Chapter 15
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: The Returned Deity (3)
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Yuyeon launched herself first toward the Corpse Ghost approaching over the wall. As she leaped toward the Corpse Ghost surging over the wall, she simultaneously drew up her spiritual energy and gathered it in her palm.
To prevent her clothes from being damaged by the aftermath of the palm strike, she elegantly rolled up her sleeve with one hand, completing her preparations to strike down.
The moment she finished her preparations, Yuyeon began falling toward the ground. She released her energy to dispel the Concealing Form Formation, and only then did the Corpse Ghost look up—but it was already too late.
Crunch—!
Drawing on her previous experience to adjust its power, Yuyeon's palm strike hit its mark precisely.
The Corpse Ghost's form, pierced from the head down, crumbled in an instant. This time, having properly controlled the force, the surrounding objects remained unscathed.
'No need to leave traces for people to see.'
She used her spiritual energy to bury the clothes left behind by the ghost deep underground.
Amid the scattering ghost qi, the soul spirit emerged. When Yuyeon extended her hand, the soul was drawn willingly into her palm without any resistance.
The first step had gone smoothly. Feeling a small sense of accomplishment, Yuyeon immediately turned her aura toward the remaining Corpse Ghost.
"If you're caught, I'll rip your limbs apart!"
That Corpse Ghost, recalling the memory of losing its child in life, lost all reason.
A boiling murderous intent surged within it, a desire to tear apart the people before it right now and put them in the same miserable state.
But because it had lost its reason, its instincts locked its body rigid instead.
Overwhelmed by the aura Yuyeon emitted, the Corpse Ghost fled toward the mountains in terror, not even glancing back.
The villagers were baffled as the Corpse Ghost suddenly bolted, but when Jang Jina urged them to check on the safety of each household, they finally realized this was the work of the deity.
Yuyeon pursued the Corpse Ghost, stepping through blind spots out of the villagers' sight. Before it could even crest the ridge, her hand seized its nape.
Even if it had barely become a Corpse Ghost by taking on ghost qi into its body, the gap between a Corpse Ghost—born without spiritual energy—and Yuyeon, who wielded vast amounts freely, was like heaven and earth.
"Answer my questions obediently, and I'll at least resolve your grievance."
Pinned down by Yuyeon, the Corpse Ghost—which was only slightly better than a mere vengeful spirit—couldn't even think of resisting.
Perhaps because its sense of crisis heightened, its reason slowly returned, and it stammered a reply.
"How could you know my grudge, and dare claim you can resolve it, O deity?"
The Corpse Ghost couldn't see Yuyeon, but from the energy felt in the small hand pressing on its occiput, it knew this was the same mighty being the village revered.
"I'm not here for long explanations. Where were you trying to flee? Just point."
Worried that asking directly about its lair might trigger another outburst, Yuyeon pressed for an answer.
Her method of urging was simple: like disciplining her little brother, she let a bit of palm force flow into her hand. The ghost's occiput tingled, and in terror, it hurriedly opened its mouth.
"There... I was heading that way."
"How many usually band together? Any others who set out with you?"
"Three this time. No fixed number—it varies."
If three had set out but only two attacked, one must have been watching from behind as a lookout.
"Is there a separate leader?"
"Yes."
Sensing no signs of a backlash yet, Yuyeon decided to ask something bolder.
"How many leaders are there?"
The ghost's eyes darted slyly. Yuyeon felt a twinge of unease. These things had no understanding of paths or spells, not even the concept of a backlash seal.
If it had been bound by a silencing spell, it wouldn't have been able to answer at all from the start.
Yuyeon asked cautiously.
"Your child's soul... it hasn't scattered yet, has it?"
"No, it hasn't."
This time, the Corpse Ghost answered honestly.
It and its child had been attacked while fleeing the village together, turning it into a Corpse Ghost—and its child's soul had been captured as well. It didn't know the child's exact situation, but from the ghost's attitude, things were clearly dire.
Fearing the Corpse Ghost might harbor resentment toward its master for using it and trigger a backlash, Yuyeon pressed on without pause.
"Answer obediently, and I'll take responsibility for that child's soul too. Where is the ringleader?"
The direction the ghost pointed with its finger was roughly the same as where it had tried to flee earlier.
At that moment, vicious ghost qi swirled around the father ghost who had lost his child, signs of a seizure appearing. Without hesitation, Yuyeon unleashed her inner power and burst its head.
Splat.
As the ghost qi forming its head scattered with the sound of flesh exploding, its hideous body collapsed, revealing its true soul spirit.
