Chapter 125: 163, 164

Song Cheng walked through his own courtyard; the familiar scene and the bustling sounds brought peace to his heart, yet the affairs of the Xiao family would inevitably change all of this.

What should be done?

Just as he was thinking this, he saw A Ting, wrapped in a fluffy cotton-padded jacket, sitting on a high stool under the eaves, painting the snow.

The little girl was nearly six years old, her face clean and her eyes clear, but her gaze held a maturity and gloom that did not belong to her age; as the "North-Falling Master Sect" of the Yin Gui Society, she had seen and heard countless things over this past year.

Every single secret agent sent out was her eyes and ears.

Compared to her, Xiao An was just an incredibly ordinary little boy.

Song Cheng's guess had been confirmed.

A Ting was actually the daughter of him and Young Miss, the Drowned Ghost, and the Human Skin Ghost.

And because of her innate nature, a terrifying transformation had occurred, turning her into an anomaly that no one had ever seen before.

Xiao An, on the other hand, was merely the son of him and Tong Niangzi.

This was entirely a matter of chronological order.

If he had first conceived Xiao An with Tong Niangzi, then it would be Xiao An sitting here painting now, not A Ting.

But as an anomaly, is it really good? If anyone could witness and participate in so much darkness, death, bloodshed, and conspiracy, could they really be okay?

Song Cheng walked over quietly and glanced at A Ting's painting from behind.

The snow looked quiet and beautiful, yet it revealed a sense of distortion; he stood still for a moment.

A Ting sensed him, turned her head, called out "Daddy," and then continued painting.

Song Cheng walked closer, naturally wrapped his hands around her shoulders from behind, and said with a smile, "Are you painting the snow?"

A Ting suddenly said, "Daddy, come and paint with me."

Song Cheng said, "I still have some matters to discuss with your mother; these things are quite urgent. Once Daddy has resolved them, I will definitely spend time painting with you properly."

"Okay, Daddy." A Ting replied obediently, then turned her head and continued to paint.

Song Cheng scanned the surroundings and asked, "Why is no one keeping you company?"

A Ting said, "No, there are many people keeping me company."

Song Cheng knew his daughter was referring to that row of "1~1" things on the roof ridge, and that pile of data in the snow that was within "1~10."

And as if to show she was not lonely, one white bird after another poked its head out from the eaves, while one white snake after another raised its head from the snow, hissing and flicking its tongue.

Song Cheng was silent for a while, smiled and rubbed her hair, then said, "Daddy promises that I will definitely make time to accompany you to paint, to travel across the land, and to paint everywhere."

"Okay, Daddy." A Ting was frighteningly obedient.

Song Cheng continued forward, searched for a circle, and finally found Young Miss, who was deep in thought while looking at various pieces of information and data.

And Ling'er was scribbling wildly to the side, organizing the messy graffiti nearby.

"Husband."

Young Miss looked up.

"Master."

Ling'er also looked up.

Song Cheng said, "I haven't really managed the affairs of the Neizhai; why is A Ting painting outside all by herself?"

An Chenyu said, "Your daughter is a little devil; she doesn't allow anyone to get close, and if they do, she scares them away. You should ask Ling'er."

Ling'er nodded repeatedly and said, "Just this year, the snakes the Young Miss made started having venom. With so many snakes surrounding her, she scares whoever gets close; even Xiao An was scared to the point of wetting his pants.

Ling Xue's family raises snakes, so she wasn't afraid at first, but the Young Miss deliberately scared her, and she ran away crying too. Now, besides the Young Miss, Su Huxian, and the Master, she doesn't let anyone get close."

The air suddenly went quiet; Song Cheng looked at An Chenyu.

An Chenyu also looked at him stubbornly with her tired eyes.

Song Cheng waved his hand, and Ling'er understood and walked away, then thoughtfully closed the door.

The air became even quieter; outside the door and window, the sounds of falling snow and blowing wind became clear; An Chenyu slapped the documents in front of her with a bit of force, and Song Cheng walked up quickly.

Just as Young Miss seemed to want to say something, he went behind her, placed his hands on her shoulders, and began to knead them gently, saying as he did so, "An Jie, you've worked hard."

An Chenyu's words were suddenly stuck in her throat.

Feeling those hands, she said softly, "I thought you were going to blame me for using our daughter as a tool."

Song Cheng said, "If there is blame, it should be on me. Back then, you were the one who didn't want her to touch painting, but I was the one who insisted."

