Ghost Immortal

"So, you're the only one who can be the bait."

He Xiangu made the final decision and immediately deployed the tactics.

"Li Feng will stand guard outside. When the banana spirit comes out, while it is bewitching you, Li Feng will use Netherworld Ghost Fire to burn its body once and for all."

Qiu Sheng looked at Li Feng with a mournful face, hoping that his junior brother could put in a good word for him.

Li Feng nodded earnestly: "Auntie is right. Senior Brother, you are strong and handsome, just the type that the Banana Spirit likes."

"Besides, haven't you always wanted to marry a beautiful girl? The banana spirit is one of the most beautiful women after she transforms into human form. Why don't you go through a wedding ceremony with her first and satisfy your craving?"

"Go to hell!" Qiu jumped up and down in anger, wanting to kick Li Feng.

"That was a banana tree spirit, an unparalleled monster! I had a wedding ceremony with it, and after we finished, it drained all my life force, leaving me impotent!"

He Xiangu smiled and said, "Don't worry, with Li Feng guarding the side, nothing will happen to you. The banana spirit needs to absorb the essence, so it must first let its prey enter a dream state. This process takes about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

"Within this short time, although your consciousness will be hazy, you will not be truly harmed. As long as Li Feng burns the banana spirit's true form during this period, you will be safe and sound."

Qiu Sheng swallowed hard, his face contorted as if he were about to be executed: "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"When has your aunt ever lied to you?"

He Xiangu smiled gently.

But Qiu Sheng always felt that there was a hint of mischief hidden in her smile, and that something was wrong with his aunt!

Li Feng patted Qiu Sheng on the shoulder, offering a rare word of comfort: "Don't worry, senior brother, I promise I won't let you be ruined by the banana spirit. I'll definitely destroy her before you finish enjoying her tenderness."

"Your guarantee sounds so unreliable..." Qiu Sheng muttered, but in the end, he hung his head and resigned himself to his fate.

That's how it was settled.

That evening, He Xiangu rummaged through the bottom of a trunk and pulled out a brand-new set of groom's clothes, which she handed to Qiu Sheng.

She wore a bright red silk robe with gold trim, and a large red peony embroidered on her chest, making her look incredibly alluring.

Beside the clothes was a large red flower made of red silk, with a gold bell the size of a copper coin in the center, which jingled when it was shaken.

"These were prepared as part of my dowry. They've been sitting unused for twenty years, but they've finally come in handy today," said He Xiangu, stroking the large red silk ribbon with a touch of emotion.

She handed the clothes and red flowers to Qiulan, asking Qiulan to help Qiusheng change. Qiulan was also called over to help.

Qiu Lan took the clothes and looked at Qiu Sheng with a gloating expression: "Senior brother, I never thought that the first time you wore a groom's clothes was to seduce the banana spirit. After this is over, I'll have to have a good talk with Master and let him have some fun too."

"You dare!" Qiu Sheng glared at her, but his confidence was clearly lacking.

Qiulan wasn't afraid of him at all; she hugged her clothes and ran off with a grin.

Half an hour later, Qiu Sheng changed his clothes and came out of the side room. The people waiting in the courtyard stared at him.

To be honest, after the young man put on the groom's red robe, he looked completely transformed.

Qiu Sheng was born with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a strong physique. His skin was further accentuated by the red robe, giving him a more masculine appearance.

The large red flower on his chest trembled precariously, and the golden bells jingled, giving him quite the air of a groom.

He Xiangu looked her up and down, then nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, not bad. The banana spirit will definitely lose control when it sees you."

Qiu Sheng's face flushed red: "Master, something doesn't sound right to you. Please, something's not right with me!"

Li Feng circled around him, then reached out and tugged at the red ribbon around his waist: "Senior brother, if Master saw you dressed like this, he'd probably praise you for finally becoming successful."

"Shut up, all of you!"

Enraged, Qiu Sheng ripped off the big red flower from his chest.

"Let's go, let's hurry and deal with that banana spirit so I can get rid of these unlucky clothes when we get back!"

He Xiangu stopped laughing, took out two items from her sleeve, and handed them to Li Feng.

One was a palm-sized bronze mirror, its surface so smooth it reflected a person's image, and its back was engraved with dense runes.

The other item was a red thread, as thin as a hair yet as strong as a cow's sinew, with seven small silver bells attached to it.

He Xiangu pointed to the bronze mirror and said, "This demon-revealing mirror is a magical artifact passed down from the Maoshan Sect. When activated with spiritual power, it can reveal the true form of demons. The banana spirit's true form is hidden underground, but under the light of the demon-revealing mirror, it has nowhere to hide."

"This red rope is the Demon-Locking Rope. The seven silver bells are engraved with Demon-Binding Talismans. Once it binds the demon's body, it can temporarily restrain its movements. However, the Banana Spirit is quite powerful. The Demon-Locking Rope can only restrain it for ten breaths at most. You must burn it to ashes with Netherworld Ghost Fire within ten breaths."

Li Feng took the demon-revealing mirror and the demon-locking rope, and nodded seriously: "Ten breaths are enough."

He Xiangu further instructed, "Remember, the Netherworld Ghost Fire is the bane of the banana spirit, but it only works if it burns directly on its true form. After the banana spirit transforms, it takes the form of a woman, but this is just an illusion. Burning the illusion is useless; you must find its true form, which is the main root of that old banana tree!"

