Blind Ghostwriter: Starts with the full level of Nine Yang Magic Skill

Chapter 282 Fish Twelve and Fish Nineteen

Although the northern desert is a vast desert, the wind and sand in the dead of winter seem to be colder than usual. In particular, the temperature difference between day and night is already large, but it becomes even greater in winter. Although it doesn't snow, the severe cold after nightfall can be deadly. Therefore, bonfires are burning everywhere in the military camp.

Inside the central military camp, Ye Jinglan was standing beside a huge sand table, which simulated a map of the northern desert.

He held the letters in his hand, constantly scanning them, marking each one with a marker on the sand table after reading it. In no time, he had filled one corner of the sand table with markers, and said, "The Cold Crow Ferry can be ruled out now, and the Ruins of the Black Ruins are no longer there..."

As he spoke, he walked toward the corner and saw Qi Miaoxuan lying on the bed wrapped in a blanket, with a small stove burning beside her and a pot of wine being boiled.

Ye Jinglan asked, "Old Qi, are you really sure that the Ruins of Xunxu are stationary and not moving at this moment?"

Qi Miaoxuan pursed her lips and said, "It's confirmed. The movement of the Ruins of the Ruins follows a pattern. It appears once every forty years, and after each appearance, there is a ten-year dormant period. During this period, once the location of the Ruins of the Ruins is found, we just need to focus on digging."

Ye Jinglan said slowly, "It's good that it's confirmed. At the current search speed, the location should be confirmed in half a month at most."

Qi Miaoxuan poured himself a glass of wine and said, "I'm telling you, there's no need to be so impatient. We're eliminating them one by one anyway, and who knows, we might find it tomorrow. Leave the professional work to the professionals. Those tomb raiders and geomancers are the main force. You should eat and drink as usual. Why make yourself so tense?"

As she spoke, Qi Miaoxuan handed the wine glass to Ye Jinglan.

Ye Jinglan took the wine glass and said, "Don't you know why I'm so tense? It's because I'm most afraid of you!"

"What did I do?" Qi Miaoxuan asked. "I didn't do anything. I just wanted to kill the Fire Qilin. As for the rest, you can do whatever you want. We don't have any conflict of interest, so what are you afraid of?"

Ye Jinglan said in a deep voice: "For someone like you who has lived for hundreds or thousands of years, I can't use human thinking to understand you. You don't consider yourself to be the same race as us humans. You look at us no differently than we look at ants. Do humans need to consider interests when they want to kill ants or step on them? They can do whatever they want. So, who knows if you will suddenly decide to do something?"

Qi Miaoxuan waved her hand and said, "You really don't need to think like that. I don't deny that what you said makes a lot of sense, but you still have to do it, right? If I suddenly decide to do something on a whim, do you think you can stop me? You can't change it anyway, so why think so much? You might as well just relax... Huh?"

At this point, Qi Miaoxuan suddenly let out a soft "Eh," abruptly raised her head, and smiled slightly, saying, "Good news, Ye Jinglan, you have an ally!"

Ye Jinglan asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"

At this moment,
Suddenly, a soldier outside the tent shouted, "General Ye, a man has come to the camp. He claims to be Gu Mo, the great hero."

Ye Jinglan was slightly startled, then looked at Qi Miaoxuan.

Qi Miaoxuan chuckled and said, "Why are you looking at me? Your good brother is here, aren't you going to go and see him?"

Ye Jinglan said in a deep voice, "If I'm with Gu Mo, aren't you afraid we'll turn against us? And with the Fire Qilin and the Plague God added on, don't you feel any pressure?"

Qi Miaoxuan waved her hand and said, "If you can really make me feel threatened, I will be very happy."

Ye Jinglan asked, "Aren't you surprised that Gu Mo came here?"

Qi Miaoxuan chuckled and said, "That's easy. You told him, and you must have told him my identity as well."

"Aren't you angry?"

"What's there to be angry about?"

Ye Jinglan didn't say anything more, turned around and left the tent. She quickly arrived outside the tent and saw Gu Mo carrying a long sword in the distance. She hurriedly ran over and asked, "Why are you here?"

"Why can't I come?" Gu Mo asked with a light laugh.

Ye Jinglan said irritably, "Didn't I make it very clear to you in my letter that this matter is very dangerous? You, Gu Mo, are not the kind of person who is pretentious. What, you don't happen to like men, do you? You can't stand to see me take risks?"

"Get lost," Gu Mo said. "I'm here for a reason. Do you know that the Fire Qilin and the Plague God are wanted criminals? Countless dynasties throughout history have issued warrants for their arrest. You know I have absolutely no resistance to wanted criminals!"