An Chenyu said, "The secret agents of the Yin Gui Society have been completely dispersed; they have spread from the Prefecture City to the Zhoucheng, and even to the Imperial Capital. No one can detect A Ting among those small animal agents.

It is precisely because of A Ting that our secret agents have been able to spread so rapidly.

And if there were no A Ting, the Yin Gui Society would be more than half useless; this is not just for my ambition, but also for the safety of this home today.

We are in the North Land, like blind people, unable to see or hear news from the outside; only with such a Yin Gui Society, I... we..."

"I know, An Jie."

Song Cheng hugged her from behind and said softly, "You have worked hard, and A Ting has worked hard too.

A lion cannot be raised like a cat, and one cannot say that keeping a goshawk in a cage is loving it; A Ting is not an ordinary girl, so... she also needs to adapt to her own differences.

Even if this process is more arduous and tortuous than for ordinary children, she should still face it; we as parents should not stop her, but help her as much as possible."

"I understand; I will guide her well, analyze every event with her, and ensure she doesn't become extreme or fall into intense obsessions," An Chenyu murmured. "Which child is only five or six years old and watches dead people, conspiracies, and darkness every day? I thought my childhood was bitter, but A Ting... is even more bitter than me.

At least I was occasionally innocent when I was young, but A Ting has lost that; even in the middle of the night, her eyes can see scenes ten thousand miles away.

I don't even know what she sees or hears.

Therefore, I let her be as much as I can now.

If she wants to be alone, I let her be alone; after all, most of the time, she is with us.

She speaks, Ling'er records, then I analyze, and afterwards, Ying'er goes to issue the missions.

The secret of North-Falling Master Sect must only be held by the fewest number of people.

So even though it is tiring, it is impossible to find someone else to do it for us."

The couple did not argue, but instead discussed things quietly.

This house is now both the An Mansion and a forbidden area of the Yin Gui Society.

It hides a great deal of information; although it has only just begun, there is no lack of secrets within.

An Chenyu categorized and compiled the information files in various places, distributing them according to "place names."

Song Cheng began to flip through them himself, while An Chenyu called Ling'er back; after all, the two of them had too much work and needed to race against time.

After reading for a while, Song Cheng held a booklet and suddenly said: "Zhao Hua has started fighting with the Six Towns and the noble families?"

That booklet recorded a great battle, saying that Xu Xianweng of the Six Towns had actually united with the Qi Family of Donghai Zhou.

The Qi Family was dissatisfied with Zhao Hua's actions, so the family head turned a blind eye, allowing them to walk about and collude with Xu Xianweng.

Thus, the Six Towns have the support of two noble families.

But Zhao Hua's side was not only unfazed, but also brought the monks of the Holy Bright Temple to stand firm against them.

Now, the area around Fengzhou in Donghai Zhou has begun a great chaotic slaughter. "The Holy Bright Temple, as the state religion believed in by the Great Shang, is secretly supporting the war," Song Cheng muttered, "An Jie, what do you think these monks are trying to do? The trend of the world is that long division leads to unity, and long unity leads to division; do they just want this world to fall into chaos?"

If there were some former dynasty or the like, Song Cheng might think that this Buddhist temple was perhaps for the sake of "restoring the former dynasty," but everything is fine, yet these monks suddenly went astray, hunting down the father and son of the Su Family, facilitating his own joining of the Xiao Family, helping Zhao Hua resist Fengzhou and Donghai Zhou, secretly dispatching Arhats to the North Land, and stealing evil Ghosts to transport them away... This is completely fearing that the world will not be in chaos.

The above is only what he has seen; what he has not seen is perhaps even more.

What exactly does the Holy Bright Temple intend to do?

For a moment, the cold air swirled into black vortices in the air. Opening his eyes to look at this world, he realized that there were dark things and people behind the scenes hidden everywhere here.

An Chenyu shook her head gently, indicating that she did not know either.

But immediately after, she added: "But I know that we need to hide from them for the time being, to avoid them. Many secrets on my husband cannot be exposed."

Having said that, she added: "Are you going to the Xiao Family?"

A touch of determination appeared in Song Cheng's eyes, and he then said: "It should still be some time before the Xiao Family arrives; I need to do some things first."

The Yin Gui Society gave him a general understanding of the situation outside, but before going to the Xiao Family, he still had to complete some things: that is, to go and clash with "that Arhat in the North Land," and then go to the Holy Bright Temple in the Imperial Capital to take a look, so as to increase his understanding of the Holy Bright Temple.

Currently, his strength is "1519~3510," while that Arhat is "650 (1300)~1300 (2600)."

Never mind that they have not recovered; even if they had recovered, they would not be his opponent.

