Chapter 101 - Yin Ghost Breakthrough

Ji Yuan naturally didn’t have any women’s clothes—he wasn’t like Old Wu the boatman, who had that odd habit of collecting women’s garments.The black robe the female corpse originally wore was simply too filthy, so in the end Ji Yuan just let her wear one of his own clothes, covering up her impressive body.

Once the female corpse left, Ji Yuan collapsed from exhaustion.

He’d kept up his output for twelve whole hours—that is, twenty-four hours straight.

Even an iron body couldn’t endure that.

Thankfully, all the effort was worth it.

He didn’t even need to speak; as long as he thought it, the female corpse could execute his will completely... Calling her "female corpse" over and over always felt strange—she needed a proper name.

Ji Yuan didn’t have much inspiration; after a brief moment of thought, he recalled a name he’d seen once in a book.

Tu Yue.

Since that’s the case, she’ll be called Tu Yue.

So Ji Yuan reminded her mentally again: "After you finish feeding the pigs, remember to clean up the chicken cage in the back yard too."

With the Red-crowned Chickens dealt with and the Reed Chickens not arrived yet, might as well take this chance to get the chicken cage cleaned up.

"Oh, also, don’t forget to feed the fish. There’s Broken Spirit in the corner—crush up two pieces and mix in some grass, that’ll do. Not too much, just two fragments. Spirit Fish are easy to raise. Once that’s done, tidy up the house."

After giving all his instructions, Ji Yuan took out half a tael of Blood Essence and ate it.

He wasn’t injured, but his meridians hurt a lot—some Blood Essence for a tonic wouldn’t go amiss.

Soon enough, Ji Yuan drifted off into a groggy sleep.

At the same time.

Huaiyin Square, House No. 13, Jia Lane.

Du Wanyi, who had recovered from her injuries thanks to a Qi Blood Pill, arrived here; but when she saw Yao Jingfeng, she couldn’t help feeling a little shocked.

In just these few days, Yao Jingfeng looked as if he’d aged thirty or forty years.

He’d only been in his early thirties, right in the prime of life; now, though, his temples were streaked with white, even his lips had lost much of their color.

But at least he was up and about now, able to move freely.

"Big Brother..."

Du Wanyi looked at his appearance, opened her mouth, not really knowing what to say.

There was just this feeling that... life is hard.

"I’m fine. Just got a bit hurt, that’s all."

Yao Jingfeng had lost that lively energy from before; now, every word seemed heavy and weary.

"That’s good, that’s good."

Du Wanyi sat down beside him as she spoke.

Yao Jingfeng poured her a cup of tea, and took the chance to ask, "Fourth Brother—how is he? When I got hurt I was in no state to check on him."

"He’s fine."

After she replied, the two were silent for a long while.

After a good while, Yao Jingfeng finally sighed: "Turns out, the strongest among the four of us is the youngest, the Fourth."

"He’s stronger than Luo... Luo Tian?"

Du Wanyi asked in surprise.

Back during the magical combat, she’d been barely able to protect herself, let alone pay attention to anyone else. That last explosion from Luo Tian—she’d only escaped by sheer luck, and afterwards fell unconscious.

"Stronger!"

Yao Jingfeng affirmed: "When he killed that ninth-layer Qi Cultivator, he didn’t use any arrays, and that flying boat of his... you didn’t see it at first."

"What about his flying boat?"

Du Wanyi hadn’t really noticed. Whether when they’d set out, or on the way back, its speed seemed nothing special.

"It’s extremely fast! When he rescued me at the beginning, that tenth-layer Demon Cultivator was chasing us on his own flying boat, but Fourth Brother shook him off with ease. The speed of that thing..."

Yao Jingfeng recalled a moment before continuing: "I’d wager even many top-grade magical artifacts couldn’t match that speed."

"What?"

Du Wanyi grew even more startled.

"Fourth Brother’s already at the eighth layer of Qi Cultivation, there’s no doubt about that. Give him some time, and he’ll probably be able to face even the peak of Qi Refining. He... really is strong."

Yao Jingfeng thought for a while, and could only use this word to describe him.

"Indeed."

Du Wanyi recalled the time she watched Ji Yuan in battle.

"I’m telling you all this today—remember to keep it secret. Whatever concerns Fourth Brother, none of us can mention it to anyone."

"Of course. Fourth is the cautious one; we... aren’t as careful as he is."

Du Wanyi had to admit that much.

"So after this... what do you plan to do?"

"After this? Next sect selection is just two years away. I’m planning to stay home and cultivate for these two years, go nowhere. Wait until I’ve joined the Water Dragon Sect, then decide the rest. What about you, Big Brother?"

Yao Jingfeng sighed: "With my health like this, where can I go? I can only do the same."

When they talked about it, both felt a little down.

Just a few days ago, the four of them had been full of youthful spirit—and now, only days later, each had to go hide away like nervous turtles.

"I’ll go let Fourth Brother know too, tell him to be extra careful."

Du Wanyi said, standing up.

"Alright."

Yao Jingfeng rose to see her off. When Du Wanyi got to the door, he turned back inside.

But just then, Du Wanyi seemed to remember something, turned and asked, "Did you send those Spirit Stones to Luo Tian? If not, I can take them when I go."

Yao Jingfeng paused for just a moment, but quickly regained composure.

