Immortality begins with upgrading buildings

Chapter 359 Yin Ghost Sect - Ji Yuan! [10,000 words, seeking monthly votes]

Three storage bags were placed in front of Ji Yuan.

These were gifts from three Golden Core cultivators who risked their lives.

What is meant by "gifts given in the face of death"?

That means he would rather die than not give me this storage bag.

Zhou Jin, the young master of the Golden Core stage; Ling Juexiao, the ruthless man of the Golden Core stage; and Long Zhanye, the man of the Golden Core stage.

After killing Zhou Jin, Ji Yuan was so busy escaping that he only took the 80 jin of Void Stones inside, and hadn't had time to count the remaining treasures.

Then we hurriedly traveled to this secret realm.

Then there's no need to say more.

Even now... Ji Yuan first took stock of the spirit stones he was least interested in, but even so, he still exclaimed, "The more the better."

The one with the most spirit stones in his storage bag was naturally Young Master Zhou, who came from a Nascent Soul family.

There are nearly 40000 spirit stones alone. The spirit stones in the storage bags of Ling Juexiao and Long Zhanye combined are barely comparable to those of Young Master Zhou.

This is already considered quite a lot among all Core Formation cultivators.

The reason is simple: cultivators who venture out to explore secret realms usually bring all their possessions with them, so killing such people often yields the greatest rewards.

Ji Laomo also said, "I like cultivators who carry all their wealth with them the most."

Even with the Hundred Insect Immortal he killed earlier, he still had to chase him all the way to his cave before he could get his precious treasure.

But these two are different; they have all the good stuff on them.

Ji Yuan had a habit of saving the best things for last, so of the three storage bags, the first one he checked was Zhou Jin, who was in the early stage of the Golden Core realm.

Aside from the spirit stones and the Void Stones that had already been taken, the most valuable thing left was his natal magic weapon.

Of course, this is certainly not the foundation of the Zhou family, an old-established Nascent Soul family.

However, when Ji Yuan killed Zhou Jin... the latter was completely unprepared, and it could even be considered as if he were at home. Therefore, most of his wealth was not in his possession.

Killing this kind of person is the worst thing you can do.

But when Ji Yuan took out his natal magic weapon, he found that it was quite good.

The magical artifact is called "Blood Fang Hook". It is a half-foot-long curved hook with sharp teeth and a blood-red sheen on its surface. The handle is wrapped with an unknown cloth.

Ji Yuan only needed to refine it slightly to know the effect of the Blood Fang Hook.

Its effects are threefold. The first is to break through defenses. The tips of these blood-tooth hooks are extremely sharp, making them highly effective at breaking through defenses and easily piercing through the protective aura of cultivators of the same level.

Secondly, it sucks blood; once hooked, the Blood Fang Hook will continuously suck the blood and energy from the target.

If you still want to get rid of it at this point, you need to have the courage to cut off your own arm.

At the very least, a large chunk of flesh would have to be cut away.

Thirdly, it can also be used to escape.

This blood-tooth hook contains a hidden chain. Once its mechanism is activated, the tooth tip will fly out and can grab the ground, the clouds, and even the water.

Once caught, the mechanism can be released, allowing for an instant escape.

Its burst speed over short distances is far faster than the escape light of cultivators of the same level.

It was quite useful for escaping, and it worked well, so Ji Yuan naturally chose to keep it to refine.

There were also some cultivation techniques, but most of them were only for Core Formation cultivators. The Zhou family's Nascent Soul cultivation technique... Zhou Jin didn't carry it with him, which was a great loss for Ji Yuan.

Next up is Ling Juexiao's storage bag. Ji Yuan has already seen his natal magic weapon, which is a flying sword that looks like it's made of blood.

Its name is Blood Marrow Sword.

For Ji Yuan, a sword cultivator, his natal flying sword... is barely usable for fighting on ordinary days, but in terms of power and the degree of mastery and application...

Ji Yuan's Canglan Sword is definitely better.

Putting everything else aside, the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder alone is something that no other flying sword can match.

Besides this, although Ji Yuan did not find Ling Juexiao's inherited cultivation method, he did find two other techniques.

The first one is the sword technique used by Ling Juexiao, named "Seven Kill Sword Art". It shares the same origin as his natal magic weapon, so the power it can unleash is also several times greater.

