Chapter 39: The Five Ghosts Moving the Treasure

“That lady, tell me husband, now that I’ve just mastered the Five Elements Escaping Techniques at a basic level, what should we practice next?”

“Practice something else… What other thing? Are you going to practice the Thunder Taboo Art next? Oh, why did you blow out the lamp…”

“Taboo Art? What my husband wants to practice is the art of breaking all taboos. Come here and see my claws!…”

The exploration of taboos is endless, and Mei Qing deeply believed in this, practicing diligently day and night.

They explored until the middle of the night, when Bi Zhen, the lecturer, was gasping and disheveled.

“Stop playing around. I still have many important points of cultivation to explain to you.”

“You talk about your stuff, I’ll play my games. I didn’t stop you from talking. Come on, give me a kiss first.”

“Mmm… you bad man! How can I talk with my mouth blocked? Daring to bully me, just wait and see me hit you!”

“You thought of hitting me only after being bullied for so long. What were you doing all this time… Ah, careful, everything is showing…”

Bi Zhen then realized that once she started moving around, her body was exposed. Although the room was dark, cultivators’ eyesight was extremely sharp, and Mei Qing naturally saw everything clearly. She not only failed to discipline the young rascal, but instead let him take full advantage. Bi Zhen had no choice but to stop immediately and hurriedly adjusted her clothing.

“Madam, are you tidying up your outfit? Hehe, come here, let your husband help…”

“Don’t need your help. Oh, are you helping me dress or undress…”

After a long while of fixing herself up, Bi Zhen, the lecturer, leaned into Mei Qing’s arms and began another round of instruction.

Although the Escaping Techniques allowed one to vanish in an instant, they had an undeniable drawback—their usage was limited in both frequency and distance.

Generally speaking, when beginners first mastered the Escaping Techniques, they could only use them once every three days, and the distance covered was only about dozens of steps.

As cultivation advanced and the techniques were mastered, improvements could gradually be made. But at the current Body Tempering Stage, the limit was only a few hundred steps. Only after passing the Body Tempering Stage and entering the Qi Transformation Stage could one not only refine talismans into their body but also increase the usage frequency to once a day, with the range extending to hundreds of miles around.

Therefore, although the Escaping Techniques were convenient, they could only be used as a life-saving measure. In normal circumstances, one must never recklessly waste them.

After listening to Bi Zhen’s explanation, Mei Qing couldn’t help feeling somewhat disappointed. Originally, he had thought that once he learned the Escaping Techniques, he could travel freely across the five lakes and four seas. It turned out that this was merely a tool for escaping danger in emergencies.

Although disappointed, Mei Qing also knew that such life-saving techniques were crucial. Having the opportunity to learn such protective secrets was already a stroke of luck.

After finishing her explanation, Bi Zhen lazily leaned into Mei Qing’s arms, closing her eyes and saying nothing.

“Wife, it’s getting late. Shouldn’t we, as husband and wife, also…” Mei Qing said, stroking Bi Zhen’s hair.

“Who’s your wife? Always talking nonsense,” Bi Zhen didn’t even open her eyes, replying in a soft, dismissive tone.

“If not wife, then cultivation partner. I wonder when we’ll start our dual cultivation. My cultivation is pretty advanced now. Ask me any dual cultivation technique, and I can recite it without hesitation,” Mei Qing said temptingly.

Sighing, Bi Zhen slowly opened her eyes and said with some concern, “I really don’t know what to do now. This emotional tribulation is strange. I clearly feel like I haven’t experienced it before, yet there’s no hint of any opportunity arising.”

According to what her mentor had told Bi Zhen, tribulations and opportunities were born together. Therefore, when tribulations came, cultivators would feel them in their hearts, while opportunities would usually reveal a hint. But this emotional tribulation had arrived so intensely, yet no opportunity had appeared, leaving Bi Zhen completely puzzled.

“If you’re stuck, why not ask someone for advice…” Mei Qing, seeing Bi Zhen’s troubled expression, asked gently.

Bi Zhen sighed, “You don’t understand. I’ve told you before, the dual cultivation technique I inherited was a private transmission. Unfortunately, the person who can guide me is not around, and I can’t let anyone else know… Anyway, I really don’t know what to do.”

Mei Qing was about to speak when he suddenly “Hmm”ed and sat up straight.

Feeling Mei Qing’s body stiffen, Bi Zhen quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”

Mei Qing looked around cautiously and frowned, “I don’t know why, but I feel that the Five Elements are flowing abnormally around me.”

Bi Zhen immediately sat up from Mei Qing’s arms, adjusted her clothes, and extended her spiritual sense to scan the surroundings. Turning her head, she said, “I can’t sense anything.”

Mei Qing said, “If even you can’t sense it, maybe I’m just imagining things.”