The couple talked for a while longer, then Song Cheng left the room, subsequently sought out Xiao Yu'er and Tong Jie for a brief moment of intimacy, and then sorted out the techniques he had comprehended, preparing to go out.

Perhaps it was a coincidence, but not long after Song Cheng left Hanping Village, he felt a summons from the Yin She; it was the Xiao Family's Yin She.

He was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly sat cross-legged in meditation, his Soul leaving his body to go to that Yin She.

In the "luxurious" Yin She of the Xiao Family, a burly man was sitting upright in the high hall.

His eyes were filled with nothingness, appearing devoid of spirit as if he were contemplating Zen at all times, but if one looked closely, one could see a sharp, lightning-like radiance hidden within.

This was none other than the Xiao Family head—Xiao Cibei.

His data was:

【Strength: 810~1450】

【Favorability: 70】

Seeing Song Cheng arrive, the Xiao Family head stated directly: "Little Song, your plan to bring your entire clan here this year is likely not feasible. The influence of Fengzhou in Donghai Zhou is too great; even traveling from the near sea might result in being caught up in it."

Song Cheng felt a surge of joy in his heart.

He had not yet finished digesting his existing techniques, so now that this had happened, it was just right.

Thus he said: "Family Head Xiao, then I will wait until the great battle is over before I bring my clansmen over."

The Xiao Family head frowned slightly and said: "Why worry about not having a wife? Why worry about not having clansmen? Even if you come to my Jiangnan, you can find ten or eight beauties, seek pleasure every day, and giving birth to descendants would be very fast."

"Afterward, if there are those with Innate Ghost Soul among the descendants, then select them for cultivation."

In fact, this is also the practice of many noble family members.

Beauties are already easy to obtain for secular Heavenly Sons and dignitaries, let alone these noble families who stand above secular power?

People like Song Cheng who only married three wives, let alone in the noble families, even the Big Hall Master and Zhao Hua could not compare to him at all. Although "Big Hall Master" Tie Zhenyi had no descendants, as a Martial Artist, his Qi and blood were surging, so he had sixteen beautiful concubines to vent his desires... yet when the Big Hall Master left, he left with extreme decisiveness, not taking a single one of those sixteen.

And those sixteen did not have much affection for the Big Hall Master either; now they all hold small positions in the An Family restaurant in Hanping Village, and their lives are passable.

Take Zhao Hua for example... wives and such are simply discarded as soon as he pleases; his purpose is merely marriage alliances and offspring.

Is this because the Big Hall Master and Zhao Hua are shameless?

Not really... it is just that most dignitaries of this era are like this.

Life is short, and the chaotic world is complex; if one is entangled by the love of children.

With burdens in one's heart, how can one display one's ambitions? As for those types of generals whose "family members are kept as hostages," at certain times they rebel as soon as they say they will, not caring at all about the family members kept as hostages... even if these family members are killed, enslaved, or humiliated after they rebel, they would at most just be angry, but would not be constrained by it.

Therefore, Song Cheng's behavior of insisting on moving his entire clan made the Xiao Family head very unable to understand.

Song Cheng shook his head with a bitter smile and said: "Family Head, I cannot bear to leave them behind."

The Xiao Family head looked at him wordlessly, feeling that the evaluation of Song Cheng that Xiao Bi had sent back to the Xiao Family was indeed correct.

Entangled in the love of children, content with a corner, wavering, and having no ambition.

However, perhaps it is precisely such a person who can be better used by the Xiao Family.

If it were an ambitious person, the Xiao Family would not even want to recruit them.

Thus, the Xiao Family head frowned and did not say anything more, only saying: "Forget it, then do it as soon as possible."

"Yes, Family Head." Song Cheng responded respectfully.

The Xiao Family head thought for a moment and added: "The Su Family is only a small noble family, and there are no high-level techniques in their sect. If you serve my Xiao Family wholeheartedly and truly consider yourself a member of the Xiao Family... in the future, my Xiao Family's 'Sun Phase Buddha Sutra' may not necessarily be unavailable for you to see the path ahead."

Song Cheng glanced at the Xiao Family head's data.

This family head had at most passed the Reappearance Tribulation and had only cultivated the Circular Light realm of the "Sun Phase Buddha Sutra." However, his eyes still revealed excitement as he said: "Is... is it the path after the Reappearance Tribulation?"

The corners of the Xiao Family head's lips curled up, and he smiled faintly: "It is the path even further ahead."

"You will discover a new world that is unprecedented and never before imagined."

