TRYMBPIETM 68: Mirror, Night, Snow Peak (31)

He suddenly realized that the biggest mistake he had made in this life wasn’t participating in the ritual with his father when he was five, nor was it refusing to let go of the ghostly energy after becoming half-human and half-ghost in order to retain his power. It was his desire to completely solve the troubles caused by the ghostly energy.

If he hadn’t been thinking about solving everything in one go, he would never have gotten involved with Fan Tao.

If he hadn’t gotten involved with Fan Tao, he would never have noticed the special qualities of Chi Qingzhou.

If he hadn’t noticed Chi Qingzhou, he wouldn’t have plotted so much.

If he hadn’t plotted so much, he wouldn’t have been turned against by Chi Qingzhou.

If he hadn’t fallen into Chi Qingzhou’s trap, he wouldn’t have had to learn what kind of crazy person Xing Shuangzhan was.

He had witnessed brothers fighting, couples turning against each other, and fathers and sons turning on each other. He had personally caused many tragic incidents and had never had much emotional reaction.

Over time, he had gradually come to believe that nothing could make him collapse.

But now, he knew he was wrong.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t collapse; it was that he had never seen anything like this before!

Bei Shen gasped heavily, his gaze fixed on Xing Shuangzhan, wishing he could tear a piece of flesh off him.

“Xing Su, you, a world-ending ghost, actually do such things… Do you have any shame?!”

“Do you even have any decency?!”

Xing Shuangzhan casually raised the corner of his lips, his tone carrying a strange contempt.

“Oh, so you’ve been single your whole life.”

“Damn you!!” Bei Shen was furious, blood pouring from his injured eyes, staining his cheeks red.

He could accept his own failure, but he couldn’t accept this kind of humiliation!

Xing Shuangzhan coldly said, “Humiliation? Who do you think you are?”

Bei Shen shouted, “Damn it!! Xing Su, you bastard, I’m going to fight you!”

His rage reached its peak, and he stopped cursing.

Quickly, he recited the summoning incantation again, pulled a folding knife from his pocket, and slashed his wrist with force.

Blood poured out, soaking his sleeve and making his already pale face look even worse.

Two blood tears half-dried on his cheeks, making him appear utterly deranged.

It was as if he had completely lost his sanity. He tilted his head back and let out a harsh roar, no longer thinking about retreating or delaying time while waiting for the formation he had set up earlier to take effect. He only wanted Xing Shuangzhan to pay the price!

Bei Shen’s reckless summoning incantation immediately took effect.

Chi Qingzhou, who was contemplating the situation, suddenly felt a powerful pull. Before he could bid farewell to Pei Huan, he was swiftly drawn back into the secondary tomb by this force.

The sky was filled with violent thunder, as if it had sensed something, and struck three bolts of lightning near the secondary tomb, but in the end, it was all in vain.

Chi Qingzhou was pulled back into the secondary tomb by the summoning incantation, a speed far beyond that of the lightning.

The lightning lingered outside the secondary tomb for a moment before losing its target and dispersing.

Chi Qingzhou, with a sudden realization, turned his gaze to the crazed Bei Shen, smiling with a hint of pleasure.

So this was it.

Bei Shen’s summoning incantation was the method he had prepared three years ago to retreat safely after disturbing the tomb-suppressing formation.

What could the person who set up the formation do, no matter how meticulous they were?

The summoning incantation itself had the power to communicate with heaven and earth. Breaking through the formation wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t hard to take advantage of the chaotic array.

The formation operated by drawing upon the power of heaven and earth.

As he listened to Bei Shen’s frantic, unrelenting urging, Chi Qingzhou shifted his gaze to Xing Shuangzhan.

Since Bei Shen had done so much for him, it seemed a bit unfair not to acknowledge it.

However, he had a contract, and possessing Bei Shen would cause unnecessary issues.

Given that, he chose Xing Shuangzhan instead.

Chi Qingzhou found an excuse, happily closing the distance, extending his hand as before, attempting to touch Xing Shuangzhan.

Xing Shuangzhan, sensing something, looked up, and their eyes met. The next moment, the world seemed to reverse.

