Chapter 151: Malevolent Spirits Resurface!

Compared with the growth of Soul Transformation and the improvement of spiritual‑root quality, the third skill of the Jiao Dragon Essence Pill—body‑cultivation talent—appears rather ordinary.

In today's Cultivation World, body cultivation has already become an obsolete practice.

Dedicated body cultivators are rare.

Even when they exist, they barely reach the second stage, equivalent to Foundation Establishment.

As for higher, third‑stage body cultivators comparable to Golden Core cultivators, the Da Yu Cultivation World may have such formidable individuals, but they would have already attained Golden Core in their Qi cultivation; they first form a Golden Core, then use body cultivation as a means or divine skill to enhance themselves.

In the current era, no cultivator has yet reached the Foundation Establishment Realm while possessing a third‑stage body cultivation.

Therefore, in Xiao Zhangqing's view, body‑cultivation talent is on par with Talisman Script, Alchemy, and Beast Taming—used as a fallback to enrich his skill set, not as his primary cultivation method.

He devotes most of his energy to magical‑power cultivation and Soul‑Transformation refinement.

Magical power and Soul Transformation are the fundamentals.

"The good thing is that the body‑cultivation talent's rank is green, not the lowest‑rank white…"

By Xiao Zhangqing's own grading, white talent corresponds to a mid‑to‑low‑grade spiritual root, which is the most common level in the Cultivation World—some talent but nothing remarkable.

A green talent, however, counts as an upper‑grade spiritual root, barely qualifying as a decent prodigy.

Of course, this judgment is from Xiao Zhangqing's present perspective.

If one were in a small place like Nanshan Fang, a blue talent would be a once‑in‑a‑lifetime heavenly prodigy.

For example, back then Lu Qiu, the Symbol Master, would be rated roughly a slightly deeper green in Talisman Path talent.

Nowadays Xiao Zhangqing's talents in Talisman Script and body cultivation are both green.

Green talent indeed does not require much time to hone, and it yields far less return than investing time in cultivating a Heavenly Water Spiritual Root.

So after the auction ended, Xiao Zhangqing cultivated even more diligently, living reclusively, eager to reach the later stage of Foundation Establishment as soon as possible.

In the blink of an eye, two months passed.

During these two months, besides diligent cultivation, Xiao Zhangqing did not forget to look for a chance to isolate the Blood Crow True Person.

Unfortunately, the Blood Crow True Person seems to have obtained a Three‑pattern Jade Dew Pill and is trying to break through the mid‑stage Golden Core, so he has been in seclusion lately, giving Xiao Zhangqing no silent‑assassination opportunity.

In these two months, many events unfolded in Character: Liyang Immortal City.

Perhaps because the grand auction, held once every ten years, gathered countless cultivators from the three sects and nine schools and many treasures appeared, the outskirts of the city saw multiple malicious incidents, with many cultivators robbed of property and even losing their lives.

By the rules, those incidents outside the city should actually have nothing to do with Character: Liyang Immortal City.

Yet, although Character: Liyang Immortal City is a city of scattered cultivators, it is still on the righteous path and will not allow rogue cultivators to cause trouble around its periphery, robbing passing cultivators and caravans.

First, it is morally intolerable; second, it damages the city's image and reputation.

Therefore, under Gu Zongyuan's leadership, the Character: Liyang Guard has been frequently dispatched, hunting rogue cultivators and arresting wanted criminals.

Xiao Zhangqing did not take part.

Because the rogue cultivators involved are only strong ones at the mid‑to‑late stage of Foundation Establishment, ordinary Character: Liyang Guard forces can handle them, so Gu Zongyuan did not trouble Xiao Zhangqing.

However, another matter made Xiao Zhangqing somewhat alert.

It was information the Lin family sisters had heard.

In the cave‑residence area where they live, a middle‑aged male cultivator at the mid‑stage of Foundation Establishment died suddenly inside the cave a few days ago!

Not only did he die, but several of his concubines and maidservants also perished.

They were not killed by rogue cultivators.

Within Character: Liyang Immortal City, no rogue cultivator has dared such audacity, let alone against a mid‑stage Foundation Establishment cultivator surnamed Cui.

According to the obtained report, this man had gone out three months earlier with a friend to explore treasure, and upon returning sensed something wrong, apparently being plagued by a malevolent spirit!

