Chapter 1466: Summoning Ghosts
https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/4/patreon-media/p/post/153522958/f0c44bf3b25e441fbb5733d5052c761e/eyJ3Ijo2MjB9/1.png?token-hash=38kP0RmDZcbXdBLLI8swuazUMjZ_wey8Ib9G0He7U%3D&token-time=1787356800
Chapter 1464: Summoning Ghosts
“An… Ancestor?”
But that’s impossible… How could a figure of Ancestor level possibly appear in a place like this?
Zhōu jǐn stared at Mo Hua with terrified eyes, yet he couldn’t see Mo Hua’s face, only that Ghost-Face Mask.
When Zhōu jǐn first saw this Ghost-Face Mask, he only found it ugly and haphazard. Now, looking at it again, it seemed filled with an unrestrained spirit and profound artistic conception.
Zhōu jǐn grew increasingly horrified in his heart.
Meanwhile, the true body of Old Rich Zhou had been simply strangled by Mo Hua, its corpse falling to the ground as the illusionary power dissipated along with it.
Pangolin, Iron Mountain Tiger, and the others regained their senses.
Looking around, they saw that Old Rich Zhou, who had been so ferocious moments before, now lay on the ground like a “dead rat” with its bones removed, leaving them all somewhat stunned.
“Big Brother,” Iron Mountain Tiger couldn’t help but look at Mo Hua and ask, “This Old Rich Zhou…”
Mo Hua said calmly, “It’s nothing. It was already at the end of its rope after being besieged by you all. It simply exhausted its strength and fell dead.”
“I see,” Iron Mountain Tiger nodded, unsure whether to believe it or not.
Mo Hua then looked at Zhōu jǐn and said, “Brother Zhōu also contributed greatly. Otherwise, Pangolin might not have survived.”
Iron Mountain Tiger immediately cupped his hands toward Zhōu jǐn. “Thank you.”
Pangolin, more than anyone, understood the danger of the situation just now and knew he had almost fallen into the hands of that old corpse. Cold sweat broke out on his back as he also cupped his hands toward Zhōu jǐn.
“A great kindness need not be spoken of with thanks.”
The corner of Zhōu jǐn’s mouth twitched slightly as he forced out a bitter smile. “You flatter me.”
He wanted to clarify the matter, but under Mo Hua’s gaze, he didn’t dare say another word.
With this, the matter was temporarily concluded.
Mo Hua said to everyone, “Old Rich Zhou’s corpse has been dealt with. Everyone, rest and recuperate briefly. Afterward, quickly search through the valuables in this tomb, and then we can head back. This trip can be considered a complete success.”
They had successfully robbed the tomb, broken the Feng Shui Arrangement, and subdued the corpse demon of Old Rich Zhou, who had fed off the people’s wealth.
Not a single person had died, which was already the best possible outcome.
For Iron Mountain Tiger and the others, this had already been an extremely smooth and successful tomb-raiding operation.
Afterward, following Mo Hua’s instructions, they each sat in meditation to recuperate for a while. Then, they thoroughly searched Old Rich Zhou’s burial chamber, gathering all the valuable items, sorting them into categories, and placing them into storage bags.
After taking stock, they found that Old Rich Zhou’s burial goods, when added up, were likely worth over Ten Million Spirit Stones.
This was already a huge sum.
Iron Mountain Tiger and the others were all overjoyed, but considering one matter, they felt some hesitation.
Iron Mountain Tiger then asked Zhōu jǐn: “By rights, these are all the possessions of your Little Zhōu Village villagers.”
While Old Rich Zhou was alive, he oppressed his neighbors and exploited their wealth, amassing a fortune built on the blood and sweat of Little Zhōu Village’s people.
After his death, he set up a Feng Shui Arrangement to absorb the village’s fate and fortune into his own tomb.
Moreover, this trip had relied heavily on Zhōu jǐn’s help. Therefore, Iron Mountain Tiger felt somewhat guilty about taking the “wealth” from this tomb.
Zhōu jǐn shook his head. “You all have helped me greatly. Now that you’ve broken Old Rich Zhou’s tomb and slain his corpse, bringing justice to the villagers, these valuables should rightfully serve as your reward.”
Iron Mountain Tiger was a tomb raider and never considered himself a good person to begin with. As long as he observed some basic etiquette and saved face, that was enough.
Moreover, he truly lacked Spirit stones.
Houtu City was a damn expensive place. Previously, they had only managed to scrape by thanks to the support of their “Black-Faced Fiend” big brother. If they didn’t earn some Spirit stones soon, they really wouldn’t be able to put food on the table.
