Chapter 1536: Ten Years

Ten years had passed in the blink of an eye.

In a desolate and uninhabited part of the Myriad Ghosts Sea Domain, Cheng Zhenyu and Zheng Nan flew through the air, their faces etched with vigilance, moving at a slow pace.

The seawater below was black, and from time to time, an eerie, chilling wind blew, accompanied by the distant wailing cries of ghosts.

A short while later, a desolate island, a hundred li in circumference, appeared before them. They released their divine sense and meticulously scanned the entire island, finding nothing. There were no spiritual herbs, not even a single ghost creature.

They had once roamed the Myriad Ghosts Sea Domain in their early years, where they discovered information about a Heavenly Earth Spiritual Fire. They traded this information with the Wang family and received Core-forming spiritual items in return. After forming their cores, they frequently ventured into and out of the Myriad Ghosts Sea Domain in hopes of finding rare treasures that would aid them in forming their Nascent Souls.

“Husband,” Zheng Nan said, frowning, “have you noticed that over the past decade or so, the ghost creatures in the Myriad Ghosts Sea Domain have become increasingly scarce? When we do encounter them, they are mostly low-level, and we rarely come across Core-forming stage Ghost Kings.” Over a decade ago, they had ventured deep into the Myriad Ghosts Sea Domain and were pursued by a Nascent Soul stage ghost creature. Fortunately, a Nascent Soul cultivator rescued them. Since then, the ghost creatures in the Myriad Ghosts Sea Domain have become fewer, or more precisely, high-level ghost creatures have become increasingly scarce.

While a decrease in high-level ghost creatures was good news for rogue cultivators seeking treasures in the Myriad Ghosts Sea Domain, Zheng Nan was surprised to find that not only were high-level ghost creatures becoming rarer, but the quantity of spiritual herbs and medicines was also diminishing. Even Yin Beasts were rarely seen. They had been roaming the Myriad Ghosts Sea Domain for over a year, only managing to eliminate a few low-level ghost creatures, and hadn't even found a single ten-year-old spiritual herb.

“Could it be that senior cultivator cleared out those ghost creatures?” Cheng Zhenyu said meaningfully. Over a decade ago, a female cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage used the Purple Moon Profound Light to injure a Nascent Soul stage ghost creature, saving both of them.

According to Zheng Nan, the divine ability used by this Nascent Soul stage female cultivator was a unique secret art of the Zhenhai Sect. It was well-known that the Zhenhai Sect had been destroyed over a thousand years ago, and little remained of its former glory. If not for Zheng Nan's ancestor having been a Transmission Elder of the Zhenhai Sect, she would not have recognized it. Besides the Purple Moon Profound Light, there was also the Zhenhai Ape, which was the Zhenhai Sect's guardian spirit beast – an unmistakable sign. She made a bold hypothesis: this female cultivator's ancestor was also a core figure of the Zhenhai Sect. To evade the pursuit of the Sun Moon Palace, this cultivator had been hiding and cultivating in the Myriad Ghosts Sea Domain.

Zheng Nan nodded, saying, “That’s possible. It would be wonderful if we could meet that senior again.” As descendants of the Zhenhai Sect, they had to unite and support each other to overcome difficulties, especially with the existence of the Sun Moon Palace.

“If that senior is indeed here,” Cheng Zhenyu began, “they probably wouldn’t reveal themselves easily. We should still...”

Before Cheng Zhenyu could finish his sentence, a deafening roar erupted. The calm sea surface began to churn like boiling water. Waves surged across the sea, each one larger than the last.

Cheng Zhenyu and Zheng Nan exchanged glances and nodded to each other. They then flew towards the source of the sound, though not at a fast pace.

A short while later, they stopped. A dark cloud, over a hundred zhang in size, floated in mid-air, surrounded by eighteen shimmering dark banners. On each banner, countless densely packed ghost faces writhed, emitting various miserable shrieks that disturbed the mind. The eighteen black banners completely surrounded a black walrus the size of a small mountain. The black walrus stood on the sea surface, emitting strange roars and spewing streams of black sound waves. The sea surface seemed to be held still as the black walrus's enormous body lay upon it, causing the water to visibly indent. Upon closer inspection, one would notice over a hundred blue formation flags scattered across a hundred li radius of the sea.

