Chapter 159: Cultivation Restored

The four exchanged glances, none daring to take the first step. No one knew the temperament of the Nascent Soul cultivator deep within the cave dwelling, and no one was willing to gamble their lives to find out. Silence gathered in the air, pressing heavily on their hearts.

Just then, the spiritual pressure within the cave dwelling suddenly intensified, pressing down on their heads like an invisible hand. All four of their souls shuddered.

A series of heavy thuds echoed behind them. They whipped around to find over a dozen puppets had silently appeared. Dark azure all over, with dim soul fire flickering in their eye sockets, each one radiated the spiritual pressure of a Peak Golden Core cultivator. They stood in eerie silence, as if waiting for a command.

The four men's hearts skipped a beat, a cold chill creeping up their spines. This was unmistakably the work of a ghost cultivator. Recalling the recent rumors of an evil cultivator in the Northern Plains, they were almost certain that the figure sitting cross-legged in the depths of the cave dwelling was the very ghost cultivator from the rumors.

Fleeing was impossible, and fighting back would be striking a stone with an egg. Tongting, their leader, took a deep breath. He shot a glance at the three behind him and turned to walk deeper into the cave dwelling. The others hesitated for a split second before following.

The interior was more spacious than they had imagined. Clusters of ghostly blue flames hovered in the air, burning silently and illuminating the entire cave dwelling in shifting light and shadow.

Furnishings were sparse—just a few stone tables and platforms scattered casually about. At the very back sat a stone bed draped in an animal pelt. A black-robed figure rested cross-legged atop it, their hood drawn low, obscuring their face. To the side of the stone bed lay a small, newly cleared medicinal plot. The damp soil nurtured several thriving spiritual herbs that gave off a faint medicinal fragrance.

The four currently had no attention to spare for the herbs; their eyes were completely fixed on the figure atop the stone bed. With every step forward, the invisible pressure compounded. By the time they stopped three zhang from the bed, cold sweat had already soaked through their backs.

Tongting steadied his nerves, took a step forward, and bowed deeply.

"Junior Tongting, along with three companions, has accidentally intruded upon Senior's place of quiet cultivation. Please forgive our offense. Should Senior have any use for us, this junior is willing to serve like a beast of burden, to not refuse even in the face of death, and hold absolutely no complaints."

The moment his words faded, a cold snort echoed from the figure on the stone bed.

"To not refuse even in the face of death? You have some courage."

Tongting did not look up. A bead of sweat from his temple slid down his cheek and hung from his jaw, but he didn't dare wipe it away.

The voice rang out again, its tone mild.

"I am not some bloodthirsty killer. You have no need to be so tense."

Hearing this, the four men felt their rigid backs relax just a fraction. The stifling weight in the air faded slightly, but none of them dared to truly let their guard down.

"There is no need to be tense. I only have a few questions for you. Once you answer them, I will naturally let you leave." The voice paused before asking, "From which region of Ganzhou do you hail?"

Tongting hurriedly replied.

"Reporting to Senior, the four of us all hail from Dahan. We originally came to the Northern Plains to try our luck and see if we could find any spiritual materials to aid our cultivation..."

"Enough," Jiuyou interrupted.

"I am not interested in your reasons for coming here. Since you are from Dahan, tell me about the situation in Dahan. What factions are there, how are they distributed, and what is their strength? Speak in detail."

Tongting didn't dare delay. He quickly rattled off everything he knew about the distribution of factions in Dahan. Seeing him speak, the other three also chimed in to supplement his explanation from time to time.

From their account, Jiuyou gained a rough understanding of Dahan's current landscape.

The Three Great Sects presiding over Dahan were the Divine Sword Sect, Spirit Demon Island, and the Cenxi Sect. All three belonged to the Righteous Path. The Divine Sword Sect was the strongest, publicly boasting four Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivators, while the other two sects each possessed three.

Additionally, there were a handful of first-rate sects, each watched over by at least one Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator. Overall, Dahan's total strength was roughly equal to that of Dayong. Aside from these major sects, Tongting also detailed the various mid-to-small-sized factions and their respective territories, providing a fairly comprehensive overview.

Jiuyou listened quietly to the end, never interrupting and asking no further questions.

A moment later, he slowly stood up. With a flash of spiritual light from his fingertips, he stored away the few spiritual herbs from the medicinal plot. His movements were unhurried, as if he had planned this from the start.

The four men remained in their bowed posture, not daring to twitch a single muscle. They could only listen to the footsteps of the figure echoing through the spacious cave dwelling as he slowly drew near.

Jiuyou walked right past them without breaking his stride, leaving behind only a faint, chilling sneer. The four men stiffened, cold sweat trickling down their backs, yet no one dared to look up.

A moment later, a faint rustling echoed from outside the cave dwelling, and the auras of the puppets vanished along with it.

The four waited for a long time. Only when they confirmed that his aura had faded into the distance did they slowly straighten their backs. Tongting wiped the sweat from his brow and let out a long exhale before turning to look at the three behind him. All three of them looked quite pale, yet no one said a word.

After a good while, the burly man finally muttered under his breath,

"Did we... just cheat death?"

No one answered him. Outside the cave dwelling, the white fog was slowly dissipating, revealing the true appearance of the valley floor. The group simply stood there, in no rush to leave, as if they hadn't quite recovered from the sheer terror of that suffocating pressure.

...

Jiuyou headed steadily south. His Escape Light streaked across the grasslands as he sped toward Dahan.

After three years of dormancy, his cultivation had recovered to the Middle Nascent Soul Stage. While he hadn't quite returned to his peak, he wasn't far off.

He hadn't waited for a complete recovery before setting out. With his current methods, traversing the Northern Plains was hardly a challenge; even a Late Nascent Soul Stage Pinnacle cultivator would find it nearly impossible to make him stay. Once he left the Northern Plains, he would head straight for Dahan.

Dayong held far too many enemies for him to safely scatter his cultivation and start over. Changing locations was a much safer bet.

Over the past three years, aside from restoring his cultivation, he had also practiced the Heavenly Flame Body Tempering Art. He had already broken through to the third layer, giving him the physical strength of a Mid Foundation Establishment Stage physical cultivator. The spiritual herbs and pills required for body refinement had mostly been scavenged from the Storage Pouches of the Northern Plains physical cultivators he had slain, put to perfect use. Reaching the Mid Foundation Establishment Stage in body refinement in a mere three years was largely thanks to this massive stockpile of resources.

When the time came to scatter his cultivation and start anew, the drastic drop in his power would leave him vulnerable. He needed to secure enough leeway and methods before making the final transition. A Mid Foundation Establishment Stage physical foundation was still far from sufficient; he planned to find an opportunity to elevate it even further in the future.

Furthermore, he had no intention of abandoning his Nether Capital Puppet or the years of accumulated soul power. After spending considerable time searching through and referencing the manuals he'd plundered from annihilated Demonic Path sects, he had managed to figure out a few compromise methods. These would allow him to preserve a portion of his ghostly arsenal so that his past efforts wouldn't completely go to waste.

The azure Escape Light tore through the sky, leaving the grasslands far behind. Just ahead lay the borders of Ganzhou.