So Iron Mountain Tiger didn’t stand on ceremony. He nodded frankly and said, “Alright, we’ll accept it then.”
Of course, accepting it wasn’t that simple.
According to custom, all these valuables had to be inventoried, taken back to Manager Zhao, and handed over to him for unified fencing of stolen goods. Only after obtaining Spirit stones would they be distributed among everyone.
This way, the “loot” from tomb raiding would be converted into clean “Spirit stones.”
Otherwise, Iron Mountain Tiger and his crew would have no way to sell the things they dug up from the earth.
After searching the tomb chamber several more times, there was basically nothing left to find.
Iron Mountain Tiger then looked at Mo Hua and asked, “Big brother, we’ve searched everything.”
Mo Hua nodded, though he still felt somewhat uneasy, especially about the rat…
Mo Hua’s gaze sharpened as he released his Divine-Sense, using his See-Through Vision to scan the tomb chamber five or six times in a short span.
Iron Mountain Tiger and the others remained completely unaware.
But Zhou Jin inexplicably felt as if his entire body had sunk into a quagmire, overwhelmed by a suffocating sensation.
Yet, he couldn’t detect anything at all, not even the slightest abnormality in his Divine-Sense.
Zhou Jin glanced at Mo Hua, then immediately lowered his head, fear creeping into his heart.
Not long after, the suffocating feeling faded away.
Mo Hua then spoke up, “Deep inside Old Rich Zhou’s coffin, in the bottom right corner, there’s something.”
Everyone was taken aback. They had searched Old Rich Zhou’s coffin thoroughly earlier but found nothing.
Iron Mountain Tiger walked back to the coffin, reached inside, and felt around the bottom for a long time. Finally, he dug his fingers in and pulled out an object.
The object was stained with foul, bloody filth.
Iron Mountain Tiger wiped it clean with his own clothes, then wrapped it in a handkerchief and handed it to Mo Hua with both hands.
Mo Hua took it and saw that it was a small golden mouse.
It was about the size of a little finger, vividly lifelike, and exquisitely crafted, even somewhat cute in appearance.
But if one looked directly into its eyes, they would notice the greed and malice hidden within its gaze.
“Big brother, what is this thing?” Iron Mountain Tiger asked.
Mo Hua frowned slightly but didn’t answer. Instead, he asked Zhou Jin, “Do you recognize this?”
Zhou Jin examined the mouse and shook his head. “I… have never seen it before. I don’t know what it is.”
His gaze was honest, without any hint of concealment, indicating he truly didn’t know.
Mo Hua’s frown deepened as he stared at the golden mouse, lost in thought.
Seeing this, Iron Mountain Tiger said, “Big brother, if you like this little trinket, you can keep it. No need to record it in the ledger.”
Mo Hua hesitated slightly.
Skinny Cicada and Pangolin quickly chimed in, “Big brother, you should keep it. Consider it a favor to us.”
This little mouse, though finely crafted, didn’t seem particularly valuable, probably not worth much.
Besides, even if it were valuable, they would be more than happy for Mo Hua to take it.
Only by pleasing their big brother could they ensure they had food to eat.
If the big brother didn’t take it, how could they?
If they didn’t show some respect and offer gifts to the big brother, why would he bother bringing them along?
They had seen it before, even Manager Zhao, who had connections in both the underworld and legitimate circles in the Eastern District and was ruthless in his dealings, had to defer to their big brother, Black-Faced Fiend.
With such a big brother, if they didn’t take the chance to curry favor now, how could they ever survive in this line of work?
Unfortunately, they were simply too poor to offer anything worthy of pleasing their big brother.
Now that their big brother had taken a liking to this little trinket, how could they be so blind as to not offer it?
As for Zhōu jǐn, he naturally had nothing to say.
After careful consideration, Mo Hua stored the Little Golden Mouse in his storage bag and said, “I’ll speak to Manager Zhao and have him give you a larger share of Spirit stones.”
Upon hearing this, Iron Mountain Tiger and the others hurriedly replied:
“Big brother, you’re too kind.”
“Big brother, there’s no need for this.”
“Big brother, if you ever need anything in the future, just give the order.”
Iron Mountain Tiger and his two companions only regretted being so clumsy with words. They hadn’t studied enough, and even their flattery lacked variety, unable to express their admiration for Big Brother Black-Faced Fiend in more elegant language.
After storing the Little Golden Mouse, Mo Hua swept his Divine-Sense over the area once more. This time, he truly found nothing else, so he turned to Zhōu jǐn: “Have you finished what you needed to do?”
