Chapter 29: Help a Fellow Cultivator Raise Their Realm!

Huh~

Xie Jinhuan recoiled several steps from the stench of rotting flesh assaulting his face, and only approached to inspect once the odor had somewhat dissipated.

Beneath the warm autumn sun, the interior of the cave entrance revealed a man-made cavern no less than six zhang in diameter.

The cavern was filled with foul, putrid wastewater, floating no fewer than a hundred animal carcasses unrecognizable in shape, with countless worms writhing through them.

Along the surrounding rock walls were dense, intricate crimson patterns, their tops forming a blood-drawn image of a demonic Rakshasa: three heads, six arms, blood-smeared faces, fanged jaws, six limbs linked to the patterns, all draining downward into the corpse pit—as if a ravenous ghost were siphoning the blood and souls of living beings.

Even as an outsider, Xie Jinhuan, upon seeing this Cthulhuesque scene, knew it was some kind of heretical ritual, and frowned as he asked:

“Is this a Witch Cult technique?”

Lin Wanyi, her eyes stinging from the stench, covered her nose and mouth with her sleeve as she studied the demonic deity above:

“No. The Witch Cult venerates ancestral Wushen—some have human faces and serpent bodies—but they’ve never worshipped a deity like this. This looks more like a demon Daoist’s lair.”

Ye Hongshang, hovering before them, nodded in agreement:

“From the traces, this person cultivates both Witch and Demon Dao. Their Witch Cult mastery has reached the Third Rank, but their Demon Dao practice is recent—they’ve been raising mad corpse flowers, likely to control large populations for ‘blood sacrifice’ to strengthen their physical form.”

The method of Demon Dao cultivation is ‘plundering the lives of mortals to fatten oneself’—blood sacrifice, simply put, involves using special means to plunder others’ flesh, essence, and even souls, also known as sexual vampirism.

Realizing the Muhouyaokou was a dual-cultivator of Witch and Demon Dao who had already reached the Third Rank, Xie Jinhuan’s interest stirred.

After all, a Third Rank heretic, though worlds apart from a Transcendent demon, was still a fearsome bandit in peacetime; with a little ‘cooking the books,’ pinning the stench of Purple Banner Mountain’s demonic aura on him wouldn’t be hard.

Thinking of this, Xie Jinhuan carefully scanned the stone cave and spotted a recess carved into the edge, holding scattered items—likely a resting spot. He leapt over the corpse pit and approached to inspect it, searching for any means to frame the culprit.

Inside the recess were a meditation mat, a lamp stand, and a discarded book.

Xie Jinhuan picked it up and flipped through it—the title read “Yang Chun Yan,” filled with lurid tales and odd anecdotes, adorned with vivid illustrations of naked lust and rampant carnality, clearly meant to pass the time.

Lin Wanyi followed cautiously behind, noticing Xie Jinhuan’s grim expression, and glanced over.

She immediately saw a back-alley flower arrangement…

?!

Lin Wanyi froze, then widened her eyes, face flushing crimson, and hastily turned away:

“These scoundrels are utterly… You’re still looking?!”

Xie Jinhuan frowned, thinking hard:

“‘Yang Chun Yan’ was originally penned by a renowned scholar of the previous dynasty; every bookstore across the land printed its editions. This copy’s binding is exquisite, its illustrations refined—definitely not from a small press. Do you know its origin?”

Lin Wanyi’s face burned red, she glanced at it with revulsion, then quickly looked away:

“It looks like a book from Jiwen Studio, near Danyang Academy. But that place sells only orthodox texts—how could they sell something like this?”

“This isn’t a heretical text—it meticulously documents the customs and life of the previous dynasty, and the artwork is deeply rendered, every detail precise, highly valuable for study…”

Lin Wanyi knew every hair was visible—she was a maiden; how could she possibly discuss erotic illustrations with him? She urged:

“If you want to study it, buy your own copy. This book is unclean—perhaps the demon Daoist used it for self-gratification.”

Swish~

Xie Jinhuan hurled the book aside as if it were a venomous snake or scorpion, searching for other clues.

?

This move startled Lin Wanyi, and even the red-clad ghost before them snorted in amusement:

“Ohhh~ I thought you were actually looking for clues.”

Xie Jinhuan acted as if nothing had happened, thoroughly searching the cave but finding no usable clues—he realized framing the culprit wouldn’t be easy, so he quietly glanced toward the ghost bride, seeking her suggestion.

Ye Hongshang understood his intent, shouldering her red umbrella as she surveyed the scene:

“This person’s cultivation is too low to be mistaken by the government office as the source of Purple Banner Mountain’s demonic aura. But I can help raise his realm.”

As she spoke, Ye Hongshang began her ritual!

Lin Wanyi was carefully examining vials, but whether due to the heavy demonic corpse-qi in the cave or not, after only a moment, she grew dizzy and nauseous, cold, sinister energy surging chaotically through her chest and abdomen:

“Ugh…”

She staggered.

Xie Jinhuan swiftly caught her, feigning ignorance:

“Miss Lin, what’s wrong?”

“I… I think I’m having another episode…”

Lin Wanyi looked dazed, trying to suppress the dizziness, but it intensified—she couldn’t finish speaking before her eyes glazed over.

Perhaps fearing she’d be fondled or kissed by Xie Jinhuan in this desolate wilderness, she gritted her teeth before fainting:

“I… I have powerful connections! My master is from… Queyue Mountain Villa…”

Ye Damaomo’s analysis was precise—Lin Wanyi was indeed vulnerable to demonic corruption. Before she finished speaking, her body collapsed completely into his arms.

