The Transmigrator’s Cultivation

Arc 14: Dayan Empire | Chapter 245: Familiar Voice

Translator: Lynn

Sword intent is an invisible force. When Yun Lie reached the Foundation Establishment stage, he mastered the Way of Golden Metal, which imbues his sword intent with strong masculine energy and the power of righteous killing, capable of vanquishing evil spirits.

When the Nine Yin Formation was broken, Yun Lie’s sword intent annihilated dozens of fierce ghosts, dispersing their souls permanently and rendering them useless to the Ghost Spirit Sect Daoist.

The Ghost Spirit Sect Daoist’s greed led to his downfall. Despite his higher Golden Core Stage cultivation and greater Qi, he chose to set up a large formation to trap Yun Lie and capture his soul alive, instead of using his technique immediately. This formation consumed most of his Qi and inadvertently allowed Yun Lie to comprehend sword intent, reversing their power dynamic.

Yun Lie, unwavering in his resolve, used his newly comprehended sword intent to fight the Ghost Spirit Sect Daoist. His momentum grew while the Daoist became increasingly flustered, making the outcome clear.

After half a day of fierce battle, Yun Lie beheaded the Daoist and seized his storage bracelet. The Hundred Ghosts Banner, left unattended, also became Yun Lie’s possession. This marked Yun Lie’s first kill of a Golden Core Stage Daoist after venturing out.

After Yun Lie finished recounting the events, Xu Ziqing’s eyes widened in surprise before quickly regaining his composure. He wondered about the fate of the Hundred Ghosts Banner, knowing that Yun Lie wouldn’t allow such a demonic artifact to fall into the wrong hands.

Curious, Xu Ziqing quietly inquired about it.

Yun Lie nodded and explained, “I sent it to Putuo Temple and gave it to the abbot. There, eighteen vajra guardians and forty-nine monks recite scriptures day and night to cleanse the evil spirits and purify its aura, allowing it to return to the cycle of heaven and earth.”

Xu Ziqing was stunned.

He had heard about a special class of monks in the cultivation world called “Buddha practitioners” or “Buddha servants.” These monks do not seek longevity or reincarnation but instead worship the way of reincarnation as the Buddha Lord. They practice Zen meditation, cultivate their bodies, accumulate merits, gather vows, help others and themselves, and eventually achieve Buddha fruit relics upon their passing.

These individuals are known for their great virtue and perseverance. They cultivate the golden light of Buddhism, which can overcome evil spirits and restrain many demonic practices. However, because they do not kill, they cannot be the main force against evil spirits. Despite their advanced practice, they cannot escape the fate of mortals and often re-enter reincarnation within two hundred years.

The more powerful the evil spirits in the Hundred Ghosts Banner, the more tortured they have been in life and after death, resulting in greater resentment. If these ghosts’ evil thoughts are not cleansed, they cannot re-enter the cycle of reincarnation and lose the chance for rebirth.

Although Yun Lie showed no mercy to ghosts during battles, he did not insist on breaking up their souls afterward. This approach provided the detained souls with a potential path to salvation.

Xu Ziqing admired these special monks, though they were rare and mostly practiced in seclusion. Their most admirable trait was treating both immortals and ordinary people equally. In addition to achieving personal merits, many of the vows they gathered were for the benefit of ordinary people. This aspect set them apart from other Daoist practitioners.

In Xu Ziqing’s previous life, temples were common, but the monks in this cultivation world were far superior in both virtue and practice.

Reflecting on this, Xu Ziqing turned his attention back to the bidding for the Thousand Ghosts Banner.

If a Golden Core Daoist could control the Hundred Ghosts Banner, then the Thousand Ghosts Banner must be wielded by a Nascent Soul Patriarch. This realization made him consider the high price it would command.

At this point, the bidding had reached tens of millions of low-grade spirit stones. Xuan Ze’s companion, the Nascent Soul demon, looked pained and gripped the beauty in his arms so tightly his fingers dug into her flesh. Trembling, he announced, “Eleven million low-grade spirit stones.”

The beautiful servant girl’s face paled from the pain, but she remained silent, shifting slightly to ease her discomfort.

Just then, an unfamiliar voice from another room called out, “Fifteen million.”

Silence fell over the room.

Many bidders had remained silent, but Xu Ziqing noticed an old monster with red eyes opposite him. This individual finally gritted his teeth and stopped bidding.

Fifteen million low-grade spirit stones, if converted to high-grade spirit stones, would amount to fifteen hundred. Top-grade spirit stones can only be produced from first-order spirit veins, which are rare and mostly controlled by large sects in the entire world of Qingyun Great World. While there are more second-order spirit veins, they don’t produce many high-grade spirit stones. To gather over a thousand high-grade spirit stones, one might need to deplete dozens of second-order spirit veins.

This illustrated how exorbitant the price had become!

