“The Wailing Woman Lantern is an artificially refined evil object. It takes the soul of a pregnant woman who died with a grievance as its main component, its ferocity and venomous resentment far exceeding that of ordinary vengeful ghosts. After being nourished by a hundred years of earth vein yin energy, its power has already reached the peak of the ‘vengeful ghost’ level. It was just one step away from spontaneously condensing a core and transforming into a ‘ghost general’,” Lin Yu explained. “You could say it was a ‘quasi-ghost general’ that hadn’t fully formed yet.”

Lin Yu thought to himself, “A premium, pay-to-win baby that was just about to achieve divine success, and I swallowed it in one gulp. That grudge is indeed not small.”

Su Ming drew in a sharp, cold breath.

If a mere “quasi-ghost general” was so terrifying, what about its master?

“As for its master…” Lin Yu’s tone carried a trace of… disdain?

“Judging from the residual memories of the vengeful soul, the person who refined this lantern probably isn’t that high in cultivation himself. If he were truly a mighty figure in the ghost path, why would he need to place this lantern in this remote, impoverished countryside, relying on earth vein energy to nourish it for a hundred years? Clearly, he lacks resources and can only use this slow, grinding method to refine his treasure.”

“Your master infers that this person is at most someone about to enter the ‘Golden Core’ realm, or perhaps even has an unstable foundation. He regarded the Wailing Woman Lantern as the foundation of his future path. Now that it’s destroyed, he will definitely fly into a rage, but it won’t be easy for him to find us.”

Lin Yu mused internally, “Translation: The opponent is a broke entrepreneur. The only prototype of his potential hit product, which he painstakingly saved up for, got hacked by us. He’s definitely so angry he’s smashing pots and pans to raise funds right now, but it will still take some time for him to trace us across servers. So, we still have a chance… to run away! Ah, no, I mean to cultivate!”

After hearing his master’s analysis, the heavy stone in Su Ming’s heart eased slightly.

The enemy was powerful, but not unreachable or impossible to resist. His master was knowledgeable and his analysis was logical and thorough, calming Su Ming’s originally panicked heart.

“Thank you, Master, for clearing up my doubts. This disciple understands.”

“Good that you understand.” Lin Yu’s voice turned serious again. “Now, you know the enemy exists. Then you should understand even more that for every bit of slacking you do now, you’ll face an extra bit of danger in the future. Continue!”

“Yes!”

Su Ming nodded heavily and once again settled his mind and spirit.

This time, he didn’t use force. Instead, he made his intention as gentle as water.

He imagined he wasn’t gathering mist, but was in the early morning, gently blowing a breath towards a blade of dew-covered grass.

That breath wasn’t meant to blow away the dew, but to make the surrounding moisture naturally gravitate towards it.

His mind and spirit were that gentle breeze.

Sure enough, the warm “Yang Energy Mist” no longer resisted. Like wanderers finding their home, they docilely, slowly converged towards the location of Su Ming’s Dantian.

There was no fierce collision, no violent compression.

Everything happened naturally and smoothly.

Su Ming “saw” the “warm mist” that had been diffused around his body grow fainter and fainter. Deep within his Dantian, a “point of light” smaller than a grain of rice, emitting a soft warmth, gradually took shape.

As the last wisp of “warm mist” was gathered, the point of light brightened slightly, then concealed all its radiance, becoming simple and unadorned, as if it had always been there.

In that instant, Su Ming felt his entire body turn “cool.”

Not a cold coolness, but a… refreshing, tranquil coolness. Like plunging headfirst into a clear, deep pool on a scorching summer day.

That vibrant, feverish aura on his body had vanished.

At this moment, if he didn’t open his eyes or breathe, he was like a stone in the courtyard, a silent plant.

“Flutter, flutter—”

A moth that had been circling him for half the day seemed to suddenly lose its target. It hovered confusedly in the air for a couple of circles, then flew towards the lamplight of another household in the distance.

Lin Yu was secretly delighted, “Success! Success! The Stealth Module V1.0 is officially online! The effect is good, it even fooled a small animal! The first solid step of my Gold Medal Bodyguard Training Plan! Congratulations, congratulations!”

Lin Yu was overjoyed inside, but his voice remained as calm as an ancient well. “Not bad, you’ve finally found the way. This is the first layer of the Aura Concealment Art: Concealing Qi and Returning to the Origin.”

