Cultivating Immortality: I Have a High-Martial World

Chapter 123 The Myriad Ghosts Bewitching Mind Array, Slaughtering Millions

Lin Chen hid deep underground, watching this scene quietly.

As he had predicted, there were still a group of cultivators in the city who had not been misled.

"I wonder what the strength of this group of cultivators is?"

Lin Chen thought to himself, and then gave orders to Long Ba and Feng Jiu.

A moment later, led by two cultivators, Long Ba and Feng Jiu entered a secluded courtyard.

There were more than ten people in the courtyard, all of whom were at the Foundation Establishment stage!

Upon seeing the unfamiliar Long Ba and Feng Jiu, the cultivators in the courtyard all revealed wary eyes.

"Old Zhang, who are these two...?" a cultivator asked.

Just as Long Ba was about to answer, a voice came from beside him.

"Are you Daoist Long Ba and Daoist Feng Jiu?"

Chairman Zheng peeked out from behind the crowd and was overjoyed to see Long Ba and Feng Jiu.

Then he smiled wryly and said:

"Unexpectedly, you two fellow Daoists have also fallen victim to this... trapped in Jade Belt City and unable to get out!"

Deep underground, Lin Chen was also stunned when he saw Chairman Zheng's appearance.

He never expected to run into an old acquaintance in this Jade Belt City.

He gave orders to Long Ba.

Long Ba's face showed a look of doubt at the right moment, and he asked:

"So it's Brother Zheng? Brother Zheng isn't in Guangyuan Market... what brings you to Jade Belt City?"

Chairman Zheng's face showed a bitter expression, and he sighed, saying:

"Sigh, don't even mention it! A while ago, we were looking to expand our sales channels, so the Chamber of Commerce sent me to Jade Belt City to contact local shops..."

"Who would have thought that such strange things would happen in this city after only two or three days? I wish I hadn't come!"

Chairman Zheng looked quite resentful, knowing that everyone's situation was not good.

With this old acquaintance present, there was little doubt about the origins of Long Ba and Feng Jiu.

So he asked, "Fellow Daoists, do any of you have any leads on this city lockdown matter?"

The cultivators in the courtyard exchanged glances, then nodded and said:

"We've been searching the city for over ten days and have finally made some progress, but... the situation is dire!"

"Sigh, let Senior Li tell you two!"

After he finished speaking, the cultivators made way, and a thin old man walked out from the back of the crowd.

"My name is Li Yu, a cultivator in the early stage of Core Formation..." Li Yu introduced himself.

Long Ba and Feng Jiu immediately showed respect and cupped their hands, saying:

"Greetings, Senior Core Formation cultivator..."

Li Yu seemed very easygoing, and waved his hand, saying:

"What senior? We're all in the same boat now..."

"Could it be that even someone with the Core Formation cultivation level couldn't break through this city-sealing formation?" Long Ba asked in confusion.

After hearing this, Li Yu sighed and said:

"Alas, I have lived in seclusion in this Jade Belt City for decades... and have been affected by this formation for over a year. By the time I realized it, it was too late!"

"The longer you stay inside this formation, the harder it is to escape!"

"Look at those million mortals and thousands of cultivators in the city... they're all going to die here!"

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow after looking at the images and sounds coming from the light screen.

Clearly, this group of cultivators had a greater understanding and exploration of formations.

At Lin Chen's command, Long Ba timely showed a look of doubt and asked:

"Senior Li... do you have any clues about who set up this formation?"

Li Yu nodded and said:

"If I'm not mistaken, this is the 'Ten Thousand Ghosts Bewitching Mind Formation' of the Exorcism Sect!"

"The Ten Thousand Ghosts Bewitching Mind Formation?" Long Ba pondered, rubbing his forehead.

Li Yu didn't notice Long Ba's stiff expression, and simply nodded:

"That's right, I also saw this formation by chance..."

"Legend has it that this 'Ten Thousand Ghosts Bewitching Mind Array' is a closely guarded secret of the Ghost Exorcism Sect. It can bewitch people with ghostly energy, but it usually only covers a small area... This is the first time I've ever heard of it covering such a large area as an entire city!"

"The longer one stays in the Myriad Ghosts Bewitching Mind Array, the deeper the danger. Those of us with slightly stronger divine souls can still resist to some extent..."

"But the million mortals in this city... they are actually already dead!"

Lin Chen's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, and he controlled Long Ba to ask:

"Millions of mortals died... What does that mean?"

Li Yu sighed and said:

"Once the 'Ten Thousand Ghosts Bewitching Mind Array' is set up, it will gradually exert psychological suggestion on the living beings within it... And from the moment the city is sealed off, all mortals within have lost the will to survive and leave!"

