Divine Level Witch Doctor

'Could it really be a misunderstanding? Did I get it all wrong?'

Zhao Yuan's brow furrowed. Without jumping to conclusions, he quietly retrieved an Enchanting Talisman from his Storage Ring Space. He jabbed the tip of the Stone Blade—already pressed against Ying Ji's neck—at the Baihui Acupoint on the crown of her head, activating the Enchanting Talisman at the same instant.

The nearby Ghost Spirit saw this and flew into a rage, thinking Zhao Yuan was about to kill its master. It let out a piercing shriek, unleashing a powerful ripple of Qi that shattered every other glass jar in the room!

The Ghost Spirit lunged, ready to charge Zhao Yuan. It was willing to risk being severely wounded by Zhao Yuan's Magical Artifact to save Ying Ji.

Facing the enraged Ghost Spirit, Zhao Yuan didn't bother with defense. He simply roared, "If you dare move, this blade goes right into her skull!"

The imposing Ghost Spirit instantly backed down. It retreated meekly, not daring to make a rash move.

This feeling of being held back, unable to act for fear of harming the hostage, was incredibly frustrating. If Zhao Yuan could have seen the Ghost Spirit's appearance, he would have discovered it was fuming with rage, practically about to explode.

Lu Qing was startled, thinking Zhao Yuan was yelling at Hao Li downstairs. She immediately tensed up. Hao Li, however, understood and quickly explained, "Officer, don't do anything rash! Please, don't! Brother Zhao isn't talking to me, he's talking to Ying Ji's Ghost Spirit!"

"Ghost Spirit?" Lu Qing raised an eyebrow. As a Martial Arts Cultivator, she had heard legends of Ghost Spirits but had never encountered one. Hearing Hao Li's words, she subconsciously glanced back toward the room behind her. But with her limited strength, she couldn't see the Ghost Spirit at all.

'Do ghosts really exist in this world?' Lu Qing felt lost. But on second thought, if things like Corpse Puppets were real, then a Ghost Spirit wasn't so strange.

Meanwhile, under the combined effect of the Enchanting Talisman and the blade pricking her acupoint, Ying Ji was completely hypnotized.

Zhao Yuan wasted no time and asked, "Did you raise the Teng Mo?"

Ying Ji's eyes were vacant. She answered expressionlessly, "No!"

Zhao Yuan immediately followed up, "Have you ever harmed an innocent person?"

"Never!" Ying Ji replied. "I practice Raising Gu, Corpse Nurturing, and raising ghosts only for self-preservation and to advance my Cultivation. I have never used them to harm people, nor have I ever used humans to feed them. On the contrary, I have used Gu to save many people."

Zhao Yuan pointed to the Ghost Spirit floating in mid-air, glaring at him menacingly. "Then how was this Ghost Spirit raised?"

Ying Ji answered, "He was a terminally ill patient. I used a Gu Insect to extend his life, giving him time to arrange his affairs and say a proper goodbye to his family. After he died, he gave up his chance at reincarnation and voluntarily asked to become my Ghost Spirit. I didn't want to accept at first, but he refused to leave my side. To prevent his soul from dissipating, I granted his request and used a Secret Technique to refine him into my Ghost Spirit."

Zhao Yuan believed her. In her hypnotized state, Ying Ji couldn't lie, nor would it be possible for her to lie.

A piece of information he had once read in his miscellaneous studies suddenly surfaced in Zhao Yuan's mind. He blurted out, "Could it be that you practice the orthodox Cultivation method of the Witch Priests, passed down from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods?"

The Witch Priests of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods were also proficient in techniques like the Gu Technique, Lower Yin, Divination, and Corpse Nurturing. However, unlike the Witch Priests who came later, they did not stray onto deviant and evil paths, using their arts to harm others for personal gain.

