Chapter 803: Ghost
"After death… does one become a ghost?"
Why would Senior Sister Ye ask such a thing?
Could it be...
Mo Hua's expression darkened. After a brief moment of thought, he turned to Hua Qianqian and asked,
"Senior Sister Qianqian, is there anything left of Senior Sister Ye Jin's belongings?"
Hua Qianqian thought for a moment and shook her head.
"Hard to say. Jin'er died by self-immolation. The entire room burned down, leaving almost nothing behind. And even if anything survived, the sect collected it and sent it to the Ye family."
"Nothing at all, huh…"
Mo Hua frowned. After a pause, a sudden idea lit up his eyes.
"What about books? Or jade slips?"
"Those would have burned too…"
"No," Mo Hua said. "Not her personal books. I mean the ones she borrowed from the sect library."
Hua Qianqian froze, then quickly understood.
Mo Hua continued,
"Try to check the library's records. See if Senior Sister Ye Jin borrowed any books or jade slips recently. They might contain clues."
Hua Qianqian gave Mo Hua a surprised glance, inwardly impressed.
Junior Brother Mo is seriously sharp.
"The library records are confidential," she said. "But my aunt is an elder there. I can ask her for a favor. Same time tomorrow, I'll bring the books and slips—if I can't get them, I'll at least come explain."
Mo Hua nodded.
"Alright."
The next day, after finishing his lessons, Mo Hua once again waited at the foot of the mountain.
Soon, Hua Qianqian arrived—dressed in fine robes, her features elegant as ever.
The two sat side by side beneath a large tree.
Hua Qianqian handed him a storage pouch embroidered with blooming flowers and let out a long breath.
"It wasn't easy... No matter how I asked, my aunt wouldn't agree. I had to beg and promise her that I'd get a top grade in the upcoming alchemy exam. Only then did she bend the rules and check the records for me."
She pointed at the pouch.
"These are the books and jade slips Jin'er borrowed from the library this past month. I borrowed them all and put them in this pouch."
She then added a warning:
"These aren't supposed to be shared. Junior Brother Mo, you must not lose them. I won't be able to explain to my aunt if anything goes missing."
"Mm-hmm! Don't worry, Senior Sister!" Mo Hua promised.
Hua Qianqian relaxed a little, but still asked with some doubt,
"Do you really think there'll be clues in these…?"
"Let's hope so..."
A faint glint of anticipation flashed in Mo Hua's eyes.
Within the Great Void Sect
Back at his quarters, Mo Hua opened the pouch from Hua Qianqian.
It was clearly from Hundred Flowers Valley—covered in colorful embroidery of all kinds of blossoms.
Inside were four cultivation books and a single jade slip.
Mo Hua examined them one by one.
The jade slip described techniques for cultivating various rare types of magnolias.
Hundred Flowers Valley was, unsurprisingly, flower-themed. Floral cultivation was part of their curriculum, and most of their female disciples were skilled in it.
Mo Hua remembered Hua Qianqian had once said that Senior Sister Ye Jin especially loved magnolias. So her floral studies focused on them.
But Mo Hua himself was completely clueless when it came to flowers.
If it couldn't be eaten, he had zero interest in growing it.
He browsed through the jade slip but didn't find anything unusual, so he set it aside.
Then came the books.
One on alchemy.
One on general cultivation.
Another on makeup and how to apply rouge—clearly meant for female cultivators.
But the final book… was different.
Its title: "One Hundred Taboos of Cultivation".
This was a guide that detailed a hundred forbidden topics in cultivation—things disciples should never touch, to avoid going astray or falling into heresy.
Mo Hua flipped through it—then suddenly stopped at a certain page.
There was a slight crease.
A faint watermark—almost like a teardrop.
And near the teardrop, a line of text:
"...If a person dies a tragic death, harboring deep and bitter resentment, they may transform into a vicious ghost..."
A tragic death.
Resentment.
Becoming a ghost…
Mo Hua's heart slowly sank.
After a moment's thought, he stored the pouch, then took out the white bone sword and removed a small seal.
He asked:
"Hey, Swordbone Head, I've got a question."
"Master," the sword spirit began—then quickly corrected itself,
"Er, I mean, Young Lord. Please ask."
"How did you become a 'malevolent spirit'?"
"Uh…" The sword spirit gave a sheepish laugh.
"Don't you already know? You killed me, my body was destroyed, and my soul clung to this broken sword, turning into a sword demon…"
Mo Hua frowned.
"Isn't your case… kinda special?"
The sword spirit trembled slightly.
"Young Lord, you mean…"
Mo Hua continued,
"I've killed others before. I've also seen others die. But almost none of them turned into malevolent spirits afterward."
Of all the deaths Mo Hua had witnessed, only two resulted in the creation of evil spirits.
The first was this very sword spirit.
The second was Zhang Quan, a Foundation Establishment cultivator involved in corpse-refinement in Mount Nanyue, who'd colluded with Lu Chengyun.
But Zhang Quan was a unique case.
His entire clan practiced corpse-related arts.
They even had an inherited "Zombie Diagram", which allowed their whole family to enter the diagram after death.
