Chapter 55 – Joy City (1)

He Yuntian tapped his Fan against his palm, one strike at a time. The cultivators around him didn’t dare breathe a single word.

They knew He Yuntian was deliberately making things difficult for the old man. If it had been an ordinary gift, they could have stepped forward to meddle, but this young person was giving a gift to someone who had saved her life—an act of chivalrous righteousness—and based on what she had implied, she appeared to be from Cangyun Ravine.

Her bearing and demeanor truly did not resemble that of an ordinary mortal.

It was best not to invite trouble.

Sun Xingyi hesitated for a moment, then did not refuse. “This old one urgently needs it, so I shall shamelessly accept. May I ask your name, young friend? I will certainly repay you generously in the future.”

“Repaying back and forth is so tiresome. Just keep it. My transaction is done—farewell.”

Zhan Changfeng turned and walked away. The people at the doorway parted to let her through.

Suddenly, He Yuntian stepped forward and cupped his fists in a bow. “Young friend, what a coincidence. I come from Gentleman’s Court, and we are both of Cangyun Ravine. Seeing you trade a Yin Pearl for a talisman just now—did something happen? I have several talismans here. If you need them, I would be happy to make an exchange.”

He Yuntian intended to steal her opportunity. If the other party were a descendant of some great family out on a training excursion, it could invite trouble.

Especially those direct-lineage disciples—they were all given special attention by their clan’s patriarchs. Killing them outright would leave a tracking mark on you, and there would be no escaping it.

But looking at this person—young in age, yet with a deep and unfathomable bearing—when he gazed too long into her eyes, it was like standing at the edge of an abyss, ready to fall. A chill rose from the bottom of his heart. She had produced a high-quality Yin Pearl without a second thought. Her background was likely no small matter.

On the other hand, she was so young yet traveling alone, with only a Postnatal realm martial artist by her side. Besides, what talisman couldn’t be found in Cangyun Ravine? Why would she need to use a Yin Pearl to exchange for one in this barren mortal world?

No matter how he thought about it, something was off.

So he spoke to probe her.

Zhan Changfeng stopped and listened to him finish, then said, “I thank you for your kind intentions, fellow Daoist. My Dao reveres entering the world to aid the people, using the mortal world as a crucible for Tempering the Heart in the Mortal World. Now the world is in great turmoil—it is precisely the time for those of our kind to enter the mortal realm. Regrettably, the mortal path and the cultivation path are different, so one can only cast aside material things and enter the world alone. I see you are a member of Gentleman’s Court, so I will say one more thing.”

He Yuntian was thoroughly taken aback. Cangyun Ravine had no complete Daoist lineage, yet right from the start she spoke of “my Dao”—could she be someone from the upper realm?

It was said that those of the upper realm walked the path of Tempering the Heart in the Mortal World. Those matters were far beyond his current level of contact; he had no way to judge their truth. But Zhan Changfeng’s aura was too overwhelming, her words too certain—one could not help but believe her.

The cultivators of Xiaohan Town saw the solemn expression on He Yuntian’s face and became even more convinced, all wearing looks of utmost seriousness as they strained to listen.

“Please speak, young friend,” He Yuntian said politely.

“I had originally planned to enter the secular world, but passing through this place, I sensed that cultivators had been disappearing frequently. I calculated that it is connected to Ghost City. Therefore, fellow Daoist, if you have talismans, keep them for yourself. Ghost City is opening this year, and I fear something strange may occur.”

He Yuntian immediately understood. The other party had been intending to go live as a mortal in the secular world, but had suddenly discovered that cultivators here were disappearing and meeting with harm, and so had decided to rid the people of this menace. This habit of minding other people’s business was indeed not something an ordinary cultivator would have. No wonder she held Sun Xingyi’s accomplishments in such high regard.

“Your righteousness is admirable, young friend. I have taken note. If you need help, I will lend my full support.”

“Excellent.”

And then Zhan Changfeng left.

The Coachman had the utmost admiration for his master’s ability to speak outright falsehoods with her eyes wide open, yet he still had a question: “That fellow is merely a disciple of a cultivation sect. Even if you were worried he might secretly move against Sun Xingyi, you could have brushed him off with a single word. Why bother wasting so many words on him?”

“Before one’s strength is sufficient, one must not let petty people harbor resentment.”

“And the matter of the missing cultivators at the relay station?”

“Just a guess.”

That night at the relay station, she had sensed an ominous chill and had preliminarily judged it to be related to ghostly entities—only she did not know why they never showed themselves until the very end.

