Chapter 991: Extremely Reasonable

Xiao Jiu inexplicably felt somewhat guilty.

If I had known, I wouldn't have wasted the merit of the Soul-guiding Lamp; I should have helped Tang Xun absorb more, the effect would be better.

After all, Tang Xun did not suffer backlash.

But if one hadn't tried, who could have known in advance that such a backlash would happen?

Xiao Jiu put away the Soul-guiding Lamp, thought for a moment, then suddenly reached out with her finger, but before she could act, Liu Junyan grabbed her hand: "No!"

Liu Junyan knew Xiao Jiu too well; with just one gesture he knew what she intended to do.

Xiao Jiu also possessed a remarkably powerful skill—Witchcraft Dream Weaving.

And the prologue of Dream Weaving is called Synesthesia.

That is an ancient witchcraft of the Ancient Feng Clan, not passed down to outsiders.

Xiao Jiu intended to use Synesthesia to investigate the secret of the transaction that the Seven Halls Yama had made in the past.

But the problem is, once Xiao Jiu touches the body of the Seven Halls Yama, what if those Ghost King Butterfly marks also invade her body along her fingers?

Xiao Jiu insisted: "I'll just give it a try; if something goes wrong, I'll immediately withdraw my finger and then promptly use the Soul-guiding Lamp to clear the Ghost King Butterfly marks……"

"No!"

Hearing Xiao Jiu say that, Tang Xun also understood what she wanted to do, and immediately refused: "At least not now, Xiao Jiu; you've already expended too much just now, the merit in the Soul-guiding Lamp is also depleted; you've done your best. Listen to your aunt's words, go back and rest properly, recover; if we really need you later, then you can help us with all your strength."

Xiao Jiu knew that persisting would be useless, so she had to give up that idea for now.

After leaving the blessed cave, Xiao Jiu and Liu Junyan did not depart immediately.

Before dawn, the two sat huddled on the summit of Mount Hu, looking at the overcast sky, both in low spirits.

Xiao Jiu recounted her previous dream to Liu Junyan.

"That wasn't a real dream; it was an illusion set up by the other party to meet me." Xiao Jiu said, "Although I repelled her with the Soul-guiding Lamp, I lost those few ghost faces, I didn't win, and I didn't obtain the information I wanted."

Liu Junyan thought and said: "Those few ghost faces in the Soul-guiding Lamp, nourished by merit, have long become akin to ghost Buddhas; for the other party to have such strong deterrent power over them, her identity is worth investigating."

Upon saying that, Xiao Jiu's train of thought, which had been interrupted earlier, was instantly reconnected.

She immediately said: "At first I suspected the other party was the original form of the Ghost King Butterfly, but when those few ghost faces did not emerge with the Soul-guiding Lamp, I began to doubt that the woman's identity should not be the Ghost King Butterfly, nor even its original form; her level must be higher. Āyàn, do you think she might be some kind of Ghost King–like existence?"

"As wild histories record, the Ghost King Butterfly is formed from the resentment of a Ghost King. Theoretically, as long as the Ghost King exists, its resentment exists, and if the resentment is strong enough, then the Ghost King Butterfly is endless."

"You say, did the Seven Halls Yama back then make a deal with some Ghost King?"

Xiao Jiu's words made Liu Junyan suddenly enlightened.

Although this idea is bold, it is very reasonable.

Liu Junyan and Xiao Jiu exchanged a glance, both understanding each other's gaze.

Liu Junyan said: "This also indirectly explains why the Seven Halls Yama originally chose Mount Hu as his stronghold, and Mount Hu can nurture yin soldiers and yin generals, being a natural ground for raising corpses… All these signs indicate that if a Ghost King once existed in Mount Hu, it would be extremely reasonable!"

This idea coincided with Xiao Jiu's thoughts.

Xiao Jiu said: "To verify this, it's not difficult; checking the history of Mount Hu might yield new discoveries!"

To investigate Mount Hu, ordinary historical records would likely reveal few clues.

Liu Junyan had also long ago surveyed the ley lines of this area; if a Ghost King were buried somewhere in Mount Hu's ley lines, he should have discovered it long ago, but he hadn't.

Then there is only one possibility: before the Seven Halls Yama took over Mount Hu, that Ghost King had already been moved away.

Where would she have been moved to?

"Lingdie Valley!"

"The heartland of Yao Tian!"

Xiao Jiu and Liu Junyan almost spoke in unison.

Different expressions, but they referred to the same place.

"Let's go back first." Xiao Jiu stood up suddenly, urging, "As soon as we find information about that Ghost King, we'll think of a way to help her dispel her resentment; once the resentment is gone, whatever Ghost King Butterfly…… should not be anything to fear."

Liu Junyan thought the same; as for helping the Ghost King dispel resentment, he didn't think it was a simple matter.

However, knowing oneself and the enemy, they would find it easier to overcome the opponent in future face-to-face confrontations.

On the way back to Jiuzhou Fu together, Liu Junyan had already been discussing a plan with Xiao Jiu: "The reason a Ghost King can become a Ghost King is that from the very beginning, its soul is not received by the Nether Realm, whether by suicide, homicide, or unresolved obsession lingering in the mortal world; at the moment of its death, it already becomes a vicious ghost."

While wandering the mortal world, it needs to evade capture by yin soldiers and yin generals, avoid being devoured by its kind, and escape the encirclement and suppression of Daoist practitioners, cultivators, ghost-hunters, and similar ritualists… At the same time, it must continually devour other souls, continually cultivate, ultimately solidifying its position to become a regional Ghost King.

For such an existence, Xiao Jiu, wanting to eliminate its resentment—how easy could that be? Moreover, according to the dream you described, I feel the other party's resentment is probably not just a simple layer; it's obvious that her resentment has built upon the original foundation and added resentment toward the Seven Halls Yama, making her a formidable opponent.

Moreover, there is another point: the existence of Lingdie Valley—was it originally there, or did the Seven Halls Yama deliberately create it back then to conceal that Ghost King's existence? If the latter, the situation would only be worse……

Liu Junyan spoke softly, gradually unraveling the matter thread by thread, laying it out for Xiao Jiu to see.

Xiao Jiu's emotions had already calmed down, and Liu Junyan's analysis made her mind even clearer: "So this matter is both urgent and must not be rushed; we need to proceed step by step. We have less than half a month's time, each step must be steady and solid; after all, if we take the wrong direction and have to start over, it would waste too much time."

Liu Junyan replied relieved: "That's the principle."

He then added: "Xiao Jiu, as long as we firmly believe one point: we are anxious, and the other party must certainly be anxious as well, after all the transaction was made between her and the Seven Halls Yama; the fact that things have developed to this extent shows that their transaction could not ultimately be fulfilled, the Seven Halls Yama likely failed to fulfill its promise from back then, thus suffering this backlash; the other party has dragged on for so many years, how could she be willing to see all her efforts come to nothing?"

"She doesn't want the Seven Halls Yama to die even more than we do." Xiao Jiu said, "But the situation may already be beyond her control; we must gauge the balance, neither let her lead us by the nose nor allow her to completely fall into darkness……"