Several days later, Mo Tou found himself standing within a vast expanse of thick mist.
The darkness surrounding him was so dense that even the stars had disappeared from the night sky, leaving no visible reference points by which he could determine his exact position. The ground beneath his feet was uneven, occasionally rising into small mounds before descending into shallow depressions, and the damp soil released a faint chill whenever his boots pressed against it.
He had been travelling through this environment for some time.
Yet despite his cultivation, he could barely see several steps ahead.
His spiritual awareness had also been severely suppressed. Normally, even with his current strength, he could extend his perception across a considerable distance, but within this mist, his divine sense seemed to encounter an invisible barrier that restricted its range. Every attempt to push farther resulted in a strange sensation, as though something was quietly consuming the spiritual energy he used to extend his awareness.
Mo Tou gradually slowed his steps.
The Yin Qi in this region was astonishingly dense.
It was no longer merely an accumulation of Yin energy within the environment. The entire region seemed to have been transformed by it, with the mist, the soil, and even the air carrying an extremely concentrated Yin attribute. If an ordinary cultivator entered this place without sufficient preparation, their spiritual energy would gradually become contaminated, and prolonged exposure could eventually cause their consciousness to suffer irreversible damage.
Mo Tou, however, was not particularly concerned about that.
He had been searching for a place like this.
His eyes narrowed as he examined the surroundings.
This should be it.
He had already investigated several locations during his journey, but none had possessed the conditions he required. Some contained abundant Yin Qi but lacked the necessary concentration within the earth, while others possessed peculiar spiritual environments that were unsuitable for the particular spiritual object he intended to cultivate.
This place was different.
The Yin Qi was extraordinarily concentrated, and judging from the way it permeated the ground, the conditions beneath the surface should be equally suitable.
It must be somewhere around here.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
But before he could rejoice, a strange sound suddenly entered his ears.
Whispers.
Countless whispers.
They came simultaneously from every direction, overlapping one another until they became an indistinct murmur that seemed to penetrate directly into his consciousness.
Mo Tou's expression changed.
He immediately turned his head, but there was nothing visible within the mist.
The whispers grew louder.
Some sounded like the cries of children, others resembled the hoarse voices of elderly men, while a few were so distorted that they barely sounded human. They surrounded him from all sides, drawing closer with every passing breath.
Mo Tou's eyes narrowed.
He had encountered this kind of phenomenon before.
Before he could take another step, the mist suddenly churned.
Figures emerged from within it.
One, ten, a hundred.
In the blink of an eye, countless Yin Ghosts appeared around him, their bodies floating above the ground as they rushed towards him with terrifying speed. Some possessed distorted human faces, their mouths stretched unnaturally wide as black tongues hung from their jaws, while others had bodies that seemed to have been stitched together from different corpses, their limbs twisted and their eyes glowing with an eerie green light.
At the forefront was a particularly imposing figure.
It wore the tattered remains of an ancient military uniform, its armour corroded and its helmet cracked, while a weathered commander's robe hung from its shoulders. Although its appearance was no longer entirely human, the aura surrounding it was considerably stronger than that of the other ghosts.
It resembled an ancient general who had died on the battlefield and remained behind long after the war had ended.
The ghost general raised its head.
Its mouth opened.
A piercing shriek erupted from its throat.
The surrounding Yin Ghosts immediately accelerated.
Mo Tou's expression became cold.
Troublesome.
He recognised the danger immediately.
These were not ordinary wandering spirits that could be dispersed with a casual burst of spiritual energy. Their Yin bodies had become sufficiently condensed, and their consciousnesses had developed to the point where their attacks could directly damage the spirit of a living cultivator.
Even a Golden Core cultivator would need to be cautious when facing such a large group.
If their claws managed to strike his Sea of Consciousness, the resulting damage could be extremely troublesome.
And right now, he could not afford to suffer any unnecessary injuries.
The first Yin Ghost reached him.
Its claws swept towards his head, dragging a trail of black Yin Qi through the mist.
Mo Tou did not retreat.
Instead, he raised his right hand and summoned an object from within his Dantian.