Xie Jinhuan had heard of Queyue Mountain Villa—in plain terms, one of the three giants of the Poison and Gu sect, a member of the Southern Frontier Witch Alliance’s Elder Council.

After being exiled by orthodox sects, the Southern Frontier wastelands became the Poison and Gu sect’s last stronghold; provoking Queyue Mountain Villa meant provoking the entire Southern Frontier Witch Alliance—he was nowhere near strong enough to fight them.

But he had no intention of doing anything to Lin Wanyi; he was merely confirming whether she’d fainted when the stunning beauty in his arms suddenly sat up again.

Whoosh~

Though her face remained unchanged, her gentle, refined demeanor underwent a complete transformation—her aura instantly surged to sixteen chi tall!

Xie Jinhuan, still unaccustomed to this change, carefully studied her expression and, confirming it was the ghost bride possessing her, asked:

“How do you raise this demon’s realm?”

Ye Hongshang pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses with one hand, her posture like a domineering female CEO, her eyes scanning the bloodstains around:

“Demon Daoists plunder the essence and souls of living beings; their blood-chaos radiates, leaving traces on corpses and lairs. Different cultivation levels leave different traces.”

“This demon’s technique is crude. I’ll alter the traces so that experts from Danyang will immediately recognize it as the work of a Transcendent-level demon.”

As she spoke, Ye Hongshang stepped back, knelt, and rested her rounded, shapely buttocks on her calves, arms outstretched, eyes raised to the heavens—like a witch praying to a deity.

Xie Jinhuan crouched beside her, observing closely, and soon noticed a chilling wind stirring within the cave.

Hoo hoo~

From the palms of Ye Hongshang’s pale hands emerged two emerald-green flames—devoid of heat, instead deepening the cave’s icy chill.

Xie Jinhuan, lacking any Daoist magic, watched with envy:

“What is this? Bone Spirit Cold Fire?”

“Witch Cult’s ghost fire—it burns the soul. Victims show no external wounds, yet exhibit convulsions as if being burned alive.”

After explaining, Ye Hongshang clasped the flames together:

“Whether blood sacrifice or poison crafting, you need offerings. Put your hand in.”

“Huh?”

Xie Jinhuan frowned: “Sacrifice my hand?”

“Don’t you still have a Left Lady? Hurry up.”

Xie Jinhuan had no desire to become Yang Guo, but the ghost bride seemed to be joking—he hesitated, then reached his hand into the surging emerald flames.

Hoo~

The moment his skin touched the emerald flame, he felt as if plunged into a furnace of crimson fire—his soul screamed with searing pain:

“Ssshh~…”

Seeing Xie Jinhuan endure the agony without instinctively pulling back, Ye Hongshang was genuinely surprised:

“Good. You’re a real man. Just hold on a little longer—sister’ll give you candy afterward.”

Xie Jinhuan clenched his teeth, sweat pouring down:

“You give it to me personally—don’t use someone else’s body to be generous.”

“Heh~”

As they spoke, Xie Jinhuan felt something inside him burning and boiling, then being continuously drawn outward.

Blood mist gradually seeped from his right hand, drifting into the cave’s original blood patterns, spreading upward, gradually altering their form.

Xie Jinhuan felt himself bleeding out, enduring the searing agony to his soul, and looked around:

“Are you sure this works?”

“Any expert from Danyang with even a little experience will recognize this method of consuming living beings as the work of a Transcendent-level demon. Danyang isn’t that big—it can’t possibly spawn two Transcendent demons at once. Afterward, they’ll definitely hunt down these demon cultists.”

Xie Jinhuan nodded skeptically, then asked:

“Aren’t you supposed to have forgotten your cultivation methods? How do you know Demon Dao blood sacrifice techniques? Or is this something Lin Wanyi knows?”

Ye Hongshang’s gaze was haughty: “My realm speaks for itself. This amateurish trick? I can improvise it on the spot. Forging traces isn’t actual cultivation—it doesn’t require Lin Wanyi to have any high-level skill.”

“Oh… Can you hurry? I’m being drained dry.”

Blood sacrifice involves breaking down living flesh to extract its essence and return it to oneself.

If this continued, Xie Jinhuan would indeed be reduced to a dry, worthless dregs.

Ye Hongshang said nothing more. As the blood mist rose, it re-converged at the cave’s ceiling, gradually coalescing into a single drop of blood, which fell back onto her brow.

Drip~

The scene resembled a mortal offering a life to a demonic deity, who then grants a boon in return.

But Xie Jinhuan, watching from the side, felt it was more like distilling liquor.

Since forced vampirism caused too much damage, Ye Hongshang used blood as a catalyst, left clear traces in the cave, then swiftly stopped:

“Done.”

Though it lasted only moments, Xie Jinhuan’s lips had lost all color—he felt as if he’d been run over by ten large, voluptuous wheels for a full day and night, and estimated it would take days to recover.

Xie Jinhuan withdrew his right hand, rubbed it, and looked around:

“How do I explain this to Lin Wanyi?”

?

Afraid of being discovered by Lin Wanyi, Xie Jinhuan dared not pinch her; instead, he lifted her in his arms, leapt out of the corpse pit, and set her down at the edge of the pond, then grasped her wrist as if adjusting her meridians...

……

(End of Chapter)