Chapter 222: Strength Commands Respect

The Ghost Mother suddenly attempted to summon Shui Miao’s soul, shocking everyone present. Shui Miao had originally hoped they could resolve matters through discussion, but who could have foreseen that the Ghost Mother would act so treacherously—feigning kindness while secretly scheming, smiling with a hidden dagger, making it nearly impossible to defend against. Just as Shui Miao felt his soul tremble, the five stone tablets within his spiritual vision suddenly emitted a dazzling glow, releasing a mighty force that instantly severed the Ghost Mother’s soul-summoning technique. In an instant, all of Shui Miao’s discomfort vanished, and the immortal energy within his dantian surged dramatically.

“Ahh! You—”

The Ghost Mother was struck by the immense backlash from the five stone tablets, forced to retreat several steps, her yin energy thrown into chaos. After regaining her footing, she stared at Shui Miao in shock and fear. Attempting to sense his cultivation level again, she found herself unable to detect even the slightest presence—he had become like air, like an illusion, utterly undetectable. “Who exactly are you?”

Shui Miao hadn’t even lifted a finger, yet the Ghost Mother had already been forced to retreat. Bai Feng and the Black Snake Spirit were equally astonished. They found themselves increasingly unable to grasp the true extent of Shui Miao’s strength. Shui Miao himself was stunned—his dantian, which had previously held only a dwindling amount of spiritual energy, now contained a dense mass of energy the size of a clenched fist, full and surging with power, as if it had reached his absolute limit. How could these five stone tablets be so powerful? Why hadn’t that middle-aged scholar mentioned it earlier? Was this a hidden surprise? Indeed, it was an incredible revelation—one Shui Miao had never anticipated. He had acquired an incredibly powerful protective talisman! Thinking further, the scholar was a supreme being beyond the Three Realms, mysterious and unfathomable; naturally, the five stone tablets would also possess extraordinary might. Although this talisman was invaluable to Shui Miao, to the scholar it might be nothing more than a mere trinket.

After the initial shock, Shui Miao raised his head and looked at the Ghost Mother. Her composure was gone, and the two female ghosts beside her wore expressions of panic. Shui Miao stepped forward, closing the distance until he stood directly in front of her, lowering his voice coldly, “Ghost Mother, hand over the Yin Holy Spirit, or I’ll reduce you to nothingness.”

Shui Miao seemed like a completely different person—suddenly exuding killing intent and overwhelming authority.

Times had changed. Before, when his power was weak, he had to act accordingly.

Now that he had strength to back him up, it was time to take a hard line—both more satisfying and more efficient.

“Right! Hand over the Yin Holy Spirit, or we’ll wipe you all out!” The Black Snake Spirit quickly jumped in, riding on Shui Miao’s power, shouting arrogantly.

Bai Feng, uncertain, simply watched silently.

When Shui Miao demanded the Yin Holy Spirit, the Ghost Mother’s eyes flickered, and she quickly put on a forced smile. “Of course, of course! I have plenty of those. It’s just… it’s buried deep underground. I was actually trying to help you project your soul earlier so we could go down together, but you misunderstood. No worries, hehe… probably my fault for not explaining clearly. Now, how about I retrieve the Yin Holy Spirit for you, or would you prefer to project your soul again and come with me underground?”

The Ghost Mother smiled brightly, but Shui Miao knew she was treacherous—her words were likely lies.

Frowning, Shui Miao observed her closely and suddenly detected a spherical object near her dantian. Recognizing it as the Ghost Mother’s core, he secretly directed his yang-element spiritual energy and abruptly thrust both hands into her abdomen, firmly grasping her soul! Shui Miao had originally intended to immobilize the Ghost Mother and have her two female ghosts retrieve the Yin Holy Spirit. However, as his hands plunged into her soul body, he realized that this spherical object appeared to be a physical item—not merely a dantian.

“Ahh! Don’t kill me, don’t kill me!” The Ghost Mother desperately grabbed Shui Miao’s hands, shocked that he had discovered the Yin Holy Spirit. She could also sense her yin energy rapidly depleting under Shui Miao’s divine power, and fear overtook her. “There’s a portion of the Yin Holy Spirit within me—please take it! I… I can’t hold on much longer…”

Protected by the power of the five tablets, Shui Miao was completely unaffected by the Ghost Mother, who was now in utter chaos and unable to resist.

As her yin energy drained, the Ghost Mother’s appearance aged rapidly, soon turning into a frail, skeletal old woman.

With a sudden yank, Shui Miao pulled out the sphere and saw it was a black, fist-sized orb, resembling an enlarged black pearl. Examining it, Shui Miao felt a bit doubtful—was this really the Yin Holy Spirit? If so, it had come far too easily.

He immediately tossed it to Bai Feng. “Bai Feng, check if this thing is real.”

“It’s real, it’s real! Great Immortal, I wouldn’t dare to lie to you—please spare me!” The Ghost Mother pleaded desperately. She was furious—she had thought these three kids had found a treasure, but instead, they had brought a bringer of death. After saying this, she silently muttered something under her breath.

“Daring to play tricks on me!?”

Shui Miao’s mind stirred, and he immediately pulled out the Feng Shui Ruler, striking the Ghost Mother’s head with it. In an instant, she was shattered into nothingness.

So powerful!

