Ghost Immortal

Gu Zhenren stood on the open ground in front of the mortuary, with more than thirty ghost Gu puppets densely packed behind him.

The ghosts controlled by the Soul-Eating Gu had eerie light shining in their eye sockets, like a group of will-o'-the-wisps flickering in the night wind.

His withered fingers stroked the pottery jar, and the worms at the mouth of the jar wriggled incessantly, making a rustling sound.

"Master Four-Eyebrows, your Bagua communication technique is indeed impressive."

Gu Zhenren marveled.

"Disciples from Maoshan within a radius of five hundred miles will all come. I really can't afford to offend such a force."

"However, today's harvest is enough. Thirty-seven ghosts are enough for me to refine a new batch of ghost puppets."

He put the pottery jar back into his cloak and slammed his bone staff into the ground.

The ground immediately cracked open, and black mist poured out from the cracks, enveloping him and the ghost puppets behind him.

"Until we meet again, everyone."

The black mist surged and then exploded with a bang.

After the fog dissipated, Gu Zhenren had vanished without a trace.

He also took the thirty-seven ghost puppets with him.

In the open space in front of the mortuary, only a dozen or so ghosts that had not yet been devoured remained, huddled in the corner of the glutinous rice circle.

Their faces were filled with terror; even ghosts would be afraid of them.

The Taoist priest with four eyebrows sheathed his sword, his face grim.

He didn't chase after Gu Zhenren; he couldn't catch up with him anyway.

Gu Zhenren's escape techniques are unpredictable and even the underworld officials can't do anything about him.

What can a Taoist priest in the Qi Refining stage do?

Moreover, there are even more pressing issues to deal with right now.

White Impermanence stood before the offering table, his face filled with anger.

The ghostly procession behind him was in complete disarray.

After the chain broke, at least thirty ghosts escaped.

Adding to the thirty-seven whose soul cores were swallowed by Gu Zhenren, and the wandering ghosts scattered by the riot, the losses tonight are simply incalculable.

Master Si Mei shook his head with a wry smile, walked to the offering table, and bowed deeply to the Black and White Impermanence.

"My lords, today's events are due to my poor teaching, which has implicated your duties. I will take full responsibility for all of this."

Bai Wuchang sneered, mocking, "What makes you think you can take responsibility? You're just a junior from Maoshan; it's more like your master should be saying such things!"

He pointed sharply to the broken iron chains behind him and the sparse procession of ghosts.

"Fifty years ago, when the underworld was taking inventory of all the dead, thirteen thousand were missing. King Yama was furious and threw all the underworld officials responsible for escorting them into the Blood Pool Hell to suffer for a hundred years!"

"Although only thirty-odd ghosts escaped today, escaping during the Ghost Festival is an even greater offense!"

"According to the laws of the underworld, for each ghost that escapes, the underworld official must receive three hundred lashes; for thirty ghosts, that's nine thousand lashes!"

He grew angrier as he spoke, and dark blue veins bulged on his pale face.

"If nine thousand Yin Whips were to strike, even my skeleton would be shattered! Can you bear the brunt of that?"

Master Si Mei could only chuckle awkwardly and slap Qiu Sheng on the forehead.

He knew, of course, how severe the punishments in the underworld were.

The Yin Whip is no ordinary whip; it is forged from Yin Iron at the bottom of the River of Oblivion. A single lash can shatter even the soul.

Nine thousand lashes could indeed scatter the souls of the Black and White Impermanence.

"Please calm down, my lords!"

Master Si Mei bowed again, his tone even more respectful and ingratiating.

"I know the rules of the underworld. Escaped ghosts can be found within a certain period. As long as all the ghosts can be found within the period, the underworld will not hold you responsible. I am willing to do my best to help you find all the escaped ghosts."

Although Black and White Impermanence are righteous gods of the underworld, they have many restrictions on their actions in the mortal world.

They can only appear at night and must return to the underworld during the day.

Moreover, underworld officials cannot directly attack living people; they can only apprehend the souls of the dead whose lifespan has ended.

Finding more than thirty escaped ghosts within a hundred miles of Qingyan City is indeed unrealistic for just the two of them.

If there were cultivators from the mortal realm to help, things would be much easier.

Bai Wuchang narrowed his eyes, and the anger on his face subsided slightly.

"Firstly, it's about finding the ghosts. Secondly, if these ghosts cause any deaths while wandering in the mortal realm, the blame will also fall on the underworld officials."

"I demand your guarantee that before all the ghosts are recovered, no living person will be killed by these escaped ghosts."

Master Four Eyebrows immediately replied, "Of course. Tonight, I will lead my disciples to patrol the city and make sure that any escaped ghosts have no chance to harm people."

Bai Wuchang nodded, his expression slightly better.

But his next words made the Four-Eyebrowed Taoist priest's face show difficulty again.

"There is a third condition."

White Impermanence pulled a thick booklet from his sleeve, turned to a page, and pointed to the densely packed numbers on it.

"According to the rules of the underworld, if a runaway ghost cannot be found within a certain period, it can be compensated with ghost money."

"Running away one ghost is worth 1 billion ghost money; running away thirty ghosts is worth 30 billion."

"These ghost money notes must be burned in the underworld within a month; otherwise, they will not be accepted."

When Master Si Mei heard this number, he was completely stunned.

Three hundred billion ghost money is no small sum.

Ghost money is not ordinary paper money printed in the living world, but specially made religious money.

Making ghost money requires special yellow paper on which runes for the deceased are written. Then, the blood essence of a cultivator is used as a guide, and the seal of the Heavenly Master or the City God is affixed.