"I sent them. Yesterday—I delivered them."

"Good."

After leaving, Du Wanyi set her flying boat aloft, but didn’t hurry for Zengtou City.

Sitting in her flying boat, her face was shadowed.

Of the four of them, she’d known Yao Jingfeng the longest, understood him best.

She knew exactly what kind of person he was.

So that last question, she’d asked deliberately. No matter how subtle, she’d caught the oddness in Yao Jingfeng’s reaction—she just didn’t speak of it.

Still, the answer was hard to accept.

"Sigh—"

After sitting for a long time, Du Wanyi finally went to Luo Tian’s home, found his old mother.

She didn’t reveal that Luo Tian had died; instead, she gently probed, asking if Yao Jingfeng had come by.

No.

Ji Yuan woke up groggy again.

He didn’t know how long he’d slept—just that it was pitch black outside when he woke, and Tu Yue was crouched beside him, staring in silence.

Like a well-behaved kitten, or maybe... a puppet.

Just waking up, Ji Yuan was a bit startled.

After he calmed down a bit, let his mind clear, he remembered the situation now.

Having a corpse puppet meant he didn’t need to exhaust himself running around anymore.

"How long has it been...?"

Before he’d finished speaking, Ji Yuan realized how foolish that was—talking to a corpse puppet.

A body with no sense of self couldn’t possibly know how long has passed.

But Ji Yuan wasn’t in any rush; it didn’t matter how long had gone by. He got up, took a moment to recover, cast several spells on himself, and finally cleared his mind.

"Hoo—"

Ji Yuan first examined his own condition—no injuries, and his meridians truly felt much tougher.

Most obvious was that Spiritual Qi now moved faster; next time he fought, he’d be able to cast spells more quickly.

When dawn broke the next day, Ji Yuan went out early; only then did he learn from Lin Hu that three days had passed.

Not bad—not long at all.

These days Lin Hu was preparing to go back to sea again. There was no helping it—the burden of the whole family of three fell on his shoulders now.

Luckily, Wu Qin’s childbirth had gone smoothly, plus the extra Spirit Pig meat Ji Yuan had given—with Lin Hu passing on all of it to Wu Qin, never eating a bite himself.

That way, she had fully recovered.

If she didn’t have to stay home with their daughter, she’d have gone out on the boat with Lin Hu herself.

Soon after, as Ji Yuan was about to head to Zengtou City, Du Wanyi arrived before he set out.

She didn’t come inside—the two exchanged a few words up in midair.

Du Wanyi said that for the next two years, she and Yao Jingfeng would stay home and cultivate; Ji Yuan nodded, saying he planned the same.

That was for the best—everyone could stay safe, and occasionally share news when needed.

Seeing Du Wanyi off, Ji Yuan left Tu Yue at home to handle chores like feeding fish and pigs, while he went alone to Zengtou City.

He first bought Tu Yue a few sets of women’s clothes, then went to the Chicken Cultivator’s shop to buy two Reed Chickens.

He would’ve bought more, but the Chicken Cultivator’s abilities were limited—could only provide those two.

Ji Yuan couldn’t be bothered to seek elsewhere; he simply returned home.

This time, once home, he didn’t search for any Foundation Establishment herbs, just spent his days cultivating.

With Tu Yue’s help, he could devote even more time to training.

Two weeks later, both Yin Ghosts finally finished refining the Yin Pill—each broke through to late-stage Qi Refining, beginning to nourish the Yin Ghost Banner, and Ji Yuan’s power grew yet again.

Just a month later, New Year’s arrived.

Compared to last year, Ji Yuan felt nothing this year. Even though the market was lively as ever, Ji Yuan sat alone at the door, watching distant fireworks burst above the clouds, while laughter rang on both sides of his neighbors.

This first day of the new year, Ji Yuan didn’t go pay New Year’s visits.

Since Elder Xu returned to the Water Dragon Sect last time, he hadn’t come by.

And the Lu Wan family... only she remained.

Luo Tong’s New Year’s gift had been sent earlier during autumn.

On the fifth day of the new year, with the help of the Enlightenment Room, Ji Yuan succeeded in making his first middle-grade Spirit Revitalizing Pill, becoming a first-tier middle-grade Alchemist.

In a flash, half a year passed.

That day—

Ji Yuan picked the first fresh peach of the year, washed and tasted it. Maybe due to all the Spirit Egg Shells he’d buried under this tree, the peaches weren’t sour this year.

And the yield increased too; together, the two peach trees bore nearly a hundred fruits.

Just as Ji Yuan was about to gather some to share with Wen Lin’s and Lin Hu’s families, he suddenly felt footsteps at the door.

Someone was coming—a stranger.

Their aura wasn’t strong; only at the fourth layer of Qi Cultivation.

This person stopped at Ji Yuan’s door—obviously here to see him. Ji Yuan told Tu Yue to hide, then went up and opened the door.

The skinny man outside had just raised his right hand when the door opened itself, startling him.

He was about to scowl, but sensing Ji Yuan’s aura, he switched to a sycophantic smile.

"Senior, greetings, Senior."

Facing the sycophantic, grinning face of the skinny man, Ji Yuan frowned and asked, "Who are you? What do you want?"

The skinny man said "Oh," and hurriedly took out a shell from the lining at his chest, smiling: "Someone asked me to deliver this to you, Senior."