Chapter 121: A Tug at the Heart, a Chill Down the Spine

Chapter 121: A Tug at the Heart, a Chill Down the Spine

Hui froze in midair. His dantian shuddered, trembling in fear. Eelder sister?

Following me all the way here youre a suspicious one, arent you?

Sussuspicious? Hui stuttered. No, no. She means Im being suspicious of her, not that shes suspicious of me. Probably.

She advanced toward him, shaking her finger at him. Did you think I wouldnt notice? The ghouls, the death qi following me its all quite obvious to a superior corpse refiner. I think most demonic cultivators wouldnt be able to sense you, but youve chosen the one person who can sense you the most easily of all.

Ah aha, Hui said, backing away. His back hit the invisible wall.

Fa Chuyou nodded, her eyes narrowed. It explains so much! Your intelligence, your strange true form. Ah, isnt it true? This Xie Hao is actually

Actually? Hui said, dreading the next word. I thought no one could sense meI was too arrogant! This small cultivator has made a huge misstep! Ah, and I have no talismans, and Im so weak right now so many mistakes! I shouldnt have bribed the reaper, I shouldve listened to my elders and stayed in my body! nove(l)bi(n.)com

Actually a ghost inhabiting a ghoul! Fantastic, fantastic! Ive never seen it accomplished before! Many people have attempted ghoul-ghost fusion, but both ghouls and ghosts require a powerful desire to return to life! When the two wills clash, the fusion fails, and they always clash! But you, Xie Hao youve succeeded. This is a breakthrough, a fantastic breakthrough! Ahhh, I want to study you so much! Fa Chuyou reached out to hug Hui, realized she couldnt, and hugged herself instead.

Ah th, thats right, Hui mumbled, managing a smile. Thank goodness! If she didnt come up with an excuse, this small cultivator would have been dead!

Mmm, its dangerous for a lone ghost to float around this area. The Yellow Springs River is particularly dangerous for your kind. Come, Ive almost finished the refining process. It isnt nearly as strong as it could be, but it should be stronger than it was.

Another pang of pain bit into Huis chest. He dug his fingers into his robes, but forced himself not to grimace, putting a smile on his face instead. Thank you, Elder sister. I appreciate it greatly.

She nodded. She gestured, and the ghoul skin flew out of the fluid. The second the fluid streamed off it, it dried, as if it had never been submerged. Its grayish skin had paled, drawing toward white. The flint stood out stronger against the paler skin, almost like ornaments. The one in the skins forehead glistened particularly brightly, as if the corpse refining fluid had transformed it into a gemstone.

Fa Chuyou beamed, proud of her work. Go ahead, try it out!

Then, I wont hold back. Hui swept down toward the ghoul skin.

A second before he entered the skin, he hesitated. He looked over at Fa Chuyou. Elder Sister this small cultivator has a question that only you can answer.

Go on, she said, smiling.

In this form what do I look like to you?

After all, this is my soul. I ought to look like Xiao Hui. Itll be no surprise if she isnt startled by thatXiao Hui isnt well known, and shes decided Im a ghost-ghoul fusion, in which case my ghost shouldnt look like my ghoul.

But Zhu Diyu seemed to find my soul-form remarkable. If Fa Chuyou can see it too, isnt this an excellent chance to see what it was about my soul that he thought was interesting? Is it possible that

A black smudge, Fa Chuyou said immediately, breaking into his speculations.

Eh, Hui said.

Though I should properly explain myself I cant so much see you, as sense your death qi. So to explain fully, I cant see you at all, but merely sense your death aura. If you fully suppressed your death aura, I would be unable to sense you at all. In fact, Im quite impressed! Few ghosts cultivate such a high level of concealment. Its as if youre on a separate plane, almost.

Ah, Hui sighed. No, no. It was to be expected. If Fa Chuyou could see me easily, after all, I couldnt possibly escape the sights of higher-level cultivators like Erlan or Yunxu

Yunxu! Erlan called him Your Excellence. Then, this must be Yunxus sect! He gazed upward, out of the valley, at the snake skeleton coiling so far above them. With the fog, he couldnt make out the skull, but he already knew who stood atop it!

Hmm that explains why he was called Your Excellence. The Sect Leader of a demonic cult took interest in me! How incredible.

