“Refining… a Yin God?!”
“Precisely!” Fan Rusong’s voice was taut with gravity. “The Yin Thunder Wood, the Soul-Cursing Charm that conceals heavenly secrets, and that crimson-clad fierce ghost just now—all the conditions have been met. There’s no doubt about it. This is clearly the method for refining a Yin God!”
Seeing that Lu Chen’s brow was still creased with doubt, Xie Qingyi took over the explanation: “General, let me put it this way. Within our Netherworld, there are only two kinds of beings: Yin Gods, and the restless dead. Strictly speaking, subordinates like us don’t count as true Netherworld deities—but since we’re先天ghost immortals bestowed with Netherworld titles, we can barely be considered half-Yin Gods. And when we speak of ‘refining a Yin God,’ it doesn’t mean forging a true Yama or sovereign of the underworld. It means creating… ghost immortals like us.”
“Exactly!” The other three emissaries nodded in unison.
“Refining a ghost immortal… could it be—” Lu Chen’s expression shifted with alarm. “Someone wants to use this to achieve immortality?”
“Immortality might be a stretch. Even the true gods of the Three Realms can’t claim true eternity. But extending one’s lifespan by several hundred years—that’s certainly within reach.”
Lu Chen straightened his posture. “Then tell me everything in detail.”
“Yes, sir.” Fan Rusong raised the Yin Thunder Wood in his hand. “This wood grows beside the Yin Thunder Pools—one of the Netherworld’s rarest natural treasures. Though it’s an object of supreme yin, it has the remarkable ability to absorb the thunder of heaven and earth. Even the Nine-Heavens Thunder Tribulation can be drawn in, converted, and wielded for one’s own use.”
“So it’s like… a container for storing thunder?”
“That’s one way to put it.” Fan Rusong nodded. “That’s why the crimson-clad fierce ghost could use thunder methods just now—the source lies right here.”
“No wonder it wasn’t afraid of being struck by lightning.”
“Correct. But this wood has another remarkable property—similar to other earthly treasures like Yin River Wood, Yin Fire Bamboo, and Yin Earth Clay—it can gather yin energy and take on physical form. There’s a Yin Thunder Matriarch in our Netherworld who was born from Yin Thunder Wood taking shape.”
“Yin Thunder Matriarch… whew! That’s a seriously imposing name!”
“Indeed. That Matriarch is immensely powerful. Though she’s only a ghost immortal, even the Yama himself must yield to her with three parts courtesy.”
Fan Rusong waved his hand. “Apologies, General—I’ve strayed off topic. Let’s get back to the point. It’s precisely because of this yin-gathering, form-taking property that a foundation for refining a Yin God exists. Coupled with the Soul-Cursing Charm that masks the heavens’ prying eyes, the two work in perfect unison to create the embryo for cultivating a ghost immortal.”
“And that crimson-clad fierce ghost was nothing more than a vessel. Its soul was completely controlled by this Yin Thunder Wood. With a single thought, the refiner could wipe out its consciousness entirely. In other words—the refiner drives the crimson-clad ghost to kill and grow stronger, but all that power is ultimately being stockpiled for someone else. Once the time is right, they erase its awareness and seize the ghost immortal body directly—ascending to immortality in one fell swoop.”
Lu Chen frowned. “By killing… you can become an immortal?”
Fan Rusong gave an awkward smile. “General, doesn’t your mortal realm have two old sayings?
‘Drop the butcher’s blade, and become a god on the spot.’
And another: ‘A single thought separates godhood from demonhood.’
That’s the crux of it.
Have you ever wondered why dropping the butcher’s blade lets you become a god?
It’s because enough karmic debt has been accumulated.
And that karmic debt—that’s the source of a ghost immortal’s power.
For ghost immortals like us—not true deities, unable to enjoy incense offerings from the living—we can only cultivate through karmic debt.
When we reap souls, bind spirits, and flog the dead, we’re accumulating that same debt—it’s just far milder than outright slaughter, and it stays within the Netherworld’s rules.”
“As for that single thought separating godhood from demonhood—
But what if… that thought is forcibly erased?
A cuckoo taking over the nest!
Wouldn’t that mean they’ve found a shortcut to immortality?
Do you understand what I’m saying, sir?”
The more Lu Chen heard, the more unsettled he became—especially when he saw the yin-yang dual engraving on that wooden token. A horrifying notion suddenly struck him: “I see! Someone wants to use this method to achieve immortality through corpse-release!”
“General actually knows of the corpse-release method?” Xie Qingyi said in surprise. “Precisely! What the corpse-release immortal cultivates is the path of the ghost immortal!”
