The First Chapter: Cloudy Mountain

  The night falls, and the cold moonlight shrouds the top of YunTou Mountain.

  Yun Tou Mountain is located in the depths of the Zhe Dong mountain range, where clouds and mist shroud it year-round, giving off an eerie atmosphere, with few human footprints. Under the moonlight, a patch of greenish-blue glow flickers faintly, amidst the darkness, revealing a grotesque shape. Within that eerie glow, the summit of the mountain has collapsed, revealing a hollowed-out interior, forming a cavernous space roughly ten miles in circumference, resembling an ancient city.

  In the center of the city, a towering giant cypress stands upright.

  The giant cypress tree's crown unfolded like a canopy, its thick, black trunk covered in ugly, bulging tumors, over a hundred feet high. Branches twisted and turned, growing wildly, like demons dancing in the moonlight. Intertwined among the branches were numerous vines, dense and tangled, hanging down. On each vine hung a large, green silk cocoon, with a human face peeking out from the end of the cocoon. As the mountain wind howled through, the vines swayed gently, like wind chimes, but emitted a mournful, blood-curdling scream.

  This giant cypress is a thousand-year-old tree demon, and all the disciples of the demonic sect call it "Grandma".

  To the north of the city gate, there are two tall and mysterious towers standing on both sides. One is called Xuanjing and the other is called Digui. Between the two towers lies a straight path leading directly to the foot of a giant tree.

  At this moment, Meng Qiu stood on the steps of Xuanjing Building, expressionless, looking out towards the city gate.

  As the moon rose to its zenith, nearing midnight, suddenly from afar and near, numerous eerie glows and ghostly auras emerged, numbering in the hundreds. They converged and gathered before the city gate, transforming into beautiful women, each with a person trailing behind them, both men and women, dazed and confused, like walking corpses, their necks wrapped in white silk, being led away.

  Meng Qiu saw these people appear, slightly furrowed his brow, and flashed a hint of unusual color. He knew that tonight hundreds of people would become Tree Demon Granny's fertilizer, among whom there might be two or three lucky ones who were born with spiritual roots and could keep their lives like him, becoming Cloud Head Mountain's demon disciples.

  "It's finally here! Let's go and see what good stuff we can find? Tonight is a rare, cloudy night, and with the help of a high-quality, crimson spirit, I might be able to condense my dark energy." On the top floor of the Mystic Crystal Tower, a handsome young man wearing a black robe, exuding an eerie and evil aura, stood with his hands clasped together in front of his chest, smiling ambiguously as he gazed down at the people outside the city gate who looked like walking corpses.

  As he spoke, his pupils contracted, like a cat's eyes, into a vertical line, and even in the darkness of night, hundreds of feet away, he could see every person's face clearly, searching for the existence of the Red Spirit.

  The Red Spirit is a reference to the innate Red Spirit energy contained within a person's soul, and is the best supplement for evil sects that cultivate and refine their spiritual energy.

  "Qiao Liang Shixiong, your cultivation has reached the peak of the late stage of Qi Refining, and you've even achieved spiritual awareness, now it's time to condense your Yin Spirit?"

  By the side of this young man, another youth wearing black clothes couldn't help but reveal a look of astonishment.

  Yin god is an important part of the practice of entering the Tao, regardless of whether it is orthodox or heretical. Those who want to cultivate longevity must first cultivate their yin god after practicing qi. These two black-clad men were only the lowest-ranking black-clad disciples on Cloud Head Mountain, and they had not yet condensed their yin gods. If they could condense their yin gods, they would be qualified to wear purple robes and become purple-robed disciples, with the qualifications to practice even more profound skills and magic.

  "A few days ago, my uncle obtained a Cong Bai Dan from the family for me, just to let me condense my Yin Spirit ahead of time and promote to Purple Robe. One move will shock everyone." Qiao Liang said proudly with a smile, then turned around and walked downstairs.

  At this time, outside the city gate of Yun Tou Shan, hundreds of female ghosts had gathered, each one as silent as a crow.

  A black-clad Taoist nun walked out of the city gate and stood in front of the formation of female ghosts, shouting loudly: "You ghostly multitude, on this night of profound yin, you have all come to offer sacrifices. The Grandmother will surely be greatly pleased with your filial piety, bestow divine energy upon you, solidify your dharma body, and ensure the eternal survival of your souls."

