Chapter 573: Scheming

How could a man with severed arms have become the Ghost Infant Sect Master if he didn't possess true capability?

Evil cultivators were different from other "professions." Strength and cultivation were the only criteria for judgment.

There were massive numbers of Ghost Infants, all formed from resentment. Seeing hatred and ferocity twist those tender faces, my mind flashed to the Qicun Maternity and Children’s Health Center. The Ghost Infant Lineage used infants who had died prematurely as their spellcasting medium. Their methods were absolutely heinous.

The sight only hardened my resolve to wipe out the Three Yin Sect. I would show them no mercy.

'Fight,' I thought. 'The worse your infighting gets, the less pressure falls on me.' Hiding in the shadows, I took in everything.

The Ghost Infant Sect Master was far stronger than She Qian. Their ghost art cultivation was separated by at least two realms, but I couldn't see a trace of panic on She Qian's face.

"Since I dared to seek you out and speak to you like this, I naturally came prepared. Old man, if you don't know what's good for you, don't complain when you reach the Netherworld." She Qian slowly brought out a stick of incense from behind his back and held it to his chest. Curling smoke drifted through the underground passage.

She Qian had taken this incense from the first shrine. I didn't know what its exact purpose was. My nostrils twitched, catching a faint, sweet scent, and then my head grew heavy—as if my very soul was about to fall asleep.

My body swayed. The Desire Ghost behind me was similarly affected, so I quickly withdrew it into the Ghost Ring and leaned against the wall, slowly sliding to the ground.

My eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Just as they were about to close, a refreshing coolness flowed from the Good and Evil Mask, jerking me awake. My vision cleared, and I let out a long breath. 'I almost passed out. That scent is so strange.'

The incense in She Qian's hand had already burned down by a third. A thin mist seemed to blanket the underground passage.

Seeing the incense, the Ghost Infant Sect Master flew into a rage. It seemed to be something extremely precious. "Soul-Soothing Incense?! Lord Snake told you how to open the first shrine? You actually dared to steal the sect's foundation!"

"Why would Lord Snake tell me? That old man is even more stubborn than you," She Qian sneered. "I've followed Lord Snake to worship the Three Yin over a dozen times. I secretly learned the hand seals and incantations to open the shrines long ago. You old fools hid things well. If I hadn't opened the shrines myself, I wouldn't have known the sect kept so many treasures."

"Are you crazy? Soul-Soothing Incense requires a thousand human souls to refine! These were left behind by past generations of the Three Yin Sect. Every stick used is one gone forever, and you're using it against me!" The Ghost Infant Sect Master was furious but helpless. The Soul-Soothing Incense seemed to target only the soul. Based on my brief experience just now, the incense itself wasn't harmful. Smelling it actually strengthened the soul. The only side effect was forcing the smeller into a deep slumber.

The Ghost Infant Sect Master's soul foundation was remarkably strong. He held out for over a dozen seconds before gradually weakening. The Ghost Infants he had summoned earlier were now all hidden within the yin energy, looking as if they were sleeping peacefully in their mothers' wombs.

"You..." The Ghost Infant Sect Master staggered, finding it difficult to even stand. The effect of the Soul-Soothing Incense was simply too strong. Expending all his strength, he could only manage to force his eyes wide open, glaring furiously as if he wanted to skin She Qian alive.

"Old man, items are meant to be used. Why be so stingy?" She Qian planted the Soul-Soothing Incense into the ground and swallowed two pills before walking toward the Ghost Infant Sect Master. "Tell me, what use is there in you guarding this grand array's eye? Without your arms, do you still expect to command the Three Yin Sect? Still want to revive the glory of the Ghost Infant Lineage? Stop dreaming! From now on, the Three Yin Sect will only have one voice. You will do whatever I tell you to do. Otherwise..."

He pulled a bamboo tube from his robes, drew a talisman in blood, and placed it against the tube. Not long after, two colorful, chopstick-thin venomous snakes slithered out. I noticed that these two snakes looked exactly like the emblem on the collars of their Daoist robes.

The smile on She Qian's face grew increasingly manic. He used Talisman Paper to lure the two venomous snakes toward the wounds on the Ghost Infant Sect Master's shoulders, then fed the old man half a pill. "Old man, this half a Mind-Awakening Pill should keep part of your body conscious. Now tell me how to control the sect's grand array, or I'll have these two Seven-Step Snakes slither into your wounds and burrow right into your flesh!"

The Ghost Infant Sect Master refused to submit. She Qian picked up a sharp shard of stone from the ground and stabbed it directly into the stump of the old man's arm. Blood gushed out, painting a gruesome scene.