Though, I suppose, not that incredible, when the King of Hell himself has also taken an interest in me

Inside the cave, Hui abandoned the skin and dove back into his body. Quickly, he checked his qi passages, dantian, and flesh, and when he confirmed everything was in its proper place, he pulled the skin back on. Theres some bruising around my heart. It seems the vibrations of the hammer can cause internal injuries. Dai Dagao, how dare you attack this small cultivator while I was away! How cowardly!

He circulated his life qi, expending some of the precious gold energy to heal the bruising, then stepped out. Looking up at Dai Dagao, he offered a polite bow. Junior greets Senior.

If thats how you see it, then give me your cave! Dai Dagao roared. He lifted his hammer, unhesitating. The instant he saw Hui, the urge to smash him into red paste roared in his heart.

Casually, Hui drew a talisman and pointed it at Dai Dagao.

A massive fire tabby at the third stage rushed out of the talisman. Hui held back its power. It roared past Dai Dagao, instantly incinerating his robes to dust. The haft of his hammer burned to cinders, and the head began to melt. Red hot and soft, the hammers head slammed into the ground by Dai Dagaos feet.

Dai Dagao stared, wide-eyed.

Hui whistled. The tabby turned and rushed back to his side, standing behind him. Its flames cast strange shadows, twisting Huis ghoul skins features into something truly hideous. The tabby snarled at the assembled cultivators, its teeth white-hot.

Excuse me, elder brothers and sisters. I must apologize, but the next time someone attacks me or my cave I wont hold back, Hui promised, his voice soft. He bowed again, with the utmost respect.

Dai Dagao stumbled back. He blinked. You you!

The tabby turned to him and snarled.

You cant have infinite third-tier talismans! Well exhaust your supply! Dai Dagao pledged.

Oh? Should I not hold back the first time, then? Hui asked. He scythed his gaze over the assembled cultivators, looking at them as though they were chaff. So many, for so little effort

Internally, sweat dripped down his back. I dont want to make enemies of this many people! Some of them, its surely fine if they die, butbut if they have connections, elder brothers and sisters, higher-level members of the sectMasters, even, Im screwed! I cant fight seriously or else risk revealing my cultivation, and once thats revealed, Im ruined!

A third-tier cultivator like myself can face off against dozens of Qi Gathering disciples with no fear whatsoever, but its not as though Im unparalleled under heavens. Theres a multitude of demonic cultivators here who could kill me with their pinky finger! If Im revealed, thats the end of this small cultivator!

Besides, its not a righteous sect. This sect surely lives by the law of the jungle. If I anger a high-level cultivator, the antlike me will be squished before I know whats going on!

The other cultivators backed away, murmuring amongst themselves. Dai Dagao glared at them. Do we want the 108th vertebra or not? Today was the day! The day our ascension began!

Hui licked his lips, trying to hold back, but the words slipped past his lips anyways. Turning his eyes away, covering his lips with his sleeve, he murmured mock-softly, Ah Elder Brother, please, mind your ascending sword, its, er, a bit bare

Chuckles rang out through the crowd of cultivators. Dai Dagaos face turned bright red. You

Ah! Did Brother Dai forget to enlargen that part of himself with the rest of his body? Oh dear. This small cultivator never wanted to know about that

Covering his delicate bits before Hui could continue his poisonous words, Dai Dagao backed away. Ill be back. II wont forget todays humiliation!

As he backed away, the other cultivators dissipated, vanishing into the fading fog. Hui gave them a bow. He gave a backhanded wave, and the flaming tabby dispersed.

Quickly, he glanced upward. I wasnt thinking about it in the heat of the moment, but my flame talismans are rather distinctive. It seems no one who could recognize it saw it, since no ones rushing to kill me. In the future, I need to be more careful! Ill only use the flame talismans if I have no other option.

Mmm, its fine in this case. It is the most visually impactful talisman I have. And burning Dai Dagaos clothes was a nice side effect. Painful for my eyes, but after I humiliated him like that, surely he wont be back for a second taste soon.

Hui knelt by the melted hammers head, examining it. It looked ordinary at first glance, but when he inserted a strand of qi inside, he detected a strange magic inside of it. Something almost talisman-like.

Interesting. I think Ill take this. Hui flicked his sleeve and collected the melted metal into his storage ring, then turned and entered the cave once more.

Half inside the door, he paused and looked up. Andnow more than ever, I need to move up a vertebra! If Dai Dagao decides to hold a grudge, I dont want to be annoyed repeatedly by him!