GB Chapter 29

Ling Sui Daoren was an elder in the cultivation world, and if he said the Ghost Domain situation was strange, it was likely true. Therefore, since arriving on Huanhun Island, Qian Ren had been observing the ghosts on the streets very carefully. In the half-day he had spent wandering, he had already memorized the layout of the island and the activity locations of various ghosts. However, due to his lack of knowledge about the past situation of the Ghost Domain, he had not yet made any discoveries.

Although there were many fierce ghosts on Huanhun Island, they were far from enough to pose a threat to the Heavenly Dao Alliance. Could the problem really be with the three Ghost Gods?

Although the Righteous and Demonic paths were opposed, the relationship between ghosts and demons was not good either. If fierce ghosts wanted to increase their power, absorbing the demonic cultivators’ true energy was the most effective method. From the Demonic Cult’s perspective, they could not take this matter lightly.

The God of Lamentation had formed hundreds of years ago and was even older than the current strongest cultivator, the Xuanmen Sect Leader. Since he had lived peacefully overseas for so many years, the possibility of him causing trouble was very small.

As for the Ghost Goddess, she was a ghost god that the God of Lamentation had accidentally discovered in the sea. She neither went out nor interacted with people. Her origin and appearance were unknown. If she suddenly appeared in the human world, it would indeed cause a stir.

However, compared to them, Qian Ren believed the God of Joy was more dangerous. Firstly, he had old grudges with the Heavenly Dao Alliance. Secondly, judging from his actions of establishing Yindu and provoking the God of Lamentation, his ambition was obviously not small. And now, the trouble was that no one knew what relationship Zhuge Qingtian had with the God of Joy. If they were too deeply involved, it was impossible for them to stay out of it. It was better to make some preparations first.

In the short time it took for Zhuge Qingtian to digest his resentment, Qian Ren had analyzed the current situation. He was only one step away from the Transcending Tribulation stage, and the people he could call opponents were either Ghost Gods or Sect Leaders of major sects. Small troubles like a few fierce ghosts seeking revenge were not enough to make him take action. It was better to let the two of them gather their vengeful ghosts and wipe them out in one go, which would save him some effort.

Jing Hong Daoren and the Golden Needle Doctor were talking very happily and after paying the bill, they were about to look for someone to take revenge with, completely unaware that the cold-faced zombie at the next table was their enemy, Qian Ren, thus narrowly avoiding death. When they died, Qian Ren was still young. Although he was quieter than the average person, he still had some vitality, far less cold and ruthless than he was now. In the Golden Needle Doctor’s memory, Bi Qianren was a mischievous teenager who could poison someone and then anger the Prince of Jin to the point of vomiting blood and dying from the poison. Naturally, they could not connect him in any way with the aloof Demonic Cult Protector who had seen it all.

The red fierce ghost was still imagining how terrified Qian Ren would be when he saw him when suddenly he felt a weight on his foot. He looked down and saw a small ghost with a huge head bumping into him and immediately scolded, “Don’t you know how to watch where you’re going?”

The ghosts of Huanhun Island were no strangers to this little ghost. When he was two years old, his parents threw him into the sea and drowned him due to a head deformity. His soul wandered to the Ghost Domain with the sea breeze. When he was alive, he never learned to speak, and after death, he still couldn’t speak. If someone asked him a question, he could only respond with “yiya yaya”. Because his head was three times larger than normal, the ghosts called him Big Head Ghost.

The strength of a ghost depended entirely on the resentment at the time of death and the cultivation base before death. Ghosts who died young with strong resentment would turn into extremely fierce infant spirits or belly ghosts. But this Big Head Ghost died in confusion without even knowing what resentment was. After death, he only thought he was separated from his parents, and every day he wandered the streets looking for his family, with no real killing power.

Later, because the ghosts laughed at him for having a scary big head but not being able to beat even the weakest wandering soul, he habitually placed his hand on his forehead to try and cover his ridiculed head. But his hand was too small to cover it, and it was instead seen as needing to hold his head in place due to being too heavy. So, the others laughed even harder.

The imperial court had laws, the Righteous Path had sect rules, and the Demonic Cult also had its doctrines. But in the Ghost Domain, all laws and regulations did not exist. Here, everything was based on the strength of the strong. It was normal for evil ghosts to eat small ghosts to replenish their resentment. On Huanhun Island, the ghosts, out of respect for the God of Lamentation, would restrain themselves a little. Once they left the island, they became completely unrestrained.

Before his death, the red fierce ghost was the leader of a small sect. After death, he was also accustomed to treating small ghosts as slaves. Now, seeing that this useless little ghost dared to bump into him, his expression was already unpleasant. If it wasn’t for his fear of the God of Lamentation, he would have swallowed this little ghost on the spot. But because the God’s power was too great, he could only kick him away as if he had touched something dirty and wipe his shoes. Then, after the Golden Needle Doctor persuaded him, he left with an unhappy look.

In Zhuge Qingtian’s impression, righteous cultivators were like Fu Hongye and Mo Pan. He never expected there would be such a person. Thinking that even in Zhu Jiaji, no one would bully children, he couldn’t help but wonder, “Kicking even a passing child, is he considered a righteous cultivator?”

“That’s why he died early.”

Qian Ren answered without a change in his expression. These words were not to appease his disciple. In the past, no matter if they were righteous or demonic cultivators, there was no lack of those who treated ordinary people like ants and flaunted their sect’s power. It was just that He Huan had purged the entire cultivation world when he unified the demonic path, and then Qian Ren killed many big shots he found displeasing. Those kinds of people were mostly dead, and the cultivation world became what it was now, calm and peaceful. Of course, their bounties were also very high, which made the Demonic Cult Leader, You Jiang, who had always been determined to be the enemy of the world, extremely envious.

