Chapter 80: Listening to the Nether
Chapter 80: Nether Whisper
Gazing at the vividly lifelike crimson wax statue, Lü Yang's interest grew even stronger. In his previous life, he had spent a full decade studying the souls of Foundation Establishment True Persons.
It was precisely because of this that he could discern—
"May I ask which esteemed senior stands before me?"
Lü Yang cupped his hands and stared directly at the statue before him. In his eyes, the crimson wax-carved deity unmistakably concealed a wisp of a Foundation Establishment soul!
Yet the statue gave no response, merely continuing its own course: "Those who violate our sect's traditions deserve ten thousand deaths!"
As the words fell, it took a step forward and vanished abruptly, crossing the distance between them in a single stride. Its fingers clenched into a fist that came crashing down!
Seeing this, Lü Yang neither dodged nor evaded, instead meeting it with a punch of his own.
The black-robed Daoist inwardly rejoiced at the sight.
This ancestral statue was no ordinary object—it was a treasure for personal protection, obtainable only by those of his high status within the Nether Whisper Sect.
Carrying it daily could significantly slow the rate at which one was devoured by witch ghosts. In times of need, one could summon the ancestral true spirit as he had now to suppress enemies. Though merely made of crimson wax, a single punch from it could split mountains and shatter stone—far beyond what mortal flesh could withstand.
Thus, in his view, Lü Yang was courting death.
Boom!
The next moment, a tremendous explosion erupted between Lü Yang and the statue. A rolling wave of qi swept outward, and Lü Yang's body instantly disintegrated.
Whoosh—
Clouds rose and fell; qi scattered and gathered. Billowing white mist churned and seethed, rapidly pulling away from the statue before coalescing once more into Lü Yang's form.
"What kind of technique is this!?"
The black-robed Daoist was dumbstruck, clearly shaken by Lü Yang's ability to disperse and reform at will. His gaze toward Lü Yang grew increasingly wary.
Meanwhile, Lü Yang wore an expression of admiration.
"What an impressive statue."
Yet even as he praised it, he privately concluded: This so-called Nether Whisper Sect was undoubtedly the handiwork of some Foundation Establishment reincarnate from the Witch Ghost Path!
"I knew it—a centipede dies but never stiffens. Since the Witch Ghost Path wasn't completely eradicated, it must have left behind some formidable contingency... Though from what I saw in my past life, that contingency likely failed in the end. Still, to me now, it remains a colossal force..."
As Lü Yang pondered, the statue attacked again.
Another punch came forth, and Lü Yang responded in kind—only to be forced back step by step until he dispersed once more, reforming at a distance.
"No match for it..."
Lü Yang sighed. His Primordial Qi avatar specialized in martial arts, yet its physical body couldn't compare to the statue. With its greatest advantage nullified, victory was naturally difficult.
"...But if you can call for backup, why can't I?"
The next instant, Lü Yang abruptly formed a hand seal.
Crack!
A fissure split open behind Lü Yang's head, from which surged a magnificent golden light that coalesced into a massive hand weighing as much as a mountain!
Outside the secret realm, Lü Yang's true self had made his move.
The golden hand stretched its fingers, revealing a bloodlight-drenched formation in its palm. With a downward press, it instantly swallowed the statue whole.
"Heaven-Slashing Blood River Sword Formation, rise!"
With another hand seal from Lü Yang, the formation unleashed a torrent of vicious blood rain—each drop akin to a razor-sharp sword light—slashing toward the statue.
"You insolent junior!"
The statue stood unshaken, surrounded by the howls of countless ghosts. The wisp of Foundation Establishment soul within it regained clarity and transmitted a message:
"A mere seventh-grade formation cannot threaten this Protector."
"Which sect do you hail from? If you can rescue this Protector, you shall be richly rewarded. Should you be willing, come to the Nether Whisper Sect's main altar to meet me..."
"Senior seems to have misunderstood."
