Martial Immortality: Starting with the Spirit Beast Scroll

"How did you identify a Profoundly Yin Body?"

Zhao Lin had no interest in becoming a Ghost Cultivator, but that didn't stop him from wanting to learn more. The Cultivation Realm was home to countless techniques and bizarre Secret Arts; the more one knew, the better their chances of survival.

"There's a Magic called the Heavenly Eye Skill. If you master it, you can see everyone's innate constitution. But this Cultivation Technique is very difficult to practice, and I didn't have that much time."

"Fortunately, a tome left by a Ghost Cultivator predecessor contained a Secret Technique called the Ghost Eye Skill. It's a slight modification of the Heavenly Eye Skill. As long as you reach the Minor Achievement Level, you can identify a Profoundly Yin Body."

Hu Hongxing explained briefly, then paused before continuing, "It took me three years to cultivate the Ghost Eye Skill to Minor Achievement. Then I spent another three years traveling between various provinces and prefectures to find someone born with a Profoundly Yin Body."

"I deliberately engineered a 'coincidental' meeting with this person. I slowly got closer, intentionally doing favors to win him over. In less than two years, we became friends despite our age gap, hahaha..."

Seeing the triumphant smile on Hu Hongxing's face, Zhao Lin felt a chill in his heart. He profoundly understood the meaning of 'the human heart is treacherous, the Dao heart is fragile.'

What happened next was a matter of course.

Hu Hongxing had visited the Yinfeng Realm before. He knew its Yin Qi was dense, making it suitable for Ghost Cultivators. It only had some mid-rank Demon Beasts, so if he could obtain a Profoundly Yin Body, he could cultivate here in peace.

Once all his plans were in place, Hu Hongxing used the pretext of a mission to lure his so-called friend to the Yinfeng Realm, where he launched a surprise attack and killed him...

"There's not much to say about what happened after that. I switched from being a Magic Cultivator to a Ghost Cultivator, and my cultivation level jumped directly to the Soul Refining Fourth Layer."

"However, most of the cultivators who take missions in the Yinfeng Realm are at the late-stage Qi Refining realm. I didn't dare go out, so I hid in this cave."

"I used the Array Plate and array flags left by my Ghost Cultivator predecessor to set up an Array. I was just waiting until I reached the next realm—the Refining Form Realm—and then I could see the light of day again!"

"I never expected you all to barge in. I suppose I was possessed by greed. Seeing that your cultivation levels weren't high and that you had walked right into my Array, I thought victory was assured. A pity..."

Hu Hongxing sighed, his tone filled with regret.

Zhao Lin snorted coldly. "You've been here for twenty years and only advanced from the Soul Refining Fourth Layer to the fifth?"

"Fellow Daoist, you may not know this, but Ghost Cultivators have long lifespans, and so their cultivation progress is extremely slow."

Hu Hongxing explained, "For a Ghost Cultivator, twenty years is like a mere three or four. It's already a rare feat for me to have advanced from the Soul Refining Fourth Layer to the fifth."

"The person with the Profoundly Yin Body you lured here—what was his name?"

The Yin Soul suddenly asked.

Hu Hongxing never expected the Yin Soul to be able to speak human words. He was stunned for a long moment, unable to reply.

Zhao Lin's voice was grim. "He asked you a question!"

A look of recollection appeared on Hu Hongxing's face. He said slowly, "That person's name was... Li Yuanyou."

"Did he look like this?"

Li Zhe extended three tentacles, releasing Spiritual Power to form the image of a cultivator.

The cultivator appeared to be in his thirties, clad in a green satin Daoist robe. He had narrow, upturned eyes, thick brows, a square forehead, a straight nose, and a proper mouth. He was handsome, with a gentle and kind demeanor.

"You..."

Hu Hongxing jumped up as if he'd seen a ghost, his face pale with shock. "You're Li Yuanyou?"

His gaze darted back and forth between the green-robed cultivator and the Yin Soul, his face a mask of disbelief. "How did you become... like this?"

The green-robed cultivator gritted his teeth. "Old fiend, it's all thanks to you!"

Even though Hu Hongxing knew the green-robed cultivator was just an illusion, he stared at the image and stammered, "You... you actually didn't die!"

Then, a look of realization dawned on his face, and he muttered to himself, "That's right. That was my first time using the Soul Devouring Art. I wasn't proficient and let a sliver of his divine soul escape. To think you actually survived."

'No wonder this Yin Soul could use the Water Arrow Skill,' Zhao Lin thought. 'No wonder I could see such humanity in it.'

The mystery was mostly solved, with only one question remaining: How did Li Yuanyou become a Yin Soul?

When he asked this question, Li Yuanyou fell silent for a moment before speaking. "That day, the old fiend murdered me and wouldn't even spare my soul. I used all my strength to escape with a sliver of my divine soul."

"I thought I was doomed, but thankfully, this is the Yinfeng Realm. The Yin Qi is abundant here, so my divine soul didn't easily dissipate. Over time, it actually grew stronger."

"Without a physical body, I didn't know what to do. I just wandered aimlessly, gradually forgetting who I was, where I came from..."

"Until one day, I encountered a thousand-year-old Yin Soul. It wanted to devour my soul."

"I wasn't as strong as that Yin Soul, but driven by a single-minded obsession in my heart, I fought it until we were both grievously wounded. In the end, we fused together."

"After that, my memories grew increasingly blurry. I didn't know if I was a ten-thousand-year-old Ancient Vine or a person."

At this point, Li Yuanyou gave a self-deprecating smile. "It wasn't until I met Fellow Daoist Zhao that some of my memories were reawakened."

With that, he pointed angrily at Hu Hongxing and cursed, "Old fiend, you've finally gotten what you deserve!"

Hu Hongxing, of course, didn't dare to retort. He simply shut his eyes and ignored him.

Zhao Lin offered some comfort. "Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Li. This Ghost Cultivator schemed and plotted, but it all came to nothing in the end. Once we get out, I'll hand him over to the sect immediately."

Wei Shi chimed in, "That's right. The sect definitely won't let him off."

In truth, the two of them could have executed Hu Hongxing on the spot, but the whole affair was so bizarre that keeping the Ghost Cultivator alive would make the evidence more conclusive.

"It's getting late. Let's get out of here!"

Zhao Lin estimated the time. It was perfect for heading to Central Yin Mountain, so he made the suggestion.

"Then... what about me?"

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