Chapter 90: Yin Ghost Breakthrough
Ji Yuan naturally did not possess women's clothing; he lacked Old Boatman Wu's peculiar hobby of collecting women's garments.
The black robe the female corpse originally wore was simply too filthy, so in the end, Ji Yuan had no choice but to let her wear one of his own garments to cover her proud figure.
Once the female corpse left, Ji Yuan collapsed from exhaustion.
He had been continuously outputting for twelve hours, which equated to twenty-four hours.
Even a body made of iron could not withstand such strain.
Fortunately, all the effort was worthwhile.
He didn't even need to speak; just a thought in his mind, and the female servant would fully comply—though calling her "female servant" always felt odd. It was necessary to give her a name.
Ji Yuan had no particular ideas; after a brief contemplation, he recalled a name he had previously seen in a book.
Tu Yue.
Since that was the case, she would be called Tu Yue.
Thus, Ji Yuan instructed her in his mind: "After feeding the pigs, remember to tidy up the chicken coop in the backyard."
With the Red-Crested Chickens dealt with and the Reed Water Chickens yet to arrive, it was naturally an opportune moment to clean the chicken coop.
"Also, remember to feed the fish. In the corner, there are fragments of spiritual stones; crush them and mix in some grass to feed the fish. Don't use too much—two fragments will suffice. Spiritual Fish are easy to raise. Once you're done, tidy up the house."
After giving these instructions, Ji Yuan took out half a tael of Blood Essence and consumed it.
Although he wasn't injured, his meridians were in pain; consuming some Blood Essence would be beneficial.
Soon after, Ji Yuan drifted into a drowsy sleep.
At the same time.
House No. 13, Jia Lane, Huaiyin District.
Having recovered from her injuries with the help of Qi and Blood Pills, Du Wanyi arrived here. However, when she saw Yao Jingfeng, she couldn't help but feel a bit disoriented.
In just a few days, Yao Jingfeng seemed to have aged thirty to forty years.
Originally in his thirties and in his prime, he now had graying temples and lips devoid of much color.
Fortunately, he could now move about freely.
"Big Brother—"
Du Wanyi looked at his appearance, opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.
There was a sense of life's hardships.
"I'm fine, just a bit injured."
Yao Jingfeng had lost his previous vitality; even his speech carried a sense of desolation.
"That's good, as long as you're okay."
Du Wanyi said as she sat down beside him.
Yao Jingfeng poured her a cup of tea and took the opportunity to ask, "What about Fourth Brother? Is he okay? I was too seriously injured at the time and didn't have a chance to ask about him."
"He's fine."
After Du Wanyi spoke, the two fell into a long silence.
After a while, Yao Jingfeng sighed, "I didn't expect that among the four of us, the strongest would be the youngest, Fourth Brother."
"He's stronger than Luo—Luo Tian?"
Du Wanyi asked in surprise.
During the previous battle, she was too preoccupied to pay attention to others.
In the end, when Luo Tian self-destructed, she narrowly escaped but still lost consciousness.
"Strong!"
Yao Jingfeng affirmed, "Earlier, when he killed that ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator, he didn't even use an array. And his flying boat—you didn't see it at first."
"What about his flying boat?"
Du Wanyi truly hadn't noticed.
Whether during the initial departure or the return journey, its speed seemed unremarkable.
"Extremely fast. When he saved me initially, that tenth-level Qi Refining demonic cultivator was chasing us using his flying boat, but Fourth Brother managed to shake him off. That speed—"
Yao Jingfeng recalled for a moment before saying, "I estimate that many top-grade magical artifacts don't have such speed."
"What?"
Du Wanyi was increasingly surprised.
"Fourth Brother is already at the eighth level of Qi Refining; that's beyond doubt. Given time, he might be able to contend with peak Qi Refining cultivators. He—he's truly strong."
Yao Jingfeng thought for a while and could only use this term to describe him.
"Indeed."
Du Wanyi recalled the time she witnessed Ji Yuan's battle.
"I'm telling you this today; remember to keep it confidential. We mustn't speak of Fourth Brother's matters to anyone."
"Of course. Fourth Brother is cautious; we—are not as prudent as he is."
Du Wanyi had to admit this point.
"What are your plans for the future?"
"The future? There's only two years until the next selection. I plan to cultivate at home for those two years, not going anywhere, and wait to join the Water Dragon Sect. What about you, Big Brother?"
Yao Jingfeng sighed, "With my body like this, where can I go? I can only do the same."
Speaking of this matter, both felt somewhat disheartened.
Just a few days ago, the four of them were full of ambition.
Now, only a few days later, they had to hide away like turtles.
"Then I'll go back and inform Fourth Brother as well, so he can be more cautious."
Du Wanyi said as she stood up.
"Alright."
Yao Jingfeng got up to see her off.
As Du Wanyi reached the door, he turned and went back inside.
But at that moment, Du Wanyi seemed to recall something and suddenly turned to ask, "Did you deliver those Spirit Stones allocated to Luo Tian? If not, I can take them along."
Yao Jingfeng's body paused slightly but quickly returned to normal.
"I already sent it over, just yesterday."
"That's fine then."
After leaving, Du Wanyi's flying boat ascended, but she did not head straight to Zengtou Market.
Sitting on the flying boat, her expression was rather gloomy.
