“Nooooo! Anything but that!” The ghost, Elder Long Dong, this name I swear, threw himself on the ground before my Soul and tried to hug my leg. “Please don’t do it! I can’t be seen in the Sect!”
[Why not? What did you do?]
“Erm… Let’s just say that I… made some enemies during my time.”
[Enemies? Explain yourself!] I pushed hard, and my Soul threatened to start biting him again.
“Ah! Okay, I’ll talk! I used the mask to impersonate some other Elders and had… relations with their concubines.”
[You animal!] I shouted. [That’s just more of a reason for me to get rid of you! Now get off!] I tried pulling the Thousand Faces Mask off my face, but it was still firmly stuck and wouldn’t budge.
“Nooo! Don’t do this to me! Don’t you realize this mask is a Spirit Artifact? It’s worth thousands of Spirit Stones! How could you sell it?!”
I instantly froze. [Thousands of… Spirit Stones? Not Spirit Shards?]
“Yes, Spirit Stones! Thousands of them! It’s an extremely rare treasure made out of the skin of the Thousand Faces Centipede. You won't find another one like that in a thousand kilometers!”
My mouth started watering at the sound of that. The things I could buy with that money! Weapons, armor, pills! I would be rich!
[Mwhehehe… Is that so? Then I definitely need to sell it!]
“Wait! You can’t! Stop pulling on it!”
I was slowly getting sick of this ghostly Dong. It was time for him to go!
“Even though the people in the Sect think I’m dead, if they see the Thousand Faces Mask, they’ll know it came from me. They will want an explanation, and you can’t lie to the Elders.”
[Then I’ll just tell them the truth and hand you over. I’m sure they will be more than happy to keep you in a jar for a few decades. Maybe they’ll even pay me for the good news!]
“Yeah, or silence you to keep their shame hidden.”
Oh, damn… I didn’t think of that. The old ghost still had some brain left.
“And I could spill the beans on your secrets too.”
[What secrets? You have nothing on me.] He was bluffing. He knew nothing about me!
“Sure, I might not know anything… But a newcomer already in the Nascent Soul Realm? You must be the first year, correct? Isn’t that a bit suspicious? A spy perhaps? Or did you sneak in and cheat on the tests?”
[Oh, you son of a bitch!]
“Hey! Don’t insult my mother!”
[You would go straight for mutual destruction, huh?]
“You bet I would! I’m not losing to some snotty kid! Hah, you are centuries too young to get one over me.”
[I already did, dumbass. I can devour your Soul at any time. You are alive because I’m letting you live. I could just as easily end you right now and hide the mask somewhere. Who would know?]
I knew that if the ghost couldn’t offer me some benefits, I would eat him whole and solidify my Cultivation with his Soul.
And my words seemed to hit a mark and made him think since he finally shut up.
“Alright… You are right.” He eventually spoke, his voice much more measured. “I got a proposition.”
[Speak.]
“You’ll take me with you and keep me hidden, and I’ll help you with your Cultivation. It’s probably difficult for you to get all the information necessary since you seem to be hiding your powers. I, on the other hand, have access to knowledge of thousands of advanced books and manuals, and hundreds of Martial and Mystic Arts.”
[I’m pretty sure your words are full of bullshit… But, on the off chance there is some truth to them… I might have a use for you. Do you know anything about Body Cultivation? Or pills?] The old Dong ghost looked at me with disgust.
“I shall disregard your blatant disrespect for your elders. And yes, I do know a thing or two about pills! I dare to say I know more than most Alchemists in the Sect! I already told you how I searched high and low for all kinds of life-extending treasures. That included all matter of pills. I’m basically a walking library!”
[Right…] The old ghost might be exaggerating, but he was right. Centuries of advanced knowledge were worth quite a bit. I would be foolish to decline. But I just needed to know…
[Body Cultivation. What do you know about it?]
“What do I know about it…? Everything! Everything there is to know in the Myriad Beast Sect! Or, close to it, I was an Elder for nearly a century after all! The access to hidden knowledge I had, you would not believe!”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
[Hmm… Alright. I’ll trust you… for now.] I stood up and dusted myself off. [What about this guy?] I pointed at Broku Orpha. He was long since dead, having died of his horrible wounds.
“Oh, him? I don’t know, do whatever you want. This foolish child couldn’t even keep my inheritance for himself when I was guiding him, he didn’t deserve it. It was fate.”
[You are full of nonsense, aren’t you? Centuries-old, with the emotions of a child.]
“Hey, that’s not fair! Do you know how long and boring a century of solitude is? You are the first person I have spoken to apart from that kid, and he didn’t say much. He was a terrible conversation partner. All angry at the world for being unfair and such. Couldn’t even make decisions for himself, and I had to make him do everything. No spine. A total failure as a Cultivator, in my opinion.”
[Whatever...]
I searched the body and found his pouch. As I looked inside, a tiny smile formed on my face. I made a stone table and shook out its contents. A small pile of Spirit Shards formed before me, with two full Spirit Stones in their midst.
I did a quick count and it came up to about 400 SSS. Together with my money, I had well over 500 Spirit Stone Shards. It was a pleasant surprise.
[I assume these Spirit Stones were yours?]
“Yeah, it’s what was left of my wealth, apart from the mask.”
[Damn, you were poor. That’s all you had to show for your 500 years long life?]
“You are being unfair. I already told you I used up most of it. You have no idea how rich I was before, I could have bought a treasure like that mask every year for a century!”
