Chapter 152: 151. Still Possessing Charm

151. Chapter 151: Still Possessing Charm

From this Jin Dafu, Li Yi gained no useful information; though people in this world knew ghosts and spirits existed, they only understood surface-level facts, knew some taboos, and seemed to have no connection with ghosts and spirits in daily life.

Of course, another possibility was that ghosts and spirits had nothing to do with ordinary people or common martial artists—perhaps only those in the upper three realms, or the world's top factions, possessed any real knowledge of them.

After all, Li Yi had heard from Fan Zhizhou, the Prefect of Sanyang City, that only martial artists who reached the Qi Refining realm were eligible to become yin soldiers or yin generals.

And martial artists of the Qi Refining realm were already top-tier Qiangzhe; there likely weren't many across the Four Seas and Eight Zhou.

Yet as Li Yi watched the ghosts drifting toward him through the woods, he felt their threat level was extremely low—they posed no danger to him at all, unlike the strange entities he'd encountered before.

Perhaps ghosts, too, had strengths and weaknesses.

Since these ghosts were weak, he might as well use them to practice, to see if he could figure out some methods to deal with them; such low-risk training opportunities were rare. Thinking this, Li Yi strode into the woods toward the drifting ghosts.

"Jin Dafu, stay right here."

"Master, be careful—ghosts are unpredictable. Don't be curious or dig too deep. If anything feels off, come back immediately; I'll wait here for you," Jin Dafu hurriedly said, fearing Li Yi might come to harm; he'd only just sworn allegiance, and if Li Yi died, his own life would be forfeit—the martial artists of the Zhao Clan Dojo would tear him apart alive.

Li Yi ignored him and walked into the woods on his own.

As soon as he entered the woods, the temperature dropped sharply, and the air grew damp.

His eyes glowed with spiritual sight, and he deliberately approached the nearest wretched spirit.

The ghost seemed dazed, its body pale, translucent, with no visible feet or face—only a vague human silhouette. It was nothing like the fierce ghosts he'd seen on Ghost Street; it held no danger, and was even weaker than he'd expected—its form swayed with every breeze, as if about to dissolve.

Li Yi stood beside it; his spiritual sense gave no warning. He reached out to touch it—his palm passed through the ghost's body without resistance, yet his hand felt icy cold.

"Only those who've evolved to the Spiritual Sense realm can see ghosts, but cannot touch them. Normally, cultivators can't deal with ghosts at all. Try another method."

Li Yi continued thinking. The ghost before him showed no intelligence, couldn't communicate, and reacted not at all to his presence.

"Try the Gaze Technique."

Li Yi then activated the Gaze Technique on the motionless, vacant ghost.

Instantly, the ghost twisted and writhed in agony, its translucent body rapidly dissolving—within seconds, it vanished completely.

"The Gaze Technique can kill ghosts?" Li Yi's expression shifted slightly—he'd discovered something important.

He then tried the Gaze Technique on another, more intact ghost nearby. Though it writhed in pain, it didn't dissolve—only lost much of its translucency, becoming even more fragile.

"The Gaze Technique can kill ghosts, but its power is too weak. It works against humans, but has little effect on stronger ghosts. Then again, that makes sense—the Gaze Technique was developed by Spiritual Mediums, incomplete and unstructured, incapable of strengthening through cultivation; it only improves as the user's own power grows. As such, it's useless in cultivator combat, only occasionally effective against martial artists of the Four Seas and Eight Zhou."

Li Yi shook his head, disappointed in the Gaze Technique.

But just then—

Perhaps the Gaze Technique had alerted nearby ghosts to the threat, or perhaps his living aura was too strong—five or six ghosts nearby suddenly surged toward him in frenzy, as if desperate to tear him apart and devour him.

Seeing this, Li Yi remained calm, reaching into his clothing and pulling out a broken bronze knife coin.

Knife coins were oddities, also weapons; he'd once heard Wang Jian say they could combat fierce ghosts—he might as well test them now.

Clutching the coin, he swung his fist.

Then something strange happened: his hand, which had previously been unable to touch ghosts, now gained some unseen power—his punch effortlessly shattered the charging ghost into nothingness.

"It really works." Li Yi was surprised. He swung again—the knife coin remained clenched in his palm, never touching the ghost, yet his fist could still strike it.

The second ghost dissolved on impact.

"Oddities are truly the bane of fierce ghosts. What's the principle? My fist didn't even touch them, yet still destroyed them." Li Yi pondered further—he needed to master these techniques, for they'd help him greatly in the future.

"Could it be the energy field of oddities?"

A hypothesis formed in Li Yi's mind.