This sword technique is an extreme sword cultivation method that pursues attack and killing. The sword energy cultivated carries a sharp killing intent that can disturb people's minds and destroy their magical treasures.

The progress in cultivation is also faster than ordinary sword techniques, but the only drawback is that it requires constant honing of sword intent in battles and killings, otherwise it is easy to backfire and suffer from qi deviation.

Ji Yuan had previously sensed that Ling Juexiao's killing intent was quite strong, as he had clearly seen when Ling Juexiao killed Su Yuan earlier.

Now it seems that it was mostly influenced by this sword technique.

Whether or not to practice Buddhism, Ji Yuan felt he needed to consider it carefully.

Another technique that Ji Yuan found useful was the escape technique that Ling Juexiao used to escape.

Now, Ji Yuan has also found the jade slip recording this escape technique in his storage bag.

The escape technique is called "Blood Shadow Escape." Ordinary escape techniques consume mana, but this escape technique consumes not only mana but also blood essence.

Therefore, each time it is used, one suffers a great loss of energy.

It can only be used as a life-saving escape technique.

However, after carefully examining the jade slip, Ji Yuan discovered that the escape technique seemed to be incomplete. The complete "Blood Shadow Escape" should not damage one's essence and blood.

If that's the case, then it's even more important not to learn it.

I'll just have to wait and see if I can find the complete "Blood Shadow Escape" in the future, and then try to understand some of its secrets.

After transferring the two cultivation techniques to his own storage bag, Ji Yuan carefully searched Ling Juexiao's storage bag and found a pound of... Void Stone!

He actually has this treasure.

Ji Yuan's already excited mood became even more joyful.

Sure enough, it's so satisfying to open other people's storage bags of blind boxes!

Because you never know what amazing treasures you might find.

carry on.

Ji Yuan quickly found several rare herbs in the storage bag, which were excellent for cultivating spirit beasts.

The matter of upgrading the spirit beast to the fourth rank is not being considered for the time being.

Even if you advance to the third tier, there are still Dream Butterfly and Ant King waiting in line.

Especially this Dream Butterfly. After Ji Yuan experienced the wonders of this strange insect last time, he is now even more eager to cultivate it to the third tier.

Whether used to resist illusions or to create them, it will be an excellent tool.

Upon closer inspection, although Ling Juexiao's storage bag contained many good items, few of them could truly impress Ji Yuan.

After all, the one who is truly wealthy is Ji Laomo himself.

"Finally, let's see what treasures you, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, have!"

Ji Yuan picked up Long Zhanye's storage bag.

He had already glanced at it before, and in terms of spirit stones alone, Long Zhanye's storage bag contained the fewest.

That makes sense, considering he's been trapped in this secret realm for who knows how many years; it's normal for him to consume a lot of spirit stones.

What remains now is likely what he stole from other people's storage bags.

Because Ji Yuan found another, slightly smaller storage bag inside his own storage bag.

Inside that storage bag were also some third-tier Yin Crystals.

The quantity is not large, but it is indeed present.

With a flick of his wrist, a scarred, yellowish-brown hill appeared in Ji Yuan's hand.

He initially thought that the Fangtian Halberd was Long Zhanye's natal magic weapon, until he took out this small mountain.

After a little refinement, Ji Yuan learned the details of this magic weapon.

The magic weapon is called "Thick Earth Peak," and its effects are roughly the same as Ji Yuan's Lingtai Fangcun Mountain.

When infused with magic, it can become incredibly huge and heavy, and can be used for suppression, defense, or thrown at people.

Among magical artifacts, it is considered to be indestructible.

Unfortunately, he encountered Ji Yuan, who possessed both the Lingtai Fangcun Mountain and the Zixiao Divine Thunder.

Otherwise, even with their many methods, Xing Shuang and Ling Juexiao alone would find it extremely difficult to break through the defenses of this thick earth peak.

Furthermore, Houtu Peak lacks extraordinary abilities such as internal space.

It's just a simple mountain peak.

The effect is similar to Ji Yuan's Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, but far inferior.

Once in use, it consumes a lot of resources.

Ji Yuan doesn't plan to keep it. He'll use some Runyuzhi (a type of medicinal oil) to repair it during this time, and if a suitable auction comes along, he'll sell it.