This was because Witch Priests of that era held a high status and saw themselves as mouthpieces for Divine Spirits; they wouldn't, and disdained to, commit evil deeds. They mostly used their abilities to benefit the people and resist foreign invaders, thereby harvesting the Wish Power from the populace's worship to fuel their Cultivation!

It was only later, as the Witch Priests declined, that some with ill intentions embarked on the path of harming others for their own benefit. But even so, many Witch Cultivators still held true to their principles and adhered to the ancient methods! It seemed Ying Ji was one of them.

As expected, Ying Ji replied, "Yes! My family has passed down the Cultivation methods of the Ancient Witch Priests for generations! From the day the people of my Ying Clan step onto the path of Cultivation, we swear an oath to never treat lives as worthless, and never harm others for the sake of our own Cultivation!"

"Your ancestors were wise," Zhao Yuan remarked with a sigh.

Harming others for personal gain might speed up one's Cultivation, but it also made one susceptible to Qigong Deviation. Following the righteous path was slower, but its advantage was stability; Qigong Deviation rarely occurred.

At that moment, the effects of the Enchanting Talisman wore off.

Ying Ji's Divine Sense returned. She remembered what had just happened and was utterly shocked. "You were actually able to hypnotize me?"

One had to understand, Ying Ji was a Witch Cultivator with an extremely resolute will. Otherwise, it would be easy for accidents to happen when channeling spirits during Lower Yin rituals, even to the point of her body being taken over by another entity!

Yet Zhao Yuan had hypnotized her, despite her iron will!

If Zhao Yuan's power had been far greater than hers, it would have been understandable. But the level he displayed was only the Mid Stage of Marrow Cleansing—a stage weaker than her own—yet he had managed to hypnotize her. It was simply unbelievable!

Zhao Yuan smiled. "I have some small skill in the Hypnosis Technique." He then put away the Stone Blade and apologized, "I'm sorry. This was all my misunderstanding." He then shouted to Lu Qing outside the room, "Officer Lu, put your gun away and let Hao Li come up. I've figured it out. Ying Ji didn't raise the Teng Mo."

"I told you it was a misunderstanding! Officer, you believe me now, right?" Hao Li heaved a long sigh of relief and scampered eagerly up the stairs.

Ying Ji's brow was tightly furrowed. She stared at Zhao Yuan for a long moment before asking, "You really didn't raise the Teng Mo?"

Zhao Yuan shook his head. "I really didn't. If you don't believe me, you can go to City Second Hospital and ask the people in the emergency department for confirmation."

In the end, Ying Ji chose to believe Zhao Yuan. If he were the master of the Teng Mo, she would most likely be dead by now.

"I am also at fault for this misunderstanding. I apologize to you and the officer," Ying Ji said. Inwardly, she lamented, 'If the Ghost Spirit hadn't gone at such a coincidental time, or if it had just explained its purpose clearly when it went, maybe things wouldn't have escalated to this point.'

Seeing Zhao Yuan and Ying Ji make peace, Hao Li breathed a long sigh of relief.

They were both his good friends; he didn't want to see them continue to fight.

"It's just a shame about my Hundred Insects Gu..." Ying Ji sighed, her heart aching.

But just then, a chorus of insect chirps drifted in from outside the window.

Ying Ji froze in astonishment. She immediately strode to the window, and after leaning out to see the situation outside, she was both shocked and overjoyed. "My Hundred Insects Gu aren't dead?!"

Zhao Yuan said, "I didn't kill them. I just used some Ligusticum striatum Powder to get them 'drunk' and put them into a deep sleep."

"Huh?" Ying Ji was stunned again. "Ligusticum striatum has that effect on the Hundred Insects Gu?"

"Of course." Zhao Yuan nodded and asked in return, "What, you didn't know?"

'Like hell I knew that!'

Ying Ji stared at Zhao Yuan with wide eyes, as if looking at an alien.

'Where the hell did you pop out from? How do you know so much about Gu Technique that I don't? Between the two of us, who's the real Cultivator from the Witch and Priest School?'

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