The Mirror Master

The night was heavy, and the surrounding atmosphere grew increasingly sinister.

The slightest rustle in the wind would startle Xiaodie and Li Yue’er, making them extremely tense.

Seeing how frightened the two were, Lu Bai couldn’t bear it and started a conversation to distract them. "Daoist Li, how are these Ghostly Creatures and evil spirits formed?"

After he killed Lu Ziyuan’s family, he hadn’t seen them turn into evil spirits to come after him.

Li Yue’er explained, "Normally, after a person dies, their Seven Spirits gradually dissipate within seven days, and their three souls return to the Underworld.

But some people die with immense resentment and their grievances are too deep. If, after seven days, their three souls still linger in the mortal world and don’t enter the Underworld, they will evolve into Yin Souls."

Lu Bai thought to himself, ’So I have to wait seven days. The time isn’t up yet.’

However, according to what Li Yue’er said, even though he had killed Lu Ziyuan’s family, they wouldn’t necessarily turn into Yin Souls.

That made sense. If everyone who died turned into Evil Spirits, the world would have long since descended into chaos.

Li Yue’er added, "Master said that a long, long time ago, the souls of any living being would return to the Underworld after death without fail. But later, for some unknown reason, things changed.

Afterward, to prevent the birth of evil spirits, people started hiring others to perform rites for the dead to guide their souls."

Before, Li Yue’er would never have explained these things to a mortal she had just met.

But now, she wished she could tell Lu Bai everything she knew.

Lu Bai suddenly remembered something else.

His father and older brother had died violent deaths. Logically speaking, their resentment and hatred should have been immense, fulfilling the conditions for forming Evil Spirits.

But from beginning to end, their Yin Souls never appeared.

Madam Zhou had come to the Lu Family to perform rites for his father and older brother. It must have been to prevent this very thing from happening.

Lu Bai asked again, "I heard you mention before that these Ghostly Creatures can evolve. What was that about Great Ghosts?"

"Mm."

Li Yue’er said, "If the three souls don’t enter the Underworld, they form a Yin Soul after seven days. That’s just the embryonic form of an evil spirit; it doesn’t even count as a ghost yet.

A Yin Soul’s power is also limited. Mostly, they can just blow some ghostly winds, give people nightmares, and generally just scare them.

Even a mortal who hasn’t cultivated will be difficult for a Yin Soul to approach, as long as they are strong, healthy, and full of vigorous Blood Qi."

Lu Bai nodded.

’In that case, what inhabited that Locust Wood Talisman must have been a Yin Soul.’

’The original owner of this body was only affected because he was too frail.’

’Such a method would have been useless against my older brother, Lu Yun.’

Li Yue’er continued, "Souls are yang, and spirits are yin. But after a person dies, their yang souls become Yin Souls.

Because they’ve lost the Seven Spirits, if a Yin Soul wanders the mortal world for too long, it will also slowly dissipate. Besides, Yin Souls are afraid of many things: sunlight, dog’s blood, Cinnabar, Peach Wood, and so on. Even a rooster’s crow can be enough to disperse a Yin Soul."

Lu Bai had a sudden realization.

’No wonder Yin Souls don’t dare appear in populated towns during the day. There are too many things that can harm them.’

’The rooster’s crow can both frighten Yin Souls and signal the coming of dawn.’

Li Yue’er said, "If a Yin Soul wants to survive, it has to absorb the Seven Spirits, which are also yin in nature.

That’s why some Yin Souls harm people for no reason at all. They do it to devour and absorb the victim’s Yin Spirits to complete their own Seven Spirits.

If they manage to complete one Yin Spirit, they leave the category of Yin Soul and are considered Ghostly Creatures. In the Cultivation Realm, we call them Little Ghosts. Completing three Yin Spirits makes them an extremely powerful existence among Little Ghosts."

"Er..."

Lu Bai smacked his lips.

’Little Ghost, Great Ghost... the distinction is simple and crude.’

Seeing the confused look on Li Yue’er’s face, Lu Bai said, "It’s nothing. Please continue."

’So that’s the reason these Ghostly Creatures harm people.’

’After a person dies, their Seven Spirits gradually dissipate within seven days.’

’In the eyes of a Ghostly Creature, a freshly killed person, whose Seven Spirits haven’t fully dissipated, would be the easiest to absorb.’

Li Yue’er continued, "If they can complete four Yin Spirits, they evolve into a Great Ghost.

A Little Ghost can already use some tricks, like Ghost Fire, Illusion Techniques, Ghost Walls, and Nightmares.

Once they evolve into a Great Ghost, these abilities become even stronger. A Great Ghost that has completed six Yin Spirits can even briefly possess a human body and control a living person."