"Therefore, in the end, all one million mortals in this city... are doomed to die!"

"Not only that, even cultivators! Even we ourselves are constantly under this kind of psychological suggestion and deception..."

"If I were to stay in this city for a few more months, even I... would never want to leave Jade Belt City in my entire life!"

As he spoke, Li Yu nodded to Long Ba and pushed open the door of a house next to him.

Inside the house, two monks were fast asleep on the bed.

"The longer one remains conscious within the 'Ten Thousand Ghosts Bewitching Mind Array,' the more severe the psychological suggestion becomes!"

"These two fellow cultivators are only in the early stages of Foundation Establishment. Just a few days ago, they agreed to find a way to leave the city... but now they have gradually lost the will to survive."

"As a last resort, we can only put them to sleep to reduce their conscious time... If they can escape Jade Belt City, there's still a chance to save them!"

Hearing this, Lin Chen, who was far away underground outside the city, took a deep breath.

The longer you stay in the formation, the deeper the danger?

Doesn't that mean that if he doesn't escape, he will lose the will to live, just like these cultivators and mortals?

"So, Senior Li... have you found a way to break the formation?" Long Ba asked.

Li Yu nodded and said:

"Based on my speculation, the Ten Thousand Ghosts Bewitching Mind Array was set up to nurture a vengeful ghost at the Yuanming stage..."

"Once all the mortals in this city have perished, this vengeful ghost of the Yuanming stage will appear and become the mortal ghost of some being in the Exorcism Sect!"

"And within the entire Exorcism Sect, there is only one person with such courage and potential... Ghost-Eyed Child!"

"The way to break the formation is to kill the person who set it up..."

Lin Chen heard all this information clearly through the images shared by Long Ba.

He knew that the Yuanming stage was the realm of ghosts and monsters, a terrifying existence that surpassed the Ghost Core stage and was comparable to the Nascent Soul stage!

But he had not heard of the Ghost-Eyed Child.

So Lin Chen, controlling Long Ba, asked, "Senior Li... who is this Ghost Eye Child you mentioned?"

Li Yu sighed and said:

"It's normal that you don't know the name of this Ghost-Eyed Child, since he was a figure from over three hundred years ago... Perhaps calling him Ancestor Ghost-Eyed would be more appropriate!"

"Three hundred years ago, when I was still a Foundation Establishment cultivator, I participated in that war between the righteous and demonic paths. At that time, I only glanced at him from afar and was not qualified to fight him at all..."

"Legend has it that he was born with the talent of a spirit root, and when he condensed his golden core, he reached the eighth grade of golden core. His current cultivation level should be in the late stage of the golden core formation, or perhaps even the eighth stage."

"Moreover, he comes from the Ghost Exorcism Sect. Such an old monster would at least have several Ghost Core stage ghosts at his disposal... If he personally comes here this time, we would probably all be doomed!"

At this point, Li Yu's face was filled with deep sorrow again.

(Note: The quality of Golden Core is divided into nine grades, and the first to ninth grades represent the Golden Core realm, similar to the first to ninth levels of the Qi Refining stage.)

Lin Chen fell silent after hearing Li Yu's words.

According to the skinning monk he had previously interrogated, a powerful figure from the Ghost Exorcism Sect had arrived in Jade Belt City…

This is probably the Ghost-Eyed Child that Li Yu mentioned.

"A cultivator at the eighth level of the Golden Core stage likely possesses true essence and magical power approaching the peak of the Golden Core stage... in addition, he may have several Ghost Core stage ghosts under his command..."

"It seems this time, things are really going to be very bad..."

Lin Chen frowned deeply.

After thinking for a moment, he resumed digging.

If you dig deep enough, even a true Nascent Soul ancestor can't do anything to him.

At that time, the Ten Thousand Ghosts Bewitching Formation will collapse on its own...

"Besides killing this Ghost-Eyed Child... perhaps there's only one other way to break the Myriad Ghosts Bewitching Mind Formation!"

As Li Yu spoke, his face was filled with worry.

He glanced around at the surrounding cultivators and whispered:

"Since the Myriad Ghosts Bewitching Mind Formation is a city-sacrificing formation, it requires the entire Jade Belt City as nourishment..."

"Then there's only one way: kill all the living beings in the city before the formation is activated..."

As Li Yu spoke, the surrounding cultivators reacted in response.

"No, absolutely not!"

"Senior Li, this city contains a million mortals! If we were to kill them all... what a terrible sin that would be!"

"..."

Unsurprisingly, the dozen or so cultivators all objected.