The exact details are unknown, and the Lin sisters did not learn them.

Roughly, after Cui returned, his spirit waned day by day, his body inexplicably grew weak, and his Soul Transformation became fatigued; even as a mid‑stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, he could not reverse this strange negative condition.

After about ten days, Cui finally feared he could not endure, so he tried everything, spending a fortune to hire an expert for help.

In the end he enlisted a Fake Core True Person to suppress and expel the spirit from his body.

Subsequently Cui's condition eased, gradually recovering; two months earlier he even attended the auction, spending over ten thousand Low‑grade Spirit Stones to purchase a rare second‑tier superior artifact specifically targeting malevolent spirits and ghosts.

No one expected that after all that time, the Cui cultivator would suddenly die a sudden death.

Moreover, all the concubines and maidservants around him met the same fate, none spared.

"Lord, do you think this is a rogue cultivator's contrived crime, or is there truly a malevolent spirit?"

Lin Ziyu also knows a bit about malevolent spirits.

Back then in Nanshan Fang, Sister Ruan's son Ruan Bufan was once plagued by a spirit and nearly lost his life, saved by Xiao Zhangqing's Talisman Script.

That incident's problem was evidently not severe, perhaps the spirit's potency was low.

Then Mu Renjie, head of the Mu family, also seemed plagued, becoming a half‑spirit half‑human walking corpse.

"Why do you seem untroubled?" Xiao Zhangqing asked curiously. "Back at Nanshan Fang, you were very worried about the spirits."

Lin Ziyu analyzed: "How can Nanshan Fang compare with Character: Liyang Immortal City? Even if a spirit appears now, stronger than before, and even mid‑stage Foundation Establishment cultivators are helpless, this is the largest scattered‑cultivator city in the Da Yu Cultivation World, with many Fake Core and Golden Core True Persons, and Character: Liyang True Person stationed. No matter how powerful, such a spirit cannot cause a great upheaval in Character: Liyang Immortal City."

Xiao Zhangqing nodded. In the bustling hubs of the Cultivation World, although costs are higher in every aspect, rising to the upper echelons is difficult.

But when danger arises, risk‑resistance ability also becomes much stronger.

In a small place like Nanshan Fang, a somewhat powerful spirit could cause widespread panic, but in Character: Liyang Immortal City it barely draws anyone's attention.

"Nevertheless, this matter still needs to be investigated thoroughly; better safe than sorry," Xiao Zhangqing thought.

Not afraid of ten thousand, but afraid of the one chance.

Although a malevolent spirit in a place like Character: Liyang Immortal City cannot cause much turmoil, if one is unknowingly affected, like the Cui cultivator, it would be troublesome.

Moreover, Xiao Zhangqing carries a fragment of the Longevity Stone.

The fundamental reason Mu Renjie became a half‑spirit monster was that fragment.

The Longevity Stone fragment is currently Xiao Zhangqing's essential equipment, practically his left and right arms, indispensable.

Even though the fragment now appears normal and the system's extraction has not produced any negative effect on Xiao Zhangqing, he still wishes to uncover its secrets and entanglements.

Moreover…

On the way to Character: Liyang Immortal City, before crossing the Yunling Mountains, the experience of Qingjian Fang—once quite prosperous but now reduced to a black market—also makes Xiao Zhangqing more cautious when confronting demonic entities.

Although Qingjian Fang is merely a market, it still hosts tens of thousands of cultivators, many in the Foundation Establishment Realm, yet in a single night nearly half seemed to have perished at the hands of demonic entities. In the end, Golden Core cultivators from Luoxia Sect went to investigate, also suffered great disaster, and ultimately fell.

If a demonic entity of this caliber appeared, Xiao Zhangqing's current strength would still give him pause.

The next day.

After more than two months, Xiao Zhangqing finally "visited" the Character: Liyang Guard headquarters again.

"What wind blew Brother Bai to you? Heard the Character: Liyang Guard has been busy lately, short of manpower, and you want to lend a hand?" Gu Zongyuan joked with a smile.

"Is the Character: Liyang Guard still busy? I heard the rogue cultivators near Character: Liyang Immortal City have been mostly cleared, order restored," Xiao Zhangqing said, feigning confusion.