The remaining halberd is quite good.

After refining it, Ji Yuan learned that its name was "Lieqiong" and it was the natal magic weapon of a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator. After being killed by Long Zhanye, Long Zhanye took it for his own use.

Now it has fallen into Ji Yuan's hands.

He was worried about not having a suitable magic weapon for body cultivators since the "Vulcan Spear" from the Ant Nest hadn't been released yet. Now that the Sky-Splitting Halberd had come to his door, it was just the right time to make do.

Yu continued to examine the bag and soon discovered another good thing inside.

Yin and Yang Earth!

Ji Yuan had received a coin earlier, but Long Zhanye's storage bag contained a full ounce!

I don't know how he got so many. He either robbed them or used some other means to get the pearls from higher places.

"What a pity, now they've all benefited this old devil."

Ji Yuan put it away. At this point, the Yin-Yang Soil required to upgrade the [Spirit Field] was 1.1% complete, with 8.9% remaining.

We still need to keep working hard.

As for cultivation techniques, Ji Yuan couldn't find Long Zhanye's main cultivation technique, but he did find a killing technique he practiced in his storage bag.

Its name is "Golden Light Splitting Technique". It can kill people or be used to escape. After Ji Yuan checked it, he found that there were no aftereffects, so he prepared to find an opportunity to study and cultivate it.

He also found six third-tier demon cores in the storage bags of the three people.

Unfortunately, this thing is no longer of much use to Ji Yuan now.

Currently, upgrading buildings typically requires a fourth-tier demon core!

Ji Yuan only has one of these things, even if he exhausts all his resources.

It was a gift from Hua Yaoyue before she left; Ji Yuan guessed that she took it from the Water Dragon Sect's treasure vault.

But he was going to kill a fourth-tier monster... Ji Yuan thought he should just wash up and go to sleep first.

After taking inventory of these three storage bags, Ji Yuan could consider it a summary of his recent "work".

Next... He summoned Dream Butterfly, letting it land on his shoulder, and then transformed into a beam of light, smoothly passing through the illusion arrays of the first two levels.

We arrived directly at the third checkpoint, which is this Gobi Desert.

It has been a while since the last time I ventured into the Gobi Desert, and no one else has come in since.

Therefore, these Yin beasts have transformed into Yin energy and are now hidden beneath the Gobi Desert.

Everything was calm and peaceful, without the slightest disturbance.

But Ji Yuan knew what kind of ferocity was hidden beneath this peaceful Gobi Desert.

"In that case, let's begin my hunting mode."

As soon as the thought was uttered, two flags appeared behind Ji Yuan.

One left and one right.

Thousand Soul Banner and Yingui Flag.

In fact, when Ji Yuan passed by here last time, seeing the dense Yin energy, he already wanted to take out the two flags and absorb some of it.

It was just that it wasn't convenient to expose it at the time.

Now it's all good, no one bothers us anymore.

As Ji Yuan stepped into the rocky beach, wisps of yin energy rose from the cracks in the rocks and gradually condensed in the air.

The first part of the road is only inhabited by second-tier Yin beasts; third-tier Yin beasts will appear in the latter half.

Ji Yuan has plenty of time and there's no rush.

They were prepared to slowly kill their way through from beginning to end, partly to see just how many Yin Beasts there were.

Secondly, this Yin Crystal is truly a valuable item. Even if I can't use it all, I can save it and sell it to other demonic cultivators, where it will be highly sought after.

Seeing that more and more Yin beasts were rising up all around, Ji Yuan waved his right hand lightly, and the Blood Marrow Sword, which he had just obtained and was still warm, flew out.

Where the sword light passed, swirling shadows rolled.

……

Xing Shuang returned to the familiar Winter City, but as soon as she got back, she found it felt a little unfamiliar.

Because the Black and White Temple, which had stopped doing anything for many years, suddenly started patrolling everywhere again, and even began arresting people.

For a time, Winter City, known as the "Demon City," was even more peaceful than East City, which was hailed as the "City of Righteousness."

The demonic cultivators who came and went all had their heads bowed and eyes lowered, and they always had a smiling face no matter who they saw.

The taverns that used to be the loudest with shouting and cursing are now filled with people drinking quietly.

If you accidentally meet someone's gaze, you should raise your glass in acknowledgment.