Admittedly, even cultivators who regard mortals as worthless, except for a few extremely fanatical demonic cultivators, are not immune to this.

Otherwise, even selfish rogue cultivators could not possibly slaughter a million cultivators.

On the one hand, it's true that I can't bear to do it.

On the other hand, there's the fear of deepening one's karma...

Of course, there is also the most important reason: even if one kills a million mortals and leaves Jade Belt City alive, one will certainly be hunted down by righteous cultivators.

They might even end up being infamous for all time...

Li Yu looked at the expressions of the cultivators around him, his face calm. The reactions of the crowd were not unexpected.

But he simply said:

"Either go fight that old monster with the ghostly eyes to the death...or slaughter all mortals. The choice is yours!"

As an old monster in the Core Formation stage, Li Yu's Dao heart became even more steadfast.

Compared to these Foundation Establishment cultivators, he cared even less about the lives of these mortals...

The Foundation Establishment cultivators around them fell silent after hearing this, clearly still somewhat conflicted.

At this moment, Li Yu said again:

"Of course, slaughtering millions of mortals is not my intention either..."

"The one who came from the Ghost Exorcism Sect is the Old Monster with Ghost Eyes, but that's just my speculation... If it were other Core Formation cultivators, we might be able to put up a fight with our combined strength!"

"In my opinion, we should first investigate the Ghost Exorcism Sect's headquarters. If that proves impossible, we can then discuss the second method."

After Li Yu finished explaining his ideas, the surrounding cultivators had no choice but to agree.

"Sigh, this is the only way for now..."

Lin Chen had been keeping a close eye on what was happening here.

At this moment, he commanded Long Ba to speak:

"Senior Li, do you know the location of the Ghost Exorcism Sect?"

"I just killed two Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Ghost Exorcism Sect. Their base should be in the mass graves outside the city..."

Li Yu nodded after hearing this, then looked at Long Ba and Feng Jiu and said:

"The two fellow cultivators don't display any cultivation aura... do they possess magical artifacts that conceal their cultivation?"

Before taking action, Li Yu wanted to know the strength of Long Ba and Feng Jiu.

Chairman Zheng had some understanding of Long Ba and Feng Jiu's strength, so he spoke up at this moment:

"Fellow Daoists Long Ba and Feng Jiu follow the path of ancient body cultivation, therefore their strength is not readily apparent..."

"However, Senior Li, don't underestimate them... These two fellow cultivators are in no way weaker than late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators!"

Li Yu felt a pang of emotion upon hearing this and said:

"Excellent! With two fellow Daoists joining us, the success of this operation has increased even further!"

"Senior Li, when shall we set off?" another cultivator asked.

"There's no time like the present! Every day we delay, we become three times more dangerous... We should attack the Ghost Exorcism Sect's stronghold now!"

Li Yu, a decisive and ruthless man, made the suggestion at this moment.

The other cultivators in the courtyard did not object, and they all headed towards the mass grave in the south of the city.

……

Meanwhile, Lin Chen had a clear view of everything that was happening in the courtyard from underground.

He stroked his chin and nodded, saying:

"It would be best if we sent this group of cultivators to investigate the Ghost Exorcism Sect!"

"Long Ba and Feng Jiu can also send back intelligence in time. If the person who set up the formation can be killed, the formation will naturally break down on its own..."

After a pause, Lin Chen continued:

"However, we still need to be prepared for both possibilities... This 1,500-foot-deep excavation is far from enough! We need to dig even deeper..."

With this in mind, Lin Chen quickened his pace.

……

Outside Jade Belt City, there is a mass grave.

The setting sun couldn't penetrate the dense foliage; the sparse light and shadows fell on the mass graves, adding to the eerie atmosphere.

Li Yu led more than a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators through the mass grave.

After searching with more than ten divine senses, no aura was detected.

"What's going on... Aren't those exorcism sect cultivators stationed here? Why can't I see a single person...?"

Chairman Zheng frowned as he spoke.

Under his divine sense, apart from the graves, withered leaves, and old trees scattered everywhere, there was not a trace of life in this mass grave.

"It is indeed a bit strange... According to intelligence, the Ghost Exorcism Sect's headquarters should be here. This desolate mountain is so small, you can see the end of it at a glance... How come we still can't find it?" a cultivator chimed in.

Li Yu frowned slightly, and after carefully sensing the surroundings, his gaze finally settled on the mounds of graves in the mass grave.

Hundreds of graves are densely packed together, and you can see them almost every few steps.

"Be careful, something's not right about these graveyards!"

With a wave of his hand, Li Yu unleashed his true essence, instantly overturning a grave.

The other cultivators looked puzzled, but upon closer inspection of the graveyard, they found no skeletons.

