Chapter 104: Evil Thoughts Breed Evil Methods

"Hey, do you guys think our temple is haunted?"

In the front hall of Sanyin Temple, three sneaky figures huddled together, whispering to each other, occasionally turning their heads to scan their surroundings.

Although the three were all strong men with accomplished martial arts.

Although their master was a man of the Dao.

Although their Sanyin Temple was a blessed land for cultivation—well, that probably wasn't true.

But it shouldn't be haunted!

They didn't dare speak carelessly; if their master heard them, they feared they wouldn't get any good fruit to eat.

Most importantly, they didn't know if their temple was truly haunted.

"It's strange."

Niu Ji's sallow, large face was full of confusion: "I've been picking up money every day when I go out lately. It's not much, just half a tael or a tael of silver fragments, adding up to over ten taels. But picking up money is one thing; the silver in my pocket hasn't increased by a single cent. It's always the same amount. It's absurd."

"Senior Brother, are you sure you aren't just picking up the money you dropped yourself?"

GanYang thought for a moment and asked in a low voice.

"I pick up silver fragments, but I lose official silver!"

Niu Ji looked quite speechless: "Although the weight is the same, there is still a difference of one mace of silver in melting loss."

GanYang: "."

Long Xianzhi: "."

It's only one mace of silver; judging by your expression, one would think it was a hundred or eighty taels. Is it really worth it?

"My shoes have been getting worn on the wrong feet lately. Either they are both left or both right, or one of each pair. I clearly put them away properly, but every time I wake up, they are wrong."

GanYang suddenly felt a cold wind blow past and couldn't help but shrink his neck.

"I always feel like something is watching me in the temple at night, but when I look carefully, I find nothing."

Long Xianzhi hesitated for a moment and said truthfully: "I am preparing to ask Master for a Spirit Pill to carry. In our own temple, there shouldn't be any harmful evil spirits..."

"What are you three whispering about here?"

Chen Ci walked slowly into the front hall from the back. Seeing his three cheap Apprentices huddled together whispering—just like a black-hearted boss seeing his employees slacking off—anger rose from his heart: "Has the temple's cleaning been done? Has the temple's property been managed? Have the temple's accounts been checked? You all look quite leisurely!"

If you don't work hard, how can I, your master, lie down and cultivate? Hmph.

"Master!"

The three were startled and exchanged glances. They wanted to say something, but the words died on their lips.

These small, baseless, and inconsequential matters would truly lead to a scolding if spoken aloud.

"Wait."

Chen Ci thought for a moment and tossed a bottle of Health-Preserving Pills to each of them: "Mistakes must be punished, and merits must be rewarded. The temple's property was managed well last year, but I didn't reward you with anything. Take these. The temple has heavy Yin Qi, so don't slack off on your martial arts cultivation in your daily life. Don't be suspicious or paranoid, just do your work well."

"Thank you for the reward, Master!"

The three received the pills, their hearts blooming with joy. They had eaten these Spirit Pills before, and the taste—tsk tsk—it was unbearable to stop.

"Go on."

Chen Ci waved his hand. This year-end bonus, though late, had arrived. It was much better than those stingy bosses. At current market rates, these three bottles of Health-Preserving Pills were worth at least two thousand taels of silver. These three worked reasonably hard, so he couldn't be too stingy.

What, you say cost?

How can the things of a cultivator be calculated by cost? How foolish.

Most importantly, his third cheap Apprentice, Long Xianzhi, might be close to Zhoutian Consummation in his martial arts cultivation and about to step onto the path of the Dao.

Chen Ci had heard their whispers clearly and knew what had happened, but he hadn't expected Long Xianzhi to faintly sense the existence of the Five Ghosts. It was an unexpected joy. He had never had a usable cultivator under his command. He had thought Niu Ji was the oldest and had the deepest martial arts cultivation, but he hadn't expected the youngest, Long Xianzhi, to have a chance to take this step.

This Health-Preserving Pill was both a year-end bonus and a helping hand from Master Chen; it just depended on whether anyone could catch it.

After dismissing the three, Chen Ci paced around the temple for a while to clear his mind, his eyes resting on his Gold Finger panel.

Five Ghosts Transportation Method: Proficient/2/100 (Refining Essence five drops daily, can advance one, subdue the heart-ghost, spirit-ghosts born naturally)

As his intent shifted, his five spirit-ghosts jumped down from the Ancient Bronze Lamp. Turning from void to solid, they transformed into five clusters of semi-transparent black mist, spinning incessantly like five small tornadoes.

With a flick of his finger, the five clusters of black mist spun continuously, surrounding a stone stool. They actually lifted the several-dozen-catty stone stool, swaying as it flew several zhang away.

"Boom~"

Unable to sustain it, the stone stool crashed to the ground with a loud noise. The five ghosts drifted back, turning into a semi-solid, semi-void state, conveying a well-behaved feeling of 'hungry and tired' to Chen Ci.