Among the four of them, she had known Yao Jingfeng the longest and had the best relationship with him.
They knew each other the most thoroughly.
She understood what kind of person Yao Jingfeng was.
So, that question she had asked earlier was intentional.
Even the slightest abnormal reaction from Yao Jingfeng—she saw it clearly.
She just didn’t point it out.
Still, it was hard for her to believe the answer.
"Sigh—"
After sitting for a long time, Du Wanyi eventually visited Luo Tian’s house and found his elderly mother.
She didn’t reveal the news of Luo Tian’s death, only subtly asked whether Yao Jingfeng had come by.
He had not.
***
Ji Yuan woke up groggily once again.
He had no idea how long he had slept, only that when he awoke, it was pitch black outside, and Tu Yue was crouching by his side, staring at him motionlessly.
Like a well-behaved little cat, or perhaps—a puppet.
Ji Yuan was startled just after waking up.
After collecting himself for a moment and clearing his mind, he finally remembered the current situation.
Now that he had a corpse puppet, he didn’t need to tire himself out running errands.
"How long has it—"
Before finishing the sentence, Ji Yuan realized how foolish it was to speak to a corpse puppet.
A body without any consciousness couldn’t possibly know how much time had passed.
But Ji Yuan had no urgent matters, so it didn’t matter how long it had been.
After getting up and adjusting for a while, he cast several spells on himself in succession before fully regaining his clarity.
"Hu—"
Ji Yuan first sensed his internal condition.
Naturally, there were no injuries, and his meridians had indeed become much more resilient.
The most noticeable improvement was the speed of spiritual energy circulation.
In the next battle, his spellcasting would be faster.
By the time morning arrived, Ji Yuan asked around and learned from Lin Hu that three days had passed.
Not too bad—just three days.
Now, Lin Hu had to set out on the boat again.
With the weight of the whole family on his shoulders, there was no choice.
Fortunately, Wu Qin’s delivery had gone smoothly.
Plus, thanks to the specially enhanced Spiritual Pig meat from Ji Yuan—which Lin Hu didn’t eat and gave entirely to Wu Qin—she had fully recovered.
If it weren’t for needing to stay home and care for their daughter, she would’ve wanted to go out on the boat with Lin Hu.
Just as Ji Yuan was preparing to make a trip to Zengtou Market, Du Wanyi arrived before he could even step out.
She didn’t enter the house; the two of them exchanged a few brief words in mid-air.
Du Wanyi said that for the next two years, she and Yao Jingfeng would stay home and cultivate, not going anywhere.
Ji Yuan naturally nodded in agreement, saying he planned to do the same.
That was good—everyone could stay safe and stable, occasionally sharing information as needed.
After bidding farewell to Du Wanyi, Ji Yuan instructed Tu Yue to remain at home, tending to feeding the fish and pigs, while he went alone to Zengtou Market.
He first purchased several sets of women's clothing for Tu Yue, then went to the poultry cultivator’s shop and bought two Reed Water Chickens.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to buy more—just that the poultry cultivator could only get his hands on those two.
Ji Yuan didn’t bother going to other markets and simply returned home.
This time, after returning, he didn’t even search for more Foundation Establishment herbs and just focused on cultivation at home.
With Tu Yue’s help, he now had even more time for cultivation.
Half a month later, the two Yin Ghosts finally finished refining the Yin Nourishing Pills and both advanced to the late stage of Qi Refining, starting to feed power back into the Yin Ghost Banner, further boosting Ji Yuan’s strength.
About a month later, it was time for the New Year again.
Compared to last year, Ji Yuan didn’t feel much this time.
Even though the market was still bustling, Ji Yuan sat alone at the door, watching fireworks explode through the clouds in the distance, while laughter rang out from neighboring houses on both sides.
On New Year’s Day, Ji Yuan didn’t go out for New Year greetings.
Old Master Xu hadn’t returned since going back to the Water Dragon Sect.
Lu Wan's family—only she was left.
Luo Tong’s New Year gift had already been delivered some time ago.
On the fifth day of the New Year, with the help of the Enlightenment Room, Ji Yuan successfully refined his first mid-grade pill—Spirit Recovery Pill—and was promoted to a First-Grade Mid-Level Pill Refiner.
In the blink of an eye, another half year passed.
That day—
Ji Yuan picked the first new peach of the year.
After washing and tasting it—perhaps due to the many Spiritual Eggshells he had buried under the peach tree—it was no longer sour.
The number of peaches had increased too; with both trees combined, there were nearly a hundred.
Just as Ji Yuan was about to pick some peaches to share with Wen Lin’s and Lin Hu’s families, he suddenly sensed footsteps at the door.
Someone had come—and it was a stranger.
The presence wasn’t strong, only at the fourth level of Qi Refining.
Finally, that person stopped at Ji Yuan’s door, seemingly looking for him.
Ji Yuan had Tu Yue hide first, then went to open the door.
The skinny man outside had just raised his right hand when he saw the door open by itself, startling him.
He was about to scowl, but upon sensing Ji Yuan’s aura, his expression changed to a fawning smile.
"Senior, greetings to you."
Looking at the fawning smile of the skinny man, Ji Yuan frowned and asked, "Who are you? What do you want?"
The skinny man gave an "oh" and quickly took out a shell from the lining of his chest, then said with a grin, "Someone asked me to deliver this to you, Senior."