Ye Jinglan rolled her eyes and said, "Old Gu, this is no joke. I know you're the best martial artist in the world, but when you say 'best in the world,' you're referring to people. But this time, you're facing people who aren't even human. You..."

"Alright," Gu Mo waved his hand, interrupting Ye Jinglan, and said, "Since we're already here, let's stop with the nonsense. Um, is Lao Qi here? I want to see him!"

“He’s not human either,” Ye Jinglan said.

"I'm not interested in people!"

As Gu Mo spoke, he strode into the military camp.

Ye Jinglan watched Gu Mo's retreating figure, smiled helplessly, and without saying anything more, quickly caught up with Gu Mo and led him into his tent.

As soon as Gu Mo entered the tent, he saw Qi Miaoxuan sitting on the bed with a smile on her face.

"Impressive!" Gu Mo cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Qi Miaoxuan, sat down by the stove, and exclaimed, "Old Qi, you've really kept this a secret!"

Qi Miaoxuan waved his hand with a smile and said, "So-so. You little guy have really surprised me. I thought you had a slight chance of becoming the number one in the world, and even if you did, it would be decades later. I didn't expect you to become the number one in the world in just a few years. I admire you!"

Gu Mo chuckled and said, "You've lived a long life and seen a lot. I have a few questions I'd like to ask you."

"You're quite impolite," Qi Miaoxuan said with a light laugh.

Gu Mo said, "It's just a few words anyway. If you're willing to answer, I'll benefit. If you're not willing to answer, I won't lose anything. Why be polite, right?"

Qi Miaoxuan laughed and said, "Go ahead and ask!"

Gu Mo asked, "To be honest, is there any way to kill Bai Yujing and Xinmo?"

Qi Miaoxuan looked at Gu Mo with some surprise and said, "It seems you know quite a lot. Well, theoretically speaking, beings like Heart Demons and Bai Yujing cannot be killed, after all, their life levels are beyond those of the human world."

However, nothing in this world is absolute. I know two ways to kill them. The first is to obtain power at the same level as them, just like when you killed Ling Xiao, the number one swordsman of the previous generation, at Longhu Mountain. Theoretically, he was an Ascension Realm Nascent Soul, and you couldn't kill him, but you used your Nascent Soul to kill him. So, Bai Yujing and the Heart Demon are the same. However, these two beings have transcended the Ascension Realm, so naturally, you need power above the Ascension Realm.”

Although Ye Jinglan didn't know what the inner demon and Bai Yujing were, he understood their conversation and asked, "What kind of power is on the same level as Bai Yujing and the inner demon?"

Qi Miaoxuan chuckled and said, "Forbidden things, like the dragon veins of the human world, the Mirror of Reincarnation, and the Reverse Scale Blade. Of course, there are probably other things in the world that have not yet been discovered and are no less powerful than forbidden things."

Ye Jinglan asked, "Can you kill him?"

Qi Miaoxuan thought for a moment and said, "Of course I can, but I have no reason to attack them, and I can't find them either, just as they can't find me."

After saying that, Qi Miaoxuan looked at Gu Mo and asked, "Is there anything else you want to ask?"

Gu Mo asked, "Does the Inner Demon and Bai Yujing have physical forms?"

"Have."

Qi Miaoxuan said, "However, their true forms are basically impossible to find, because they are all reflected through ideology. For example, the inner demon. In theory, all Qi cultivators have the opportunity to see the inner demon, but what they can see is always the inner demon's clone. Including the one guarding the Heavenly Gate, it is also a clone of the inner demon."

Qi Miaoxuan paused for a moment and said, "Actually, Ye Nantian of the Moon Worship Sect cultivated the Undying Gu, which was somewhat similar to this kind of inner demon. He could change his main body and clone at any time. If Ye Nantian hadn't had his main body restricted to Jiang Ruoxu's body by the Emperor of Jiang Kingdom, he wouldn't have been so easy to kill."

Therefore, even I cannot kill the Inner Demon and Bai Yujing, because I cannot confine their true forms to a fixed location. As for tracking them, they can sever their connection with their clones at any time, making tracking impossible.

Gu Mo was acutely aware of the inability to track down this aspect.
Previously on Penglai Island, when he used the Dao Heart Demon Seed Technique to control the First and Second Island Masters, Bai Yujing immediately cut off contact.

Gu Mo pondered for a moment, then asked, "The third question: Is the Celestial Realm real or fake?"

“It should be true,” Qi Miaoxuan said. “I can’t give you a definite answer to this question because I’m just hearing it secondhand. It could be the Heaven Beyond the Heavens among the Thirteen Forbidden Zones.”