Gu Zongyuan replied irritably, "I thought you were in seclusion, ears deaf to the outside world, yet you know everything? Since you have idle time to inquire about these matters, why not report to the Character: Liyang Guard, take a post, and lead a team to hunt the rogue cultivators?"

Xiao Zhangqing smiled, "I'm just giving the chance and credit to others. Hunting rogue cultivators is a bit hard, but those rogue cultivators are probably quite wealthy; catching one could yield a good haul."

"Fine, I know you're not short of money; you wouldn't even look at a petty shrimp rogue cultivator, let alone split the loot… not enough for you to buy one‑tenth of a Jiaolong Essence Pill!"

Gu Zongyuan waved his hand, then seemed to recall something, and said seriously, "By the way, Ding Yanran of Xingyue Palace is still staying in Character: Liyang Immortal City. I heard she's still attached to your Jiaolong Essence Pill and wants to snatch it from you, so you'd better be careful."

"So persistent?" Xiao Zhangqing frowned.

These Nascent Soul Sect disciples may not excel in other ways, but their 'perseverance' is indeed steadfast.

However, taking the Jiaolong Essence Pill from his hand is now impossible.

The two talked for a while.

Xiao Zhangqing got down to business, "What exactly happened to the Cui Foundation Establishment cultivator who suddenly died a few days ago in Jinxiu Fang? Was it a rogue cultivator's crime, or did he truly die as the rumors claim, at the hands of a demonic entity?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Zongyuan's expression grew solemn, "It wasn't a rogue cultivator. There are no signs of a fight; even a Fake Core True Person would find it hard to reach that point. It can basically be concluded that he tangled with something unclean."

"Actually it's not just that Cui cultivator. Inside Character: Liyang Immortal City, another Foundation Establishment cultivator also died mysteriously, with a death scene similar to Cui's, both terribly tragic. These two were partners who set out together three months ago to seek opportunities!"

"I'm still investigating this. At the time they went out, there were three of them. Those two died untimely, and the third isn't even a cultivator from our Character: Liyang Immortal City; he rented a cave residence on a small two‑level spirit vein a thousand li away. I've already sent people to check it out."

"If that person is still alive, perhaps we can pinpoint the exact cause, what happened when the three were treasure‑hunting, and what unclean thing they encountered."

Xiao Zhangqing nodded.

It does indeed seem they ran into demonic entities.

One death could be called an accident, but the other Foundation Establishment cultivator also died suddenly, which must mean they contracted an ominous influence during the treasure hunt.

This situation is far worse than what Ruan Bofan, son of Ruan Qingzhu, faced.

Ruan Bofan only sensed an ominous sign from afar while on the road, got scared, turned direction and escaped, so after returning to Nanshan Fang, Xiao Zhangqing used a few Demon‑breaking Talismans and Stabilizing Spirit Talismans to resolve the issue.

As for the three Cui cultivators, they clearly entered the demonic realm, even made close contact and entanglements, which is why medicines were ineffective.

Even a mid‑stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, after returning to Character: Liyang Immortal City and seeking solutions everywhere, turned to a Fake Core True Person for help, yet still died unknowingly.

"When you have concrete information, let me know."

After giving the instruction, Xiao Zhangqing prepared to leave.

At that moment Gu Zongyuan suddenly called out, "Since you're already here, why rush off? I have a task—do you want to take it?"

Xiao Zhangqing stopped and asked, "What task?"

Gu Zongyuan laughed, "It's definitely well‑paid, a handsome reward. With your strength, Brother Bai, I'm not sure I can honestly ask you to join an ordinary task."

He then gave a detailed explanation.

It turned out that during this period, the Character: Liyang Guard had been hunting rogue cultivators around Character: Liyang Immortal City. Most were small fish, small shrimp, mostly Foundation Establishment Initial Stage or mid‑stage rogue cultivators.

But inadvertently, they also uncovered clues about some 'big fish'!

Among them was a criminal with countless offenses, a notorious rogue cultivator throughout the Da Yu Cultivation World…

This rogue cultivator's strength is unfathomable; several Binding Core sects in Da Yu have issued bounties on him, sending Binding Core Initial Stage True Persons to hunt him, all to no avail, allowing him to escape.

Thus, the cultivation world estimates his strength; this beast is most likely a Fake Core True Person.

(End of chapter)