The massive golden toad shivered after swallowing the Dragon Fat, a look of deep satisfaction spreading across its face. Clearly, it was in an excellent mood.
It widened both eyes, fixing its gaze on Jing Qian as it said once more:
"Your Dragon Fat has a fine taste, bloodline pure, freshness unmatched. It's been ages since I've enjoyed something this exquisite."
"No need for you to set up a stall. However much Dragon Fat you have, I'll take it all at a price that won't leave you shortchanged."
Those bulbous eyes blinked eagerly, full of expectation.
Jing Qian curled his lips but chose to swallow his pride and accept the toad's strong-arm buying.
Still, the price could not be left vague.
On his last visit to the Furnace Hall, he had quietly scouted the market, gathering as much intelligence on goods and prices as he could.
For these twenty jars of Dragon Fat, he already had a firm figure in mind.
And since the old toad before him was at least of the Fourth Rank, the strongest creature Jing Qian had ever seen with his own eyes, he figured such a being certainly wasn't hurting for wealth.
So he spoke plainly:
"Since you've spoken, Lord Toad, I still have nineteen jars of Dragon Fat. I'll sell them all to you.
I planned to exchange them for a high-grade Fate Fire to use in refining a Spiritual Construct. For you, that should be nothing difficult."
As he finished, Jing Qian's eyes locked on the flames burning beneath the toad's belly, his meaning clear without words.
The golden toad glanced at him and replied:
"You brat, you've got a greedy streak, eyeing my Toad's Purifying Fire? Hmph!"
It smacked its mouth as though savoring the lingering flavor of Dragon Fat.
Such treasures were indeed rare. Miss this chance, and who knew how long it would be before another came?
Besides, all the other Furnace Spirits were sly as foxes; given such spoils, they would surely keep them for themselves rather than share, no matter his status as the guardian of the Furnace Hall.
So, expensive or not, what did it matter? He hardly dealt in low-grade Fate Fires, and he would never demean himself by asking another to make change.
The toad flicked out its tongue, scooping from the flames beneath it a strange, radiant fire.
This fire was golden-red, shimmering with five-colored glimmers, dazzling and otherworldly.
Jing Qian had handled many kinds of Fate Fires before, but never had he seen one so beautiful, so pure, so suffused with divine power.
The flame flowed like water, streaming straight into his body.
In an instant, searing heat surged through his chest, overflowing with boundless force.
His short-legged chinchilla form swelled tenfold, golden light blazing all over him like a blazing golden beast.
For a fleeting moment, he felt as though he truly stood as an equal to the golden toad: a mighty Fourth-Rank, Star-Seizer Power.
The next breath, the fire sank into his Void Furnace, bound to it through breath and resonance.
The power of his Insight of the World flared, parsing the flame's true nature:
Toad's Purifying Fire
Rank: Fourth Grade
Origin: Upper Constellation · Toad's Soul-Nourishing Furnace
The value of such a Fourth-Grade Fate Fire could scarcely be reckoned in wealth.
Treasures of this caliber rarely circulated. Whoever obtained one would keep it for themselves, to strengthen their foundation.
Exchanging twenty jars of Dragon Fat for a few Fifth-Grade Fate Fires would already have been an incredible stroke of fortune. To receive instead this rarer, higher-ranked Toad's Purifying Fire was nothing short of miraculous.
As the Book of Life Furnaces recorded, once a Life Furnace advanced to the Fifth Grade, it could be offered to the heavens, bound to the stars, earning a divine title and receiving celestial blessings.
Among Life Furnaces, the Fifth Grade corresponds to wandering stars, while the Fourth Grade corresponds to fixed stars in the heavens.
The Toad's Soul-Nourishing Furnace, in which the golden toad resided, was itself a Fourth-Grade Life Furnace aligned with a celestial star.
That Jing Qian was able to trade for even a single flame from it was sheer fortune helped along, of course, by the Dragon Fat that had tempted the toad's greedy appetite.
In its earlier days, when the Toad's Soul-Nourishing Furnace was growing rapidly, its sponsoring sect had poured resources into it without restraint, hoping to push it to an even higher rank.
Back then, it had feasted not only on Dragon Fat, but even rarer treasures like True Dragon Marrow and Kirin's Blood, living in indulgence.
But once it successfully ascended to Fourth Grade, resonating with the stars above, those golden days ended.
What once was a pampered darling had now become a beast of burden no longer enjoying endless feasts, but instead forced to produce Fate Fire tirelessly to sustain its sect.
