Chapter 101: Yin Bone Jade, Dancing on a Grave (Seeking monthly votes and subscriptions)

The noise of relief spread through the crowd.

"It’s over!"

"At last, it’s settled!"

"Indeed, Mr. Lu deserves the credit. And Brother Chen as well. Who would have thought Brother Chen was not only a martial artist, but also a masterful spirit-walker?"

"It’s a pity about Zhang Heng. He was simply too unlucky to be chosen by that ghost bride."

"Nothing could be done about it. I just heard Mr. Lu explain that this was one of the evil thing’s special abilities. Once it chooses you, it is like being summoned by a spirit-calling rite. It is a kind of special law-bound power."

"But in the end, the key was that he grew afraid. I was standing right beside him and noticed he made a move as if to turn and leave. The moment his courage failed him, the ghost bride noticed at once and chose him as her target. Mr. Lu also said it clearly just now: when you meet a ghost, you must not be afraid. The instant fear sets in, your courage leaks away; once that happens, your blood and vitality grow weak, and it becomes easy for them to seize the chance and strike."

...

A group of people talked among themselves, each of them finally able to breathe again, the tension in their faces gone.

Earlier, though they had been prepared in their hearts, facing so many ghostly creatures head-on had still given them quite a shock. If they had not all been martial artists, with courage already more or less sufficient, and if they had not known that a geomancer like Lu Yizhi was with them, it would truly have been hard to endure.

Now that the ghost bride’s escort had finally been completely cleared away, they all felt as though they had survived a disaster.

The only regret they had was for Zhang Heng.

But there was nothing to be done.

In the end, it was because his courage had simply been too weak.

Under that peculiar law-like power, even Lu Yizhi could do very little.

Without further delay, the group pressed deeper into the area and began searching.

What they were looking for, naturally, were medicinal treasures of all kinds, as well as the main objective of this expedition: the Great Yin Spirit Flower.

At this point, Chen Yushu fell slightly behind, thinking back on the battle just now, still somewhat shaken.

"This time, it really was rather dangerous.

Evil-ranked ghost creatures are indeed formidable.

That method of inviting someone into the bridal sedan was far too sinister. It should be an attack that acts directly on the soul.

Once it is used, ordinary people simply cannot withstand it.

Only because I have a steady mind and a sufficiently high level of inner stillness was I not shaken.

If it had been used on anyone else, it would have been nearly impossible to resist.

At the very least, apart from Mr. Lu Yizhi, perhaps only the three inner-force martial artists, Miss Liu Qingyan, Liu Hexuan, and the captain of the guards, would have been able to endure it somewhat with martial will and their strong blood and inner force?"

Chen Yushu had faced that peculiar power directly, so he had a very clear sense of how strong its pull had been.

He instinctively felt that martial artists at the flesh-refining stage would never be able to withstand that force. Their souls would be dragged into the bridal sedan, and the ghost bride would swallow them in one bite.

Inner-force martial artists were stronger, with deeper vitality and inner force protecting them. Presumably, they should have been able to resist it to some extent.

Of course, he was not certain.

That power was simply too strange.

He suspected that even if his state of inner stillness had only been at the minor-stillness level, he might not have been able to resist it.

And although he had withstood it, in the end he had still been dragged by that force into the bridal sedan.

It made him feel even more keenly that relying on spirit-walking alone was nowhere near enough when facing a terrifying evil like the ghost bride.

Only strength in martial cultivation, equally formidable, would do.

At the very least, if he had been able to train his martial art to the point of refining the internal organs, or even merely to the external bone-tempering stage, the other side would never have been able to drag him away.

Then, naturally, it would also have been unable to threaten him, and he would not have needed to fight desperately and throw out so many talismans to protect himself.

"This one wave..."

Chen Yushu thought of this, and a faint pang of pain rose in his heart.

"It has nearly emptied all my stock."

Though all of it had been drawn by his own hand, and thus had little cost in itself, it was a different matter if he were to sell it. At five taels of silver per talisman, that was at least several hundred taels gone in an instant.

"I’ll just have to replenish what I used once I get back.

Still, the cost to me is fairly small. Compared with what I gained, it was worth it."

As he thought this, Chen Yushu quickly took out two beads from his robe.

They were soul beads.

One had been obtained from the fierce ghost he had slain earlier; the other came from the three fierce ghosts killed by Lu Yizhi.

Four fierce ghosts, two soul beads. That was already a rather good yield.

If luck were bad, even three might not yield one.

Not to mention that, besides the soul beads, he had also obtained a red handkerchief.

At the thought of it, he immediately patted his waist.

Xiao Yin’s figure sprang out at once.

But after emerging, she did not immediately speak to Chen Yushu. Instead, as though sensing something, she darted off toward a nearby spot, crouched down, and picked up a black object from the ground.

Only then did she come bouncing back to Chen Yushu’s side, beaming with delight, and held it up.

"Brother Yushu, look what I found!"

As she spoke, she offered the black object to him like a treasured prize.

"What is this?"