"You won't shed a tear until you see the coffin." He slapped the talisman onto the Ghost Infant Sect Master's wound and chanted an incantation. The two venomous snakes darted toward the talisman like sharp swords.

Seeing this, the Ghost Infant Sect Master finally reacted. "If I die, you won't get anything."

She Qian grinned and peeled off the talisman, stopping the two snakes a hair's breadth from burrowing into the Ghost Infant Sect Master's body. "You are one of the sect masters of the Three Yin Sect. Why would I kill you? I only want you to tell me how to control the sect-defending grand array, and then announce to everyone that I will be the next Lord Snake. That isn't an excessive request, is it?"

"Fine, I will tell you," the Ghost Infant Sect Master said, a cold gleam flashing deep in his eyes. "The Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation uses the Henshan Yin Vein as its array eye, shrouding the ten directions with endless yin energy from the earth vein. Those directions are heaven, earth, east, west, south, north, the life gate, the death gate, the past, and the future. Refining ghosts in the Ten Directions—that is the origin of the grand array's name. To unleash its full power, ten cultivators must work in perfect unison. However, ever since our magical battle with Maoshan, the number of disciples in our Three Yin Sect has plummeted. We can no longer gather ten disciples with enough cultivation and knowledge of formations to host the array."

"That's not what I want to hear." She Qian waved the Talisman Paper in his hand. "Don't think I don't know. Lord Snake once said that as long as the array eye acknowledges you, a single person can host the array. It doesn't need to be so troublesome."

"Of course a single person can host it. However, there are strict requirements for one's ghost art cultivation and knowledge of formations. Moreover, a single person hosting the grand array can only unleash twenty or thirty percent of its power."

"You just need to tell me how to do it."

Under She Qian's coercion, the Ghost Infant Sect Master finally relented. "Follow the stone stairs all the way down into the depths of the earth vein. As long as you can withstand the scouring of the yin energy tide and touch the array eye, you will gain the grand array's acknowledgment."

"Just that?"

The Ghost Infant Sect Master then imparted some incantations for controlling the grand array to She Qian. Hiding in the shadows, I used the Judging Eye to record everything, secretly learning them myself.

When the Soul-Soothing Incense had burned down to half its length, She Qian finally nodded in satisfaction. "Old man, at least you know what's good for you. These incantations basically match what I already know."

"Why would I lie to you? No matter what, you are still a member of the Three Yin Sect. I wouldn't sabotage you." The medicinal effects of the half Mind-Awakening Pill had worn off, and the Ghost Infant Sect Master felt himself growing sleepier. "She Qian, you can extinguish the Soul-Soothing Incense now, right? In the future, when you succeed as Lord Snake, won't all the treasures in this sect be yours anyway?"

"That makes sense." Under the Ghost Infant Sect Master's expectant gaze, She Qian turned and snuffed out the Soul-Soothing Incense. He then crouched in front of the old man with a smile. "I apologize for offending you earlier. In truth, I was only doing it for the sect."

"No matter, I understand." The Ghost Infant Sect Master nodded silently, flexing his fingertips. His body had yet to fully recover.

"It's good that you understand." The smile on She Qian's face never wavered. Suddenly, he raised his hand and shoved the talisman into the Ghost Infant Sect Master's wound. As if receiving a command, the two venomous snakes on the ground shot forward like bloody arrows, burrowing straight into the bleeding flesh.

"She..." Whether the Ghost Infant Sect Master was trying to yell She Qian's name or something else was unknown. Before he could even finish, She Qian stuffed a prepared talisman into his mouth.

"Old man, it's wonderful that you understand me!" She Qian burst into wild laughter. Bamboo tubes dropped from beneath his Daoist robes, and all the venomous snakes inside slithered out. Drawn by the talismans, they wound their way over the Ghost Infant Sect Master's body.

The scene before me was truly horrifying. The legendary torture of ten thousand snakes gnawing at one's heart could be no worse than this.

'This She Qian is ruthless!' I felt a sudden pang of relief. If I had run into him earlier, even if I'd managed to kill him, I likely would have been bitten by his venomous snakes.

The mass of snakes continued to bite and tear. Completely ignoring the Ghost Infant Sect Master's agonizing wails, She Qian strode into the depths of the earth vein.

I glanced at the venomous snakes covering the ground, wiped the sweat from my palms, and stepped out from my hiding place. 'I wonder if the Plum Blossom Gu Poison can resist snake venom?'