Chapter 570: Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation

The seven Three Yin Sect disciples split up in three different directions. After a moment's thought, I went after the two neutral ones.

She Qian was too cunning, and the group of four would be too easy to spook. The choice was obvious—always pick the softest targets.

The Taoist temple was massive, containing numerous courtyards. Backed by the Jiang family's wealth, the Three Yin Sect's headquarters were leagues beyond Qingtu Temple.

Inside, the yin energy was suffocating. The atmosphere was dead and heavy, laced with the faint, lingering scent of herbal medicine.

Judging by their living quarters on the periphery of the temple, the two were likely just outer disciples.

With the Three Yin Sect crippled by recent disasters, few of their true disciples remained. As long as I was careful, I could pick the rest of them off one by one.

I tailed them cautiously, slipping through the grounds undetected.

This was the Three Yin Sect's stronghold. Having dominated Jiangcheng for over a decade, their fearsome reputation had kept intruders at bay. That unchallenged supremacy had left their defenses inevitably lax.

It only took a few minutes to track them to their room. The wooden door was left ajar, and as I stood just outside, I could hear their conversation.

"Lord Snake's life-extension method failed. Without the Soaring Snake, our lineage exists in name only. We need an exit plan," one of them sighed. "I heard the sect tried and failed to ambush a Fate Usurper recently. I didn't know what a Fate Usurper was at first, but after checking the ancient texts, I realized how terrifying they are. They're even crazier than evil cultivators—defying the natural order, acting with absolute impunity. Now that we've provoked him, he'll never let this go."

"Why stress about it? If the sky falls, the tall guys will hold it up. What's it got to do with us?" The other man lay on his bed, sounding entirely unconcerned. "When immortals fight, little ghosts suffer. You still don't get it? That whole Soaring Snake life-extension fiasco—it's obvious Jiang Yuan sabotaged it from the inside. How could a method passed down through the sect for a century suddenly stop working the moment She Qian tries it?"

"With the Soaring Snake dead, the Snake Lord Lineage is crippled. Half our arts are useless now. He's destroying our own foundations!"

"Jiang Yuan is from the secular world. His aptitude is garbage, but he's a calculating bastard. The Soaring Snake's death doesn't really affect him since he was already weak to begin with. But for She Qian, it's a fatal blow. Without the snake spirit's acknowledgment, he can never succeed as Lord Snake. And if we're missing one of our three sect masters, the sect's grand array can't unleash its full power. That leaves the Jiang family free to waltz into the Three Yin Sect's inner grounds with zero resistance, even coming and going from the forbidden areas as they please."

"When we first backed the Jiang family, we thought we were penning up a sheep. We didn't realize we were inviting a wolf." The first man sighed. "Everyone in the sect has lined their pockets with Jiang family money over the years. I'd say our good days are just about over."

The two continued to talk. I bided my time, waiting until both had entered a meditative state before preparing to strike.

Summoning the Desire Ghost, the Filthy Ghost, and Wang Shi, I left Wang Shi at the entrance to keep watch. Then, gripping the wooden frame, I eased the door open inch by inch.

The two men remained completely oblivious. It wasn't until the gap was wide enough for me to slip through that one of them twitched, his eyelids fluttering as he finally sensed something amiss.

I didn't hesitate. I lunged straight for the Daoist closest to the door while directing the Desire Ghost and the Filthy Ghost to swarm the other.

I closed the distance in a flash, clamping one hand over his mouth and nose while hooking my other arm tightly around his throat.

The entire sequence was one fluid motion. By the time the Daoist near the door managed to snap his eyes open, he was already in a chokehold.

"You were just discussing a Fate Usurper. It seems you're in the know." I could never let the orthodox cultivators learn that I had successfully usurped fate. If they found out, they would hunt me down relentlessly. I would end up just like the Two-Faced Buddha—forced into the shadows, forever unable to walk in the sunlight as Gao Jian.

The muscles in my arm bulged. These Three Yin Sect cultivators practiced bizarre and tricky evil arts, but they were physically frail. Living year-round in a sinkhole of malevolence, their blood, qi, and meridians had been thoroughly eroded by the yin energy. Their stamina was abysmal, making them utterly helpless against me in close-quarters combat.

I twisted my grip. With a sharp snap of breaking bone, the Daoist's head slumped limply to the side.

Dropping the dead Daoist, I didn't pause for breath. I shot toward the second evil cultivator, clamping my hand viciously over his mouth just before he could scream.

