Chapter 79: The Mysterious Dark Lord's Nether-Governing Stature

Time often waits for no one.

While Lu Yang was pondering, the darkness surrounding the yellow-clothed old man not far away had already spread to his side, carrying a strong corrosive power.

Lu Yang raised his head and looked at the opponent with interest.

“This is a Shaman-Ghost.”

The Shaman-Ghost Dao was a great sect of the ancient Demonic Path. At that time, every disciple of the Shaman-Ghost Dao would refine a Life-Bound Shaman-Ghost as the foundation for their future cultivation.

However, with the appearance of the Golden Core Sword Qi, the entire Shaman-Ghost Dao was exterminated. Without the control of cultivators, these Shaman-Ghosts began to roam inside the secret realm. Based on the strength of the cultivators in their lifetime, the levels of Shaman-Ghosts were also divided into White-Clothed, Yellow-Clothed, Black-Clothed, and the fiercest Red-Clothed Ghosts.

As for the living people inside the secret realm, their origins were also complicated.

Some of their ancestors were servants raised by the Shaman-Ghost Dao in the past, while others were disciples who decisively crippled their own cultivation when the Shaman-Ghost Dao met its doom.

Because inside the secret realm, cultivation was forbidden.

Since the Golden Core Sword Qi intended to destroy the inheritance of the Shaman-Ghost Dao, anyone who stepped into cultivation, even at the First Layer of Qi Refining, would be slain by the Sword Qi.

This was why Lu Yang, being an outsider and the target of the Sword Qi’s ‘chumming,’ wasn’t slain the moment he entered the secret realm. However, it wasn’t much different. After all, as long as the Sword Qi didn’t disperse, this avatar of his couldn’t leave the secret realm, which was no different from being dead.

And the ending of the Shaman-Ghost Dao was incredibly ironic.

Because only mortals survived and couldn’t cultivate, they instead became prey for the out-of-control Shaman-Ghosts, constantly captured and devoured.

Those who control ghosts are eventually devoured by ghosts.

“That being said, humans can always find a way out in desperate situations.”

Although they couldn’t step into cultivation, over a thousand years, generations of mortals in the secret realm disregarded life and death, finally finding a way to confront the Shaman-Ghosts.

That was ‘Controlling Ghosts to Serve Yama.’

Simply put, it involved using a secret method to offer oneself to a Shaman-Ghost. While being devoured by the Shaman-Ghost, one could also borrow the Shaman-Ghost’s power.

“The cultivator who created this system calls himself ‘Patriarch Nether Whisper,’ and the Nether Whisper Sect he established has now become the sole religious sect inside the secret realm. It is deeply rooted and even has a systematic method of controlling ghosts, determining different titles based on the grade of the ghost controlled.”

Controlling a White-Clothed Ghost is called a ‘Ghost Messenger.’

Controlling a Yellow-Clothed Ghost is called a ‘Rakshasa.’

Controlling a Black-Clothed Ghost is called an ‘Impermanence.’

As for the fiercest Red-Clothed Ghost, whoever can control one immediately becomes an Elder of the Nether Whisper Sect. Inside the secret realm, they are called a ‘World Walker of Yama.’

“…Quite a few tricks.”

Although almost all cultivators walking this path of ghost control wouldn’t live past a year or so, as long as they were alive, their strength was undeniable.

At their peak, they could rival the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.

And this Yellow-Clothed Ghost before him had strength at the level of the Middle Stage of Qi Refining.

But what truly interested Lu Yang was that he actually sensed a trace of secretive Aura related to ‘stature’ from this Yellow-Clothed Ghost.

“A bit like… a fragment of a Divine Ability?”

This feeling was like those superior divine abilities that composed a Great Divine Ability, only infinitely weaker in hierarchy, appearing incredibly faint.

Lu Yang reached out, instantly capturing the Yellow-Clothed Ghost in his hand and refining it in a moment.

“Sure enough, it’s related to stature, but hasn’t reached the Foundation Establishment level.”

“These Shaman-Ghosts roaming the Shaman-Ghost Secret Realm should all be related to a certain Great Divine Ability, and these Shaman-Ghosts are fragments of that Great Divine Ability…”

After pondering for a moment, Lu Yang took out the Myriad Spirits Banner.

Immediately after, the Yellow-Clothed Ghost was sent directly onto the banner by him, transformed into a Banner Spirit… Gradually, a strange look appeared on Lu Yang’s face.

“This is truly… an unexpected joy!”

The Shaman-Ghosts inside the secret realm concealed a trace of stature aura, suspected to be related to a Great Divine Ability. And his Myriad Spirits Banner could turn these Shaman-Ghosts to his own use.

Lu Yang was pleasantly surprised, his thoughts racing. Facts proved he could totally subdue and refine all the Shaman-Ghosts inside the secret realm one by one using the Myriad Spirits Banner. Thereby recombining these stature fragments. In the end, perhaps he could condense another Great Divine Ability capable of helping him break through to Foundation Establishment.

Thinking of this, Lu Yang’s heart burned with enthusiasm.

“The living beings here have suffered from the harm of Shaman-Ghosts for a long time. Being kind-hearted and always compassionate, I will reluctantly accept these Shaman-Ghosts and return peace to this land…”

Immediately after, Lu Yang looked at the unconscious youth again.

With his cultivation, Soul Searching a mortal naturally wouldn’t leave any sequelae. He even left behind a Martial Dao cultivation method as compensation.

“I truly am a great philanthropist…”

Just then, a voice suddenly came from the distant horizon.

