Fully aware that “Yu Zezhi” was nothing more than a negligible shell in the Three Thousand Worlds, Yinyu still persistently called her “Boss Yu.” Lian Sheng had to conclude the other party was doing it deliberately.
Why not call her “Lian Sheng”? Naturally, because she still couldn’t compare to the “Yu Zezhi” of Little Desolate Islet in Yinyu’s heart.
But what could she do about it? Nothing, except to hold the umbrella over Yinyu’s head. Meeting the other’s smiling, half-mocking eyes, she raised a hand to her own face and said, “You have some dust here.”
Yinyu lifted the back of her hand to wipe the dust away, unconcerned, smearing it off in the roughest way.
Lian Sheng’s five fingers tightened around the umbrella handle. Her knuckles strained, turning white, carrying a chill just as sharp as her own nature.
She thought, she was no infallible angler after all, merely drifting duckweed on the water, a guest in the pool. Yinyu, who seemed to be climbing a tree to catch fish, was in truth the one most in her element.
Beside the Altar of the Abandoned, it was desolate and empty. If anyone appeared, they would be visible at a single glance.
Yin energy surged wildly here. Anyone with even a little cultivation in Dark Snow Heaven would surely sense it. Before long, someone strode over aggressively from the distance, their face and build extremely familiar—it was the very same male cultivator who had spoken up to warn them back at the inn.
To the residents of Dark Snow Heaven, this Altar of the Abandoned was hardly a good place. Common folk, even if dragged kicking and screaming, would refuse to go near it. Those who came here were either members of the Kang Family or those bold, highly skilled cultivators.
The man approached with cold eyes, sword in hand. His thin, long robe billowed with wind, making his frame look exceptionally sturdy. Yet dark bruises ringed his eyes, a clear sign of deficiency and weakness. His expression was fierce—he didn’t look like an Immortal descending to the world, but rather a man-eating Malevolent Ghost.
Yinyu looked over. So this pair of siblings truly had a grudge against the Kang Family. The sister wouldn’t let the Kang Family perform Soul Substitution, and the brother was keeping a close watch on this very Altar of the Abandoned.
“It’s him.” Yinyu raised an eyebrow. Without her smoking pipe to hold now, her hands were restless, so she patted the Wooden Puppet instead.
The Ear Whisperer God couldn’t help but speak: “Why are you patting me? Are you treating this old man like a child to soothe?”
Yinyu had no time to argue with this Wooden Puppet. She let out a soft “Shush.”
Lian Sheng cast a faint glance over, making as if to leave.
But before they could move away, the man had already walked straight up and blocked their path, his expression displeased. “This place is dangerous. What are you doing here? Leave immediately!”
“Then how did you come to be here, come to perform Exorcism?” Yinyu asked, utterly composed.
“I sensed an unusual fluctuation of yin energy here, so I came to investigate.” The man stood with his hands behind his back, staring intently at the great fire on the altar.
Yinyu looked him up and down. He just seemed like a sickly ghost to her. Where did he get the confidence to tell others to leave? She said, “We came here for the same reason—to investigate.”
The man’s icy gaze shot toward them. Coldly, he said, “How many lives have been lost here? Furred Zombies and Fierce Ghosts appear frequently in this area. Even cultivators may not escape unscathed!”
Lian Sheng held her thin Paper Umbrella steady. Fierce winds howled around her, and goose-feather snow fell in thick clusters, yet she stood unmoving. With a trace of confusion, she murmured an “Oh,” and said, “You dare to come, so you must be confident of escaping unscathed. It seems you know this place quite well.”
The man frowned and said nothing.
Yinyu picked up the thread of the conversation. “The Innkeeper said you’ve been living in Dark Snow Heaven for half a year. I imagine it’s not just for Exorcism. Do you have a grudge against the Kang Family?”
The man remained silent, but the flames flickering in his eyes exposed his thoughts.
“You’re forcing yourself to endure discomfort just to stay here. It seems you have a great vengeance yet to be repaid.” Yinyu tilted her body, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth. “Venturing deep into the tiger’s den surely yields bountiful rewards. Then you must know this altar has deep ties to the Kang Family.”
Just hearing the first half of her words made the man react as if he’d seen a ghost. His eyes widened slightly, and he abruptly turned sideways, coldly saying, “Who in Dark Snow Heaven doesn’t hate the Kang Family? Who doesn’t know the Kang Family has guarded this altar for years, using this very Altar of the Abandoned to commit countless great evils?”
The merged flames roared and crackled. No matter how wildly the gale raged, it could not blow them out.
Suddenly, a chirping sound came from within the fire.
The moment this sound rang out, the man fiercely shook his sword free from its cloth-wrapped sheath, shouting, “It’s coming out! Go!”
“A Jiangshi?” Yinyu was shocked. She spun to look at Lian Sheng. Weren’t all those Jiangshi pinned down below? How could there still be one that slipped through the net?
Lian Sheng hadn’t figured it out either. She stared fixedly into the fire.
