Chapter 295: The Genius Asleep Since Ancient Times Until Now

"How does Young Master Qin plan to find your treasure?"

Young Master Qin chuckled twice. "Minister Mi, why do you think I would hide my treasure in Ancient Pagoda Town? Was it a random choice? No, not at all."

"Minister Mi, what do you think Ancient Pagoda Town is most famous for?"

Minister Mi hesitated. "Female ghosts?"

Speaking of Ancient Pagoda Town reminded him of the three female ghosts with the highest performance.

Minister Mi intended to have the three female ghosts summarize their methods and report them to him. He would then present this as a successful strategy to his superiors, facilitating the widespread promotion of a sustainable Yang Qi absorption strategy to improve the living conditions of the sect's female ghosts and increase their Yang Qi absorption rate.

What Xiaoqi and the other two didn't know was that Minister Mi commanded hundreds of ghosts, all diligently collecting Yang Qi under his orders.

However, only the three of them had the highest performance and enjoyed Minister Mi's favor.

Young Master Qin was speechless.

Young Master Qin suppressed his anger, a smile appearing on his face. "It's the pagoda tree."

"Pagoda trees nurture ghosts and are a rare conduit between the Yin and Yang realms. Our sect believes in the existence of the Nine Netherworld, and the nature of pagoda trees aligns with our doctrine."

"In my previous life, I was deeply knowledgeable in this path and favored pagoda trees. Ancient Pagoda Town has many such trees, so it naturally caught the attention of my former self."

"Therefore, my previous self buried the treasure beneath a pagoda tree, applying numerous seals. Influenced by the Yin energy of the ancient pagoda trees, it cannot be found through spiritual sense, karma, divine sight, or other similar methods. It can only be located with mortal eyes from the Yang realm."

Young Master Qin spoke with an air of composure, as if recalling various experiences from his past life.

In reality, he didn't know where Sect Master Qin had hidden the treasure. However, he had a high-ranking member of the Nine Netherworld Sect behind him, skilled in the Dao of Karma, who had, at a certain cost, roughly calculated clues to Sect Master Qin's treasure.

This was the result calculated by that high-ranking Nine Netherworld Sect member.

With the clues, he only needed to systematically search Ancient Pagoda Town for a period of time, and he would eventually find it.

And Minister Mi, observing from start to finish, would be the best witness.

This way, his identity as the reincarnation of Sect Master Qin could be confirmed.

"Unfortunately, reincarnation is too complex and involves too much. Even though I successfully reincarnated, I still cannot fully grasp all the mysteries of Samsara. Currently, I've only unlocked a fraction of my past life's memories, and I can't quite recall the exact location of the treasure," Young Master Qin said, shaking his head, his tone tinged with a sense of age and regret.

"In that case, I will be heading to Ancient Pagoda Town tomorrow to collect the accumulated Yang Qi. Would Young Master Qin care to accompany me?"

"Excellent."

The next morning, Minister Mi brought Young Master Qin to the dilapidated temple in Ancient Pagoda Town.

Young Master Qin instinctively frowned, somewhat disdainful of the old temple. "Is it here?"

Minister Mi chuckled, "Young Master Qin, do not underestimate this place. It can provide a large amount of Yang Qi every month. In fact, Ancient Pagoda Town alone can yield as much Yang Qi as seven or eight small towns combined, sometimes even more."

"That is interesting. I'd like to hear more."

"There are three female ghosts here. They have forgotten their past lives and true names, so they gave themselves nicknames: Xiaowu, Xiaoliu, and Xiaoqi. Among them, Xiaoqi is the youngest and most intelligent, also possessing the highest cultivation talent among the three sisters, having reached the late Foundation Establishment stage. Her two older sisters are at the mid Foundation Establishment stage."

Young Master Qin was somewhat surprised. Logically, a place as small as Ancient Pagoda Town shouldn't be able to support a ghost at the late Foundation Establishment stage. It could only be said that the female ghost named Xiaoqi truly had remarkable abilities.

"Xiaowu, Xiaoliu, Xiaoqi, come out!" Minister Mi commanded the three female ghosts to appear.

The three female ghosts floated out from the temple, timidly calling out, "Minister Mi," their voices stirring a strange longing in the listener's heart.

