chapter 18

In the Forest

Jiang Xingfeng dropped from the treetops, walking a few steps to the shade beneath a tree. "The mountain has already been sealed off. Xuan Yu Villa seems to be in a hurry; nearly four spiritual ships have arrived. The Su family wants a share of the pie, but Xuan Yu Villa is not giving them any opportunity... Other forces are on their way, and now the entire Eastern Horizon's cultivation world is likely focused on this place. If we don't leave soon, we might be exposed."

Normally, exposure wouldn't matter, but…

Jiang Xingfeng looked at the young man beside him, who had already begun to show signs of demonization, and couldn't help but sigh. This absolutely couldn't be exposed in front of others. "What's going on with your demonic blood? It was suppressed fine earlier. I promised my master to escort you safely back to the Gu family. You can't cause trouble here. Gu Qi, are you listening to me?"

"There's not just the mountain guardian beast in this forest, there are other things too."

Gu Qi lowered his gaze, carefully inspecting the path around them. There were scattered footprints on the ground, as if a group of patrolling cultivators had passed through recently.

Jiang Xingfeng didn't know what Gu Qi was looking at. Following his line of sight, he saw a swordsman approaching a withered tree further ahead. Beneath the tree, there was a slightly raised mound of earth, surrounded by scattered fallen leaves. It seemed no different from the area around it.

The young swordsman made a slight movement with his fingers, and the decayed soil on the ground was lifted, revealing bleached, dry bones beneath.

Jiang Xingfeng raised his hand to cover his nose, struggling to hold back the foul stench. "What are you doing…? This isn't what you were looking for, is it?!"

Before he could finish speaking, he saw the scattered, chaotic bones in the pit the swordsman had uncovered.

The bones were in disorder, not as though they had been buried after death, but rather, it looked like someone had carelessly swept the bones into a pit.

"Who's so kind-hearted to gather up these scattered remains and toss them into a pit?" Jiang Xingfeng asked. "You're not digging up something left by someone else, are you?"

He raised his hands in a gesture of apology. "My young one is ignorant, please forgive him."

As he spoke, he began reciting a rebirth incantation.

There were faint traces of human activity around the pit. Gu Qi sniffed the air with his nose, his gaze lingering on the tree roots to one side as if he had smelled something.

Gu Qi waved his hand, and beneath the bones, a bloodstained garment of crimson was revealed, torn and ragged.

The person was dead? No, it wasn't right.

The corpse beneath the bones must have been dead for a long time.

It wasn't him.

Jiang Xingfeng continued to mutter the rebirth incantation. Before he could finish, his peripheral vision caught Gu Qi picking up the tattered bloodstained garment. He tried to stop him, but before he could, Gu Qi brought the garment to his nose. In that instant, Jiang Xingfeng saw the tips of Gu Qi's ears twitch slightly, and his demonic pupils narrowed.

Seeing Gu Qi sniffing the blood, Jiang Xingfeng felt a chill down his spine. "Gu Qi, I didn't hear about you developing this… habit after demonizing."

"The person who wore this must have passed nearby. They shouldn't have gone too far," Gu Qi said.

The pit was undisturbed, and the person had stripped a dead man's clothes and replaced them with this conspicuous bloodstained garment to hide their scent.

No wonder he hadn't been able to detect any scent when chasing him earlier... Gu Qi focused on the disordered footprints on the ground, then turned his gaze toward the distance. He could see the cultivators from the Southern Region already setting up camp at the entrance of South Wu Mountain. Since the person wanted to leave the mountain, they would have to pass the cultivators' inspection.

They wouldn't be able to leave too quickly.

"I'm going. Gu Qi, you really think you can get in like this?" Jiang Xingfeng quickly grabbed him, stopping him. "Let me tell you, if you show up in front of Xuan Yu Villa like this, those beast tamers will go crazy. Besides, we can't afford to expose ourselves. No matter what, you have to wait for the people from Tianlu Mountain…"

A bloodstained garment was tossed back into Jiang Xingfeng's arms, and he froze. "What are you doing?"

"You go back to the Divine Medicine Valley and check the blood on this," the swordsman said, his gaze flicking towards the nearby Qi family spiritual ship, his thoughts briefly quieting.

The person he was looking for should be right ahead.

The Qi Family's Spiritual Ship

The Qi family's spiritual ships were not far away. Once they arrived, the Qi family cultivators quickly took Su Yu aboard the Qi family ship.

