Su Ming stood bare-chested in the center of the courtyard, repeating that simple punching motion over and over again.

Sweat trickled down his lean back, reflecting fragmented light under the moonlight.

A week had passed.

His master had fallen into a deep slumber, completely silent for an entire week.

The shock and terror of that night had, after seven days of settling, transformed into another, deeper emotion—a reverence for the unknown and a bitter hatred for his own weakness.

Every day, aside from reviewing his studies, he spent all his time on “body tempering” and “meditation.”

Each punch he threw was more powerful than the day before.

Each session of meditation was more focused than the last.

He was pushing himself, using physical exhaustion to suppress the anxiety in his heart.

He dared not stop. He feared that if he paused, the terrifying killing intent that had leaked from his master that night would resurface in his mind, shattering his courage and resolve. Su Ming exhaled a turbid breath, retracted his fist, and prepared to return to his room.

Right at that moment, a hoarse voice, tinged with extreme exhaustion, abruptly sounded in his mind.

“Kid, not sleeping in the middle of the night, who are you putting on this monkey show for?”

Su Ming’s body jolted violently, ecstasy instantly washing away all his fatigue and anxiety.

“Master! You’re awake!”

Lin Yu thought to himself: *Finally got that madwoman’s resentment bound up tight… Damn it, building a prison in my own mind, I’m truly a genius. Just these side effects… feels like I’ve got a ticking time bomb in my soul, could blow up my retirement home at any moment.*

Lin Yu’s voice still sounded weak, but much more stable than before.

“Mhm.” He responded lightly, maintaining the most basic reserve of a lofty master.

“Master, your condition…” Su Ming asked urgently, his voice full of concern.

“It’s nothing. Just a remnant of a heart demon, already refined and purified by your master.” Lin Yu said dismissively.

Lin Yu thought to himself: *Refined my foot! Just tied it up with sealing strips and stuffed it in a corner! This thing is now a high-purity source of mental pollution, can’t even touch it!*

Hearing this, the weight in Su Ming’s heart finally eased considerably.

But he hesitated for a moment, then asked the question that had troubled him all week: “Master, that night… was that also caused by that heart demon remnant?”

He asked very carefully, afraid of touching upon his master’s secrets.

There was a moment of silence from the ring.

Lin Yu complained internally: *Oh, the kid’s gotten smarter, knows how to fish for information indirectly now. That’s fine, it’s time he learned some things, otherwise how’s he going to be my golden bodyguard and mobile power bank later.*

“Yes, and no.” Lin Yu’s voice became profound. “Disciple, do you know that what you and I encountered that night was no ordinary mountain ghost?”

Su Ming’s expression turned solemn, and he respectfully stood straight with his hands at his sides. “This disciple is dull, please enlighten me, Master.”

“That thing is called a ‘Wailing Woman Lantern’.” Lin Yu explained slowly. This information was pieced together bit by bit over seven whole days from those chaotic memory fragments.

“It uses the soul of a wronged, pregnant woman who died as the main ingredient, supplemented by seven types of extreme yin objects, refined within a specially crafted lantern. It is fed daily with the vital essence of living people and takes a hundred years to fully form. Once formed, its malevolence is unmatched, capable of corrupting a person’s soul and stealing their lifespan.”

Su Ming felt his scalp go numb and chills run down his back.

He had never imagined there could be such a sinister and bizarre object in this world.

“This lantern has an owner.” Lin Yu dropped an even more shocking piece of news.

“An owner?”

“Correct. The person who refined this lantern has grand ambitions. Placing it in that dilapidated temple, using the mountain’s earth vein’s yin energy to nourish it, clearly indicates he was cultivating it as a future magical treasure. By destroying it, we have severed a hundred years of that person’s effort.”

Lin Yu thought to himself: *More than just severing effort, it’s like stealing the pig he’d been fattening up for the New Year’s feast. This grudge is a big one.*

Su Ming’s heart sank. He thought of a terrifying possibility: “Then… will that lantern refiner…”

“He will.” Lin Yu confirmed his suspicion. “Such an evil object is connected to its owner’s soul during the refining process. The lantern is extinguished; he already knows. What’s more troublesome is…”

Lin Yu’s tone became unprecedentedly grave.

“Although your master devoured the resentful spirit within the lantern, resolving the immediate crisis, I have also been tainted by its karma. A tracking mark has been placed… on us.”

“A tracking mark?!” Su Ming’s face turned deathly pale, and he subconsciously touched the ring on his finger.

“That mark is extremely subtle. If I hadn’t nearly been counter-devoured this time, even I would have had difficulty detecting it. It’s like a faint odor in the air, indistinguishable to ordinary people, but to its owner, it’s as conspicuous as a lighthouse in the night.”

