Chapter 567: Deep Within the Cemetery

I didn't catch whatever Leng Qingxuan said next. My mind was entirely consumed by a single name: Chen Jiuge.

"Is it really him? Do they just share the same name?"

Just as I was full of hope and ready to pin everything on this person, I discovered he was the very architect of the tragedy.

"Isn't that a little too coincidental?" I muttered unconsciously. "Karmic cycles... Is the Heavenly Dao targeting me? Whatever I try to do is bound to meet resistance. Nothing goes right. Everything goes against heaven's will."

"Hello? Gao Jian, are you still there?" Leng Qingxuan had no idea what impact the name he had just spoken had on me. "Let me tell you, the Ghost Mother's appearance has wreaked havoc in Jiangcheng and attracted the attention of numerous sects. The city is about to descend into total chaos."

"Total chaos?" Hearing this finally snapped me back to my senses. "The Daoist sects have strength in numbers. No matter how powerful the Ghost Mother is, she's alone. How could she possibly be a match for all of you?"

"Aren't you underestimating the Ghost Mother a little too much? Once a ghost of her caliber matures, her main body is practically immortal and indestructible as long as all her Ghost Infants aren't exterminated. The only way to completely obliterate her is by relying on a grand formation." Leng Qingxuan sighed over the phone. "Constructing a grand formation requires a massive amount of materials and talismans, and it places certain demands on the one anchoring it. The Righteous Path Coalition might seem powerful, but in reality, they are each harboring a ghost in their belly. They're just here to carve up the merit."

"You can earn merit by killing the Ghost Mother?"

"Naturally. Between heaven and earth exist the six paths of reincarnation, where yin and yang do not interfere with one another. The Ghost Mother's appearance has disrupted this order, violating the laws of heaven. Killing her will naturally earn you immense fortune and merit rewarded by the heavens."

I frowned at Leng Qingxuan's words. "Does that mean you can earn merit as long as you kill anyone who defies heaven's will?"

"Pretty much."

A cold sweat broke out on my forehead the moment he said that. Back then, releasing the Ghost Mother had only deducted five hundred merit points. By that logic, even if they successfully killed her, the merit they received wouldn't actually amount to much. After all, the Ghost Mother hadn't committed any heinous crimes. She was a victim too, and she carried very little karmic obstacle.

But I was entirely different. Riddled with karmic obstacles, my personal merit sat at negative one hundred thousand. I was even working against the heavens, preparing to become a new Fate Usurper.

Any single one of those factors was enough for the orthodox sects to hunt me down, not to mention that I already held grudges against certain sects and possessed rare treasures. Most crucially, compared to the Ghost Mother, I was obviously a much easier target.

"Hello? Why did you stop talking again?"

"I suddenly changed my mind. I won't bother them about getting hurt in the dream; I'll figure it out myself."

"Don't worry, I'll be coming to Jiangcheng with them. I'll put in a good word for you. You could say that for us, out of blows grows friendship. I can at least manage a small favor like this."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Leng Qingxuan, I finally hung up the phone. The wind sweeping through the tower heralds the rising rainstorm; Jiangcheng was truly about to descend into total chaos.

"If this isn't handled well, it could very well mean life or death for me!" Chen Jiuge arriving early in Jiangcheng was almost certainly because of me. He had suffered terribly at my hands in the Dream Realm; he undoubtedly harbored deep resentment and wanted revenge. Moreover, his status as the sole representative sent by the Xiao Zhuang Taoist Temple meant that when he was out in the world, he symbolized the temple. The other sects were bound to give him face.

I had already made an enemy of the Miaozhen temple, and now I had offended the Xiao Zhuang Taoist Temple. Never mind saving Sakurako—whether I could even survive this ordeal myself was still up in the air.

'Good thing my usurping fate was successful. Not many people know about my negative one hundred thousand merit...' At this thought, a cold gleam surfaced in my eyes. 'Wait, no. There are still people who know.'

During the final stages of usurping fate, I was cornered and attacked by the Three Yin Sect. If not for them, I never would have used the Yellow Springs Token to open the Ghost Gate.

"There were still a few Three Yin Sect cultivators left alive that day. If they leak the secret, I'll be hunted down by every sect in the world." The Three Yin Sect was an evil faction, so the odds of them snitching to the orthodox sects were slim, but I couldn't risk it. "Better to silence them permanently."

I hadn't originally planned on shedding too much blood, but the situation forced my hand. Besides, after the usurping fate concluded, the Live Show Examiner had given me a task to cut the grass and dig up the roots. Thinking about it now, the Underworld Live Show truly had remarkable foresight.

"The sect delegations arrive in Jiangcheng tonight. I need to take care of everything before then."

Pocketing my phone, I immediately boarded a bus back to Jiangcheng, ready to settle things with the Three Yin Sect once and for all.

During my most desperate hours, they were the ones who poured oil on the fire and rubbed salt in my wounds. Along this journey, the Three Yin Sect had been secretly orchestrating many of the events from behind the scenes.

When the usurping fate had just succeeded, I was heavily injured and powerless to retaliate. But now my Liver Aperture was open, and my regenerative abilities were five or six times that of an ordinary person. It was time for a reckoning.

There were many ways to kill a man. Since I was dealing with an evil sect, it was only natural to employ evil methods.

First, I hurried over to Ting Tang Road, went up to the second floor, and pushed open the wardrobe. From the hidden compartment in the wall, I retrieved some specialized tools designed to prevent leaving fingerprints or shoe prints—disposable gloves, shoe covers, a mask, and the like.

I changed into a set of dark clothes on the inside and layered a light-colored jacket over them. I deliberately put on a pair of height-boosting shoes. Only after confirming I hadn't missed anything did I leave the small building.

"Before you kill, you must first be prepared to be killed." I took a deep breath, forcing myself into a state of extreme calm.

When faced with imminent termination, all life forms instinctively mount the fiercest possible resistance. The entire process is fraught with variables and danger. Therefore, I had to maintain high vigilance—I needed to accomplish my objective without leaving any clues behind out of carelessness.

"3:02 PM. I don't have much time left." Shoving a plastic bag into my pocket, I left the little shop and walked straight into the filthy back alley.

In the deserted alleyway, I put on the Human Skin Mask gifted from the ancient disguise manual for the first time.

I took off my outer jacket and stuffed it into the plastic bag. By the time I emerged from the other end of the alley, my appearance had completely transformed.

I looked like an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old high school student. My clean face carried a youthful naivety, without a single trace of facial hair.

"Good thing I'm wearing casual clothes. They don't clash too badly with this face." Clad in dark clothing, I adjusted my facial expression, pulled out my phone, and called Blind Liu.

"Old Liu, your Liu family has guarded Jiangcheng for generations. You must know which sects are based locally in Jiangcheng, right?"

"Why are you asking?" Blind Liu sounded bewildered. "Jiangcheng is a millennial ancient city. Naturally, there are numerous sects and factions here, though very few actually possess genuine skill."

"You've heard of the Three Yin Sect, haven't you?" At this point, I couldn't be bothered to beat around the bush with Blind Liu and cut straight to the chase. "Old Liu, I want to know the address of their headquarters. You roam the martial world and are well-informed. Do me this one favor, alright?"

"What kind of crazy pill did you take this time, kid? The Three Yin Sect is a local tyrant in Jiangcheng. Do you really think you'll have any good days ahead if you provoke them?"

"I won't do anything stupid. I just need to confirm a certain theory of mine."

"I hope so. Their lair is deep within the Premium Cemetery Area in the Western Suburbs of Jiangcheng. On paper, it's a property of the Jiang family, but in reality, it isn't open to the public."

I hung up the phone, the corners of my mouth turning up in a smirk. The Jiang family had actually expanded their real estate business to the dead; they clearly weren't afraid of ruining their reputation.

I caught a cab heading toward the Western Suburbs. Wearing the Human Skin Mask now, I was completely unbridled, harboring no fear of exposure.

When I was still two or three li away from the destination, I got out of the car and proceeded toward the cemetery alone.

Today wasn't a day for honoring ancestors, so even in broad daylight, looking from afar, there wasn't a single soul around.

"Green hills resting on the sides, surrounded by clear waters—the Feng Shui of this place is excellent. It possesses the aspect of a hidden dragon." I hopped the fence and entered the cemetery. The marble paths were spotlessly clean, and the Chinese-style tombs were built against the mountain and by the water. Each grave occupied a massive plot of land. "Being buried here really is quite grand."

I shook my head. The person was already gone; what was the point of being so particular about these things?

I reached out and touched my Ghost Ring, quickening my pace.

The outskirts of the cemetery consisted of completely normal graves, but from the halfway point up the mountain, outsiders were forbidden from entering. Two rows of pine trees blocked the line of sight, and further inside lay a wooden fence.

I stepped inside. The Yin energy within the pine forest was chilling. There wasn't a single bird's chirp; the place was excessively quiet.

"No Security Guard, and no surveillance cameras installed. This isn't right. They must have some other method of monitoring." Standing behind a pine tree, my Pre-Heaven True Qi surged into my eyes as I scanned the surroundings with my Judging Eye.