Chapter 146: Corpse Ghost

"This servant is slow-witted."

The Duke of Jing lowered his gaze, clearly unwilling to get involved.

Qin Shiyue waved a hand, dismissing his attendants. "Duke Jing, please speak freely," he said. "This is just a private chat."

The Duke of Jing mulled it over for a moment before speaking. "Duke Chen followed the Late King for many years, earning glorious military achievements. He now guards the border, defending our southern flank from the Great Li. He is truly the foremost pillar of our Wu Dynasty!"

Here, the Duke of Jing paused briefly before continuing, "However, the Wu Dynasty’s elite forces, the Huben Army and the Longxiang Iron Cavalry, are both under Duke Chen’s personal command. They answer only to his orders."

"Duke Chen has been stationed at the border for many years and has not returned to the capital to report on his duties. It is only natural that the officials are worried."

"Mm."

Qin Shiyue acknowledged this. "This petition is the most severe of all. It claims Duke Chen is fiercely ambitious and intends to establish his own rule. It even urges me to strip him of his military authority."

"That is indeed a bit alarmist," the Duke of Jing said.

"However, the possibility does exist. This servant would not advise taking drastic measures. If Your Highness cannot be at ease, you could plan slowly and gradually divide his power."

"Mm, I’ll think on it more."

Qin Shiyue nodded, lost in thought.

Seeing this, the Duke of Jing bowed and took his leave.

Qin Shiyue let out a soft breath and leaned back in his chair. He gazed out at the night, his thoughts unreadable.

"Is Your Majesty worried that Duke Chen will declare himself king?"

Just then, a voice spoke from nearby.

A slender, willowy figure gradually emerged from the darkness. His eyes, however, were exceptionally bright, as if two flames were burning fiercely within them.

Qin Shiyue smiled and shook his head, merely murmuring, "They don’t understand."

-----------------

Lu Bai stayed in Bluestone City for another half a month.

Only then did matters in the city gradually stabilize.

King Wu issued a decree promoting Li Tianxing to Prefect of Bluestone City.

He also transferred several Evil Exterminator Guards from various regions to be stationed in Bluestone City.

Ten days prior, a Demon Slayer Envoy from Jingzhou City had arrived to investigate the death of a squad of Demon Slayer Guards.

They searched Zhongming Mountain but found no clues.

The silver taels on the deceased Demon Slayer Guards had been completely looted, and the Commander from the Demon-slaying Bureau was missing.

No one knew who had killed the Tier Two Tiger Demon, and its corpse was also gone.

Some people connected it to the mysterious courtyard that had suddenly appeared in Bluestone City.

But when the Demon Slayer Envoy led his men to the End of Bluestone Alley, they found no courtyard at all.

It was as if the Willow Shade Courtyard had never existed.

Not a single trace remained.

After a fruitless investigation, the Demon Slayer Envoy had no choice but to leave with his men.

Over the past half-month, Lu Bai had read through the Hundred Ghosts Record several times, memorizing its contents.

Every day, aside from spending time with his family, guiding the cultivation of the brothers Luo Ben and Luo Xiao, and checking in at the Evil Extermination Bureau, he focused on practicing the Dragon Elephant Suppression Skill. He refined the medicinal power remaining in his body from the Enlightenment Pill to stimulate his final acupoint.

Finally, just before leaving Bluestone City, he opened the last acupoint!

With this, he had reached the Perfection of the Inner Strength Realm, with all Nine Acupoints open!

The Dragon Elephant Suppression Skill was astonishingly effective at absorbing and refining the Essence of the Five Grains.

But with all Nine Acupoints open, the speed of refining Innate Essence Qi was extremely slow.

’When I get to Jingzhou City, I’ll have to find a chance to get a High Grade Innate Technique.’

During his time at the Evil Extermination Bureau, Lu Bai had the opportunity to read some books, gaining a much deeper understanding of the Martial Dao, Cultivation, and the various major Realms.

When it came to Cultivation Techniques, Cultivation was not like the Martial Dao, where one had to practice a different technique for each realm.

In the Cultivation Realms—from the Qi Refining Stage, Foundation Establishment Stage, and Golden Core Stage all the way to the Nascent Soul Stage—one simply refined the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and converted it into Magical Power.