Of the things that could be connected to ghostly entities lately, only Ghost City came to mind.

In any case, on this journey, she would need to be cautious.

“Go and gather more information about Ghost City during the day. Also, take these Yin Pearls and exchange them for incense candles and paper ingots.”

Incense candles and paper ingots were used for offerings to the dead in the mortal world, and here they were also the only currency that living cultivators could use inside Ghost City. They were imbued with the Belief and blessings of the living—for ghosts who cultivated the Incense Flame Dao, they were a form of nourishment.

The Ghost Dao had many branches, and the Incense Flame Dao was the most flourishing of them.

“Your Highness, I have heard that ever since the prophecy was announced that Ghost City would open this year, all the incense candles and paper ingots in Huangzhou were swept clean. Right now, these things are extremely scarce, and there are plenty of counterfeits as well. Why not have the Imperial Princess send some over?”

“That is too far away. Go and look for some first.”

Previously, she had not considered trading peacefully with ghosts at all. In a different form, she was simply a soul from the underworld—that is, a Ghost.

But Ghosts and ghosts were two different things.

As mentioned before, living beings have three souls from Heaven, Earth, and Fate.

The Heaven Soul does not reside in the body; it is hidden within the Dao. The process of cultivation is in truth the process of finding and refining the Heaven Soul, thereby comprehending the Great Dao. Thus the Heaven Soul is the vessel of the Dao-seed, and also the “self” of a cultivator’s past, Future, and present.

The Earth Soul carries the accumulated karmic sins of all past lives.

Of the three souls, only the Fate Soul resides in the body, transforming into the seven ethereal spirits, bearing the memories of this life.

After death, the Heaven Soul returns to the Dao, the Earth Soul receives punishment, and the Fate Soul disperses. Those that fail to disperse become ghosts.

When a ghost first forms, it is like a newborn—it carries no karmic sins, for all sins have been carried away by the Earth Soul.

Earth Souls burdened with heavy sins suffer punishment in the depths of hell. Those with light sins, or those who have been cleansed, survive and cultivate in the Nine Underworlds. Thus the Earth Soul is also called a Ghost.

The Nine-Cycle Rebirth Art—the “nine cycles” cultivate this “bone,” severing the connection between the Earth Soul and the Fate Soul, achieving a transformation between the states of life and death.

In truth, entering Ghost City in the state of an Earth Soul carried risks. Earth Souls generally bore karmic sins—one only needed to look at her eyes in that state to know.

If the Ghost City were filled with malevolent ghosts, she could fight evil with evil. But if they were all benevolent ghosts, she might well be seized and purified.

Based on the scant information from previous years, it seemed to be half and half.

For the sake of her physical body, unless absolutely necessary, she would follow the mainstream—problems that could be solved with money were not problems.

Zhan Changfeng returned to the Wooden House, wrote a letter, and summoned the Eagle.

The letter was addressed to the abbot of White Horse Temple. After listening to the Long-bearded Daoist’s Daoist scriptures, she had been unsatisfied and gone on to listen to a high monk of the present age expound on Buddhist sutras, using the two to cross-reference each other. Setting aside the gains for now, she had unexpectedly become fast friends across the generational divide with abbot Juyuan of White Horse Temple.

When it came to incense offerings, could anything be more exquisite than the incense of a centuries-old great temple?

Now it all depended on whether abbot Juyuan would be generous enough to help.

With all the necessary preparations underway, Zhan Changfeng settled into the Wooden House to quietly cultivate and read.

Although Ghost City was said to manifest in the mortal world on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month of this year, the exact location was unknown, and there was an element of Luck involved. There was no use in rushing.

Afternoon of the fourteenth day of the seventh month.

The Eagle returned, dropping a parcel. Zhan Changfeng opened it and found a letter and two large incense candles, each a foot long.

The letter stated that these two candles had been offered before the golden Buddha statue in the Great Hall and had received the reverence of devout men and women for seven days and seven nights, as well as the recitations of all the monks.

Together with the incense sticks and paper money the Coachman had purchased, it should be enough.

“Your Highness!” The Coachman came rushing in urgently. “I have learned an important piece of news. Ghost City is divided into a South City and a North City, and the two do not connect. The South City is home to benevolent ghosts and trading is possible there. The North City is home to malevolent ghosts—if you go in, there likely won’t even be bones left of you.”

Zhan Changfeng mulled it over. “Which entrance leads to the South City, and which to the North City?”

“That is uncertain—there is no clear explanation,” the Coachman said with a troubled look. “According to what they say, it seems to be entirely up to Luck.”

(End of Chapter)