You've only been cultivating for a few years, and you're already talking about cultivating

When Yun Qiyue heard Qi Fei ask this, she looked at Qi Fei with a slightly strange expression and said, "With your cultivation level, you meet the requirements to enter the Taiyin Palace."

"But..." she hesitated.

"Just what?"

"However, the Taiyin Palace only accepts female disciples."

Qi Fei: "..."

Niang Xipi!

The two discussed their plans for the night of the 15th of the month before returning to the caravan camp.

Upon arriving at the camp, Steward Zhou was with the others. Seeing them return side by side, he quickly went to greet them.

"Brother Qi, who...who is this?"

Before Qi Fei could speak, Yun Qiyue glanced at Steward Zhou indifferently and remained silent.

Manager Zhou was stunned, and his expression changed drastically.

"You...you are...?"

"Hmm," Yun Qiyue replied with only one word.

Manager Zhou felt a chill run down his spine.

Just as he expected.

He was just a manager of a small caravan. In his decades of life, the highest official he had ever seen was the county magistrate, and the most extraordinary person he had ever met was a cultivator like Qi Fei.

Now, two people are hiding in this small camp?

He hurriedly bowed and stammered, inviting Yun Qiyue to take a seat, and then scrambled for people to boil water and make tea, wishing he could bring out the best of everything.

Yun Qiyue simply waved her hand.

"No need for that." Her voice was cold and aloof, completely different from when she spoke to Qi Fei earlier. "I'm just passing by, here for the Water Goddess."

After saying that, she ignored Steward Zhou's expression, walked to the side, put her straw hat back on, sat cross-legged, and ignored everyone.

Manager Zhou stood there without the slightest embarrassment.

This is what a cultivator should be like!

Those who chat and laugh with them, sharing dry rations, like Qi Fei, are the odd ones out.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

May 15th, the night of the full moon.

Before it was completely dark, Qi Fei stood on the high slope by the river, gazing at the moon slowly rising in the sky.

The moon tonight is exceptionally large and bright, seemingly several times larger than usual, its clear light casting a silvery glow over the world.

The Ruyin River glistens with light.

The moonlight fell on the water's surface, shattered by the ripples, then gathered again, breaking into countless silver scales that flowed slowly with the river.

The river surface looked like it was covered with a layer of flowing mercury, so bright that you could see your reflection in it.

Suddenly, a light appeared in the river.

At first, it was just a faint dot, shimmering in the deep riverbed, like a star that had sunk to the bottom of the water opening its eyes. The light slowly rose, piercing through layers of dark currents and breaking through the surface of the water.

"Whoosh—"

Water splashed everywhere, and light shot into the sky.

It was a soft halo, round as a pearl, and bright as the moon.

It rises from the riverbed, hovering a hundred meters above the river surface, gently rotating. With each rotation, millions of rays of light fall, illuminating the entire Ruyin River as bright as day.

A faint light shone in Qi Fei's eyes as he looked up at the ball of light.

It rotates slowly under the moonlight, its halo flowing like water ripples, refracting a rainbow of light.

It is serene, pure, and untouched by worldly concerns, as if a bright moon from the heavens had fallen to earth and been washed by the river, becoming even more pristine.

Even more remarkably, at that moment, a full moon hung high in the sky, casting its silvery glow.

Above the river, this halo of light floated, as bright and clear as a pearl.

And in the river, there is the reflection of the moon, shimmering gently with the ripples.

Three "moons" shine together.

The moon in the sky, the moon in the water, and the "moon" formed by the halo of light—the three reflect each other, their rays intertwining, enveloping this world in a dreamlike, ethereal glow.

Qi Fei was completely absorbed in watching.

The halo was bright, but not dazzling.

If you look closely, you can vaguely see a human figure deep within the halo. The figure is curled up in the center of the halo, with its arms wrapped around its legs, like a baby sleeping in its mother's womb.

It closed its eyes, its face slightly tilted back, facing the real bright moon in the sky.

The moonlight fell, and it absorbed it all.

"Fellow Daoist."

Yun Qiyue's voice rang in my ears.

She had somehow appeared beside Qi Fei, gazing at the ball of light on the river with a complex expression.

"I am about to begin my spell." She turned to Qi Fei, bowed respectfully, and said, "Please protect me, fellow Daoist."

Qi Fei nodded: "Leave it to me."

Yunqiyue said no more and sat cross-legged.

She took off a jade bracelet from her wrist. The jade bracelet was smooth and lustrous, and it shone with a faint bluish light under the moonlight.

Then, she tossed the jade bracelet into the air, and it swelled in the wind, growing to the size of a pot lid in the blink of an eye. Its entire body shimmered with cool moonlight as it slowly flew toward the ball of light on the river.

Just then, a fierce voice exploded from the surface of the river!

"Yunqiyue! You've finally arrived!"

The voice was sharp and piercing, filled with endless hatred, echoing through the night sky.

The ball of light on the river surface trembled violently, and the humanoid figure within the halo became grotesque.

"This time, I will kill you! From then on, the world will be vast, and I will be free!"

Qi Fei understood.

The cultivation of this Yin Body might even carry the risk of turning the tables. If Yun Qiyue wants to take it back, it will naturally fight back with its life on the line.

Before the words were even finished, the Ruyin River suddenly surged!

The river water churned as if boiling, creating waves taller than a person. From the spray, two enormous black shadows emerged from the water—two black fish.

Each one is taller than a person and more than ten meters long, covered with jet-black scales that gleam coldly in the moonlight.

Their mouths were open, revealing layers upon layers of sharp teeth, so densely packed that it sent chills down one's spine.

These two black fish have been the henchmen of the Water Goddess for many years, capsizing countless cargo ships and swallowing countless people crossing the river.

They manipulated the river water, causing it to surge.

Meanwhile, things kept floating up in the churning river!

It's a ghost!

One, two, ten, dozens.

Ghosts rose from the riverbed, their faces blurred, their bodies soaked, some missing half a head, some with a large hole in their chest, and some with missing limbs.

They floated on the water, turned their heads in unison, and looked at Qi Fei on the shore with empty eye sockets.

Those are the wronged souls who died unjustly in the river over the years.

Their bodies sank to the bottom of the river, and their souls were captured by the water goddess and turned into her servants.

At that moment, hundreds of wronged souls rose up in unison, letting out mournful howls, and rushed towards Qi Fei.

The scene was absolutely terrifying.

Under the moonlight, a hundred ghosts roamed the night, and a chilling wind blew.

Qi Fei stood still, motionless.

He stared at the vengeful spirits rushing towards him; this was the first time he had ever seen a ghost.

The light in his eyes, the "Shadow Detection" technique, shone brightly, revealing the true faces of those wronged souls.

They are not human.

Because there are three "selves" within the human body, even demons cultivate from this perspective.

They are just a blurry mass of light and shadow, fragments formed from the last obsessions of a person before death.

Some are obsessed with going home, some with revenge, and some with seeing their loved ones one last time.

These obsessions were trapped at the bottom of the river, year after year, until they became what they are today.

They have no mind at all, they just instinctively obey commands.

Like a person's shadow.