Years of this harsh life had nearly made it forget what Dragon Fat even tasted like.
Now, stationed here in the Furnace Hall as a warden, it had treated itself to a holiday.
That sip of Dragon Fat brought a long-lost pleasure.
Jing Qian presented the remaining nineteen jars, leaving the toad to savor them alone, before quietly taking his leave.
His business here was mostly complete. With the Fourth-Grade Fate Fire in hand, he now had the means to fully refine the Revolving Seal of the Heavenly Son, opening all six of its faces within a short time.
That alone saved him at least thirty years of painstaking work, an immense relief.
He continued deeper into the Furnace Hall until he once again reached the golden chamber.
There, Fan Zhuoyi was already waiting.
She bowed first and said:
"Senior, I have gathered the three items you requested. They can now be delivered to you."
Jing Qian nodded, releasing a thread of divine sense to touch the chamber itself.
This golden chamber was designed for the exchange of treasures; it carried the divine effect of binding oaths, ensuring that both buyer and seller were protected.
Seeing him activate the binding without hesitation, Fan Zhuoyi exhaled in relief and finally handed over the three items.
Then she, too, placed her divine sense on the chamber, completing the pact.
The contract sealed, Jing Qian accepted the items: a heavy cloak woven of silken threads, and two jade slips filled with information.
Fan Zhuoyi explained:
"This cloak is entirely woven from the silk of Eighth-Grade Blue Ghost Spiders. The raw material has not been processed. If you need it as a crafting resource, you need only unravel the threads.
I took the liberty of weaving it into a robe first; this way, a large amount of Fate Fire transportation cost is saved. I hope you can forgive my presumption."
"As for the jade slips: one contains detailed records of the Academy Festival. In Yingdu, every great family has preserved such information, so this will give you a full understanding.
The other concerns the Zhuo Ling Cave-Heaven. That knowledge is held only by the Twelve Great Sects, so my information is incomplete, but I've done my best to gather what I could."
Jing Qian nodded in acceptance. It was enough.
With less than three months until the Cave-Heaven opened, there was little more he could prepare. In the end, it would come down to meeting force with force.
"I will soon send a junior to Yingdu to seek you out. You need only wait patiently."
With that, their bargain was complete, and both departed the Furnace Hall.
Back in his Void Realm, Jing Qian carefully stored away the three treasures before settling before the Void Furnace.
Within it now burned: one Fourth-Grade Toad's Purifying Fire, fifteen Fifth-Grade Dragon-Scale Fires, seven Blue-Blood Fate Fires, and four Azure-Wing Fate Fires.
Since the Furnace's ascension to the Eighth Grade, all White Fang Fires had already transformed into Azure-Wing Fires.
This stockpile of Fate Fires was Jing Qian's most crucial cultivation resource.
He summoned forth the Revolving Seal of the Heavenly Son, casting it directly into the Void Furnace.
The Toad's Purifying Fire immediately engulfed it, refining it with blazing intensity.
Vast spiritual energy cycled between the two, endlessly strengthening the Seal's power.
From now on, this Spiritual Construct would remain in the furnace, tempered by Fate Fires, its Life Measure steadily increasing, divine powers nourished.
With the Purifying Fire's aid, within a year, the Seal's remaining three faces could all be opened, ready to bear new Life Patterns.
Meanwhile, Jing Qian himself sat cross-legged in the Void Realm, devouring Yin Bones one by one, endlessly reforging the Little Ghost Life Pattern.
In the mortal world, the fleet from Qiyue Island sailed across the boundless sea, unaware that a unique passenger was hidden among them.
Jing Qian had begun a vital closed-door cultivation.
Each day, beyond studying the myriad secret arts of the Daoist Texts, he burned fate opportunities to reforge the Little Ghost.
By the end of the first month, the fleet had traveled far.
In the flames of the Void Furnace, the Revolving Seal of the Heavenly Son had been refined further, his Life Measure increased by one tael and two qian.
Without hesitation, Jing Qian imprinted the Little Ghost Life Pattern upon it, letting it bear this burden.
Empowered by the Seal, the Little Ghost underwent a breakthrough.
A second ghostly avatar manifested within the Void Realm.
The Little Ghost Life Pattern had now been refined to mid-Violet grade.
Its strength had transformed. Upon emerging, it already stood at the Eighth Grade, able to channel thirty percent of Jing Qian's spiritual power and wield two Life Patterns.
The little ghost before him now commanded both Sumeru and Bian Yuan Weiyang, a slippery eel that no one could ever pin down.
