Chapter Seventeen: Underworld Errand

"The corpse energy within Li Ping has not yet been entirely purged. Once I have cleansed her of it, I will send her on to the underworld," Su Ye declared. As his words fell, he took up his talisman brush and drew several runic patterns upon Li Ping’s body. Immediately, the corpse energy within her began to surge outward rapidly. In no time at all, the malignant energy was expelled, yet now Li Ping’s soul was so weak that her form was nearly transparent, as if she might dissipate at any moment.

"Su Ye, why has my mistress become so frail? Will she be alright?" The cat demon, sensing the change in Li Ping’s soul, could not conceal the worry in his eyes.

But Su Ye paid the cat demon no heed. With the corpse energy eradicated, he began to intone an incantation, his hands forming a strange seal as he spoke. This was the Spirit-Summoning Seal, a technique Su Ye had acquired from a ghostly judge in his previous life. He’d once done a small favor for that judge, and, upon learning Su Ye was in the business of exorcising spirits and subduing demons, the judge had passed this incantation to him.

By activating the Spirit-Summoning Seal, Su Ye could summon a nearby underworld envoy. Though he was now in another world, uncertain if it would still function, he had prepared alternatives; if it failed, he would simply escort Li Ping’s soul to the City God Temple, for the City God presided over the affairs of the county’s underworld, and it would be proper to entrust her soul to the City God of Jinhua.

Moments later, a wave of pure Yin energy swept in from afar. Enveloped in this aura, a black-robed envoy appeared before Su Ye. The envoy ignored both Su Ye and the cat demon, casting a pitch-black soul chain that instantly bound Li Ping’s soul. Then, with a cold current of Yin energy, he wrapped her up and swiftly vanished.

"Su Ye, that envoy didn’t seem to belong to Jinhua’s underworld, did he?" The cat demon, sensing the pure energy from the envoy, was suddenly seized by fear. Only after the envoy had disappeared did he dare to speak.

Though the cat demon was a spirit who had cultivated the path of purity, he was familiar with the workings of Jinhua’s ghosts and monsters. The Daoist and Buddhist orders in Jinhua had been destroyed by evil, leaving the City God to shoulder the burdens alone and thus unable or unwilling to intervene in the affairs of spirits and demons. Even the underworld envoys of the City God Temple were known to collude with local evils.

Yet the aura from this recent envoy was upright and pure, clearly not something a City God Temple envoy of Jinhua could possess.

Su Ye merely smiled, offering no explanation. Naturally, the envoy was not dispatched from Jinhua’s City God Temple, but rather from the netherworld itself.

Of course, these matters he would not share with the cat demon. It was, after all, his own secret.

Once the presence of the envoy had entirely faded, Su Ye turned his gaze to the cat demon. "The baleful energy within you is only suppressed for now. For the time being, stay by my side. When your inner malice has dissipated, you may leave."

The cat demon was well aware of his own condition. Had Su Ye not intervened earlier, he would have lost himself to the destructive force within. After a moment’s thought, he agreed to Su Ye’s arrangement.

A smile appeared on Su Ye’s lips at the cat demon’s answer. Rather than return to Zhaojiazhuang, he pressed deeper into Wushi Mountain. Earlier, the light he had sent to search had discovered the evil cultivator’s hideout. The villain, in his hurried flight, had only taken with him the Banner of Filth and the Ghost-Nurturing Gourd, leaving the rest of his possessions behind.

Su Ye’s current location was not far from the hideout. He and the cat demon moved swiftly, soon arriving at the cave where the villain had taken refuge.

The cave was deep and obscure. At its end, they found a spacious chamber, pervaded by dense spiritual energy.

"This is a fine place. Let’s remain here for now and recover," Su Ye said softly. Both he and the cat demon were still wounded from their earlier battle.

A trace of the foul Yin wind’s power lingered in Su Ye’s body, and only by focusing on his Five Thunders of Yin and Yang technique could he expel it. Yet before healing, his interest lay in the villain’s trove.

The cave’s inner chamber was spacious and open, making the search easy. Su Ye soon found the stash.

"This villain was truly wealthy. Besides gold and silver, there’s a trove of useful materials!" After checking the loot, Su Ye could not help but break into a broad grin.

Previously, he had obtained a piece of Three-Patterned Stone in the underground cavern. Now, among these spoils, he found all the materials required to craft Spirit-Patterned Talismans. Moreover, there were five spirit stones—true spirit stones, each brimming with far more energy than the two pieces of jade he’d acquired in the treasury.

"With these five spirit stones, I should be able to restore myself to the Second Realm!" Carefully storing the treasures away, Su Ye sat cross-legged and began to circulate the Five Thunders of Yin and Yang, working to expel the last vestiges of the foul Yin wind from his body.

The task was arduous; it took him an entire day to purge the malignant force. Then, after three more days tending his wounds, he finally began refining the spirit energy contained in the five spirit stones, preparing to restore his cultivation to the Second Realm.

A considerable amount of power had already accumulated within him. With the energy from the five spirit stones, Su Ye successfully advanced to the Second Realm. Upon breaking through, a cultivator’s magical power increases substantially, the body is refined anew, and the strength far surpasses that of the Third Realm.

"Now, to craft the Spirit-Patterned Talismans!" Su Ye took out each of the gathered materials, preparing the special talisman paper and ink.

At this stage, the Spirit-Patterned Talisman he could produce was stronger than the Thunderfire Talisman, due to the superior materials required for the former. If he could find materials equal to the Three-Patterned Stone for the Thunderfire Talisman, its power would surpass that of the Spirit-Patterned.

The cave was not as well-equipped as the Su family estate, but Su Ye dared not return, fearing Su Ming and Zhao Huaisheng had already arrived in Jinhua. Half of his prepared tools had been expended on the evil cultivator, and without adequate preparation, he was unwilling to face Zhao Huaisheng.

Time slipped by. After three days of effort, Su Ye successfully produced three Spirit-Patterned Talismans, and still had one Thunderfire Talisman remaining. Thus, he now possessed four talismans powerful enough to harm a First Realm cultivator.

Over these days, the cat demon’s wounds had also healed, and with Su Ye’s help, he had been steadily cleansing his body of baleful energy. Now, half of that malice had been eradicated.