Shui Miao himself was shocked—how could the Feng Shui Ruler be this strong!?

Bai Feng was stunned. In her mind, she thought, Shui Miao was terrifying—this Ghost Mother had been nearly as strong as her master. If this ruler struck her master’s head, what would happen!?

“Ahh!”

Seeing that Shui Miao had killed the Ghost Mother, the two beautiful female ghosts quickly knelt down, begging for mercy.

“Great Immortal, spare us! We were captured by the Ghost Mother—we are her servants.”

“Mercy! We are willing to serve the Great Immortal as servants—please spare us…”

Though the two female ghosts were beautiful, Shui Miao had no intention of keeping ghost servants.

Unsure whether they were telling the truth, he turned to Bai Feng, who nodded. “They’re not lying. Their ghost energy is different from the Ghost Mother’s—they were likely captured by her.”

“In that case, go. But remember—never harm others again.”

Shui Miao waved his hand dismissively. The two female ghosts thanked him profusely and quickly vanished.

But soon after, countless small ghosts poured out from various rooms, crying out for their mother. Among them were the three ghost fetuses that had previously possessed the three young men in the train station waiting room.

“Shui Miao, this is the real Yin Holy Spirit—it belongs to you. Here.” Bai Feng was extremely excited. After absorbing a bit of the Yin Holy Spirit, her soul body began to rapidly transform, growing stronger.

“Good! Let’s eliminate these harmful little ghosts first.”

Since it was a rare treasure he needed, there was no need to be polite.

Shui Miao grabbed the Yin Holy Spirit, turned his mind, and stored it within his spiritual realm. Then, wielding the Feng Shui Ruler, he began striking down the small ghosts. These ghosts charged forward relentlessly, unafraid of death. Once killed, they transformed into tiny pearl-like orbs of Yin Holy Spirit. Seeing these pearls, Bai Feng and the Black Snake Spirit hurriedly bent down to collect them—these were rare treasures that would sink into the earth if left too long.

A few minutes later, Shui Miao had killed all the small ghosts, leaving only the three possessed young men.

They had been outside for a long time and, unlike the smaller ghosts, were not fearless of death.

They looked at each other hesitantly. Two of them, summoning their courage, charged at Shui Miao, only to be knocked down instantly. The third, more cunning, realizing the situation was dire, quickly knelt on the ground, waving his hands and pleading, “Don’t kill me, don’t kill me!”

Shui Miao glanced at the two motionless young men on the ground and asked, “What did you do to them?”

“Their souls have already been scattered by our mother—they are already dead now.”

The small ghost answered truthfully, too afraid to lie.

Shui Miao’s mind raced, and he pointed the Feng Shui Ruler at the small ghost. “One light strike from this, and you’ll be destroyed. If you want to live, answer honestly—was the Yin Holy Spirit really hidden underground?”

“No, no! There’s none underground! What you took earlier was all that remained.” The small ghost confessed.

Shui Miao nodded and said, “Alright,” then lightly struck the young man’s head with the ruler, instantly shattering the ghost’s soul.

Cutting the roots and eliminating the threat, Shui Miao had already killed the Ghost Mother and countless small ghosts—he certainly wouldn’t leave any danger behind.

The three young men were already dead, and beside each of them appeared a small dice, identical to ordinary ones. With a light blow, they crumbled into pieces.

“Shui Miao, I’ll go underground to check—don’t let them trick us.” Bai Feng held a handful of small Yin Holy Spirit pearls, reluctantly offering them to Shui Miao. “These… are yours…”

Shui Miao interrupted her with a slight smile. “No, they’re yours. Keep them and cultivate well.”

“Th-thank you!”

Hearing this, Bai Feng was overjoyed. She quickly stored the Yin Holy Spirit pearls and dove underground.

Bai Feng had been a disciple of the thousand-year-old ghost Bai Niangniang, who had given her only a tiny bit of Yin Holy Spirit. Now, Shui Miao had given her thousands of times more than her master ever had.

“I’ll go check too…”

The Black Snake Spirit made no move to return the Yin Holy Spirit and hurriedly prepared to leave.

“Wait!”

Shui Miao suddenly called out, extending his hand. “Give me the Yin Holy Spirit.”

“Eh…”

The Black Snake Spirit was first taken aback, then gave a sly grin. “Master, how come you’re being so biased!”

“I’m not being biased. You’re a demon spirit—though you’re dead, your soul is of the fire element. This Yin Holy Spirit won’t benefit you. Give it to me. When I find the Fire Holy Spirit in the future, I’ll share some with you.” Shui Miao motioned again, urging the Black Snake Spirit to hand it over.

The Black Snake Spirit was extremely reluctant. “Master, how about… just let me keep two?”

“Hmm?”

Shui Miao suddenly narrowed his eyes, raising the Feng Shui Ruler toward the Black Snake Spirit. The creature’s face turned pale with fear and quickly handed over all the Yin Holy Spirit pearls.

This cunning Black Snake Spirit needed a firm hand—otherwise, it would never behave. Shui Miao put away the Yin Holy Spirit and the Feng Shui Ruler, then headed toward the stairs, giving an order. “You deal with the three young men’s bodies—don’t leave any trouble behind. If you can’t even handle this, then don’t follow me anymore.”

The Black Snake Spirit suddenly realized its status had dropped from a guard to a mere errand boy.