The Mirror Master

Daoist Yu added, "However, even if this Peach Wood Sword hadn’t been stained with Black Dog Blood, it still wouldn’t have been able to harm that Ghostly Creature."

No one else seemed particularly interested, so they didn’t ask him to elaborate.

Lu Bai, however, was paying close attention.

It wasn’t every day he met a Profound Sect Daoist with real abilities. Holding to the principle of asking about what he didn’t understand, Lu Bai inquired, "If I may ask, Daoist Yu, why is that?"

Xiaodie frowned.

’These Profound Sect Cultivators are having a discussion. He doesn’t understand any of it, so why is he meddling?’

Daoist Yu, however, showed no sign of displeasure. "The wood of this Peach Wood Sword is too young. It’s fine for driving away ordinary Yin Souls, but against last night’s Ghostly Creature, it’s useless."

After speaking, Daoist Yu’s gaze swept over Lu Bai, finally landing on the Black Dog at his feet.

The young female Daoist at his side said proudly, "Senior Brother Yu’s Peach Wood Sword is a Profound Sect Magical Treasure. It was crafted from Centennial Peach Wood and even has an Exorcism Restriction carved onto it."

"Even if you could find some Centennial Peach Wood, its power would be nowhere near that of Senior Brother Yu’s Peach Wood Sword."

Lu Bai cupped his hands in thanks. "Thank you, Daoists, for the clarification."

’There’s certainly a lot to this. One never stops learning.’

Daoist Yu suddenly said, "Young man, that Black Dog of yours is rather rare."

Lu Bai feigned ignorance. "Oh? I’ve seen plenty of black dogs in town that look no different from this one."

"Yours is a Five-Black Dog."

Daoist Yu explained, "Its eyes are like beads of lacquer, its nose like black jade, its tongue like dark charcoal, and its paws are solid black. Even the fur on its belly is stained the color of night.

"Black Dogs are strange creatures. Their blood contains Evil Qi. The Five-Black Dog, in particular, is born with an Evil Body, possessing the densest Evil Qi in its bloodline, which is why they are so rare."

A thought struck Lu Bai. He suddenly recalled the Secret Technique, the Soul Suppressing Order, that had been derived from the *Nine Netherworld* last night.

It required Evil Qi to be activated and to coalesce the order.

’The Black Dog’s ability to understand it was likely because of its innate Evil Body.’

"That amazing?"

The young female Daoist’s eyes lit up. "In that case, why don’t we buy this Five-Black Dog and take it back to our sect to raise as a Spirit Beast?"

"I wouldn’t go that far."

Daoist Yu shook his head. "A Five-Black Dog is merely rare. It can guard its home and master, and ward off evil, but it’s still just a common animal. It doesn’t qualify as a Spirit Beast, as it has not awakened its spiritual intelligence.

"An animal that hasn’t awakened its spiritual intelligence, no matter how rare, isn’t anything special. Just like this Five-Black Dog. It can scare off some ordinary Yin Souls, but against the Ghostly Creature from last night, it would be useless."

The young female Daoist was a little disappointed. "Oh, I see. And here I thought we’d stumbled upon a real treasure on our trip down the mountain."

Daoist Yu smiled faintly.

The young female Daoist said, "Senior Brother Yu, from the sound of it, that Ghostly Creature is very powerful. Why don’t we return to the sect first, report to Master, and then decide what to do?"

Daoist Yu fell silent, pondering.

Xiaodie couldn’t hold back any longer. Mustering her courage, she said in a small voice, "Daoist Yu, about the three Spirit Stones my lady paid for your help... do you think... we could get a refund...?"

Lu Bai suddenly recalled something.

When Luo Qing had gone to visit the Wang Family, Xiaodie had mentioned that Luo Qing spent all her savings to hire these Daoists from Danding Temple to come down the mountain and investigate the Lu Family’s tragedy.

’These two Daoists from Danding Temple came down the mountain, but they haven’t really done anything this time.’

"Those three Spirit Stones..."

Hearing this, the young female Daoist blushed and hesitated.

’She had already used up the three Spirit Stones a few days ago.’

’If they went back just like this, it would mean they returned empty-handed. They hadn’t accomplished the task Luo Qing entrusted to them, so logically, they should return at least some of the Spirit Stones.’

