Chapter 16: Beads

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Deep within the southern mountains, upstream of the Misty Pool.
The master of the Xuan Yu Manor stood beside a stone on the riverbank, his peripheral vision fixed on the lingering bloodstains. Nearby, a spirit beast crouched, pressing its nose to the ground as it sniffed, its tail flicking restlessly. More than that, the contracted demon beasts of Xuan Yu Manor by the Misty River were acting unusually, some barely restrained by their beast-taming techniques.
The blood was human.
The master glanced at the surrounding cultivators, lowering his eyes in thought. Many were injured; blood in these deep mountains was not unusual. Yet, the blood near the Misty Pool was unfamiliar—it appeared only upstream, as if someone had been watching all along.
“Your manor’s beasts don’t seem very obedient,” a voice spoke.
Seeing a white-haired elder approaching, the master smoothed the unusual expression from his face and calmly said, “I didn’t expect you to still be at the Su family estate.”
The elder shrugged, “Nor did I expect Xuan Yu Manor to be interested in this ancient seal. Did your ancestor say something?”
The master’s brow twitched briefly, then his expression softened. “Who was the sword cultivator who made the move?”
The elder waved him aside indifferently. “Don’t know, but at least a Divine Transformation stage. Judging by the style, likely from Tianlu Mountain.”
At the mention of Tianlu Mountain, the master said, “If a sword cultivator from Tianlu Mountain can split the seal in one strike, that’s not surprising.”
Thinking of Tianlu Mountain, the master felt a deep sense of trouble.
As the world’s foremost mountain, every disciple of Tianlu Mountain was a prodigy. Xuan Yu Manor could only arrive first at Nanwu Mountain because of its southern border location. If news reached Tianlu Mountain, other powers were surely already en route.
At that moment, a cultivator from Xuan Yu Manor came to report.
“Our senior brothers have sent hawks to scout Nanwu Mountain... strangely, the mountain only retains some residual yin energy.”
The cultivator’s face darkened. “We found no ferocious spirits.”
The surrounding cultivators immediately protested.
Those who had been at Nanwu Mountain had encountered countless ferocious spirits; it was impossible not to find a single one now. Besides, the yin energy had previously filled the mountain. To say only a trace remained meant the eerie yin energy had somehow evaporated!
The Xuan Yu cultivator scratched his head. “Could it be that what you saw before was just an illusion? Didn’t they say the tomb-guarding beasts have hallucinogenic powers?”
At these words, members of the Qi family laughed aloud, while cultivators from the Su family looked embarrassed. What were they implying? That the Su family cultivators couldn’t even distinguish a basic illusion?
Suddenly, a new commotion came from the Misty Pool.
The Xuan Yu Manor’s demon beasts hauled up the huge stone stele from the pool bottom that the sword cultivator had split. The stone was extremely heavy; even Xuan Yu Manor had to deploy several demon beasts to retrieve it. Faint patterns remained on the fractured stele. The manor master approached; submerged too long, the inscriptions were indistinct, but the oppressive aura emanating from the stele made those nearby gasp.
Even the spirit beasts linked to the stele recoiled in fear.
It was hard to imagine such an object could be split by a sword.
As the crowd gathered by the Misty Pool, the ground around it began to tremble. The edge of the pool started to crumble inch by inch. The pit, once filled with corpse water, was slowly sinking. The sudden change shocked everyone.
“Everyone, fall back!” the manor master shouted.
At the same time, the corpse water seemed to evaporate, disappearing before their eyes—just like the mountain’s yin energy had vanished...
A booming sound struck their souls.
The stele, retrieved from the pool bottom, cracked and instantly turned to dust!
“What is this...”
“That stele has a spirit. When the spirit leaves, the stele shatters,” the white-haired elder said coldly. “This is not a tomb-guarding stele, but a mountain-sealing stele.”
“Does a mountain-sealing stele guard something?”