Empowered by the grand array's ambient yin energy, the Desire Ghost and the Filthy Ghost had almost solidified into physical substance. They pinned the evil cultivator down from the left and right. I pressed him firmly against the bed frame, signaled Wang Shi to enter, and quietly shut the door before finally letting out a breath.

The entire ambush had taken less than five seconds. My dual cultivation of martial arts and the Ghost Dao, compounded by the opening of my Kidney Aperture and Liver Aperture, had unconsciously elevated my physical constitution far beyond that of a normal person.

"You'd better behave. Don't struggle. If I'm here, I came prepared. Play smart, and I might consider sparing your life." I clamped one hand over the evil cultivator's mouth and wrenched his arm behind his back with the other. "Understand?"

Those who practiced evil arts usually had eccentric tempers, and this man was no exception. He ignored me completely, simply shutting his eyes.

"Got a temper, huh? A while ago, I might have wasted a few more words on you." After everything I had been through, I had long since buried my mercy and kindness. Enemies deserved zero sympathy.

I seized one of his fingers. Watching the cold sweat bead on his forehead, I clamped down hard on his mouth and wrenched the digit backward, snapping it cleanly in half!

"Do you understand now?" I grabbed his second finger.

The evil cultivator whimpered, nodding frantically. Only then did I loosen my grip. "I heard you say the sect's grand array isn't operating properly. Is that true?"

He kept nodding, mumbling something against my palm.

"I'm going to let you speak, and I can spare your life, but don't do anything stupid. Try to call for help, and I will kill you on the spot." I slowly pulled my hand away. The evil cultivator behaved himself this time, making no attempt to scream. He slumped against the bed, clutching his broken finger and gasping for air.

"Talk. How many people are left in the Three Yin Sect? And how much power can your grand array actually unleash?"

"Not many. The sole heir of the Meng Po Lineage, the Current Meng Po, was critically injured and is on the verge of death; the Jiang family already moved her to another city for treatment, so she isn't in the sect. The Ghost Infant Lineage, including their sect master, is down to just three people. That sect master had both arms severed, but since he has the highest seniority right now, he's temporarily overseeing internal affairs. As for the Snake Lord Lineage—when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Excluding disciples dispatched on missions, there are only eight of us left. The strongest is Eldest Senior Brother She Qian, but he's injured too."

The evil cultivator's thorough confession left me fairly satisfied. "Now tell me about the sect's grand array. I'm very interested."

The only reason Jiang Yuan had dared to act so brazenly was because the array couldn't function properly. It made me curious.

"The protective array is the foundation of our sect. If I tell you, you have to swear to the heavens to spare my life."

The evil cultivator was actually trying to negotiate terms. The corners of my mouth curled up. "Alright, I swear."

"The Three Yin Sect was established above the source of the Henshan Yin Vein. It's surrounded by mountains on all four sides. Although active water flows through, it only flows in, never out. This terrain is called the Dragon Burial Pit. Using this geography, our sect spent decades perfecting and modifying the layout until we established a grand array with ten layers of variation—an extreme rarity among Ghost Cultivators. It's called the Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation. It uses the source of the Henshan Yin Vein as its array eye and hundreds of wrongfully killed ghosts as its array flags. It took 1,777 ghost talismans to establish. It gathers yin energy and nurtures ghosts. Defensively, it can form a barrier to seal off the entire sect; offensively, it can siphon yin energy from the Henshan Yin Vein to unleash peerless attacks. This array is the only reason we've been able to hide behind the scenes in Jiangcheng without fearing a crusade from the orthodox path."

Speaking of the grand array seemed to ease the evil cultivator's expression slightly. "However, operating it requires at least one sect master going all out. Right now, of our three sect masters, one is dead and two are critically injured. None of them have the strength to manipulate it. That's why outsiders can casually come and go right now."

"So that's how it is." I finally understood why those hanged ghosts in the pine forest hadn't attacked me. The array simply wasn't running.

"Alright, I've told you everything I know. Can you let me go now?" the evil cultivator pleaded, clutching his broken finger.

"Of course, but you can't leave this room just yet." A faint smile played on my lips. "How about this? Turn around and let me tie your hands."

He hesitated for a moment before slowly turning around. Staring at his back, I reached out and strangled his neck with all my strength.

"You knew perfectly well I'm a Fate Usurper, yet you still asked me to swear to the heavens?"

I held on until his body lost all vitality and slumped to the floor, then pulled back his Daoist robes. Several ghost talismans meant for directing Little Ghosts to deliver messages slipped out of his cuff.