Lu Chen suddenly remembered something else, pointing at the Yin Thunder Wood: “Have you ever seen this kind of wooden token before? Are the characters carved inward, or raised outward?”
“They’re all carved inward!” the four emissaries said in unison.
“And the one refining the Yin God—are they usually human or ghost?”
Xie Qingyi: “Naturally, human!”
Horse-Face shook his head. “No—not necessarily! I’ve seen a fierce ghost use this same method to control other fierce ghosts, carving a path toward ghost immortal status for itself.”
Lu Chen: “And the characters were still indented?”
Horse-Face nodded. “That’s always the case.”
Fan Rusong asked: “General, what’s the significance of this inward versus outward carving?”
“There’s great significance. Carving inward is called intaglio—it’s for the dead. Carving outward is called relief—it’s for the living. By all logic, yin and yang should never be mixed. But this token has both—which means the user not only wants to use the crimson-clad ghost to achieve corpse-release immortality, but may also be keeping a backup path open for themselves… They want to have both yin and yang!”
Sssss—
The four emissaries collectively drew in sharp breaths.
“What kind of heretical art is this? We’ve never even heard of such a thing!”
“It seems the one refining this Yin God is no ordinary being! Just what kind of malevolent force are we dealing with?”
As the four exchanged uneasy glances—
Fan Rusong said thoughtfully, “General, regardless of the caster’s intentions, there’s one thing I can be certain of. The one who ultimately intends to take over that crimson-clad ghost and achieve corpse-release immortality—they must be a cultivator who specializes in thunder methods.”
“Specializes in thunder methods?”
“Correct. If they cultivated any other art, they’d use Yin River Wood, Yin Fire Bamboo, Yin Earth Clay, or some other ghost immortal embryo instead.”
“Right,” Xie Qingyi and the others agreed.
Lu Chen narrowed his eyes. “There are far too many thunder-method cultivators—just in Jiangdu City alone, there must be tens of thousands. But… I can also be certain of one thing: we’ve inadvertently ruined someone’s big plan!”
That was what truly chilled Lu Chen to the bone.
This S-rank dungeon, “Rebirth Academy,” wasn’t a natural coagulation of resentment—it was deliberately constructed.
Placed on the outskirts, preying on the living—all for the purpose of “raising a ghost”!
Who in the world would dare act with such utter lawlessness?
If it hadn’t been for him showing up today—and having the four emissaries to handle that crimson-clad fierce ghost—
if this dungeon had been left to fester, who knew how many innocent lives would have been lost.
By then, that shadowy figure behind it all might very well have completed their corpse-release ascension ritual.
“I never imagined Jiangdu City would harbor such a terrifying heretic cultivator…”
Lu Chen pushed down the tangled thoughts in his mind and checked the time.
Unbeknownst to him, they had spent nearly four hours inside the ghost domain—it seemed the domain had a slight distorting effect on time as well.
“Never mind—we’ll deal with this later. Let’s focus on the task at hand.”
Lu Chen summoned the Plague Humming Pearl for inspection.
Fortunately, after clearing this S-rank dungeon, the karmic tribulation energy inside the pearl had indeed dissipated completely.
This trial—was finally complete!
“Let’s move out—to Qianjiang City!”
“General, please keep this Yin Thunder Wood safe. It’s a rare treasure.”
“Right. With this, even against the Thunder Ministry’s lightning techniques, you’ll stand a fighting chance!”
“That powerful? Then I’m definitely keeping it.” Lu Chen stored the Yin Thunder Wood into his Sumeru Ring.
After they departed, all traces of ghostly energy here faded completely, leaving not a single mark behind.
*“SWISH!!” *
As if sensing something—
In an unknown location, somewhere deep in the shadows—
A pair of eyes snapped wide open, blazing with fury.
“WHO?! Who moved my crimson puppet?!”
Rage churned in its heart—
But then came the sound of a door creaking open.
The viciousness in those eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by a benign and gentle expression…
…
Meanwhile—in the Heavenly Court, within the Nine-Dragons Palace—
The Great Emperor of Plague slowly opened his divine eyes, a flicker of surprise passing through them.
“He actually managed to get it done within seven days?”
Sensing the thoroughly dissipated karmic tribulation energy inside the Plague Humming Pearl, the Emperor paused thoughtfully, then gave a faint smile.
As if having made a certain decision, his form vanished from the cloud terrace, transforming into a beam of cyan light that shot straight toward a majestic divine hall high above the Ninth Heaven…