Jing Qian waved his hand, sending it out of the Void Realm and into the Sumeru Dimension.
The ghost shot forward in a streak, fleeing thousands of li before halting.
This was a crucial experiment. From a thousand li away, the little ghost tore open a rift in the void and then stepped through it, emerging directly into the material world.
On its body was the space beacon Jing Qian had planted. With but a thought, he could traverse instantly to that distant spot.
He felt as if he had suddenly grown a new leg, one that could stride across the world, scout uncharted lands, probe unknown traps. A marvel beyond words.
He then dismissed the second ghost and recalled it to his side, just like pulling back that extended "leg." Convenient indeed.
His Ghost-Driving system continued to advance. Though it had yet to show raw combat power, its functional potential grew more versatile by the day.
And with relentless effort, he finally pushed the little ghost to the very limit of the Violet-Eyed tier before reaching Haizhou.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine reforgings of the Life Pattern, his teeth felt as though they'd been ground to powder by the endless Yin Bones.
It was the fastest extreme reforging he had ever endured, all in preparation for the opening of the Zhuoling Cave-Heaven.
Now, everything was ready. Without hesitation, he began the ascension of his fourth Heavenly Life Pattern.
He once more entered the Stele-Space, pressing his fingers to the stone tablet.
The violet Little Ghost Life Pattern was drawn forth and laid upon the Sumeru Dao Stele.
Then, through the sacrifice of sixty years of lifespan, the Knowledge of Heaven's Mandate shattered it in a single stroke.
At once, a boundless silver-gray mist of time and space surged forth, enveloping his consciousness.
The stele quaked, inscriptions spiderwebbing across its surface as torrents of strange Dao power poured from the fog.
Jing Qian's soul was swept into a temporal vortex. Stars collapsed into threads, law and order themselves weaving anew.
Crack!
The phantom of the Little Ghost exploded, fragments dissolving into countless pale hands that tore open the haze.
Each hand bore a crimson vertical pupil in its palm, their gazes weaving together to reveal a shattered bronze Ghost Gate, blood-mist seeping from its seams, the taotie engravings on its ring twisting open their eyes.
"The Road to Yellow Springs, ten thousand ghosts to clear the way!"
The decree thundered in his heart, and the bronze gate burst open.
A tide of blood-red light engulfed his vision. Beyond the threshold, eighteen layers of hell unfolded.
Mountains of blades, seas of fire rendered as black ink paintings; tortured wraiths' howls condensed into runes; Ox-Heads and Horse-Faces lashed chains of karmic flame upon sinners without pause.
The infernal panorama surged forth and imprinted upon his soul.
From it coalesced a singular, strange Life Pattern that swallowed all the hellscape into itself.
Blood-oceans froze into ink, the eighteen hells diffusing like dye upon silk, spreading across his spirit into an endless scroll.
Chains snapped, runes writhed free, and in the void a line of cinnabar seal script formed:
Hell Scroll · Jing Qian
Rank: Heavenly Mandate - Unique
Cause of All Ghosts
"The brush halts and karma thins;
On ghostly walls, mankind gazes back.
Unrolled beyond life and death,
Each ghostly face reflects the living."
A supreme Heavenly Life Pattern, one that ruled all ghosts and carved out a ghostly hell of its own. This became the foundation of Jing Qian's Ghost-Driving path.
With the ascension complete, he plunged into deep seclusion, allowing this new Heavenly Life Pattern to fuse with his cultivation.
Through careful exploration, he grasped the power of the Hell Scroll.
Born from the ascension of the Little Ghost, it was no longer just summoning spirits.
It was a unique spiritual treasure of a Life Pattern manifesting as an endless scroll painting.
Upon its unfurling, two indistinct figures appeared as phantoms drawn from the Little Ghost Life Pattern itself.
Jing Qian pressed a finger upon the first shadow.
Under the blessing of the Heavenly Life Pattern, it transformed swiftly.
Soon, a grotesque specter emerged: a green-faced fiend with fangs, decaying flesh, and a spine sprouting blades holding in its hands a spotless human skin.
Closer inspection revealed that the skin resembled his own, as if peeled directly from his body.
With a surge of power, Jing Qian summoned it forth.
The demon rolled across the ground, draping the skin over itself, transforming instantly into an exact double of Jing Qian.
Indistinguishable from the real thing.
Thus was born the first ghost within the Hell Scroll:
Skin-Shedding Ghost
Rank: Eighth Grade
Life Pattern: Painted Skin (Blue)
Though only of the same cultivation as Jing Qian and able to wield thirty percent of his power, it was innately gifted with the Painted Skin Life Pattern, its core ability allowing it to peel skins and assume disguises.
