Chapter 243 - Ghost Seal

“The Void Spirit Root that Meng Zifei spoke of is quite ordinary, barely sufficient for cultivation, just comparable to a Mortal Spirit Root.”

The Void Spirit Root was a new type of Spirit Root created by the Alliance Hierarch after the establishment of the Wandao Immortal Alliance, made up of an accumulation of spiritual power, a fake Spirit Root conjured up, requiring vast resources to maintain its operation.

It seems that Meng Zifei, being a “Loose Cultivator” not bound by the powers of the various factions, had joined the Wandao Immortal Alliance because of this Void Spirit Root.

However, the Wandao Immortal Alliance does not restrict freedom or force cultivators’ comings and goings; one can follow their heart in both joining and leaving.

It’s likely that he wanted to complete the task of this great trial and, after obtaining the corresponding resources, he would still be able to withdraw in time.

After all, from Fang Geyu’s description, there are numerous Loose Cultivators in the Wandao Immortal Alliance, which doesn’t make for a bad choice for him.

But Baili An couldn’t understand why Meng Zifei, who had always revered freedom and was unbound by all methods, cultivating the self-willed Dao, would be willing to take on a mortal with no talent as his disciple.

And go to great lengths for her, in search of a Spirit Root.

Meng Zifei was unaware of all the doubts in Baili An’s heart and continued speaking as usual, “Speaking of which, it’s quite coincidental.

Three days ago, when Xiaolan and I were touring the Immortal Mausoleums at the border city by night, we unexpectedly encountered a ghost calamity—this very young girl that you, Brother Baili, are holding.

“When I found her, I noticed that something had attached itself to her shadow, consuming almost half of her body into the shadow.

I casually saved her.

“But the young girl seems to have been traumatized by something, afraid of strangers.

Whenever I approached her, she would hurt herself, so I had no choice but to watch her from afar.

She wanted neither the clothes nor the food I gave her and kept her guard up against me as if I were a thief…” Meng Zifei said with a wry smile, touching his cheek, “Although I, Meng, don’t look as handsome as you, Brother Si Chen, I don’t think I look like some sort of fierce ghost or evil spirit.

To be so disliked by children is indeed embarrassing.”

Though Meng Zifei came from a Cultivator’ nobility in the Mortal World, steeped in aristocratic air, he lacked the arrogant pride of a noble’s son.

He was amiable and approachable to everyone, proper but not rigid, conversing with a certain wit and humor.

To be fair, Baili An didn’t find him annoying.

He chuckled and said, “Brother Meng is exaggerating.

This girl has previously encountered a ghost disaster, but it was I who saved her, hence her closer trust in me.

“Moreover, having faced one disaster after another recently, with a constant thread of death on her heels, she’s naturally distressed at such a young age.

I don’t think she’s just wary of Brother Meng; it seems she’s inexplicably afraid of all strangers.”

Meng Zifei frowned, “To suffer ghost calamities at such a young age, surely she isn’t just haunted by an ordinary fierce ghost.”

Baili An asked, “Young Master Meng, with your extensive knowledge, have you heard of the tales regarding the Ghost?”

“The Ghost?!” Meng Zifei exclaimed in shock, “You mean this young girl caught the Ghost’s attention?!”

Baili An turned over Ji San’s wrist to reveal the faint three-petaled flower marking.

Meng Zifei, once again, cried out involuntarily, his normally graceful demeanor faltering, sweat beading on his forehead, “This is!

The Sacrificial Chapter of the Fierce Beast!”

“The Fierce Ghost’s Sacrificial Chapter?”

Meng Zifei solemnly nodded, “The Ghost is a three-thousand-year-old fierce ghost, with a predilection for consuming humans.

The deeper the malice of a ghost, the greater its appetite.

“Normally, it would mark its chosen victims with the complete imprints of three orange apricot blossoms.

Those marked by it become its Ghost Blade, killing on its behalf to snatch fate and fortune.

“On the other hand, an incomplete mark is the Sacrificial Chapter of the Fierce Beast, implying a likening of its prey to livestock, branded with its own mark, ready for the taking whenever hunger strikes.”