  "The female slaves thank the immortal grandmother for her kindness!" The group of female ghosts immediately thanked in unison, then under the leadership of the black-clothed demon, one by one, walked into the city gate and came to the front of the giant tree, kneeling down. Behind them, the people tied with white silk were still standing dazed, when a green vine suddenly flew over, instantly wrapping around that person and hanging him from the treetop. Afterwards, a black air sprayed out from the tree, covering everything, and the female ghosts let out a soft cry, lightly **, like calling out to spring.

  Meng Qiu stood in front of the Xuanjing Building, silently watching as one female ghost after another walked by.

  Just then, the two people who were standing on the top floor of the Xuanjing Building came down. The one in charge was a man named Qiao Liang. Seeing Meng Qiu, his eyes flashed and he showed an air of superiority, as if looking at a servant from his own household. He walked over with a swagger and said: "Meng Qiu, what do you think about the matter I mentioned to you last time? If you join the Qiao family and become my subordinate, I will promote you to be the outer affairs officer of the Qiao family in the future."

  Meng Qiu turned around, his eyes swept over the two of them, and he couldn't help but frown. Without saying a word, he turned and left.

  Qiao Liang was taken aback, feeling his face burning with anger. As the eldest son of the Qiao family for so many years, he had never been disregarded like this before. He couldn't help but shout: "Damn it, you don't know how to show respect! You're asking for a slap in the face!"

  The black-clothed disciple next to him also scolded and then hastily advised, "Brother Qiao, why must you get angry? You're about to condense into a yin spirit and be promoted to purple clothes. At that time, it will be easy to deal with this arrogant and unruly person. There are over a hundred ways to make him die without a place to bury his body."

  Qiao Liang clenched his fists, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes. He spat in the direction Meng Qiu had left: "You're right, once I've condensed into a yin spirit, I'll make him beg for life and death, let him understand what it means to defy me."

  At this time, Meng Qiu left the Xuanjing Building and returned to his room, lying on the bed, muttering to himself: "It seems I really did cross over."

  At first he thought he was dreaming, but after a whole day and several confirmations, he finally determined that he had indeed crossed over and arrived in a strange world where demons and monsters roamed.

  In his previous life, Meng Qiu was just an ordinary person with average intelligence and appearance, but he had a strong will that allowed him to face this unimaginable situation without panicking, instead becoming even calmer as he slowly digested the memories left in his mind.

  In his memory, his predecessor was originally a poor scholar who came to the capital three years ago to take the imperial examination through Jinhua Prefecture and was captured by a female ghost named Nie Xiaoqian. From then on, he became a demon disciple of Yun Toushan. Unfortunately, although he had spiritual roots, his innate talent was ordinary, and in three years, he barely reached the initial stage of Qi practice. The Six Paths Ghost Symbol Secret Art only practiced two paths. Among the black-clad demon disciples of Yun Toushan, he was indeed mediocre, belonging to the lower ranks.

  "Zhe Dong Jin Hua Fu, thousand-year-old tree demon, female ghost Xia Qian." Meng Qiu let out a soft sigh, these place names and personal names couldn't help but make him suspect that he had traveled to the world of A Chinese Ghost Story. But upon careful analysis, it seemed not quite like it, this world was obviously much larger, with just Zhe Dong having five major evil sects and seven major families.

  Meng Qiu's Yun Tou Shan is one of the five major evil sects, while Nie Xiaoqian is one of the seven great families, the eldest sister of the Nie family of Yin Ghosts, and a disciple under the Tree Demon Granny. When Meng Qiu was captured, it was also according to the rules, promoting to Purple Robe Disciple requires bringing back three young men with spiritual roots to add wings to the sect.

  However, Meng Qiu's previous personality was introverted and lonely, with average talent. After entering the path for three years, his progress was meager, making him the lowest-ranking person on Yun Tou Mountain, suffering from bullying and humiliation. Just like Qiao Liang, who was also a black-robed disciple, they were supposed to be equals, but instead he forced Meng Qiu to become a willing slave, only to be rejected and then became angry first.

  "This world is indeed a place where good people are bullied and good horses are ridden! " Meng Qiu smiled slightly, with a flash of ferocity in his eyes, now it's not so easy to bully him.