Over the years, the battles between the righteous and the evil were the best place to get rid of dissidents. The higher-ups of both the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the Demonic Cult had developed a tacit understanding: when there was internal conflict, they would look for their opponents and send the troublemakers to die. Although everyone knew this, they still fought and cursed when they met. They would not admit this in front of outsiders.

These past years, the old Taoists of the Heavenly Dao Alliance lamented that the Demonic Cult Elders’ challenge letters were indeed extremely useful for padding table legs. The Demonic Cult Leader also showed off the condemnation letters sent by Xuanmen every festival, mocking the old men’s sloppy handwriting and unoriginal writing style. It was quite harmonious in their back-and-forth.

Of course, Qian Ren would not reveal these hidden things to outsiders. He only calmly watched Zhuge Qingtian pick up the Big Head Ghost. He was thinking about what shocking action he was going to take when he saw the noodle stall owner who had been watching walk over and ask the little ghost, “Why did you come here alone? Where is the Xia Huoniao?”

The Dream Demon had been setting up a stall here for many years and was naturally very familiar with the Big Head Ghost. This child was weak and could not speak. Even if he was teased, he could not report it to the God of Lamentation. Therefore, he had been bullied by evil ghosts on the street. Fortunately, a few days ago, he was taken away by the powerful Xia Huoniao. The Dream Demon had thought that with the Xia Huoniao taking care of him, his life would be better. Who knew that today he would be back on the street, so he couldn’t help but ask a few questions.

Unfortunately, it seemed he had only learned to say two words. At this moment, he was still holding his huge head and vaguely calling out, “Mommy… Daddy…”

Seeing that he was a bit dull and didn’t resist after being kicked, Zhuge Qingtian felt pity for him and had the intention to help. But for the moment, he didn’t know what to do and could only ask Qian Ren, “Why is he calling everyone ‘mommy’?”

“When people call someone else, their eyes will also stay on the other person, but he is looking forward with flickering eyes. He should be looking for his mommy.”

Qian Ren was first-class when it came to observational skills, and as soon as he said it, Zhuge Qingtian also realized it was indeed the case and immediately looked over with admiration. “Really! I didn’t even notice. Master, you’re amazing!”

Their eyes fell on the Big Head Ghost. The Dream Demon also realized that the Big Head Ghost couldn’t say anything other than “mommy” and could only sigh in confusion. “It’s strange, many of my regulars haven’t come recently, even the Xia Huoniao who came here every day to take noodles back for him is gone. Is it because my cooking is no good?”

This stall was hidden and usually only regular customers came. As the owner, he naturally remembered each one of them. Now that his customers had suddenly decreased, he couldn’t help but feel puzzled. When Qian Ren heard this, he felt that something was not right. Xia Huoniao was an advanced state of the ghost monster, Gu Huoniao. Her strength was comparable to a Nascent Soul stage cultivator. It was illogical that she would easily run into trouble. If she hadn’t appeared for so many days, could it be that an accident had happened?

During this extraordinary time, any accident was worth paying attention to, so Qian Ren did not ignore it and asked, “Where does that Xia Huoniao live?”

The Dream Demon didn’t know why this stranger was asking this question, but seeing that Zhuge Qingtian seemed very friendly to the Big Head Ghost, he thought that it was good to accumulate merit. So, he answered truthfully, “She is in the White Mist Forest to the west. That area is the habitat of bird-type ghosts.”

As expected, as soon as Zhuge Qingtian heard this, he looked up at Qian Ren, his eyes full of anticipation, “Master, this child might encounter some evil ghosts if he continues to stay on the streets. Let’s send him back.”

Qian Ren had long understood his character. He knew that although the youth was a ghost god, he didn’t have much resentment. He was still kind-hearted, and naturally, he wouldn’t ignore such a thing. Though he couldn’t understand why this person could still maintain his current enthusiasm after having so many memories of being treated coldly, as a master, he wouldn’t oppose his disciple living a good life. He also thought the Xia Huoniao’s situation was indeed a bit strange, so he said lightly, “As you wish.”

Seeing him agree, Zhuge Qingtian instantly became happy, and he pulled the Big Head Ghost over to thank him. “I knew you were a good person!”

Qian Ren had never been described with that word since birth. At this moment, it felt very strange. He glanced at him and corrected him, “If you want to travel the world, then remember this, demonic cultivators are not good people, nor do they want to be good people.”

Zhuge Qingtian didn’t expect him to be displeased even when praised. He subconsciously exclaimed, “Are demonic cultivators so strange?”

“If they weren’t strange, why would they be demonic cultivators?”

For Qian Ren, the description “strange” was obviously much more acceptable than “good person”. He got up and walked forward, leaving Zhuge Qingtian behind, who was shaking his head secretly while holding the Big Head Ghost.

He was truly a man with a quirky personality, but even if he was quirky, he liked him.

Author’s Note: You Jiang: I am the evil mastermind! I’m supposed to be the great demon who destroys the Righteous Path! Why is my bounty lower than those two masters and disciples!

Qian Ren: Because you draw erotic pictures all day.

You Jiang: First, I don’t draw erotic pictures all day. Second, He Huan forces me to draw them!

Qian Ren: Okay, it’s master’s conspiracy.

You Jiang: The insidious and cunning He Huan!

Qian Ren: It’s part of the protector’s job to routinely fool his boss…