“No,” Bi Zhen shook her head, “You just practiced the Five Elements Escaping Techniques tonight, so your energy is especially sensitive right now. Probably someone nearby is using a technique that disturbed the Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, which is why you sensed it.” Thinking for a moment, she quickly picked up a mirror from beside the bed and softly chanted, “Clarify the sun and moon, mirror the Yin and Yang—swiftly!”

As Bi Zhen finished chanting, a faint light emerged from the mirror, casting a soft, clear glow throughout the room.

At that moment, Mei Qing suddenly sensed some unusual movement at the door. He quickly grabbed Bi Zhen’s hand and quietly pointed toward the door. Bi Zhen understood and immediately turned the mirror toward the door. When they both looked, they were greatly startled.

A substance resembling green smoke was slowly drifting into the room through the crack under the door. At first, it was as thin as a piece of paper. Once inside, it expanded like a balloon, quickly forming a head, feet, and limbs. It was over a foot tall, with a red body, short limbs, and completely naked. Its head was sharply pointed, like a knife-shaped ridge, with sparse strands of hair and two large eyes emitting a faint green glow—it looked like a little demon.

When Mei Qing first saw this strange creature, his eyes widened in shock. Looking at Bi Zhen, he found that she was also somewhat frightened, and both of them forgot to move, staring blankly at the little demon.

The little demon looked around, seemingly unaware of the two people, and paid no attention to the glowing mirror. It turned its head as if saying something, but although they could see its movements, they heard not a sound.

Then, from under the door crack, several more creatures entered one by one, transforming into bodies identical to the first one, except their colors were green, yellow, white, and black. These five little demons entered the room and directly walked toward the desk.

These little demons were tiny but moved extremely fast. When they reached the desk, they didn’t stop but climbed straight up the desk legs. With their bodies parallel to the ground, they walked as if on flat ground, quickly reaching the desk surface.

The desk was in a mess, with three ancient silk scrolls and Mei Qing’s annotated texts placed on it. The first red demon waved its hand, and the other four stepped forward, each grabbing a scroll in pairs, lifting them as if they were weightless. The red demon itself picked up the last scroll, and the five little demons lined up in order, carrying the scrolls as they climbed back down from the desk.

Mei Qing stared in disbelief, never expecting these little creatures to be here to steal books. Looking at Bi Zhen, he saw her slowly removing a bracelet from her wrist and signaling him not to move. Then she softly chanted, “Chaos without limit, seal the Five Elements—seal!” With that, she threw the bracelet toward the five little demons.

As the bracelet flew upward, a grayish mist erupted from it, spreading out like a ring and directly pressing down on the five little demons. Just as the gray mist approached, the five little demons finally sensed something wrong. They looked up, their faces showing panic, and squeaked twice before being completely enveloped by the gray mist.

With a crackling sound, the scrolls that had been as light as air on the demons’ shoulders suddenly became as heavy as Mount Tai, instantly crushing the little demons underneath. Their bones broke, their bodies flattened, and they became a pile of flesh pancakes.

“Hehe, a little Five Ghosts Carrying Technique dares to show off in front of this immortal girl,” Bi Zhen, proud of her display in front of Mei Qing, grabbed his hand and ran over to pick up the scrolls. Underneath, they found five paper figures.

Bi Zhen giggled, picked up the five paper figures, thought for a moment, stacked them together, and removed the hairpin from her head. Angrily, she said, “I’ll teach you to steal! Heaven’s divine light, earth’s essence light, four directions and five elements, shatter in all directions. Laojun, swiftly fulfill this command!” As she chanted, she stabbed the hairpin through the hearts of the paper figures, stringing all five together.

It was only then that Mei Qing noticed that the bracelet, which was neither gold nor jade, had already returned to Bi Zhen’s wrist.

“So, you broke the Five Ghosts Carrying Technique just like that?” Mei Qing, seeing Bi Zhen pierce the paper figures with the hairpin, knew there must be a reason. Noticing that both the hairpin and the bracelet were made of the same dark, unidentifiable material, he guessed they were the protective talismans Bi Zhen had mentioned and asked curiously.

“Hehe, how could I let him off so easily? Although I don’t know who used this technique, he must be in great pain right now! What do you think of these items of mine?” Bi Zhen happily replied after putting away the hairpin.

It turned out that the hairpin, bracelet, and the mirror were all Bi Zhen’s protective talismans. This bracelet had a name—Taboo Bracelet—and its function was exactly as its name suggested: it was specially used for casting Taboo Techniques.

“The Five Ghosts Carrying Technique relies entirely on the Five Elements’ power. Once my bracelet was used, the Five Elements were sealed, leaving the five ghosts with no power to borrow, so they were instantly crushed. However, the five paper figures we saw were not the true forms of the five ghosts, so using only the Taboo Technique couldn’t harm their real bodies. When I pierced them with the Annihilation Hairpin, not only were these paper figures destroyed, but the real bodies of the five ghosts were also annihilated. Hmph! Daring to steal from me, whoever he is, I’ll teach him a lesson first!”

Bi Zhen didn’t realize that this lesson would bring a huge trouble upon them.