"Song Cheng, I have read your information; you are gifted and a rare talent in the world. Even though you have already cultivated an ordinary technique like the 'Nine-Tail Spirit Fox Sutra,' it is not impossible for you to draw inferences about other cases and comprehend the subsequent methods of the 'Nine-Tail Spirit Fox Sutra' through my Xiao Family's 'Sun Phase Buddha Sutra.' By then, although you are a member of my Xiao Family, my Xiao Family may not necessarily be unable to support you in becoming the head of the Su Family."

The look in the old artist Song Cheng's eyes grew increasingly agitated, as if he had already been seduced by the pie-in-the-sky promise made by the head of the Xiao Family.

However, he knew that by then, the Su Family would likely become nothing more than a subordinate clan to the Xiao Family.

"By the way, Head of the Xiao Family, what would happen if my name were to appear on both the Xiao Family Genealogy and the Su Family Spirit Tablet?" Song Cheng asked in passing.

The head of the Xiao Family said, "My Xiao Family is greater; once your name is written on our Xiao Family Genealogy, it cannot be written on the Su Family Spirit Tablet. At that time, you need only control the Su Family in the form of a puppet master.

But even if you control them, the Su Family is still yours, because as long as you can comprehend the path forward, you will be the ancestor of the Su Family.

Everyone will have to listen to you."

Song Cheng understood generally that aristocratic Yin She could not annex one another; it seemed only something of a clearly higher rank like the Ghost Tower could do so. He revealed an agitated expression and said, "Then... then if I become the head of the Su Family, can Xiao Yu'er also..."

Xiao Cibei looked at him in this state and said with a smile, "Yes.

Not only Xiao Yu'er, but you may also enjoy the other beauties of the Su Family.

Because you are not just the nominal head of the Su Family, you also hold the subsequent secrets of the Su Family.

But the prerequisite is that you must be obedient, be able to see my Xiao Family's Sun Phase Buddha Sutra, and then deduce the subsequent techniques of the Su Family."

Song Cheng nodded.

The two chatted for a while longer.

Subsequently, following the departure of the head of the Xiao Family, he felt a rough force "kicking him out of the Yin She."

He reacted quickly, left the Xiao Family Yin She on his own, and then continued to cultivate, while simultaneously beginning to accompany A Ting to paint during the daytime, investigating external information through the Yin Gui Society, and searching for Arhats.

It was unknown if someone was deliberately indulging it, but the tug-of-war between Fengzhou and Donghai Zhou had actually lasted for a year and had yet to end.

And Song Cheng had spent another year cultivating steadily in the North Land.

This year, six-year-old Xiao An, with a pile of resources and his father's patient instruction, finally stepped into the "Force Realm," and he could even trade a few blows with an ordinary adult martial artist.

Ling Xue was a bit behind, but she was able to play the horizontal flute and manipulate a "Water-Patterned Flat-Ridge Snake" raised by White Camel Manor.

The Water-Patterned Flat-Ridge Snake's combat power was comparable to the Force Realm, but its venom could paralyze the Jin Realm. A Ting's innocence began to fade rapidly; the temper she had for liveliness when she was young also slowly disappeared. She no longer walked around happily, laughter was scarce, and a gloomy temperament that "could absolutely not appear on a child" radiated from her entire being.

Only when Song Cheng accompanied her to paint would that temperament slightly recede.

A Ting and Xiao An were clearly siblings, and clearly lived under the same roof, yet both sides had already learned not to disturb one another.

It was mainly because A Ting did not like others disturbing her painting, not even when she was thinking.

Xiao An did not know when she was thinking about painting, and after being scared by her snake several times, he did not dare to get close. Now he felt indignant in his heart, thinking that he must practice hard, and once he was as strong as his father, he would definitely beat A Ting's snakes and animals to a pulp, and then make her pay for her debts.

The end of the year passed, and at the beginning of the next year, Song Cheng finally walked out from his seclusion.

He scanned his panel:

【Name: Song Cheng】

【Talent: Chang Sheng Bu Lao】

【Add Points: 0 points】

【Realm: Mysterious Grade Grade B】

【Techniques】

Sun Phase Buddha Sutra (Mysterious Grade Grade B) (Pure Land) (Completion) 【Combat Arts】

Chanting (Mysterious Grade Grade C) (Completion), Vajra Indestructibility (Mysterious Grade Grade C) (Completion), Bright Pure Land (Mysterious Grade Grade B) (Entry (3/256)). The Sun Phase Buddha Sutra had completely stalled once it reached Mysterious Grade Grade B.

