Chapter 52: The Yin Ghost
In the unexpected situation, I quickly said to Hwang Danha,
“Senior Hwang, it seems something inside the coffin was awakened by the resentful spirit. What should we do?”
“Since we woke it, we have to put it back to sleep.”
The coffin lid was shaking slightly ajar. Whatever was inside hadn't come out yet.
“Then, trust me and let's finish it with a formation.”
“A formation?”
“The Flame Orb I have can substitute for the formation's core treasure in the Flame Dragon Formation. We don't have time, so just embed spirit stones in the positions I tell you.”
“In that case, I'll trust you, Junior Brother.”
I showed Hwang Danha and Jo Mihyeon the spots where spirit stones needed to be placed to activate the Flame Dragon Formation. It would've taken longer if I'd set it up alone, but with two seniors helping, we completed it swiftly.
As soon as the Flame Dragon Formation was finished, the coffin lid flew fully open, and a yin ghost in the form of a woman burst out from within.
I scanned it with my divine sense, but I couldn't gauge its realm.
“Yuseong!”
At Hwang Danha's anxious call, I swiftly formed hand seals to activate the Flame Dragon Formation.
Boom boom boom!
A massive wall of fire formed around the yin ghost, steadily closing in. Surrounded by the flames, the yin ghost had nowhere to escape.
The yin ghost simply watched the approaching wall of fire.
Did it still lack reason? If so, beating it in a fight seemed easy.
The encroaching wall of fire transformed into hundreds of small flame dragons that flew toward the yin ghost.
Kaboom!
With a deafening roar, the entire plaza began to collapse. The aftermath of the Flame Dragon Formation spread across the plaza, turning it into a sea of fire. Rocks and dirt rained from the ceiling, and amid the scorching heat, the yin ghost's form was no longer visible.
“Junior Brother Yoo, Junior Sister Jo—let's get out of here first!”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
I retrieved the Flame Orb and used Cloud Concealment Technique to swiftly flee the plaza, flying toward the entrance. But the entrance was collapsing too, so we had to get completely outside.
We escaped the long passage and plunged back into the water. Hwang Danha emerged first and waited in front of the waterfall. Jo Mihyeon and I escaped almost simultaneously.
Was the yin ghost dead?
“Senior Hwang, did you see the yin ghost on your way out?”
“No.”
“How was the power of my Flame Dragon Formation? It should've been enough to kill it, right?”
“Your Flame Dragon Formation was impressive, but we couldn't determine the yin ghost's realm.”
If even Hwang Danha, at Core Formation mid-stage, couldn't gauge it, then the yin ghost was probably Core Formation late-stage or Nascent Soul realm. In that case, it had survived the formation.
“Then let's run, fast.”
“Yeah.”
“Gahk!”
The yin ghost appeared without a sound and ripped off Jo Mihyeon's two arms. Losing her arms, Jo Mihyeon retreated and used her essence blood to regenerate them. Because she'd used essence blood, her face paled.
The yin ghost's exterior was pristine, impossible to believe it had endured the Flame Dragon Formation.
Hwang Danha hurled a black pagoda at the yin ghost, and Jo Mihyeon's silver wheel flew out too. I pulled out the turtle puppet and the Present Purity Gold from my storage ring.
I sent the turtle puppet to attack the yin ghost and infused the Present Purity Gold with mana.
With eerie movements, the yin ghost dodged every attack and charged at Hwang Danha. Its pale, expressionless face flying swiftly evoked tremendous terror.
Hwang Danha pulled out a white scroll to block it, but the yin ghost's long nails tore through the scroll effortlessly and pierced her abdomen.
At that moment, the Present Purity Gold began to play. Intense light burst from it, and a high-pitched metallic sound targeted the yin ghost.
The yin ghost immediately abandoned Hwang Danha and rushed at me. Its expressionless face seemed furious. Even the Present Purity Gold was useless—what the hell was I supposed to do?
The yin ghost's long nails approached right before my eyes. I drew the Monster Bear Sword and swung at it.
Clang!
Seeing the Monster Bear Sword shatter in one blow, I circulated the Iron Skin Art at full power, enveloping my body in golden light. The yin ghost's demonic nails pierced through the golden light and even tore the Monster Bear Armor.
I tried to dodge maximally with Cloud Concealment Technique, but five deep gashes appeared on my chest. While I drew its attention, Hwang Danha and Jo Mihyeon attacked from behind, only to be sent flying with blood spewing from one gesture.
The ridiculous gap in skill left me speechless. At this level, the yin ghost was at least Nascent Soul realm.
When Hwang Danha had suggested resealing the thing in the coffin, I should've strongly opposed and insisted we just run. As I backed away to pull out the Heavenly Thunder Shadow Talisman, the yin ghost seized me in an instant, throttling my neck.
Its cold hand gripped my throat, draining strength from my body and halting my mana flow.
“Gurk!”
No matter how I struggled, no power entered my limbs. The yin ghost pulled me toward it by the neck. It felt like my throat would shatter.
“Ah...”
The yin ghost opened its mouth as if to speak.
“Ah... ga.”
Ah ga? What the hell?
My breath was cut off, vision blurring.
“My... baby... give her back.”
The yin ghost had a baby too? When did I take its baby?
I was about to lose consciousness for real. But to survive, I desperately racked my brain over what it was saying.
