Chapter 697: Soul

“The old ghost of the capital…”

Watching the figure depart, Li Yan fell into thought.

Though the old beggar concealed himself well, Li Yan could faintly sense something amiss with his technique.

The Qi flow was sluggish and dull—clearly from severe injury.

Such mastery of the “Nine Gates Yin Ruins” entrance… could he be connected to the imperial family?

The thought vanished as quickly as it came; Li Yan turned back immediately toward the small courtyard.

Inside the courtyard, the altar was already fully prepared.

Four colored flags were placed according to the Four Symbols, symbolizing the Four Sacred Beasts guarding the altar.

The altar surface was covered in yellow-and-white cloud brocade; before the ancestral portrait stood the “Five Offerings,” a peach-wood talisman sword leaned against the altar’s front, its hilt tied with red cords holding yin-yang coins linked to the four flags, enveloping the entire altar.

A three-clear bell hung on the eastern wooden rack, its chime capable of startling wandering spirits.

Eight Bagua mirrors hung around the courtyard walls, reflecting moonlight to form a “Celestial Net of Light” with the red cords and coins, blocking external evils.

On the ground before the altar, glutinous rice and incense ash formed a Taiji diagram.

Seven copper lamps were arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper, symbolizing the invocation of starlight to protect the soul.

Even inside the incense burner, “Soul-Returning Incense” made of sandalwood, frankincense, and myrrh burned steadily.

To ensure Li Yan’s safety, Wang Daoxuan pulled out his most secret techniques.

“Young Master Li.”

Wang Daoxuan spoke with grave seriousness: “Young Master Li, though your Dao cultivation has reached the fourth level, you still cannot control your spirit. I will light the Soul Lamp to shield you, open your spirit gates with yin talismans, and guide your soul outward with the Soul-Returning Incense.”

“But this is perilous—there are several points you must heed.”

“Your soul may only wander within the third quarter of Zi hour; now, when yin energy peaks, moonlight will ease the soul’s depletion. Once time passes and Zi and Wu shift, yang energy rises, soul depletion accelerates—you’ll grow dazed and lose your way home…”

“I’ve buried silent-existence talisman-jade around the altar; if the City God patrols, you may hide—but only three times…”

“After your soul leaves the body, I will set the Soul-Tethering Thread. At the end of three quarters of an hour, I will shake the Soul-Guiding Banner. If you don’t return, I’ll sever the thread with the peach-wood sword and ignite the effigy to forcibly summon your soul back.”

“So, the Soul-Tethering Thread must not break!”

“Master, I understand.”

Li Yan nodded solemnly, then sat cross-legged within the yin-yang fish on the altar’s front, as Wang Daoxuan directed.

Long Yan immediately stepped forward and lit each of the Seven-Star Lamps in turn, warning: “Young Master Li, be careful—if things turn dire, return immediately. We still have time and chances.”

“Don’t worry, I know.”

Li Yan gave one more reassurance, then clasped his hands into seal and entered meditation.

Wang Daoxuan signaled Long Yan and Wu Ba to guard the altar, then shook his robe, dipped a willow branch in rootless water (rainwater), stepped the Great Dipper Pace, and sprinkled the altar’s perimeter while chanting: “Heaven and earth, naturally, impure qi disperses… In the cavern’s mystery, bright and vast the Primordial!”

This was the “Pure Heaven and Earth Spell,” used to cleanse the altar and prevent interference from stray energies.

Only performed for vital rituals.

As the willow branch sprinkled water, the air around seemed to grow fresh.

Wang Daoxuan spun around, returned to the altar, clenched a seal with his left hand, and with his right hand dipped in cinnabar ink, swiftly wrote on yellow paper: “By imperial decree, Divine General Sima Qing of Ding Mao guards the soul; Divine General Zhan Zijiang of Jia Xu anchors the spirit…” then lit it.