As a ghostly avatar, it could also borrow two of Jing Qian's Life Patterns and even host a Sumeru beacon.
With this, Jing Qian had formally taken his first step on the path of Ghost-Driving cultivation.
The Skin-Shedding Ghost before him was a true, independent entity far stronger than the illusory phantoms the Little Ghost Life Pattern had once produced.
Jing Qian immediately drew on his power to awaken the second shadow on the Hell Scroll.
The ghostly silhouette writhed violently, then dissolved into mist. A drifting veil of fog floated down from the scroll and shrouded his body:
Mist Ghost
Rank: Eighth Grade
Life Pattern: Mistshroud (Blue)
The might of the Hell Scroll was revealed. Two great ghosts had been born, each bearing unique powers.
As the Yanfu Dao was famed for its mastery of soul control and ghost-driving, it naturally held countless secret techniques to exploit such entities.
These two ghosts were not merely for battle; they could directly empower Jing Qian himself.
With a thought, he unleashed the Art of Ghost Possession he had long since mastered.
At once, both ghosts dissolved into black smoke and plunged into his right arm.
Looking down, he saw strange markings appear on his skin, like two spectral tattoos, humming with uncanny Dao resonance.
The effect was immediate.
The Art of Ghost Possession transformed these spirits into empowering curses, bolstering his strength.
Now, each ghost increased his cultivation by ten percent. Together, they raised his overall power by a full twenty percent.
Even more, their innate Life Patterns were his to wield as if they were his own.
Painted Skin let him alter his face and disguise himself flawlessly.
Mistshroud let him conceal his aura, masking him from detection.
Though not combat-oriented, both had immense utility and wide-ranging applications.
For Jing Qian, this was a tremendous leap forward.
And yet, this was still not the limit of the Hell Scroll.
This Heavenly Life Pattern held limitless capacity; the more great ghosts it birthed, the greater his power would grow.
Unlike other disciples of the Yanfu Dao, Jing Qian already possessed the slaughterous sword arts of the Pure Yang Ruins.
With ghost-driving layered atop swordsmanship, he would be unmatched among the peers of his realm.
After nearly two months of relentless cultivation, Jing Qian had finally completed the practice of his fourth Heavenly Life Pattern.
He was more than satisfied with the powers of the Hell Scroll.
Dispelling the possession, he assigned a Sumeru beacon to the Mist Ghost and then vanished back into the Void Realm.
When he reappeared, he stood once more on the first floor of the Buddhist Tower's government hall on Hunzhou Island.
The old ghostly decoy was gone, and the beacon here was nearly burned out.
Quickly, Jing Qian summoned the Skin-Shedding Ghost and refreshed the beacon with its presence.
In the guise of his official persona, the Skin-Shedding Ghost's disguise was flawless, indistinguishable from the real thing.
Satisfied, he stationed it there to maintain the transfer point, then flashed away again.
The trip drained more than half his reserves.
He cloaked himself with the Mist Ghost's concealment, hiding in the shadows of the Qiming Island fleet, while his true body streaked off in another direction.
The opening of the Zhuoling Cave-Heaven was less than a month away.
His fourth Heavenly Life Pattern was complete; further closed-door meditation was unnecessary.
And with stable transfer points both on Hunzhou Island and aboard the fleet, he could now travel freely without worry.
It was the perfect time to pursue one final plan.
He emerged from the Void Realm and flew southwest at full speed.
With Bian Yuan Weiyang at full power, he easily broke the sound barrier, traversing a hundred thousand li in half a day.
Before him stretched a sea unlike any other.
Its waters were not blue, but an endless expanse of distorted human faces glowing with eerie green light, each locked in a silent scream.
As the waves rolled, the faces twisted and stretched, only to re-form in the crash upon the shore.
Overhead, the heavens were torn by a vast rift from which thousands of bronze chains dangled, each chain bound to a half-rotted whale carcass.
From their hollow eye sockets streamed ghostly blue flames, which lit the sea to reveal countless sunken masts.
But instead of sails, the masts bore flayed human skins, dried and fluttering in the spectral wind.
This was the Sea of Wronged Souls, one of the ten great forbidden grounds of the Yingfutu Realm.
For countless centuries, endless malicious spirits had lingered here, devouring all living things that strayed within.
And now, on the eve of the Zhuoling Cave-Heaven's opening, Jing Qian had traveled across the world for a single purpose.
To catch ghosts.
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