“Return from whence you came,” a cold, emotionless female voice emanated from within the dark cloud. “I do not wish to kill. Do not speak of today's events.”

As soon as the voice fell, a chilling wind suddenly intensified, and a large expanse of grey mist emerged from thin air, covering an area of a hundred li. Startled, Cheng Zhenyu and Zheng Nan dared not linger and swiftly returned along the path they came.

Roar!

The walrus let out an angry roar, spewing a large burst of dark light that struck towards the dark cloud. The dark cloud churned violently, transforming into a black shield over ten zhang tall, blocking the attack.

Behind the black shield stood a tall young woman in a black dress. Her features were exquisite, her skin snow-white, and her black hair casually draped over her shoulders. She wore a black lotus dress with a white bone whip tied at her waist. Her cold, indifferent expression made it difficult for anyone to feel close to her. It was Ye Haitang.

In recent years, Ye Haitang had been actively hunting high-level ghost creatures. With Zhao Meier's assistance, Ye Haitang had been unfailingly successful, subduing dozens of Core-forming stage ghost creatures and acquiring a large collection of Yin-attributed spiritual herbs, including over a dozen thousand-year-old specimens. The Myriad Ghosts Sea Domain held many powerful ancient restrictions, so Ye Haitang typically operated in the outer regions, rarely venturing into its deeper parts. As a formation master herself, with Zhao Meier's assistance and the eighteen Heaven Ghost Banners, she was truly in her element within the Myriad Ghosts Sea Domain. Other ghost cultivators could not enjoy such freedom.

The dark light struck the black shield, which remained completely intact as the light vanished.

“Stubborn fool,” Ye Haitang’s expression turned cold, “I'll send you on your way!” She formed a hand seal, and the eighteen Heaven Ghost Banners began to spin rapidly, expanding against the wind. Two Nascent Soul stage ghost creatures and dozens of Core-forming stage ghost creatures flew out from the banners in succession, all simultaneously emitting a piercing ghost wail.

This was the Hundred Ghosts Cry, a Ghost Dao spell. Cultivators who heard it would feel their minds become dazed, and in severe cases, they would fall into illusions from which they could not escape.

The black walrus's gaze slowly became dull. A great tearing sound filled the air as an entirely white bone whip descended from the sky, coiling around the walrus's body. At the tip of the bone whip was a ferocious white skull that seemed alive, its mouth opening and closing, emitting mournful wails.

The two Nascent Soul stage ghost creatures and dozens of Core-forming stage ghost creatures continuously emitted desolate ghost wails, as if narrating a sorrowful tale. The black walrus could initially resist, but after a short while, it became drowsy, its eyes nearly closing, as it lazily slumped onto the sea surface.

Seizing this opportunity, the two Nascent Soul stage ghost creatures transformed into two streaks of dark light and burrowed into the black walrus’s body. The black walrus’s body visibly shriveled, transforming into a massive mummified corpse.

Ye Haitang made a grabbing motion towards the black walrus’s corpse. A fist-sized hole tore open in the walrus’s abdomen, and an egg-sized black spherical object flew out, landing in Ye Haitang’s hand. This was the demonic core of the Yin Beast, which she could use to refine Yellow Spring Pills to aid her cultivation of the *Yellow Spring Treasure Tome*.

Over the years, Ye Haitang regularly ventured out to hunt high-level Yin Beasts, steadily accumulating combat experience. The Heaven Ghost Banners, having absorbed a vast number of ghost creatures, also grew increasingly formidable. Now, it was difficult to find even a single high-level ghost creature in the Myriad Ghosts Sea Domain.

She formed a hand seal, and the ghost creatures flew back into the Heaven Ghost Banners. The eighteen banners then transformed into eighteen streaks of dark light, vanishing into her sleeve. Ye Haitang collected the black walrus’s corpse and spirit, then put away the formation flags. She transformed into a black mist several zhang in size and left the area.