As he spoke, Meng Zifei’s fearful gaze couldn’t help but reveal a hint of disgust and distaste, continuing, “There is a third kind of mark as well, the Ghost Marriage Seal, which is three blood-red apricot blossoms, typically struck at the same time on both a man and a woman in the city.

“Once a woman in the city bears this mark, it means the Ghost has set his sights.

It also serves as a declaration that, in seven days, a fierce ghost will deliver a bridal sedan and a fine horse.

The woman takes the sedan, the man rides the horse, both heading to the ghost’s bridal chamber.

Should the families resist, they’ll suffer terrible misfortune!”

Baili An, puzzled, asked, “Since it’s the Ghost lusting after the city’s daughters, why involve men?”

Meng Zifei let out a sigh, his horsetail whisk floating lightly in his arm as he gave a relaxed smile, “Because the Ghost wishes to play the groom and enjoy the thrills of the wedding night.

The problem is, he’s a fierce ghost without a corporeal form.

He needs to possess a man’s body to marry a mortal woman.”

Baili An’s gaze was gradually growing colder.

With a heavy sigh, Meng Zifei said, “Anyone singled out by the Ghost is doomed; after the consummation of the marriage on the wedding night, the possessed man will strangle the woman to death.

The man’s body will then be discarded, left to be devoured by lesser ghosts.”

The disdain in his eyes deepened as he couldn’t help but shake his head, “This Ghost has got to be the most brutal and vile fierce ghost I’ve encountered since I began upholding the Dao.”

Under the cold, frost-like moonlight, Baili An’s clean countenance was cast in light, his demeanor pure, his gaze tranquil as he calmly asked, “A three-thousand-year-old fierce ghost, does Young Master Meng know his current level of cultivation?”

He asked casually, and Meng Zifei answered without guard, “Fierce ghosts’ paths of cultivation are not like those of humans; a three-thousand-year-old fierce ghost is unlikely to pass through tribulation, but this particular Ghost is uncertain because, on the day of his tragic death, he was on the verge of undergoing tribulation.

These three thousand years as a ghost, he might have already passed the Ghost’s Calamity of Tribulation.”

Saying this, Meng Zifei sighed once more, lifting his head to glance at the city that never sleeps, his eyes filled with regret and loss.

“I don’t understand, in such a prosperous and sleepless Immortal City that should be the cleanest holy land of the mortal realm, how can such ghostly misdeeds run rampant?

And yet, the Empress turns a blind eye?”

The wind brought snowfall, fluffy snowflakes fluttering down.

Underneath the night’s white snow, Baili An’s pallid face was shaded by the thin dusting, his black eyes indifferent and calm.

He suddenly asked, “Brother Meng, have you ever seen the sea?”

Meng Zifei was taken aback, then adopted an earnest attitude ready to learn, “I would like to hear more.”

“In the sea, there’s a kind of giant clam of great size with a shell so hard it can withstand the bites of alligators, sharks, and other vicious creatures.

Because of this, many weak fish and shrimp take refuge within the clam’s shell for survival.

“This giant clam, being so vast, contains plentiful seaweed sufficient to sustain fish and shrimp.

Drawn by the abundance, fish and shrimp swarm in but, as their numbers grow, the available food dwindles, leading to conflict and even deadly skirmishes among them.”

Meng Zifei remained silent for a long time, casting Baili An a deep look, seemingly surprised that such mild-mannered youth would express such a view.

Baili An’s features were made sharper by the winter snow, his voice growing colder still: “The giant clam rests in the sea and does not invite the fish and shrimp to dwell within it.

To the clam, these fish and shrimp amount to uninvited guests, feeding on its internal wealth of seaweed and fattening themselves.

“For the clam, though it doesn’t drive the fish and shrimp away, it also does not have an obligation to protect them.

Every creature has its own rules for living.

“The fish and shrimp farm themselves within the comfort of the clam’s shell, unaware of dangers from outside, but even the smallest fish and shrimp have sharp teeth and pincers, and they engage in mutual slaughter within the clam, leaving carnage all around.

“So, filth and corruption arise from the decaying remains, and over the years, unclean things grow and accumulate within the pristine clamshell.

Born from cause and effect, these unclean things, now with desires, turn to consume the fish and shrimp they were born from.”