A dark crimson orb appeared above his palm.
The moment it emerged, a strange light spread across its surface, and the surrounding Yin Qi immediately began flowing towards it as though an invisible vortex had suddenly appeared within the mist.
The Yin Ghost's claws stopped just short of Mo Tou's body.
Its distorted face twisted.
Then its entire body was pulled towards the orb.
Before it could resist, its form collapsed into a stream of black energy and disappeared inside the weapon.
The other ghosts continued charging.
But the orb's attraction rapidly intensified.
A terrifying suction force spread throughout the surrounding mist, pulling the Yin Ghosts away from their original trajectories. Some attempted to struggle, their bodies twisting violently as they tried to escape, while others released piercing shrieks and attacked the invisible force dragging them towards the orb.
It was useless.
The crimson orb glowed increasingly brightly, its surface rotating with strange patterns as the Yin Ghosts were drawn into it one after another.
Even the ghost general at the forefront was unable to escape.
It roared and released a tremendous surge of Yin Qi, causing the surrounding mist to churn violently, but the suction force merely intensified. Its armour cracked, its ghostly body began to distort, and before it could launch another attack, its entire form was dragged into the orb.
The surroundings gradually returned to silence.
Only the thick mist remained.
Mo Tou lowered his hand slightly, examining the orb floating above his palm.
Then he sat down cross-legged.
His expression became solemn as he closed his eyes and entered a meditative state.
Within the orb, the captured Yin Ghosts had not immediately disappeared. Their consciousnesses were still intact, and countless chaotic thoughts were colliding against one another, producing waves of spiritual disturbances that threatened to destabilise the weapon.
The process of devouring them was not as simple as absorbing their Yin Qi.
Their spiritual consciousnesses had to be thoroughly suppressed and refined before their remaining essence could be converted into nourishment for the natal weapon.
Otherwise, the accumulated resentment and fragmented memories of so many ghosts could eventually contaminate the weapon's internal structure, perhaps even producing a chaotic consciousness that would become difficult to control.
Mo Tou understood this very well.
He needed to use his Golden Core.
The moment he concentrated his mind, a golden radiance emerged from within his chest.
It was faint at first, but as it spread towards the crimson orb, the light gradually became brighter, enveloping the weapon in a warm golden glow that contrasted sharply with the surrounding Yin Qi.
The Golden Core within his body rotated.
A pure stream of Golden Core energy descended through his meridians and entered the orb, suppressing the chaotic consciousnesses trapped within.
Immediately, the screams intensified.
The captured Yin Ghosts struggled desperately, their spiritual fluctuations colliding against the golden radiance as though they were attempting to resist being erased.
Mo Tou remained completely motionless.
His expression did not change.
The Golden Core energy continued descending, gradually suppressing the chaotic consciousnesses until their resistance weakened. The countless screams became increasingly faint, their overlapping voices gradually disappearing until not even a single whisper remained.
The orb trembled.
Its crimson surface began to shine with a deeper radiance, while the strange patterns engraved upon it became increasingly distinct. The Yin Qi that had been absorbed from the ghosts was no longer chaotic, having been refined into a purer form of energy that circulated through the weapon's interior.
Mo Tou continued directing his Golden Core energy into it.
Only after he was certain that the devouring process had stabilised did he slowly withdraw his spiritual power.
The orb floated quietly above his palm.
A moment later, an unfamiliar pressure spread from its surface.
The surrounding Yin Qi immediately responded, gathering around the weapon as though it had become a natural focal point for the energy of the Forbidden Zone.
Mo Tou examined it carefully.
A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
His natal weapon had advanced.
From its previous level, it had successfully reached the middle stage of Rank 4.
Although this advancement was not enough to transform it into a Rank 5 spiritual treasure, the improvement was still substantial. Its capacity to absorb and refine Yin energy had increased, its internal structure had become more stable, and its ability to suppress and devour Yin Ghosts had improved considerably.
Most importantly, the process had strengthened its foundation.
Mo Tou closed his fingers.
The orb immediately returned to his Dantian.