They even clink glasses from a distance.

"Is this...is it that I entered the wrong way, or is this not Winterhold at all?"

Seeing this, Xing Shuang couldn't help but think the same thing.

She messaged a few friends and quickly learned the reason.

Someone actually committed murder in Winter City!

But when she saw the killer's information, she was even more shocked.

...No wonder Brother Liu told me to be careful before he left.

Murder within Winter City, and you still say it wasn't Ji Laomo?

"Ha, everyone thought that Old Demon Ji had gone to the Canglu Continent, but who would have thought that not only did he not go to Canglu, but he actually came to Winter City?"

"I remember he first made his name in this Winter City, and now he's back, with a completely different style... A simple-minded old devil like Ji Laomo would be easy to deal with, but now he's become a sinister old devil."

For a moment, Xing Shuang felt that the entire Winter City was about to descend into chaos.

Because not only has the old devil Ji become cunning, but he has also formed his core.

Even when he was still in the Foundation Establishment stage, he could still cause chaos and disorder throughout the city.

Not to mention that he has now reached the Core Formation stage.

"He just got back and already killed someone in the city. No wonder he's called Old Devil Ji!"

For some reason, Xing Shuang felt a faint sense of anticipation when she thought about what might happen next.

……

The sun revolves, day and night without ceasing.

In the blink of an eye, a year has passed.

In the secret realm of the Northwest Sand Prison, Ji Yuan, dressed in a green robe, floated in the air. Behind him were two banners with overwhelming demonic energy, but he himself held a Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Sword, like a god in charge of thunder punishment.

The righteous and the demonic were strangely combined in him.

"In the past year, the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder has been unleashed to wipe out countless Yin Beasts. If I'm not mistaken, this batch before us should be the last remaining Yin Beasts in this secret realm."

Holding the Thunderstrike Sword, Ji Yuan looked at the dozen or so third-tier Yin Beasts trembling in the corner and felt a pang of emotion.

Who would have thought that this once arrogant third-tier Yin Beast, who wanted to bite anyone it saw, was now a different story?

Now he's like a stray dog, being pinned down in this corner and brutally beaten by me?

She didn't even dare to look up at herself anymore.

On second thought, it makes sense. From beginning to end, amidst the rolling purple lightning, countless Yin crystals fell to the ground.

Ji Yuan looked at the boxes and boxes of Yin Crystals in the storage bag and felt increasingly satisfied.

That's all. Let alone helping one Yin Ghost Flag break through, even if ten Yin Ghost Flags broke through... that might still not be enough, but three to five should be no problem.

"Once this matter is settled, I'll change my identity and return to Winter City. I'll then find the cultivators of the Soul Refining Hall and see if I can use this Yin Crystal to trade for the Soul-Eating Ghost Willow."

It should be possible. They can cultivate Soul-Eating Willows themselves, but Yin Crystals are extremely rare and hard to come by.

At worst, it just means spending more money.

With this thought in mind, Ji Yuan threw out the Thunderstrike Sword in his hand.

A flash of sword light, and then bolts of purple lightning struck down.

Amidst the rumbling thunder, the Yin beasts were slaughtered, howling in agony. Several of the already severely injured early-stage third-tier Yin beasts were directly transformed into Yin energy and dispersed, with a Yin crystal falling to the ground.

Ji Yuan dared not waste a single moment. With a wave of his left hand, the Thousand Soul Banner flew out, its black aura billowing and waving continuously in the sky.

Countless yin energies were absorbed into it.

It both nurtures the yin spirits within and slowly elevates their original rank.

Before long, Ji Yuan released two bolts of Purple Heaven Divine Thunder contained within the Thunderstrike Sword, finally completely eliminating the last group of Yin Beasts.

Ji Yuan retrieved the dozen or so Yin Crystals and happily put them into his storage bag.

At this point, the last jade box filled with Yin Crystal was closed.

Ji Yuan looked around, and finally even released his divine sense to inspect the entire Gobi Desert. He was so afraid of poverty that he dared not waste the slightest bit of resources.

If even a second-tier Yin Beast were to slip through, it would be a waste.

Fortunately, Ji Yuan searched the entire Gobi Desert repeatedly but did not find another Yin Beast.

Since that's the case, after wasting a year here, it's time to leave.