At the entrance of South Wu Mountain, several spiritual ships were anchored. As they walked, Su Yu felt surrounded by chaotic spiritual energy, the sensation of being enveloped in such a place was strange. The sounds had increased, and a variety of scents filled the air.

As they passed, Su Yu overheard some whispers.

"Hey, there's nothing we can do. I heard the Mountain Guardian Monument was shattered."

"South Wu Mountain is so strange. I heard it used to be filled with Yin Qi, but now it's completely gone. Just thinking about it gives me chills."

"Although it's not a place of meditation, it seems there are some great treasures here. Otherwise, why would the Su family be here?"

The Ink Beast, listening in, chimed in.

"That damned swordsman did this. You should go look for him."

"The Yin Qi, all of it, was devoured by this kid."

"I'm not even in the mountain, and I can leave my house to you at a discount. Go ahead, there's nothing left!"

Su Yu's mind was filled with the Ink Beast's endless chatter. "Do you talk a lot?"

"I'll be quiet, I'll be quiet," the Ink Beast replied, closing its mouth.

Once it quieted down, Su Yu finally focused on his surroundings.

Compared to the cold and foul stench of South Wu Mountain, Su Yu realized he had entered a new environment.

He focused on the distant horizon, and noticed that the formation on the surface of the Su family spiritual ship was far more intricate and complex than that of the Qi family's ship. While the Qi family's ship only had a few dozen streams of chaotic spiritual energy, from a distance, Su family's ship had hundreds or even thousands. Upon closer inspection, the differences were immediately apparent.

Spiritual ships were naturally places filled with turbulent spiritual energy. When Su Yu first saw the Su family's ship, he had been dazzled. The ship was studded with many spiritual stones, and at a glance, one could see the spiritual energy swirling around it.

Back in South Wu Mountain, it was easy to distinguish Yin Qi because it was all white. Any other strange colors were immediately noticeable.

But in such a colorful display, he could instantly tell where each strand of spiritual energy came from.

Su Yu's Growing Awareness

Su Yu unconsciously raised his hand to touch his eyes. Not only had the dryness he had felt earlier disappeared, but now, his vision seemed clearer and broader. Even amidst the chaotic spiritual energy of the crowd, he could distinctly discern which stream of spiritual energy belonged to which cultivator. It was as though everything had become easier to handle.

This change hadn't occurred without reason. It seemed that after the totem in his dantian enlarged, his eyes had been affected, making it easier for him to see and sense spiritual energy.

Su Yu lowered his head, the totem still slowly spinning in his consciousness, with the Ink Spirit Pearl embedded within it. But it now seemed to be more under the totem's influence.

Was it the Ink Spirit Pearl causing this… or was it the totem itself? What else might happen to his eyes?

Noticing Su Yu's distracted state, a Qi family cultivator asked, "What's wrong? If anything feels uncomfortable, you can tell us."

Su Yu paused, bringing his thoughts back together. "The sound of the wind."

There were many spiritual ships anchored, and the wind whistled through as the ships' formation arrays were activated.

The Qi family cultivator followed the sound and saw the Su family's spiritual ship.

Upon seeing it, he couldn't help but sneer, "All they do is show off. Are they afraid the whole of Eastern Horizon doesn't know that their Su family's ship is the most extravagant? But what's the use of being extravagant? They still have to look at our Qi family's face. Without our permission, they wouldn't even be able to enter South Wu Mountain."

Su Yu asked, "The Su family?"

The Qi family had always had a poor relationship with the Su family. The cultivator continued, "You probably can't remember much right now. If you encounter any Su family cultivators here, make sure to stay far away. Those people are nothing but trouble. The reason you got lost in the forest is all because of the Su family cultivators."

"Are their spiritual ships really that strong?"

Su Yu adjusted his sleeves, which were too large for him and kept slipping down as he walked.

"Yeah…" The Qi family cultivator didn't want to admit it but had to. "The Su family is famous for their spiritual ship techniques across Eastern Horizon. But those people, while they sell ships, are still miserly. What good is being strong if they're doing shady business behind the scenes?"

Su Yu listened as he walked forward, but suddenly, something seemed to trip him. Looking down, he found that the demon beast was once again at his feet.

He stepped aside, but the little demon beast followed him. Although he couldn't see it clearly, he could sense its softness and the persistent fragrance, which matched that of the young master from the Qi family.

"A fat ball. For a demon beast to be this fat, it really embarrasses its species."