Daoist Yu saw his junior sister’s embarrassment, and after a moment’s thought, he understood. He said thoughtfully, "How about this: we’ll go and find that Ghostly Creature. If we can’t subdue it, we’ll refund the Spirit Stones to you."

The young female Daoist asked, "Senior Brother Yu, will it be dangerous?"

"It should be fine."

Daoist Yu smiled. "If worse comes to worst, we can just withdraw."

After a pause, Daoist Yu continued, "Besides, this Ghostly Creature should have reached a critical point in its cultivation and could transform at any moment.

"It spent last night digesting and lay dormant during the day. It will likely come out to harm people again tonight. When that happens, who knows how many more innocent people will die at its hands.

"For cultivators of our generation, slaying demons, suppressing evil, and vanquishing ghosts is both a form of training and our duty!"

Xiaodie was filled with solemn respect, her eyes shining with admiration.

The young female Daoist was also fired up, clenching her fist and saying, "Senior Brother Yu, on this mission, we will definitely slay the evil creature and restore peace to Liuxi Town!"

"Thank you, Daoists, for your righteous intervention."

The County Magistrate and County Captain Liu Feng quickly cupped their hands in thanks.

Liu Feng added, "Daoists, you must be weary from your dusty journey down the mountain. Please rest in town for a while and gather your strength. It won’t be too late to slay the evil creature after that."

"Mm."

Daoist Yu nodded. "During the day, the Ghostly Creature stays hidden and is extremely difficult to find. We can rest in town and go look for it in the evening."

"Right, we still need to take care of things over here first."

Daoist Yu glanced around.

"How should we handle it? Burn everything?"

Liu Feng asked.

"Yes. Move all the bodies of last night’s victims into this Memorial Hall and set it on fire. This hall is heavy with Yin Qi; leaving it standing will only attract more Evil Spirits."

Daoist Yu said, "I will cast a spell here to prevent any of the lingering souls of last night’s victims from failing to enter the Underworld and turning into Evil Spirits to harm the living.

"If that were to happen, the consequences would be endless."

"Yes, yes."

Liu Feng agreed repeatedly and ordered his men to move all the corpses from the Zhou Family, piling them into the Memorial Hall until it was almost full.

Then, they sprinkled Stone Liquid and dry firewood on top and set it ablaze.

The fire spread rapidly, and in no time, the entire Memorial Hall was burning, flames soaring into the sky.

Lu Bai saw clearly that the Peach Wood Sword he had dropped was inside the Memorial Hall, burning along with everything else.

Lu Bai breathed a sigh of relief, a weight lifted from his mind.

The great fire burned for a full four hours before gradually dying down.

Daoist Yu formed a hand seal, his fingers weaving a Technique in mid-air. In a moment, a strange sheet of Runes coalesced, hanging in the void without dissipating—a truly magical sight.

"Go!"

With a soft cry, Daoist Yu waved his sleeve.

The sheet of Runes quickly sank into the remains of the Memorial Hall and vanished.

"It’s done."

Daoist Yu nodded.

Led by the County Magistrate, the two Daoists from Danding Temple headed toward the Drunken Fragrance Inn.

This time, Lu Bai couldn’t very well follow them to freeload a meal, so he turned and headed for the Chen Martial Arts Hall.

The pharmacy business was settled.

’I’ll rest one more night, then set out for Bluestone County tomorrow.’

’As for the Ghostly Creature, since the two Daoists were handling it, it wouldn’t be wise for me to get involved. I might expose the Ancient Mirror and end up losing more than I’d gain.’

On the way back, Lu Bai suddenly asked.

"By the way, did you just say that Sister Luo spent three Spirit Stones to ask the two Daoists to come down the mountain?"

"Yeah."

Xiaodie was a little unhappy at the mention of this. "Those three Spirit Stones could have bought an Enlightenment Pill.

"My lady has already opened six of her Seven Acupoints, but she’s been stuck on the last one for a long time. With the help of an Enlightenment Pill, she definitely would have broken through.

"But because of this business here, my lady gave the money she had saved for so long to buy the Enlightenment Pill to Danding Temple instead."

Lu Bai suddenly understood.

’No wonder Xiaodie had always been a bit resentful toward me. This was the reason why.’