According to Xing Shuang, once you reach the third level, you can't go back the way you came; you can only leave through the final archway.

Ji Yuan transformed into a beam of light and arrived at this place. He took out the seal and, following the same method Xing Shuang used to open the door, summoned the stone archway.

Then another seal emerged from the stone archway. Ji Yuan put it away as before. Having learned from his previous experience, he didn't think much of it and flashed into the stone archway.

But after he entered the archway, he found that he did not arrive in the northern sky of the Endless Sea as he had last time.

Instead, they arrived at a small stone chamber.

"not good!"

Ji Yuan immediately realized something was wrong and immediately summoned the three swords, Canglan, Xue Sha, and Yun Que, to keep a vigilant look around.

"I painstakingly raised these Yin Beasts for hundreds of years, and now you've slaughtered them all by yourself... Kid, don't you think you should pay with your life?"

A sinister voice echoed in the stone chamber, but it seemed to be behind Ji Yuan's head, like a long, icy snake.

Ji Yuan was able to sense that there wasn't actually any snake demon.

Instead... it's yin energy!

He subconsciously caused the three flying swords to manifest Purple Heaven Divine Lightning, and said in a deep voice, "This junior was unaware that these were creatures raised by you, senior. Now I am willing to return all the Yin Crystals. What do you say?"

Ji Yuan repeatedly examined the stone chamber with his divine sense, but found nothing.

This person is either not in this stone chamber, or their cultivation level is so high that I can't even imagine it, which is why I can't find any clues at all.

Ji Yuan dared not stand still in one place and could only keep changing positions in order to prevent this person from suddenly appearing behind him.

...If I'm not mistaken, this person should be the one who pushed me off the lightning cloud earlier.

They were quite kind to me before, so why are they trying to kill me now? If I had known this would happen, I would have only killed some of the Yin Beasts instead of killing them all.

As Ji Yuan reflected on his actions, he heard the voice ring out again.

"Before, when you were out there, I couldn't do anything to you, but now that you're in my hands... hehehehe."

The man seemed extremely happy, so much so that his laughter sounded strange, like that of a male duck in heat.

"S-senpai."

Ji Yuan had already taken out boxes and boxes of Yin Crystals from his storage bag.

If we don't back down now, when will we?!

"Return it? If returning it would be useful, then what's the point of cultivating immortality! Hahahaha."

Suddenly, Ji Yuan saw a black hand appear out of thin air in front of him, instantly grabbing his face. The speed was so fast that he had no ability to resist at all.

Just when Ji Yuan thought his life was over, he heard the man make a questioning sound.

"what?"

Then the black hand that had just appeared disappeared again.

"You're actually a member of my sect? No wonder those two flags looked so familiar to me. It seems I really can't kill you." The voice gradually returned to normal, no longer as fierce as before.

It still sounded somewhat sinister, as if it harbored ill intentions.

Having narrowly escaped with his life, Ji Yuan took a deep breath, suppressing his panic, and began to analyze the current situation.

Especially the sentence that voice just said.

"Members of my sect."

"Two flags."

Ji Yuan instantly understood what sect this person was referring to.

It's definitely the Yin Ghost Sect!

Absolutely!

Upon realizing this, Ji Yuan immediately took out the skull ring from the Yin Ghost Sect from his storage bag. The moment he put it on, a hazy yet domineering aura descended upon him.

"As expected, he's a butler. Tsk tsk tsk, I never thought he'd be a butler at such a young age."

The voice seemed to carry a hint of praise.

Ji Yuan, not understanding why, could only clasp his hands slightly and bow towards the void in front of him.

"Ji Yuan of the Yin Ghost Sect greets you, senior!"

"Alright, since we're family, stop calling me 'senior.' I'm the spirit of this sect-protecting formation. You can call me... Ghost Messenger."

"Greetings, Senior Ghost Messenger."

Ji Yuan was once again handed over.

"Alright, since we're family, let's just leave the Yin Crystals as they are. I'll just put something else in."

Just a moment ago they were so eager to fight to the death and to control fate, but now that they're one of our own, they've become nothing more than that little bit of Yin Crystal.

All I can say is that power and status are truly valuable things.

"Our sect is still unknown, and we disciples are wandering around like beggars, scavenging for food. We finally encountered some Yin beasts here, which is why we acted this way. Please forgive us, Senior Ghost Messenger."

