Chapter Ninety-Five: Probe

  The younger generation bid farewell and left, reporting the events that had occurred during their visit to their respective sects. The four members of Yun Qing Men were no exception. When discussing the matter, everyone was most concerned about the Evil Emperor. Bai Mu expressed his own doubts, wondering why the Evil Emperor, who had mastered the Devouring Soul Great Technique, did not know that the Tian Hun and Po would become weakened due to practicing the technique, resulting in losing them during the Small Heavenly Tribulation.

  Bai Mu concluded that the Great Law of Snatching Life was not understood by the evil emperor, but was taught by someone or practiced through the cultivation of Taoist scriptures.

  Lin Fan understood that this evil emperor had been deceived. The Great Law of Robbery has always been a technique studied by the evil sect and even some Orthodox people, this technique is too against heaven, can guarantee oneself's eternal life, achieve true longevity. However, there are no successful cases, some geniuses at best can only reach the point of robbing others' bodies for their own use, but the soul will inevitably be lost, sometimes becoming an idiot.

  This is different from ghost possession, which cannot last long. The longer a soul stays in a body, the weaker its power will become until it completely disappears. Body snatching is a new beginning and still retains the old cultivation, achieving true immortality.

  Yu Wusong was more concerned about the Wuji ruler of the Evil Emperor, which Lin Fan didn't take. It was a master's object, and taking it would be useless. In the end, Jueshe took it and brought it to Shengyin Temple to see if there was any way to suppress this ruler. Even if the Evil Emperor were to be reborn, having one less suitable treasure would still be a good thing. Yu Wusong asked: "You say, how did Yu Fengtan drive the Wuji ruler?"

  Bai Mu replied, "Yu Feng should be using the incantation of Xie Huang to control Wuji Ruler. Wuji Ruler is a divine artifact with its own consciousness and can change its physical form. If no one is controlling it, it's still quite capable. But if Xie Huang is controlling it, its power would be boundless. It's fortunate that Shengyin Temple was able to suppress the Wuji Ruler."

  The flying ancient rock in front stopped, and everyone stopped together to look down, only to see a faint black air between the trees, and everyone exclaimed: "Ghost Gate."

  In the woods, a naked and withered woman knelt in front of an altar, holding a vengeful spirit banner and muttering to herself. The Eight Ancient Swords pierced her back from behind, and she fell to the ground without making a sound, dead.

  "The demonic energy has spread to the central continent." Gu Yan blew up the altar, handing over the banner of unjust souls to Lin Fan, who would keep it in the Qian Kun ring and then hand it over to the Buddhist temple for salvation or to the Taoist sect to hold a Water and Land Dharma Assembly.

  It's really fast, Lin Fan said. The Ghost Gate was discovered at the Great Crossing River not long ago, and now there is a Zhongzhou. The first time it was discovered was when searching for the source of the plague, and the second time was after passing by. What about the Ghost Gate disciples who were not discovered? Ten miles away from the altar, there is a small natural village with more than a dozen households. Everyone stopped to look, and all the people have already died.

  Bai Mudao: "To refine the vengeful spirits' banner, we need to kill people. We've already contacted the Emperor and this densely populated place has had repeated murder cases, so we can cut off the source. But if it's a small village or hamlet like this one, by the time we discover it, they'll have already become a force to be reckoned with."

  "Go!" Gu Yan took the lead and ran: "The only way is to know where the opponent's main altar is, and break through the main altar." Without the main altar providing skulls, there is no way to refine the vengeful soul banner. This is the best way to drain the water from the bottom of the pot.

  Lin sighed: "Unfortunately, Zixiao has changed, everyone is paying attention to the Zixiao Temple and the Qingping Gate, it's hard to unite to solve this matter."

  "It's not just that, to solve the Ghost Gate, it's not just the alliance of the Righteous and the Demonic, but also the addition of the Evil Sect. If the Ghost Gate's main altar is hiding in the vast and desolate land, we can't even reach it." Bai Mu Dao said: "And contacting the evil sects in the vast and desolate land is also a big trouble. Lin Fan, did you find any traces of the Ghost Gate when you went to Beizhou this time?"

