Chapter 404: The Ghost Festival, Sacrificing to the Dead

The second day of the seventh lunar month.

Early that morning, Su Yi and Yuan Heng, the human form of the giant softshell turtle, left Heaven’s Origin Academy together.

Last night, Su Yi gave the Heavensphere Yao Emperor’s white bone seal to Ning Sihua. He told her that, should they encounter insurmountable danger, she could bring everyone in the Profound Amplification Sect deep into the Sea of Chaotic Spirits.

With the power of the bone seal, they could seek refuge within the ruins of the Immortals’ Sword House.

In truth, this wasn’t the only fail-safe Su Yi left behind.

One hundred miles from Heaven’s Origin Academy, on Jade Barrier Mountain, he placed a Five Elements Profound Amplification Formation and a Big Dipper Spirit-Gathering Formation. If they took refuge there, the sect would be safe even from an attacking Spirit Dao cultivator.

This was what they meant when they said “a crafty rabbit has three burrows.”

In addition, the white bone seal contained the Immortals’ Sword House’s ultimate Daoist canon, the Allspirit Sword Sutra.

Su Yi had already instructed Ning Sihua to view it as the Profound Amplification Sect’s inheritance. She could pass it on to members of the sect.

Of course, although they called the Profound Amplification Sect a sect, it was effectively just a gathering place for Su Yi’s friends and loved ones.

Wen Lingxue, Cha Jin, Ning Sihua, Huang Qianjun, and the Feng Siblings had long since received cultivation techniques from Su Yi. They naturally had no need for the Allspirit Sword Sutra.

Su Yi left the Allspirit Sword Sutra behind as a means of continuing the Immortals’ Sword House’s legacy. This was a way of living up to the Heavensphere Yao Emperor’s expectations.

……

Su Yi was going to the Great Xia, in truth, to meet his cultivation’s needs.

There was nothing for it. The Great Zhou, Great Wei, and Great Qin were mundane nations. Their cultivation resources might sustain his current cultivation for a while, albeit just barely.

But they couldn’t do it forever.

The Grain Avoidance Realm was only the beginning.

Su Yi estimated that with his incomparably firm foundations, without sufficient resources, his cultivation would stagnate here for a long time.

He naturally couldn’t tolerate that.

The Great Xia was the hegemon of the Azure Continent, and its cultivation factions flourished. It was even home to Spirit Dao cultivators.

This meant that the Great Xia’s cultivation resources were surely abundant beyond?compare. They were naturally enough to satisfy his needs.

When he thought about the Great Xia, numerous matters came to mind.

These included the Orchid Terrace Dharma Assembly, which was set to begin in just a few months, as well as Sumeru Immortal Island, which Hua Xinfeng said held secrets related to the origins of the Prohibition of Ancient Darkness.

There was even Hua Xinfeng’s clan, which Su Yi was quite curious about. After all, their family’s token was carved with the totem of the True Spirit divine bird, the dragon sparrow.

Of course, Su Yi wouldn’t forget Ge Qian.

As for Zhou Zhiqian, the prince who’d joined the Fulcrum of Heaven Sword Sect? Su Yi wasn’t at all concerned about him.

……

It was a long, long way from the Great Zhou to the Great Xia, and he’d need to pass through dozens of nations scattered throughout the Azure Continent, crossing countless mountains and rivers.

Su Yi was in no hurry.

Just as he had in the past, he preferred making the journey on foot. He walked through the wilderness and strolled amidst the red dust of the mundane world.

Along the way, he admired the mountains, waters, and all of creation.

He saw the heavens, the skies, and everything that lived between them.

Traveling was a form of cultivation.

Confucianists stressed the importance of traveling ten thousand miles, while Buddhist cultivators took measure of the world as part of their ascetic practice. Daoists tested their disciples by having them enter the world to temper themselves.

Even demonic cultivators emphasized comprehending the seven emotions and six sensory pleasures, the thieves of the heart, amidst the masses.

Everything was for the sake of cultivation and steadying the heart.

They said that “grasping mundane affairs is genuine knowledge, and sophistication in worldly affairs is true learning.”

The path of cultivation lay between entering and leaving the mundane world.

Thus, on the road that followed, when Su Yi felt the urge, he rode on his sword, controlling the wind as he surveyed the beauty of the mountains and rivers from on high.

Sometimes, he chose to travel on foot, passing through all manner of cities.

When he found one he liked, he’d spend several days there.

When irked, he’d leave, soaring a thousand miles away.

Yuan Heng accompanied him on his journey, attending to his needs. Whether they were roughing it in the wilderness or immersed in worldly prosperity, he stuck to Su Yi like glue, playing the role of a servant. He took all trivial matters upon himself.

Although they encountered the occasional dispute along the way, there was never any need for Su Yi to step in. With his cultivation, Yuan Heng resolved everything effortlessly.

Soon, more than ten days had passed.

Master and servant had already passed through numerous mundane nations and crossed countless mountains and rivers.

They were now within the Great Liang’s borders, in a stretch of mountains known as Floating Immortal Ridge, near a gushing river.

There was an extremely remote little village near the riverbank.

It was already dark out. The river flowed, and the mountains of Floating Immortal Ridge towered in the distance. Both were enveloped in the inky darkness of the night sky.

“Master, look over there! The nearby villagers are placing floating lamps onto the water.” Yuan Heng pointed into the distance.

Numerous lamps were already lit. Everyone in the village, regardless of age or sex, had gathered here. They lit their candles, one after another, placed them into floating lanterns of all different shapes, and placed them into the water.

The flickering lights flowed downstream. They were particularly eye-catching against the night sky.

“Are they offering sacrifices to the departed?” asked Su Yi.