"Behind the Heavenly Gate?"

"I don't know, because I've never seen the Heavenly Gate."

Gu Mo nodded slightly and said, "Alright, the last question is about Old Ye. Did you place a restriction on him?"

Upon hearing this question, Ye Jinglan looked at Qi Miaoxuan with great anticipation.

Qi Miaoxuan shook her head slightly and said, "No, why would I put a restriction on him?"

Gu Mo asked, "You implanted Qilin blood and replaced Qilin bones in him. Aren't you afraid he'll develop disloyal thoughts?"

Qi Miaoxuan chuckled and said, "I already told him that my relationship with him is just a transaction. I don't need him to be loyal to me. I'm just using him as an experiment, and he needs power. That's how it is. My relationship with him is just a transaction."

"Have ulterior motives? We were never of one mind to begin with, so there's no question of ulterior motives. At worst, he might plot to kill me. If he could truly pose a threat, I'd be quite pleased. Besides, it would only expose my identity, which wouldn't affect me at all. I can easily change my identity and continue wandering the world. Moreover, the reason I change identities is simply to avoid being disturbed by my pursuit of immortality, not because I'm afraid of anything. Whether it's a mortal dynasty or a martial arts holy land, it can't harm me. Knowing that someone can achieve immortality is enough!"

Gu Mo thought for a moment and said, "What you said actually makes a lot of sense."

As soon as the words fell,
He immediately pointed a finger at Ye Jinglan's forehead, quickly examining Ye Jinglan's limbs, bones, and meridians, and then used his primordial spirit to examine Ye Jinglan's spiritual body.

"They really didn't use any underhanded tactics!"

Qi Miaoxuan lay on the bed and chuckled, "No need." He looked at Gu Mo and said, "Gu Mo, for example, if you created a martial art, would you need to find a way to control that person before daring to test it on them?"

"That's true."

Gu Mo slowly poured himself a glass of wine and said, "Then, can you tell me why you wanted to test the power of the Qilin, and why you insisted on killing the Fire Qilin?"

Qi Miaoxuan chuckled, "Pursuing greater power, isn't that obvious? I was experimenting with how to absorb and control the power of a Qilin, and now I've succeeded with Ye Jinglan. I've found a way, so let's kill the Fire Qilin now!"

As she spoke, Qi Miaoxuan turned her head to look at Gu Mo and said, "What, are you interested in the power of the Qilin? I'll share some with you later, and I'll help you absorb the Qilin's power, how about that?"

Gu Mo waved his hand and said, "Just let me kill the Qilin, I don't need the stuff."

Qi Miaoxuan asked in confusion, "What's the logic behind this?" "The Fire Qilin is also a wanted criminal!"

Qi Miaoxuan was slightly taken aback, and after a long while, she slowly said, "You really do have a special fondness for wanted criminals!"

"Are you a wanted criminal?" Gu Mo asked.

Qi Miaoxuan shook her head.

Gu Mo pursed his lips and said, "That's a real pity."

Qi Miaoxuan: "..."

I'm so sorry to have disappointed you!

……

In the dead of night, in the desolate desert of northern Mobei, a band of bandits was fleeing for their lives on horseback. This group was none other than the Eighteen Great Bandits who had risen to prominence in northern Mobei in the past year or two. Each of them was highly skilled in martial arts and had committed many major crimes in northern Mobei.

However, these eighteen bandits were incredibly cunning and committed crimes without any discernible pattern. Taking advantage of the fact that the northern desert was mostly uninhabited, even the combined efforts of the Six Doors of the Northern Desert and the martial arts world failed to eradicate them. This only emboldened the eighteen bandits, who would leave behind provocative words like "What can you do to me?" with each crime.

however,
At this moment, in this cold night, only twelve of the eighteen bandits remained, and several of them were injured. They were all in a panic, frantically whipping their horses forward.

"Hurry up! Once we get to the canyon ahead, we'll hide among the rocks, and that kid won't be able to catch us!" The burly man at the front roared, his eyes filled with hope.

Those around him saw a glimmer of hope for survival.

however,
At that moment,
Before the gorge, under the cover of night, amidst the swirling sand and dust, a figure slowly appeared. It was a swordsman dressed in black and wearing a bamboo hat. Under the pale moonlight, the swordsman slowly raised his head, revealing himself to be a young man. Although his skin was very rough, his face still retained a childlike innocence.

This man was none other than Yu Shijiu, the famous flying swordsman of the Northern Desert Jianghu. He had even received guidance from Gu Mo, the number one swordsman in the world, and the sword in his hand was a gift from Gu Mo.