Oddities carried their own energy fields; ghosts might be manifestations of a special kind of energy. When they collided, the oddity's energy field was stronger, so the weaker ghost's energy scattered—and thus the ghost vanished entirely.

This theory seemed almost scientific.

"If this is true, then cultivators might also have the potential to fight ghosts." Li Yi suddenly remembered the guiding technique Lin Jie had given him when he first arrived in the Four Seas and Eight Zhou.

The guiding technique's principle was to draw out the body's stored cellular energy and concentrate it in one place.

If Li Yi concentrated the cosmic energy within his body into his fist, could he also combat ghosts?

The moment this idea arose, Li Yi felt a surge of excitement.

He immediately used the knife coin to obliterate the remaining ghosts, then turned and left the woods—he needed time to practice the guiding technique, then return to the forest to test this theory; right now, he couldn't yet channel cosmic energy from his body.

But he now had a method—that was his greatest gain from this trial.

When Jin Dafu saw his master emerge unharmed from the woods, he let out a long breath of relief.

"Master, are you alright?" He rushed forward.

"Nothing happened. Let's go back. These ghosts are insignificant—they can't even harm ordinary people. Not worth investigating."

After speaking, Li Yi glanced once more at the woods, then turned and rode his steed back to Sanyang City.

Back in the city, Li Yi assigned Jin Dafu some minor tasks, then returned alone to the Li residence.

As he arrived on horseback at the mansion gate, he noticed several carriages parked nearby, with several people waiting—apparently they'd come to see him, but since he'd been away, they couldn't enter and had to wait outside.

Upon seeing Li Yi, the group immediately brightened and hurried forward.

"Your humble servant greets Young Master Li."

She was a woman dressed in palace attire, voluptuous and alluring, with a fox-like face, lightly powdered and delicately made up. As she bowed gracefully, her figure curved into a striking silhouette.

"Whoa!"

Li Yi reined in his horse, glancing at her—he recognized her: "I saw you at the docks three days ago. You're Hua Sanjie, the mistress of the Flower House, correct?"

"I never imagined Young Master Li would remember this humble servant—I'm truly honored!" Hua Sanjie immediately wore an expression of delighted surprise.

"Don't flatter me with false pretenses. Just say why you're here. I need to return and cultivate—I have no time to waste on trivial matters." Li Yi spoke coldly, uninterested in Hua Sanjie's feminine posturing.

Hua Sanjie's smile stiffened slightly, then she gestured.

From the carriage beside her emerged four young, beautiful girls, slender and graceful.

"I heard Young Master Li has established his household in Sanyang City. I couldn't bear the thought of you living alone in such a vast, empty mansion, so I took the liberty of sending you four maids I've personally trained. Now you'll have servants to attend you, and won't be left without care."

Hua Sanjie smiled, her eyes constantly scanning Li Yi's expression.

Li Yi glanced at them and asked: "How old are they?"

"Just turned fourteen. The eldest is fifteen—perfect age," Hua Sanjie replied.

Li Yi said: "So they're still children? I have no interest in caring for kids. Take them back. Don't flatter me again—I don't respond to such tricks."

With that, he turned and walked into the mansion without looking back.

Hua Sanjie froze, stunned—this young Li Yi actually thought her four girls were too young?

She hurried after him: "Young Master Li, such a large mansion can't be without servants. Tell me what kind of maids you want—I'll find them for you, guaranteed to please you."

Li Yi stopped walking, then looked at her and said: "I have no interest in maids or servants. But I notice, Mistress Hua, you still possess charm. Why not come live in my mansion and warm my bed? What do you say?"

"This, this—"

Hua Sanjie was left speechless by Li Yi's words.

"Ha!"

Li Yi laughed, then entered the mansion.

Hua Sanjie had intended to flatter him, but ended up being rebuffed. Frustrated and embarrassed, she stamped her foot in anger—she was one of the Three Flower House mistresses, a Blood Refining peak cultivator, on the verge of opening meridians—how could she possibly become someone's bed warmer? This Li Yi was clearly teasing her.

Wait.

Hua Sanjie's eyes suddenly shifted, replaying Li Yi's words in her mind—her lips curved into a faint smile: "Could it be… that this senior brother of the Zhao Clan Dojo truly wants me to warm his bed?"

After thinking it over, she found it plausible.

She was a genuine courtesan, once a beauty in her youth—so many martial artists had been bewitched by her. Now nearing thirty, youth had faded.

Yet even so, "still possessing charm" was still an accurate description.

But with the mansion gate firmly shut, she couldn't storm in to ask whether Li Yi's words were sincere or just a jest.

"Let's go."

After a moment's thought, Hua Sanjie's mind grew more complicated. Finally, she led her people away swiftly.