  She calmed down and continued her recollections...

  The five major evil sects of Zhe Dong, with the strongest being Hei Shan led by the old demon Hei Shan, followed by Lian Shi Zong, Xue Jian Men, Hei Sha Zong, and Meng Qiu's Yun Tou Shan ranking last, but its strength is not to be underestimated, with no less than a thousand disciples under its door.

  "The great way of heaven and earth, the strong are revered. It seems that to survive in this world, one must quickly increase their strength." Meng Qiu suddenly sat up from bed, left again, and headed straight into the desolate wilderness where no one was around.

  There are six Ghost Talismans, which are the basic skills that the black-clothed disciples of Yun Tou Mountain must master. They are divided into: Condensed Light Talisman, Purifying Dust Talisman, Water-Avoiding Talisman, Fire-Avoiding Talisman, Shield Talisman, and Sword Talisman. Meng Qiu has practiced for three years and only mastered two talismans, the Shield Talisman and the Sword Talisman, one for offense and one for defense, which are indeed the most useful. Meng Qiu stood still, closed his eyes, and silently recalled the key to the Ghost Talismans. Suddenly, he pointed with both hands and raised them, and a black talisman appeared in front of him. Following a flash, it transformed into a large shield. This large shield was over three feet square, round and thick, exceptionally solid.

  Meng Qiu nodded slightly, thinking to himself that although his previous life was weak in strength, his basic skills were still quite solid. The shield symbol he had just cast out was almost substantial. Immediately after, his mind stirred again, and with a loud cry, he pointed once more. A nearly one-meter-long semi-transparent treasure sword appeared, its aura alone was quite startling. However, Meng Qiu's expression turned into a frown as he thought to himself that the shield symbol from earlier was passable, but this sword symbol was far too lacking. Although it looked intimidating, it was scattered and unfocused, its power far from being as strong as it appeared.

  This sword move is now his only means of attack and must be practiced to perfection, there's no room for doubt.

  "Kill!"

  Meng Qiu stopped, putting away the sword symbol, but suddenly let out a loud shout and continued to issue it again. With a flash of light, the sword glow shot out. Moreover, Meng Qiu also added some simple moves to the sword symbol, thrusting, slashing, chopping, and sweeping, making the light sword dance. As he practiced repeatedly, his release became faster and faster, and the light sword he released gradually shrunk, transforming into a length of three or four feet, but becoming even more manageable. He continued until he didn't know how many times he had practiced, feeling that his true energy was about to be exhausted before stopping.

  "Unfortunately, the sword talisman of the Ghost Symbol Incantation was not a real flying sword after all. The talisman condensed into a light sword and shot out, but it only existed for an instant, barely reaching a distance of several feet." Meng Qiu's thoughts were still lingering, thinking to himself in his heart, but at this moment he suddenly felt a slight tremor in his mind, followed by a "ding" sound. In a daze, he fell into darkness, and then suddenly his eyes lit up, and the surroundings had transformed into a starry ocean.

  Meng Qiu was taken aback and looked around: "What is this place?"

  At the moment this question arose in his mind, a subconsciousness told him that it was his sea of recognition, deep within his brain.

  "What's going on? My thoughts have actually entered the sea of consciousness. According to reason, shouldn't it be that only after condensing into a yin spirit and reaching the later stage of the yin spirit can one move their heart with intention, circulate qi through the hundred meridians, internally visualize the viscera, and deeply enter the sea of consciousness?"

  Meng Qiu was slightly startled, and suddenly he felt something strange on his head. He looked up and saw a huge talisman, about the size of a square meter, which had been hanging above him, suddenly falling in front of him.

  This enormous talisman was as white as jade, several feet long and about seven feet wide. Its entire body emitted a divine aura that seemed to flow with precious light. Meng Qiu took another close look and saw that the surface of the jade talisman was densely covered with mysterious dark patterns. As the halo flickered slightly, it seemed as if they could move on their own.

  In the middle of the jade symbol, two particularly prominent patterns emerged. One was a swirling vortex and the other was a ghostly face. Meng Qiu took a glance and immediately felt that the vortex symbol represented his foundation guiding technique, while the ghostly face represented the Ghost Symbol Incantation, as if he should know without needing anyone to tell him.