If one could obtain an Ultimate Skill Method for refining Spiritual Qi from the very beginning, they could even use it to cultivate all the way to the Nascent Soul Realm!

But the Martial Dao was different.

The focus of cultivation was different for each realm.

In the Nascent Soul Realm, however, one did not need to practice a Cultivation Technique. The Pill Breaks into Infant, and under the enhancement of the Nascent Soul, one integrates all the Martial Dao knowledge acquired over a lifetime, merging it into their Blood Qi to form their own Blood Qi Domain.

In the Nascent Soul Realm of Cultivation, the transformation of one’s Body Light would instead form their own Dharma Field.

On this day, Lu Bai said farewell to his mother, Uncle Fu, and everyone from the Luo family, preparing to head to Jingzhou City to assume his post.

Lu Bai said, "From now on, I must ask you all to look after my mother."

Luo Mingzhao replied, "Lu Bai, with Madam Lu here in the Luo family, you can rest assured."

The reason Lu Bai had helped the Luo family before, aside from the high regard they held for him, was also because of his mother.

Lu Bai would have to leave eventually.

Helping the Luo family was helping himself.

It would ensure Madam Lu had a place to live, leaving him with no worries for the future.

Luo Ben, that rough-hewn fellow, was extremely reluctant to see him go. "Brother Xiaolu," he said, "I’ve only been able to act all high and mighty for a dozen days, and now you’re leaving."

"High and mighty about what?"

Lu Bai asked with a curious smile.

"You haven’t heard?"

Luo Qing sounded a bit exasperated as he laughed. "Xiaoben and Xiaoxiao have been acting completely untouchable at Bluestone Academy lately. They keep saying they’re protected by three big brothers, so no one dares to provoke them."

"Where did these three big brothers come from?"

Lu Bai was taken aback.

Luo Ben lifted his chin slightly and said smugly, "Brother Dog, Brother Chicken, and Brother Xiaolu!"

Lu Bai: "..."

’That sounds a little weird.’

Luo Xiao sighed. "Brother Xiaolu, with you leaving, Brother Chicken and Brother Dog are gone too. Now there’s no one to protect us."

Luo Mingzhao said, "If you two practice your martial arts diligently and get into Jingzhou Academy soon, you’ll have a chance to see Lu Bai again."

Lu Bai smiled. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the figures of Mo Tang and He Liangzhi in the distance.

Lu Bai exchanged a few more pleasantries with the others before vaulting onto his horse and riding up next to He Liangzhi.

The three of them spurred their horses and rode off, disappearing at the end of the street.

After leaving the city, they reached the main road.

The trio traveled for a day, resting for a night at a post station.

They set off again the next day. After half a day’s travel, they came to a fork in the road.

"You two head to Jingzhou City."

Mo Tang said, "I’m going to check out Stone Forest Valley over there."

Lu Bai had also been intrigued when he heard that Stone Forest Valley was haunted.

But Mo Tang suspected the trip would be too dangerous and, deeming their cultivation too low, decided to investigate alone first.

The three of them split up, going their separate ways.

On the road, Lu Bai asked for guidance, "Brother He, in the Hundred Ghosts Record, the entries on Ghostly Creatures and evil spirits seem to stop after Fierce Ghosts. Why is that?"

"Beyond Fierce Ghosts, they are no longer simple ghosts and evil spirits," He Liangzhi explained.

"After a Fierce Ghost completes its Seven Spirits, the only way to advance further is to possess a corpse. Ghostly Creatures at this realm are also known as Corpse Ghosts."

"Corpse Ghost?"

Lu Bai was lost in thought.

He Liangzhi continued, "It is said that in primordial times, there were no Ghost Souls in the world. When any living thing was born, aged, fell ill, and died, its soul would enter the cycle of reincarnation."

"It was only during the Ancient Times that these things appeared. There’s a theory that Ghost Souls and Jiangshi both belong to a category of half-dead beings; one has a soul but no body, while the other has a body but no soul."

"If they wish to continue cultivating and exist in the world long-term, they must fuse with each other and cultivate the Nether Dao. Once they cultivate to the level of a Corpse Ghost, they are no different from the Human Race. An ordinary person can’t tell the difference, and their strength is equivalent to the Nascent Soul Realm."

"Above the Corpse Ghost is the Flying Corpse, which can fly through the sky and burrow through the earth. And above that is the Ba!"