Chapter 340: Ghost Mother

I could tell how dangerous this was from Master Tianxin's messages, but right now, I could only bite the bullet and push forward.

I pushed on the wooden door to the cubicle. The moment my fingers opened a crack, an invisible suction yanked it wide open. Infant Spirits clung to the doorframe and the panels, their pitch-black mouths stretched wide. They stared at me with mouths full of sharp teeth, looking as though they wanted to devour me whole.

I swallowed hard. I glanced at the livestream, where Master Tianxin had sent me the exact sequence of the acupoints.

"The head corner acupoint, hairline acupoint, Yangbai acupoint, bright eyes acupoint, and tear container acupoint. These five points are on the Infant-Feeding Ghost's face. Extract them one by one in the order I just gave you. Pause for a breath after each needle. Only proceed to the next one if the ghost's body shows no abnormal movements. Be extremely careful."

Reading Master Tianxin's message, I grew anxious. "Master, I've never even heard of these acupoints, let alone know where they are. What if I pull the wrong one?"

"Pull a single one wrong, and the grand array will destabilize. Not only will this ghost escape, but all the Infant Spirits trapped in the array will break free, bringing disaster to a hundred miles around."

"Even if I push the silver needle back into the acupoint, it won't help?"

"The 361 silver needles of the Meridian-Locking Soul-Closing Needle array act as a single entity, divided into nine regions. Each region contains two Soul-Fixing Needles. The other silver needles might be forgiving, but the moment a Soul-Fixing Needle is removed, the needle array is broken. The Infant-Feeding Ghost harbors monstrous resentment; having finally seen a glimmer of hope to break the seal, why would it ever give you the chance to stab the needle back in?"

"Soul-Fixing Needles? You didn't mention those before, Master," I asked carefully, not daring to be the slightest bit negligent.

"I can't explain it all in a short time," Master Tianxin replied. "Just remember that the acupoints I told you to pull are all located on the face. The Soul-Fixing Needles for this region are pierced into the Tongziliao Acupoint, located right at the outer corners of both eyes, close to the pupils. Under no circumstances should you touch those two silver needles."

Master Tianxin then taught me how to identify the locations of the other acupoints. After memorizing them by heart, I chanted the Ksitigarbha Sutra and stepped into the room.

Inside and outside the door were simply two different worlds. The fine, fragmented sound of grinding teeth echoed by my ears. It felt as if something was fiddling with my earlobes. My hair stood on end, and the shirt clinging to my back was already drenched in cold sweat.

Groping forward in the dark, I stopped when my body bumped into the wooden table. I illuminated the surface with my phone and leaned over to look at the Infant-Feeding Ghost lying there.

Just from her appearance, she looked no different from a normal person. I reached out and touched her exposed skin; it was bone-chillingly cold, like a deep freezing pool untouched for ten thousand years.

I cast a glance at the livestream. Master Tianxin had already posted the acupoints. Following his instructions, I raised my hand and hovered it over the Infant-Feeding Ghost's face.

Truth be told, this ghost's body was densely packed with silver needles. A moment of inattention could lead to pulling the wrong one or bumping into the others. I didn't have much time. Locking my eyes on the exact spot, I pinched the end of a silver needle between my index and middle fingers.

"The head corner acupoint, to relax the brain and awaken the mind." My hand remained perfectly steady as I slowly drew the silver needle out. The body of the Infant-Feeding Ghost lying flat on the wooden table seemed to twitch.

The portion of the silver needle that had pierced into the ghost's body had completely turned a dark ashen gray, looking as if it had been corroded. Judging by this, even if I didn't pull the needles myself, this Meridian-Locking Soul-Closing Needle array wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway.

"What a sin!" Strange sensations flared up all over my body. It felt as if ten thousand tiny hands were pinching my flesh from different angles. It was incredibly agonizing.

Thanks to the tempering of my past eight livestreams, my state of mind remained stable. Even though my body couldn't stop trembling, the fingers extracting the needle stayed remarkably firm.

"The hairline acupoint, white silk and black hair!" My fingertips glided over, locating the silver needle, and I pulled out a second one.

The moment this silver needle came out, the long hair coiled at the back of the Infant-Feeding Ghost's head tumbled to the ground. A single glance revealed it was over a foot long.

"A Fate Ghost uses Yin energy to weave together and form black hair. This ghost's hair must also be its weapon. I have to be on guard." I stood firmly to the side and pulled out the silver needles pierced into the Yangbai acupoint and the bright eyes acupoint.

With the four silver needles removed, the Infant-Feeding Ghost's complexion actually grew rosy. If someone oblivious to the truth saw her now, they'd probably assume a living person was lying here.

"Time for the last one." My mental endurance was nearing its limit. I had intended to quickly pull the fifth needle and get out of there, but when I saw the Infant-Feeding Ghost's facial expression, I slowly halted my movements.

