Chapter 9: Precautions.
Their eerie glow casting flickering shadows across his face. Moreover, Yao Zi felt a strange connection with each Spirit, as if every single one of them where an extension of himself.
As far as he was concerned, only those possessing Qi could harm the phantasmal. Unless one has a special weapon or treasure that specifically targets Phantasmal like spirits, ghosts or specters, then their best bet to combat them would be to first reach the Martial master level.
" No...i shouldn't be alarmed by this, instead I should be grateful for the summoning being a success. This at least proves that this new power of mine is in a way similar to that mysterious existences own." He exhaled slowly, steadying himself as he took in the ghostly forms encircling him.
The summons could be divided into two distinct groups—one radiating a furious red aura bearing similarities to the frenzied red spirits from his vision while, the other cloaked in an icy blue hue that gave on an instinctual chill.
Though different, Their movements were hypnotic, forming a cyclone-like pattern with him at its center. The red ones were frenzied, wild, their hollow eyes glinting with a manic hunger. In contrast, the blue summons seemed more like real ghosts, some might even say more impressive than the norm due to their phantasmal appearance, as if they themselves were a higher breed of spirits.
Yao Zi narrowed his eyes, his thoughts drifting back to the battlefield. Every corpse that had fallen in that brutal war had become a red summon—driven by fury, consumed by lingering resentment. Yet here, before him, there were two types. No matter how much he thought about it, every single one of his questions all lingered on, Why?
He stroked his chin, examining them closer. In due time, A pattern began to emerge.
The spectral forms of the fishes like sturgeons, carps and the like were all blue while the crabs, shellfish, crustaceans, and mollusks throbbed with violent red energy.
His brows furrowed. " Could the difference lie in the way they died?"
" If I had to guess, I'd say the battlefield corpses all turned red due to being slaughtered and dying unnaturally.... unlike the fishes which had already died naturally due to suffocating from lack of water.
" I think my words hold some weight because, just like those celestial corpse's, I personally killed the crustacean's, mollusks and shell fishes myself.... which means I gave them an unnatural death." He considered the idea carefully.
" Perhaps if I had suffocated them instead of crushing them directly, then they wouldn't have turned into Red spirit's?" He wondered to himself. The red summons were all the ones he personally killed, while the blue ones had died on their own. He couldn't be certain, but the logic made sense.
" Let's just leave it at that, Right now I'm more interested in something else...." A sense of unease crawled up his spine when he recalled his most pressing question.
With that in mind, Yao Zi inhaled deeply, steadying himself. He clenched his fists and spoke.
"Stop."
Instantly, the cyclone halted. The spirits froze mid-air, suspended as if time itself had held its breath. Even their eerie wails had vanished without a trace. The moment they heard his words, each and everyone of them acted without being told again. The silence afterwards was simply deafening.
Yao Zi exhaled. "Good... looks like they obeyed. This is a good start." His lips curled into a small, satisfied smirk. Now knowing that he had nothing to fear, he felt far more at ease with this new powers of his.
He tried giving them a few other commands, this time with his mind. At first the spirits obeyed every single one, such as forming a triangle, shaping a face mid air. But when he tried more complex commands like trying to get them to form complicated arrays or formations, he found it completely hard to do so.
"The more abstract the command, the harder it is for them to obey." He came to the conclusion after several trials and errors.
At least now he was really grateful and sure that each and everyone of his spirit summons could function properly as if they were truly a living army, the fact that he could control them with just a thought was an added bonus.
" I wonder if I can also..." Yao Zi's eyes widened in surprise when all his spirit summons turned into streaks of lights that shot into his abdomen, entering his Dantain and retreating into the dark red vortex, with just a thought.
He was wondering whether it was possible to store them away to avoid unwanted attention when out and about, and to his relief, it was.
"A hidden trump card... perfect."
"This ability... It keeps exceeding all my expectations." Yao Zi beamed a smile, feeling pumped by the versitile nature of his new ability.
He felt as if he could also summon them as well with just a thought. Thinking about it made him feel even more ecstatic at the multiple possibilities he would have during any situation. If cornered, he would just summon his ghostly soldiers in the blink of an eye! Not to mention that he could also use them as a surprise attack if need be.
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Atop Qin mountain, Jiang Clan estate, core region....
The halls of Jiang Ma's manor were quiet, their usual bustling energy subdued under the weight of recent events. The air was heavy with the scent of medicinal herbs, a telltale sign of the healers' frequent presence. Ornate lanterns cast a soft glow on the wooden corridor, their flickering light reflecting off polished floorboards. At the end of the passage, two figures stood in hushed conversation.
Jiang Ma, the patriarch of the Jiang family, who usually wore a knowledgeable, stoic look, now had a worried expression etched on his face. His hands were clasped behind his back, the slight tightening of his fingers against his palm betraying his inner turmoil. Across from him stood Jiang Yu, the Jiang Clans best medical practitioner and leader of the Jiang family's medicine pavilion.