But Song Cheng's strength data jumped again, changing from "1519~3510" to "1859~3962".

Song Cheng pondered the power system of the Mysterious Grade.

The Mysterious Grade, without a doubt, was Soul Transformation.

Grade C was using acquired techniques to forge an Innate Ghost Soul, to manifest the divine soul, to make the body supernatural, and to allow the divine soul to be visualized.

Grade C was passing the Reappearance Tribulation to strengthen the divine soul, causing a Grey Membrane to grow on the body.

And Grade B, in fact, did not require passing a tribulation, but required techniques. According to Song Cheng's understanding, Mysterious Grade Grade B was the realm of the "Four Strengths."

To step into Grade A, one needed to pass through the land of the "Four Fiends." This was the path forward.

And as someone who had already cultivated the Sun Phase Buddha Sutra to near Great Accomplishment, Song Cheng already understood the true meaning of the "Four Strengths."

Body Strength, Soul Strength, Dream Strength, Domain Strength. The first two of these "Body," "Soul," "Dream," and "Domain" were still relatively easy to understand.

And as for "Dream" among the latter two, it was just as the name implied: the dreams people had at night.

The soul in a dream was in a semi-unconscious state.

Of course, if one did not dream, it meant the soul had not reached the Dream.

Dream... was a path.

Wandering on the path, you would produce all kinds of chaotic thoughts, and these thoughts all came from the depths of your soul.

To a certain extent, was it similar to Reappearance?

Therefore, the end of the Dream was the "Domain," which was also the "entrance to the Reappearance World."

Everyone, in fact, did not just live in the real world, but also lived in the "Domain."

It was just that their power in the "Domain" was too weak, so weak that they were equivalent to non-existent.

This was like ants in a one-dimensional world; ants crawled back and forth, forever only able to see a line. In their eyes, the world was a line, but in fact, they were still living in a more three-dimensional space.

And humans?

Humans lived in a three-dimensional space and felt the world was a three-dimensional space, but in fact, humans were also living in a much broader world.

And the "Domain" was the world outside the space that humans could see.

The so-called "Four Strengths" were actually only "Three Strengths," but because of the importance of the "Dream Path," "Dream" also needed to be deliberately cultivated. The compiler of the techniques, in order to emphasize the importance of "Dream," specifically counted it as "one."

When a person's divine soul touched the "Domain," the power of the divine soul would also be greatly enhanced.

At this time, Song Cheng had completely left Hanping Village and was walking in the wilderness.

He would not wait any longer.

He was going to find the Arhat.

On this wilderness, the "human-skin spiders" created by the human-skin ghost were gone, but some strange paper dolls had begun to appear in greater numbers.

Song Cheng remembered that paper dolls were ghost servants that had appeared in Chenyang Prefecture.

As he walked, he locked onto a paper doll ghost servant wearing tattered clothes and topped with a beauty's head. The ghost servant's exterior was made of flesh and blood, but white paper could be seen through the holes in its tattered clothes; its strength was also at the Form Realm. Places where Form Realm ghost servants existed in large numbers were already forbidden zones for normal Martial Artists.

Yet, for Song Cheng, such a forbidden zone was merely a place to test his strength and verify his power. With a thought, the Qi throughout his body flowed rapidly, and layers of grey membrane overlapped into a black membrane; then, the black membrane expanded, manifesting outside his body a strange, completely solidified thing that could not be called a "phantom image."

Its form was that of a Six-Tail demon fox.

The *Sun Phase Buddha Sutra* calls this a Dharma Image.

A Dharma Image is the same as a Soul.

This is the image of the Soul, not the image of the body.

The Six-Tail demon fox Dharma Image was over ten zhang tall. For a moment, Song Cheng felt the consumption of power within his body accelerate, and at the same time, his five senses expanded along with the Dharma Image, covering nearly a hundred miles of the surrounding area.

The scenes in the distance that he could originally neither see nor hear fell entirely into his mind.

Lowering his head to look at the beauty-headed paper doll ghost servant not far away, Song Cheng stepped down heavily.

A force centered on his point of impact rolled out like a violent, meat-grinder-like whirlwind; trees were pulverized before they could even be uprooted, and the ghost servants were torn to pieces before they could even react.

Boom! Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!!

Everything within roughly several miles—ghost servants, living things, and trees—completely shattered.

Watching this scene, Song Cheng also gained an understanding of the "Dharma Image."

The "Dharma Image" did not increase his strength, but it expanded his attack range, perception range, and the range of his power's impact by dozens of times. At the same time, his consumption also intensified.