"She seems to be smiling..." As the silver needles were pulled out one by one, subtle changes had appeared in the female ghost's expression. I froze in place. This situation was far more terrifying than performing an autopsy in a hospital morgue.

There was no one else around. Infant Spirits crawled over my body like ants. I didn't even dare to casually turn my head. I knew exactly what was causing the increasingly heavy sensation on my shoulders, and I was terrified that if I turned my head, I'd end up locking eyes with a horrifying Infant Spirit.

"Should I keep pulling?"

The livestream viewers had also seen the changes in the Infant-Feeding Ghost's expression.

"That woman didn't have this expression just a moment ago; I took a screenshot! Damn it, is she going to suddenly sit up?"

"Brace yourselves! Take cover!"

"Just pull it already! Watching this is giving me a heart attack!"

Teacher Cang's Guardian Angel tipped the Super Thriller Live Broadcast Room 99 Yuanbao: "Your livestream is pretty thrilling. Tell Teacher Cang I won't be coming home tonight."

I only glanced at the livestream room and saw that Master Tianxin hadn't told me to stop. My fingers landed on the final silver needle. "The tear container acupoint!"

I twisted my fingers. The moment this silver needle left the ghost's body, the smile on the Infant-Feeding Ghost's face vanished entirely, replaced by a visage filled with venomous resentment and sheer regret.

The transformation wasn't over yet. A brand-new vitality seemed to pour into the previously deathly-still body. Streaks of black airflow surged within her corpse. The Yin energy in the entire room fell into chaos, acting like thick ropes wrapping around the remaining 356 silver needles.

"Master Tianxin, what's going on? The Yin energy is moving on its own. Is it trying to help her break free?"

Master Tianxin replied, "Not good! She has already become a Ghost Mother! Those Infant Spirits let you in on purpose! Hurry and stab the silver needles back into their original places!"

The master's sudden change of tune threw me into complete panic. I no longer had the mind to read the chat. Activating Chasing Eye, I raced against the clock to find the puncture holes left by the extracted needles. I didn't understand the techniques of acupuncture, nor did I know the exact locations of the acupoints; I could only rely on this clumsy method.

Leaning closely over the Infant-Feeding Ghost's face, I searched meticulously. However, the puncture holes that had been there just moments ago had completely healed. Moreover, following the removal of the silver needle from the tear container acupoint, the ghost's body underwent an even more bizarre mutation.

Its tightly shut eyes cracked open to a narrow slit, and pitch-black teardrops seeped out from the gap.

Two streak-like indentations ran down its cheeks. Seeing this, the surrounding Infant Spirits reacted like sharks catching the scent of blood, clambering up to the Infant-Feeding Ghost's face to fiercely compete in licking them up.

The number of Infant Spirits grew higher and higher. They swarmed beside the Infant-Feeding Ghost. The resentment radiating from their bodies and the Yin energy they brought along all flowed straight into the ghost's body through the several acupoints I had unsealed.

The Infant-Feeding Ghost's eyelids began to twitch relentlessly, and the silver needles on both sides of its eyes started to vibrate.

"Master, what do I do now?" I asked, watching in sheer terror. I shifted my feet, slowly backing toward the door.

All the Infant Spirits were now concentrated on the wooden table. With that sheer number, even if Master Tianxin had come here in person, his Buddhist heart would probably have shaken in fear. His message appeared: "The karmic obstacle is too deep, and her resentment cannot be resolved. The sea of suffering has its bounds, yet the human heart has no shore. May the great and compassionate Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva protect us."

I stood at the doorway with a bitter expression. "If the Ghost Mother breaks free and this isn't handled properly, it could spark another catastrophe. Master, my merit is already in the negatives. If I commit this sin on top of that, what am I going to do in the future? Master Tianxin, please give me some clear guidance."

Master Tianxin replied, "If a Ghost Mother emerges, this poor monk is powerless as well. The best advice I can think of for you right now, benefactor, is to run for your life while you still have the time."

"This..." If even the master was saying that, it would be useless for me to persist. However, on second thought, releasing this ghost could also be considered ruining the conspiracy of the Jiang family and the Three Yin Sect. Furthermore, the person this ghost resented most in life was undoubtedly the one who set up the array. The Three Yin Sect should be the ones getting a headache right now.

"Big sister, every grievance has its perpetrator and every debt its debtor. I did you a favor, so don't repay my kindness with enmity." Just as I turned to flee, my calf suddenly bumped into something. I looked down and saw that Wang Yu had run over at some point. He stood right behind me, the little girl ghost shielding his body and helping him fend off the Yin energy.

"What are you doing here? Hurry up and run!" I grabbed his arm. Wang Yu, who had always allowed himself to be pushed around, surprisingly began to resist this time. He clung to the doorframe with both hands, looking as though he was trying to drag himself into the room.