[Hmm…] The old ghost sure liked to brag. I didn’t care to respond, instead, I began transmuting the corpse and began extracting the Essence. Turning it into a pile of dust that would scatter in the wind would leave no traces that lead back to me.
“Hey, what the hell?! You know how to extract Essence?! How?! You are too young for that!”
I kept quiet and continued the process until I had a cherry-sized black sphere in my hand. But I didn’t consume it and instead stored it in my pouch.
[There are plenty of things I know, so you better show your usefulness or I’m really going to have to rethink your position. Now, how do I use this mask?]
The old ghost looked at me, well, my Soul, and sighed. “Well, alright… It’s not difficult really. Just use a Spirit Stone and touch it to the forehead and imagine the face you would like to have and it will morph into it. It’s simple really.”
[Hold on, a Spirit Stone? Is this thing going to use up one every time I want to change a face?]
“Well, of course! It’s a Spirit Artifact, what did you expect? It requires Spirit Qi to operate. You do know what Spirit Qi is, right?”
I wanted to slap the ghost silly and then devour his corpse. This thing was a money furnace, a huge money furnace!
[You… bastard! Where am I going to get so much money for every change? Does that mean I have to waste a Spirit Stone just to get back my face?!] I was seriously getting pissed off!
“No, no! When the mask merges with your face it takes its form and you can’t see it anymore. Even those in Spirit Ream won’t be able to detect it, or changes on your face.”
[Oh...]
I made a crude mirror out of water and saw my own reflection staring back at me. He was right. My face seemed the same, so that was good.
[Alright, now could you please go back into the mask, it’s really annoying having to hold myself back from eating you. And I need peace and quiet to think.]
“Oh… Well, alright… Just call me when you need me.”
[Yeah, yeah, now piss off!]
The figure of the Long Dong finally disappeared from my mind, and I could finally relax. Holding back from devouring his Soul was really exhausting, and I was feeling tired. And then I had to come up with a good story to cover my murder… So many things to think about…
----------------------------------------
“Gerald…” I met Blade and Chity on my way back. They seemed serious seeing that I was alone. I could almost guess what they were thinking.
[Pero is dead.] I stated without mincing words. I saw their expressions darken. [And the perpetrator has been taken care of. Got his chest caved in and died in a pool of his own blood.]
“Who was it? Did we know him?” Blade asked bluntly.
[It was someone from outside the Sect.] I didn’t elaborate further.
“Damn it! I knew it! It was a Rogue Cultivator after all?” Chity asked, and I just nodded.
[Let’s not talk about it anymore. I’m feeling tired.]
“You are not alone. What a fucking mess.” Chity sighed and went through his hair with his hand in a nervous manner. He turned to Blade. “What about you? Staying with us for the night? I got space on my side.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.” Blade didn’t seem as shaken by the news and was taking it relatively well. From the seven that went to that hunt, only three remained. It was a bit unnerving, but at least we knew we were safe. For now. I would let the future problems to the future me.
----------------------------------------
[So, how do we do this?] I asked the old ghost. It was the following day, and I went far away from the beginner village, to where I could have peace and quiet.
“Well, if you want me to give you good advice, I need to see where you stand. I can’t just blindly teach you stuff, that would be counterproductive.”
[Alright, fine. What do you want me to do?]
“For the start, show me what you can do.”
[You seriously need to be more specific.] I mentally rolled my eyes. It was going to be a long day.
“Alright. How about you demonstrate some attacks first? Which Element are you most compatible with?”
[Um… All of them? Is there even a difference?]
“Of course there is! Every single one is-! Sigh, never mind. Just show me something with Wind for starters.”
I hummed in agreement and pointed my palm forward, casting a casual Wind Blade. It shot out from my hand and cut a few large leaves before going out.
“Right, that was pretty good. But was that the best you could do? It seemed a bit weak.”
[That’s why I said you need to be specific! Stop giving these half-assed instructions.]
“Okay, okay… Forget Wind, show me what you can do with Earth. Max effort.”
[Max effort? Alright! Now you are talking!] I shook my limbs a little bit, and then took a stance as if trying to lift something heavy from the ground. My Qi stirred and I lifted my hands slowly above my head. The ground rumbled and shook the area, and quickly a mass of stone beneath my feet, ten meters across, began rising from the ground. It required a lot of concentration, but soon a pillar of earth and stone rose towards the sky. It wasn’t exactly maximum effort, but it was pretty close to it.
“Are you sure you just reached Nascent Soul Realm? This seems a bit excessive...”
[Yes, I told you it happened less than a week ago. Why?]
“Oh, well… It’s just that usually people need longer to stabilize their Souls. A few weeks on average. Still, it’s an impressive feat.” Elder ghost said. “Now let’s try Fire. Max effort.”
[Cool.]
I gathered the Qi inside my chest and rapidly changed its nature to have the Fire Element. I then extended my hands towards the sky and opened my palms wide. After taking a deep breath, I pushed.
The flames roared to life as a massive column of flames, not unlike those of a rocket going into space, splitting the sky.
I could feel the heat and power coming from my hands, and I had to anchor my feet into the pillar beneath me to keep myself from falling over. I held that monstrosity going for a few more seconds, after which I let it go out on its own while I panted a bit. I wiped the sweat off my brow and grinned.
[So? What do you think?]
I didn’t get an answer.