Chapter 202: The Old Man Goes Out

“You’ve already graduated from Class Four, haven’t you?” Yun Jiao replied. Ever since the training classes began, perhaps because of Hall Master Xu’s prior instructions, the Celestial Masters Hall hadn’t assigned them any missions. “Your Mystical Heart Technique has been stuck at the sixth level for quite some time. Going out for some real-world experience will do you good!” Book learning alone wasn’t enough—it needed to be combined with practice. Besides, with the semester starting, the sect really was short on manpower.

The corners of the old man’s mouth twitched. The training class had only just finished; could they not let him rest for a bit? His expression instantly fell, but he didn’t argue—arguing was useless anyway. With a face full of resentment, he glanced at her and muttered, “Fine, we’ll get ready and head out. I’ll go call the Grandmaster.”

“Why are you calling the Grandmaster?” Yun Jiao’s tone darkened.

“What? You’re not bringing the Grandmaster along?” the old man exclaimed, eyes wide. “Girl, aren’t you afraid he’ll dismantle Yinglun while you’re gone?” Grocery shopping costs silver, you know!

“I mean,” Yun Jiao lifted her head and glanced at him, “neither the Grandmaster nor I are going.”

The old man froze, almost panicking, staring at her in disbelief. “You… you…”

“You’re going alone.”

“Girl!” the old man shouted, completely blown away. “You can’t be serious! Me? Alone?”

“This mission was assigned to you alone!”

“No way, girl!” He had never gone to exorcise spirits by himself before!

“Before I joined Qingyang, you used to exorcise alone for decades. Why can’t you now?” Yun Jiao raised an eyebrow. “Or are you saying the mystic arts our Grandmaster taught us are inferior to the fumbling tricks you used back then?”

“Of course not!” Those old methods didn’t even count as real mystic arts!

“Then why can’t you go?”

“…”

Right—why couldn’t he? After all, he’d cultivated for so many years, and he carried the Yama Token on him. What was there to be afraid of?

Suddenly filled with confidence, Bai Yu patted his chest. “Alright! I’ll go! It’s just an exorcism, right? Don’t worry, I’ll be back in three days at most!” With that, he turned around, rushed back to his room, packed a huge bundle, and marched out energetically.

Seven days later, he drifted back…

Yun Jiao: “…”

Staring at the three neatly lined-up spirits within the array, Yun Jiao felt a surge of barely restrained irritation. She took several deep breaths before speaking in a low, controlled voice.

“What on earth happened?”

How did a perfectly living man end up returning as a ghost!?

(╰_╯)#

“I… I don’t know either.” The old man, now a floating ball of mist, looked pitiful. His wrinkled face was full of grievance. “I didn’t even see what happened—next thing I knew, I’d turned into this. Then you summoned me here!”

“You don’t even know how you died?” Yun Jiao frowned slightly. She had waited seven days without seeing him return, and when the communication talisman didn’t connect, she’d gone to the Grandmaster for a divination. The Grandmaster told her his soul lamp had gone out. In a panic, she cast a Soul Summoning Formation to call him back—only to summon three souls instead.

“They’re still living souls,” Night Abyss said suddenly, passing her a biscuit.

“Living souls?” Yun Jiao was startled. “So, Grandmaster, you mean the old man can be revived?”

“Not necessarily,” Night Abyss continued calmly. “Someone used a spell to restrain their bodies and forcibly drove out their souls. If they don’t return soon, they’ll truly become spirits.”

Yun Jiao’s expression grew darker. While she hastily set up a formation to preserve what little vitality they had left, she asked, “What exactly happened? Where are your bodies?”

“They should… be in Mount Yu,” the old man answered.

“Mount Yu? Weren’t you sent south to exorcise spirits? How did you end up in Mount Yu?” Mount Yu was in the north—completely the opposite direction.

“Daoist Yun, it’s all my fault!” said one of the spirits—a bearded man—floating forward guiltily. “I was the one who called Brother Bai over to Mount Yu for help!”

“No! I’m the one who implicated you!” Another unfamiliar young man’s spirit floated forward. “If I hadn’t slain that evil flood dragon, you wouldn’t have jumped in to save me and fallen into that swamp. This disaster is all because of me!”

“You are…” Yun Jiao turned toward them. She recognized the bearded Lao Zhou, but the young man was unfamiliar.

“Girl, that’s Tang Chen from the Tang family!”

“…Who?” Yun Jiao blinked. She knew the Tang family patriarch, but this one didn’t ring a bell.

Seeing her blank expression, the old man drifted closer and whispered, “The one who paid two hundred taels during registration!”

“Oh…” Yun Jiao finally remembered—the poor fool who’d spent two hundred taels to transfer a guest room. She hadn’t seen him since registration. “How did you all end up together?” And like this, no less.

The three exchanged glances, then began to explain what had happened.

The old man really had gone out to perform an exorcism—a simple task, nothing serious. He finished it quickly, but then received a plea for help from Lao Zhou, who said a powerful monster had appeared in Mount Yu and he couldn’t handle it alone.

The old man, riding high on his newfound confidence, went without hesitation. While searching, he stumbled into a marshy area—where they discovered an evil flood dragon. A jiao wasn’t just a monster; it had divine lineage and could transform into a dragon. Ordinary cultivators could never defeat one.

Under normal circumstances, they should’ve retreated and reported it to the Celestial Masters Hall. But by chance, Tang Chen, who was on a nearby mission, had also found the flood dragon and was already battling it by the time they arrived. Despite exhausting his spiritual power, he managed to slay it.

However, drained of energy, he fell toward the swamp where the dragon had dwelled. The old man and Lao Zhou arrived just in time to see it and, of course, rushed forward to save him. But before they could, all three fell in together—and this was the result.

“The flood dragon devoured the spiritual veins nearby and had occupied that marsh for years. In its attempt to transform into a dragon, it consumed many wandering souls,” Tang Chen said angrily. “It hid itself well. I only found out after much investigation. If I hadn’t discovered it, who knows how many more people it would’ve harmed. But…” His expression darkened with guilt as he looked at the old man and Lao Zhou. “I ended up dragging you both into this.”

“Sigh, it’s not your fault,” the old man consoled him, then turned to Yun Jiao. “Girl, I think there’s something strange beneath that marsh. Something must be hidden there—that’s why our souls were suddenly separated from our bodies.”

“Mm.” Yun Jiao nodded grimly. Taking out a Soul Containment Talisman, she said, “You can’t stay outside your bodies for long. Enter the talisman first—I’ll bring you to find your bodies.”

The three nodded and transformed into wisps of smoke, merging into the talisman.

Without delay, Yun Jiao grabbed the Grandmaster and set off toward the marsh they had described.

Fortunately, with the Mystical Sect’s new transportation system—and the Grandmaster’s help—they arrived at their destination quickly.

Daily request for tips… please vote with your monthly tickets…

(End of chapter)