Chapter 756

Ye Qingran postponed her trip to the Sea of Severed Souls by two days.

During these two days, she taught the Yun Tribe people how to awaken the summoning technique hidden in their bloodlines.

The Yun Tribe people do not lack knowledge of summoning, but the skill is already concealed within their bloodlines, becoming a sort of latent gene that requires time and effort to excavate.

The purer the bloodline, the stronger the resonance with the Cloud Map, allowing earlier mastery of summoning and the ability to call forth more powerful Spirit Beasts.

Under Ye Qingran's guidance, a small group within the Yun Tribe quickly succeeded in mastering the summoning technique.

They were very grateful to Ye Qingran and were immersed in great joy.

Yun Batian watched the scene from afar, a hint of solemnity flashing in his eyes.

From a distance, Ye Qingran noticed him and waved, but he seemed not to see.

Upon closer look, his expression was grim, his gaze unfocused, as if lost in thought.

Ye Qingran pursed her lips, a thoughtful glint appearing in her eyes.

She noticed that since the summoning technique spread among the Yun Tribe, Yun Batian had become odd, constantly distracted; when she asked him, he merely shook his head and said it was nothing.

She thought his abnormality was linked to the summoning technique, or perhaps the Cloud Map, or even that mysterious Xuyu.

Of course, she had also inquired about Xuyu, but he said that with her current strength, learning about Xuyu was premature and would affect her cultivation.

That made her even more curious; she was already a foot away from becoming a Human Emperor—does even Xuyu not deserve to be understood at this stage?

What exactly is Xuyu?

She suddenly missed Fu Hanxiu!

If he were here, he wouldn't leave things vague!

However, Yun Batian did not stop the spread of the summoning technique within the Yun Tribe.

Soon, the Yun Tribe sparked a wave of summoning craze.

Night fell; this was Ye Qingran's last day among the Yun Tribe, and tomorrow she would go with other young Yun Tribe members to the Sea of Severed Souls.

A figure leapt onto Hundred Flowers Island.

In the moonlight, one could vaguely discern a woman—the woman was Qin Zheng.

However, at this moment, her facial expression had lost its previous liveliness; especially her eyes, vacant and lifeless, making her look like a walking corpse.

She walked unhurriedly without making a sound; anyone who saw her would be shocked, for she emitted no breath fluctuation, like a ghost.

By now it was deep night; Ye Qingran and the others were sound asleep, and Hundred Flowers Island was extremely tranquil.

Qin Zheng twitched her nose, her gaze fixed on a certain room, then she walked toward it; as she moved, the hands hanging at her sides suddenly sprouted long, black fingernails like daggers.

She extended the long nails, shattered the door, hissed like a poisonous snake, and then lunged fiercely at Ye Qingran on the bed.

Just before Qin Zheng's black long nails struck, Ye Qingran opened her eyes, dodged to the side, and after recognizing Qin Zheng, she sneered.

"Qin Zheng, you really are relentless!"

Qin Zheng ignored her and attacked again; Ye Qingran raised her hand to light the lamp on the table, saw Qin Zheng clearly, and her complexion changed instantly.

She saw black vapors rising from Qin Zheng's face, her lips a deep black, looking like a fierce ghost; crucially, she had clearly lost her mind, like a ghost being controlled.

"What is happening?" Even though Ye Qingran is knowledgeable, this was her first encounter with such a situation.

Qin Zheng suddenly seemed far more dangerous, as if in a berserk state, yet her strength was clearly not high.

Not allowing Ye Qingran to overthink, after dodging Qin Zheng's attack again she went on the offensive, but to her surprise Qin Zheng seemed to have mastered the Golden Bell Shield and Iron Cloth, impervious to blades and spears; her attacks were useless against her!

Ye Qingran raised an eyebrow, launched another attack; aside from being temporarily repelled, Qin Zheng sustained no real damage.

"Interesting!"

At this moment, Han Xing, Leng Yue, Bai Bing and the others next door heard the commotion, rushed over, and all stared wide-eyed at the scene.

"Is that a ghost?"

Leng Yue exclaimed.

Disheveled hair, black lips, eerie eyes—if not a ghost, then what?

"You all step back; don't let her nails touch you, they're poisonous."

Ye Qingran reminded them.

Although she still didn't know what curse had afflicted Qin Zheng, she was certain the nails were poisonous—so unusual that even she, the Pill Emperor, had never seen anything like it.

"Miss, is she Qin Zheng?" Bai Bing recognized her.

"Yes, that's her. She must have fallen under some dark secret art, becoming neither fully human nor ghost."

Qin Zheng's combat power was great, and her force immense; Ye Qingran and the others spent considerable effort to subdue her.

"Sss~

"Roo~

Bound tightly with five-colored ropes, Qin Zheng sat on the ground, emitting all sorts of strange sounds that sent chills down people's spines.

"Zombie?"

The image of that thing flashed through Ye Qingran's mind.

"Who dares use such evil secret art on the Yun Tribe?" Han Xing's beautiful eyes chilled; as a healer, she especially despised such heretical methods.

Who else in the Yun Tribe knows this secret art and dares to use it brazenly?

Ye Qingran's eyes flashed; she suddenly thought of someone.

"Yun Lan?" she meant the witch inside Yun Lan.

She seemed to come from a very mysterious place, so possessing such evil secret art was not surprising.

"Bad! We've been tricked!"

A hypothesis surfaced in Ye Qingran's mind, and her expression darkened.

"Fu San, you and Xing Er go check Yun Lan!"

Although Fu San and Han Xing still didn't know what had happened, seeing Ye Qingran so serious made them realize trouble was brewing; they responded with a nod and hurriedly flew toward the place where Yun Lan resided.

"Miss, what exactly happened?"

"Qin Zheng was sent by Yun Lan."

"Bai Bing and Leng Yue exchanged a glance, and both saw shock in each other's eyes."

"Ye Qingran continued, 'Qin Zheng's ghastly appearance is all thanks to Yun Lan; she did this only to lure the tiger away from the mountain.'"

"Ye Qingran squinted, 'If I'm not mistaken, Yun Lan is no longer in the Yun Tribe!'"

"Bai Bing and Leng Yue felt a chill down their spines."

"Yun Lan has already left?"

"Soon, Fu San and Han Xing hurried back, 'Miss, Yun Lan is still here, but she seems to have lost her soul!'"

"Lost her soul?"

"'Let's go, go see! Fu San took Qin Zheng with him.'"

"Fu San looked at the zombie‑like Qin Zheng with a disdainful expression, but he gritted his teeth, grabbed her by the neck with one hand, and led her out."

"Secluded Orchid Residence."

"Yun Lan lay on the bed, her complexion ashen."

"Yun Batian, Yun Zhongyue, and Yun Zhongge have already arrived."

"When Ye Qingran entered, the three of them all wore grim looks."