Chapter 474: Human Ghost Dao

Thinking it over, I realized that was unlikely. After all, the Two-Faced Buddha was a fate usurper himself; the will of heaven had very little influence on him.

I checked my watch. It was six-forty in the evening, and the sky wasn't entirely dark yet. Bridge No. 3 Crematorium was out in the suburbs, surrounded by graveyards and wasteland. Clashing with the Three Yin Sect out there would put me at a severe disadvantage.

I walked the whole way without seeing a single taxi. By the time it was past seven o'clock, the sky had turned completely black. The Route 14 bus had stopped running, and minutes would tick by without a single car passing on the road.

I didn't encounter any danger during that time, which only gave me the feeling that the wind sweeping through the tower heralds the rising rainstorm. The will of heaven seemed to be holding back its ultimate move—remaining perfectly still until it could unleash a fatal strike.

Filled with deep unease, I touched the talismans and the Fate Manipulator Token tucked into my clothes. Right now, they were the only things I could rely on.

After walking for more than an hour, I finally entered the city limits. Seeing the colorful neon lights, I breathed a sigh of relief. 'The Three Yin Sect wouldn't be bold enough to make a move right in the middle of the city, right?'

Modern cultivators focused on staying hidden from the world. Whether on the righteous or evil path, they didn't dare cause too much of a stir for fear of drawing media attention and creating a mess they couldn't clean up.

"Eight thirty-five." I held my phone, glancing down at the time every few moments. With less than four hours left in the day, I didn't feel a shred of relief. Instead, heavy anxiety weighed on me. I kept getting the sense that a massive disaster was about to strike.

'I should head back to the Adult Shop first. I feel safer there.' I had been rushing around all day, and my legs were completely numb. At exactly nine o'clock, I returned to Ting Tang Road, opened the shop door, and stepped inside, letting out a long breath.

'Large-scale natural disasters like earthquakes or typhoons won't happen here. Looking at it that way, if the will of heaven wants to kill me, it has to rely on certain factions or individuals.' Reaching that conclusion actually calmed my panic. There were only three hours left before the day ended. No matter what, I just had to hold on.

I unlocked the windows and doors, leaving them open for an easy escape, and attempted to practice the Profound Truth Mental Method. However, my mind was too cluttered with stray thoughts, making it impossible to enter a meditative state. Sitting blankly on the first floor of the shop, I retrieved the Yin-Yang Ghost Art and the Profound Truth Mental Method from their hidden compartment and began reading.

For various reasons, I had somewhat neglected the Profound Truth Dao Method, and my realm hadn't advanced. As for Buddhist dharma, I hadn't even scratched the surface; I had merely formed some good karma when Master Tianxin unintentionally enlightened me. Surprisingly, my ghost art had surged ahead, becoming my strongest cultivation method.

The Yin-Yang Ghost Art was divided into nine realms. The first three layers were Foundation Establishment: Opening the Ghost Eyes, Controlling Spirits and Driving Ghosts, and Chasing Souls and Seizing Spirits. Reaching perfection in these first three layers was known as Ghost Art Minor Success. It sounded rather unimpressive, but in reality, you might not find a single person who had achieved it among dozens of modern Ghost Cultivators. In this era of peace and prosperity, it was immensely difficult for Ghost Cultivators to make any progress. That She Qian was the top disciple under Lord Snake and had practiced since childhood, yet his mastery of the ghost art had only just reached minor success.

'I'm just one step away from breaking through to the Ghost Art Fourth Layer. If I can advance right now, I'll have a much better chance of surviving tonight.'

The Fourth Layer of the Yin-Yang Ghost Art was called Five-Direction Ghost Commanding, which drastically improved both the quantity and quality of the spirits one could control. The Fifth Layer allowed the user to borrow power from ghosts and gods, while the records regarding the Sixth Layer were vague and unclear, likely because my realm simply wasn't high enough yet.

However, as long as I mastered the Fourth Layer, She Qian would be nothing more than a fragile clay toy in my eyes, unable to withstand a single blow.

"Five Directions Plague Ghosts, Nine Abominable Resentful Ghosts." I pondered the spells recorded in the book. Time trickled by, and the night grew deeper.

Projecting my spiritual sense outward, I could hear the rumble of car engines and the rustling of the wind blowing against the door curtain. It was an ordinary autumn night, devoid of any perceptible killing intent.

Just as I committed the incantations to memory and completely immersed myself in the ghost art, my phone suddenly vibrated at the worst possible moment.

I glanced at the caller ID. It was Yun Chuan.