There was clearly some kind of lineage or forbidden inheritance involved.
But Mo Hua wasn't a practitioner of corpse arts, so he couldn't tell what exactly that lineage was.
Outside of Zhang Quan, all other cultivators—once dead—stayed dead.
They didn't turn into evil spirits or ghosts.
Which made the sword spirit a particularly strange exception.
It seemed it had been prepared.
It either intended to refine a life-bound artifact and become a Golden Core demon…
Or, upon death and loss of flesh, it would become a sword demon.
Back in the chaos of the Ten Thousand Demon Valley, Mo Hua hadn't had time to think much of it.
But now that he had the chance to reflect—something clearly didn't add up.
A "sword demon", even if it seemed like a minor pest in Mo Hua's eyes, was still a creature that had transcended death. It had shifted from the human path to the path of ghosts and spirits, avoiding true destruction.
If such a thing were possible for everyone—plenty of cultivators would willingly choose to become sword demons after death.
But clearly, that wasn't how it worked.
Most cultivators, once they died, were gone for good.
This Swordbone Spirit… had secrets.
Inside the white bone sword, the spirit began to tremble slightly.
"To serve a lord is like accompanying a tiger."
Especially when this tiger wasn't just powerful and ferocious—but as cunning as a demon.
The sword spirit's voice was hoarse, but it did its best to remain calm:
"In reply to Young Lord… in the Ten Thousand Demon Valley, where no light of day ever reached, I was desperate. I clung to a sliver of hope—thinking, if by some miracle I could transform into a sword demon, it would be a way to survive."
"In the end, through a twist of fate, I was killed by you, Young Lord. My soul entered the White Bone Sword and successfully transformed into a sword demon. I suppose I have your fortune to thank for that."
"If not for you, I likely wouldn't have been able to walk that path. I might have perished during my Golden Core breakthrough—reduced to nothing, without even bones left behind…"
The sword spirit flattered Mo Hua with a poker face.
Mo Hua's gaze was unreadable, but he didn't press further. Instead, he asked:
"Do you know… how a person can turn into a 'ghost'?"
The sword spirit didn't want to answer.
It didn't know how much Mo Hua already understood about ghostly paths. If it misspoke, it might expose something—something dangerous.
But it also couldn't remain silent.
After a brief pause, the sword spirit slowly replied:
"If a cultivator loses their physical body under special circumstances, but their divine sense lingers… with time, they may become a ghost."
"Ghosts covet the bodies of the living—especially the bodies of their close relatives."
"If they have no relatives, then teachers, fellow disciples, Dao companions—anyone connected to their memories—can become their prey."
"They'll attach themselves to those people, feeding on their divine sense. Once drained, they move on to the next host, continuing the cycle."
"Those who are possessed by ghosts will have their personalities twisted, their minds driven mad. When the ghost finishes devouring their divine sense… the host will die as well."
…
The sword spirit finished its explanation with some anxiety.
Mo Hua nodded slightly.
What it said was consistent with what Lord Huangshan had once explained.
"Are there… exceptional cases?" Mo Hua asked.
"Exceptional…?"
"For example…" Mo Hua thought of the line from One Hundred Taboos of Cultivation:
"If a person dies a tragic death, consumed by bitter resentment, they may become a fearsome ghost."
Tragic death…
The sword spirit stiffened and then nodded:
"There are."
It thought for a moment and then explained truthfully:
"There are always exceptions. The ghostly path is no different. Some people choose to cultivate as ghost cultivators. Some lose their bodies and become ghosts out of necessity. Others are simply unlucky, parasitized by evil entities and turned into vengeful spirits."
"Those are the common cases."
"But in extreme circumstances—when a cultivator suffers immense torment and pain before death, harboring overwhelming resentment and hatred—they may transform into a ferocious ghost, a wrathful ghost, a vengeful spirit, or even something worse."
"Such fierce ghosts are far more powerful than ordinary evil spirits. Their resentment runs deep, and their killings are especially terrifying."
Mo Hua furrowed his brow.
This part… Huangshan-jun hadn't mentioned.
He turned to silently glance at the White Bone Sword in his hand.
This sword spirit… seemed to know quite a lot…
"That's enough. You're done."
Mo Hua reactivated the sealing array and re-sealed the sword spirit within the White Bone Sword.
Inside the blade, the sword spirit let out a long, shaky breath of relief.
Serving a genius like Mo Hua really was like tiptoeing around a tiger.
But Mo Hua's brows were now furrowed with unease.
"This is bad…"
If that line from the taboo book was accurate—if Senior Sister Ye Jin intentionally set herself ablaze, enduring unimaginable pain to die a tragic death filled with hatred—all in order to become a fierce ghost…
Then this was no ordinary suicide.
It was a ritual.
She might have been trying to force her transformation.
But turning into a ghost isn't guaranteed.
If she failed, fine.
But if she succeeded—she'd start feeding on people.
And she didn't die at the Ye estate.
She died in Hundred Flowers Valley.
The place was filled with her fellow disciples—people connected to her memories and emotions.
