Chapter 572: Internal Strife

Once I helped Yun Chuan stabilize his injuries and his color returned, I finally spoke. "I'm sorry, I'm late."

Yun Chuan's eyes widened at the familiar voice, and he stared straight at me. "Gao Jian? Why did you come into the Three Yin Sect's mountain gate?!"

Recovering from his initial shock, Yun Chuan immediately urged, "Don't worry about me—hurry up and leave! We can't fight the Three Yin Sect. Take the secret manual I gave you, get out of Jiangcheng, and hide in another city..."

"Calm down." I pressed a hand to Yun Chuan's shoulder, motioning for him not to get agitated.

"How am I supposed to calm down with you doing this? Hurry up and go! If that book falls into the hands of the Three Yin Sect or other evil cultivators, it'll trigger a catastrophe! The Corpse Driving Lineage once sealed a Drought Demon—those deadly creatures from the legends very likely do exist! Gao Jian, you have to believe me!"

Breaking any seal in that book would trigger a disaster; that much was clear from the arrangements Daoist Priest Xianqing had made before his death. Fearing Yun Chuan wouldn't be able to protect the Daoist text, he had wanted to entrust it to my care—except both he and I had underestimated the ruthlessness of the Three Yin Sect.

"It's alright now. The Three Yin Sect isn't what it used to be. I came here to destroy this sect completely." Reassuring Yun Chuan, I tried picking the lock. However, the chains binding him were secured with a Ghost Head Lock specially made by the Three Yin Sect. Its core was completely different from ordinary locks in the mundane world; only the key could open it.

"Destroy the Three Yin Sect? By yourself?" Yun Chuan stared at me in a daze.

"Stay here and play unconscious for now. I'll come back for you once I find the key." I couldn't very well bring Yun Chuan along to hunt evil cultivators, so he would just have to bear with it for now.

"Wait." Yun Chuan still couldn't believe what I was saying. After all, to any normal person, taking on an entire sect single-handedly was utterly unrealistic.

"Is there something else?" Noticing that Yun Chuan's expression looked off, I crouched beside him to ask.

"The Three Yin Sect's Sect-Protecting Grand Formation is far from ordinary. I once heard my master mention that a few years ago, the Ghost Infant Lineage had a dharma contest with the Maoshan Upper Thirty-Six Grottos. Both sides wagered ten Ghost Cultivator treasures, but after the Ghost Infant Lineage lost, they went back on the bet. Maoshan allied with two other orthodox sects to come collect the debt, only to suffer a heavy setback against the Three Yin Sect's Sect-Protecting Grand Formation. If even a great sect like Maoshan took a loss there, you have to be extremely careful." Yun Chuan told me everything he knew about the Three Yin Sect, and I committed it to memory.

"It seems this Sect-Protecting Grand Formation really is extraordinary. I need to investigate it first so I can leave myself an out." The grand formation enveloped the entire Daoist temple, covering such a wide area that locating its core array eye would be extremely difficult.

"The grand formation is the foundation of the Three Yin Sect. Ordinary disciples probably don't know much about it either." Pondering for a moment, I locked onto my next prey—She Qian.

As the senior disciple of the Snake Lord Lineage, he definitely knew something about the Sect-Protecting Grand Formation. Better yet, the other disciples had already isolated him and his injuries hadn't fully healed, so taking him down should be easy.

I checked my gloves to make sure they weren't damaged, then picked out a very thin-bladed Skinning Knife from the torture implements on the wall and slipped it into my sleeve.

Recalling the direction She Qian had gone after the ritual failed, I hid the evil cultivator's corpse and left the old residence with the Desire Ghost.

Having a target naturally made things much easier.

Along the way, I dispatched another passing disciple of the Snake Lord Lineage and stashed his corpse in a random room. By this point, my stamina was starting to give out.

"The longer this drags on, the greater the risk of exposure. I need to move faster." She Qian had headed toward the main hall, where the path was paved with bluestone bricks and offered no cover, making it all too easy for me to be spotted.

"Which room would he be staying in?" The Daoist temple had many pavilions and a complex layout. I wasn't very familiar with its interior layout and had no idea what these buildings were used for, so I could only search them one by one.

After advancing another twenty-plus meters, I finally arrived at the main hall of the Three Yin Sect.

Ordinary Daoist temples erected statues of the Three Pure Ones and worshipped the Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable. The Three Yin Sect, however, was an exception. Their main hall held no statues; there were only three shrines draped in black cloth.