The ghost money made in this way is the real hard currency in the underworld.

One piece of ghost money is equivalent to one tael of silver in the mortal world. Three hundred billion pieces of ghost money are more than all the Taoist temples and Buddhist monasteries in Qingyan City could produce in a year.

"Three hundred billion... Sir, that's a bit too much."

The Taoist priest with four eyebrows could only beg for mercy.

White Impermanence shook his head.

"It's not 30 billion, it's 1 billion."

He turned to another page in the booklet and pointed to the records there.

"I have checked. The total amount of ghost money that Qingyan City Yizhuang should pay to the underworld this year is 1.2 billion. Two hundred million has been paid, and one billion is still owed."

"I can make a deal for you, combining the ghost money used to pay off your sins with the ghost money debt from the mortuary, so you only need to pay a total of one billion ghost money."

"But this buckle wasn't made for nothing." A stiff smile returned to the face of the White Impermanence, and he extended five pale fingers.

"I want your Five Ghosts Moving Technique."

The Taoist priest with four eyebrows was taken aback.

The Five Ghosts Moving Technique is one of the secret techniques of the Maoshan School, which can command five little ghosts to move valuables.

This technique itself isn't particularly advanced, but it has one special feature.

The caster must use their own blood essence to feed the five ghosts for forty-nine days without interruption.

If the spell is interrupted, the five ghosts will turn on you, and the caster will have their soul devoured by the five ghosts, resulting in an extremely tragic death.

Bai Wuchang wanted this technique because he clearly wanted to use the Four-Eyebrowed Taoist to get a few errand boys for him in the underworld.

"My lord, the Five Ghosts Moving Technique is a secret technique of Maoshan, which this humble Taoist cannot..."

The White Impermanence's smile vanished instantly, and a chilling aura emanated from his mouth.

"Four Eyebrows, I'm only negotiating with you out of respect. If you're unwilling, I'll go back to the Underworld and report to King Yama that you colluded with the Gu Master and deliberately let ghosts escape. Let's see if King Yama believes you or me."

He pointed to the dozen or so ghosts still trembling at the entrance of the mortuary.

"Your intention in setting up the stage to entertain the underworld officials was good, and I appreciate your kindness. However, your disciple touched the female ghost's face, causing such a huge mess. Surely I'm not accusing you unjustly?"

Master Si Mei slapped Qiu Sheng on the back of the head again, sending him flying.

Qiu Sheng dared not complain and could only shrink his neck and hide behind Li Feng, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Li Feng was also filled with helplessness; what could he say when faced with such a terrible teammate?

Although he didn't know what the Five Ghosts Transporting Technique was, judging from his master's expression, the price of this technique was definitely not small.

"Master, don't agree to him."

Qiulan said softly, her voice trembling with tears.

"The Five Ghosts Moving Technique will shorten your lifespan. You've already shortened it by ten years. If you shorten it by another ten..."

"Don't speak yet."

The Taoist priest with four eyebrows interrupted her and turned to Bai Wuchang.

"My lord, I cannot pass on the Five Ghosts Moving Technique, but I can exchange it for another technique."

He took a thin booklet out of his pocket and placed it on the altar.

"This is the Maoshan Sect's Soul-Soothing Incantation. When used in conjunction with the Soul-Soothing Bell, it can soothe the malevolent energy of vengeful ghosts. When underworld officials are escorting the souls of the dead, if they encounter uncooperative vengeful ghosts, the Soul-Soothing Incantation can save them a lot of trouble."

Bai Wuchang picked up the booklet and flipped through it, his cold expression softening slightly.

The Soul-Soothing Spell is indeed a good thing.

The most troublesome thing for the underworld officials is those vengeful ghosts with heavy resentment; it takes a lot of effort to subdue them every time they are escorted away.

With the Soul-Soothing Incantation, their tasks would indeed be much easier.

"The Soul-Soothing Incantation isn't bad either."

Bai Wuchang tucked the booklet into his sleeve, but then changed the subject.

"However, the Soul-Soothing Spell can only offset half the value of the Five Ghosts Moving Technique. For the remaining half, I want you to add another spell: the Night Watchman's Guiding Lamp."

The four-browed Taoist priest's lips twitched.

The guiding lamp is a secret technique passed down by the night watchman, used to guide the souls of the dead to where they are meant to go.

This technique is equally useful for underworld officials; with guiding lights, their efficiency in escorting the souls of the dead back to the underworld can be greatly improved.

However, the guiding lamp is not a magic trick of the Maoshan School, but rather a tradition passed down by night watchmen.

Master Si Mei didn't know either, so he subconsciously looked at Li Feng.

Li Feng met his master's gaze and nodded slightly.

He took out the "Secret Records of Night Watchmen" from his pocket, turned to the page that recorded the magic of guiding lamps, and walked to the offering table.

"I can copy down the magic of the guiding lamp for you two gentlemen."

Bai Wuchang looked down at Li Feng, a smile reappearing on his face, known for his quick change of expression.

"Young watchman, you're much more sensible than your senior brother."

He reached out and patted Li Feng on the shoulder.

Li Feng felt as if a piece of ice was stuck to his skin, the cold seeping straight into his bones.

"I'll remember you. When you die, I'll personally go and collect your soul, and arrange for you to be reincarnated into a good family."

Li Feng's expression was strange.

These words don't sound like nice things at all.

However, he still respectfully cupped his hands and said, "In that case, I thank you for your kindness, sir."