Ghost Immortal

"Owner."

Gao Feng suddenly spoke.

Li Feng almost choked on his own saliva.

"You can speak now?"

Li Feng suppressed his surprise and looked Gao Feng up and down.

Gao Feng said with difficulty, "I can speak, but only a little bit."

As he spoke, he slowly raised his right hand, his five fingers spread open.

A wisp of ghostly fire actually seeped from the base of the dark gold nail!

It was so faint it looked like it could be blown out by the wind at any moment, but it was indeed a ghostly fire.

Li Feng's eyes lit up.

After absorbing the residual ghost fire aura in the tiger meat, Gao Feng spontaneously awakened a trace of ghost fire.

This wisp of will-o'-the-wisp was so faint that it could only cling to a fingernail.

But for an armored corpse, it was like adding wings to a tiger.

Ghost fire is the nemesis of all evil spirits, and also the strongest attack method that evil spirits can master.

With the blessing of this ghost fire, Gao Feng's combat power will increase by at least several levels.

Li Feng stretched out his hand, and a wisp of ghost fire ignited at his fingertips.

Two ghostly flames echoed each other in the cramped cellar, their eerie green light casting swaying shadows on the blue brick walls.

"Very good. Your current strength is no less than that of a cultivator in the mid-stage of Qi Refining."

Li Feng nodded in satisfaction and took out the last tiger bone from his pocket.

He had deliberately saved this tiger bone; he had already extracted and eaten the marrow, but the bone itself still contained a large amount of demonic essence.

"Keep this tiger bone and slowly absorb the demonic power within to consolidate your cultivation."

Gao Feng took the tiger bone, unable to make any expression, but a few flashes of dark golden light flickered in his eyes, as if expressing some kind of emotion.

He nodded slowly, his movements stiff like a rusty gear, but much more agile than before.

Li Feng rewound the ink line back around Gao Feng's body, ensuring that the black dog blood and cinnabar inside the ink line could effectively isolate the corpse demon's aura.

He was extra careful when affixing the talisman to suppress the corpse.

Select a few of the best quality talisman papers and paste them on the intersections of the ink lines to form a small sealing array.

By the time I finished all that, it was almost dawn.

Li Feng covered the bluestone slab again, laid out the bedding, and checked again to make sure there were no traces left behind before lying back down on the bed.

"If I have the chance in the future, I'll kill another monster like that."

Li Feng silently made plans in his mind, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, when the Taoist priest with four eyebrows came to give him acupuncture and a medicinal bath as usual, he suddenly exclaimed "Eh!"

"Your spiritual roots are recovering much faster than expected."

The Taoist priest with four eyebrows placed his fingers on Li Feng's wrist pulse, his face full of surprise.

"It's only been a few days and the cracks are almost healed? According to my estimate, for a spiritual root injury of your level, it would take at least a month of medicinal baths to recover to your current state."

Li Feng said without changing his expression, "Perhaps it's because the disciple's physique is special. After all, it's normal for him to have a stronger recovery ability after refining the essence of coffin fungus."

Master Si Mei nodded thoughtfully, without delving into the matter further.

The fact that coffin fungus is the origin of this phenomenon does indeed suggest that it might enhance a cultivator's recovery abilities; this explanation is barely plausible.

He changed to a different silver needle and continued to guide the medicine's effects into Li Feng's body, saying as he performed the acupuncture:

"Since your spiritual root has recovered so quickly, you can start cultivating again in two days."

"However, remember that your newly recovered spiritual root is still very fragile. You must proceed step by step in your cultivation and not be impatient for quick results. In particular, you must not use the Netherworld Ghost Fire until your spiritual root is completely stable."

"Disciple understands." Li Feng nodded obediently.

Two days later, when the Four-Eyebrowed Taoist priest examined Li Feng's spiritual root again, the last crack had completely disappeared.

Master Si Mei was both surprised and delighted, but still cautiously asked Li Feng to soak in the medicinal bath for another day to consolidate the effect.

On the fifth day, the ban was finally lifted, allowing Li Feng to resume his cultivation.

The first thing Li Feng did upon returning to his room was to upgrade his Qi Concealment Technique from the second level of Qi Refining to the third level.

He had been suppressing his cultivation level with the Concealing Breath Technique for the past few days, and now that his spiritual root injury has healed, he can finally slowly reveal his cultivation level.

He planned to wait another two or three days, find a suitable opportunity, and pretend to "break through" to the second level of Qi Refining.

This way, it won't arouse suspicion, and it can reasonably explain the increase in cultivation level.

On July 20th, the weather was so hot and humid it felt like a steamer.

After Li Feng's spiritual root injury was healed, the Four-Eyebrowed Taoist urged them to go to Hejia Village to retrieve the ghost money.

One billion ghost money is a considerable sum.

He Xiangu and her apprentices worked day and night, and finally sent a message yesterday saying that the first batch of ghost money was ready and that they could go and collect it.