"Go back."

Chen Ci muttered: "You are hungry, and I, your master, am hungry too."

After practicing the Five Ghosts Transportation Method to proficiency, the connection between Chen Ci and the five little ones became more intimate. Not only that, but the solid state of the five ghosts as spinning black mist greatly enhanced their lifting ability. While they still couldn't lift Chen Ci, they could manage to fly a heavy object of several dozen catties for a few meters.

The only problem was that the solid black mist state of the five ghosts consumed a lot. It wasn't just the consumption of True Qi; the drain on physical strength and spirit was also quite significant. It seemed the five ghosts were draining Chen Ci's Yang Qi. After just this short while, Chen Ci felt a bit hungry himself and only recovered after taking a Health-Preserving Pill.

Then there was the Essence Refining. Refining five drops of Essence daily—Chen Ci really couldn't afford it anymore.

Never mind the Essence Refining for his own five ghosts; Chen Ci couldn't even keep up with the offerings for the Fuhu Altar. The food shortage in Xishan Prefecture was so severe that there were no large livestock left to extract Essence from. Even the refining of the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag had slowed down significantly.

Fortunately, with the increase in refugees and the worsening public security in Changping County, there was no shortage of death-row prisoners in the county jail. Under strict laws, Chen Ci finally managed to hold onto his remaining bottom line.

"Subdue the heart-ghost, spirit-ghosts born naturally."

Chen Ci looked at the note on the panel and felt the five ghosts in the Ancient Bronze Lamp, lost in thought.

With the progress of the Five Ghosts Transportation Method, Chen Ci had tried letting the five ghosts perform some small transportation tricks over the past few days and discovered that they could clearly convey a feeling of joy, as if they were having fun.

Combined with the previous comparison, Chen Ci felt that besides the advancement of the spell, his five ghosts were also growing. It was like they were growing from ghost-infants into little ghosts; they were indeed much more agile.

It is said that it is hard to learn good, but easy to slide into bad.

He faintly suspected that this 'heart-ghost' referred to the evil thoughts in his own heart. This method of raising the Five Ghosts was connected to the host's mind; it was like raising a child. The host's character greatly influenced the growth of the five ghosts.

If one could subdue the evil intent in their heart, their five ghosts would develop in the direction of spirit-ghosts.

If one couldn't subdue it, then they would have to leave it to fate. By then, if the Five Ghosts entered the body, whether they would backfire would depend on the depth of one's own Dao cultivation.

"Asking a He Mountain Sect Apprentice to subdue the evil thoughts in their heart is not simpler than asking a vicious wolf to eat grass. The sect's style doesn't allow for that either."

Chen Ci doubted whether his own insights and understanding were wrong, but then he thought about it and felt that wasn't necessarily the case; although he couldn't be called a good person, and perhaps was a bit far from being a decent one, his moral bottom line wasn't that low, and the Five Ghosts he raised were indeed much gentler than those recorded by his fellow sect members.

Furthermore, the fundamental Great Method of the He Mountain Sect, the He Mountain Scripture, although it follows the path of Evil Methods involving living souls and flesh, in reality, it does not strictly require one to commit evil to be successfully practiced.

Except for a few Evil Methods that must harm people to be practiced, such as the Skull Demon Method and the Five Poisons White Bone Sword.

Many of the other methods, such as the Yin Yang Soul-Bewitching Banner and the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag, only use harming people as a shortcut; it is not that they cannot be practiced without harming people, especially the Seven Kill Primordial Spirit Method, which ranks first among them and is actually not considered an evil method.

"Moreover, among these many Great Methods, I don't know which ones come with the He Mountain Scripture and which ones were created by later generations and added on, like the Yin Horse Pagoda Lock."

Chen Ci's fingers brushed over the Ancient Bronze Lamp: "Is it ultimately evil thoughts that give birth to evil methods, or evil methods that give birth to evil thoughts?"

"Still, I cannot take shortcuts; if my Essence Refining is insufficient, I will just practice more slowly. The cultivation value for my Five Ghosts Possession Great Method has not been gathered yet, so there is no need to rush for the moment."

Chen Ci let go of the Ancient Bronze Lamp and quickly made up his mind; it seemed that his current path of refining the Five Ghosts was correct. Apart from the fact that they couldn't fight at all, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it. Later, when he switched to cultivating the Five Ghosts Possession Great Method, it would naturally fall into place, so there was no need to seek momentary speed.

And perhaps when the Five Ghosts Transportation Method reaches great success, the five little ones will be able to carry him into the sky.

By then, he would have one more way to escape... no, to soar through the air, Cloud Riding and Mist Driving; it is truly cool!

"I still have to refine Spirit Pill and cultivate True Qi."

A True Qi cultivation of forty apertures is still somewhat insufficient; if he were to run out of strength while flying in the sky and fall down, that would be laughable.

(End of this chapter)