This was the burning of talismans to summon the Six Ding and Six Jia to guard the altar.

As the yellow paper burned, ash formed twelve swirling winds, dispersing around.

The Wang Daoxuan before them was no longer the impoverished Daoist of old.

He had deepened his cultivation, restored the lineage, and mastered the “Five-Head Divine Secret,” allowing him to divide his focus.

Such an altar usually required three practitioners; he completed it alone with ease.

Having prepared everything, Wang Daoxuan, with solemn expression, took from the altar a sheet of yellow parchment.

On it, cinnabar mixed with gecko blood formed a “Soul-Departing Talisman.”

He pressed the “Soul-Departing Talisman” onto Li Yan’s Lingtai point at the brow, pressed his thumb against the base of his ring finger, kept the other three fingers together, and chanted:

“The Nine Underworlds open in peace; soul exits the mysterious gate… Decree!”

With a sword finger, Li Yan, seated at the yin fish’s eye, suddenly trembled slightly.

At once, his body relaxed completely, shoulders drooping, breath slowing, as if turned to clay.

Yet Li Yan himself felt his body grow heavier, the world sinking into darkness, as if wrapped in cotton.

He held his spirit in stillness, then leapt forward with all his will.

Instantly, the world around him changed utterly.

He floated weightlessly, feet not touching ground; the world lost all color, reduced to gray and white.

Yet every subtle sound, scent, even heat flow became a hundred times clearer.

Looking up, he saw the sky and earth filled with a heavy, mercury-like coldness.

That was the moonlight power drawn by the Seven-Star Lamps.

Turning to look around, everything grew dim and hazy, as if veiled in mist.

He saw within the courtyard, Long Yan and Wu Ba, faces grim, staring at his physical body before the altar.

Yet they saw nothing of his soul.

Ding-ding-ding~

The red cords tied to the hilt of Wang Daoxuan’s sword trembled slightly.

Li Yan felt himself like a balloon, pulled from both sides.

Looking at his wrist, a red cord with a coin had appeared, its end vanishing into emptiness, seemingly linked to the one on Wang Daoxuan’s sword hilt.

Li Yan sensed it, and shook his wrist.

The red cords on the peach-wood sword hilt trembled in response.

“There!”

Wang Daoxuan suddenly opened his eyes, clenched a seal, and pointed at the incense burner.

From within, streams of blue smoke rose, swirling around Li Yan.

Then one strand drifted toward the darkness beyond the courtyard.

Li Yan knew—that was the Soul-Returning Incense.

Time was short; he did not delay, immediately following the incense’s trail.

Soul-wandering was indeed swift beyond measure.

With a single thought, Li Yan surged forward, passing through the gate.

To others, an eerie wind suddenly stirred in the courtyard, and Li Yan’s presence vanished entirely.

When he opened his eyes again, he stood on a street.

He looked around—the street itself had become strange.

Everything was dim and unstable; beyond a hundred paces, darkness swallowed all.

As if stepping into the netherworld.

Ordinary people would panic and flee, causing their souls to scatter.

But Li Yan knew the Divine Perception Technique and had experienced this before—he felt no fear.

He discerned the direction, sent his spirit-nature forward, and sped swiftly leftward.

The capital had nine gates, multiple night-watchmen, each responsible for a specific district.

This was the first hurdle to entering the “Nine Gates Yin Ruins.”

He did not know where the “Oil-Stealing Rat Spirit” would appear or which night-watchman it followed—he could only rely on luck…

…………

Bang~ Bang-bang~

“Midnight Zi hour—watch for fire, watch for thieves.”

The night-watchman “Lao Dou” yawned, his voice weak and listless.

The world held many suffering souls; Lao Dou was one of them.

Since childhood, he had suffered a strange illness: half his face swollen like a dipper, his eyes and features twisted out of place, resembling a demon.

Perhaps because the wretched were hardy, his parents abandoned him, but a deaf-mute old man took him in.