Upon seeing Yu Shijiu, all twelve bandits immediately reined in their horses, their faces filled with terror.

"Split up and run!"

At the command of the bandit leader, the remaining eleven men did not hesitate and scattered on their horses.

Twelve people scattered into twelve shadows under the moonlight, the sound of horses' hooves crushing the sand and gravel mingling with the rushing wind. Yu Shijiu flicked his wrist, and the green sword flashed out of its sheath. The blade gleamed with a cold silver light under the pale moonlight, and even before it was fully drawn, a chilling sword aura tore through the sand and dust.

He didn't even move a step, simply standing at the eye of the sandstorm at the mouth of the gorge, the black veil at the edge of his straw hat lifted by the air currents. The next moment, the sword light, like a startled swan piercing the night, transformed into twelve overlapping cold stars, weaving an impenetrable net of light amidst the swirling sand.

The wind howled suddenly sharp, as if it had been cleaved in two by a sword.

Sword light weaved through the sand and moonlight. With each flick of Yu Shijiu's wrist and each forward thrust, a figure would abruptly halt. Some were pierced between the brows, some through the heart, and some were cleaved in two, man and horse alike. In just a few breaths, the twelve fleeing black figures, like kites with their strings cut, fell one by one to the sand.

The last remaining bandit leader suddenly turned his horse around and roared hysterically, "Yu Nineteen, I'll fight you to the death..."

With a soft "clang," a flash of white light appeared and disappeared into the howling sandstorm.

The bandit leader continued riding forward, but his head had already fallen to the ground.

The desert fell silent.

Yu Shijiu took his sword and began to cut off the heads. He quickly cut off all twelve heads and wrapped them up. Then he whistled, and a fine horse galloped out of the canyon. On either side of the horse's back were baskets containing three wrapped heads.

"Eighteen, that's a set!"

The boy placed twelve fresh human heads into a basket, then mounted his horse and rode on by the moonlight.

The night was as dark as ink, and the fierce winds, whipping up sand and gravel, turned the Gobi Desert into a howling, ghostly realm.

Yu Shijiu rode on a chestnut horse, his cloak fluttering in the wind, the sword at his waist trembling slightly with the rise and fall of the horse's belly. He tapped the brass rings on the saddle with his fingertips, and suddenly his nostrils twitched slightly—the smell was not the earthy smell carried by the wind and sand, but a sweet and cloying mixture of decaying sea algae and blood, like the eerie aroma of aged corpse oil melting over a fire.

The moment I looked up, I saw a crack appear in the clouds on the northwest horizon. It wasn't moonlight pouring down, but a thick, impenetrable black fog falling vertically.

The fog did not appear to be naturally formed; its edges churned like the tentacles of a living creature, carrying a pungent smell like burning sulfur. It condensed into a ferocious vortex in mid-air and crashed down towards his head.

"Pretend to be a ghost!"

Yu Shijiu let out a low shout and slammed his legs into the horse's belly. The chestnut horse reared up in pain, but Yu Shijiu used the momentum to twist his waist and leap into the air, his figure drawing a silver arc in the air.

The sound of the sword leaving its sheath was torn apart by the gale. In an instant, the sword intent soared into the sky, and hundreds of sword energies burst forth from his wrist, like an inverted galaxy or a silver ribbon across the sky, weaving an impenetrable net of light that slashed towards the black mist.

The sharp sound of the sword energy tearing through the air caused sand and gravel to tumble down, and even the swirling sandstorm was forced to explode in all directions by this sword intent.

However, the anticipated collision did not occur.

Just as the sword energy touched the edge of the black mist, the dark mass suddenly swelled up, like a giant maw swallowing the sky, engulfing his entire body.

The starry sky, moon, and sandstorm vanished instantly, replaced by a dim, viscous world. Surrounding them were surging walls of mist, and everything they touched felt damp, cold, and slippery, like sinking into the silt of a thousand-year-old icy pool.

The moment the sword energy he unleashed left his body, it was like snowflakes thrown into boiling oil, sizzling and disappearing without a trace in the black mist, leaving not even a ripple.

The sounds of the wind, horses, and rolling gravel were all shut out.

Yu Shijiu drew his sword and spun around, only to see varying shades of gray-black mist swirling before his eyes. Each swing of his sword felt like striking empty air, and his powerful internal energy was like a mud ox sinking into the sea when it hit the wall of mist.

This was not fog; it was clearly a cage woven from invisible shackles, shrouding his sword intent, his perception, and even his breath in a deathly darkness.

However, Yu Shijiu remained calm and composed, constantly wielding his longsword while carefully observing the environment within the black mist.

