Chapter 151: Nie Xiaoqian's Schemes Fail to Bear Fruit; The Strange and Magnificent Fortune of Corpse Soul Ridge

Corpse Soul Ridge.

The birthplace of the Ghost Immortal, Nie Xiaoqian.

A perilous land twisted and mutated from an ancient battlefield, soaked in the blood of many immortals, demons, gods, and Buddhas.

It is precisely a place of opportunity and fortune concerning Qingli.

After Fang Longye's strength greatly increased, his progress in the art of deducing Heavenly Secrets was indeed extraordinary.

Just a few hours ago, he had an undercover confrontation with Nie Xiaoqian; by the mere outpouring of aura in that instant, he had stripped her entire foundation bare.

However, this was also because Nie Xiaoqian had only stepped into the Golden Immortal realm a few years ago and was from an unorthodox background, lacking experience, which allowed Fang Longye to succeed.

Otherwise, according to general logic, once a cultivator achieves Golden Immortal, it is "my fate is determined by me, not by Heaven"; it would be absolutely impossible to peer into a Golden Immortal's past and origins through ordinary calculation methods.

Even if Fang Longye employed Great Divine Abilities like "Return to Heaven and Reverse the Sun" or "Reverse-Knowing the Future" without restrictions, it would not have been so easy.

Regardless, under various circumstances, Fang Longye had essentially exposed her completely. Being clear about her past schemes and motives, he naturally understood that saying certain things would only be a waste of breath.

He did not hesitate any longer, took the two women, Qingli and the other, rose on clouds, and arrived before the carriage hidden above the Ning estate.

"Still lacking in strength, after all. All those winks were thrown to a blind man," Fang Longye looked at the magnificent carriage, gave a self-deprecating smile, and with a wave of his sleeve, put it away along with the Bishui Jinjing Beast.

"Master, actually, there is no need to feel regret for not having recruited this fellow Ghost Immortal."

Seeing Fang Longye's self-deprecating expression, Ao Ying immediately spoke: "This fellow Ghost Immortal's methods are indeed remarkable; she used herself as a stake, absorbed the fortune of Young Master Ning's past life, and completely transformed from death to life."

"With Yin and Yang revolving, she stepped into the Golden Immortal realm."

"But while she is scheming against others, others are also scheming against her."

Fang Longye waved his hand and said: "I understand this. Otherwise, I would not have extinguished this thought after probing her background."

"What I did earlier was merely seeing that she is a dead spirit who reached this level of cultivation, which is truly rare, and I could not bear to see her end up with nothing."

Seeing the two speaking like this, Qingli became interested and asked: "How so?"

Fang Longye smiled faintly and said nothing, only steering the clouds and mist, taking the two women, and proceeding toward the southeast at a leisurely pace.

Ao Ying asked with a smile: "Sister Qingli, what do you think of this Young Master Ning?"

Recalling his words and actions, Qingli replied: "Generous and upright, self-respecting, erudite, and possessing a clear understanding. His aura is pure and vast, his luck is thick; he is worthy of being a Golden Immortal reincarnation. It is a pity that in this life, he has fallen into the mud and cannot extricate himself."

Speaking of this, a trace of doubt appeared on Qingli's face; with her current discernment, he did not look like someone who had suffered a calamity and reincarnated, but rather like someone who had entered reincarnation of his own accord for the sake of cultivation and enlightenment.

How could he be so easily schemed against by Nie Xiaoqian, and have his fortune divided among others?

Ao Ying nodded and stopped playing coy, explaining to the thoughtful Qingli: "That's right, just as Sister Qingli guessed, how could such a person be a loner?"

"Perhaps you only felt that his aura was vaguely vast and upright, and one could tell at a glance that his past life was extraordinary."

"But I was fortunate enough to have seen a high-ranking disciple of Donghua Dijun, and the past-life aura vaguely revealed by this Young Master Ning is exactly the same."

Qingli understood and said: "I see. No wonder this Ghost Immortal named Nie Xiaoqian looked down on the young master's recruitment."

"Hmph—" she sneered, "She had a good plan indeed; she schemed against his reincarnated body and still hoped to climb up to his master's sect by relying on this relationship."

What kind of beautiful dream is she having!