Lin Yu thought to himself: *We’re screwed. Thought we just killed a wild monster and looted some gear, turns out we demolished someone’s tower and got a permanent debuff slapped on us. Great. Retirement plan just switched from ‘peaceful retirement’ mode straight to ‘life on the run’ mode.*

A massive sense of crisis, like a dark cloud, enveloped Su Ming’s heart.

He was no longer that ignorant mountain village youth. He clearly understood that a person capable of refining an evil object like the “Wailing Woman Lantern” was absolutely not someone a farm boy like him could contend with.

Even his immensely capable master seemed deeply wary of this.

“Master, then what should we do?” Su Ming’s voice carried a slight tremble.

“What should we do?” Lin Yu snorted coldly. “When soldiers arrive, we use generals to block them; when water comes, we use earth to contain it. If he comes, then let him come!”

Lin Yu thought to himself: *Run! Of course run! Pack up the valuables and run! But can’t say that to the disciple. Need to motivate him, make him stronger, so he can carry me when we run later!*

“However,” Lin Yu’s tone shifted, “waiting idly for death is not our way. You must become stronger. Strong enough to protect yourself, strong enough to make that petty scoundrel dare not come knocking easily!”

Fighting spirit reignited in Su Ming’s eyes. He nodded heavily. “This disciple understands!”

“You understand nothing!” Lin Yu mercilessly shot him down. “You can’t even find the shadow of the enemy, wouldn’t recognize him if he stood right in front of you. How can you talk about self-protection?”

Su Ming’s face instantly flushed red.

“Therefore, starting today, a mandatory subject is being added to your cultivation.”

“Please instruct me, Master!”

“Recognizing demons, discerning ghosts, knowing fiends, guarding against evil!” Lin Yu said, enunciating each word clearly. “I will teach you how to distinguish the types, habits, and weaknesses of these yin and evil beings. What you need to learn is not just how to fight them, but how to avoid them, how to hide yourself!”

Lin Yu continued, “Within the memory fragments of that resentful spirit, there is an incomplete cultivation method called the ‘Dark Spring Heart Sutra,’ which is precisely a method for cultivating sinister soul power. This method is malicious, but its understanding of yin energy has some merits. I will extract the essence, discard the dross, and refine a method for concealing your aura to teach you.”

“Your yang energy is like honey to these things—extremely alluring. The first thing you must learn is to seal that honey jar tight!”

Lin Yu thought to himself: *And also don’t let other stray dogs catch the scent and come compete with me for resources.*

Su Ming’s heart burned with fervor.

This was what he wanted!

This was true cultivation!

Not just studying to understand principles, but possessing the power to protect himself and his family!

“Additionally,” Lin Yu’s voice took on a playful note, “there are some interesting things in that resentful spirit’s memories. For example, why it was suppressed in that temple. That temple, a hundred years ago, seems to have been the site of a minor immortal sect. It seems there are still some things left unplundered within the mountain’s belly.”

Su Ming’s breath hitched.

An immortal sect ruin?

“However, that place is now a land of great misfortune. Occupied by the Wailing Woman Lantern for a century, its yin energy soars to the heavens, and who knows what other things have spawned there. With your current strength, going there is just delivering yourself as a meal.” Lin Yu promptly poured cold water on his excitement.

Lin Yu thought to himself: *First draw him a picture of the pie, keep him hooked. When he’s strong enough, we’ll go treasure hunting, and he can be my prospecting engineer. Perfect.*

Su Ming clenched his fists tightly, engraving this information firmly in his mind.

Become stronger!

He had never craved strength as much as he did now!

“Alright, enough idle talk.” Lin Yu’s voice returned to seriousness. “Now, sit cross-legged, calm your mind, and focus your spirit. I will impart to you the first layer of the ‘Aura Concealment Art.’ Remember, this method emphasizes ‘concealment,’ not ‘combat.’ The highest good is like water; great wisdom appears foolish. A true expert is one whose existence the enemy can never discover!”

“Yes, Master!”

Suppressing the turbulent thoughts in his heart, Su Ming obeyed and sat down properly in the courtyard, closing his eyes.

The cool moonlight bathed him. On the young man’s face, childishness was visibly fading, replaced by a resilience and solemnity beyond his years.

Deep within the ring, Lin Yu watched this scene and nodded with satisfaction.

Lin Yu thought to himself: *The boy is teachable, truly teachable… Now his motivation is sufficient. The efficiency difference between passive cultivation and active cultivation is like night and day. My golden bodyguard training plan is officially launched!*

However, deep within his soul, in that corner sealed layer upon layer, a barely perceptible wisp of black energy trembled slightly in response to the fluctuations of Su Ming’s yang energy.

Like a starved beast imprisoned in a cage, catching the scent of food outside its bars.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep