CHAPTER 450: CHAPTER 444: PASSING MONEY TO BORROW A GHOST

Earlier, seeing so many vindictive souls following this Demon Corpse, Hu Ma and Calculation were puzzled. Since the surrounding villages and towns hadn’t experienced massacres, where did this Demon Corpse gather so many vindictive souls to command?

But after eavesdropping on the Meng family’s conversation, Hu Ma had some guesses. Now it seemed he was right.

The terrifying aspect of the Yin General wasn’t the Demon Corpse itself, but its ability to muster soldiers. The more soldiers it mustered, the more dangerous it became. Earlier, Calculation saw it run out, fearing it would devour people everywhere. Once soldiers were mustered, it was hard to control.

What was strange was that when this creature attacked the night before, it had already brought many vindictive souls. Now, after another night, there were even more. The reason was simple.

It was just a Soul Summoning Talisman.

Young Master Meng had stitched a Soul Summoning Talisman inside the Demon Corpse, attracting the surrounding vindictive souls to gather naturally around it, increasing its numbers and effectively helping it muster soldiers through human methods.

It’s a case of seeing the greater picture in a small detail. This talisman from the Meng family was akin to possessing the skills of a Table Guest; they truly couldn’t be underestimated in the future!

After pulling out the talisman, Hu Ma immediately tore it apart and threw it to the ground. Sure enough, the vindictive souls following the Demon Corpse showed signs of struggle and resistance.

He sighed to himself, and couldn’t help but acknowledge the skills of the Meng family.

Guests are classified into the ranks of Table, Stage, Mansion, and Palace.

Among them, the Table Guest was only just qualified to have shrines built for them, usually confined to a single corner and occasionally worshiped, though not always with sincere devotion.

The Red Lantern Lady from Mingzhou’s Red Lantern Society and the four Wild Gods from the One Coin Sect belonged to this level. Of course, this was just a broad category, and there were many differences even within this rank.

Overall, the interventions of this type of Table Guest mostly relied on their own Mana. If that wasn’t enough, they might command a few lone souls and wild ghosts. Though this could create a spectacle, honestly, it lacked substantial weight.

Compared to ordinary people and yin souls, they were naturally superior, but at most, this was the extent of their status and capability.

As for those of the Stage rank, they had formal divine temples, received Worship for many years, and had numerous believers. These believers were incense burners in life and little ghosts in death, always following them. When they revealed their Magic body, hundreds of loyal little ghosts would accompany them.

And these hundreds of little ghosts were merely part of their ceremonial retinue. If they truly intended to act, they could likely summon thousands, effortlessly capable of turning a Prefecture’s territory into a Ghost Country.

Those of the Mansion rank had even more to their name.

They had cultivated a golden body and held official positions bestowed by dynastic authority. They possessed lands where incense was offered for generations, enabling them to oversee a domain, govern yin and yang. All the dead in a state or Prefecture were under their command, and they even had genuine Ghost Generals and ghost soldiers under them.

If they committed evil, they would become a local Ghost King, a power in their own right.

If they performed good deeds, they were True Gods in the human world, possessing the power to reward virtue and punish evil. Even the government in the mortal realm, upon hearing of their arrival, would set up an incense table and offer three sacrificial animals.

As for those of the Palace rank, they were on another level entirely. They had transcended dynasties, were worshiped by generations. Even the Emperor sitting on the Golden Throne Hall couldn’t disrespect them, lest he invite infamy.

Of course, there were emperors who insisted on opposing a Palace-rank deity, willing to lose a significant portion of the dynasty’s fortune to destroy its golden body and tarnish its divine name. But that was often a self-destructive path, a costly endeavor for any emperor.

However, it should be noted that these Palace-rank deities had existed for so long that they rarely revealed their Dharma Forms, especially after the Yi Dynasty’s rule. With its campaigns of felling mountain deities and demolishing temples, they were almost forgotten.

Young Master Meng, with a single Soul Summoning Talisman, had helped the Yin General summon so many vindictive souls and even suppress them, demonstrating an ability equivalent to that of a Table Guest.

By suppressing this Yin General with the General Order, it’s like I’ve gained an official rank. If I seize the opportunity for Qi Eating, I might speed up the cultivation of my Magic body. But this shortcut doesn’t present itself often, mainly because there aren’t many fools willing to cooperate...

After tearing apart the Spirit Talisman and stomping on it, the Demon Corpse lunged forward. Hu Ma turned and slapped it, silently hoping, So, it can only succeed with Young Master Meng’s help...

In my original plan, this Demon Corpse, equivalent to a Table Guest, with thirty to fifty vindictive souls, would be enough to greatly enhance my skills, but... I still have to listen to the overachiever!

Heh, this still looks a bit tricky to deal with!

「 」

Meanwhile, as Hu Ma fiercely battled the Demon Corpse, the Tie Jun great hall officer, clad in iron armor, watched the smiling Young Master Meng from a distance in the village. "The talisman Young Master Meng hid on the Demon Corpse has been discovered," the officer noted, "and the vindictive souls are dispersing."