“Are you stupid? Ancient relics—how many have the mountain-sealing beasts killed? What such a stele protects can hardly be insignificant!”
The mountain-sealing stele split by the sword, the strange bloodstains, and the evaporating yin energy of Nanwu Mountain—all vanished now.
“This is undoubtedly a relic from the ancient past...” the manor master said coldly toward the Su family members. “You’ve released something terrible...”
That thing might be even more important than the place of ascension.
...And now, it had disappeared without a trace.

—

Most of the yin energy in the mountains had dissipated. A youth leaned against a withered tree, his vacant eyes still scanning the distance.
Seeing no response, the ink beast stood tall, puffed up with pride, and began recounting its years of toil.
“Outsiders call this place Nanwu Mountain, but that’s your human name. In ancient times, it was called the Abyss of Wickedness.”
After all, wandering ghosts are remnants of human spirits whose attachments linger in the mortal world. The longer these attachments remain, the more likely they become vengeful spirits. The ferocious ghosts throughout Nanwu Mountain originated this way.
In ancient times, cultivators practiced in many places, numerous sects flourished, and wild spirits and ferocious ghosts were countless. This Ink Spirit Pearl was born with the power to suppress and confine yin and evil energies, a marvel of the ancient era. As more ghosts gathered to worship it, followers built it into a stele, strengthening the power of the Ink Spirit Pearl.
Centered on this mountain-sealing stele, the domain of the Abyss of Wickedness flourished, saturated with yin energy and countless vengeful spirits and ghost cultivators, thus forming the Abyss of Wickedness.
The ink beast spoke proudly of itself: “Since birth, I have been the guardian spirit of the Ink Spirit Pearl and the mountain-sealing beast of the stele. In my domain, ghost souls do not dissipate and cultivate at an accelerated pace.”
The youth understood—it was no wonder Nanwu Mountain was once filled with rampant yin energy and ferocious ghosts.
It was the power of this Ink Spirit Pearl...

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The ink beast’s tail stopped flicking. Seeing its host’s lack of enthusiasm, it continued: “By swallowing the Ink Spirit Pearl, you have swallowed the Abyss of Wickedness and become its host. Do you see the energies within you? These are the refined energies condensed from the yin energy absorbed by the Abyss.”
Hearing this, the youth halted. “Refined energy?”
Seeing his interest, the beast hurriedly explained, “The Ink Spirit Pearl formed the mountain-sealing stele. The domain expanding from the stele is the Abyss of Wickedness. Within this domain, yin energy is abundant. The pearl releases refined energy, allowing ghost cultivators and ferocious spirits to cultivate far faster than outside. The more ghosts, the stronger the Abyss, and the more refined energy it can produce.”
So these were the refined energies from the Abyss—no wonder they were so effective.
This pearl... Did the Abyss of Wickedness truly have such power? The youth examined the pearl in his dantian carefully. It still looked like a special pearl, nothing as grand as the beast described.
“I only see the pearl. Where is the mountain-sealing stele?”
The ink beast ground its teeth. “That damn sword cultivator split it. It’s not repaired yet.”
“Abyss of Wickedness?”
The beast was aggrieved. “Without the repaired stele, the Abyss can’t form.”
The youth brushed aside the low weeds and pressed on.
“Don’t doubt it!” The beast faltered, then stammered, “If the spiritual veins hadn’t dried up a thousand years ago, my domain would have had thousands of ghosts!”
“Thousands of ghosts?”
This topic choked the beast, but it still explained:
Nanwu Mountain was once a sealed zone inaccessible to outsiders. The beast had been the mountain’s king for a long time, commanding tens of thousands of ghosts, a formidable force even outside.
But a millennium ago, the spiritual veins of the Eastern Realm dried up, affecting countless beings. The mountain’s ancient seal lost support and weakened. By the time it was repaired, the ghosts it restrained had fled, the yin energy dissipated, and the unformed ghost souls scattered. The mountain-sealing stele was severely damaged in the catastrophe.