  Lin Fan shook his head, "No, but we didn't have the mind to investigate either. From what I know, the northern continent has been plagued by endless civil unrest and various sects buying followers, all with ambitions to conquer the north. With war and chaos everywhere, the people are struggling to survive, this northern continent is indeed a great place for the Ghost Gate to develop."

  Entering Xiaodongzhou, the four visited Tianyin Temple and handed over the vengeful spirit banner to the abbot of Tianyin Temple. It was only later that they learned that during this time, Tianyin Temple had dispatched warrior monks who had already retrieved several vengeful spirit banners, clearly indicating that the Ghost Gate's trend was becoming increasingly intense.

  Hui Shan reported back, Qian Yu knew early on about the Zixiao Palace and Qingping Gate, as well as the matter of the evil emperor. After asking some details, the focus shifted to the Ghost Gate.

  "Dongzhou found two Ghost Gate disciples, Xiao Dongzhou found five Ghost Gate disciples, they are all ordinary people who cultivate with evil methods." Qianyu said: "I inquired about it and found that these common people are all hot-tempered and easily angered. The neighbors know this, why would the Ghost Gate know? And even give them a skull, teaching them the cultivation method?"

  Lin Fan's eyes lit up: "The head of the sect means that there are ghost door people traveling in Dongzhou and Xiao Dongzhou, searching for suitable disciples along the way and distributing skulls?"

  Hakudo: "Not just in Tōshū and Shōtōshū, we also found the Gate's Disciples in Chūshū."

  "What's the purpose?" Gu Yan asked in puzzlement.

  Sen no Koe said, "My Kumokirimono has already contacted the Eastern Zhou court. Since there have been many mysterious deaths, they sent someone to investigate and found two cases. The same is true for the Shōonji Temple in Little Eastern Zhou... As for the purpose, from what I've seen, the Ghost Gate Envoy should be traveling through the twelve continents, searching for the most tolerant land."

  A land of tolerance? Simply put, it means that the cultivation sects on this continent turn a blind eye to the Ghost Gate or do not attack them with great force. If so, then this continent is a warm bed for the survival of the Ghost Gate. Qian Yu Zhen Ren said: "The East Continent has Yun Qing Men and Sheng Yin Temple, the Middle Continent has Zi Xiao Dian, the South Continent has Lei Shan Pai, the Green Continent has You Mo Jia, the North Continent has Sheng Yin Temple, the West Continent has Mo Jiao... The vast and desolate land has Wan Xie Men, and all regions have sects that attach great importance to and hunt down the Ghost Gate."

  Bai Mu reminded: "Head of the sect, you seem to have forgotten Yunzhou."

  "Ah, this is what I was most worried about. The Yunzhou Tian Kun Sect is a branch of the Quanzhen sect, and their cultivation method is to leave the world behind. Joining the Righteous Demonic Alliance was also because the Demon King had a favor to ask of the Tian Kun Sect, not because they intentionally joined. After you encountered the Ghost Gate disciples at the Great Ferry River, I sent people or messengers to all the major and minor sects, and they all replied that they would definitely strengthen their patrols and cut off the evil of the Ghost Gate. Only the Tian Kun Sect replied with two words: 'Understood'."

  Lin Fan said: "Yunzhou is adjacent to Nanzhou in the south, Zhongzhou in the north, and Xiwannan Mountain in the southwest. If the Ghost Gate sets up its main altar inside Xiwannan Mountain, it may be difficult to surround and attack."

  "There is a Xiu Zhen sect in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, called Du Long Jiao. I have already sent someone to make contact with them. Du Long Jiao is neither righteous nor evil, but it will definitely not allow the Ten Thousand Great Mountains to have another Gui Men. You can rest assured on this point." Qian Yu Zhen Ren said: "I'm afraid it's Yun Zhou ah!"

  Lin Fan asked in puzzlement: "The leader seems to be very familiar with the Poison Dragon Sect."

  Senya Katsuragi nodded: "I've been in contact... You all go down and rest first, I'll order many of my disciples to go out and investigate the Ghost Gate cultivators in Dongzhou. You can't leave the mountain, and you must be ready to receive orders at any time. No matter what, we have to make Dongzhou a clean land." The last sentence seemed to be muttered to himself.

  "Yes!" The four of them left the grand hall, chatted for a few sentences, and then each returned home to find their own mothers.