Lu Bai asked, "The Ghostly Creature that killed Daoist Yu, was it a peak Little Ghost that had completed three Yin Spirits?"

"Yes!"

Li Yue’er said, "Normally, we Cultivators at the Qi Refining Stage can subdue Little Ghosts. But for Great Ghosts, you need a Great Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage to intervene.

The Ghostly Creature that killed Senior Brother Yu was just one step away from completing four Yin Spirits and evolving into a Great Ghost. Senior Brother Yu was at the Seventh-Layer Qi Refining Stage. If a senior brother at the Ninth-Layer Qi Refining Stage had acted, that Ghostly Creature would have been doomed."

Xiaodie couldn’t help but ask, "That Little Ghost killed over a hundred people from the Zhou Family, and it still hasn’t completed four Yin Spirits?"

One person’s death yields seven Yin Spirits.

Logically, with over a hundred deaths, there should be at least seven hundred Yin Spirits.

Li Yue’er said, "It’s not that easy for these Ghostly Creatures to devour Yin Spirits. They can’t absorb them all, and it takes a long time to digest them."

Lu Bai asked, "Above Great Ghosts are the Ghostly Creatures that have completed all Seven Spirits, right?"

"Young Master Lu is clever."

Li Yue’er said, "If they complete all Seven Spirits, we call them Fierce Ghosts. Ghostly Creatures of this level are incredibly powerful. Their souls and spirits are complete, they can manifest a physical form, and they aren’t just skilled in Illusion Techniques and Ghost Fire—they have physical attacks as well.

If you’re caught by one, you’ll even get green-colored scratch marks on your body! Only a True Master Golden Core can subdue them."

This didn’t necessarily mean that a True Master Golden Core was weak, but that Ghostly Creatures and evil spirits had their own hierarchy of strength.

Lu Bai was lost in thought.

This coincided perfectly with his earlier speculation.

’The reason my *Mountain Monarch Bone Forging Technique* can’t be repaired any further is that the level of the Yin Souls I’ve devoured is too low, and their Soul Light energy is insufficient.’

’If I can devour this Little Ghost that Madam Zhou is raising, I’ll have a chance to repair the technique to the Ultimate Skill level!’

’And that’s just for the most basic Pile Skill.’

’If I step into the Martial Realm and want to repair and comprehend an Inner Power Heart Method, I’ll probably need to consume the Soul Light of a Little Ghost just to get started.’

Xiaodie asked again, "What about above Fierce Ghosts? Is there anything even more powerful?"

"Yes."

Li Yue’er’s tone was certain. "There is," she said, "but Master didn’t go into detail. I just heard him mention it once: the Martial Dao has nine stages, Cultivation has nine levels, and Ghostly Creatures also have nine ranks.

Some Ghostly Creatures and evil spirits can even condense flesh and blood. When they cultivate to the extreme, they are called ’Ba’. Their Magical Power is profound, they can fly through the sky and burrow through the earth, and they can scorch the land for a thousand miles."

The three of them talked as they walked, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the base of Black Tiger Stream.

The moment they set foot in the area, Xiaodie and Li Yue’er couldn’t help but shiver.

Gazing at the piles of white bones ahead, the courage they had just mustered up evaporated, and both of them began to have second thoughts.

"Daoist Li, can... can you see that evil spirit?"

Xiaodie’s voice trembled. "If... if we can’t find it, let’s... let’s just go back first."

"I..."

Li Yue’er also felt the urge to retreat and became hesitant.

Upon arriving here, however, Lu Bai was full of vigor. It was as if he had become a different person, his eyes gleaming.

Seeing Lu Bai like this, both Xiaodie and Li Yue’er had the strange impression that he wanted to swallow the Ghostly Creature whole.

Lu Bai scanned his surroundings, then, holding his Peach Wood Sword, he suddenly walked toward a stone cliff at the foot of the mountain.

"Young Master Lu!"

Li Yue’er quickly called out.

Seeing that Lu Bai didn’t stop, Li Yue’er quickly performed a Magic, one that was very similar to the one Daoist Yu had used the day before.

She lightly tapped the spot between her eyebrows with her fingertip and said, "Open!"

As soon as she spoke, Li Yue’er’s eyes became much brighter.

"Well?"

Xiaodie asked hurriedly.

"I think... it really is over there!"

Li Yue’er looked in the direction Lu Bai was walking, her expression terrified and her voice trembling.

’How did Young Master Lu find it so accurately?’

The thought flashed through her mind.

"Young Master Lu, wait for me!"

Li Yue’er gritted her teeth, suddenly steeled her resolve, and hurried after him with a look of tragic heroism.

’Worst comes to worst, I’ll just die here with Young Master Lu today!’