Each of them held a mutton-fat jade bottle containing the Yang Qi they had collected over the past month.

Young Master Qin's spirits lifted. He had seen many female cultivators and ghosts of decent appearance, but this was the first time he had encountered any like these three female ghosts, especially Xiaoqi.

Xiaoqi and the others were surprised to see Young Master Qin. Minister Mi always appeared alone; why had he brought someone today?

Young Master Qin was not in the plan.

"Minister Mi, would it be possible for me to borrow these three female ghosts? They have long roamed Ancient Pagoda Town and would be of great help in my search for the treasure." Young Master Qin had a selfish motive.

"Don't worry, Minister Mi. I know they are your cash cows. I merely wish to borrow them for a while and will return them to you once I find the treasure. How about it?"

Minister Mi hesitated. To say he was willing would be a lie, but the other party was supposedly the reincarnation of Sect Master Qin. If he offended him, he would surely face difficulties in the future.

He gritted his teeth. It wasn't worth offending the reincarnation of Sect Master Qin over three female ghosts. "Very well, I will lend them to Young Master Qin."

Minister Mi began forming hand seals, preparing to transfer the soul restriction to Young Master Qin. Suddenly, his expression changed. He grabbed the still-dazed Young Master Qin and quickly retreated.

Three streaks of sword energy descended from the sky, striking the spot where Minister Mi had just stood.

The sword energy was sharp, slicing through the earth as easily as cutting tofu. The streaks plunged into the ground, penetrating unknown depths before finally vanishing.

Minister Mi watched, still shaken. These three streaks of sword energy had targeted his vital points. If not for his unique cultivation technique, which allowed him to evade risk to a certain extent, he would have had to use his life-saving artifact to defend against them.

That was a life-saving artifact obtained at the cost of his very existence.

*Clap, clap, clap—*

Leisurely applause came from behind the three female ghosts, sounding like a carefree young master.

"Minister Mi, quite impressive! I thought these three swords, even if they couldn't kill you, would at least affect you. I didn't expect Minister Mi to be so agile, avoiding them in advance."

As the dust settled, four young figures appeared: three men and one woman. They exuded vibrant energy, each a dragon among humans. Compared to them, Young Master Qin, the supposed reincarnation of the Sect Master, seemed to have less imposing presence.

"Who are you?!" Minister Mi felt as though facing a formidable enemy. The opponents knew his identity, meaning they were certainly prepared and unafraid of his Nascent Soul stage cultivation.

Most importantly, there were four of them: two in the late Foundation Establishment stage and two in the early Golden Core stage. The sword energy must have come from one of the early Golden Core cultivators.

But how could sword energy from an early Golden Core cultivator threaten *him*?

What kind of geniuses were these?

Such peerless geniuses could not be nurtured by even first-class sects, only by the Five Great Immortal Sects.

Or perhaps they were candidates for the Tribulation Transcendence stage, intentionally cultivated by the Great Xia Dynasty?

Regardless of the possibility, the situation was dire.

"The Five Great Immortal Sects? The imperial court?"

Minister Mi prepared himself, ready to flee immediately if anything went slightly wrong.

The person who had just clapped, the leader of the four, conversed casually with Minister Mi, as if oblivious to his alertness and hostility. "You're Minister Mi of the Nine Netherworld Sect, correct?"

The person cleaned his fingernails, stating without raising his head, "My name is Lu Yiyang."

Lu Yang suddenly looked up, his gaze intense, like two sharp swords, startling Minister Mi to the point where he dared not meet his eyes directly.

Minister Mi instinctively blinked, but then saw nothing unusual, as if he had experienced an illusion.

"Minister Mi has little experience. You probably haven't heard of us."

Lu Yang chuckled softly. "What are the Five Great Immortal Sects worth? And what is the Great Xia Dynasty? We are all geniuses from ancient times, aspiring to become immortals. Unfortunately, at that time, Immortals Yingtian and others, jealous of our talent, set up obstacles and sealed the path to immortality. We had no choice but to fall into slumber, choosing to awaken before the coming great era to contend for the Immortal Dao Fruit and restore the glory of our Heavenly Court."