At this moment,
A deep, resonant voice suddenly rang out behind him: "Gu Mo's sword is not that weak."

Yu Shijiu suddenly turned around and saw a man in black robes, whose face was obscured in the darkness.

He suddenly thrust out his sword, instantly striking the man in black between the eyebrows. However, he was startled because he felt no force at all, as if he had only pierced the air.

Then, in the next instant,

The black-robed man's hat fell off, revealing a human-shaped cloud of mist.

Yu Shijiu's longsword pierced right through the head of that wisp of mist.

Yu Shijiu's pupils contracted slightly, and a burst of sword intent suddenly erupted as he shouted sharply, "Don't even think about shaking my will!"

In an instant, sword energy surged and sword intent hummed. His sword was faster than lightning. In a flash, he swung dozens of swords, slashing at the humanoid black mist from various tricky angles, but all of them disappeared into it. Finally, they converged into one sword and stabbed straight at the forehead of the black mist figure.

This sword strike carried the intent of destruction.

At this moment, the black-mist figure who had been unmoved finally moved. He slightly raised his hand, which was also made of black mist, and caught Yu Shijiu's sword, saying, "This sword strike is somewhat impressive, but it is still a far cry from Gu Mo's sword."

Yu Shijiu tried to pull the sword out but couldn't. He said coldly, "Master Gu is the best in the world. What merit do I, Yu Shijiu, have? To even have his sword would be my lifelong pursuit!"

The man in black mist said in a deep voice, "This is not enough to protect the Fire Spirit Clan!"

Yu Shijiu was startled and shouted, "Who exactly are you? What do you know?"

The man in black mist said, "What you know, I know; what you don't know, I also know. Yu Shijiu, I am just like you, a protector of the Fire Spirit Clan. My name is—Yu Shier!"

Yu Shijiu exclaimed in surprise, "You're that traitor? You're actually still alive!"

Yu Shier said, "I am not a traitor. I have never betrayed the Fire Spirit Clan or the Fire God. It was not I who stole the supreme treasure of the Fire Spirit Clan back then. It was an immortal being who injured the Fire God and tried to take the treasure away. I had no choice but to take the treasure away first, both to try to protect it and to lure away the immortal being and protect the Fire Spirit Clan. For the past few hundred years, I have been secretly protecting the Fire Spirit Clan!"

Yu Shijiu asked, "Then why have you shown yourself again now?"

Yu Shier said, "Because a crisis has arrived. Recently, the imperial court sent troops to the northern desert under the guise of border defense, but in reality, they are searching for the location of the Ruins of the Fire. The immortal who injured the God of Fire back then is among them. He will attack the God of Fire again, and our Fire Spirit Clan will be exposed to the world."

"Yu Shijiu, the Fire Spirit Clan and the Fire God are facing imminent annihilation. With your current strength, you cannot protect the Fire Spirit Clan, nor can you protect the Fire God."

Yu Shijiu asked doubtfully, "Is the fire god in our clan's legends real?"

“Of course,” Yu Twelve said, “Our Fire Spirit Clan’s blood can revive the dead and heal bones. We can live a life free from illness, disaster, and injury, and our lifespan is no less than a hundred years. Moreover, every sixty years, a protector with exceptional cultivation talent will be born. This is the blessing of the Fire God.”

Yu Shijiu said in a deep voice, "This is not a blessing, it is a curse, a curse that has haunted our Fire Spirit Clan for generations!"

Yu Shier said, “I know. I have been researching for hundreds of years and have found a way to eliminate this curse. However, I still need some time. But now, that immortal has come again and brought an army. Once they determine the location of the Ruins of Ruins, they will forcibly break through the formation and enter it.”

At that time, both the Fire God and our Fire Spirit Clan will face annihilation. The Fire God will be killed, and our Fire Spirit Clan will be hunted down, becoming coveted elixirs. Everyone will be kept in captivity, living a life of unbearable suffering.

Yu Shijiu's expression turned solemn. He didn't care much about whether the legendary Fire God was alive or dead, but he knew very well that once their Fire Spirit Clan was exposed to the world, their lives would be a thousand times more terrifying than Yu Shier had described.

Yu Shier continued, "Right now, we can only temporarily escape this calamity. Afterward, I will extract the blessing of the Fire God from the bodies of my people and allow them to live normal lives."

As he spoke, a purple cinnabar the size of an egg slowly floated out of Yu Shier's hand. He said, "This is the source of ultimate poison that I have gathered from all the rare poisons in the world over three hundred years."

"Take this to the Ruins of the Void and give it to the clan chief. He will place it within the core of the Void Array. Then, the Void Array will become my domain, and within it, no one will be my match."

(End of this chapter)