Meng Jingzhou flipped over a piece of tiger skin. The skin looked old, like it was over a hundred years old, but it was well preserved. The small characters on it were clear enough to read. Lu Yang and Man Gu stretched their necks to take a look but didn’t recognize the writing.
"This is demon script, the writing of the demon clan," Meng Jingzhou said, as he happened to know it.
The fox clan was known for their wild nature, which showed in their writing as well. They often wrote some inappropriate books. If someone did something unspeakable with these books, the authors could gather a bit of yang energy.
As a result, many of the inappropriate books circulating in the central continent were written by the fox clan. Even though the authorities often promoted their dangers and organized book burnings every few years, these books still circulated in the black market and were hard to eliminate.
When Meng Jingzhou was young, he was quite fascinated by these kinds of books, though he didn’t know what the unspeakable things were at the time; he just thought they were interesting.
To read the original versions, he specifically learned the demon script.
"You love studying so much?" Lu Yang and Man Gu were surprised. Cultivating could enhance memory, and learning a language didn’t take long.
But the problem was that Meng Jingzhou had learned the demon script before he started cultivating, which was impressive.
Meng Jingzhou didn’t want to explain much, just saying he had some interest in demon culture.
Man Gu thought Meng Jingzhou was admirable, studying hard but not showing off, humble in behavior and noble in character, someone worth learning from.
"What does it say on the tiger skin?"
"Let me see... Ghostly objects, yin walks while yang avoids... This is a method to control ghost servants."
Meng Jingzhou quickly skimmed through it, doing a quick calculation in his mind, and soon figured out the purpose of the technique.
"The old hunter must have been refined using this method."
"There are requirements for refining ghostly beings. The cultivator must be two major levels above the target, and you can only refine the souls of mortals after reaching the seventh layer of Qi training."
The technique to control ghost servants was somewhat useless; only those two levels lower could be refined. Even if you could refine a ghost servant, could you really send it into battle?
For example, during the recent fight with the tiger demon, if a ghost servant appeared, it would be less useful than cannon fodder and wouldn’t pose any threat.
"Do you need me to translate it all for you? It seems this technique has no restrictions on race; humans can also cultivate it, but it works best for tiger demons."
Man Gu wanted to ask what the use of learning this was, but Lu Yang analyzed, "Since we’re joining the Demon Sect, we’ll need some dark methods. This technique to control ghost servants is just right for show. The hunter’s place has ready-made ghost servants; you can translate the technique on the tiger skin, and we can all learn it together."
Originally, Lu Yang planned to eliminate the remaining ghost servants, but now the situation had changed. They could use the ghost servants and then disperse their souls later.
From what the tiger demon said, the ghost servants willingly became servants after death, haunting travelers.
They all deserved to die.
"Alright." Meng Jingzhou agreed immediately. He prepared paper and ink, and quickly wrote down the technique to control ghost servants.
"I won’t be cultivating it. I have pure yang roots, and ghosts would dissolve like snow under the sun when they see me. I can’t practice this purely yin technique."
Lu Yang and Man Gu didn’t say much and began to cultivate together.
Before long, a cold wind blew through the cave, accompanied by faint ghostly wails, bringing endless chill that pierced to the bone.
Lu Yang felt his body lighten, his feet leaving the ground, floating in the air like a ghost.
He felt clearer than ever, his senses sharper, able to notice any tiny detail around him. He also felt that Meng Jingzhou was like a blazing fire, incredibly hot!
"Huh? What’s going on?" Lu Yang wondered, looking down to find his body sitting safely in place.
"No, it’s not that I can fly; my soul has left my body!"
Meng Jingzhou noticed something was off with Lu Yang and shouted in panic, "Only in the Nascent Soul stage can the soul leave the body and travel far. How could you do it now?"
"Quick, get back! You’re only at the Foundation Building stage; you haven’t cultivated your soul yet. Your soul can easily be harmed, and once it’s damaged, it’s hard to repair!"
Lu Yang realized the problem too, using the technique to control ghost servants to bring his soul back to normal.
"How did you do that?" Meng Jingzhou had never heard of anyone at the Foundation Building stage daring to let their soul leave their body.
There wasn’t even such a technique.
Lu Yang was also puzzled, "I just practiced the technique you wrote. I felt I understood it completely, so I thought I’d give it a try, and this happened."
Meng Jingzhou looked at Lu Yang with a strange expression. "Could it be that you treated your own soul as a ghost servant and controlled yourself?"
He had never heard of such a way to cultivate, but given the current situation, it seemed to be the only explanation.
Lu Yang thought about it but couldn’t come up with any other possibilities.
He asked Meng Jingzhou to step back a bit and tried several more times, but the result was the same; his soul kept leaving his body.
"What’s up with my talent for this technique?"
With no other options, they decided to wait for Man Gu to wake up and see if he was experiencing the same thing.
When Man Gu woke up, he saw Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou looking at him expectantly, leaving him confused.
"Did you learn the technique to control ghost servants?"
"I have some understanding; I should be able to control eight mortal souls."
"Can you control yourself and let your soul leave your body?" Lu Yang looked at Man Gu hopefully, wanting him to confirm this so he could prove he wasn’t practicing incorrectly.
Man Gu was even more confused. "How is that possible? This is the technique to control ghost servants. Can you really treat your own soul as a ghost servant?"
Meng Jingzhou glanced at Lu Yang and explained how Lu Yang had learned the technique, leaving Man Gu in awe.
Lu Yang was quick-witted and had a great talent for learning techniques, unmatched by anyone. Meng Jingzhou was talented and knowledgeable.
He learned a lot on this journey, almost like he had heard the words of a sage.
What did the sage say?
Oh right, the sage said: "In a group of three, one can be my teacher."
"We should go find the ghost servants." Seeing there was nothing worth searching for in the cave, Meng Jingzhou called his companions to leave.
"You guys go ahead; I need to handle something and will catch up," Lu Yang told Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu to go first.
Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu didn’t think much of it and left the tiger’s den.
Once they confirmed the two had left, Lu Yang’s smile faded, and his expression gradually became calm.
He walked deeper into the cave and saw a pile of bones, letting out a soft sigh.
"Just as I thought."
When Lu Yang saw various items, he guessed that, given the tiger demon’s caution, it wouldn’t throw bones outside after eating people, as that would easily expose it. The safer option would be to leave the remains in the cave.
Reality confirmed his thoughts.
These bones belonged to unfortunate people who had passed through Song Mountain for various reasons and were devoured, ultimately ending up in this small cave.
Lu Yang didn’t say anything more. His Qingfeng sword cut through rock like mud, easily slicing off a large chunk from the wall.
He flattened the stone and silently recited a burial chant, setting up a tombstone for these poor souls. After a moment of silence, lost in thought, he turned and left.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, let’s go," Lu Yang called to his companions to leave this unpleasant place.
(End of Chapter)