Lu Yang looked up, only to see a dark cloud. Within the cloud stood a Daoist in black robes, followed by two child attendants and over ten beautiful maidservants.

At a glance, the child attendants held treasures to guard the left and right, while the beautiful maidservants either held fans and incense or played flutes and pipes. Behind them followed a long procession dressed in black and white, holding suonas, gongs, and drums, playing music and dancing as they walked. It was a dense crowd, looking extremely grand in pomp.

“Hm? Where is the Shaman-Ghost here?”

The gaze of the black-robed Daoist in the cloud fell upon Lu Yang, and he frowned: “Are you the commoner who reported the news? Where is the Ghost Messenger of this place?”

Lu Yang glanced at him upon hearing this and said calmly: “Dead.”

According to the memories obtained from Soul Searching the youth, that Ghost Messenger had long been finished off by the Yellow-Clothed Ghost, which was why he hid in the ruins to avoid the Shaman-Ghost’s search.

The black-robed Daoist in the cloud frowned even deeper upon hearing this. Then he suddenly beckoned, having the child attendant beside him take out a round mirror and shine it down on Lu Yang from the air. Seeing this, Lu Yang raised his eyebrows slightly. A sweep of his Spiritual Sense revealed the round mirror’s function, but he didn’t dodge or evade, allowing the mirror light to fall.

The next second, the black-robed Daoist sneered:

“I wondered who it was; turns out to be a wild cultivator from the outside world. You must have killed the Ghost Messenger and seized the Shaman-Ghost here. It seems this Seat cannot spare you today!”

“…Wild cultivator?”

Lu Yang felt it was incredibly absurd upon hearing this. A heterodox practitioner inside a secret realm actually turned around and called him a wild fox cultivator? It was simply overturning heaven and earth!

On the other side, the black-robed Daoist felt nothing wrong.

Although the Shaman-Ghost Secret Realm was hidden from the world, it wasn’t completely isolated. Therefore, over the years, some rogue cultivators would occasionally stray into the secret realm by chance.

The black-robed Daoist had seen quite a few.

However, rogue cultivators were weak and alone. Their cultivation was at most the Early Stage of Qi Refining, or the Middle Stage for the better ones. They appeared too frail before the Nether Whisper Sect.

Over time, the black-robed Daoist naturally looked down on so-called cultivators from the outside world.

Therefore, facing Lu Yang now, he was full of confidence and didn’t take him to heart at all, only wanting to capture him quickly and return to report the completion of his mission.

The next second, the black-robed Daoist focused his mind and channeled his Qi.

His originally ruddy complexion instantly turned pale, while his lips conversely became full and ruddy, increasingly vivid, revealing a weird Dao charm.

What he controlled was a Black-Clothed Ghost named ‘Name Call Death’ (Hū Míng Luò). As the name suggested, after locking onto a target, this Shaman-Ghost could divine the opponent’s name. Then, once the black-robed Daoist called it out, the person whose name was called would immediately have their soul hooked away by the Shaman-Ghost, dying breathlessly within a short while.

Relying on this Shaman-Ghost, he had always been successful in battles of arts.

This time was the same. He directly urged the Shaman-Ghost to begin divining the name of this wild cultivator before him. Almost simultaneously, Lu Yang also sensed it.

“Divining me?”

Lu Yang raised his eyebrows slightly: “Interesting. As fragments of a Great Divine Ability, these Shaman-Ghosts are tainted with a trace of stature aura and can actually touch upon karma…”

While speaking, he pinched a hand seal to obscure karma.

Although he asked himself that with his stature, it didn’t matter what the opponent calculated, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. There was no need to take risks.

“How could this be!?”

Seeing ‘Name Call Death’ actually achieve nothing, the black-robed Daoist instantly panicked, not understanding why his invincible Shaman-Ghost would encounter such an anomaly.

Seeing this, Lu Yang shook his head: “Truly lacking in challenge, far worse than Foundation Establishment.”

“But this is good too. Overcoming the strong as the weak was never my style anyway. I am still more adept at this kind of downward-compatible cross-realm killing…”

On the other side, the black-robed Daoist seemed to suddenly think of something. He reached into his bosom and actually took out a statue carved from red wax. Its appearance was majestic and solemn, with three long incense sticks standing on its crown. Without a second word, the black-robed Daoist lit them directly.

The next second, a green flame burned behind the statue’s head.

“Please, Patriarch, manifest!”

The black-robed Daoist bowed down. Instantly, rolling auspicious clouds drifted from the three long incense sticks atop the statue’s head, and the brows of the statue itself relaxed.

Immediately after, amidst bursts of celestial music, sweet dew fell from the sky, and golden lotuses surged from the ground. Countless phenomena set off the statue, making it appear increasingly sacred and majestic. Even its facial features became vivid. Clearly just a body of red wax, yet it seemed like a living person, looking at Lu Yang and booming:

“Where is the petty thief who dares to offend my sect tradition?”

“…”

Lu Yang didn’t answer but silently sized up the opponent, a strange look on his face. This was because in the eyes of those with and without stature, the appearance of the statue was vastly different.

Ordinary people looking at the statue could only see it as lifelike, resembling a living person.

However, in Lu Yang’s eyes, the statue was still that statue. What truly made it move was actually a streak light of Divine Ability appearing beneath its feet at this moment.

The spiritual light was profound, with seven seal characters floating within, constantly erupting with magnificent spiritual power.

Lu Yang instantly gained enlightenment. This was the Great Divine Ability he had previously guessed could only be condensed after gathering the thousands of Shaman-Ghosts in the secret realm!

Its name was— [The Mysterious Nether Lord – Commander of the Ghost Wardens]!

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