“That’s right, Master,” said Yuan Heng. “It’s the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, the Zhongyuan Festival, or as the common folk call it, the ‘Ghost Festival.’ They say that this is the night when Yin qi is the most abundant. During the Ghost Festival, the apparitions scattered throughout the world go out haunting.?Thus, the common folk light floating lanterns, burn joss paper, and offer sacrifices in hopes of passing the night in safety.”

When he heard this, Su Yi understood. He was naturally well aware of the Zhongyuan Festival.

The common folk might call it the Ghost Festival, but cultivators knew it as the day when the Yin qi of heaven and earth was at its densest. The pure and impure shifted positions; pure energy sank and stagnated, while the impure rose to the top.

The Yin qi was denser than usual, that’s all. There was nothing worth concerning himself with.

Over on the distant riverbank, a gaunt elder cleared his throat and shouted, “Hurry, hurry! Everyone, return home. Tonight, no matter who you are, none of you are allowed to leave your homes! Even if there’s a disturbance outside, you are not to open your doors and go out. If you do, the ghosts will surely eat you!”

The villagers quickly dispersed.

The night was dark and deep, with no moon or stars. The village was remote and built amidst the wilderness, and they could hear the distant howls of beasts.

Each villager carried a paper lantern. The men led their wives and children, and all of them hurried home.

Suddenly, two lanterns started moving in Su Yi’s direction.

It was only after they drew closer that he saw their owners clearly: a boy of about twelve and a six or seven-year-old girl.

The boy was gaunt with a dark complexion and a hatchet in his waistband.

The girl had pigtails, and her face was thin and sallow.

They were obviously brother and sister. Both wore old, coarse cloth robes covered in patches.

When they saw Su Yi and Yuan Heng standing amidst the underbrush, both of them jumped and retreated several steps back.

The boy drew his hatchet and immediately stood protectively in front of his little steady. “Are you men? Or ghosts?”

“If we were ghosts, you two would already be dead.” Yuan Heng laughed and said, “Everyone in your village has already gone home. Where are you kids going?”

The young man was instantly on guard. “Why do you want to know?”

The little girl poked her head out from behind his back and examined Su Yi and Yuan Heng. She said timidly, “Big Brother, they’re not scary at all. They definitely aren’t ghosts.”

Her brother laughed. “You don’t understand. If there’s one thing ghosts are good at, it’s transforming. Sometimes, someone looks like a good person, but they’re really vicious and evil.”

Yuan Heng was just about to say something when Su Yi waved him over. “Step aside and let them pass.”

He then got out of their way. Yuan Heng was stunned, but he silently did the same.

When the young man saw this, he hesitated, then took his sister’s hand and passed them from the side.

“Come on, let’s follow them. Remember: don’t alert them.” Su Yi walked in the same direction the siblings had left in.

Yuan Heng was somewhat confused.?Don’t tell me he sensed something?

However, he asked no questions. He just suppressed his curiosity and followed.

The boy held his hatchet in one hand, while the other led his younger sister as they raced into the distance.

A little less than ten minutes later.

The youth and his little sister stopped before an overgrown grave.

The boy swung his hatched and deftly cleared the weeds. After straightening up, he took a scented candle, paper money, and a plate of sweet cakes from the bag at his waist.

He lit the scented candle, then presented the cakes as an offering and fell to his knees. “Mom, we’re here to see you.”

He then tugged on the girl beside him. “Little Sister, quick, kowtow for Mom.”

The girl had only just knelt when her eyes widened and she shrieked in terror, “Big Brother, a ghost—!”

The boy shot to his feet and saw a speck of eerie green flame swaying in the distant darkness. He could faintly discern an ethereal figure in white.

“Run!” The boy was so startled that his back broke out in cold sweats. He immediately seized his sister’s hand, turned, and fled.

However, before he got far, he came to a sudden stop.

Not far away, a creeping shadow grew like vines, ghostly and imposing and swathed in churning black smoke. It flung itself at the siblings.

The boy’s expression changed dramatically. He suddenly pulled his sister close, turned, and fled in a different direction.

But before he got far, an ethereal figure in white appeared there too, blocking their path.

This time, the boy saw her clearly. She was a lady ghost in white, with disheveled hair and eye sockets empty save for ghostly green flames. Her face was gruesomely pale and transparent.

Whoosh!

The lady ghost charged at them. She was unbelievably quick; the siblings had no time to dodge.

In the face of this imminent crisis, the boy gnashed his teeth and stood protectively in front of his younger sister. He bellowed, “Run, Little Sister! Hurry!”

As he spoke, his hands clutched his hatchet, which he swung in front of him.

Crack!

The hatchet burst apart, sending the boy flying backward.

The lady ghost didn’t even pause to look at him. She lunged straight at the little girl, her fiery eye sockets surging with sinister, greedy light.

“Help me, Big Brother!” The little girl collapsed, curled into a ball, and shrieked.

The boy’s eyes bulged, and he felt as if he’d taken a knife to the heart. Since their parents’ passing, his little sister was the only relative he had left. Seeing the ghost draw near her, his eyes went bloodshot, and he felt as if he were about to explode.

But he was already too late to save her.

Just as the lady ghost in white was about to reach the girl, a cold snort rang out.

“A paltry little ghost like you dares hurt people? You’re seeing death!”

A burst of golden light followed, cutting through the inky darkness. It was dazzlingly radiant.

Bang!

The lady ghost in white couldn’t dodge in time. She burst apart like paper mache, then dissipated into green smoke.

The boy and the little girl were both stunned.

The dazzling golden light remained. To them, it seemed as if a god had descended from the heavens and appeared before them.