With one thought, the ten-plus zhang Dharma Image retracted into his body.

And this was the change in the body brought by the "Mysterious Grade Grade B."

The strengthening of the Soul drives the strengthening of the membrane.

The grey membrane turns into a black membrane, and supporting the black membrane is the Dharma Image.

Song Cheng moved his mind again, once more using the method of "Three Phases Overlapping Power," but this time, it was not just ten clusters of crimson Huxia, but also golden Circular Light and a little bit of Bright Pure Land. Three types of Soul-class powers emerged on the surface of his body, were compressed by the Double Ghost Chongxian power, and the expanding grey membrane met the black membrane again, becoming completely solidified and revealing a somewhat sacred yet eerie dark gold. The dark gold phase expanded again; Song Cheng looked at the ground, did not attack, and instead silently retracted his power.

However, he already had a rough understanding of his own power in his heart.

Under the super-range attack of the dark gold Dharma Image, even a dozen Su Family heads would likely be killed by him in one strike, right? "This power should still not be my strongest power right now."

"My strongest power still needs to be paired with the Turtle Eats Moon of the *Xuanwu Moon-Swallowing Art*. It must be under the moon."

After testing his body, Song Cheng thought of his Soul.

But the changes in the Soul could not be tested. Song Cheng pondered carefully over the contents recorded in the *Sun Phase Buddha Sutra*.

It says, "If one obtains the Four Strengths, the Soul naturally advances another step, crossing over Manifestation and passing beyond Possession. One can perform Possession. Possession can target an infant, but one must re-cultivate once."

However, it also says, "Possession brings about Soul depletion; those at this realm depend on their Soul—the strong can perform Possession twice, while ordinary people can only do it once."

The improvement of his realm and the expansion of his power suddenly made Song Cheng understand another meaning behind the data composition of those "Arhats."

"650 (1300) ~ 1300 (2600)" perhaps did not mean the opponent was severely injured, but meant the opponent was a person who had been reborn through Possession.

The data in the parentheses was the "data before the Arhat's Possession," while the data outside the parentheses was the power they had re-cultivated in this life.

Thinking of this, Song Cheng's expression tightened slightly.

"If the Soul alone can perform Possession, then perhaps many strong individuals escaped from the already destroyed Qingque Continent... The bodies of these strong individuals might be buried forever in Qingque Continent. But their Souls traveled here, and they could still live on through Possession and rebirth."

"Whether the Arhat is a product of Possession, I will know very soon."

To find the Arhat, relying on ordinary Martial Artists of the Yin Gui Society was impossible, but these Martial Artists could know as much as possible about where there were ghost servants around Hanping Prefecture and where there were none.

Places without ghost servants meant they had been cleared.

If it wasn't the Yin Gui Society clearing them, then naturally it was someone else.

In this year, Song Cheng had also explored many places, and now... he already had a guess as to the Arhat's hiding place.

The mysterious Yin She was larger than the Su Family and the Xiao Family combined.

From here, whispers were coming.

"That unexpected factor, the balance is about to be broken. It is almost successful in fusing the Burned Ghost and the Ghost Hand. This kind of fusion shouldn't have been so rapid... The plan must be moved forward."

"But it cannot be moved forward... There isn't enough time, and it's impossible to produce an evil ghost as powerful as it. This time is too short..."

"Then create greater turmoil."

"I will continue searching for evil ghosts in the North Land."

"Has it been found out how that human-skin ghost escaped?"

"No."

"Has Song Cheng's Manifestation secret been investigated?"

"When he comes to Jiangnan, it will naturally be investigated. We haven't recovered yet; confronting him head-on might not necessarily yield any advantage."

The whispering continued for a long time... Suddenly, the voice that had previously said "I will continue searching for evil ghosts in the North Land" let out a strange "Yi" sound.

"Something seems to have found its way to my doorstep; I'm going to deal with it."

"Yan Li, come back after you're done. Whatever could find you shouldn't be too simple; share the information with us."

"Understood."

In an extremely cold cave, cold water dripped from the ceiling, only to freeze and turn into icicles of varying lengths.

Beneath them was a coffin that was almost completely frozen.

Inside the coffin, a man wearing a hideous mask suddenly opened his eyes, lifted the coffin lid, and carefully closed it again. Then, with a movement of his palm, several paper dolls slid out from his sleeve, and the arm that was briefly exposed faintly revealed a bit of "paper-fication."

But it was only "paper-fication," not paper, just like the pupils Song Cheng had that were composed of the Yin Qi of evil ghosts.

"Trickery" was not unique to Song Cheng.