…

Responding to the summoning and possessing another person felt strange.

When that person was ghost, the feeling was even more peculiar.

Chi Qingzhou shared Xing Shuangzhan’s vision and, feeling quite new and curious, inwardly exclaimed.

He subconsciously tried to blink, but sadly, it wasn’t possible in this state.

Chi Qingzhou sighed inwardly, feeling a slight sense of regret.

Xing Shuangzhan sensed the change within himself, reached up to his shoulder, and let out a low laugh.

“No wonder it felt familiar, so it’s you.”

It seemed Bei Shen thought he had found a backer and desperately tried to complete the summoning, only to realize it was all part of his little contractor’s arrangement.

Considering his usual style, it was hard to say whether Bei Shen had been trying to save himself or had been tricked into becoming the fixed coordinate for him to return from the main tomb.

Thinking that Bei Shen might have been drained of his last bit of value, Xing Shuangzhan paused and looked at Bei Shen with a touch of pity.

Never mind, Bei Shen had indeed put in some effort. He would give him a quick end.

Xing Shuangzhan waved away the lightning in the room, took two steps forward, and without waiting for Bei Shen’s reaction, lifted him up.

Chi Qingzhou, curious, leaned in closer. The mark left by the summoning incantation on Bei Shen was immediately triggered.

The lightning in the room gradually weakened, and in Bei Shen’s terrified expression, the ghostly energy within him surged out, as if drawn by some force.

Excruciating pain exploded from the depths of his soul. Bei Shen couldn’t help but let out a scream, his mind descending into chaos.

He didn’t understand. He had followed the instructions from the classic texts for the summoning spell, so why had the ghost deity not responded to him?!

The elders of the council had never failed when using this method!

Bei Shen couldn’t figure out what went wrong. The intense pain was gradually numbing his brain, and he couldn’t concentrate enough to think.

He could only instinctively let out cries of agony, desperately flailing his limbs and struggling with all his might.

Xing Shuangzhan paused for a moment, then threw him against the wall. He stepped back a few paces and returned to Chi Qingzhou’s side, gently pulling him into an embrace and slowly closing his eyes.

He hadn’t made a move yet, but the ghost energy began to surge towards him on its own.

It was clear that this was his little contractor’s work.

With the effort to search for the source of the energy saved, he still needed a bit more time to fully absorb the ghost energy from Bei Shen’s soul.

Chi Qingzhou’s body remained motionless in Xing Shuangzhan’s arms, but his active consciousness reached out, gently placing a “hand” on Xing Shuangzhan’s shoulder.

The other half of the soul in the shadow opened its eyes. After a brief moment of eye contact, it slowly closed them again.

He realized that Bei Shen’s past memories were flowing into his mind through the summoning spell, continuously pouring in.

He also needed some time to determine which parts of Bei Shen’s memories were useful.

…

In Chi Qingzhou’s eyes, Bei Shen’s life was rather unremarkable.

At the age of five, he participated in ritual with his father, Bei Qi, during which Bei Qi was severely injured.

His luck couldn’t be considered good. Although he survived, his soul was taken as a dwelling place for ghost energy.

For the next several years, he endured unimaginable pain.

And none of this could be blamed on anyone else.

It was his father who couldn’t control his greed, secretly manipulating the situation when the accident happened, gathering the ghost energy that Xing Shuangzhan had dispersed onto Bei Shen.

Bei Qi was indeed very capable, and his actions successfully deceived the Xuanxu Sect, so no one noticed where the ghost energy had gone.

If he had survived, perhaps he really could have cultivated Bei Shen into a special being, somewhere between human and ghost.

Unfortunately, Bei Qi overestimated his own abilities and underestimated Xing Shuangzhan’s power.

After being rescued by the Xuanxu Sect, Bei Qi realized that his injuries were incurable. After barely holding on for a while, he passed away.

Before he died, he entrusted his disciple, who secretly received his favor, with taking care of Bei Shen.

Bei Qi had saved the disciple’s life, and in return, the disciple had always secretly supported him.