In a single sentence, he explained both his attitude and his humility.

At the same time, Ji Yuan didn't forget to put away the Yin Crystals he had just taken out.

"What, trying to play the victim and get me to give you some more treasures?"

Although the ghost messenger did not show himself, he saw through Ji Yuan's thoughts at a glance.

Ji Yuan's face showed just the right amount of embarrassment and shyness. "Senior Ghost has a keen eye. Indeed, nothing can be hidden from you."

"Alright, our Yin Ghost Sect doesn't give things away for free. We have indeed kept quite a few treasures for ourselves. If you want them, you'll have to earn merit yourself."

"To earn merit..." Ji Yuan accurately grasped the key point in the ghost messenger's words, "Then how can this disciple earn merit for the sect?"

"Don't worry, there's a pack of stray dogs outside who's always thinking about coming up and taking a bite of meat. I'll just open the door and let them in. Since you're a disciple of my Yin Ghost Sect, there will inevitably be times when we need your help. When that time comes, just do your best to make contributions to the sect."

The ghost messenger spoke casually.

But the next moment, Ji Yuan suddenly felt as if his whole body had been seen through.

"That's right, you don't have that disgusting smell on you, kid. Are you sure you're not from that damn Black and White Temple?"

The ghost messenger spoke with a pointed tone.

Ji Yuan immediately pointed to the sky and said, "I swear, if I am a member of the Black and White Temple, may my path collapse and I perish here."

The thunder roared, and the vow was fulfilled.

Seeing this, the ghost messenger smiled sinisterly and said, "I was just saying it casually, I didn't really doubt you, but since you are not a cultivator of this Black and White Temple, then I will consider you to be a member of my Yin Ghost Sect."

"Boy, when the Rakshasa Sea opens, remember to come see me from here. At that time... we will restore the supreme glory of my Yin Ghost Sect!"

The voice initially seemed to be near Ji Yuan, but then it grew louder and louder, and farther and farther away.

Finally, it even felt somewhat ethereal and unreal.

By the time Ji Yuan reacted, a howling wind was blowing in his ears, and looking down, he saw the endless, black sea beneath his feet.

"They're out! They're finally out!"

"call--"

Ji Yuan let out a long sigh of relief.

A cold wind blew, and he felt a chill on his back. He then realized that his back was already soaked with cold sweat.

He had many thoughts in his mind, but he also knew that this was not a place to stay for long. After quickly determining the direction, he flew straight south.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to apply a shape-changing talisman to himself, transforming himself into another young man.

He flew for two more days before finding a deserted island, where he crashed into it, dug a cave, and finally used the [Heavenly Craft Workshop] to release the Inverted Big Dipper Formation, which brought him some peace of mind.

After settling into this new cave dwelling, he went to the meditation room, where his previously chaotic and complicated feelings finally settled down.

"I never imagined that secret realm was related to the Yin Ghost Sect, and it was even called... Rakshasa Sea?"

"But the place I went to was probably only a part of the Rakshasa Sea, not the whole of it. The real Rakshasa Sea... is probably the entire Northwest Sand Hell!"

Ji Yuan made a bold guess in his heart.

Because the ghost messenger said that there are wild dogs outside now, and the wild dogs he was talking about most likely refer to the group from the Black and White Temple.

Ji Yuan could also sense his strong hostility towards the Black and White Temple from his tone.

"If we follow this line of reasoning, the sinners of the Northwest Sand Prison... are actually descendants of the Yin Ghost Sect. Was the turmoil that swept across the entire Abyss Continent actually instigated by the Yin Ghost Sect?"

"Now that you put it that way, it all makes sense."

However, Ji Yuan had no idea what the truth behind this turmoil was.

"But that's not important. What's really important is the matter of 'making merit' that the ghost messenger mentioned. It's obvious that once the Rakshasa Sea opens, many people will go in to risk their lives to seize the treasure. So what I need to do is 'play' a disciple of the Yin Ghost Sect and stop them."

"Not only are we outnumbered, but we're also outmatched. What a dangerous mission this is! I can't go, I absolutely cannot go. This experience in the secret realm has already given me enough experience. Next time... how could there possibly be a next time?"

"We'll definitely have to stay far away from them then."

Ji Yuan thought this to himself, but soon he remembered something else.