Swish, swish, swish... Swish, swish, swish... After the paper dolls jumped out from his palm, they either hopped or spun, turning into sword-wielding women with long sleeves dancing like celestial maidens, lightly moving outward.

The masked man narrowed his eyes and took out a sword, about to act, but suddenly he was stunned—those paper dolls that hadn't gone far suddenly stopped as if hit by an immobilization charm.

Immediately after, the masked man's pupils slowly dilated; at the narrow, hidden, pitch-black entrance, a strange giant turtle covered in dark gold was squeezing in from the outside.

A pair of terrifying turtle eyes, gloomy and deep, were staring straight at him.

The masked man watched this scene in extreme astonishment.

Immediately, he turned and ran.

He shot away like lightning.

The dark golden giant turtle suddenly opened its mouth, letting out a strange cry accompanied by a terrifying pulling force.

The masked man's figure lost balance in mid-air, and then, like a fisherman drowning in a whirlpool, he flailed his limbs and struggled incessantly, heading toward the giant turtle's maw.

During this, various energies erupted from his body from time to time—phantom shadows, Grey Membrane, treasures—but under this single breath from the giant turtle, those powers were born and annihilated in an instant. The masked man seemed to despair; no sooner said than done, his struggling body suddenly stiffened, and a strange, giant monk Soul manifested and flew out from his body. However, "flying out of the body" did not mean "flying out of the giant turtle's pull."

It would have been better if that Soul had not manifested; once it did, it felt as if it had fallen into a dark ocean churning with angry tides of water and fire. He struggled frantically, while something on the surface of his soul was rapidly shattering.

"No!"

"No!!!"

"No!!!!!!"

Crack. Crack, crack, crack. The masked man was swallowed whole into the giant turtle, and the manic energy inside the giant turtle attacked him from all directions. In just two or three breaths, the masked man was like fragile porcelain smashed onto the ground; countless fine cracks appeared on his body, which was floating with Grey Membrane, and his Soul was stretched out like a noodle.

Another instant.

Boom!!! The giant turtle spat out a mass of blood and minced meat that could no longer be stitched together.

As for the Soul, it vanished into thin air under the pulling and attacking of Huxia, Circular Light, Pure Land, and Double Ghost.

The giant turtle dissipated, and a man wearing a simple hood stood quietly at the cave entrance.

This man was naturally Song Cheng.

He looked at the flesh and blood all over the ground and sighed softly.

To tell the truth, he actually only wanted to ask for some information, but this "Arhat" ran as soon as he saw him, and ran very fast, so he had to attack.

And once he attacked, he did not want to hold back, because who knew how many trump cards an existence at the "Arhat" level had.

What if holding back led to disaster? As for "imprisoning the Soul," that wouldn't work either, because the "Arhat's" Soul was too strong to be caught, and if he were even slightly careless, it could instantly escape thousands or tens of thousands of miles away.

Therefore, this scene was the result.

"I originally wanted to ask about some things, but forget it."

"I'll just be more careful next time."

Song Cheng scanned the surroundings and saw the coffin wrapped in frost under the ice-cone cave ceiling, but he didn't intend to touch it. After a brief search, he obtained some "paper-type" "Ghost Artifacts," and other than that, there were no other gains.

"Yan Li?"

"Yan Li?!"

In Yin She, the remaining Souls waited for a long time, but still did not wait for the "Arhat" who had left to return.

Suddenly, everyone fell silent and began to realize what had happened.

"The North Land is becoming more and more dangerous..."

"How is that possible? The Ghost Tide on this continent has clearly only just begun; let alone the Ghost River, even the Ghost Spring hasn't appeared yet. And Yan Li is very attentive to the movements of evil Ghosts, so how could he have an accident?"

"But Yan Li didn't come back."

"He was in contact with us at Bingguan Zhidi. If he couldn't appear..."

A strange, chilling emotion shrouded the hearts of everyone present.

And that terrifying memory of the demons dancing wildly on the shattered continent, like a midnight dream, emerged again, pressing heavily on the bottom of everyone's hearts.

"In any case, we must speed up..."

"There isn't much time left."

"Things over at Zhao Hua's side should be ending, and the Six Towns should be wrapped up."

Song Cheng was not in a very good mood.

The matter had been botched.

Why did that Arhat have to run? Was this the quality one should have after escaping from a destroyed continent?

Although the Arhat was dead, he still had to continue with his plan.

He wanted to go to the Imperial Capital to see the Saint Heaven Buddha.

