Immortal Cultivator System

Chapter 53: Killings and Politics ( Final Part )

What normally looked like a waterfall was actually a gigantic cave. Not only did the entrance look menacing what's with it reseembling a tiger's mouth, but the interior was actually worse. 

Ghostly monsters filled every inches of the cave, the walls had hands coming out of them. And most importantly, the screams were getting louder the deeper you went.

With his ears assaulted by thousands of screams mixed in together, his entire body just waiting to collapse and the amount he had lost....Things looked bleak for Jian. It was his fault really. He shouldn't have tried to explore this place all alone. And now here he was, two days later, resting against a wall with the strange hands touching him and trying to tear him apart while he used his Kishin's gas to keep them at bay. 

He looked more pathetic than ever, his eyes were now sunken while blood flowed out of his mouth, painting his busted lips red. He was clutching his halberd, it being the last bit of comfort he had.

The last he saw a ghost was at least 20 minutes ago, so he might have reached some sort of safe zone. But everything looked the same to him anyway, so he wouldn't know.

He knew Mara couldn't help him, and at the moment he only had one option. He let out a weak smile as his Diamond-fanged wolf appeared and whined while nudging his arms with it's head. 

It quickly got him on it's back, before waiting for his orders.

" C-Continue forward.....I can't go back, not in that state." Jian said. He knew he was dead meat if he showed up to the entrance, for it was the place where most of the ghosts decided to stay. Which is why he got destroyed so easily. He was jumped by fourty ghosts, all of them wearing armor and wielding swords.

Now that he thought about it, they all looked like the soldiers of that kingdom he used to live in when he was younger. But he couldn't remember it's name now, he couldn't focus enough to remember much.

As the wolf continued towards the end of the cave, if it had one, Jian made sure to keep his Gas at the ready on his hands, in case anything threatening came his way. His wolf was a bit too weak to handle those ghosts. Well at least in this situation it was more useful out than in his halberd.

Jian blinked when he heard the wolf whine as it stopped. It simply refused to go further. 

As the boy lifted his head, he immediately understood why. They had reached a much bigger area, an area that looked like a battlefield. Only a part of it was basked in the sunlight that penetrated through the gigantic hole in the ceiling. 

The area was filled with flowers and had a tree in the middle. Armors and weapons were lying on the ground all around the tree, swords planted on the ground with arrows and lances. 

It looked like a battle had been fought in this place, however there was only one corpse left. 

'....Don't tell me....'Jian thought back of the ghosts that assaulted him. That seemed like a good explanation to the whole situation, however he didn't know how this type of techniques worked. He simply couldn't fathom how one could raise the dead. Then again they might have become ghosts on their own, it wasn't like Jian knew a single thing about this sort of situation.

He was sure of one thing though, this sole corpse resting against the tree had been left there for a reason. It wasn't walking around and attacking any and all who dared venture in this cave....It was merely resting against the tree.

Now that Jian thought about it, the armor that this corpse was wearing was the only that didn't have scratches on it.

Jian slowly approached the corpse, clutching his side as he winced. He had some healing plants on him, however they were pretty much useless at this point, well they did maintain him alive, so there was that.

As he neared the corpse, Jian noticed something he hadn't seen before. There was a strange necklace hanging from one of the tree's branches, and the corpse was looking at it. That and....The corpse looked fresh.

'This is weird. Jian I'm not liking this. I can feel that this corpse isn't fresh at all, but it still looks like it was killed just now...' Mara warned the boy who merely shook his head.

" I know this is weird, but I want to know what this is all about. I can't even go back to the entrance anyway, and this hole in ceiling is too high up to be reached. Either I try to see what this is all about, or I just wait for death to come." 

'...Like that bastard will even come anyway....' Mara whispered.

Jian got closer to the corpse and touched it. It didn't make a single movement, and a quick touch with his finger confirmed that the body was cold. 

Jian was about to check the necklace when a hand grabbed him.

"AHHH !" He screamed as he fell on his butt. 

'I knew it....' Mara grumbled as Jian hurriedly got away from the corpse and took out his halberd. 

While pointing it at the corpse, he noticed how....Still, the corpse was. It had just got up and tried to grab Jian, but then it had stopped moving at all. 

'Was it just protecting the necklace ? It reacted only when I tried to grab it.'

'No kiddo....It acted as soon as you stopped looking at it.' Mara said before cursing under his breath.

[ A very interesting talk with this Unholy Being taught me many things about the world you live in, User. This creature was mentioned by Mara before. It seems to be a Heroic Spirit, otherwise called Guixiong. They apparen- ]

' Some of them react that way. Most of them are soldiers, while others are simply legendary figures. However heroic spirits doesn't mean they are good. They are resentful spirits that died like true warriors. Even in death, they won't stop fighting. They don't all behave the same way, however with the corpse looking this fresh and this behaviour.....Yes, this is a Guixiong. I think I can recall part of the story that explained their strange behaviours....Mere puppets, slaves to their past will, they must act without ceasing. A single memory lights their way, and must be replayed constantly.....Basically some of them are replaying the way the way they acted just moments before their death. I guess this one killed someone who tried to take the necklace and did it by backstabbing whoever attempted to steal it. Try to take the necklace while looking at it directly in the eyes. ' Mara said as he cupped his chin. It had been a while since he last saw a spirit of any sort, and he didn't think the first he would see after all that time would be a Heroic Spirit. They were part of the strange ghosts, the ones whose behavious were explained through legends that were never truly confirmed.

No one ever got to really understand how those spirits worked, and Death didn't seem like the kind to waste it's time on explanations.

"Looking at it....Okay." Jian said. He slowly walked towards the corpse, maintaining eye contact until he reached it.

Searching for the necklace with his hand, Jian touched around a bit, before he felt the metal in his hand and snatched it away as quickly as possible. 

He then retreated back to the Diamond-Fanged Wolf and took a look at the necklace.

[ Name: Feixiang's Necklace

Rank: Mortal Realm, 4th form

Unique Ability: Non-Existent

Bonus :

-Nullify the effects of the most common poisons. ]

Looking at the necklace, he wondered what was so special about it. Sure the bonus was quite useful, but this soldier was protecting it even in death and that's when Jian got an idea. He looked at the soldier and used his buddha eyes, not even noticing that they seemed to have a different glow to them, thought Mara did realize it.

' Damn Kishins....' The Unholy Being whispered. 

[ Name: Jin Feixiang

Known Relatives: Jin Wang, Jin Daiyu, Jin Bao, Jin Hee

Age: 20 ( 25 )

Rank: Mortal Realm, 3rd Form

Unique Techniques: Non-Existent

Martial Spirit: Non-Existent

Soul Heritage: Non-Existent 

Thoughts: Non-Existent

Alignment: Good ( 78 ) Evil ( 10 ) / Order ( 100 ) Chaos ( 0 ) ]

".....Jin ?! "

********************

( With Uma )

She stared at the letters she had received, before pinching the bridge of her nose and sighing. 

"Bad news from that sect of yours ? " A woman asked. 

Uma nodded before she looked up and saw the woman sitting besides a cloaked figure. She then looked to her right and saw Zhao Shu reading a book on the Peizhi Kingdom's history. It was simply crazy how things took a turn for the better, or the worst, while Jian was away.

Everything has changed, and that was because she took a risk...It seems to have paid. Now if only Jian could get here, it would be even better. However Uma didn't know where he went and wasn't 'allowed' to search for him. What a joke, well at least she thought it was one. This wasn't the time to keep informations to themselves. They had a golden opportunity now that Uma had gotten into contact with such powerful people and that the Crow's protegee was going to participate in that tournament between heirs.

" Jian will go crazy once we tell him what the prize is....The damn prince didn't lie when he said that his parents were completely crazy. Even the Void would be interested in such a prize.....I can only pray that they won't show up." Uma said. 

The woman sitting on the couch chuckled before making her way over Uma. She placed her hands on the desk and smiled.

"He will indeed go crazy. Especially with how basically everything changed whilst he was away....I am once again praising you for your courage, old woman. Striking a deal with those two guys was risky, seemed to have paid off well though. However there is one thing that we must discuss right now, even without Jian." The woman said. The cloaked figure looked up and so did Zhao Shu. The woman had everyone's attention at the moment and she smiled when she saw that.

" Very well, so here's the thing....As you said Uma, we have a lot of things to take care of. Zhao Shu need to train like crazy, especially with that little ability he has unlocked. You need to take care of the fourth prince's task....Fangs, you go and try to convince your little buddies to join us." The woman said as the cloaked figure let out a low growl before leaving the room. 

Uma looked at the woman and immediately knew she would have a headache once Jian came back. Then again it was his fault. When you go away for entire days without giving tasks to people, they tend to go out and do whatever they want. At least he couldn't say they weren't being productive...In fact they were doing all the work for him. 

"And what will you do ?" Uma asked as the woman who grinned savagely.

"I had a long hit list and it just got even longer...Trust me, the serial killer Su Biyu has a lot of work to do ! And those nobles won't even see it coming, neither will the Flies ! Either you made a wrong call and we're all dead....Or it's a huge win and we rise at the top instantly...It's funny...I never thought a prince would be as bloodthirsty as me ! "