"Not bad."
He stood up and looked towards the surrounding ground.
The real reason he had come here was still waiting.
Mo Tou crouched down and pressed his palm against the soil.
A faint strand of spiritual power entered the earth, carefully examining its composition and the way the Yin Qi had accumulated beneath the surface. He repeated the process in several different locations, comparing the concentration of Yin energy and observing how deeply it had penetrated.
After a while, his expression became increasingly satisfied.
The Yin Qi had permeated the earth itself.
This meant the region was not merely covered by an external accumulation of Yin energy. The ground had also undergone a profound transformation, allowing plants with Yin attributes to absorb the surrounding energy directly through their roots.
Ordinary medicinal herbs would never survive here.
Even if their seeds managed to germinate, the overwhelming Yin Qi would gradually erode their vitality, eventually causing them to wither and die.
But that was precisely what Mo Tou wanted.
He slowly rose to his feet and reached into his storage ring.
A withered flower appeared in his hand.
At first glance, it looked almost worthless.
Its petals had shrivelled, its stem was dry, and its original colour had faded into a dull greyish black. To an ordinary cultivator, it might have appeared to be nothing more than a dead medicinal plant that had been stored for too long.
Yet Mo Tou held it with considerable care.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he examined the flower.
The object in his hand was a Yin Burial Flower.
It was an extremely rare spiritual herb, one whose value could scarcely be measured using ordinary medicinal standards. More importantly, it was among the few known spiritual objects capable of assisting a peak Golden Core cultivator in breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm.
Even among the major cultivation factions, obtaining one was exceptionally difficult.
The reason was simple.
A Yin Burial Flower could not be cultivated in ordinary spiritual soil, nor could it survive merely by absorbing the Yin Qi scattered through the atmosphere. It required an environment where Yin energy had accumulated over an extremely long period, with the earth itself transformed by that energy to the point where the roots of the flower could draw nourishment directly from the surrounding land.
Such conditions were exceedingly rare.
One of the most suitable environments was a burial ground where countless corpses had accumulated.
When large numbers of bodies were buried within a confined region, the lingering death energy and resentment could gradually gather, and if the surrounding geographical conditions were suitable, an enormous quantity of Yin Qi might eventually form. Over time, such places could become breeding grounds for Yin Ghosts, while the earth itself would undergo a transformation that allowed certain rare Yin attribute spiritual herbs to grow.
Of course, not every mass burial ground could produce such an environment.
The accumulation of corpses alone was insufficient. The geographical structure, spiritual energy distribution, and surrounding conditions all played important roles, and even when the necessary conditions were present, the formation of a suitable Yin Burial Flower garden could take an extremely long time.
This was why the herb was so difficult to obtain.
Its value was not limited to Golden Core cultivators either.
For Rank 4 Yin Ghosts, a mature Yin Burial Flower was an extraordinary tonic, capable of nourishing their ghostly bodies and strengthening their Yin essence. Under suitable circumstances, it could even provide the foundation needed for a Rank 4 ghost to advance towards Rank 5.
A single flower could therefore attract the attention of both living cultivators and powerful Yin entities.
Mo Tou looked at the withered flower in his hand.
Although it had lost much of its vitality, it had not completely died.
There was still a faint trace of its original medicinal essence concealed within the dried petals, and as long as it was planted in an environment with the appropriate conditions, there was a possibility that it could recover.
Obtaining a withered Yin Burial Flower was already an extraordinary achievement.
Knowing how to locate a suitable place to cultivate it was even more remarkable.
After all, the majority of cultivators who encountered such an herb would immediately attempt to refine it into a pill or consume it through some other medicinal method. Very few would possess the knowledge necessary to preserve its remaining vitality and cultivate it into a mature spiritual plant.
Mo Tou, however, had no intention of wasting it.
He had not travelled all this way merely to obtain a single flower.
He wanted to cultivate an entire garden.
If he succeeded, he would possess a renewable source of one of the most valuable spiritual objects available to Golden Core cultivators, and the benefits would extend far beyond his own cultivation. With sufficient time, he could even use the flowers to nurture powerful Rank 4 Yin Ghosts, creating another source of strength that could be useful in his future plans.
