Chapter 132: Ghost Cultivator, Tianhong Sword Soul
After executing Xuan Gong, Li Qingqiu did not leave, nor did he wander about.
He stood still in place, waiting.
When a person died, a soul would appear, and it would take seven days for the soul to dissipate.
He wanted to see what the ghost of a Human Ghost-God looked like.
A being immune to all soul-targeting mortal spells—such a fate should surely give birth to a unique soul, shouldn’t it?
Lin Chuan and Nangong E floated nearby.
Lin Chuan stared at Xuan Gong’s corpse with delight, while Nangong E’s expression was somewhat complicated.
“To think that Great Wei could produce such a loyal minister,” Nangong E thought silently.
Though she had been shocked and moved by Xuan Gong’s words, she had not pleaded for him.
She could tell Xuan Gong had lived in great pain; for him, death might have been a form of release.
Soon, a soul emerged from Xuan Gong’s corpse, and Li Qingqiu narrowed his eyes.
As expected—different from the rest!
Xuan Gong’s soul differed from ordinary ghosts.
It held no resentment, no trace of coldness.
Instead, it felt pure.
【Given that you have cleansed your own sect for the first time, consolidating the Dao Lineage’s law and order—an act of deep significance—you have earned a Legacy Reward Opportunity.】
Seeing the sudden prompt appear before him, Li Qingqiu was slightly surprised.
This could trigger a reward mechanism too?
But thinking about it, cleansing one’s own sect was no easy matter.
Once done, he would no longer hesitate when faced with similar situations in the future.
It was a breakthrough in both emotion and morality!
Hmm—
Not easy at all.
Li Qingqiu praised himself quietly.
Xuan Gong—Chu Jing—slowly opened his eyes.
This time, he not only saw Li Qingqiu but also Lin Chuan and Nangong E behind him.
The sight startled him so much that he instinctively backed away.
Li Qingqiu was inwardly astonished.
Truly, a Human Ghost-God was different—he could move freely right after becoming a ghost.
As Chu Jing retreated, he saw his own corpse, which quickly calmed him.
“I really am dead…”
Having lived nearly two hundred years, Chu Jing’s emotions toward his current state were complex—indescribably so.
Strangely enough, he even felt a sense of relief.
Li Qingqiu opened his Dao Lineage interface and saw a faint ghostly aura around Chu Jing’s portrait.
His complexion had dimmed, perfectly reflecting a ghost’s nature.
When he opened Chu Jing’s details, he noticed the loyalty value had not decreased; in fact, it had increased—to eighty-five.
What did that mean?
Chu Jing looked up at him and asked, “You can see me, can’t you?”
Li Qingqiu closed the panel and replied, “Naturally.”
Chu Jing looked at Lin Chuan and Nangong E.
“Were they following me earlier?”
“The one following you was this child,” Li Qingqiu explained.
“His name is Lin Chuan. He was my master Lin Xunfeng’s son, slain by your Demonic Sect.”
Chu Jing fell silent.
Lin Chuan glared at him and made a clawing gesture.
Li Qingqiu pointed to Nangong E.
“This is Nangong E, a princess of the Great Wei Dynasty. Have you heard of her?”
At that, Chu Jing’s eyes widened, and he trembled.
“Princess Yuanxi, you actually…”
“You know me?” Nangong E asked in surprise.
Chu Jing grew excited.
“This humble minister has never seen you, but His Majesty often spoke of you. He said you were his kindest elder sister, and because of you, he doted immensely upon his daughters.”
“His Majesty? Who are you referring to?”
“His Majesty the Civil Emperor of Great Wei, Nangong Yuan.”
“So you served Yuan’er… I did not expect him to become Emperor—let alone the Civil Emperor?” Nangong E was stunned.
Li Qingqiu, however, was not.
He had already deduced the possibility of their connection from Nangong E’s father’s time of death.
Chu Jing immediately half-knelt, grief-stricken.
“Princess, this humble minister has shamed His Majesty… and the Great Wei Dynasty!”
Having learned of Xuan Gong’s deeds and recalling his words, Nangong E roughly understood his reasoning, leaving her with mixed emotions.
She could not comfort him—Chu Jing had indeed caused many deaths.
Li Qingqiu spoke, “Since you are already dead, the matters of your lifetime are in the past. If you were to refine your soul as Grandmaster Jiang did, I might have no choice but to make you dissipate entirely.”
Chu Jing lifted his head.
“May I ask, Sect Master, what is Princess Yuanxi’s current state?”
“She has become my ghost servant. I found her within an ancient mirror,” Li Qingqiu said plainly.
Nangong E added, “Without my master, I would have remained lost in hatred, muddled and dangerous. Now, though I am a ghost, I live freer than I did in life.”
After hearing that, Chu Jing hesitated briefly, then gritted his teeth.
“Please, Sect Master, accept me as your ghost servant!”
Li Qingqiu asked, “Do you do this for the descendant of the Nangong family—or for yourself?”
“For both,” Chu Jing answered solemnly.
“I worry for him, and I do not wish to vanish completely. Even as a ghost servant, I wish to glimpse the Immortal Dao.” He could already feel a mysterious force closing in on him, pulling him toward an unknown realm.
Li Qingqiu shook his head.
“Your soul is unique—I fear I cannot bind you as a ghost servant.”
Chu Jing clenched his jaw and suddenly rushed toward Li Qingqiu.
Startled, Li Qingqiu grew wary.