Chen Yushu took it and found that it was shaped like a bone finger, yet it was clear as jade and very smooth and rounded on the surface. Holding it in his hand, he could distinctly sense a dense yin chill within.

Then, as if remembering something, Chen Yushu looked at Xiao Yin in surprise.

If he recalled correctly, this object had been handed to him by Xiao Yin before. In other words, Xiao Yin could also hold it?

"A toy.

My little toy.

My older sister gave me a few before. Brother Yushu, can you give me this one too?

Then I’ll have five, and I can play the pebble-picking game."

As she spoke, Xiao Yin rummaged in her arms, and before long four little stones of the same color, though slightly different in shape, appeared in her hand.

"Fine, take it.

Oh, and this one is for you too."

Chen Yushu did not refuse.

At that moment he also remembered that this thing was called a yin bone, or yin-jade bone. It could be used in medicine, and after being processed into a formula, it was also an excellent material for making talismans and talisman ink.

Its value was variable.

But since he had no use for it right now, letting Xiao Yin play with it was no problem.

Then he handed over the red handkerchief as well.

"Ah, thank you, Brother Yushu. I like this little handkerchief so much. With it, when I go out to play in the future, I won’t get all dirty..."

Xiao Yin accepted it excitedly, fiddling with the handkerchief again and again, her smile so wide it would not close.

Seeing her like that, Chen Yushu’s mood could not help but brighten as well.

After that, like the others, he began searching the surroundings.

This extreme yin land was rich in earth energy and heavy with yin essence. Because of that, ordinary weeds and trees found it very hard to survive here. But obviously, whatever did manage to grow here possessed some medicinal value.

After only a few steps, he could see one or two medicinal herbs recorded in the Classic of Herbs, and many of them he had even seen in person before.

Of course, his carrying capacity was limited, so he did not dig up the more ordinary herbs. He only sought out major and precious medicines.

And indeed, Chen Yushu soon found another treasured herb.

Its form was like a dragon, rising from below to above, as if it were about to soar into the sky.

The treasure herb was called Skyward Dragon Grass. Once eaten, it could make a person vigorous and mighty, with abundant essence and strong vitality; it was something countless wealthy gentlemen dreamed of. A single stalk was worth at least eighty taels of silver, and even then it was hard to find on the market.

"Great Yin Spirit Flower!

Third Miss, I found the Great Yin Spirit Flower!"

Just then, someone shouted from afar.

At once, everyone nearby was drawn over.

Chen Yushu also walked over and immediately saw that atop a small mound of earth, a pure white flower was quietly opening.

"Be careful and dig it up. Once we return, there will naturally be a reward," Liu Qingyan said joyfully.

The man answered loudly, then carefully began digging. Soon the Great Yin Spirit Flower was lifted out by the roots.

Yet the instant it left the soil, the entire flower turned black at once.

From its original pure white hue, it transformed into a completely black blossom.

Though still beautiful, it now carried a strange and bewitching aura.

"Indeed, it is the Great Yin Spirit Flower.

While it grows, it is entirely white, like a saintly immortal maiden; but once it leaves the soil, it immediately turns completely black.

Only at that moment is it truly the Great Yin Spirit Flower.

This flower is white while growing, and once dug up, it becomes black."

Liu Qingyan’s face instantly lit up with delight. She hurriedly took out a sandalwood box prepared in advance and placed the flower inside.

"This mound..."

Chen Yushu vaguely felt that something was not right and quickly activated his vision of qi.

Then, very quickly, his expression changed.

He saw that within the mound, baleful energy was gathering, dense to the extreme. Even the aura that scattered outward from it gave him the eerie feeling that, in sheer menace, it might be even stronger than the ghost bride they had just slain.

There was something else inside this mound?

Looking at the others around him, still excited and exchanging congratulations, he unconsciously took two steps back.

One ghost bride had already left their whole party in such disarray, even costing them one life.

If whatever was inside that mound suddenly sprang out...

Chen Yushu quickly looked around for Lu Yizhi, but did not see him anywhere. He was just about to warn everyone to leave when Liu Qingyan called out to the group and began urging them to depart.

At that, Chen Yushu felt somewhat relieved, but soon his nerves tightened again.

Liu Qingyan was calling too loudly.

The others were also in high spirits, making quite a scene.

What, were they planning to dance on a grave?

Fortunately, even with all the noise, whatever was inside the small mound showed no reaction at all, as though it had not been disturbed.

After that, the group slowly retraced their steps and headed back the way they had come.

Along the way, Chen Yushu finally saw Lu Yizhi. At that moment he was gathering up the small flags scattered around.

These flags were made from special materials and were used to draw in qi and gather baleful energy. They were not cheap, and they were one of Lu Yizhi’s livelihood tools.

So the group spread out again to help collect the flags.

And thus another half hour was delayed.

What gave Chen Yushu some peace of mind was that no accident occurred during that time.

Only then did the group begin returning along the same route, hurrying toward the other side of Mount Tianyuan and the direction of Qian Family Village.