The Ink Beast continued to complain, gnashing its teeth. "Still eating! How many Golden Spirit Fruits have we passed by already…"

Su Yu thought of the desolate, Yin-filled forest of South Wu Mountain, the dry trees... and then he sniffed the beast again. It was filled with a very expensive scent.

He furrowed his brow and took half a step back. The little demon beast stuck close to him again.

The Ink Beast, sensing its master's thoughts, immediately felt a pang of inferiority. It bared its teeth and grumbled, "I had a hundred years of foundation! I had two entire mountains worth of Golden Spirit Fruits!"

"Little ginseng, stop making a scene." Qi Yan couldn't help but glance at Su Yu a few more times, noticing the way he adjusted his sleeves. His gaze again lingered on the boy's eyes, and he seemed to be contemplating something.

The other cultivators were still gossiping about the Su family, but Qi Yan waved his fan and casually walked to the side of the young man, speaking with a calm tone, "The Su family hasn't been doing well in recent years. Their spiritual ship techniques aren't what they used to be. More than ten years ago, their ships were still decent, but now they're trying to rely on this business to get involved with other forces. The Su family is just dreaming."

After speaking, he elegantly swung his fan in front of him and abruptly changed the subject. "You seem quite interested in the Su family?"

Su Yu didn't answer, and his eyes showed no reaction to the fan that suddenly appeared in front of him, his gaze completely indifferent.

At this moment, scattered voices broke through the air.

Qi Yan, who was about to continue his probing, paused. He closed his fan and turned his head towards the source of the noise.

It seemed that something had happened on the Qi family's side?

Su Yu noticed the people around him begin to move away, followed by a bit of commotion.

In his sea of consciousness, the Ink Beast added, "Looks like something happened to their spiritual ship."

Su Yu didn't respond to the Ink Beast. He tilted his head slightly, watching Qi Yan's colorful aura head towards a spiritual ship. His fingers, hidden within his sleeves, moved subtly, as if weighing something.

At the entrance to South Wu Mountain, Qi family cultivators were standing near their spiritual ship, looking frustrated. Several cultivators were carefully studying a map of the ship, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. The Qi family's spiritual ship had been anchored here for half a day. Initially, when they arrived, the seal on South Wu Mountain had still been active, and the ship had been bumped a few times when it touched the seal. At the time, nothing seemed wrong, but now the ship's defense array had malfunctioned, and they couldn't start it after a long delay.

"The ship's broken?"

"How could this happen? It was working fine when we stopped here earlier."

"Could the Su family have sabotaged it?"

The Qi family's ships weren't as delicate as the Su family's. Each ship had someone specifically assigned to protect it.

This time, they were in a hurry to travel to South Wu Mountain, and there were only a few people who knew how to repair the ship.

"It's likely that the spiritual stones providing power to the ship have malfunctioned." The cultivator repairing the ship wiped the sweat from his brow.

Qi Yan had just walked over to check on the situation. He raised his head to look at the exposed array of the spiritual ship and frowned. "Can this be fixed?"

"The most complex part of a spiritual ship is the spiritual array," the repair cultivator said, looking troubled. "Young Master, it can definitely be repaired, but the ship's defense array is one of its most important formations. It uses hundreds of spiritual stones, each one fueling the array. To fix it, we'll have to go over every part of the ship to figure out which area was damaged when it hit the seal."

"Can't you use a Spirit Detection Tool to check?" a Qi family cultivator asked.

"That would be difficult," the ship repairman replied. "If it were a minor issue, we could easily use a Spirit Detection Tool, but the problem is with the defense array. Only the cultivators who set up the array would be familiar with it. If it's modified recklessly, the entire array could be ruined."

Qi Yan furrowed his brows as he looked at the spiritual ship in front of him. After a moment of consideration, he asked, "How long will it take to fix?"

"At least five days." The ship repairman glanced toward the distant Su family cultivators, adding, "It's rumored that every Su family cultivator is a master of spiritual ships. The ship guardians can fix most of the ship in half a day. Perhaps…"

"What nonsense are you talking!?" one of the Qi family cultivators snapped. "We'll fix it ourselves. We don't need the Su family's ship guardians!"

Nearby, a few Su family cultivators had passed by and noticed the Qi family working on the ship. Low murmurs reached the ears of the Qi family cultivators, causing their faces to darken.