Instead, a humanoid monster, entirely black and covered in black hair, was lying asleep.

"They're dog-skin puppets! The strange skinning incidents in the city and the Black Dog Gang's business are all about creating these monsters..." Long Ba said at this moment.

"I'll give it a try!" At this moment, a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the crowd said.

He flicked his finger, and his powerful true energy transformed into raging flames, burning towards the dog-skin puppet.

The sudden attack instantly awakened the dog-skin puppet.

The flames burned on his body, but he felt no pain. He struggled and rushed towards the crowd.

"This puppet is impervious to pain and highly resistant to fire... Everyone be careful!"

Li Yu frowned and reminded him, then casually unleashed a sword beam, cleaving the puppet in two.

"Its defensive capabilities aren't very strong, roughly equivalent to the late stage of Qi Refining..."

"Everyone, let's stop holding back and take care of these puppets before the Ghost Exorcists show up!"

As Li Yu spoke, he lifted another grave mound and killed a dog-skin puppet.

Seeing this, the other cultivators followed suit and began to clean up the puppets.

After uncovering dozens of graves, some cultivators noticed something was amiss.

"Look over there..."

Everyone looked up and saw hundreds of black-haired hands emerging from deep beneath the mound of earth on the grave, their fingers twisted and bent, as if trying to reach out.

"Hurry! These dog-skin puppets are about to be awakened!"

Li Yu's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly urged.

After killing dozens of dog-skin puppets, it was ultimately too late to stop their awakening.

A strange wind suddenly swept through the woods, carrying with it eerie laughter.

"Heh heh, just as the ancestor said... there are still little rats like you hiding in the city..."

"Since you're here, why don't you all stay? It'll save us the trouble of searching for you one by one!"

As the eerie laughter subsided, hundreds of dog-skin puppets in the graveyard surrounded the group.

Most of these puppets are only at the mid-to-late stage of Qi Refining.

However, it has thick skin and is not afraid of pain, and has extremely strong resistance to flames and blades.

Even the Foundation Establishment cultivators present would find it difficult to kill him instantly with a single move.

More than a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators and the dog-skin puppet were crushed in a single encounter.

A moment later, another forty or fifty dog-skin puppets fell to the ground.

"what!"

Just then, a scream suddenly rang out.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator was seen with black blood seeping from his legs, his protective true essence bitten through by a puppet lying on the ground.

Even with its legs severed, the puppet, oblivious to the pain, crawled toward his feet.

Seeing this, Li Yu's expression changed slightly, and he shouted:

"Be careful, these puppets have no weaknesses... We need to cut off their heads and detach their limbs!"

As they were talking, another Foundation Establishment cultivator in the distance was seriously injured.

A dog-skin puppet, significantly taller than him, charged fiercely at him, knocking him flying and causing blood to seep from the corner of his mouth.

Immediately afterwards, dozens of dog-skin puppets surrounded him, frantically tearing at his protective true essence as if they were also capable of doing so.

"Help, help me..."

The cultivator who was tackled to the ground didn't have time to call for help; his voice gradually faded.

After a few breaths, the dog-skin puppet dissipated.

Only a lifeless, severed limb remained on the ground...

Internal organs exposed, skin and flesh turned inside out, flesh and blood gnawed away and indistinct...

A dignified Foundation Establishment cultivator died as if he had been eaten by wild dogs in the mountains!

This scene further provoked the surrounding Foundation Establishment cultivators, who shouted in unison:

"Quick, everyone, move closer! Protect yourselves with your protective true energy... Don't give us any openings!"

The remaining dozen or so Foundation Establishment cultivators, led by Li Yu, gathered together to defend the area.

As expected, with their cooperation, the consumption of true energy was greatly reduced.

However, the cultivator's true essence is limited, while the dog-skin puppets show no signs of fatigue and continue their relentless attacks.

If this continues, it may be necessary for Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Ghost Exorcism Sect and the Puppet Hall to intervene.

Apart from the Core Formation cultivators, none of the rogue cultivators present were likely to survive...

Li Yu looked at this scene with a somewhat unpleasant expression.

As a Core Formation cultivator, he still had considerable strength left to spare.

But he still has to deal with the next enemy, and if he consumes too much of his true energy now, the battle ahead will be extremely dangerous.

Lin Chen watched the battle from the perspectives of Long Ba and Feng Jiu.

Clearly, if these Foundation Establishment cultivators cannot even defeat these dog-skin puppets, then the test has lost its meaning.

With this in mind, he gave the order to the two puppets:

"Don't hold back, throw out all the thunderbolts..."

(End of this chapter)