A month wasn't a particularly long time. Elder Jiuli suggested that Liu Jiangfusheng enter a brief seclusion to focus on healing and consolidating his recently advanced cultivation.
It had to be said that Liu Jiangfusheng's cultivation speed was truly terrifying. In the short period from departing from the Dayang Sect to arriving at Dusheng Dao, he had managed to advance from the mid-stage to the late-stage of Golden Core. Such speed was unparalleled and worthy of boasting anywhere.
This demonstrated the immense benefits of having a Sky Spiritual Root on one hand, and on the other, that breakthroughs achieved through life-or-death struggles could yield remarkable results.
However, this method was not suitable for frequent use. What if, one day, he pushed his luck too far and lost his life? Yet, there were indeed those who, in order to achieve breakthroughs in a short period, were willing to gamble their very lives.
Gui Ying's departure from the Dusheng Daoist Temple was not an accident; it was deliberate.
As he fled with Elder Jiuli and the others, he heard a voice within the Dusheng Daoist Temple that no one else could hear, constantly summoning him.
"Do you want power?"
"Do you want to become stronger?"
"Come find me..."
Initially, he was wary and resisted, but the voice seemed to perceive his deepest desires. Thus, his intense craving for strength, susceptible to temptation, led him to unwittingly leave the group.
He was led by the voice into a cave, where he "saw" a skeleton clad in black robes lying by the rock wall. Unlike ordinary white bones, these were as black as lacquer, and its eye sockets and skull were filled with black energy.
Seeing him arrive, a ball of dark, flickering ghost energy floated out. It circled Gui Ying once and then burst into laughter: "Hahahaha—a ghost cultivator, truly a ghost cultivator! After four hundred years, the old ghost has finally found one, hahahaha..."
The eerie, shrill laughter was piercing and unpleasant.
Gui Ying did not know how it had seen through his true identity. Perhaps it was because they were both ghost cultivators, capable of sensing each other.
He could feel the immense power of this dead soul of a ghost cultivator.
The soul body sized up Gui Ying and, after a long while, clicked its tongue: "To possess a born ghost cultivator physique, it's a pity, such a pity. To be born blind, and missing both arms... No, you are a ghost infant?!"
Upon hearing someone mention his origins, Gui Ying's expression turned cold. He said, "Who exactly are you, and why did you summon me here?"
It floated before him, and as the chilling black energy dispersed, a blood-covered, sinister, monstrous face was revealed. It cackled with surprise and excitement, "Child, help the old ghost with a favor. If you agree, the old ghost will bestow upon you my entire five hundred years of ghost cultivation as a ghost dan."
Five hundred years of ghost dan?
It was said to be the condensed Yin soul power of a ghost cultivator after death, which could be devoured by others of the same kind to nourish and increase their cultivation.
And five hundred years… Gui Ying's heart stirred.
"Why do you need my help?"
"Naturally, it's because the old ghost cannot get out of here."
"Why me?"
"Because, as fellow ghost cultivators, the old ghost has nothing else of value to offer. Only a ghost cultivator would be interested in the old ghost's ghost dan."
As they exchanged questions and answers, one dared to ask, and the other dared to speak frankly.
"Why should I believe you?"
Regarding this, the ghost cultivator was very generous: "If you don't believe me, the old ghost can give you the ghost dan first."
He did not believe that such good things existed in the world, especially since the other party appeared to be a deeply cunning evil entity.
"What do you want me to do for you?"
The ghost cultivator, with a voice like a throat that had been cut by a knife, said, "No rush, no rush. Your cultivation is too low at the moment. First, swallow the old ghost's ghost dan. If you can withstand it, then the old ghost will speak further."
These unorthodox cultivators were inherently strange in their dispositions. Coupled with centuries of confinement without sunlight, their minds had become somewhat abnormal over time.
From the skeletal remains, a shimmering green pearl floated before Gui Ying.
This was the ghost dan.
Refuse?
Or accept?
The ghost cultivator seemed to sense his hesitation and floated to his ear, "Child, ghost cultivators do not lie to ghost cultivators. If you obtain the old ghost's ghost dan, with your current cultivation, you can advance at least one major realm. This is something countless people dream of. Are you willing to give it up?"
Although he knew that the other party would not simply give him the item, Gui Ying truly could not refuse.
He wanted to take a gamble.
A trap?
A conspiracy?
Whatever it was, let it be.
Having nothing, what else could he stake besides his life?
He simply did not want to taste the bitter and humble flavor of being trampled in the mud again.
Especially after learning that Gu Yi was that person.
Why did she have to be Liu Jiangfusheng's wife!
He gritted his teeth, opened his mouth, and with a sense of utter determination, swallowed the ghost dan in one gulp.
He would let her see that he, Gui Ying, would not be inferior to Liu Jiangfusheng forever.
After swallowing the ghost dan, his face turned pale within moments. He frowned, a chilling coldness enveloping him, while his abdomen felt as if it were being pierced by thousands of icy spikes and sharp blades. A gut-wrenching pain spread throughout his entire body, unrelenting every second, every moment.
"Aargh—"
And this pain was continuously escalating. He bit his lip, feeling as if his body was about to explode from the uncontrollable, violent, and intense power. He curled up in a corner, his body trembling violently, his vision blurred with blood and tears—
The ghost cultivator, seeing him endure the pain, laughed with twisted delight, "Hahahaha, did you think becoming stronger with external means was easy? Child, radical methods will inevitably bring suffering and torment, even life-threatening pain. Hahahaha, if you cannot endure it, then you shall die here with me, hahahaha..."
But in the end, Gui Ying persevered through his most tenacious will.
If Liu Jiangfusheng was a genius of spiritual cultivation, then Gui Ying was undoubtedly a genius of the ghost path.
With a five-hundred-year ghost dan, he raised his cultivation all at once to the late Golden Core stage. Such a terrifying rate of advancement was no less than that of Liu Jiangfusheng.
As for the transaction between him and the ghost cultivator...
—
"Gui Ying, what did you encounter at Dusheng Temple?"
That night, Gu Junshi met Gui Ying. Others could not see through the restrictions she had placed on him, but she immediately noticed the rapid increase in Gui Ying's cultivation.
Seeing her come to meet him this time, without any pretense, Gui Ying faced her in his true form as Gu Yi. For some reason, he found himself somewhat hesitant and flustered.
In response to her inquiry, he stammered out the events in the Lingshan Stream cave, and then fell silent as if mute, unable to utter another word.
He actually had many questions he wanted to ask her.
But he realized that he did not seem to have the right to concern himself with her affairs.
After listening, Gu Junshi was silent for a moment before saying, "Not bad, late Golden Core. However, this ghost dan has hidden dangers..."
As she spoke, her figure flickered, and she was already standing close to him.
Gui Ying smelled a cool, pine-like fragrance. His expression stiffened. This was the first time they were so close, and he found it difficult to maintain a casual demeanor. His face uncontrollably flushed with heat, and he awkwardly averted his gaze.
A hand reached into his abdomen and extracted the ghost dan, which was more than half consumed.