Qi Yan's expression grew cold. He had always enjoyed watching the Su family's struggles, especially when he saw Su Yi, whose face was ashen, walking past him. He was almost eager to praise the tomb-suppressing beast that had caused such chaos in the Su family's plans. But watching from the sidelines didn't mean he wanted others to witness his own turmoil, especially at such a critical moment. The Qi family had to maintain their superiority, especially now. If other forces arrived and the Qi family's spiritual ship couldn't be used, then the Qi family would lose face to the Su family.

"It's just fixing a ship, right? Pass me a secret order to..."

Qi Yan was about to give an order when something caught his eye, and he stopped mid-sentence.

"Young Master?" The Qi family cultivator, puzzled, followed Qi Yan's gaze and saw a young man standing alone by the spiritual ship.

Earlier, everyone had been distracted by the ship's issue, forgetting about the injured youth they had brought out from the deep mountains. Now, the young man stood beside the spiritual ship, his hand lightly tracing the patterns on the ship's outer surface, as if feeling for something. The other Qi family cultivators wanted to stop him—things were already chaotic with the ship's damage, and if he touched something important and broke it, it would only add to the mess.

However, Qi Yan raised a hand, signaling for them to stop.

The boy stood there, his grayish eyes gazing upward, seemingly focused on a higher part of the ship. The complex array patterns on the surface of the ship came into view for Su Yu. As he observed these spiritual energy traces, his thoughts involuntarily followed the flow of energy, and he was struck by a strange sensation.

Not long ago, he had felt a similar sensation when the bizarre ghost-sealing handprint appeared in his dantian. It was as though he was innately sensitive to these array patterns. Just by following the flow of energy, he could clearly imprint them into his sea of consciousness, and even trace the origin and path of these energy currents through the intricate array.

As he moved forward along the energy trace, suddenly, the flow of spiritual energy before him was interrupted.

"What did you find?" a voice suddenly came from beside him.

Su Yu instinctively took half a step back and looked to his side, where the Qi family young master's spiritual energy was now present.

He adjusted his sleeve, keeping a slight distance from Qi Yan.

Qi Yan narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled. "Don't be nervous. With your strength, you won't break anything. I was just curious because you were looking at it so intently. I thought you had discovered something."

After waiting for a while and assuming it was just his imagination, Qi Yan was about to walk away when the young man finally spoke, his voice slow and deliberate. "Here."

Su Yu pointed to a higher section of the ship—an intersection in the defense array. "I heard something, the wind... it's strange."

"Wind?" The Qi family cultivators, already busy with the ship's repair, had assumed that the young master was investigating something important when he approached. But, in the end, it turned out to be only a strange sound in the wind? The location was at the mountain pass, so it was common for the wind to blow strongly. What was so special about the wind sound?

The Qi family cultivators who had been with Su Yu earlier, seeing his retreat, quickly explained, "There was no ill intent. The senior brothers just thought you had noticed something important."

Other cultivators voiced their doubts, and Su Yu took half a step back. After a pause, he finally said quietly, "...I heard it."

At that moment, Qi Yan signaled for the ship repairman to come over. The repairman seemed displeased but quickly flew to the higher part of the ship, reaching out to remove a part of the ship's exterior. "The damage wasn't here," he muttered. "Removing this whole section will take time, but how could the problem be here…"

Before he could finish, he suddenly saw something, his face changing drastically. "Quick! Bring me the things below!"

The other Qi family cultivators handed over the necessary items, and as they looked up, they saw—

At the spot Su Yu had pointed to, beneath the lifted exterior, several shattered spiritual stones were clearly visible.

This area was far from the point of impact, and no one had expected this to be the source of the issue. Once the problem was identified, the ship repairman immediately became busy. The other cultivators, seeing Su Yu, regarded him with astonishment, their gazes shifting back and forth as they observed the young man.

"Do you have naturally good hearing? How did you figure out it was there?" Qi Yan asked.

Su Yu remained silent, his face pale. When Qi Yan moved closer, he instinctively took half a step back. "I don't know… it was just a feeling. I knew there was something wrong there."

Noticing the boy's reluctance and sensitivity, Qi Yan withdrew his gaze and said a few words to the cultivator next to him, "He's unwell. Take him back to rest."

At this, the Qi family cultivators immediately sprang into action. Seeing the young master's instructions, they quickly escorted Su Yu back to the spiritual ship to rest.

However, once the boy was taken away, Qi Yan, still holding his fan, glanced up at the higher regions. The probing look in his eyes lessened slightly as he turned to the little ginseng by his side, saying, "He's a patient, so stop making trouble."

