Chapter 98: The Ghost Tiger, Source of Calamity

In this small circle, whether human or monster, anyone with a discerning eye knows one thing: Hui Jin, who proposed this ghost-fighting gambling game, must have a way to ensure his victory.

Ji Ming glanced at Li Muru beside him, who was struggling to suppress a smile for fear of revealing that she had drawn a powerful ghost, and mentally struck her from the list of discerning observers.

Clutching his wide sleeves and holding his earthen jar, Ji Ming genuinely felt his control over the little ghost within. As he gauged the strength of his hold on the spirit, he swept a peripheral glance toward Old Man Yueke. Given that this man could put up a Wind-Repelling Pill as a stake, he surely had some means to prevent Hui Jin from cheating; he couldn't possibly be using such a rare treasure for charity.

Of course, Ji Ming did not rely entirely on Old Man Yueke. He scanned his surroundings, and as his wide sleeve brushed across the mouth of his jar, he dropped a bead inside.

Hui Jin placed a large, wide-mouthed ceramic urn in the center and asked, "Who shall wager first?"

Da Pan and Xiao Lingtong remained silent. Although Li Muru was eager, she restrained herself. Ji Ming spoke before Old Man Yueke could: "I will."

Seeing Ji Ming holding a jar as if he had obtained a formidable ghost, Hui Jin smiled. "Very well. Let us each release our ghosts into the urn to fight."

Ji Ming opened the lid of his jar. "This little ghost of mine seems quite timid. How about we have the fight inside my jar instead?"

"That won't do." Hui Jin shook his head, gesturing to the wide-mouthed urn for all to see. "This ghost-fighting is just like fighting crickets; the point is to see them clash in the open, clear to all eyes."

With Hui Jin having said this, Ji Ming found it difficult to argue and quickly changed his strategy. Inside the jar, the Bone-Gathering Heart Bead transformed into a circle of light that enveloped the Hanged Ghost, sealing away all the secret spells and methods that had been cast upon its yin body.

This operation was a feat of a true magical treasure. Ji Ming’s Bone-Gathering Heart Bead was only a hair's breadth away from being a full-fledged artifact, and utilizing such a subtle effect beyond its primary "heart-gathering" function was quite taxing. Ji Ming’s face turned slightly pale, and Hui Jin, sensing something, his expression darkened.

"Good!" Old Man Yueke’s small eyes glinted as he clapped his hands. "The two of you, please drive your ghosts into the urn."

Ji Ming opened the jar. The Hanged Ghost’s purple face was flushed, its fierce nature fully exposed, but under Ji Ming’s stern gaze, it obediently dove into the large urn. Anyone could see that the Hanged Ghost appeared like an unrefined wild spirit, its ferocity almost matching that of a true vengeful specter. For a moment, Ji Ming drew many gazes—some filled with awe, others with wariness.

Hui Jin had lost his air of calm, effortless mastery. He lifted his own jar lid, and a ghostly tiger shadow, accompanied by a howling, chilling wind, plunged into the urn.

"A Ghost Tiger!" The well-informed Xiao Lingtong shouted, then turned to yell angrily at Hui Jin, "You must have practiced the Five-Ghost Soul-Severing Palm!"

The Five-Ghost Soul-Severing Palm was a notorious heretical secret art; it was estimated that six out of every ten itinerant cultivators practiced it. The technique derived from it, the "Five-Ghost Transportation Art," was even more famous. Ji Ming had heard that this secret art involved raising five ghosts and feeding them yin-dan pills made from the hair and fingernails of corpses. Once perfected, every strike would be accompanied by the phantom wails of ghosts.

Ji Ming looked at Li Muru again. This time, he didn't need to give a look; he asked directly, "What is the connection between a Ghost Tiger and the Five-Ghost Soul-Severing Palm?"

"Mountain tigers that become spirits naturally possess the 'fox borrowing the tiger's might'妖 art. If such a tiger spirit becomes a ghost after death, it can still command the '伥' ghosts it enslaved during its life. A cultivator who practices the Five-Ghost Soul-Severing Palm, if they can capture a Ghost Tiger, can use its ability to command these '伥' ghosts to practice the art without wasting energy raising their own spirits."

Li Muru looked steadily at Ji Ming. "I suspect the '伥' ghosts we chose are the ones he uses for his practice. He just didn't expect you to be one step ahead, forcing the '伥' ghost back to its original nature so it wouldn't be controlled by the Ghost Tiger, leaving him with no choice but to release the Tiger itself to fight."