I was a bit curious about what was inside them, but before I could enter, an effeminate-looking, black-robed Daoist priest suddenly walked out from the side hall.

He stood before the three shrines and bowed three times. Lifting the black cloth on the first shrine, he took out a stick of incense, then opened the second shrine and brought out a lamp.

Strangely, the lamp's flickering flame burned an eerie blue—it looked like a ghost lamp fueled by human fat.

He used the flame from the lamp to light the incense, then walked behind the third shrine and vanished from sight.

I waited a few minutes, and still he didn't come back out. Curious, I had the Desire Ghost hide in my shadow, took the Skinning Knife in a reverse grip, and walked over.

I lifted the black cloth. Behind the third shrine was a wooden door just wide enough for one person to pass through.

I pushed the wooden door open, revealing a passageway that led underground.

"The complex above ground is already this vast, and there's a whole other world beneath it?" Channeling my Judging Eye, I could just make out my way in the pitch-black passageway as I stepped onto the stairs and headed down.

The temperature kept dropping as gusts of yin wind swept through, and fine droplets of moisture condensed on my skin.

In this environment, the Pre-Heaven True Qi in my body stopped circulating completely, as if it had stagnated. By contrast, the Yin energy within my Yin Meridian was increasing at a terrifying speed.

"At this rate, the yin-yang balance in my body might collapse, and my ghost art is about to break through to a new realm again." I couldn't tell whether that was good or bad, and I didn't have time to think that far ahead. Killing She Qian came first.

The underground passageway was very long. After I walked a dozen or so meters, the light shifted faintly up ahead. I slowed my pace, focusing all my attention.

"The life-extending method left behind by Lord Snake failed. The Soaring Serpent is dead, and its corpse was taken away by Jiang Yuan and the others." She Qian's voice drifted from the end of the passageway.

"Deal with your Snake Lord Lineage's affairs yourselves. I can't help you." The speaker's thin, shrill voice sounded somewhat familiar—it seemed to be the Ghost Infant Sect Master.

"The sky is about to fall, and you're still thinking about infighting? If we don't hurry up and repair the Sect-Protecting Grand Formation, that Fate Usurper won't even need to make a move—we'll soon be bitten to death by the very dogs we raised."

"You mean the Jiang family?" The Ghost Infant Sect Master paused for a long time before replying. "You're worrying too much. Times may have changed and the standing of cultivators keeps declining, but don't forget that when Jiang Detao first partnered with us, a ghost curse was placed on him. Without us to lift it, his life will be worse than death."

"Jiang Detao is a sleeping tiger. Why would he submit to a mere ghost curse? His business has grown massive over the years, and we've completely let go of the reins. Who knows if he's secretly formed connections with other sects? Perhaps he's already found a way to break the ghost curse we rely on." She Qian tried his hardest to persuade him, wanting to unite with the Ghost Infant Sect Master to guard against the Jiang family, but the sect master paid it no mind.

"I am aware of the matter. You may leave."

"I'm absolutely not doing this out of selfish motives. The sect is currently facing a massive disaster. To resist external threats, one must first pacify internal troubles..."

"She Qian, you have not succeeded as Lord Snake yet. The sect's forbidden ground is no place for you. I've said all I need to say—do you understand?" The Ghost Infant Sect Master ordered him to leave, yet She Qian stood where he was without moving. "What? You won't even listen to what I say anymore?"

A brief silence fell over the underground passageway before She Qian's effeminate, grating laughter echoed from the far end. "You old thing, I knew you wouldn't agree! Anyone can see the Jiang family's wolfish ambitions, yet you still blindly indulge them! I really wonder just what kind of benefits they've given you!"

"She Qian, you defile the tranquil altar and slander your superior! If not for the sake of the late Lord Snake, I would definitely expel you from the sect! Considering this is your first offense, go receive the Three Hall Great Punishments yourself!"

"Considering this is my first offense? Telling me to go suffer the Three Hall Great Punishments myself? Both your hands have been severed, you old fool, yet you still dare to speak to me like this?" She Qian's effeminate voice carried a bone-deep coldness, his tone gradually turning manic. "Tell me the incantation to activate the grand formation and return the Snake Lord Lineage's dharma treasure. Otherwise, don't even think about getting out of here for the rest of your life."

"You dare?!" Although both of the Ghost Infant Sect Master's arms had been severed, his Ghost Cultivator arts remained intact. As he chanted an incantation, Ghost Infants formed of resentment crawled out from behind him one by one.