Half a day later, Ye Haitang stopped. Ahead lay a massive black mist covering several hundred li, from which the wailing cries of ghosts and howling wolves occasionally emanated, accompanied by chilling gusts of Yin wind. Ye Haitang flipped her hand, produced a dark, shimmering command flag, and threw it into the black mist ahead. The black mist churned violently, and a passage suddenly appeared. Ye Haitang leaped and flew inside.

Passing through the black mist, the environment before her changed, and Ye Haitang suddenly appeared above an island three hundred li in circumference. The island was patrolled by a large number of humanoid skeleton soldiers. Organized into teams of ten, they wielded bone blades and bone swords, with a cluster of green flame burning in each of their eye sockets. The leading skeleton soldiers all bore a black lotus mark on their foreheads. Thousands of these skeleton soldiers moved about the island.

In the center of the island stood a black peak over ten thousand zhang tall, from which towering Yin energy emanated. At the foot of the peak stood a black stone tablet over ten zhang tall, conspicuously shimmering with spiritual light. On it were three large golden characters: “Heaven Ghost Peak.” Several skull patterns were also carved into the tablet.

To the left of Heaven Ghost Peak was a spiritual herb garden spanning a thousand mu. The garden was divided into ten independent small courtyards, each filled with numerous spiritual herbs and covered by a pale white light barrier. A white skull pattern was visible on the surface of each light barrier. Wisps of Yin energy passed through the white light barriers and were absorbed by the spiritual herbs within. The spiritual herbs varied in age from ten to a thousand years, with most being century-old Yin-attributed specimens. High in the sky, a flock of gigantic white bone birds flew past. The bone bird flying at the very front had a black lotus mark on its head.

Ye Haitang named this island Heaven Ghost Island and regarded it as her personal dwelling. She had specially refined a batch of skeleton soldiers to patrol and guard the abode. There were several thousand Foundation Establishment stage skeleton soldiers and five Core-forming stage ones. Given the Myriad Ghosts Sect's expertise in driving ghosts and controlling demons, refining skeleton soldiers was not a difficult task. The most potent skeleton soldiers were the Myriad Bone Demon Lords. The Myriad Ghosts Sect once possessed a late Nascent Soul stage Myriad Bone Demon Lord, but it was regrettably destroyed by the Four Seasons Sword Venerable.

Ye Haitang landed at a black manor on the peak of Heaven Ghost Peak. The manor spanned a hundred mu, and its walls were constructed from a type of black stone brick.

In a secluded courtyard, a Yin Ghost Tree, over a zhang tall and lush with branches and leaves, stood tall. A swing was tied to one of its thick trunks, where Zhao Meier sat, her expression cold and indifferent. Whenever Ye Haitang was away from Heaven Ghost Island, she would allow Zhao Meier to come out for fresh air and, at the same time, guard the entrance to the Zhenhai Sect ruins.

For Zhao Meier to advance her cultivation, she needed to devour the essence of Nascent Soul cultivators, or a large quantity of fourth-tier demonic beast essence. Both Ye Haitang and Zhao Meier were ghost cultivators, but the difference was that Ye Haitang possessed a physical body and merely cultivated Ghost Dao techniques, while Zhao Meier had no physical body, existing as a ghostly spirit.

“You’ve been out for quite a while this time,” Zhao Meier said casually, “I thought something had happened to you!” Zhao Meier couldn't survive alone if Ye Haitang were to die.

“What could possibly happen to me?” Ye Haitang replied confidently. “With the eighteen Heaven Ghost Banners my uncle refined for me, even ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators are no match for me.” Ye Haitang was brimming with confidence. The eighteen Heaven Ghost Banners had already absorbed a hundred thousand ghost creatures, significantly boosting their power. The only drawback was the scarcity of high-level ghost creatures; if she could refine eighteen Nascent Soul stage ghost creatures into the banners, she could rely on them to contend even with late Nascent Soul stage cultivators.