Yuyeon collected that soul alongside the one already in her other hand. Then, as before, she clasped her hands to perform Heavenly Ascension on them.
But this time, her heart wasn't fully attuned, and she lacked the power to harmonize.
'It consumes a lot of merit power after all.'
It was something she'd anticipated, so she didn't panic.
Performing Heavenly Ascension, which touched the principles of heaven, eroded one's own merit power.
Unlike spiritual energy, merit power—born from people's earnest wishes—couldn't be easily recovered or substituted.
Yuyeon pulled out a plain staff wrapped in white cloth, infused with incense fire over long years.
Using this as a medium, Heavenly Ascension should be possible. But since it was a consecrated object, it would be destroyed in the process and unusable afterward.
'Not a bad trade for saving two souls, but with only one chance, I need to be careful.'
If she went to the tiger's den leading these Corpse Ghosts, there would likely be more souls. Whether she'd have enough merit power then was uncertain.
Of course, Yuyeon had no obligation to save every soul.
She wasn't some grand bodhisattva seeking to save all beings out of boundless compassion.
In truth, souls heading to the afterlife after death was the natural order.
But turning a blind eye when she could save them now, postponing for later—it didn't sit right with Yuyeon's nature. More precisely, she feared such calculating thoughts becoming a habit.
As Yuyeon pondered briefly, something strange happened. Or rather, something she'd never experienced before.
As she focused, a faint but distinct scent of incense brushed by—not smelled through her nose, but a spiritual stimulus at the edge of her Divine Sense.
Yuyeon turned her head; the energy was flowing from the village.
It wasn't Jang Jina leading it, but the villagers believed the deity had gone to chase the ghosts for their sake, and they were praying sincerely for her safety in gratitude.
Merit power was the force born from people's profound wishes gathered together.
That resonance flowed toward Yuyeon.
She hesitated for a moment, then drew in the faint Incense Fire Merit from the villagers.
As the smoky energy coalesced, a rich incense scent filled her Divine Sense and inspiration.
Instead of her own merit, Yuyeon used it as kindling to offer prayers to the heavens. The spark rose like a lantern, opening the path for the souls to follow.
There was no grand resonance with heaven and earth like before, but the road to the afterlife was clearly forged.
Yuyeon pushed the two souls in her hands onto that path.
'So light.'
Sending off an ordinary soul felt like tossing a pebble.
The hard part was creating the path.
Sharing power to let the souls follow the path consumed spiritual energy, but it was no issue for Yuyeon, overflowing as she was.
A typical cultivator would decry wasting spiritual energy like that as extravagant, but since Yuyeon wasn't a formal Immortal Cultivator yet, she neither knew nor cared for such pretensions.
Having sent off the two souls, Yuyeon took a moment to reflect on her insights. Her Ghost Dao Heart was condensed, but this was only her second time putting it into practice.
Learning through trial and error without a master.
'Gathering and sustaining souls, and the use of incense fire...'
This time, she'd been lucky with the villagers' prayers, but what if facing a mighty foe left her unable to spare the mental effort?
Yuyeon had no grand mission to save the world, but she didn't want to leave any regrets from not doing her best where she could reach.
If not now when she could, when would she learn and refine it?
Through this mindset, Yuyeon was faintly grasping some truth. If deepened, she might one day create her own unique technique.
But now wasn't the time for contemplation. Yuyeon immediately shot off in the direction the Corpse Ghost had indicated.
Not all Corpse Ghosts are the same.
Even becoming a Corpse Ghost granted only ghost qi and faint inspiration. Losing the flesh body meant suffering the pain of the soul being torn by the netherworld's pull, tasting hell even in death.
Thus, a Corpse Ghost's usefulness depended on its abilities in life.
The knowledgeable became strategists, the martial artists soldiers.
And one like this ghost, once a merchant heir with sharp wits and keen instincts, was perfect as a servant or scout.
He watched the village from afar, gauging the situation. What happened to the two ahead was too quick to discern.
His meager inspiration couldn't grasp the details, but his natural perceptiveness read the signs.
From the villagers' reactions, the two bait ghosts had clearly been subdued by that 'deity.'
'Just as the master said.'
Having seen enough, he thought to retreat—when a chill ran down his spine.
A ghost fearing another ghost defied logic.
The young master ghost feigned calm but inwardly grumbled about his rotten luck. Fearing the deity might pursue and leave him in the same state, he hurriedly turned to flee.
And silently trailing behind him was Yuyeon.