What had I gotten from the spirit beast cave? No way!
Squeezing out unresponsive mana, I retrieved the black orb from my storage ring.
The expressionless yin ghost saw the black orb, released me, and removed the sealing talisman stuck to it. Then it hugged the orb to its chest and stroked it.
“My... baby... Mommy's here.”
“...!”
So the black orb-shaped spirit beast with a mouth was the yin ghost's child. Then what the hell had those demonic cultivators done in the past?
Fortunately, the yin ghost just hugged and stroked the orb, no longer attacking me. Sensing no killing intent, I cautiously approached.
“Senior Yin Ghost, after being trapped for ages, I freed you and even found your child. Surely you won't ignore that grace, right?”
I flashed the brightest smile, teeth showing—it's impossible to harbor hostility toward a smiling face.
“...Go.”
The yin ghost said in a flat voice.
Smiles really save lives. I politely cupped my fists toward the yin ghost, stored the turtle puppet in my ring, and headed to where Hwang Danha and Jo Mihyeon had fallen.
The yin ghost might change its mind and come kill us, so I quickly stopped their bleeding and sprinkled Life Renewal Powder on the wounds.
As the least injured of the three, I controlled Jo Mihyeon's carriage while Hwang Danha and Jo Mihyeon circulated qi inside to recover. To get as far from the yin ghost as possible, we fled swiftly toward Unkak Sect.
You can't blindly trust promises from a ghost with a twisted mind. With only me able to fight now, I flew low to avoid flying spirit beasts, moving cautiously.
While controlling the flying treasure, I etched this lesson into my heart. When a bad feeling hits, I must trust my instincts.
Just because Hwang Danha was the highest realm didn't mean her judgments were always right. We should've run the moment the yin ghost showed no sign of waking from the coffin.
Unconsciously, I'd relied on her as a Core Formation mid-stage senior, believing she'd handle it somehow. But that faith shattered against this formidable foe.
When true crisis strikes, I have to resolve it myself. This time, I got lucky and survived.
Half a month later, we arrived at Unkak Sect. Hwang Danha and Jo Mihyeon had recovered somewhat from their injuries.
Upon arrival, we all went to Mibong Shop to divide the spoils from the spirit beast cave. I'd earnestly explained in the carriage how the yin ghost spared us because of the black orb I had, securing a larger share for myself.
Inside Mibong Shop, we emptied everything from our storage rings onto the desk: spirit beast materials, dozens of books, depleted pills and herbs, bottles of unknown liquids, worn-out treasures too damaged to repair easily, and unidentified ores.
“Junior Brother Yoo saved all our lives, so pick first.”
Hwang Danha said with a smile. Jo Mihyeon nodded silently.
Hmm, what to choose... Nothing particularly appealed.
After much deliberation, I picked several books, a bottle of liquid, a coin-shaped treasure, a black ore, and an oddly shaped herb.
Hwang Danha and Jo Mihyeon divided the rest appropriately. It wasn't a great reward for fighting Black Dark Sect cultivators and surviving a yin ghost. Still, I'd value coming back alive from a strong enemy.
“Then, I'll be off.”
Mentally and physically exhausted, I returned to my cave, lay on the stone bed, and slept.
After sufficient rest, I laid out all the spoils on my desk. The odd herb had lost all its spiritual energy, but maybe it'd revive, so I planted it in my herb field.
I didn't know the black ore's use, but it was incredibly tough—perfect for crafting treasures or puppets.
I didn't open the bottle of unknown liquid; it could be poison, risking my life. Visual inspection revealed only that it was red.
The coin-shaped treasure didn't respond to divine sense or hand seals, so I stored it in my ring for now.
Finally, I read the worn books. Hoping for something to spark my intellectual curiosity, I carefully turned the first page.
The books mainly recounted battles with Buddhist sects, filled with hatred for the monks who drove them out.
Continuing, I learned the identities of the demonic cultivators who'd built the spirit beast cave we'd raided. They were remnants who'd fled a branch of a demonic sect in what was now Fancheon Kingdom's Feng Province.
Of course, no demonic sects existed openly in Fancheon Kingdom now. There might be some hiding and scheming in shadows, but I hadn't visited Fancheon myself and knew little of other countries.
Anyway, they'd come to the cave to exact revenge by creating a yin ghost. They'd captured a female Nascent Soul demonic cultivator and turned her into one using special methods, exploiting her child in the process.
To draw out the intense resentment needed for a true yin ghost, they'd killed her child right before her eyes. Later, to control the completed yin ghost more easily, they'd sealed its child's resentful spirit into a spirit beast's body.
But they failed to control it. The yin ghost ignored their commands and tried to kill them instead.
Reading on, my teeth ground in fury at the demonic cultivators' cruelty. Calming my anger, I continued.
The book stated that a true yin ghost, once completed, surpassed its lifetime cultivation. However, lacking reason, reaching Spirit Severing was nearly impossible.
The strange part: the one I'd met clearly had reason. She could speak somewhat, recognized her child, and didn't kill indiscriminately.
How was that possible? She'd called for her "baby" while throttling me, searching for her child.
“...”
Could maternal love, unextinguished even after becoming a yin ghost, have preserved her reason over the long years...?
The thought sent shivers down my spine. Love for her child had protected her!