The voice making the bid was very strange, indiscernible as male or female, and didn’t even seem human. It was extremely eerie.

Xu Ziqing frowned slightly upon hearing it. He had never heard this voice before and couldn’t identify it as belonging to a cultivator of the Devil Way, but for some reason, it felt familiar. After thinking it over, he turned to Yun Lie to express his doubts.

Yun Lie had never heard the voice either.

Xu Ziqing had to set the matter aside. Ever since he began cultivating immortality, he was rarely separated from his Shixiong, who often encountered the same people as he did. Since even Yun Lie didn’t recognize the voice, it was likely something Xu Ziqing had only overheard in passing.

While the demon cultivators who couldn’t bid were frustrated, the members of the Ghost Sect were even more enraged. Despite their financial resources, they would never turn down more spirit stones. Reluctant to pay such a high price, they were now forced to consider the Thousand Ghost Banner not only for its sect secrets but also for the sect’s reputation.

Determined, they raised the price again, reaching “thirteen million” at one point.

Only two voices continued to compete.

The original bidder challenging the Ghost Sect remained unafraid, raising the bid slowly. The Ghost Sect gritted their teeth and followed.

When the bid finally reached “20 million low-grade spirit stones,” that strange voice spoke again.

“I don’t want to give up the Thousand Ghost Banner, and the fellow Daoists on the opposite side probably don’t either. Why don’t we each offer 15 million low-grade spirit stones and then each present a treasure to be appraised by the company? Let the winner be decided this way. How about it?”

While this was a reasonable suggestion, in an auction, bidding usually proceeds quickly, with treasures sold in a short time.

Today, however, the bidding for the Thousand Ghost Banner had dragged on for so long that it wasn’t feasible to waste any more time.

Sure enough, the demon cultivator on stage pondered for a moment, took out a mirror to transmit a message, and said, “This is one way. What do the other honored guest think?”

The Ghost Spirit Sect, unwilling to lose face, quickly made a decision. With the strength of their entire sect, they did not fear failure. “As you suggested! Our sect is determined to recover the lost property and would rather not delay any longer.”

Unexpectedly, things took this turn.

The demon cultivator whistled, and the Nascent Soul Enforcers of the firm, all devil cultivators, entered the two rooms to appraise the treasures.

Many spectators were intrigued, eager to see who would win this duel.

While waiting, Xuan Ze and his companions speculated among themselves.

A Nascent Soul ancestor sneered, “The Ghost Spirit Sect is so powerful, I thought no one could compete with them. But it seems there are always some bold individuals willing to challenge them. It would be great to see the arrogance of the Ghost Spirit Sect subdued!”

An old man, also in the Nascent Soul stage, added, “If that’s the case, I’d applaud it. Unfortunately, the power of a sect can’t be easily shaken. The little wealth I’ve accumulated as a casual cultivator is nothing compared to a sect’s resources. How dare I compete with them?”

Other Nascent Soul ancestors nearby seemed to share the sentiment, likely having suffered under the Ghost Spirit Sect’s oppressive behavior. They relished the idea of seeing the sect’s pride wounded.

Meanwhile, Yin Chenghao looked at Xuan Ze and speculated quietly, “If someone dares to offend the Ghost Spirit Sect like this, they must have some powerful means. Prince, do you think this person might belong to a great sect?”

Although it seemed like there was only one person in that room, it might not be just a casual cultivator.

Before Xuan Ze could answer, another Golden Core stage Daoist spoke up, “I thought he was just a casual cultivator who got hold of a rare treasure. His confidence suggests he plans to flee with a hidden shadow technique after the auction, free from any sect’s burdens. If he were a great sect disciple, the rare treasure would likely be reserved for the sect’s use.”

Yin Chenghao nodded in agreement, “You’re right.”

The Golden Core stage Daoist felt somewhat proud.

But Xuan Ze noticed that Yin Chenghao’s gaze held a hint of deeper understanding.

Wisdom without restlessness, self-examination, open-mindedness—such a person had great potential.

Meanwhile, Xu Ziqing listened to the two Golden Core stage Daoists and thought that the person confronting the Ghost Spirit Sect was likely a casual cultivator. He had a feeling that the Ghost Spirit Sect might suffer a setback this time.

Sure enough, after a while, the appraiser’s expression changed several times before announcing, “After evaluating the two treasures, we decided that the fellow Daoist in room ‘Ding You’ should receive the Thousand Ghost Banner.”

‘Ding You’ was the room of the person who proposed the duel.

“Impossible!” someone from the Ghost Spirit Sect shouted. “How dare Longhang Firm do this! They clearly don’t respect us! It’s outrageous!”

The winning bidder chuckled softly, “Longhang Firm is truly fair, which is admirable.”

Xu Ziqing was slightly stunned as the sense of familiarity he had suppressed earlier resurfaced.