However, he did not set off immediately, but returned to Hanping Village. Seeing that An Jie and Ling'er were already tired and asleep, he didn't rush to ask for information about the Imperial Capital. Instead, he went to Tong Niangzi's room, brought out the Ruyi Golden Cudgel, and had a great battle with Tong Niangzi in the Bottomless Pit of Xiankong Mountain for a while.

Under the golden light shining everywhere, the enchantress was subdued and begged for mercy.

Song Cheng held the wife who was begging for mercy and slept comfortably for the night.

The next day, he found An Jie to learn about information regarding the Imperial Capital.

Upon learning this, he was taken aback.

There was no news from the Imperial Capital, nothing more than the Heavenly Son named Ji Qin being controlled by the Prince of Zhao.

But big news came from Fengzhou: Zhao Hua had won!

Xu Xianweng of the Six Towns was killed on the spot by Zhao Hua, and many of the scattered Six Towns troops were incorporated by Zhao Hua.

As for the situation regarding the noble families, it had already exceeded the scope of the Yin Gui Association's investigation, so it was unknown.

"Huazi is really going to become the Emperor." An Chenyu's tone was a bit sour; the man who used to call her "Sister-in-law An" at every turn had now actually reached such a stage.

And she was still holed up in the North Land's Hanping Village, which was almost like a desert island.

An Chenyu felt very unbalanced; clearly, those troops of Huazi were stirred up by her own man, so how did they end up helping Huazi conquer the world? Song Cheng didn't know how to comfort his wife for a moment, so he quickly went to the secret chamber, manifested his Soul with a single thought, and after a brief search, appeared somewhere in the Imperial Capital. Ever since he gave the portrait of the "True Martial Emperor" to "Grand Tutor" Qin Wanquan, he could feel the visualization every day in the Imperial Capital... These visualizations were inevitably being carried out in secret by the group of medicine men of the "Pseudo-Xuan Realm."

Therefore, it was very easy for him to go to the Imperial Capital.

And as an existence at the Mysterious Grade Grade B Completion, the power that Song Cheng's Soul Manifestation could now display had reached the level of his "Mysterious Grade Ding Quality" time, which was "647~1294."

With this strength, even against the previous Arhat's true body, he was completely unafraid.

Coupled with various Soul attack techniques that were "far beyond Mysterious Grade Ding Quality" and the reappearance of the Double Ghost, his strength was still nearly equivalent to "Mysterious Grade Grade B." Except for being unable to use a Dharma Form, the rest was not much different.

Therefore, he already had the confidence that "even if the true body doesn't go out, he can still go to the Saint Brightness Temple to investigate."

Originally, if that Arhat could have caused him some trouble, he would have hesitated for a moment.

But as it turned out, the Arhat behind the scenes in the North Land was killed by him in an instant. What was there left to hesitate about? At this moment, in the Imperial Capital, inside a dark Ancestral Hall, a young boy and a young girl were secretly praying, bowing before a portrait of a Black Tortoise hanging above the shrine.

Both the boy and the girl were dressed in fine clothes.

Song Cheng immediately possessed the boy.

After searching slightly, quite a few of the boy's memories surfaced.

This boy was an offspring of the "University Scholar" of Huangcheng, surnamed He, named Zheng.

And that "University Scholar," much like "Grand Tutor Qin Wanquan," was also someone who had willingly become one of Song Cheng's medicine men in order to extend his lifespan.

Because the place where the "University Scholar" resided was quite secluded, this group of pseudo-Xuan medicine men decided after deliberation to set up the Ancestral Hall of the "Xuanwu Emperor" at the University Scholar's residence, and selected four family members with good looks to take turns praying day and night.

The girl to the side was a junior from Qin Wanquan's family, named Qin Ru.

Seeing He Zheng suddenly stand up, Qin Ru looked at him in astonishment.

After Song Cheng possessed him, he met the little girl's eyes and said indifferently, "You've worked hard," then walked straight to the door, opened it, sensed slightly, and perceived the location of the University Scholar.

He walked over quickly, only to see a refined man in simple cyan robes holding a book in the morning light, about to read.

Song Cheng released a bit of his aura.

The refined man immediately stood up, cupped his hands, bowed, and said respectfully, "University Scholar He Tu, greets Master."

Song Cheng said, "Make arrangements and take me to the Holy Light Temple."

He Tu hesitated for a moment and said, "If Master wishes to see the Holy Heaven Buddha, I am afraid you will have to wait for some days. Because, according to my guess, the Holy Heaven Buddha has very likely gone on an expedition with the Prince of Zhao. He will not return for several days."

(End of chapter)