His expression became thoughtful.
I must first determine the exact location.
He carefully wrapped the flower in a protective layer of spiritual energy before storing it again.
The surrounding Yin Qi continued flowing through the mist.
Mo Tou looked towards the deeper part of the Forbidden Zone, his eyes narrowing as he considered the possibilities.
He had already confirmed that the outer region possessed the necessary conditions, but he still needed to find the most suitable patch of earth, preferably somewhere where the Yin Qi gathered naturally without being disturbed by the movements of the ghosts inhabiting the region.
There was no need to rush.
He had waited this long.
A few more days of careful investigation would be nothing.
---
Meanwhile, within Zhenyuan City, the Pavilion Mistress of Myriad Dao Pavilion was seated inside a quiet chamber, examining several reports that had recently been delivered by her subordinates.
The room was spacious and elegantly furnished, its walls decorated with ancient paintings and shelves containing numerous jade slips. A faint fragrance lingered in the air, and the spiritual formations surrounding the chamber ensured that no ordinary divine sense could penetrate its interior.
The Pavilion Mistress sat behind a jade table, her silver-white hair falling over her shoulders as she slowly read through the documents.
Her expression remained calm.
However, as she reached one particular report, her eyes narrowed slightly.
She read it once.
Then she read it again.
After a moment, she raised her head.
"A former True Monarch, hm?"
Her gaze settled upon the Pavilion Manager standing before her.
"Are you certain this information is accurate?"
The manager immediately straightened.
"Yes, Pavilion Mistress. We have compared the information with our existing records, and the individual's use of several spells, along with the characteristics of certain divine abilities, matches the descriptions recorded in our archives."
The Pavilion Mistress remained silent.
Her fingers lightly tapped the jade table.
"A former True Monarch..."
The manager lowered his head.
He could sense that the Pavilion Mistress was taking this matter seriously, and considering the level of information they had uncovered, that was hardly surprising.
Nascent Soul True Monarchs occupied the highest level of cultivation within the current Eastern Region. Even among the major factions, they were treated with extraordinary caution, and their movements were often regarded as matters capable of influencing the balance of power between entire sects.
Yet the report suggested that someone who had once reached that realm had somehow returned to the Golden Core stage.
This was not an ordinary case of a cultivator losing their cultivation.
It involved one of the most unusual methods available to a Nascent Soul True Monarch.
The Pavilion Mistress slowly placed the report on the table.
"Explain the relevant records again."
The manager nodded.
"As recorded in our archives, a Nascent Soul True Monarch possesses a final means of escape should their physical body be destroyed. By separating their Nascent Soul from the ruined body, they can attempt to flee before their consciousness and cultivation are completely extinguished."
The Pavilion Mistress said nothing, allowing him to continue.
"However, the Nascent Soul cannot remain exposed in the world indefinitely. Once separated from its physical vessel, it becomes vulnerable to various dangers, and the longer it remains without a suitable body, the greater the possibility that it will be discovered or destroyed."
The manager paused briefly before continuing.
"The True Monarch may therefore attempt to possess another body, either one prepared in advance or one encountered during their escape. But this method is not without consequences."
The Pavilion Mistress's eyes became slightly colder.
"Continue."
"The possession is governed by a heavenly mandate. A Nascent Soul True Monarch cannot simply abandon their physical body and repeatedly take possession of others whenever they encounter danger. The method can only be used once, and even then, the chance of success is extremely low."
He took a breath.
"According to the records, the probability is roughly one in ten."
The Pavilion Mistress's fingers stopped tapping.
One in ten.
That was an extraordinarily poor success rate, especially when the consequence of failure was the destruction of the Nascent Soul itself.
Most True Monarchs would rather detonate their Nascent Souls and perish alongside their enemies than gamble their existence on such a slim possibility.
The manager continued.
"Even if the possession succeeds, the surviving Nascent Soul cannot immediately recover its former strength. It enters a prolonged slumber, and the memories of its previous life become sealed. The new body then lives as an entirely separate individual, cultivating without any awareness of the life that preceded it."
