Chapter 148: Half-Grown Ghost, Ancient Temple

Li Yanchu had entered this black-and-white realm and the yin-yang world with his physical body.

At this moment, his blood and qi surged violently. They broke past their former restraints and became overwhelmingly vigorous once more, so much so that it felt intimidating to behold.

With a single slash, he had obliterated all those phantoms, leaving the area completely still. The oppressive atmosphere dissipated somewhat as well.

For a long while, there was no further movement.

Swish... swish...

Only the sound of flowing water echoed in his ears.

At this time, Li Yanchu slowly sheathed the Jiaoslayer, then strode toward a wooden bridge in the distance, the only visible structure in this monochrome world.

The water around him was icy cold, piercing to the bone. After walking just a few dozen steps, he could already feel his blood and qi beginning to subside slightly. So he deliberately suppressed his aura, calming his breath and spirit.

There were mental techniques within Daoist cultivation to still the mind usually used to assist in meditation, but now he used it to restrain his overwhelming blood and qi. Otherwise, his body’s pure yang qi would be too strong, and no ordinary evil spirit would dare approach.

What he sought was the demonic remnant of Lady Qingyi, but how to locate it, Xu Lingsu hadn’t explained. Perhaps there were deeper secrets she hadn’t revealed.

However, Li Yanchu didn’t mind. Instead, he planned to lure out the lurking spirits and demons of this world, to see if he could follow the trail and track down the demonic residue directly. The wooden bridge had looked close, but in reality, it was much farther away.

Just then, Li Yanchu tapped his toe lightly, and a blast of internal force exploded beneath his foot. He skimmed across the water’s surface with ease.

Somewhat like the famed “Water Skimming” or “Swallow Crossing the River” styles of

qinggong

.

But with his current martial level, he didn’t need to train such techniques, he could already perform them instinctively and at a far faster speed.

His internal arts, the Six Yang Force and Qi Shield, were both of top-tier caliber. His Divine Astral Hands had refined his body to a near-unimaginable level.

More importantly, he also possessed orthodox Daoist spirit energy that flowed continuously, like a wellspring. Not only did he have explosive power, his endurance and spiritual reservoir were abundant and solid. He darted across the water like it was solid ground, leaving behind a trail of afterimages.

Before long, he arrived at the dilapidated wooden bridge. His body landed with such lightness, it was as if he had no weight at all. His movement technique had now reached the level of treading on snow without leaving a trace[1], just like the legendary masters of the

jianghu

.

Though the bridge was old and decaying, with many rotten planks, when this strong, youthful man stepped onto it, it didn’t so much as creak. There was not even a faint groan.

Then, from the corner of his eye, Li Yanchu suddenly noticed that a trail of footprints had appeared on the water’s surface beside him, as if someone had just come running across. The footprints were small and clearly not made by an adult, but more like a child’s.

Yet the water’s surface was completely empty. Still, those prints were steadily drawing closer and closer. And with them, the air grew colder and colder.

Being in this colorless, black-and-white world already gave a sense of surreal oppression. Now, surrounded by cold waters and with a child’s footprints suddenly appearing from nowhere, it all added a deeply unsettling air of uncanniness.

“A half-grown ghost, huh?” Li Yanchu raised an eyebrow.

As the saying went,

Nothing's more vicious than a red-dressed female ghost, and nothing more sinister than a half-grown ghost.

Children’s bodies weren’t fully developed, and their souls were weak; even in death, it was rare for one to become a true malevolent spirit. The odds were much lower.

But once a half-grown ghost did emerge, it was among the most evil and dangerous, exuding overwhelming yin qi. They were incredibly difficult to deal with. Even seasoned Daoist exorcists often avoid provoking such ghosts, because if mishandled, one could end up cursed at best or dead at worst.

As the string of wet footprints drew closer to Li Yanchu, they suddenly stopped, as though an invisible half-grown child stood there and silently stared at him.

