Chapter Eighteen: Ghost Slave

  ……

  Although extremely shocked, Ding Wanyan knew that her senior sister had to have the composure and dignity of a senior sister. Suppressing the wildly racing heart, her voice was trembling uncontrollably: "Lei Shidi, tell me everything from the beginning again."

  Lei Dong painstakingly repeated the whole thing from start to finish again. After listening, Ding Yuanyan fell into deep thought for a moment before saying in a somewhat heavy tone: "Unfortunately, you didn't capture one of them alive. Now that there's no evidence of the extreme Yin Cave disciple insulting the ancestor, things are going to be a bit tricky."

  "Sister, we actually have evidence." Chen Ge said as he took out a strange token and handed it to Ding Yuanyan with respect: "This Sound-fixing Token has an intact record of all the sounds from that time."

  On the way back, Lei Dong had already known about this matter. Chen Ge was also a thoughtful person, knowing that traveling outside would inevitably lead to conflicts with others. He had long spent spirit stones to buy several Sealing Talismans, with no other purpose than to prepare for this day. It's no wonder that before the two sides clashed, Chen Ge deliberately used words to provoke the other side into underestimating the Wan Gui Cave and slandering the Wan Gui Old Ancestor.

  Ding Wenyang took the recording device with some surprise, and under Chen Ge's guidance, she listened to the recording from that time. It was indeed exactly as Lei Dong had said, and even the tone of that person was more vicious than she had imagined. Although, with her intelligence, she could somewhat hear that Chen Ge had suspicions of intentionally provoking a quarrel. But that extremely arrogant and overbearing disciple was really too much.

  With the evidence in hand, Ding Yuanyan's heart was also settled. He directly led them to the outermost part of the Wan Gui Cave's deepest Wan Gui Laozu Dongfu. Letting them wait outside, Ding Yuanyan first went alone to pay his respects. After a long while, an elderly man with a high level of cultivation that the three could not see through came to summon them inside.

  Including Lei Dong, the three of them followed the old man into the cave with trepidation, although they were extremely curious about what was inside the cave of Wan Gui Lao Zu. However, due to their fear and reverence for Wan Gui Lao Zu in their hearts, they walked with their heads bowed, not daring to look around.

  The faint tremble in his heart reminded Lei Dong of the protagonists from TV dramas before he crossed over. He only remembered that those protagonists were iron-boned and unyielding, showing off their arrogance and disdain for others when facing people who were hundreds of times stronger than them, capable of crushing them like ants at any moment. At the time, he didn't think much of it, but now thinking back, he found it quite laughable, wondering what qualifications they had to act that way. At least Lei Dong, who had lived for two lifetimes, didn't dare make any moves that would provoke Wan Gui Lao Zu.

  The gap between them was too great, and even just hearing his name made Lei Dong feel a crushing weight on top of him.

  The old man was somewhat satisfied with the three people's cautious and respectful attitude. At his age, he hated young people who were ignorant of their place in the world and did not put their elders in their eyes. His originally cold expression slightly eased at this time, and he said in a low voice: "When you meet Laozu later, you must tell the truth about what happened, without hiding anything. Otherwise, if Laozu finds out that you are lying, no one will be able to protect you."

  "Thank you for your guidance, sir. May I ask your esteemed name?" Chen Ge replied respectfully, handing over a few spirit stones.

  "You guys are kind, but keep it for yourself." The old man's tense face relaxed a bit more, waving his hand: "This little spiritual stone is not even worth my attention, your cultivation is still low, you need these more than I do. As for the name, forget it, I'm just an attendant under Old Ancestor."

  "Yes. Senior." Chen Ge honestly put it away.

  Although the old man called himself a servant, there was no one present who really dared to treat him as an inferior.

  After saying this, the old man did not say much. He led them for a short while before arriving at a grand hall with a heavy and eerie atmosphere. There, they saw Wan Gui Lao Zu sitting with his eyes closed on a chair made of skulls, while Ding Yuanyan stood beside him with caution.