The ancient legacy was ruined. The beast had to start anew. Nanwu Mountain was finally recovering when a month ago the damn seal cracked again... The millennia-old stele was destroyed once more. Now, without the stele and with the yin energy gone, it could only sulk inside a mortal’s dantian.
“The Abyss began as an Ink Spirit Pearl. When the ink formed the stele, the Abyss took shape.” The beast explained sadly, “Don’t underestimate it now as just a pearl. Given enough ghosts and time, it can become a secluded realm housing thousands of spirits. Have you seen Nanwu Mountain? Even at its peak, it never reached one percent of the Abyss’s power...”
The youth frowned. “So the Abyss of Wickedness has now degraded to just a pearl.”
The beast was speechless.
Don’t be so blunt!
Hearing this, the youth lost interest in the Abyss. But the refined yin energy that passed through it not only relieved his hunger but also stimulated the chaotic memories in his spirit sea, most importantly suppressing the totem inside him.
Before, unaware of the benefits of yin energy, he was constantly driven by the totem. Since swallowing the pearl, the totem’s influence had lessened, and its noisy voice quieted.
If the Abyss was truly as the beast claimed, it had some use in ancient times... but it was a hidden danger now.
The beast kept babbling about the Abyss’s merits until it suddenly detected the yin energy inside the dantian gathering toward it. Its fur bristled as it stepped back several paces. “What are you doing?”
“Why should I keep you?” the youth retorted.
The beast was stunned, quickly pleading, “I am the guardian spirit of the Ink Spirit Pearl, the mountain-sealing beast of the Abyss!”
“Does that matter? How does keeping you help?” The youth allowed the yin energy to approach the creature, his tone calm but icy and merciless. “The pearl is useful, not you.”
The ink spirit pearl embedded in the totem rotated the yin energy entering it, exhaling purer yin energy that brought unprecedented effects to the youth’s body.
Without this so-called guardian spirit, the pearl would still function.
Now truly panicked, the beast realized the mortal’s cultivation was weak, but his innate spiritual eyes could see things other cultivators could not. If not, the youth wouldn’t have swallowed the pearl so decisively.
“I’m useful! Don’t kill me! I can...”
“I can tell you what the pearl does. I can teach you to use it!”
“I can teach you cultivation too.”
As the yin energy seeped into the beast’s limbs, it frantically listed its uses. “I... I can guide you!”
The flow of yin energy halted. The beast lowered its paw from its eyes and saw the approaching yin energy.
“You can see the way?” the youth asked.
The beast nodded eagerly, “I can!”
Despite cursing the mortal for ignorance, it could only lead him.
With guidance, the path through Nanwu Mountain became easier.
The youth quietly observed the thinning yin energy in his sight, the only color his eyes could detect, offering some comfort amid desolation.
As he took a few steps forward, he suddenly felt warmth.
It fell on his exposed skin, dispelling the chill within.
Looking up, the beast remained crouched, its strange pupils following the light. Unlike the host, it saw the burning morning sun piercing through the fog, shining on the decayed earth untouched by sunlight for centuries.
“Tch, the red sun’s out. It’s really uncomfortable,” it muttered.
Things born in the domain of yin and evil instinctively shunned the blazing sun high in the sky.

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The ink beast shrank back, seeking to avoid the scorching sun, but saw the youth standing still under the sunlight.
“You’re filled with yin energy in your dantian. Stay away from sunlight—it will harm you,” the beast warned.
The youth said nothing, touching his arm. After the warmth, a prickling pain spread across his skin.
It felt like burning, yet his vision was empty—he saw nothing, as if sunlight had not touched him for a long time.
The ink beast dutifully guided him, its voice the only sound in his spirit sea.
This person was unusually taciturn, rarely speaking unless necessary.
The beast thought: strange, cunning, merciless brat.