The Pavilion Mistress's gaze remained fixed upon him.
"Then how does the former True Monarch recover their memories?"
"Through cultivation."
The manager answered carefully.
"Although the previous memories are sealed, the Nascent Soul's foundation remains concealed within the new body. As the individual cultivates, they may display an unusually rapid rate of advancement and comprehension that seems inconsistent with their spiritual root aptitude. Their cultivation foundation may also be considerably stronger than what their apparent background should allow."
He paused before adding, "Once they reach the peak of the Purple Palace Realm and attempt to break through to Golden Core, the heavenly tribulation associated with the breakthrough can trigger the awakening of their sealed memories."
The Pavilion Mistress's eyes flickered.
"At that point, the memories return?"
"Yes. The awakening allows the former True Monarch to recover their previous understanding, experience, and comprehension of cultivation. Their memories of divine abilities can then be reconstructed, and with the assistance of their restored understanding, they can condense those abilities into their newly formed Golden Core far more efficiently than an ordinary cultivator."
The manager lowered his voice slightly.
"Consequently, such individuals can advance through the Golden Core Realm at an astonishing speed, potentially reaching its peak in a fraction of the time normally required."
The Pavilion Mistress leaned back slightly.
She now understood why the report had attracted the attention of her subordinates.
A former Nascent Soul True Monarch who had successfully possessed another body would possess an extraordinary advantage over ordinary Golden Core cultivators. Even after losing their previous cultivation, their experience and comprehension would remain far beyond what most cultivators could achieve through ordinary means.
However, there was a price.
"There's another restriction, isn't there?"
The manager nodded.
"Yes. The records indicate that the heavenly mandate places an additional restriction upon the reborn cultivator. Even if they successfully recover their memories and reach the Nascent Soul Realm again, they will be unable to advance beyond it."
The Pavilion Mistress's expression became thoughtful.
"So they can regain their former realm, but they can never surpass it."
"Precisely."
The manager continued, "It is as though the heavens have permitted them one opportunity to preserve their existence, but have placed a shackle upon their future cultivation. No matter how talented they become or how many resources they obtain, they will remain confined to the Nascent Soul Realm."
The Pavilion Mistress looked down at the report again.
This was a rather peculiar arrangement.
A True Monarch could escape death through possession, but the price was the loss of their previous cultivation, the sealing of their memories, and the permanent limitation of their future advancement.
It was hardly a perfect method of survival.
In fact, considering the one-in-ten chance of success, it was a desperate gamble that most Nascent Soul True Monarchs would hesitate to attempt.
She slowly raised her eyes.
"And the individual in this report?"
The manager hesitated.
"We cannot confirm the person's exact identity, but the techniques and divine abilities they displayed are consistent with the records of an earlier generation. Furthermore, their cultivation speed appears to be considerably faster than expected for their apparent spiritual root aptitude."
The Pavilion Mistress's expression remained calm, but her thoughts had already begun moving.
So someone from the previous generation has returned.
She did not immediately conclude that the person was necessarily a former True Monarch. Records could be incomplete, divine abilities could be inherited, and certain ancient cultivation methods might produce effects resembling those described in the archives.
Nevertheless, the possibility was too important to ignore.
If the report was accurate, then the individual was not merely an unusually talented Golden Core cultivator.
They were someone who had once stood at the peak of the Eastern Region.
Someone who had experienced the Nascent Soul Realm, comprehended its mysteries, and possessed knowledge that ordinary Golden Core cultivators could never hope to obtain.
The Pavilion Mistress tapped the report once more.
"Continue monitoring this matter. Do not approach the individual recklessly, and do not allow anyone to expose that we are investigating."
The manager bowed.
"Understood, Pavilion Mistress."
"Also, examine the records of any cultivators who have displayed unusually rapid cultivation progress despite possessing mediocre spiritual roots. I want to know whether there are others who fit this pattern."
"Yes."
The Pavilion Mistress waved her hand.
The manager immediately withdrew.