a deep breath.

"I now have a deal that's so big that I don't even dare to do it with the Westerners' Council."

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Messenger Arrives

As a ghost, her perception of the world is completely different from when she was a living person. Since becoming a ghost due to her obsession, Hongzhu has not experienced that feeling of her heart pounding wildly for a long time.

Excitement, shock, even a strange kind of fervor...

All these emotions stemmed from the two beads and a crystal that lay on the stone table in front of him.