Is a sect that honors Donghua Dijun as its founder someone to be trifled with? I fear that just as Ao Ying said, while she was eyeing Ning Caichen, his sect was also eyeing her.

A Ghost Immortal from an unorthodox background who reached the Golden Immortal realm through her own exploration is indeed rare.

Even if this final step was achieved by tainting herself with Ning Caichen's past-life fortune.

It cannot hide her talent.

It would be quite cost-effective to take her in as a hired hand. But to be admitted into the sect of this Ning student's past life? What a beautiful dream!

Seeing that Qingli understood, Fang Longye chuckled, "Her plan was indeed quite good: marry the Ning student and use the fortune shared through the union of husband and wife to ascend to Golden Immortal."

"She also intended to use this as a reason for repaying a debt, to forge a ten-life romance with this Ning student, so that she could both resolve the karma and use this connection to peek at a good origin."

"Unfortunately—" Fang Longye shook his head, "It was all a waste of effort."

Just like those scheming women in the past life who tried to enter the upper class by relying on rich second generations, most of it is just wishful thinking.

Prestigious sects are not something you can just taint if you want to. Especially since, strictly speaking, Nie Xiaoqian is an anomaly—a fierce ghost and dead spirit.

How could she be looked upon favorably by prestigious sects? Unlike ordinary beings who, for various reasons, have to walk the 'Ghost Immortal Path' when entering the Immortal Realm, Nie Xiaoqian belongs to the category of ghosts and dead spirits; she can only walk the Ghost Immortal path and never had the chance to choose.

And this is where the difference lies.

Even if the 'Ghost Immortal Path' was originally a path for ghosts to cultivate, the Human Race has flourished, and some concepts that originally belonged only to the Human Race have influenced many immortals and gods from the bottom up.

As a ghost and dead spirit, no matter how Nie Xiaoqian changes, she is still an anomaly in the eyes of the so-called prestigious sects.

In any case, Fang Longye does not hold a high opinion of Nie Xiaoqian's ending.

Come to think of it, among ghosts and dead spirits, this Nie Xiaoqian truly belongs to the class of people with clear understanding.

Because a Ghost Immortal achieved from the category of dead spirits, even if she has achieved a 'Yang Spirit' comparable to the True Immortal realm, she still has not shed the essence of an undead, and her body is still filled with death aura.

Wanting to ascend to Golden Immortal is even more difficult than for Ghost Immortals who cultivate step-by-step from ordinary beings.

However, meeting Ning Caichen, a Golden Immortal reincarnation who sealed his soul and reincarnated to seek enlightenment, gave her a method.

Combining registers and sharing the same fate, husband and wife as one.

Seizing fortune to grow oneself.

On the journey to the West, those female demons all craved Tang Seng's body, and most of them insisted on getting married; their goals were similar to her intentions.

All were to obtain the protection of Merit and Luck through the status of husband and wife, and to have the ten-life primordial yang to absorb.

Otherwise, did you really think they felt that fat monk Tang Seng was handsome?

As for the result! It is obvious; unlike the female demons on the journey to the West who all failed, after a series of operations, Nie Xiaoqian actually succeeded and achieved Golden Immortal.

However, in this process, in order not to truly offend this reincarnated Golden Immortal Ning Caichen and the sect behind him.

Her promotion to Golden Immortal was not a matter of blindly absorbing Ning Caichen's past-life fortune; it was mostly just used as a primer.

Or to put it more specifically and vulgarly, throughout the whole process, what she schemed for was just a bit of essence from this reincarnated Golden Immortal, Ning Caichen.

Well, perhaps there was also the blessing of luck from being husband and wife; other than that, there was nothing else to take.

As mentioned before, 'Ghost Immortal Path' cultivators can only combine with humans to give birth to normal infants once they step into the Golden Immortal level.

By relying on that bit of essence from the reincarnated Golden Immortal Ning Caichen, and with the added blessing of the Merit and Luck from his past life, Nie Xiaoqian miraculously conceived a mortal child while still at the True Immortal stage.

A dead spirit giving birth to a living infant—such a profound and mysterious creation, even if artificially induced, brought immense benefits to her as the maternal vessel.

The process of pregnancy was, in itself, the process of her attaining the Dao.