The little ginseng whimpered and took two steps back.

"Strange," Qi Yan muttered, "I've never seen you so interested in someone else."

Once back inside the spiritual ship, the Qi family cultivators had other matters to attend to, so they quickly left after settling Su Yu.

The hallway was sparsely populated, as it seemed many cultivators had entered the mountains. There were few high-level cultivators on board.

"Why did you tell them what you saw?" the Ink Beast asked. It didn't believe that the person in front of it was truly that kind-hearted. After spending some time together, it had learned that this human child was thoroughly self-centered. He wouldn't spare a single glance for something that had no use to him. Now, however, he was showing patience with it.

"He suspected me." Su Yu sat down on the couch. After hearing the cultivator who had escorted him leave in a hurry, he continued, "That beast has been circling around my feet this whole time. He didn't immediately stop it, which means he was observing me."

Blind, amnesiac, and no obvious external injuries.

Too many coincidences—this was no coincidence. His intuition told him that in a large family like the Qi family, very few people could be easily deceived. Especially that Qi Yan, the young master at the peak of the Gold Core stage, who had been constantly watching him since the beginning.

"A weak low-level cultivator lost in the mountains, or a capable one who unexpectedly suffered an ambush, losing his memory and vision—the latter is much more believable." Su Yu lowered his head, the memory of the complex defense array of the spiritual ship lingering in his mind. "So, to gain his trust, I must prove that I have value or ability, so that my encounter at Nanwu Mountain becomes a reality."

The Ink Beast was surprised that this human child had thought so much in such a short time. It realized once again that Su Yu was quite a cunning little brat. "So your amnesia was fake?" it asked, astonished. "But when I touched your mind, it was completely empty..."

"You probed my sea of consciousness?" Su Yu suddenly asked.

The Ink Beast realized it had let something slip. It quickly covered its mouth with its tail, sensing the approaching dark energy in Su Yu's dantian. It hastily explained, "I-I was going to trick you, but your sea of consciousness was too empty. I tried to create an illusion to deceive you, but you broke free from it!"

Su Yu remembered what the Ink Beast had just said: his sea of consciousness was indeed fragmented.

So, the memory that had surfaced in the Fog Pond wasn't caused by the Ink Spirit Pearl, but rather by the totem in his dantian.

Who had pushed him off Nanwu Mountain? What was his relationship with the Su family? What had he gone through before?

These things still needed to be explored, but for now, he needed to leave Nanwu Mountain, find a place with abundant yin energy, and relieve the internal pressure. Only then could he investigate further.

According to the Qi family cultivators, more and more cultivators would soon arrive here, and the Ink Beast he carried with him was undoubtedly connected to Nanwu Mountain's secrets. The illusionary methods might not be enough to fool some high-level cultivators.

The dark energy in his dantian receded, and the Ink Beast, startled, fluffed up its fur. Only after confirming that Su Yu wasn't taking further action did it relax. It then cautiously observed him. "My illusions are certainly remarkable. As long as you don't expose the yin energy inside you, they'll just think you're possessed by something sinister. You can trust me."

Su Yu frowned upon hearing this, but was about to ask more when, at that moment, he suddenly felt a burning sensation in his dantian.

The next moment, a loud gurgling noise sounded near his ear.

The sound broke Su Yu's train of thought, and a familiar feeling of hunger spread through his abdomen. His mouth involuntarily watered, urging him to eat.

The dark energy in his dantian was nearly depleted. The totem inside his dantian was half-open, with the Ink Spirit Pearl embedded within. It was now solid and dark, emitting an immense dark aura, completely different from what it had been like on Nanwu Mountain. All the dark energy inside him had been absorbed by the Ink Spirit Pearl.

"What's going on with the Ink Spirit Pearl?!" Su Yu's voice turned sharp.

"Didn't I tell you before?" the Ink Beast quickly retreated a few steps, hiding next to the Ink Spirit Pearl. "That Ink Spirit Pearl is the Mountain Sealing Stele. Once you start cultivating it, you can't stop. The Ink Spirit Pearl can only consume the yin energy in your dantian... If it's not cultivated, how can it provide you with pure spiritual energy?"

Su Yu finally understood how the pure spiritual energy was being generated. When the yin energy entered the Evil Abyss for circulation, it did indeed provide pure energy, but only if there was enough yin energy for the Evil Abyss to operate. If it was insufficient, it would instead start draining his internal yin energy or pure spiritual energy.