Even if her conscious mind didn't wish it, the instincts of a fierce ghost would take over—seeking hosts, devouring divine senses.
She might already be possessing someone.
Mo Hua's expression was grim.
The next day was a rest day.
Mo Hua met with Hua Qianqian and gave her a brief explanation.
He didn't mention ghosts directly. Instead, he said:
"The way Senior Sister Ye Jin died… it's strange. The lingering resentment is abnormally deep. I fear something sinister may take root. Something terrible could happen inside Hundred Flowers Valley…"
Mo Hua expected he'd need to explain further.
But to his surprise, Hua Qianqian turned pale the moment he finished, her voice trembling:
"Yes! Junior Brother—you're absolutely right!"
Mo Hua's heart sank.
She continued:
"These past days… the sisters who were close to Jin'er have all been feeling uneasy. At night, some of them are having nightmares—seeing Senior Sister Ye Jin, pale as death, expressionless, just silently staring at them. She'd whisper things like 'so dirty,' and 'I can't go on living…'"
"Then, fire would erupt in the dream—blazing karmic flames. Jin'er would be standing in the fire, her face burned beyond recognition… looking like some kind of monster…"
Her face was a mix of fear and sorrow.
Mo Hua's chest tightened.
This… was serious.
These were clear signs—early symptoms of possession by a fierce ghost.
Hua Qianqian glanced at Mo Hua and asked nervously:
"Junior Brother Mo… did something happen to Jin'er's spirit?"
Mo Hua replied grimly:
"It's still hard to say…"
Mo Hua let out a sigh.
Right now, there weren't enough clues—he could only make educated guesses.
As for the truth, without seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn't make any definitive conclusions.
After hesitating for a long time, Mo Hua finally spoke:
"Sister Qianqian… could you… take me into Hundred Flowers Valley?"
Hua Qianqian was startled, then sighed and shook her head:
"The sect rules are very strict—no male cultivators are allowed inside."
"Not even any exceptions?"
"None…" Hua Qianqian replied.
"Alright then."
Mo Hua was a little disappointed.
In that case, he'd have to come up with another method.
Like calling out every disciple from Hundred Flowers Valley who had been close to Senior Sister Ye Jin?
Especially those who had dreamed about her…
As Mo Hua was deep in thought, Hua Qianqian kept sneaking glances at him, her eyes shimmering, heart thumping uncontrollably.
"Actually… it's not entirely impossible…" she whispered.
"Hmm?" Mo Hua blinked, confused.
Hua Qianqian's misty gaze drifted across Mo Hua's face. Finally, she couldn't suppress the flutter in her chest and murmured:
"Junior Brother, if you… wear a Hundred Flowers Valley robe, I could take you in."
Mo Hua froze, his expression stunned, and immediately rejected:
"No way! Absolutely not!"
Absolutely out of the question!
He was a dignified man! A proper junior brother of the Great Void Sect!
How could he possibly wear Hundred Flowers Valley's sect robes?
Hua Qianqian was startled by her own suggestion.
But she quickly realized—this might be her only chance in life. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
If she let it go this time, she might never see her wish fulfilled.
"Just wear it once," she coaxed.
"Just enough to sneak into the valley…"
At the very least, let her see Mo Hua wearing the Hundred Flowers Valley robe—just once.
But Mo Hua refused stubbornly, his face serious:
"No means no."
"…Alright then."
Hua Qianqian saw that he wasn't budging and could only give up, though her heart ached a little.
"So… how are we supposed to investigate Sister Jin'er's case now?"
Mo Hua thought for a moment and said:
"Could you gather the sisters who've been having nightmares and let me meet them?"
Hua Qianqian looked a bit troubled but still nodded:
"I'll try. But time is tight, and everyone's busy. I might not be able to call them all out during this rest period."
"That's fine," Mo Hua nodded.
"Thank you, Senior Sister."
Then Hua Qianqian returned to Hundred Flowers Valley.
Mo Hua continued pondering the matter of Ye Jin. But the more he thought, the more he realized something troubling:
Even if those sisters did come out… it might not help.
Divine sense is sealed within the Sea of Consciousness.
When a ghost possesses someone, it also invades that Sea of Consciousness.
But he, Mo Hua, couldn't project his own spirit—his divine sense couldn't leave his body.
If the ghost didn't drag him in, he could only stand there watching—completely helpless.
As for the sword spirit…
It wouldn't be of much use here either.
And besides, it was a sword demon. Best not to let that thing show up in public.
What made things worse was… Ye Jin died inside Hundred Flowers Valley.
The place where she died—that would be the focal point of the resentment. The very origin of her ghost transformation.
If the "source" wasn't resolved, even if he helped a few sisters get rid of their ghost nightmares, it would only be treating the symptoms, not the root.
Mo Hua's head was starting to ache.
He spent the whole day of the rest period racking his brain, but still couldn't find a solution.
As evening approached, after much internal struggle, Mo Hua finally let out a long sigh and sent a message to Hua Qianqian—like a man resigned to fate:
"Senior Sister… If I wear the Hundred Flowers Valley robes… can I really sneak into the valley?"
(End of this Chapter)