"The main root is usually hidden three feet deep directly beneath the banana tree. After you find its location with the Demon-Revealing Mirror, first wrap the main root with the Demon-Locking Rope, then use Netherworld Ghost Fire to burn it along the ground, burning the main root and the surrounding roots to ashes. Once the main root is destroyed, the banana spirit's illusion will naturally dissipate."

Li Feng wrote them down one by one.

Qiu Sheng, listening nearby, was terrified and couldn't help but interject, "Master Aunt, you've been talking about how Junior Brother dealt with the Banana Spirit for so long, but what about me? Am I just supposed to lie there and wait for it to come?"

He Xiangu looked at him, and a smile returned: "What you need to do is very simple: close your eyes and pretend to be asleep. No matter what you hear or see, don't open your eyes."

"The banana spirit will transform into an extremely beautiful woman, speaking in your ear, breathing on your face, and even reaching out to touch your face. You don't need to do anything, just lie still and wait for Li Feng to burn its true form, and the illusion will naturally disappear."

Qiu Sheng, his buttocks clenched, asked with a pained expression, "What if it doesn't just touch my face?"

He Xiangu smiled, her eyes crinkling: "Then you'll just have to suffer a little loss. After all, you're a grown man, what big loss could you possibly suffer?"

Qiu Sheng was speechless, his expression a mixture of laughter and tears, which eventually turned into a long sigh.

"What terrible things have I done in my life? Why can't I encounter a single good thing?"

Li Feng put away the demon-revealing mirror and the demon-locking rope, and then checked the talismans in his sleeves again.

He didn't rest during the past few days while recuperating at the mortuary. He took advantage of the recovery of his spiritual root to draw another batch of talismans.

There are a total of five Fiery Talismans, three Exorcising Talismans, two Immobilization Talismans, and one Thunder Explosion Talisman.

These talismans, combined with the ghostly fire, are more than enough to deal with a banana spirit.

The two left Hejia Village one after the other and headed towards the western hillside.

It was completely dark. The moon was obscured by thick clouds, with only a few faint rays of silver light leaking through the gaps in the clouds, casting shadowy shadows on the mountain path.

The night wind, carrying a damp and humid atmosphere, blew across the rice paddies, making the rice ears rustle like countless insects crawling in the grass.

Qiu Sheng, dressed in a bright red robe, walked ahead, the large red flower on his chest swaying with his steps, the golden bells jingling incessantly.

As he walked, he kept looking around, feeling as if something was hiding in the bushes by the roadside, watching him.

"Junior brother, do you feel a chill down your back?" Qiu Sheng asked, shrinking his neck.

"It's just your imagination."

Li Feng walked behind, his five senses already fully activated, and he could perceive no movement within a radius of thirty feet.

So far, apart from a few hares and owls, there has been nothing unusual around.

"I'll protect you secretly once you start working."

After crossing the small ridge, a large, dark banana grove appeared in the valley ahead.

The banana grove was much larger than Li Feng had imagined, with dense banana trees stretching from the bottom of the valley all the way to the mountainside, numbering at least a hundred.

The banana leaves were wide and large, swaying gently in the night breeze, making a pattering sound, like countless hands clapping.

The temperature at the edge of the woods was significantly lower than outside, and the air was filled with a rich floral fragrance.

It smelled exactly the same as the one I smelled in the ancestral hall, quite alluring.

Li Feng stopped, closed his eyes, and carefully sensed for a moment before pointing to the depths of the banana grove: "The true body is in the grove, and its aura is very strong, indicating at least the cultivation level of the early stage of Qi Refining."

"Early stage of Qi Refining? Isn't that about the same as you? I'm not playing anymore!" Qiu Sheng trembled and turned to run away.

"It's different, don't be afraid!" Li Feng quickly grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him back.

"The early stage of Qi Refining for demons and the early stage of Qi Refining for cultivators are two different concepts. The early stage of Qi Refining for cultivators relies on years of arduous cultivation, a solid foundation, and pure spiritual power."

"In the early stages of a demon's cultivation, it relies on absorbing the life essence of living people to forcibly build up its strength. Its foundation is weak and its demonic energy is mixed. If we really fight, I can burn it to ashes within three moves."

He wasn't bragging.

The ghostly fire is the nemesis of all evil and malevolent things in the world. The banana spirit is, in the end, nothing more than a spirit of plants and trees.

Belonging to Yin and Wood, the ghost fire of the underworld burns away life, and Wood generates fire.

When the demonic energy within it encounters the ghostly fire of the underworld, it's like dry wood meeting a raging fire—it ignites instantly.

"Junior brother, this concerns my innocence! Don't try to fool me!"

Qiu Sheng felt a little relieved, took a deep breath, and mustered his courage to walk towards the banana grove.

Reaching the edge of the woods, he stopped, turned back to look at Li Feng one last time, as if they were about to part ways forever.

If you didn't know better, this guy would really be going to become a live-in son-in-law.

Li Feng quickly waved to him, urging him to hurry up, and in an instant, he had hidden in the bushes by the roadside, concealing his presence completely.

With his current mastery of concealment techniques, as long as he doesn't actively expose himself, even a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator might not be able to detect him.

"It's up to you now, junior brother." Qiu Sheng muttered to himself, then straightened the big red flower on his chest and walked into the banana grove with a stiff upper lip.