He had been providing the Ink Spirit Pearl with yin energy to help it build the Mountain Sealing Stele of the Evil Abyss. Once this process started, it could not be stopped. As long as the Evil Abyss required yin energy, it would continuously drain it from his body to meet its needs.

"It doesn't always drain..." the Ink Beast muttered. "Once it has enough, it stops. And the upgrade is good for you—it means you'll get more pure spiritual energy. But it does need a lot of yin energy to level up..."

Su Yu's face darkened. This thing was nothing but trouble.

Leaving aside how much yin energy it needed, at this rate, the yin energy in his body would be completely drained.

The remaining yin energy surged and immediately forced the Ink Beast onto the totem.

"Wuu wuu wuu, I'll tell you, don't do it!" The Ink Beast was truly restrained this time, unable to move at all. It clearly felt the killing intent in Su Yu's gaze seeping into its limbs, and it nervously spoke, "The Ink Spirit Pearl and my original possessions were all used to heal your injuries. Plus, you've been using your spiritual eyes to observe, and using illusions requires spiritual energy... You don't have any spiritual energy left in your body, and the only thing you can rely on now is pure spiritual energy... I didn't expect the yin energy in your dantian to be depleted so quickly."

Naturally possessing spiritual eyes, his dantian contained pure yin energy, and his blood was comparable to spiritual blood. This physical constitution was remarkably unique—seemingly weak, yet actually very strong.

This yin energy and spiritual blood not only nourished the body but also nourished the soul. During its time in Su Yu's dantian, the Ink Beast could even feel its own injuries, caused by a sword cultivator, healing slowly... This situation was a great boon to the restoration of the Mountain Sealing Stele.

But Su Yu's constitution was special; his consumption of yin energy was several hundred times faster than a normal person. Logically speaking, the yin energy extracted from him by the Ink Spirit Pearl should have lasted him at least half a month, but who knew his consumption was so rapid... After just a short while, it was almost depleted?

Su Yu didn't pay attention to the Ink Beast's excuses. He tightly pressed his hand against his abdomen.

...The hunger was still manageable for now, but he needed to act quickly before it became uncontrollable.

Noticing Su Yu's thoughts, the Ink Beast became anxious: "You can't do that... The Mountain Sealing Stele is already taking shape."

At this moment, the Ink Beast desperately broke free from Su Yu's grip, its tail striking the Ink Spirit Pearl at the center of the totem.

The moment the Ink Spirit Pearl was struck, the surrounding dark aura immediately dissipated, and the powerful dark energy surged towards Su Yu's sea of consciousness. As the dark energy enveloped him, a thick mist appeared within his sea of consciousness.

What is this...?

The mist was dense, and the yin energy covered the area, resembling the previous Nanwu Mountain. It was as if a miniature version of Nanwu Mountain had appeared within his sea of consciousness. Along with the mist came a vast amount of yin energy, immediately causing Su Yu to feel a piercing pain as though something massive and complex was flooding into his sea of consciousness.

"I originally wanted the Mountain Sealing Stele to be completed before you saw this, but now there's no time." The Ink Beast's voice sounded slightly aggrieved. "The Evil Abyss, where the Ink Spirit Pearl belongs, relies on the yin energy of the heavens and earth to exist. My laboring ghostly creatures have all fled... But don't worry, once the Mountain Sealing Stele takes form, the ghostly masses will be able to activate the Evil Abyss..."

"What ghostly masses?" Su Yu's head was splitting from the pain, his body collapsing onto the bed. The mist in his sea of consciousness grew thicker, while the Ink Beast's voice grew more faint and distant.

Suddenly, the mist began to dissipate inch by inch, leaving behind a moderate-sized area. In that area, two figures appeared, busy cultivating something.

"Although all the evil spirits and ghosts from Nanwu Mountain have fled, it's not like we got nothing." The Ink Beast's voice fluctuated in volume as it continued, "When I entered your body, I found a small ghost connected to your aura... I captured two nearby."

Captured two...? The pain in Su Yu's sea of consciousness lessened significantly, and the two figures gradually became clearer.

One was surrounded by an almost invisible aura, almost swallowed by the white yin energy. The other was mottled with black and white, radiating a deathly aura.

A familiar sensation rose within him, an eerie and absurd feeling—

Zhang Fuguai and that corpse... they were both now within his sea of consciousness.