“From now on, you must practice day and night, making this technique your instinct. True concealment isn’t a spell you deliberately cast, but a habit in your every move. You must achieve this state while eating, walking, and sleeping. Only then can you deceive true observers.”

“This disciple understands!” Su Ming suppressed his excitement and responded firmly.

He could feel that this sense of control over his own power was far more satisfying than the satisfaction from throwing a hundred or a thousand punches.

This was true cultivation!

“However…” Lin Yu’s tone shifted. “This technique can only conceal your vitality, fooling the instinctive perception of ghosts and evil spirits. If the lantern refiner has special tracking secret arts, he might still find clues. So, you must not be careless.”

“Yes, Master.”

Su Ming nodded and continued to stabilize the realm he had just grasped.

He immersed himself in this wondrous state, feeling as if all his five senses had become sharper.

After his own “warm light” was completely concealed, everything in the outside world seemed to become more “distinct.”

He could “hear” the sleep-talking from his neighbors farther away, could “smell” the earthy scent of earthworms turning over deep in the soil.

And it was at this moment that he suddenly sensed something unusual.

A cold, profound chill, as if from the deepest underworld, transmitted from the ring finger on his right hand.

This chill wasn’t unfamiliar to him, but it had never been this clear before.

Previously, his master’s ring had always felt warm and smooth, as if carrying the temperature of his master’s soul. But now that he had completely concealed his own Yang energy, this ring seemed to have shed a layer of disguise, revealing its most primitive, most ancient visage.

It was a pure “silence” that devoured all light and heat.

A thought stirred in Su Ming’s heart, and he curiously sent a wisp of his mind and spirit to probe it.

“Don’t move!”

Lin Yu’s reprimand was like a thunderclap, exploding in Su Ming’s mind with unprecedented severity and a trace of… barely perceptible tension.

Su Ming’s mind and spirit jerked back abruptly, somewhat at a loss. “Master?”

Within the ring, Lin Yu fell into a brief silence.

Lin Yu thought frantically to himself, “Careless! Forgot about this! This kid’s Yang energy is usually like a little sun, neutralizing the ring’s own fierce, baleful aura and also suppressing that ‘basement prisoner’ of mine firmly. Now he turned off the sun, so my old, broken house is showing its true colors! If this kid senses that crazy woman’s resentment, what will happen to my lofty master image?!”

After a good while, Lin Yu finally spoke slowly, his voice sounding somewhat weary.

“Disciple, that ring is an ancient, wondrous object. It is itself a… pocket dimension. Your master merely resides within it. When you conceal your Yang energy, it’s like clearing away the clouds to see the sun, revealing a glimpse of its true nature.”

“This object has a spirit, and it also has its own ferocity. With your current mind and spirit, you absolutely must not recklessly probe it. Otherwise, if it counterattacks, at best your mind will be damaged, at worst your soul will be sucked into it, doomed for eternity.”

Lin Yu’s words, half-truth and half-falsehood, successfully made Su Ming abandon the idea.

He looked back with fear at the plain, unremarkable black iron ring on his finger. Under the moonlight, the six faint blood-colored patterns on it seemed to come alive, like six closed eyes.

“This disciple… was wrong.”

“Good that you know you were wrong.” Lin Yu’s voice softened. “Focus on your practice. Remember, curiosity killed the cat, and it can also kill a cultivator who doesn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth. Some doors, before you have the strength to kick them open, it’s best not to even look at them too much.”

“Yes, this disciple respectfully follows Master’s teachings.”

Su Ming replied respectfully, then gathered his mind and spirit, no longer dwelling on the ring’s strangeness, and wholeheartedly contemplated the changes brought by the Aura Concealment Art.

Moonlight like water filled the small courtyard.

The youth sat cross-legged, his figure somewhat blurred under the moonlight, as if he might merge into the night at any moment.

Deep within the ring, Lin Yu’s soul quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Yu thought to himself, “That was close, close. Managed to bluff my way through. Looks like I need to speed up the plan. The stronger this kid gets, the more curious he becomes. He’ll discover the problem sooner or later. Need to make him stronger quickly, and then… find a safer, bigger house, and move out of this haunted place ASAP!”

However, in the deepest part of his soul, in that corner where he had exhausted his efforts to set up layer upon layer of seals.

The clump of black energy representing the core resentment of the “Wailing Woman Lantern,” tied up like a zongzi, trembled violently the moment Su Ming concealed his Yang energy.

Like a starved beast imprisoned for countless years, it opened its hungry and mad eyes for the first time within its dark cage.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep