Youyou's thinking was simple: since Qiu Zhang was a ghost, she naturally had to ask the person most knowledgeable about ghosts, such as someone from the underworld. Generally, after death, the soul of a living being returns to the underworld. Only the dead can enter the underworld; even the gods cannot. Therefore, no one knows what it's like there. The only person Youyou had ever seen and was certain was connected to the underworld was the underworld messenger who suddenly appeared to collect Qiu Yue's soul when Qiu Yue acted recklessly.
If it is this messenger from the underworld, he should know why Qiu Zhang cannot continue his cultivation.
So the question is, how is she going to find this messenger from the underworld?
That person came quickly and disappeared quickly. After collecting the remnants of the soul, he went back without leaving any contact information. Where can she find him now?
But upon closer reflection, the other party had specifically come to collect remnant souls last time, specifically those that couldn't actively enter the underworld and were on the verge of dissipation. Does this mean that underworld messengers will appear wherever such troublesome souls exist?
Although she didn't know how many underworld messengers like the other party existed, she just wanted to ask about Qiu Zhang's situation. Surely anyone could do it? Of course, the premise was that the other party was willing to cooperate.
For some reason, Youyou had a strange feeling that the other party would tell her.
Therefore, Youyou decided to have Ling Qi inquire about places with a particularly large number of vengeful spirits, or any troublesome unresolved evil ghosts, or even places like evil cultivators' dens that could generate vengeful spirits—the more tragic the better. She wouldn't assign these places to her disciples yet; she would go and try her luck herself.
You You didn't expect that Ling Qi would give her the answer before he even started investigating.
--No!
"What?" She was taken aback. "How could there not be? Don't the disciples of the sect go on missions every day?"
“The sect does receive a lot of requests,” Ling Qi explained with a hint of helplessness. “But they are mostly caused by monsters causing trouble due to seasonal changes, reckless construction, or careless incursions into the territory. The bigger problems are just the work of demons; things like vengeful spirits and evil ghosts are rare, practically nonexistent.”
"Not a single vengeful spirit?" You You was somewhat surprised. "Didn't you say before that vengeful spirits are quite common?" You know, vengeful spirits are usually those who suffered great injustice or unfairness in their lives, and their resentment doesn't dissipate after death, which can turn them into vengeful spirits. There are so many injustices in the world, surely there will be one or two who can't let go of their resentment, right?
"Really, no..." Ling Qi said with a troubled expression, "Ever since Qiu Yue's actions were made public, all the immortal sects have been very wary of vengeful spirits. They're afraid another madman will emerge to harm noble ladies. So, generally, as soon as a vengeful spirit appears, disciples from any sect will go to investigate and resolve it immediately. They don't wait to report back to their sect." Therefore, the sect can receive any kind of request for help, except for vengeful spirits.
So is it because she got her vaccinations too early?
You You was speechless for a moment, then continued to ask, "What about evil cultivators? Surely we can find one or two, right?" Aren't there evil cultivators who cultivate using ghostly energy?
“No…” Ling Qi continued to shake his head.
Why?
"Sect Master, have you forgotten? The largest demon cave, Mingyou Valley, was destroyed by you personally." Shuiyan and the others were rescued from there. "After the Mingyou Valley was wiped out, evil cultivators in the world no longer dare to appear in public easily. Moreover, times have changed, and even if there are evil cultivators, they probably won't practice any evil techniques anymore."
"Huh? What do you mean? Why?" What kind of evil cultivator would they be if they didn't practice evil arts?
"Because of the Qiu Zhang Jue!" Ling Qi said matter-of-factly. "Top-tier cultivation techniques like the Qiu Zhang Jue have become widespread, and in recent years, our sect has continuously released upgraded and modified versions of various cultivation techniques. This has led other immortal sects to follow suit, and now top-tier cultivation techniques from various sects are readily available on the market. The cheapest ones are only five low-grade spirit stones each." With top-tier cultivation techniques so readily available, who would risk practicing any evil techniques? Not only would they be ineffective, but they would also be despised by all cultivators.
“So…” Youyou’s lips twitched.
Ling Qi nodded, "So even those who were evil cultivators before have probably all switched to righteous cultivation methods now, and there's no difference between them now."
"..." Wait, is it really that hard to find a bad guy these days? What kind of magical butterfly effect is this?
Youyou was a little confused. The vengeful spirit was dealt with as soon as it appeared, and the evil cultivation profession of soul refining was wiped out. Where could she find a netherworld messenger to collect the remnants of souls?
"Isn't there any other way to find a place where remnants of souls exist?"
Ling Qi pondered for a moment, and then, as if struck by a sudden thought, said, "There is a place where... remnants of souls might appear."
"Where?"
"The Demon Realm".
"..."
————————
In a mountain village in the northern border of Xianze.
As the sun set, a vast expanse of fiery red light spilled across the sky, bathing the small mountain village in a soft red hue, even though it was still dark. Yet, the village was already eerily quiet, every house tightly shut, a stark contrast to the bustling village of the day.
As the last rays of sunset faded and the sky began to darken, a sudden gust of wind swept through the quiet village, carrying a hint of violence. The rustling of trees, the sound of things falling over in the yards, and even the clanging of roof tiles being torn off echoed throughout the valley.
In less than a quarter of an hour, four dark figures flew towards the village, landing in various places, mostly near chicken coops, cowsheds, or other livestock pens. The next moment, screams of agony from various animals rang out, chickens flew and dogs barked, creating chaos.
This situation didn't last long; the commotion subsided in less than fifteen minutes. However, the strange winds that swept through the village did not stop; instead, they became even more violent, wreaking havoc throughout the village.
The dark figures that had flown in earlier slowly emerged, swaggering through the village. These figures appeared humanoid, but each had a long tail trailing behind it, and their eyes were crimson, with faint, hard pupils visible within. They were clearly demons.
"Pah! The chickens in this village are getting worse and worse." A boy with a fox tail spat out a mouthful of chicken feathers, wiping his bloody mouth as he complained, "There's so little meat and so many bones, I almost chipped my teeth."
“That’s right…” another creature with a pointed snout and a long, thin tail chimed in, “We’ve been eating this for half a month now, and I’m sick of it. These mortals just know how to fob us off with this disgusting stuff.”
“What can we do? There’s only so much food in this village,” another person replied.
"I've heard that there's a town a hundred miles from here, with tons of delicious food!" the fox-tailed boy said longingly.
“These border towns are guarded by cultivators, so don’t even think about it.” Another person glanced at him and refused, “You might go and not come back alive.”
"How long are we going to stay in this shabby village? I don't want to eat this stuff anymore. We need to change things up!" The long-tailed man narrowed his eyes, turned his head and stared at a tightly closed door next to him. He seemed to be thinking about something, and his eyes were full of drooling.
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