Though life was hard, Lao Dou at least grew up.

His grotesque appearance made him feared and despised since youth; he grew ever more reluctant to show himself.

The night-watchman’s nocturnal routine suited him perfectly.

As for ghosts, which others feared, Lao Dou had no fear.

To him, humans were far crueler than ghosts.

Just after striking the wooden clapper, a cold wind howled past, swirling fallen leaves. Lao Dou rubbed his nose, glared, and cursed: “Damn thing—hurry up and be reborn!”

In the air, Li Yan turned, frowning slightly.

He was just an ordinary man—could he have yin-yang eyes and see me?

Though puzzled, Li Yan paid no mind and continued forward.

Soul-wandering was indeed swift; less than a cup of tea’s time, he circled all nine gates.

Yet he found nothing unusual.

Once again, Li Yan passed near Lao Dou.

Lao Dou stood by the wall, urinating, muttering: “You think you’re so tough? The whole capital’s my privy…”

A cold wind blew past; he shivered, glanced sideways, and cursed: “Must be a woman—eyeing my big, thick thing?”

Of course, he was looking in another direction.

Li Yan finally realized this guy was just a foul-mouthed fool.

He hadn’t found the place to begin with, and now a quarter-hour had passed—he grew anxious.

Hearing this, he instantly grew angry and wanted to scare this foul-mouthed brute.

But just then, his heart froze, and he shrank back into the corner of the wall.

Suddenly, black mist churned across the street, accompanied by constant clattering of hooves and armor.

In the distance, three deep, somber bronze gongs rang out, their waves of sound carrying icy dread that shook the entire street.

Hearing this sound, Li Yan felt his soul tremble.

It’s the City God’s patrol!

Li Yan suddenly understood—he followed Wang Daoxuan’s instructions, stabilized his spirit and focused inward, drawing a deep breath.

Yin spirits have no physical bodies, so naturally they cannot breathe—but what he breathed in wasn’t air.

The Soul-Guiding Incense that had been swirling around him was instantly swallowed by his yin spirit, then swiftly exhaled.

In that instant, the incense’s blue smoke scattered, enveloping him like a straw raincoat.

Then Li Yan stood motionless in the corner.

At the same time, a line of spectral shadows gradually emerged from the thick mist—ethereal in form, yet dense with malevolent energy.

Tattered robes, broken armor, faces indistinct.

At their head, two figures held up plaques inscribed with “SILENCE” and “KEEP BACK,” their crimson talismanic characters flickering in the mist.

Where these spectral figures stepped, violent yin winds erupted around them.

Gong! Gong! Gong!

Two spectral figures behind carried a massive gong.

It looked light as paper, almost insubstantial.

But every time another specter struck it, the resonance was staggering, shaking the dark mist.

To yin spirits, this sound was like thunder drums—shattering the soul; to mortals, it was utterly inaudible.

Just like that “Old Dou,” who, seeing wind suddenly blow from nowhere, cowered in the corner, cursing under his breath.

Unaware that right before him, within three feet, stood the City God’s temple soldiers.

In the center of the procession, an eight-man ghost palanquin bore the spectral form of the City God.

The curtain stirred without wind in the black mist, revealing two eyes like ghostly fire, scanning the dark alleys.

Within the dark alleys, several pale specters stood frozen against the walls.

These were the lonely souls of the dead from the capital, their spirits incomplete, only capable of standing dumbly in place.

Don’t underestimate these things—if they accumulate enough, they devour one another, becoming vengeful ghosts that lurk at street intersections, creating ghostly mazes to terrify night travelers and devour their fragmented souls.

The demon-hunters’ “Tales of the Profound Dark” call them “Crossroads Ghosts.”

But wherever the City God’s gaze fell, these fragmented souls vanished like candles struck by divine wind—“hiss”—turning to blue smoke.

Li Yan’s scalp prickled.