"You call this a Yin General?" he continued. "Pardon my bluntness, but it’s far from the Yin General I understand. Without those vindictive souls entangled, it’s something that can be dealt with by a single slap."

Young Master Meng, who also knew the Soul Summoning Talisman on the Yin General had been destroyed, showed no surprise. Instead, he smiled faintly and said, "Many have heard of the Yin General’s name, but few truly understand what it is. This creature is not an Evil demon, but a stabilizing artifact left by the court in those days."

"It appears filthy and fierce, yet it is righteous and upright. In the mortal world, it can charge into battle and eliminate traitors. In the underworld, it can sweep away Lords and ghost marquises, suppressing evil and pacifying the shadows."

"In fact, I remember my elders at home mentioning that if it weren’t for certain matters within the Stone Pavilion Alliance in earlier years, the ten Yin Generals would have long replaced the Zhensui Mansion, which only bears its name without action. How could the Hu Family remain so arrogant?"

"If I could obtain the General Order and properly refine it, I am confident I could cultivate at least seven-tenths of its true capability. At that point, flattening the entire Mingzhou Prefecture overnight wouldn’t be an exaggeration."

"However, the General Order is still in the hands of that unknown little thief, so I can only compel it to exert two or three-tenths of its power. But, General Tiejun, would you like to see a magic trick?"

"Within One Incense, I’ll have that thief who stole the General Order come and kowtow to me. Do you believe it?"

The Tie Jun great hall officer squinted, a smile playing on his lips. "Oh? It seems that even with the Soul Summoning Talisman destroyed, Young Master Meng has other methods?"

Young Master Meng smiled and said, "The Soul Summoning Talisman can only attract some wild Wandering spirits to it. Even if it musters troops, they would only be the old and weak, merely nurturing its characteristics as a Yin General—like sharpening a blade."

"But if we could find some newly deceased Living Souls, their karma still unsettled, and in numbers of three to five hundred, this Yin General wouldn’t look as it does now..."

"Three to five hundred Living Souls?" The Tie Jun great hall officer frowned slightly. "Could it be that Young Master Meng intends to use the lives of the people in the surrounding villages for Corpse Refining?"

"I wouldn’t stop Young Master Meng from doing so, but everyone knows it is I, Tie Jun, who came to eradicate the bandits. I fear this reputation of mine..."

"Targeting the villagers? A live sacrifice?"

Upon hearing this, Young Master Meng chuckled and shook his head. "We of the Meng Family disdain using such cruel and crude methods."

As he spoke, he had already risen and walked out of the Ancestral Hall into the yard. A Maid, who had been waiting by the house holding several trays, saw him emerge and presented them.

Young Master Meng took a pair of white candles from one tray and placed them on either side of the Ancestral Hall’s yard gate. Then, he reached out, grabbed a handful of ash resembling burnt grass and wood from a basin on another Maid’s tray, and sprinkled it by the gate.

At first glance, it looked like a doorway laid flat on the ground. He then positioned himself at the threshold, brought two fingers together, touched them to his lips, and softly murmured a few incantations.

Suddenly, a fierce gust of wind arose, causing the nearby torches to flare and crackle. Everyone instinctively closed their eyes. Yet, the candles he had placed by the gate and the ash he had sprinkled on the ground remained utterly undisturbed, not wavering or scattering in the slightest.

A faint, cold wind seemed to blow out from this "portal."

It felt as if the door on the ground had become real, though its destination was unknown. Just as this strange thought arose, the clattering of chains suddenly echoed. Slowly, from this door, a peculiar figure emerged, wearing a tall hat and draped in chains.

It floated up from the ground as if ascending steps from another world. The iron chains extended behind it, binding an unseen column of vindictive souls in a line so long its end could not be perceived, their numbers impossible to estimate.

"A Servant Ghost?" Even Great General Tie Jun narrowed his eyes, a distinct tremor in his heart as he thought, The Meng family not only knows how to seal the path to the underworld but can also summon things from the underworld?

As he watched intently, the Servant Ghost fully emerged. It seemed perplexed to find itself there, abruptly looking around and muttering something unintelligible, as if shouting questions.

Young Master Meng, meanwhile, took a handful of Copper Coin from a tray held by a third Maid. He approached with a smile, speaking the same unintelligible gibberish. As he spoke, he stuffed all the Copper Coin into a pouch at the Servant Ghost’s waist.

The Servant Ghost appeared somewhat surprised and hurriedly waved its hands, as if trying to decline.

Young Master Meng remained courteous, gently pressing its hand. After a brief, mimed negotiation, the Servant Ghost pulled one end of its iron chain and handed it to Young Master Meng, then gestured the number three with its hand.

Young Master Meng chuckled. "Three incense? As if. One Incense will be plenty."

As he spoke, he grasped the iron chain and gave it a sharp tug. Instantly, a seemingly countless stream of vindictive souls was pulled forth. With a swing of his arm, they flew out in a dense swarm, like dumplings being tossed into a pot, heading towards Shima Town.