Finally, upon giving birth, she attained the Golden Immortal realm.

To attain the Golden Immortal Dao by relying on pregnancy and childbirth—there is truly no one else who could pull off such a feat.

Of course, this also reveals the preciousness of that little something possessed by the reincarnated Golden Immortal, Ning Caichen.

Otherwise, on the journey to the West, Tang Seng would not have been so consistently cold and unyielding when facing the many female demons who coveted his body, even going so far as to say, "My primordial yang is a supreme treasure; how could I easily give it to others!" Unfortunately, no matter how outstanding her talent or how deep her schemes, she worshipped the wrong Buddhist, and everything was in vain. From what Fang Longye understands, the disciples and grand-disciples under Donghua Dijun are all individuals who emphasize the "Supreme Forgetfulness of Emotions."

Expecting to rely on such a romantic connection to latch onto the thigh of Ning Caichen's past sect? One would have to be blind to even dream of it! "Heh," facing Fang Longye's conclusion, Ao Ying smiled and replied: "Master is right. If this Nie Xiaoqian wants to rely on a romantic connection to bridge a path to that Ning's past sect, it can only be called a delusion."

"According to some examples I have known in the past, this Young Master Ning's past sect has likely already treated her as the Love Tribulation that their own disciple must experience!"

Fang Longye shook his head and chuckled; wasn't this obvious? In his view, that Sword Immortal Yan whom Ning Caichen met earlier was clearly a member of his sect.

Otherwise, why would someone casually gift a Superior Spiritual Treasure-level Sword Pouch to a stranger upon a chance meeting? Think carefully; perhaps, before Nie Xiaoqian even developed any ulterior motives, she had already been selected by their sect and drawn into the scheme.

It is even possible that her intention to use Ning Caichen as a bridge was the result of secret influence from the elders of that sect.

Hah! Better not think about it; the more one thinks, the more terrifying it becomes.

Fang Longye cast aside these distracting thoughts and, taking the two women with him, flew toward a strange and evil territory already visible in the distance.

……

Before long, they arrived at their destination.

Fang Longye lowered his cloud, stood in the void with Qingli and the other woman, and watched.

Below, steep ridges and dangerous peaks coiled and crouched, while deep valleys and evil ravines were scattered like stars. Twisted, strange pines and curved, ram-horn-like rocks stood in disarray, and bursts of shrill, eerie cries echoed through the mountain ridges, carrying far into the distance.

This was merely the appearance manifested in the current world.

Under his Dharma Eye, what entered Fang Longye's vision was a vast, boundless black-red space.

It was twisted, evil, and constantly shifting.

All around was gloomy, dark, and devoid of sunlight.

Like ink soaking into paper, it stained the surroundings, deepening from light to dark.

It was cold, silent, and soundless, with bursts of black lotuses blooming within.

An indescribable, fishy stench, containing a tyrannical power that eroded all things, filled the inside and outside.

"Is this Corpse Soul Ridge?" Qingli exclaimed.

Qingli and Ao Ying followed behind him; they saw it too, their brows slightly furrowed, looking somewhat inclined to retreat.

Because, not to mention the deep, prison-like space, even on the periphery of this area, black-red clouds permeated the air from time to time.

Some were as large as an acre, others as small as a lamp flame, scattered about; as soon as one approached, a fishy stench would assault the nose.

This stench was not the smell of slaughter or blood, but something unclear and indescribable that made one subconsciously want to keep their distance.

"That's right, this is where your opportunity and creation lie, Qingli—Corpse Soul Ridge," Fang Longye said, his gaze bright as he stared at this evil place.

The reason Corpse Soul Ridge has such strange phenomena is naturally because it was once a battlefield during the Great War of the Immortal Qin.

Countless Immortals, Demons, Gods, and Buddhist practitioners fell here, their essence and blood spilling onto this land; after being soaked for years, this area had long since become twisted and mutated, with all kinds of fierce energies—baleful, death, poison, and miasma—growing in abundance.

Even the Dao laws of this place had been twisted and mutated, forming a space of its own.

"Although this Corpse Soul Ridge is exceptionally fierce, it is filled with the essence, blood, and origins of various Immortals, Demons, Gods, and Buddhist practitioners, which is just right for you, Qingli, to cultivate the 'Heavenly Demon Slaughtering God Art'," Fang Longye said, looking back at Qingli.