“Hmph,” Zhao Meier retorted with a hint of allure in her voice, “if you listened to me and ventured into the deeper parts of the Myriad Ghosts Sea Domain, you could capture at least five Nascent Soul stage ghost creatures. Then, the power of the Heaven Ghost Banners would be even greater.” Ye Haitang smiled but said nothing. Zhao Meier had always wanted her to venture into the deeper parts of the Myriad Ghosts Sea Domain to capture Nascent Soul stage ghost creatures, but Ye Haitang knew better than to trust Zhao Meier's seemingly good intentions.

“By the way,” Ye Haitang suddenly remembered something and asked, “the Thousand Bone Demon should be fully refined by now, right?”

“Why don't you go see for yourself?” Zhao Meier retorted irritably. “The Thousand Bone Demon you refined using ordinary spirit bones is good for nothing but show. If you don't believe me, then so be it.” Ye Haitang was always wary of Zhao Meier, which truly frustrated the latter.

Ye Haitang arrived at a small courtyard about an acre in size. The ground was paved with a kind of black stone slab, and in the center lay a black formation over a hundred zhang in size, intricately carved with numerous profound runes. One hundred and eight thick Yin Ghostwood stakes were inserted around the formation. A giant skull with a human body, ape head, bird wings, and snake tail sat cross-legged on the formation, emanating a chilling aura. Faintly visible on the giant skull’s surface were profound black runes, and a white horse-chopping saber, over a zhang long, was stuck in the ground before it.

Ye Haitang's face showed delight. This Thousand Bone Demon was crafted from over a thousand spiritual bones she had meticulously selected. Each bone had been tempered with a formation for a period, making them impervious to blades, spears, water, and fire, before being refined into the Thousand Bone Demon. This Thousand Bone Demon possessed the strength of a ninth-layer Core-forming stage cultivator; it was an unpredictable fusion of a ghost creature and a bone corpse. This was a Thousand Bone Demon refined through acquired methods. Top-tier Thousand Bone Demons were created by refining a spiritual ghost into them, and as the spiritual ghost grew, the Thousand Bone Demon's rank would increase accordingly.

For Ye Haitang, a ninth-layer Core-forming stage Thousand Bone Demon was already sufficient. To refine a Nascent Soul stage Thousand Bone Demon, one would first need the remains of a fourth-tier demonic beast, as well as a Nascent Soul stage ghost creature. She possessed two Nascent Soul stage ghost creatures, but they were both quite ordinary. If not for the life-sharing curse she shared with Zhao Meier, she could have refined Zhao Meier into a Nascent Soul stage Thousand Bone Demon. With a physical body, Zhao Meier would have been able to unleash even greater power.

“Excellent,” Ye Haitang declared. “I’m preparing to return to the family. You come back with me! The Thousand Bone Demon can stay behind to guard Heaven Ghost Island.” Ye Haitang instructed. The Thousand Bone Demon was somewhat akin to a clone; as long as it was given a command, it would faithfully carry it out.

Ye Haitang had acquired some fourth-tier Yin Beast demonic cores and intended to have Wang Qingqi help her refine them into Yellow Spring Pills. She was not at ease leaving Zhao Meier alone in the Myriad Ghosts Sea Domain, so she decided to bring her back to Cyan Lotus Island.

“Aren’t you afraid of high-level cultivators trespassing on Heaven Ghost Island?” Zhao Meier asked curiously. “What if they take away the treasures on the island? You put a lot of effort into setting this up.”

“Don’t worry,” Ye Haitang replied, full of confidence. “No one will discover the existence of Heaven Ghost Island, and even if they do, they won’t easily break through its restrictions.” As a formation master, she was quite confident in the formations she had laid out.

Ye Haitang withdrew her hand seal, and the Thousand Bone Demon suddenly stood up, striding towards her. “Guard Heaven Ghost Island,” Ye Haitang instructed. “If anyone dares to trespass, show no mercy.” In fact, she had laid out multiple sets of formations in the outer area, making it impossible for unsuspecting individuals to even know Heaven Ghost Island existed. Even Nascent Soul cultivators would have to exert considerable effort to break through its restrictions.

Ye Haitang retrieved Zhao Meier into the Myriad Ghosts Command Token, then took a batch of spiritual herbs and Core-forming stage bone corpses, before leaving Heaven Ghost Island.