Martial Immortality: Starting with the Spirit Beast Scroll

Li Yuanyou suddenly spoke, at a loss.

Zhao Lin was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to reply.

'Now that Li Yuanyou knows he was once human, how can he bear to stay here?'

'But looking like this, how could he possibly go outside?'

'Besides, Yin Souls can't withstand the yang energy of the outside world.'

Zhao Lin thought for a moment, then asked, "Fellow Daoist Li, do you have any family or a partner outside?"

Li Yuanyou froze at his words. After a long moment, he stammered, "I... I don't remember."

As he spoke, tears streamed down his face.

Zhao Lin shot a cold glance at Hu Hongxing. "You should know about Fellow Daoist Li's family situation, right?"

Hu Hongxing quickly replied, "As far as I know, Fellow Daoist Li's family is in Sanchuan County of this province. He comes from a minor cultivation family. That's all I know."

Zhao Lin considered this for a moment, then said to Li Yuanyou, "How about this: you wait here patiently, Fellow Daoist Li. Once I get out, I'll report this matter to the sect and then contact your family. How does that sound?"

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Zhao."

Li Yuanyou bowed, then bit his lip, his expression anxious. "Looking like this... will they still recognize me?"

Zhao Lin sighed inwardly but forced a smile. "Blood is thicker than water. That's true even for cultivators."

"And even if your family runs into some trouble, the sect won't just leave you stranded in this minor world."

Wei Shi added, "Fellow Daoist Li, please don't worry. There are countless daoist techniques. There's bound to be a way to get you out."

Li Yuanyou thanked them repeatedly, a hint of a smile finally appearing on his face.

Zhao Lin, however, was not optimistic. 'Getting a Yin Soul out of a minor world is easier said than done.'

Before leaving, Zhao Lin and Wei Shi gathered the Star Peony Grass from the ground.

Li Yuanyou wanted to help, but Zhao Lin refused. "Your injuries haven't healed yet. We can do it ourselves."

Hu Hongxing had transplanted this Star Peony Grass from elsewhere. Being holed up for twenty years, he needed something to pass the time.

There were one hundred sixty-three stalks of Star Peony Grass in total. At first, Wei Shi refused to take any, but after Zhao Lin's firm insistence, he accepted thirty stalks.

Next, Zhao Lin took out the items he had confiscated from Hu Hongxing and began his interrogation. "The Array Plate and array flag are for controlling the Array, right?"

"Correct. They are the tools for the Three Yin Illusionary Killing Array."

Hu Hongxing knew he had no chance of survival, so he decided to tell them everything to avoid more suffering.

"What's this bag embroidered with a skull?"

"That's a Profound Yin Bag. Only Ghost Cultivators can use it."

Zhao Lin took the Profound Yin Bag and shook it gently twice. The sound of pebbles grinding against each other came from inside.

"What's that noise?"

"Yin Evil Pearls, condensed from the Evil Qi of yin corpses."

"What's in the storage pouch?"

"Books and pills for Ghost Cultivators."

Zhao Lin nodded, having no intention of opening it. 'It's best not to touch a Ghost Cultivator's things. It'd be bad if they took root in my heart one day.'

After putting the items away, Zhao Lin suddenly chopped the back of Hu Hongxing's neck.

Hu Hongxing didn't even grunt before losing consciousness and collapsing to the ground.

This Ghost Cultivator was sinister and malicious. Although his Mana had been temporarily sealed, Zhao Lin still didn't feel at ease, so he simply knocked him out cold.

Zhao Lin grabbed Hu Hongxing and said to Li Yuanyou, "We're heading out now. Please stay here and rest easy, Fellow Daoist Li. I'm sure there will be news soon."

Wei Shi also cupped his fist. "Farewell."

"Wait..."

Li Yuanyou said anxiously, "Why don't I see you out! My Divine Sense has a great range. If we run into that person, I can give you a warning."

Zhao Lin knew "that person" Li Yuanyou mentioned was the Fat Cultivator, and an idea sparked in his mind.

'My own echolocation can exceed a hundred zhang, but I can't travel slowly the whole way. If I run into the Fat Cultivator, by the time I spot him, he'll have spotted me too.'

'Li Yuanyou's Divine Sense can reach a thousand zhang. That would be a huge help.'

"Alright, then thank you, Fellow Daoist Li."

Zhao Lin nodded in agreement.

"Of course! I'm counting on you to deliver the message, after all!"

Li Yuanyou was overjoyed. He dismissed his human illusion and reverted to his Yin Soul form.