"I have already revealed my identity and attitude, but this ghost messenger did not give me any benefit at all. The only Yin Crystal I received was obtained by risking my life. This shows that the Yin Ghost Sect must be a force that values ​​law and order."

"By the way, he identified me as a deacon of the Yin Ghost Sect based on the ring on my hand. What about the Yin Ghost Sect token I obtained earlier?"

While pondering, Ji Yuan first took out the ring.

"By fusing two rings, I became a butler. What if I fuse even more rings? And what use is this butler status... But even if it does, I'll only know once I go to the Rakshasa Sea."

"We'll discuss this further. If we do obtain another ring, then we can continue trying to fuse them."

Ji Yuan looked the ring over and then put it back into his storage bag. He then took out two skull tokens from the storage bag.

One piece came from the Old Demon Crossing the Sea, and the other came from the Yin Corpse in Tian Sha Mountain.

After obtaining the token from the Yin Corpse, Ji Yuan had been thinking about whether the two tokens could be combined into one, but as things got busy, he gradually forgot about it.

I only remembered it now.

He took out the two tokens, one in each hand, and compared them; they were exactly the same.

Ji Yuan remembered that if spiritual energy was injected into it, a portal would appear on the token, similar to the Yin Gui Sect symbol that appeared in the sky above the ring.

Want to give it a try?

Ji Yuan looked around, and finally poured his magic into the two tokens.

Immediately, two wisps of yin energy flew out from inside the token. At first, they were separate, but then, as if sensing each other's aura, the two wisps of yin energy converged into one place.

"Um?"

Ji Yuan was momentarily distracted, and the two tokens in his hand flew out at the same time.

With a "crack," the tokens collided under the yin energy. When Ji Yuan looked down, he found that the two tokens had merged into one.

He didn't have time to look at the evolving Yin energy; instead, he reached out and caught the falling token.

It feels much heavier now. The skull token that looked like it was made of black iron has now been changed to bronze, and the design looks much more refined.

Ji Yuan weighed it in his mind before looking up at the gathering Yin energy.

What has evolved is still a portal, but compared to before, this portal is now much more solid and realistic.

That ethereal feeling wasn't so strong anymore.

"I remember when we were on the Canglu Continent, this door couldn't be opened. I thought the Yin Gui Sect was a sect on the Jiyuan Continent. Now that we've finally come to the Jiyuan Continent, can this door be opened?"

"If I can push this door open, what will I get? Or where can I go through this door?"

"Could it be that they went to the Rakshasa Sea... No, impossible. That ghost messenger said that the Rakshasa Sea is not open yet, so it's impossible to get in."

Ji Yuan only pondered for a moment before the portal formed by the yin energy dissipated.

He looked at the bronze skull token in his hand and tried to infuse it with a trace of magic power. Immediately afterward, the Yin energy portal reappeared.

Ji Yuan thought for a moment, and the three swords, Canglan, Leiji, and Xuesha, flew out from his dantian and hovered behind him. Moreover, the tip of each flying sword was condensed with purple divine lightning.

After making these preparations, he felt reassured enough to push the door open.

The door opened a crack.

Just as Ji Yuan was holding his breath, he discovered that the gap had closed again.

He subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt somewhat disappointed.

Ji Yuan felt relaxed because nothing terrifying happened. Having experienced the secret realm before, Ji Yuan was now more wary of the unknown.

The disappointment stemmed from the fact that the door remained closed.

Admittedly, Ji Yuan was still more inclined to believe that he could obtain some treasure after pushing open this door.

Because these tokens are extremely rare, Ji Yuan traveled all over the country, between the two continents, and only managed to collect these two tokens.

There's even a hint of luck involved.

Something so difficult to obtain and so rare should have some benefit, right?

"But as long as we can confirm that it's related to the Yin Ghost Sect, that's enough. There's nothing we can do now. Once the Rakshasa Sea opens, there might be some activity."

Unable to push it away, Ji Yuan put the token away and then returned the three flying swords to his dantian.

He released his divine sense, sensing the calm sea around him, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After wandering around for so long, it's time to take a break. For example, I should first raise this Yin Ghost to the Core Formation stage, and at the same time, upgrade the Yin Ghost Array to the third level.