'It's so late. Shouldn't he be keeping vigil for Daoist Priest Xianqing right now? Why is he calling me?' Today was too critical for me. Even before answering the call, I resolved that no matter what Yun Chuan said, I would put him off and refuse to go over until after midnight.

I answered the call, but before I could even speak, Yun Chuan's weak voice rasped from the other end. "The Three Yin Sect used a secret method to confound my mind. Run! They already know you have the secret manual! The three branches have gathered, and they are coming out in full force! Run! Leave Jiangcheng!"

I stayed entirely silent after hearing Yun Chuan's voice. If they dared to give him the chance to make this call, it meant they were absolutely confident in their victory. I was afraid I couldn't escape anymore.

'Natural disasters couldn't kill me, so now it wants to use man-made calamities to finish the job? Damn you, heaven! We have no grudges between us, so why must you hunt me to the death?!' I could hear just how weak Yun Chuan sounded through the phone; he had clearly suffered severe injuries. Daoist Priest Xianqing hadn't even been laid to rest yet, and his disciple was already being bullied like this. It made me realize the importance of personal strength once again.

On the surface, this world demanded strict obedience to the rules laid down by those in power, but the shadows were full of filth. Only by doing whatever it took to become one of the powerful could a person protect their own interests from being trampled.

'It's a pity I was still a step too slow. If I had managed to overthrow the Jiang family first and uproot the Three Yin Sect's foundation in the mortal world, taking them on would have been vastly easier.' The Three Yin Sect had most likely sensed a threat from me, which was exactly why they had mobilized their entire sect to hunt me down this time.

'One person against an evil sect with hundreds of years of heritage?' I certainly wasn't confident enough to believe I could pull that off. I cast a final glance at the clock on the wall. It was nine-fifty in the evening.

Working quickly, I strapped the ancient books hidden in the shop to my body. Just as I finished, three sharp cracks rang out in quick succession from the Bamboo Shoulder Pole on the table. Hideous, jagged cracks spread across its surface.

'They're here!'

I grabbed the shoulder pole and walked toward the exit. But just as my hand touched the door curtain to push it aside, something felt wrong. A trace of icy chill touched my fingertips—a sensation that definitely couldn't have come from the curtain itself.

'It doesn't feel like metal. Cold, hard, and carrying a chill... are those scales?' Goosebumps erupted all over my skin as I kicked the curtain open.

The curtain, fashioned from an old military greatcoat, fell to the floor. Something writhed inside the deep green pockets, and a moment later, several brightly colored venomous snakes slithered out!

I gasped. A long time ago, I had heard Jiang Fei describe the methods of the Three Yin Sect's Snake Lord Lineage. Not only were they skilled at dealing with ghosts and monsters, but they also possessed the ability to control insects and snakes. After all, the embroidery on their Daoist robes was a venomous serpent!

'When did these snakes get here?' There were snakes around Jiangcheng, but they weren't common. Many people harbored an instinctive fear of snakes, and I was exactly that kind of person. Watching their winding bodies crawl through the room—seemingly slow but actually fast—my face turned as pale as paper.

'Could there be a lot more outside?' Last time at Xinhu High School, the Three Yin Sect had brought the Wheel Turning Grand Formation, which was comparable to an Upper Vehicle Talisman, to suppress and kill me. They had figured out my trump cards. Coming in so aggressively this time, they had likely made ample preparations. They might have even factored the Ghost Mother into their calculations.

'I have to leave! But if I leave here, where can I go? The police station? Blind Liu's house?' Venomous snakes and insects could squeeze in anywhere, so the police station wouldn't necessarily be safe. And while Blind Liu was decent enough at fortune-telling and reading feng shui, his combat power was even worse than mine.

'Where can I escape to? All of Jiangcheng is the Three Yin Sect's territory! The ones backing the Jiang family from the shadows are the Three Yin Sect. How am I supposed to fight against a behemoth like that?!' With no path to heaven and no door into the earth, I was so frantic that sweat beaded on my forehead. 'Am I, Gao Jian, destined to die on October 30th? Is today my execution date?'

'There has to be a way out. The heavenly dao always leaves one sliver of survival. Where is this ray of hope?' Stumbling backward to dodge the venomous snakes, my body suddenly bumped into the Black Leather Suitcase. It contained the broadcasting equipment given to me by the Underworld Live Show.

'The Underworld Live Show? That's right! There is still one place in Jiangcheng that even the Three Yin Sect hasn't been able to figure out.' Three words surfaced in my mind—No-Lights Road!

It sounds like a long story, but in reality, all those thoughts collided in my mind in the blink of an eye. I saw the dawn of a way out. But just as I was preparing to leave the shop, a sharp pain suddenly shot through my ankle.