The air turned bone-chillingly cold. But Li Yanchu was no ordinary Daoist disciple, nor just a typical demon-slaying cultivator. His gaze was utterly fearless.

To him, this so-called “half-grown ghost”, a terrifying entity in the eyes of most exorcists, meant nothing.

“What specter or wraith dares meet my eyes directly!?” Li Yanchu shouted coldly.

His gaze pulsed with the Five-Lightning Pure Yang, radiating righteous might that could not be looked upon directly. The string of footprints suddenly staggered backward a few steps.

“Aaaahhh!” a shrill ghostly wail echoed in his ears. Clearly, it was in great pain.

“You’ll pay the price for that!” a childlike yet hoarse voice growled with venomous hatred.

Invisible spikes of malice suddenly shot toward Li Yanchu’s mind, trying to stab into his sea of consciousness.

But just then, the Daoist talismanic armor on his body reemerged. Then, a phantom image flickered around him and easily blocked the ghost’s mental assault.

At this time, Li Yanchu reached out with his fingers curved like hooks, and from his palm burst an intense force of qi.

Divine Astral Hand, Crane Control Hand and Dragonbind Hand!

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

“Come out of there!”

A powerful suction surged from his palm, like a dragon drawing water.

And in the next moment, he forcibly ripped a half-grown ghostly child from the void and gripped it tightly in his palm. It was a half-grown child ghost, and its entire body was densely inscribed with greenish-blue talismanic markings. Its face was deathly pale, its cheeks were stained bright red, and its lips were a blood-like deep crimson.

Its eyes glowed with vengeful malice and looked twisted and sinister, radiating a heavy malevolent qi.

Boom!

Li Yanchu sent a light surge of power through his palm, and the scalding force of a martial artist's qi and blood surged outward. The half-grown ghost exploded on the spot and was reduced to ashes.

“If that's the best you can do, don’t even bother fighting and embarrassing yourself!” Li Yanchu sneered into the void.

This child ghost was certainly unnerving, but his current strength had greatly surpassed the past. With the Daoist talismanic armor’s blessing, his qi and blood now carried a Lightning-Fire Pure Yang aura, which was incredibly effective against evil and demonic beings. It was simply brutally overpowering.

There was still no response from the world around him. But Li Yanchu knew that the demonic remnant of Lady Qingyi could definitely hear or sense his words. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have conjured up all those wicked spirits, rogue cultivators, and ghostly illusions he'd slain in the past to try and trap him the moment he entered.

Whether it was due to the mockery in his tone, or his undeniable strength, the black-and-white world seemed to hesitate.

Then, Li Yanchu followed the wooden bridge and soon reached an open area. All around were piles of bleached bones and mounded graves. Some of the mounds even had tattered black flags stabbed into them.

It was laid out exactly like a mass grave, and it was steeped in heavy yin qi. Flickering ghostly flames floated atop the mounds, looking ghastly and menacing.

Yet, as Li Yanchu passed through, none of them moved. No skeletons stirred, no corpses clawed their way from the graves, and no vengeful spirits came howling from the banners. Despite the scene resembling a hell on earth full of latent horrors, nothing was triggered, and Li Yanchu passed through the mass graveyard without incident.

After crossing it, his view suddenly widened, and he saw a majestic temple rising before him. It stood abruptly, perched atop a mountain peak.

“Is that the Lady Qingyi Temple?” Li Yanchu frowned, feeling uncertain.

The layout looked very similar to the Lady Qingyi temple he knew, but this one was much grander. It clearly wasn’t meant for ordinary worshippers.

Everything about it was scaled up, and it was nearly twice as large. But as he stepped closer, he saw that the walls were weathered and crumbling, and much of the surface was flaking away. And across the structure crept twisted, hideous dead vines.

1. 踏雪无痕 signifies moving so lightly and swiftly that no trace is left behind, coming and going without a shadow, without a trace. ☜