Outside the secret realm, Lü Yang's true self smirked coldly. "The formation isn't meant to deal with you—it's merely to trap you temporarily and prevent your escape."
"...What?"
The next moment, Lü Yang's true self activated the 'Saint's Aspect.' The golden hand clenched the formation as Lü Yang pushed the Saint's Theft's authority to its limits. Then, like an eraser wiping away a line of text, it obliterated everything within its grasp in an instant.
When the golden hand reopened, the statue had been crushed to dust.
Only a remnant glow remained, seized by Lü Yang's Primordial Qi avatar—none other than the divine ability radiance of [Underworld Lord Xuanming's Ghost-Controlling Position].
As for Lü Yang's true self, he simply severed his own arm.
After all, this hand had already entered the secret realm. With the Golden Core sword qi present and no way to withdraw it, keeping it would be wasteful—it could always regrow later.
Next, Lü Yang directed his avatar to collect [Underworld Lord Xuanming's Ghost-Controlling Position]. After examining it carefully, he sighed regretfully: "Still incomplete... At most one percent. Understandable—this statue was clearly mass-produced and couldn't bear too potent a divine ability."
Just as Lü Yang sighed, the black-robed Daoist nearby lost his mind.
Staring blankly at the shattered statue, it took him a long while to snap back to reality. His eyes instantly burned crimson as he glared at Lü Yang:
"You dare destroy our sect's ancestral statue?"
Lü Yang raised an eyebrow. "So that was the Nether Whisper Ancestor... To think a Foundation Establishment cultivator could live this long, reincarnating repeatedly to cling to life for over a millennium?"
The black-robed Daoist paid no heed to Lü Yang's words. The Nether Whisper Sect was deeply rooted in the secret realm, revered by all. The destruction of the ancestral statue felt like a desecration of his faith, driving him to madness: "Destroying the ancestral statue—our sect will never let this rest!"
Before the words fully left his mouth, he roared and lunged at Lü Yang.
Lü Yang responded with a cold smile. "At this point, it's me who won't let your sect rest!"
With a flick of his sleeve, Primordial True Qi coalesced into a giant hand that seized the black-robed Daoist and slammed him into the ground, crushing both man and ghost into dust.
Yet Lü Yang didn't leave immediately. Instead, he waited patiently.
Soon, the yin energy in the area gathered anew, forming a fresh black-clad ghost—none other than the witch ghost 'Name-Calling Soul Reaper' he had just obliterated.
Lü Yang observed the entire witch ghost revival process with fascination. "Just as I thought—this is how the Witch Ghost Path has clung to survival all this time..."
Witch ghosts couldn't be killed!
The Witch-Ghost Secret Realm was deeply intertwined with the spiritual veins beneath Skeleton Mountain, forming a sealed, self-sustaining cycle.
When a witch ghost died, it dissolved into yin energy, merging with the spiritual veins. The yin energy would then reform into witch ghosts within the secret realm, achieving a form of immortality in another sense. To break this, one would either have to uproot the secret realm along with Skeleton Mountain's spiritual veins or force the secret realm to emerge voluntarily.
The latter was True Person Yinshan's method—because no one would attempt the former.
Not because it was impossible, but because uprooting spiritual veins would severely damage one's merit, directly affecting future reincarnations.
After all, even Golden Core True Lords weren't truly immortal.
When their lifespans ended, they too had to reincarnate and cultivate anew. And those who accumulated too much demerit would inevitably face greater tribulations in their next lives.
"That's why this Golden Core sword qi remains in the secret realm, opting to boil the frog slowly rather than flip the table outright..."
"From this perspective, my act of capturing ghosts is also inadvisable—it would gradually drain the yin energy from Skeleton Mountain's spiritual veins..."
"...But so what?"
Lü Yang reached out and grabbed the newly reformed black-clad ghost, tossing it into the Myriad Spirits Banner without a second thought for Skeleton Mountain's spiritual veins.
Merit? Who needed it?
A lower starting point in this life just leaves more room for improvement in the next.