Covered in yin energy yet heading toward a place full of yang energy... Is this person a masochist?
In cultivation, the youth’s strength was far below any cultivator found in these mountains. Yet the pressure he exerted on the beast was heavy, and the scent of blood on him was strange. As an ancient beast surviving tens of thousands of years, the beast was tired of all sorts of food, but the blood on this youth was more alluring than any delicacy... Not a righteous beast, so why such strange blood?
There were traces of other cultivators in the mountains, but the beast noticed this human youth carefully avoided them, choosing secluded paths to steer clear of the mountain cultivators, as if from the start he was not on their side.
Suddenly, the odd youth spoke: “What’s that sound to the east?”
The mountains were mostly dead trees. They were close to the mountain entrance of Nanwu Mountain. Beneath the burning sun, many cultivators were gathered nearby.
The ink beast crouched, flicking its tail and glimpsing movement beyond the trees.
Its heterochromatic eyes blinked. “Human voices.”
The youth could not see the path but heard the sounds.
Along the way, he had often heard rustling in the woods but had avoided encounters. Now outside the mountain, there was no way to avoid them. He recalled the cultivators surrounding the Misty Pool; whatever was in his body from the pool would not let them rest easily.
The simplest approach would be to seal the mountain and search relentlessly.
Thinking of the fierce sword qi that had split the seal, the youth closed his eyes. The longer time passed, the more likely he would fall into their hands.
To leave, he must get past the cultivators.
He pondered, took a few steps, then stopped and sniffed the smell on his sleeve.
The scent of blood was strong, mixed with the lingering stench of corpse water from the Misty Pool. He smelled more like a corpse than a living person.
“Are there any corpses nearby?” he asked.
The beast was puzzled.
“Corpses, preferably ones dead for some time.”
The beast was even more confused.
Hearing no answer, the youth asked coldly, “None?”
The beast gritted its teeth. “I’ll look.”
Finally, they dug up a corpse long dead—its body reduced to dry bones, half buried in the earth.
The youth touched the bones. “Not rotten. Usable.”
The ink beast, a proud ancient creature, freshly dependent on this mortal, now guiding him and helping peel corpses. “Are you really human? You’re worse than those new ghosts entering Nanwu Mountain. Some wouldn’t even eat a living person. This dry skeleton’s soul is long gone, though bones remain. It still holds spiritual power—a good vessel. Which sect do you follow? Maybe I know your ancestor. Why dig up corpses? To make puppets? Or raise the dead...”
Before finishing, it noticed the youth reach out without drawing any formation marks, simply pulling the half-buried skeleton free.
The youth said nothing, touching the exposed bones and peeling off the coarse cloth covering them. He carefully removed the dead man’s clothes and dug around the skeleton pit a bit.
What was this person doing? Peeling a corpse’s clothes?
The beast was shocked. After such effort to find a good vessel, was the youth just stripping clothes?
“You wasted so much effort just to change clothes?” the beast exclaimed.
“There are too many scents; they could be noticed,” the youth replied, stripping the clothes.
The beast was speechless, pacing anxiously in the dantian. “Those cultivators outside, a simple concealment formation would fool all but high-level cultivators.”
The youth had already stripped the clothes off and thought briefly. “No.”
The beast was even more shocked. No concealment formation?
“You’ve killed so many undead yet can’t even do the simplest concealment...” The beast’s complaint was cut off as it suddenly sniffed a familiar scent of blood. “What are you doing?”
The youth’s face now bore a scratch cutting halfway across it—no, a second scratch too.
Blood flowed vividly down his face, dripping onto his filthy clothes and into the grave pit.
“Someone might have seen my face.”
Remembering the sword cultivator close by, the youth intended to add another scar, but suddenly sensed something strange.
He touched the wound with a clean fingertip—there was no wetness, only clean skin, not even a trace of a scar.
The wound inflicted by the stone... had vanished?