The flames were burning fiercely. If that Jiangshi could come out, it would surely be burnt to a charcoal stick.
But the Jiangshi only cried out once, then fell silent, making no further sound.
The man pointed his sword at the raging fire, not even turning his head. “You two, leave.” His stance clearly indicated he intended to fight the Jiangshi on the altar to the death.
“What is your name?” Lian Sheng remained calm.
As a cultivator, the man was naturally cautious. If his surname, given name, and Eight Characters of birth were leaked, he might suffer misfortune for nothing.
Yet Lian Sheng’s bearing was proud, like a light cloud drifting from a mountain cave. Clearly, she didn’t have a monk’s face, nor did she reveal a Buddha’s heart, yet she seemed as untarnished as a Chan Heart.
“Speak.” Lian Sheng said lightly.
“Xie Ling.” The man squeezed out the two characters.
Lian Sheng’s hand, hanging at her side, moved slightly. A momentary hesitation flickered in her eyes. She said flatly, “A fate of Nine Cycles Achievement, it seems.”
Just like a Nine Cycles Golden Core, requiring countless hardships to emerge from the furnace, once born, it could shake the heavens and earth, more precious than phoenix feathers or qilin horns.
Yinyu couldn’t quite grasp for a moment what kind of destiny deserved the title “Nine Cycles Achievement.” Her expression withdrew, and she only said to Xie Ling, “You take care of yourself.”
On the way back, they thought they wouldn’t encounter anyone else. Unexpectedly, halfway there, they ran into an old man wearing burial clothes, squatting by the bridge and eating Paper Money.
The man faced away from them, wisps of gray smoke clinging to his body. His Soul had a Servitude Nail driven into it.
Dark Snow Heaven was filled with Ghosts everywhere. Yinyu had originally thought this was just an unremarkable Evil Entity, but then she realized this “person” bore no yin energy. It seemed to be merely a Soul Spirit that had left its body.
Whose Soul had been drawn out by the ringing of the Spirit Bells, truly believing itself to be a Ghost, picking up Paper Money on the road to eat?
Spirit Bells hung everywhere in Dark Snow Heaven. When they rang, someone’s Soul could be lured from its shell. Thus, it was no surprise there were Ghosts here, nor was it strange to see the souls of the living everywhere.
Yinyu only felt a tightness in her chest. Dark Snow Heaven shouldn’t be like this. To when should the roots of this matter be traced? To when she became an immortal (无嫌 / Wuxian) and entered the Little Enlightenment Ruins, or way back when she was still just a mortal (邬嫌 / Wuxian).
[T/N: In Chinese, her immortal name “Wuxian” (无嫌 – meaning “Without Disgust”) and her original mortal name “Wuxian” (邬嫌 – using her family surname “Wu” 邬) are homophones. They sound identical in Chinese but use different characters to represent her immortal vs. mortal identity.]
The Ear Whisperer God scolded in its childish voice: “Utterly devoid of conscience, Wuxian! Look at this Dark Snow Heaven—does it still bear any resemblance to a place where living people dwell!”
Passing behind that Wandering Soul, Yinyu took an extra look and noticed a Wishful Abacus hanging at the Soul’s side.
Strangely, the old man seemed to be intentionally following them. Every step they took, the old man shuffled one step forward, stuffing Paper Money into his mouth as he moved, not delaying in the slightest.
Yinyu grabbed Lian Sheng’s hand and abruptly turned her head. Only then did she see how familiar that face was. Wasn’t it the innkeeper?!
The two looked exactly alike, but their expressions were entirely different. One was ghostly and strange, the other full of sorrow.
Ke Guangyuan threw himself at Yinyu’s legs, but how could he possibly reach her? He passed straight through Yinyu’s body. He froze for a moment, then tears streamed down his old face. Had this been a living person, his face would surely have been covered in a sheet of frost.
Yinyu halted her steps, feeling bewildered. She had just seen the Innkeeper not long ago. They hadn’t even been out for two hours. How could this person’s Soul just leave its body like that?
“What’s going on?” She looked at Lian Sheng. A strange thought sprouted in her mind, but she couldn’t confirm it yet.
Lian Sheng held the umbrella, gazing down at the “person” at her feet. She said flatly, “It seems Dark Snow Heaven hides mysteries everywhere. This innkeeper is also peculiar.”
No pity showed in her eyes. She bent down and slapped the top of Ke Guangyuan’s head. Her brow furrowed even tighter immediately. “Wuxian built the Altar of the Abandoned and set up Spirit Bells to draw out Living Souls. The Ghosts and Evil Entities fed by Living Souls are either vicious or malevolent.”
Yinyu pinched her slightly wide cuffs to stop the wind from drilling inside, sneering coldly: “Deliberately drawing out so many living people’s Souls—I can’t think of any other reason besides feeding Ghosts.”
In a place full of Ghosts and Evil Entities, what did it mean for a Soul Spirit to leave its body? The empty shell would be possessed. In the end, one’s own Soul would have nowhere to return to and would instead become a meal for the Ghosts and Evil Entities.