Hui Jin stared fixedly at Ji Ming, feeling deeply annoyed. He had raised seven or eight '伥' ghosts, which served both his cultivation and his gambling. Originally, he hadn't needed to swap the ghost in his jar for the Ghost Tiger; he only needed to let the Ghost Tiger manipulate the others from the shadows, ensuring he would win regardless of which ghost his opponent used.

Alas.

Inside the urn, the Hanged Ghost and the Ghost Tiger were locked in combat, their forms twisting into two intertwined balls of black mist, tumbling and inseparable. Hui Jin was pouring his full concentration into controlling the Ghost Tiger, while Ji Ming simply allowed the Hanged Ghost to fight with its raw, primal ferocity.

Ji Ming knew that his key to victory now was to disrupt Hui Jin’s focus. He said, "Today, I saw a four-armed monk in front of the Yin Heaven Palace. His dharma image was majestic, and I felt an inexplicable affinity. I wonder what relationship he has with you, Brother?"

Hui Jin put on a composed front and replied, "That is my master, Zen Master Sura!"

Ji Ming gave Li Muru a second look and said to Hui Jin with surprise, "So it is that dual cultivator of Dao and Buddha, the high monk of the Daoist gate known both as Sura-zi and Zen Master Sura."

Hui Jin sensed Ji Ming’s ill intent and did not take the bait. Li Muru, finally picking up on the cue, spoke up: "What high monk? I heard from Master Difa that this Sura-zi acts against the natural order and will sooner or later suffer heavenly retribution, to be destroyed by the... what was it?"

"The Heavenly Beings!"

Prompted by Ji Ming, Li Muru quickly added, "Right, destroyed by the Heavenly Beings."

Hui Jin’s face turned ashen. Even though he knew these two were deliberately using harsh words to disturb his control over the Ghost Tiger, a nameless fire ignited in his heart.

Li Muru’s little mouth seemed poisoned as she launched a barrage of insults at Sura-zi, yet Hui Jin could not refute them. The affair of the Heavenly Beings blocking the path was a scandal sealed by the heavens themselves; it was not something that could be easily twisted or erased.

"Enough!"

After being berated for so long, the veins on Hui Jin’s forehead bulged. He could no longer maintain his composure—truly, even a Buddha could be angered. He barked, "What are those Heavenly Beings? It was just luck they weren't crushed in the womb! If he dares to take the Daoist citizen examination next, my fellow disciples and I will be waiting for him."

As soon as these words were out, Ji Ming’s fist tightened in his sleeve, then relaxed. Beads of sweat appeared on Hui Jin’s polished, bald head. Having leaked his sect’s secrets, Hui Jin felt as if he were sitting on pins and needles. He wanted to leave, but found his body unable to move.

Old Man Yueke asked with feigned confusion, "Little monk, is our game over?"

"I concede." Hui Jin looked utterly dejected. He dropped a piece of dark, gloomy wood, wiped the sweat from his brow, and thought only of fleeing the scene.

"He must be afraid his master will find out about this," Li Muru said.

At her words, the monk’s face turned even paler. He wanted to say something to smooth things over, but he could not bring himself to open his mouth; the tension was unbearable.

Ji Ming was still pondering Hui Jin’s words. As far as he knew, Zen Master Sura had four direct disciples at the Four Sorrows Cloud Temple. On Six-Tooth Mountain, the monk Zhengguo had already been killed by his Bone-Gathering Heart Bead, which meant the "fellow disciples" Hui Jin spoke of were the remaining two.

If he killed Hui Jin here, there would only be two left to hunt him down during the Daoist citizen examination. Thinking of this, Ji Ming’s urge to kill became impossible to suppress. He found Hui Jin’s bald head increasingly "charming," and he felt a sudden desire to hold it in his hands.

*Hui Jin, second realm of Qi Refining. Skilled with a flying sword, knows the Five-Ghost Soul-Severing Palm, suspected of practicing the Taiping Mountain’s Great Zhou Heaven Qi Refining True Method, the "Sitting Mountain Warrior Sutra." Everything else is unknown.*

Calculating Hui Jin’s capabilities, Ji Ming realized that this bald head would not be so easy to pluck; he was no mere waste like the monk Zhengguo. He truly wondered what kind of techniques the remaining two disciples of Sura possessed.