Zhōu jǐn wore a bitter expression.
Mo Hua asked, “This Old Rich Zhou caused the deaths of your closest kin. Don’t you want to do something more to avenge them?”
After a moment of thought, Zhōu jǐn walked up to Old Rich Zhou’s corpse, drew his bronze sword, and stabbed it.
With each stab, the corpse seemed to sizzle as if touched by a hot iron, emitting white smoke.
He stabbed a total of eighteen times, subjecting Old Rich Zhou’s corpse to further desecration before finally sheathing his bronze sword.
Mo Hua asked, “Is that enough?”
Zhōu jǐn sighed, “It’s enough. Death extinguishes life like a lamp. Though Old Rich Zhou was steeped in evil, I have now dug up his grave, looted his tomb, and mutilated his corpse. That should suffice as revenge. Even if I continue to defile it, my parents, my younger brother, and the entire village will not come back to life.”
Iron Mountain Tiger asked, “Doesn’t Old Rich Zhou have descendants?”
Zhōu jǐn smiled bitterly, “Old Rich Zhou’s descendants are deeply hidden, and all clues have been severed. I cannot find them. Even if I tried, it would only add to the bloodshed without solving anything. The living will die, but the dead will never return to life.”
“Heaven values life. Let this grudge end here.”
Zhōu jǐn’s face showed both pain and relief.
Seeing this, Mo Hua said nothing more.
“Let’s go,” Mo Hua said.
“Mm,” Zhōu jǐn nodded.
Afterward, the group left Old Rich Zhou’s corpse on the ground, took all the burial goods, and departed the tomb chamber.
Once they left the tomb chamber, they retraced their steps along the passageway and finally exited Old Rich Zhou’s tomb completely.
Mo Hua then set up a simple Formation to reseal the tomb.
As for the other five Rat Coffins—these were harmful objects containing Yin Evil and Rat Poison—Mo Hua also set up a Fire Formation and burned them to ashes.
Only after all this was done could things be considered settled.
Mo Hua and the others then boarded a carriage and traveled through the night back to Houtu City.
Upon arriving in Houtu City, they met Manager Zhao at a private residence.
Manager Zhao was both surprised and moved to see that all five who had Entered the Earth had returned completely unscathed, even the one named “Zhōu jǐn” had survived.
Not to mention the several storage bags full of “loot.”
Smooth sailing and abundant wealth.
Manager Zhao’s eyes crinkled into a smile.
This matter was not something to be done with great fanfare, so Manager Zhao personally hosted a banquet at his private residence to welcome everyone.
The wine and dishes were all ordered from his restaurant, each dish a feast for the senses with its color, aroma, and flavor.
After a joyful meal and drinks, everyone departed one by one.
On the way back to the city earlier, and even during the welcoming banquet, Zhōu jǐn had not spoken a word from start to finish, nor had he dared to glance at Mo Hua.
In contrast, Iron Mountain Tiger and the other two drank until their faces flushed red, brimming with excitement.
After parting ways, Mo Hua returned to the Little Luan Mountain Blessed Land.
As usual, he bathed and burned incense, cleansing himself of the Blood Qi and Corpse Qi from underground before going to see Little Senior Sister.
The senior sister and junior brother chatted idly for a while before Mo Hua returned to his room.
He replayed the entire sequence of events from the tomb robbery in his mind, then wrote the two characters “Zhōu jǐn” on a piece of paper, his gaze gradually deepening.
The following days passed uneventfully.
But three days later, on a dark and windy night.
In the desolate, forgotten village—the now-abandoned Little Zhou Village—a tall figure returned once more.
He first walked to a dilapidated house in the village, lingering there for a long time, then made his way to the village entrance, where he bowed and kowtowed toward the village.
Only then did he enter the opposite barren mountain, breaking through the simple Formation Mo Hua had left behind and stepping into the tomb passage.
The tomb passage was pitch black, not a finger visible, yet the figure moved with practiced ease, walking straight ahead until he finally reached the main burial chamber.
The main burial chamber remained exactly as it was.
Old Rich Zhou’s corpse still lay in its original place, a pitiful sight.
Amidst the darkness, the tall figure silently gazed at Old Rich Zhou’s body, his eyes cold and his lips sealed.
After a moment, he took out seven white candles, lit them, and placed them around Old Rich Zhou.
Then, using an unknown red ink, he drew imperial decree script around the corpse.
Next, he set up a simple offering altar, placing upon it some strange objects: a blood-soaked thread, a bridge made of white bones, and a pair of straw shoes covered with white paper.