The disciple, grateful for the favor, took Bei Qi’s final request seriously and was entrusted with Bei Shen’s care.

This disciple later became the last surviving member of the Bei family within the Xuanxu Sect. He also helped Bei Shen for many years, fulfilling Bei Qi’s wish.

With his help, Bei Shen, just over 30 years old, refused to let go of the ghost energy and sought to completely eradicate the pain.

Bei Shen longed to trample the Xuanxu Sect’s masters under his feet, but with his talent, that was nothing more than a fool’s dream.

He needed the ghost energy to increase his strength and the half-human, half-ghost body for self-preservation.

Even though this body caused him immense pain and slowed his growth compared to normal people, he couldn’t give up.

To alleviate the pain, he had been collecting various precious medicinal materials since his early 30s.

Later, he discovered that treasures like mountain forest essence, imperial elixir, and noble purple qi were even more useful. He began to conspire with his senior brother, deceiving and swindling all over the place.

His most common tactic was to create trouble for families with good fortunes, wait for them to be overwhelmed, and then “help” them solve their problems in exchange for rewards, tricking others into handing over various fortunes or rare essences.

He became acquainted with Chi Qingzhou because he had set his sights on Chi Qingning’s fortune.

Chi Xiaoyuan, having witnessed the power of the Xuanxu Sect’s techniques, almost immediately fell for the trick.

If it weren’t for the master from the Chi family’s temple being nearby and seeing through Bei Shen’s plot, Chi Qingning’s fortune would likely have been stolen by Bei Shen long ago.

However, Bei Shen’s plan backfired, and with the evidence now in Chi Xiaoyuan’s hands, Bei Shen could only begrudgingly do Chi Xiaoyuan’s bidding.

Of course, Bei Shen wanted to free himself from Chi Xiaoyuan, but with Fan Tao around, he didn’t dare make any big moves.

He had also considered asking his senior brother for help, but when he was 45 years old, his senior brother, who was already over fifty, felt he had repaid his master’s debt and quietly left one rainy night. Bei Shen couldn’t find him, let alone ask for help.

What Bei Shen didn’t know was that after his senior brother left, he immediately did something significant:

He joined Shen Wenxu and helped him investigate Bei Qi’s past while also monitoring Bei Shen’s movements.

Bei Shen trusted his senior brother, whom he had grown up with, and never suspected him, but Chi Qingzhou could see some signs from his memories.

Chi Qingzhou didn’t know why this person suddenly joined Shen Wenxu, but he was certain that the statue Bei Shen had been honoring, which seemed to be his incarnation, was connected to this senior brother.

And up until now, Bei Shen was still in the dark about the origin of the statue.

Chi Qingzhou saw the appearance of the statue from Bei Shen’s memories and couldn’t help but blink.

It wasn’t the usual humanoid statue, but an abstract design carved from jade.

If it weren’t for the celestial star pattern carved all over the jade, even Chi Qingzhou himself wouldn’t have dared to call it an idol.

No wonder Bei Shen mistook it for some kind of ghost deity.

Chi Qingzhou tilted his head, trying to recall, but had no impression of the statue.

Was it really something he had arranged?

Looking at the carving style, it seemed more like a work crafted by Ah Shang.

The celestial patterns with every carving going from deep to shallow and the head having a short hook, didn’t align with the typical way of carving. In Chi Qingzhou’s memory, only Cheng Shang’s work had similar marks.

Could it be that three years ago, he had specially asked Ah Shang to carve such a statue and tried to pass it on to the Xuanxu Sect?

But if it was to take Xing Shuangzhan’s body, there was no need to go through so much trouble.

Any random statue could achieve the same effect.

Had he missed something?

Chi Qingzhou suddenly felt the urge to recover his memories.

He had never thought much about the fuzziness of his memories before, but now, he desperately wanted to know what he had planned three years ago.

A strange sound reached his ears. Chi Qingzhou pulled back his consciousness and curiously looked in the direction from which the sound came.

On the mountain slope of Jingming Mountain, a middle-aged man was climbing step by step in the heavy rain.