Early in the morning, Li Feng and Qiu Sheng were dragged out of bed by the Taoist priest with four eyebrows.

"When you visit Hejia Village today, you must be respectful to your nuns."

Master Si Mei stood in the courtyard, adjusting the cuffs of his Taoist robe, and giving instructions in a long, drawn-out manner.

"Your aunt helped a lot with what happened last time. She took on most of the 1 billion ghost money by herself. Our mortuary owes her that favor. When you go there, don't just take things. Be nice to her, be helpful, and lend a hand when you can."

Qiu Sheng rubbed his sleepy eyes and mumbled, "Master, why don't you go yourself? Aunt He doesn't want to see us the most."

The old Taoist priest with four eyebrows blushed and raised his hand as if to strike, but Qiu Sheng quickly shrank behind Li Feng.

"Today, I still need to go to the yamen to discuss city defense with Constable Zhao." The Four-Eyebrowed Taoist withdrew his hand and coughed lightly.

"Although Master Gu was frightened away by Senior Brother Lei Jian last time, the evil aura has not dissipated. The city's defenses cannot be relaxed. Once you have the underworld money, come back quickly and don't linger on the way."

He took out two letters from his sleeve, handing one to Qiu Sheng and the other to Li Feng: "This letter is for your aunt, and the other is for the village head of Hejia Village. The village head's surname is He, and he is your aunt's cousin. When you go there, remember to pay your respects first, so as not to be impolite."

Qiu Sheng took the letter and whispered in Li Feng's ear, "What letter did Master write to Aunt? Could it be a love letter?"

The Taoist priest with four eyebrows and pointed ears slapped Qiu Sheng on the back of the head: "Stop talking nonsense! Go and come back right now!"

The two carefully tucked the letter into their pockets, slung bamboo baskets over their shoulders, and walked out of the mortuary gate.

The weather was very stuffy, and the sky was overcast.

It's like holding back a heavy rain, but it just won't come down.

The dust on the official road was fluffed up by the feet of pedestrians, and a cloud of gray mist would rise up every few steps.

As Qiu Sheng walked, he fanned his collar, and the sleeves of his Taoist robe were rolled up to his elbows, revealing his two arms, which were tanned dark by the sun.

"This awful weather is so stuffy it's hard to breathe. Junior brother, do you think Aunt He will invite us to stay for dinner? Her braised pork knuckle is absolutely amazing. Last time I went there, I ate three bowls of rice with it."

"All you're thinking about is food. We're going to collect ghost money, not to freeload," Li Feng complained.

"Collecting ghost money is a serious matter, and eating is a serious matter too," Qiu Sheng said confidently.

"People need to eat, even those who cultivate the Tao need to eat, right? Besides, Aunt He likes me, and she always gives me delicious food whenever I visit."

"Aunt He is only being polite to you because she likes Master and loves him so much," Li Feng bluntly exposed.

Qiu Sheng pouted, about to retort, when he suddenly pointed to the willow grove ahead and shouted, "We're here! We're here! Turn the corner and we'll reach Hejia Village!"

The two turned onto a side road and headed west along the winding country lane.

The rice paddies on both sides of the path have turned yellow.

After walking for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the white walls and gray tiles of Hejia Village appeared ahead.

The village is built against the mountain, with the houses of more than twenty households scattered on the hillside in a well-organized manner.

At this time of day, the villagers would normally be working in the fields.

But today, a large crowd of people, men, women, and children, gathered at the village entrance, numbering forty or fifty.

They sat in a circle, chattering away, each with a look of fear and unease on their face.

Li Feng and Qiu Sheng exchanged a glance and quickly walked towards the village entrance.

Standing in the crowd was an elderly man in his fifties, wearing a gray-blue long gown and a square scarf on his head. He was none other than He Dashan, the village head of Hejia Village.

He was leaning on a bamboo cane, frowning as he listened to several villagers complaining all at once.

"Village head, you have to take care of this! My third son went to the banana grove to collect pig feed last night, and he's been unconscious ever since. He keeps calling out 'Hong Niangzi,' 'Hong Niangzi,' and he still hasn't woken up!"

"My daughter did the same! The day before yesterday, she went to the river to wash clothes, and when she came back, she said she saw a woman in red waving at her in the banana grove. She was so scared that she ran home and developed a high fever, and she was delirious!"

"It's not just your two families! Old Wang from the east of the village went to the outhouse last night and saw a red light shooting into the sky from the banana grove. He was so frightened that he held his pee and fell ill this morning!"

He Dashan's expression grew increasingly grave as he listened, and he raised his bamboo cane and tapped it on the ground a few times.

"Stop arguing, stop arguing, tell us one by one. I've heard about what happened in the banana grove. Seven or eight people have collapsed in the last few days, all with similar symptoms: unconscious, talking nonsense, and having a strange floral scent on their bodies."