He finally understood why high-level Daoist masters rushed to possess new bodies after death.

The physical form is a boat; without it, the soul becomes extremely weak, vulnerable to many things.

Of course, he had his own method.

If he summoned the “Celestial Official Decree,” he could drive back the City God.

But all the City God temples in this area were controlled by the Imperial Clan Office.

Forcing the City God back would alert them.

Fortunately, Wang Daoxuan’s methods were exceptional—the patrol team saw absolutely nothing of Li Yan hiding in the corner.

Soon, the patrol vanished into the black mist.

Li Yan exhaled, and the Soul-Guiding Incense once again gathered, coiling around his body like a spirit serpent along his arms.

Swish!

Li Yan was about to continue searching when the mist twisted abruptly, pointing toward the opposite wall.

There stood the night watchman, “Old Dou.”

The gale had faded; the City God’s patrol had departed.

Old Dou grumbled, picked up his wooden clapper, and prepared to resume his rounds.

But just then, a small dark shadow appeared in the dark corner of the wall.

“Small” wasn’t quite right—its whiskers were a full foot long, its enormous nose twitching wildly as it sniffed left and right.

It was the Oil-Stealing Rat Spirit!

Li Yan instantly perked up.

A massive rat, wrapped in black smoke, slithered out from a crack in the wall.

This creature, too, was in yin spirit form, yet its body was unnaturally solid.

Its fur gleamed oily and slick, streams of black smoke rising from its skin.

Facing the oblivious night watchman “Old Dou,” the rat spirit stood upright—taller than Old Dou by half a head—its front paws resting on the man’s shoulders, its hind paws propped beneath his feet.

Instantly, Old Dou’s eyes went vacant; he rose onto his tiptoes, swaying forward.

Li Yan narrowed his eyes and followed closely behind.

“She” means earth; “Ji” means grain.

The Emperor of Shenzhou often spoke of “River and Soil, Grain and Harvest,” but it was the common folk who truly cared about “She” and “Ji.”

Since the earliest worship of the Earth God, Earth Temples now spread across the land.

In this capital, every major street had its own Earth Temple.

They weren’t large—barely half a man’s height—with the Earth God and Earth Goddess enshrined inside.

The people of the capital often made offerings; incense burners and ash piles had grown into little mountains.

The night watchman, swaying, arrived at one such temple and stiffly bent over.

The Oil-Stealing Rat Spirit perched on his shoulders immediately sniffed and sucked in sharply.

Streams of blue smoke drifted from the Earth Temple, flowing into its nostrils.

The rat spirit’s black eyes closed, its face relaxing into bliss.

Then Old Dou, still on tiptoes, shuffled toward the next Earth Temple.

As Li Yan moved to follow, he suddenly noticed a dragon-headed cane extending from the shrine’s altar, pointing at the rat spirit’s back.

Then another hand, adorned with a jade pendant, reached out and pulled the cane back.

As Li Yan passed by, he stole a sidelong glance.

The clay statues of the Earth God and Earth Goddess had swapped positions—back to back.

Li Yan smiled inwardly but kept moving, following the Oil-Stealing Rat Spirit.

Thus, he watched as the rat spirit stole incense from several Earth Temples.

Seeing this, Li Yan fell into thought.

What was odd about this Oil-Stealing Rat Spirit that it could make the Earth Gods swallow their humiliation silently?

As if sated with incense, the night watchman “Old Dou” suddenly stopped.

The Oil-Stealing Rat Spirit shot out, dashing into a dark alley.

Li Yan’s mind stirred—he followed the rat spirit into the alley.

Seeing the spirit vanish into a wall crack, Li Yan gritted his teeth and charged forward, disappearing into the crack as well.

On the street, only Old Dou remained—his heels finally touched the ground, and he snapped back to awareness. Looking around at the changed street, he erupted in fury: “Brat, you think you can mess with me, huh…”

(End of Chapter)