  The three saw Wan Gui Lao Zu and didn't dare to be slow. They quickly knelt down and paid their respects, saying in unison: "Disciples Lei Dong, Chen Ge, and Wei Hua pay their respects to the Ancestor. We wish the Ancestor a long life and hope that he will soon achieve great success with his primordial infant." Their manner and expression were such that even if they were facing an emperor, they wouldn't be so respectful. In fact, Wan Gui Lao Zu was much more formidable than an emperor. Especially in terms of lifespan, even if an emperor knew how to cultivate his life and protect himself, it would still be difficult for him to live past a hundred years. But Wan Gui Lao Zu, although not immortal, had a lifespan of three or four hundred years.

  "Get up." Wan Gui Lao Zu's face was calm and serene, with no hint of his emotions.

  Even if the old ancestor didn't put pressure on them, the three of them had a faintly damp back after thanking the old ancestor and standing up. The person in front of them not only controlled their future and destiny but also held their life and death in his hands. No, to be precise, if they were to offend him, it's likely that even if they wanted to die, it wouldn't be that simple.

  "Lei Dong, tell Benzuo again about the course of events." Wan Gui Laozu suddenly opened his eyes and stared at Lei Dong.

  At that moment, he was struck by lightning and couldn't breathe. However, at this time, he still gritted his teeth and responded with a sound. He began to recount the cause and effect of the matter from start to finish, not daring to fabricate or exaggerate a single sentence. Even the loot obtained after killing people, and the ghost soldiers devouring their flesh and blood, he didn't dare conceal anything.

  Wan Gui Lao Zu was quietly listening, but his eyes remained fixed on Lei Dong's face. After Lei Dong finished speaking, he withdrew his gaze, as if nothing had happened. And Lei Dong, on the other hand, was drenched in sweat, and if not for his strong will, he might have fallen to the ground with weak legs.

  "Chen Ge!" The old ancestor of Wan Gui called out his name again, his voice somewhat cold and stern: "This Sound-Sealing Symbol, was it something you had prepared long ago? Could it be that you knew someone would deal with you? You calculated this early on, stirred up trouble, then provoked others to be disrespectful towards me, and now you're using this Sound-Sealing Symbol as evidence to complain to me?"

  "Disciple didn't..." Chen Ge was also shocked, his face as white as paper. He wanted to deny it, but then he remembered the old man's words earlier. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and respond: "Reporting to Ancestor, yes. Disciple has known for a while that among our Yin Lüe Sect's various caves and mansions, there would be friction between disciples from time to time. Especially when executing tasks in the wild, it's inevitable that conflicts will arise. Disciple also prepared a few Sound-Sealing Talismans as a precaution. Moreover, Disciple did indeed have some intentions in his words towards them. However, that Refining Qi Second Layer's Extreme Yin disciple was too arrogant, not putting Ancestor in his eyes at all. Please, Ancestor, judge wisely." Chen Ge's voice trembled more and more as he spoke, knowing that his life or death was no longer in his own hands, but rather depended on the old man's whim.

  Wei Hua, who was standing by and had not been asked anything, was also trembling with fear. He knew that at this moment, even if he didn't speak, the fate of the three people would still be closely tied together.

  Wan Gui Lao Zu was deep in thought, but for the three of them, it was like an eternity, every passing second weighing heavily on their hearts.

  After a long while, Wan Gui Lao Zu's face, which was normally expressionless, revealed a rare hint of a smile. He praised, "Good, good. I've heard that the three of you have reached the first level of Qi Refining and are considered to be among the best. Your innate talents may not be exceptional, but they're passable. I didn't expect that not only do you have courage, but also strategy. Even under my intimidation, you can barely hold your ground without speaking nonsense, and your words are still somewhat coherent. Gui Nu, it seems you have a good eye for people. Help me evaluate these youngsters - are they acceptable?"

  Upon hearing Lao Zu's words of praise, the three of them felt a weight lift off their minds. Deep down inside, they couldn't help but feel an uncontrollable surge of joy. It was clear that not only did Lao Zu not have any objections to this matter, but he actually appreciated their approach.

  "Master, those ignorant and arrogant little bastards are truly deserving of death. If they fell into my hands, I would extract their souls and turn them into soul lanterns, using the fires of the underworld to torture them for ten or eight years before I'd even think of stopping." The old man's face also showed some satisfaction as he said: "However, these few kids from our Wan Gui Cave aren't bad at all. Not only do they have courage and strategy, but they're also ruthless and efficient in their work, making them rare talents indeed."