CHAPTER 65: CHAPTER 65 NINE YIN EARTH-BOUND SPIRIT: I’VE ENCOUNTERED LOVE AGAIN~_1

His Divine Sense swept over the pile. Wang Xiu quickly got a rough count of the Spirit Stones—a little over twenty thousand.

The price was actually more than enough for the three Nourishing Soul Lotuses alone. However, considering Wang Xiu had risked his life gambling against a sixth-level Golden Core Stage old devil to save these three blockheads, nearly dying in the process, he felt he had more than earned the extra few thousand Spirit Stones as a hardship fee.

After all, it wasn’t just Daimon Qianmian who had nearly killed him; he had almost been stabbed to death by Li Zuoyue, too. Who was he supposed to complain to about that?!

"Time to escape poverty and get rich!"

Putting away the Spirit Stones from Li Zuoyue and adding them to his own private stash, Wang Xiu’s fortune grew ever greater! Even in the Cultivation World, he could be considered a minor tycoon.

Next came the most anticipated part: looting the corpse.

Wang Xiu picked up the spatial ring Daimon Qianmian had left on the ground, which had been ravaged by the Heavenly Tribulation, and slid it onto his finger. With Daimon Qianmian’s death, the restrictions on the ring had automatically dissipated.

Wang Xiu’s Divine Sense probed the ring and quickly took inventory of its contents. There weren’t many Spirit Stones, only a few thousand, which was hardly a fortune for a Golden Core Stage expert. On the other hand, there were plenty of bizarre and wicked magic artifacts, like skulls and soul-piercing nails.

Ahem. There were also many items not suitable for children.

Aside from those, three particular items caught Wang Xiu’s eye. The first was naturally the Qiong Qi statue that Daimon Qianmian had used to injure the Li brothers. It housed the remnant spirit of a mixed-blood Qiong Qi, which could be temporarily awakened to attack through a sacrifice of Essence Blood.

Of course, Wang Xiu had no intention of using his own Essence Blood to feed such an item. However, even the remnant spirit of a mixed-blood Qiong Qi was an exquisite delicacy for his soul pets. If the four little ones devoured it, not only would their cultivation levels increase dramatically, but their very origins would be substantially nourished.

But Wang Xiu had other plans. After all, the remnant spirit of a Golden Core Stage Qiong Qi was far too precious to be used as pet food. Coincidentally, there was a vacancy for an Artifact Spirit in his Mingxue Executioner Sword ever since he had destroyed its previous one.

Using a special technique from the Nether Emperor’s Prison-controlling Scripture, Wang Xiu was confident he could refine this Qiong Qi spirit and merge it with the Immortal Slaying Sword.

When he did, the power of the Mingxue Executioner Sword would skyrocket even further.

Ahem. And perhaps... its appearance might even improve a little!

The second item that caught his attention was a skull-shaped token with the words ’Ghost King’ engraved on the back. Based on his guess, it had to be a protector token from the Ghost King Sect. Its function was similar to the True Disciple and Elder tokens of the Sanqing Immortal Sect—a tool for communication between sect members that required identity verification before use.

To anyone else, this token was practically worthless. But since Wang Xiu had cultivated the Demonic Myriad Transformation Scripture to perfection, he could easily mimic Daimon Qianmian’s mana aura. With a little time, activating the token wouldn’t be difficult.

He decided to keep it. It might come in handy someday.

The final item was, of course, the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

At that moment, the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls was still trembling incessantly, as if the magical treasure and the Nine Yin Earth-bound Spirit, Nie Linglan, were locked in a struggle.

"Quiet down!"

Wang Xiu extended his right hand and slowly gripped the banner. Mana from the Nether Emperor’s Prison-controlling Scripture surged into it, and the agitated magical treasure instantly fell silent.

"Release!"

Wang Xiu shook the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls. A heaven-blotting wave of Yin Sha Qi billowed out, from which poured countless resentful souls and Malicious Ghosts.

However, they were no longer ferocious and menacing. Instead, they all collapsed to the ground, shivering. Among them was even a Malicious Ghost at the ninth level of Core Formation. She had been resisting the banner’s refinement and fighting against the other spirits, but now her heart was filled with nothing but fear. None of them dared even to glance up at Wang Xiu’s face.

Ooh! Wang Xiu’s eyes suddenly lit up when he spotted something interesting: a Golden Core remnant spirit that had been tortured beyond recognition.

Indeed, inside the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls was a Golden Core-stage remnant spirit. It was quite unsightly and radiated a ghastly demonic qi. It must have died recently, as its expression was still vacant and lifeless.

Could it be Daimon Qianmian?

Looking at the countless bite marks on the remnant spirit’s body, Wang Xiu had a pretty good idea.

Presumably, when Daimon Qianmian was slain by the Heavenly Tribulation, he was right next to the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls. Since his aura was compatible with the banner, it had instinctively devoured his spirit. The Malicious Ghosts within the banner were all too familiar with their tormentor’s spiritual aura. Seeing their nemesis absorbed into their prison, how could they possibly restrain themselves?

Each of them took advantage of Daimon Qianmian’s disorientation to torment him relentlessly. If Wang Xiu hadn’t used the Nether Emperor’s Prison-controlling Scripture to intimidate the ghosts and force them into submission, the mighty Daimon Qianmian, a sixth-level Golden Core expert, would have soon had his spirit torn to shreds by the very Resentful Ghosts he created.

You reap what you sow. Such is the nature of karma.

Holding a Daoist mudra, Wang Xiu addressed the countless Resentful Ghosts, "You were all harmed by a Demon Cultivator and turned into Resentful Ghosts, not because you chose to do evil. This humble Daoist will take you back to the Sanqing Immortal Sect to be purified and released."

"I have a use for this fiend’s spirit, so I ask you all to give me some face and spare him for now. Once everything is settled, I will ensure he receives the punishment he deserves."

The many Resentful Ghosts exchanged glances, their hearts filled with wry amusement. A mere wisp of this Daoist’s aura was enough to make them tremble in fear. How could they possibly be in a position to "give him face"?

However, it was a matter of mutual courtesy. Since the Daoist had shown them respect, they certainly weren’t going to slight him.

"Thank you, Daoist, for delivering us from this sea of suffering!"

"Thank you, Daoist, for delivering us from this sea of suffering!"

"Thank you, Daoist, for delivering us from this sea of suffering!"

...

In an instant, countless Resentful Ghosts bowed to Wang Xiu, their faces overcome with the joy of their imminent release.

After all, being trapped in the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls, unable to reincarnate, and forced to obey the commands of the very person who had murdered them—all under the constant threat of having their spirits scorched as punishment—was a truly hellish existence.

Meanwhile, after hearing Wang Xiu’s words, the Nine Yin Earth-bound Spirit, Nie Linglan, timidly raised her head.

The moment she saw the young man before her, the towering resentful aura that had enveloped her melted away like ice in the sun.

Nie Linglan: (♡◡♡)

What... what an absolutely peerless and otherworldly young man. Dressed in white purer than snow, his eyes like stars, his bearing as elegant as a banished immortal gracing the mortal realm. With a mere laugh, he could turn demons to ash and save the common folk from their suffering.

How could such a perfect person exist in this world?

The red-clad ghost’s face flushed, becoming even more vivid than her crimson robes. She realized that her so-called affection for Ning Haoran had been nothing but a deluded fantasy, paling in comparison to this Daoist.

...

I... I think I’ve found sweet, sweet love again~

This lovestruck Nine Yin Fierce Ghost began to radiate heat from her soul, making her cheeks glow even redder than those of a living person.