The 'Heavenly Demon Slaughtering God Art', this secret technique for Reverse Innate, was taught to Qingli shortly after Fang Longye obtained it.

After all, she truly did not possess any powerful Bloodline; she was just an ordinary green bamboo snake.

As a secret technique for Reverse Innate with the potential to transform into a Xiantian Shengsheng, it was quite suitable for Qingli to cultivate.

Having said that, he did not hesitate and immediately took Qingli and Ao Ying into Corpse Soul Ridge.

Passing through the water-like spatial barrier, Fang Longye and the others arrived within this evil space.

Before their eyes, it was as dark and heavy as a prison, with a bottomless, gloomy color.

It was eerie, fierce, and dark.

Destruction and ruin were continuous and unending.

The entire evil space resonated with certain rules in the dark. From time to time, massive amounts of power would descend, causing the space to undergo subtle changes.

Fang Longye frowned; the situation was indeed beyond his expectations.

Numerous baleful and death energies, mixed with the essence, blood, and origins spilled by Immortals, Demons, Gods, and Buddhist practitioners, had undergone a mysterious mutation under the brewing of time.

This made the space unimaginably difficult to deal with and fierce.

Fang Longye unleashed an attack with all his might, and immediately, power from the dark rolled within the space; the power of rules emerged, thin as threads but overriding everything else, which was no small matter, and it dissipated his attack in an instant.

Perhaps his attack had triggered something, for in the void, bursts of ghostly wailing and wolf howling immediately erupted—extremely evil, extremely dark, and extremely filthy, making one feel disgusted upon hearing them.

Initially, they were thin threads, but a moment later, they were overwhelming, yet long-lasting and pervasive.

Wherever they went, they stirred up a mass of black-red energy, condensing into layers of evil musical notes that leaped, surged, and collided.

Fine patterns appeared around the three of them, crisscrossing in circles and layers—indescribable patterns of deep, greenish-blue.

As soon as they appeared, they carried a Dharma principle that stained the heavens and earth, devouring souls and rotting bones, as they eroded toward them, wanting to turn them into members of this space.

"Hmph!"

Fang Longye let out a cold snort; the Five Qi in the Chest surged, and the Creation Divine Fire and Sun True Fire within his body, derived from refining the exotic Lotus Lantern, combined to form a palm-sized bronze lamp that ignited and rose above his crown.

The flames shone brightly, like clouds spreading out, clustered and intertwined; at the very top, it looked like a colander, or perhaps a long beak resembling a Golden Crow, swaying back and forth.

It shone with great brilliance, illuminating all directions.

The Divine Light was misty and colorful, dissipating the spontaneous attacks of this evil space.

Fang Longye, with the lamp condensed from two types of True Fire above his head, looked solemn as he saw the black energy constantly emerging around the lamp flames.

This was because he discovered that, above his own primordial spirit, an imperceptible halo was unfolding—dim and hazy, half-black and half-red, winding up and down and constantly infiltrating.

Fortunately, with the protection of a host of Spirit Treasures, they were safe and sound.

The black color is the fierce Aura of this space, mutated and overgrown through the accumulation of time.

The red color originates from the interwoven Dharma and principles of the essence blood and origins of a host of immortals, demons, gods, and Buddhist beings.

The two collide and fuse; sometimes the black is more, sometimes the red Qi is stronger, growing and waning, changing back and forth.

Together, they derive an indescribable, eerie power that, imperceptibly, encroaches upon everything.

With a movement of his mind, the Creation Divine Fire rose within his body, cleansing everything away, and the Yin and Yang Two Qis transformed into a millstone, grinding away everything else.

Fang Longye recovered his senses and watched as Qingli and Ao Ying also employed their own methods to dispel the eerie power that had contaminated their bodies.

He raised his head to look at the rugged terrain all around and the dim, prison-like scene in the distance, then chuckled softly: "Good! This is finally a bit interesting."

The more complex this eerie domain formed by Corpse Soul Ridge is, the better.

In this way, as long as one has the ability, one will inevitably be able to seize benefits from it that were previously unimagined.

(End of this chapter)