Without further delay, the three of them made their way to the outermost entrance of the cave.

Zhao Lin and Wei Shi stood still while Li Yuanyou extended a few tentacles, probing the area outside for a moment before quickly floating back.

"How is it?"

Zhao Lin and Wei Shi asked.

"He's right on the mountain peak!"

Li Yuanyou raised a tentacle, pointing straight up.

"He actually found this place!"

Zhao Lin's expression darkened. The Fat Cultivator clearly had some tracking method he wasn't aware of.

Wei Shi gritted his teeth. "That rabid dog! Let's just fight him!"

"Not so fast."

Zhao Lin raised a hand to stop him. "He's at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer. It will be hard to win with brute force alone."

"Besides, the man is loaded. He uses expensive talismans like the Inspection Talisman and the Wind Riding Talisman without a second thought. Who knows what else he has?"

"Last time, we used every trick we had just to barely escape him. If we meet a second time, it'll be much harder to shake him off."

Wei Shi knew Zhao Lin was right. "Then what should we do?" he asked, worried.

Zhao Lin took out the Array Plate and array flag he'd gotten from the Ghost Cultivator. "Originally, I didn't have a solution either, but now..."

Wei Shi's eyes lit up as he instantly understood. "Brother Zhao, you want to use the Ghost Cultivator's Array to trap him?"

Zhao Lin gave a slight smile. "This Array couldn't even trap me, let alone a Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivator. But it can wear down his strength a little. In the end, we'll definitely still have to fight."

"That works too!"

Wei Shi glanced at the Array Plate. "Right, Brother Zhao, do you know how to use this thing?"

Zhao Lin nodded. "Arrays are complex, intricate, and all-encompassing. Setting one up from scratch would be difficult, of course. But this Array is already in place. It can be controlled with the Array Plate and the flag."

Li Yuanyou reminded them from the side, "To be safe, you should probably test it first."

Zhao Lin agreed. "You're right. Let's go back and test the Array."

Without dallying, the three of them hurried back to the innermost cave.

The Array Plate is the cornerstone of an Array, controlling its activation, deactivation, and adjustments. As long as one holds the Array Plate, they can enter and exit the Array at will without being affected.

The array flags are used to set up and control an Array. The Three Yin Illusionary Killing Array has thirty-six flags buried deep underground, and this main flag can control the entire Array.

The Three Yin Illusionary Killing Array is an Illusion Array. If the array's master were to enter it, anyone trapped inside would immediately realize it was all an illusion, greatly diminishing the Illusion Technique's power.

This was also why Hu Hongxing had remained outside casting spells while Zhao Lin was breaking the array, rather than rushing in himself.

Zhao Lin grasped the Array Plate and immersed his Divine Sense into it. He immediately gained a clear understanding of the entire Three Yin Illusionary Killing Array and the thirty-six flags buried underground.

The Array covered an area with a radius of twenty-five zhang and extended five zhang vertically above the ground.

Zhao Lin channeled his Divine Sense into the Array Plate and shouted softly, "Activate!"

The Array didn't move an inch.

Zhao Lin waited a moment, but when nothing happened, he frowned in thought.

'I've only studied Arrays for a little over a month, but I still know how to activate one. The instructing senior brother even had me practice it. Why isn't it working?'

'If there's a problem with the Array, why was it working fine before?'

Wei Shi and Li Yuanyou, afraid of disturbing him, said nothing.

Zhao Lin thought silently for a while, then suddenly clapped his hands together, a smile spreading across his face. "I remember now! After an Array is broken, it needs a period of time to recover. Given the scale of this Array, it'll probably take two hours."

Wei Shi scratched his head. "That must be it. Although I don't understand Arrays, I've heard of that principle before. It just slipped my mind."

Now that they knew the problem, the three of them waited quietly in the cave.

Taking advantage of the free time, Zhao Lin began to devise a strategy to deal with the Fat Cultivator, mentally rehearsing the entire process—a habit he had developed over a long time.

After thinking for a long time, he still felt his chances weren't great.

The key issue was that the Fat Cultivator was just too "rich." There was no way to know how many other tricks he had up his sleeve, making him far more dangerous than some rogue cultivator with just a few escape talismans.

He glanced at the Ghost Cultivator beside him, and an idea suddenly struck him. He took out the Profound Yin Bag.

He put on a pair of beast-hide gloves and slowly turned the bag upside down.

CLATTER CLATTER...

Three Yin Evil Pearls rolled out of the Profound Yin Bag.