Chapter 587: Transfer

I guessed the talisman Xu Yan had hidden inside the Vermilion Fruit served to track and guide him. If I could transfer this talisman to someone else, could I interfere with Xu Yan's judgment? I might even be able to lead them into a death trap.

There were only two places capable of burying this many Orthodox Sect cultivators. The first was the Three Yin Sect's Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation, and the second was Suolong Village in the Depths of Henshan.

The Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation went without saying. I had already grasped its life gate and death gate; if I could trick those cultivators into the array and lead them into the death gate, that would be the end of them.

Suolong Village, on the other hand, was incredibly sinister. It shared a special connection with the Two-Faced Buddha, and the dry well at its entrance connected straight to the Yin-Yang Boundary. Without the Dream Wing Gu in hand, it was a road with no return.

Either location could be used to bury the Orthodox Sect cultivators, but neither was foolproof.

Many treasures were still hidden away in the Three Yin Sect waiting to be retrieved, and I wasn't too familiar with how to control the grand array. If something went wrong, I might end up getting myself killed instead of burying the orthodox cultivators.

As for Suolong Village in the Depths of Henshan, it was even less foolproof. That was the Two-Faced Buddha's territory. While I wanted to spark a conflict between the Orthodox Sects and the Two-Faced Buddha, neither side was stupid. The idea was good, but it would be extremely difficult to pull off.

Besides, while the arrogant attitudes of these orthodox cultivators were intensely irritating, their crimes didn't warrant death. They were only hunting the Ghost Mother to accumulate merit. There was no irreconcilable conflict between us.

'I absolutely cannot use the Three Yin Sect Grand Formation unless it's a critical moment. If I do, the fact that I slaughtered the entire Three Yin Sect will be exposed. The Current Meng Po and the sect master of the Ghost Infant Lineage are still alive, and there are many disciples scattered outside on missions. They are all threats that must be dealt with as soon as possible.' My current situation was still extremely disadvantageous. Whether in terms of strength or influence, the Orthodox Sects held the initiative.

All of the above was just speculation, but proving it would actually be quite simple. I just needed to wait until the dead of night and try sneaking away once to verify it.

If they truly planned to rely on me to find the Ghost Mother, their guard over me wouldn't be too strict. They would intentionally give me a chance to escape.

'I'll test it tonight.' Having figured this out, I focused my attention on dealing with the pale talisman in my lower dantian. It was the most peculiar talisman I had ever seen. It couldn't simply be classified as Lower Vehicle, Lesser Vehicle, or Upper Vehicle. It seemed to belong to a special category of its own.

'True qi and yin energy are useless. It's squatting in my dantian like a malignant tumor. How exactly am I supposed to get this thing out?' I wrapped it in my will, preventing it from touching my body, but whenever I tried to drag it out of my dantian, the tiny characters on the talisman would go wildly out of control, acting as if they were about to explode.

'It refuses to leave my dantian. This is going to be difficult.' After thinking it over, I decided to use a rather risky method.

Tapping the Ghost Ring with my finger, I summoned the Seductive Ghost and had her possess my body. Then, I used my ghost art to force her into my dantian.

Inside the lower dantian, the Seductive Ghost paled the moment she saw the pale talisman. Projecting terror into my mind, she fought desperately to escape.

'Sorry, but you'll have to bear with it.' Steeling my heart, I drove the ghost art, trying to force the Seductive Ghost to actively merge with the talisman. My original plan was to extract her and the talisman from my lower dantian the moment it stuck to her body, but given her current state, that was probably going to be difficult.

Her fear of the talisman eclipsed everything else. The Seductive Ghost was on the verge of losing control.

Left with no choice, I had to recall her into the Ghost Ring.

'The Seductive Ghost's combat strength is inherently low. What she excels at is bewitching mortal minds.' Since she would rather die than comply, there was nothing I could do. I summoned the slow-witted Filthy Ghost. The Filthy Ghost formed by Tian Teng was a towering fat man. Even after becoming a ghost, his fleshy face hadn't changed much. He didn't look frightening at all.

Using the same method, I forced the Filthy Ghost into my dantian. In stark contrast to the Seductive Ghost's exaggerated reaction, the Filthy Ghost acted like an idiot. He showed absolutely no response, moving with extreme sluggishness. It wasn't until he was about to touch the talisman itself that he grunted twice, the fat all over his body starting to tremble.