After confirming with his divine sense that there was nothing unusual around him, Ji Yuan went to the deepest part of the cave. He first took out the Yin Ghost Flag from his storage bag and planted it in the ground.

As the magic power was injected, a thick ghostly mist immediately emanated from the flag, spreading in all directions until it enveloped the entire island.

But then the Reversed Big Dipper Array emitted a faint white light, and the Yin Ghost Array was contained, and the ghost mist disappeared.

The entire island then returned to normal.

If someone were to break in, they would first fall into the Yin Ghost Array upon entering the island. Once they break through the Yin Ghost Array, they would think they have entered the island.

In reality, they had fallen into the inverted Big Dipper formation.

If they wanted to break through this formation again... Ji Yuan felt it was unlikely, unless a Nascent Soul cultivator attacked. But the world was vast, and the last time they met Plum Manor in Western City, they were already considered extremely lucky.

How could we possibly encounter a Nascent Soul stage monster again?

After all, Nascent Soul cultivators aren't something that's commonplace.

Therefore, Ji Yuan was very relieved. After releasing the Yin Ghost Flag, he took out a whole box of Yin Crystals from his storage bag, all of which were mid-stage third-tier Yin Crystals.

If it's for my own use, it definitely has to be the best.

There's no need to mistreat yourself.

With a gentle wave of his hand, Ji Yuan caused the Yin Crystal to transform into a streak of light, which then disappeared into the Yin Ghost Flag.

Soon, he heard a series of "crackling" sounds coming from inside the Yin Ghost Banner. It was the sound of the two Yin Ghosts at the Pseudo-Core Realm gnawing on the Yin Crystal.

After only a short while, Ji Yuan discovered that the Yin energy emanating from the Yin Ghost Flag had become much denser.

He then took out the Thousand Soul Banner from his storage bag and placed it next to the Yin Ghost Banner to absorb the overflowing Yin energy.

But Ji Yuan wasn't in a hurry to feed the Thousand Soul Banner.

Because he didn't know how many Yin Crystals were needed to advance the Yin Ghost Flag.

We'll discuss everything once those two Yin ghosts have broken through.

After making the arrangements, Ji Yuan found a nearby seat, activated the dual effects of the [Scripture Pavilion] and the [Enlightenment Room], and began to study and cultivate the "Sword Canon".

His cultivation level was improving slowly.

In his spare time, he would check the consumption of the Yin Ghost Flag. Once the Yin Crystals were depleted, Ji Yuan would quickly replenish them.

Nearly a month passed, and Ji Yuan calculated that the two Yin Ghosts had devoured at least 12 mid-stage third-tier Yin Crystals, plus 103 second-tier Yin Crystals.

The entire Yin Ghost Banner then transformed into a cocoon.

The two ghosts fell silent.

Ji Yuan knew that these two Yin Ghosts were finally about to break through. As for how long it would take to feed the Yin Ghost Flag back to the third level, that would depend on the situation.

He glanced at the remaining nine Tier 9 Yin Crystals in the box and casually tossed them into the Thousand Soul Banner.

Immediately following this were the screams of vengeful ghosts, along with sounds of scrambling.

He ignored it and became engrossed in deep meditation.

"..."

"what?"

Above the endless sea, a figure suddenly stopped and transformed into a young man dressed in gray. He seemed to sense something and looked down.

"A formation? A third-tier formation?"

"That's interesting."

He landed in one step and arrived at the outside of the island. He first pointed with his hand, and the entire island was instantly flashed with a white light.

"Huh? This formation..."

The young man's eyes lit up, and he then released his divine sense to perceive it carefully. After a moment, he closed his eyes and fell into a half-dreaming, half-awake state.

After a few breaths, he flipped his hand and took out a paintbrush.

He drew a doorway outside the formation, then pushed it open. He stepped out and came to Ji Yuan's side.

Ji Yuan, who was cultivating, seemed to sense an additional presence in front of him.

He frowned subconsciously, then opened his eyes.

Upon seeing a young man dressed in gray cloth, he instinctively widened his eyes.

...Damn it, a ghost has become a human?!

...No, this is a fucking human!

The young man stepped forward, put his hands behind his back, and smiled slightly:

"Young friend, let me introduce myself. My name is Gu Yan, but people like to call me... the Bone Nightmare Demon."

(End of this chapter)