Then, Chu Jing dove into the Tianhong Sword, causing it to tremble violently.
“What is this…”
Li Qingqiu was astonished; he had not expected such an act.
Chu Jing’s voice came from within the Tianhong Sword: “I can sense my soul’s peculiarity. It seems only this way can I free myself from it.”
As his words fell, Li Qingqiu clearly felt the world’s Spiritual Energy surge toward the Tianhong Sword.
The sword began to change.
He did not relax his guard, keeping his grip firm.
Nangong E and Lin Chuan gathered close, ready for anything.
Even Nangong E could not fully trust Chu Jing—after his death, his aura gave them a chilling, predatory dread, as though facing a natural nemesis.
They waited—for three whole hours.
After three hours, a wave of black mist erupted from the Tianhong Sword, condensing into a ghostly shadow—it was Chu Jing.
Li Qingqiu was shocked.
Chu Jing seemed to have transformed into a millennia-old sword soul, fully merged with the Tianhong Sword.
“Please, allow me to acknowledge you as my master,” Chu Jing said resolutely.
Li Qingqiu gazed at him deeply, then infused Vital Energy into the Tianhong Sword.
At once, he felt Chu Jing’s soul voluntarily link with his own.
A sword soul differed from a ghost servant.
Though it also recognized a master, it was not fully controlled—retaining independent thought while allowing its strength to be wielded.
The acknowledgment was swift.
Li Qingqiu and Chu Jing formed a spiritual connection.
Though he could not sense Chu Jing’s thoughts, he could feel his power.
From this moment on, all Vital Energy Chu Jing cultivated could be freely used by Li Qingqiu.
During his fusion with the Tianhong Sword, Chu Jing absorbed vast Spiritual Energy, forming a special Vital Energy within his soul.
【Given that a disciple of the Clear Sky Sect has first entered the Ghost Path, becoming a Ghost Cultivator, thus expanding the possibilities of the Dao Lineage—you have earned another Legacy Reward Opportunity.】
Good heavens—again?
Why was it always the same reward? Couldn’t he get something else?
Li Qingqiu felt that this trip to Zhenyang Imperial City had truly been a great fortune.
While sensing Chu Jing’s ghostly aura, he reopened the Dao Lineage interface and saw that Chu Jing’s loyalty had risen to ninety-two.
Not bad.
Li Qingqiu looked at him with a smile.
“You certainly know quite a bit.”
Chu Jing respectfully replied, “To tell the truth, I once stumbled into a mountain cave where I consumed an Immortal Elixir that extended my lifespan. I also obtained three secret manuals. One of them recorded a forging method. I could not understand it before, but now I realize—it uses not Inner Energy, but a far greater force.”
He lifted his right hand, ghostly energy swirling within his palm.
Though dead, he felt stronger than before.
“Take me to that cave someday,” Li Qingqiu said with a nod.
Chu Jing readily agreed.
Then, Li Qingqiu roamed through the underground palace.
Chu Jing revealed his hidden treasures—wealth, manuals, and elixirs alike.
Li Qingqiu pondered how to carry them all, then suddenly thought of Grandmaster Jiang’s cloth bag.
Taking it out, he began studying it.
Indeed—
It was a storage pouch, containing a vast independent space filled with Grandmaster Jiang’s possessions.
After Jiang’s death, the ownership seal had weakened, allowing Li Qingqiu to claim it easily.
The Supreme Purity Primordial Unity Scripture contained methods for bonding with magic implements, and a storage pouch was no exception.
Afterward, he stored all of Chu Jing’s treasures inside, leaving Chu Jing deeply impressed.
“So this is the means of an Immortal—truly wondrous.” Chu Jing was exhilarated.
Following Li Qingqiu, he felt he could witness a far greater world.
“The path of cultivation—I’ve only just begun, still fumbling my way through. When it comes to deception, I’m far inferior to Grandmaster Jiang,” Li Qingqiu said with a soft laugh.
Before coming to Zhenyang Imperial City, he had indeed been fooled by Grandmaster Jiang.
Had he not sent Lin Chuan ahead to scout, he would never have dared to storm in so openly.
His original plan had been to infiltrate the city quietly, kill Zhao Zhi, and leave.
But he discovered that Grandmaster Jiang was not that strong—not even capable of sensing Lin Chuan’s presence.
Well, in that case, Li Qingqiu had no reason to hold back.
Chu Jing could only shake his head helplessly.
Hearing that Li Qingqiu had also intended to slay Grandmaster Jiang made him feel somewhat bitter—he too had been deceived by that man.
“Come, it’s time to claim Grandmaster Jiang’s inheritance.”
Li Qingqiu turned and walked into the darkness.
Chu Jing, Nangong E, and Lin Chuan floated after him, vanishing together into the shadows.
——
In Jiangzhou, deep within a mountain, Li Qingqiu walked through the forest.
The Tianhong Sword floated behind him; Nangong E followed closely, and Lin Chuan lay upon his shoulder.
A day had passed since he had slain Zhao Zhi and Grandmaster Jiang—three days since he had left Clear Sky Mountain.
Li Qingqiu had fully absorbed Grandmaster Jiang’s memories.
The mountain ahead hid the cave mansion of the cultivator who had set Grandmaster Jiang upon the path of immortality.
Once he finished scouring that cave, Li Qingqiu would immediately return to the Clear Sky Sect—to fulfill the three-day promise he had made with his disciples.