After completing all this, the figure placed a bronze basin, cut his own wrist, and let the blood flow into the basin.
He then tossed a Spirit Contract bearing (Old Rich Zhou) Zhōu Youcai’s personal signature and fingerprint into the blood-filled basin.
A hoarse voice slowly rang out:
“While you were alive, you wielded power and enjoyed wealth and luxury.”
“As death approached, you thought, since you were about to die anyway, why not create some blessings for your descendants… So, you used feng shui to set a trap, killing an entire village.”
“In this way, you committed all the evil deeds, while your descendants could live in peace and prosperity.”
In the darkness, a hoarse and icy laugh echoed.
“Such good fortune doesn’t exist.”
Above the basin filled with blood, a blood-red flame ignited, illuminating the figure’s face:
It was Zhōu jǐn.
But at this moment, Zhōu jǐn’s gaze was fixated, filled with resentment, and his expression was clearly abnormal.
Under the red glow of the flames, his square face took on a sinister and eerie quality.
The Spirit Contract signed and fingerprinted by Zhōu Yǒucai burned in the blood basin, turning into black ash that dissolved into the blood.
Zhōu jǐn whispered to the blood basin, “I know that even though you’re dead, you still linger in some form, a remnant of your soul.”
“Your wishes remain unfulfilled, and you still care about your children, your grandchildren.”
“You want to know whether all those people you killed allowed your descendants to live in wealth and comfort.”
“That’s right… You committed such heinous acts, will your descendants receive blessings?”
“This matter, not only are you unclear, I am also unclear… Why don’t you go and see for yourself?”
“See for yourself how your blood-related descendants are truly faring.”
Under Zhōu jǐn’s nearly delirious words, the corpse of Old Rich Zhou, which had already died, actually trembled once more.
Its eyelids slowly opened, though now there were no pupils in its eyes, only the eerie whites.
Zhōu jǐn smiled, took out a brush, dipped it in blood, and drew a Curse-Incantation Script on Old Rich Zhou’s forehead.
As soon as the blood was drawn, it emitted a sinister glow.
Old Rich Zhou’s eyeballs bulged completely out.
And on Old Rich Zhou’s corpse, Zhōu jǐn had already stabbed eighteen sword wounds in advance.
Zhōu jǐn’s bronze sword was engraved with patterns; when it pierced Old Rich Zhou’s corpse, it was as if these bronze patterns were “branded” into the body.
Now, these eighteen patterns, along with the ritual blood characters, the Unorthodox Dao Sacrificial Incantation, and the netherworld offerings, all worked together.
After Old Rich Zhou was obliterated and shattered, the scattered Divine Sense Thought Power within the tomb was gathered once more, condensed within the dead Sea of Consciousness.
The Spirit Contract from his lifetime served as the catalyst for the Spirit Soul Summoning.
His corpse after death became the vessel for incubation.
Blood served as the medium for the nine netherworlds.
After undergoing various complex transformations and the method Zhōu jǐn had painstakingly researched and catalyzed, an extremely fierce and malevolent aura suddenly emerged from within Old Rich Zhou’s corpse.
An “Evil Ghost” was born.
The entire chamber grew several degrees heavier with Yin Qi.
Zhōu jǐn could see nothing, but from this chilling sensation, he knew his method had likely succeeded.
Old Rich Zhou’s “ghost” had been refined by him.
Zhōu jǐn took a deep breath, using the eighteen bronze patterns to scorch Old Rich Zhou’s corpse, forcing its “ghost” out of the body.
Old Rich Zhou struggled violently, his face ashen, like a malevolent spirit.
And the newly born ghost was indeed forced out of the body by Zhōu jǐn, beginning to wander in the air.
For a moment, the tomb chamber felt as if it had fallen into an ice cellar.
Yet, a cruel smile flickered across Zhōu jǐn’s face: “You are free now.”
“Nothing binds you anymore.”
“You can put on these dead man’s straw shoes, use the blood threads of your Zhou descendants as a guide, and the White Bone Bridge as a stepping stone to seek out your kin.”
“Go see for yourself how your relatives are truly faring now.”
“See if they are enjoying blessings as you wished.”
Zhōu jǐn could not see the ghost, but through the ritual, his words reached the ghost’s ears.
The “Old Rich Zhou” that had transformed into an Evil Ghost was indeed stirred in its thoughts; it began to miss its sons and grandsons.
It put on the white paper straw shoes from the offering table, followed the blood-colored threads, crossed the White Bone Bridge, and guided by some kind of Bloodline Karmic Causality, step by step, it walked out of the tomb to seek its filial sons and worthy grandsons.