Both the Filthy Ghost and the Seductive Ghost were Grade C entities, but the Filthy Ghost's combat strength was far higher than hers. As for his special ability, I still hadn't figured it out. Perhaps he had merely inherited Tian Teng's obsession with foul odors.

A dozen seconds later, something astonishing happened. The part of the talisman that came into contact with the Filthy Ghost actually dimmed. It was as if it had been defiled, breaking its spell. The tiny characters on it were no longer active, looking completely lifeless.

'The Filthy Ghost can actually defile Daoist talisman arts?' I couldn't believe it, but the facts were right in front of me. 'I never expected the Filthy Ghost to have this kind of use. I really hit the jackpot this time.'

When I first exchanged for these three ghost entities from the Live Show, I hadn't held out much hope. But now, they were giving me a massive surprise.

'Both the Filthy Ghost and the Desire Ghost were strengthened in the Three Yin Sect's earth vein. This ability might have only appeared after that enhancement. If I continue to strengthen them, will they bring me even bigger surprises in the future?' Thinking of this, I unconsciously smiled. These three ghost entities might prove incredibly useful down the line.

While defiling the talisman, the Filthy Ghost was also consuming its own magic power. Its size shrank at a visible rate. Once a quarter of the talisman was defiled, I quickly recalled the Filthy Ghost into the Ghost Ring.

'The talisman can't be completely defiled. If it can no longer be manipulated, it will definitely alert Xu Yan, which would be detrimental to my next plan.' I used my own yin energy to help the Filthy Ghost recover, repeatedly summoning him several times. We kept at it until midnight, and I only stopped when I had nearly tormented the Filthy Ghost to death.

Looking at the talisman again, half of it had already been defiled.

Its brilliance had faded and its Daoist aura had dissipated, but ancient characters still danced across the remaining half.

'This should be enough.' My plan had entered its most critical phase. Relaxing my breathing, I adjusted my condition. Once the night was at its darkest and the ambient yin energy was at its peak, I released the Desire Ghost.

The Desire Ghost was the strongest of the three. After cultivating in the earth vein, it had already touched the threshold of a Grade B ghost entity. Once it broke through, its strength would be on par with the Fate Ghost from back then.

It was worth noting that the Fate Ghost was an entity meant to take a fatal blow in its master's place, not one skilled in combat. The Desire Ghost, however, fed on desires. It possessed a tyrannical nature and reveled in pillaging and slaughter. Once it broke through to Grade B, its strength would undergo an earth-shattering transformation.

The Desire Ghost bore the appearance of Number Nine from the murder game. He was very tall, with protruding cheekbones and a mouth full of sharp fangs. He looked incredibly vicious.

When he appeared in the room, a ghostly wind swept through the entire suite. I looked at him and nodded. "Not bad. You've got some presence."

Following the same method, I drove him into my lower dantian. The moment the Desire Ghost saw the talisman, he showed immense hostility. He charged forward on his own without me even needing to command him.

The Desire Ghost attacked the talisman with a frenzy. The talisman was equally unyielding. The half that hadn't been defiled by the Filthy Ghost erupted with brilliant light, as if a secret Daoist scripture was flowing across its surface.

The two sides were evenly matched at first, but as time dragged on, the Desire Ghost began to lose ground.

'I can't wait any longer.' Splitting my focus, I manipulated the talisman to fly toward the Desire Ghost while simultaneously using my ghost art to compel him to swallow it.

It took a massive amount of effort, but the Desire Ghost finally swallowed the talisman. Seizing this rare opportunity, I immediately dispersed my enclosing will and forced the Desire Ghost out of my body.

'Success!' The talisman had been transferred into the Desire Ghost's body and smoothly purged from my dantian. But before I could even celebrate for a few seconds, the Desire Ghost began to show signs of soul instability. Yin and yang clashed violently. The talisman burned like a raging fire within his ghostly body. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before his soul shattered and dispersed.

'The caster isn't even nearby, yet this talisman is still this powerful?' I threw all Eighteen Yin Apertures wide open, using every ounce of yin energy in my body to help the Desire Ghost stabilize his form. But as my yin energy drained away, his condition only grew more perilous.