Chapter 17 – The Umbral Yin Ghost Control Technique (1/2)

Xiao An was both happy and confused.

Li Qingshan searched through the witch’s house again. Xiao An stuck right behind him before suddenly extending his small hand and tugging at Li Qingshan’s trousers, pointing at a particular place.

Li Qingshan found a secret compartment in the wall. It contained a stack of paper, consisting completely of silver notes. He could vaguely recall that there were also private banks in this world, but this was the first time he had seen proper silver notes.

The witch must have buried the pieces of silver when she was still fit. Afterwards, as her strength declined with her age, it became impossible for her to continue digging. As a result, she had exchanged her earnings in the past few years for these convenient silvernotes. There were roughly several hundred taels in the secret compartments. She was so wealthy, yet she had actually fallen out with him over a single boar’s head, consequently dying in the end.

Li Qingshan finally found what he was looking for at the very bottom of the secret compartment. It was a single leaf out of a book, covered in tiny writing. He glanced through it roughly, and it was a technique to refine souls and control ghosts. The edge of the page was uneven like it had been ripped out of a book.

Li Qingshan practised the Ox Demon’s Fist of Great Strength and had barely managed to witness the path of cultivation, so he was curious about other techniques as well. He had never thought that the witch’s strange techniques would actually come from a single page of a book. If she had possessed the entire book, he probably would have lost his life here today.

However, if the witch had the entire book, it was unlikely for her to hole up in the Crouching Ox village for half her life. The witch was not a part of the village originally, having suddenly settled down here several decades ago. No one knew her origins. As for how she had obtained this page, Li Qingshan was at a loss as well.

However, below the page was another silver note. It actually amounted to a thousand taels. The silver note was extremely yellowed; evidently, it had quite some age to it. She had definitely received it before coming to the village. It also made the witch’s origins even more confusing.

Li Qingshan asked Xiao An, “Do you recognise this?” He felt like this might have some connection to Xiao An’s origins.

Xiao An remained dull and silent, neither shaking or nodding his head.

Li Qingshan knew that the question had already exceeded the limits of what the child could answer. Obviously, Li Qingshan kindly accepted everything in the secret compartment without holding back at all. When he was about to leave, he felt Xiao An tug his trousers again.

Xiao An nodded and Li Qingshan said, “Then you can keep me company!” As he said that, he opened the porcelain jar. He knew that Xiao An was afraid of moving about under the sunlight.

Xiao An smiled bashfully and flew into the jar.

Li Qingshan returned to his house with the jar. After burying the jar behind his house, he made a small burial mound.

The black ox returned and asked, “You’ve succeeded?”

Li Qingshan replied, “What’s so difficult about dealing with an old hag?” Afterwards, he showed the ox his spoils of battle this time. He took out the page, gave it to the black ox to take a look, and asked, “Is this also an ability? Can I practise it?”

“It’s an incomplete piece of paper, so obviously it’s nothing much. However, this page originates from an ability called the Umbral Yin Ghost Control technique. Who knows how she got her hands on this. However, practising something incomplete like that probably won’t bring about any benefits. Haven’t you ever heard of biting off more than you can chew? You better achieve something with the Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers first!” The black ox glanced at him and stated the origins of the page.

“Then which one is better, the Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers or the Umbral Yin Ghost Control technique?”

“If it were the original version of the Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers, that’ll be difficult to say. Although the Umbral Yin Ghost Control technique does not focus on personal cultivation, it can amass a great deal of ghosts to overpower opponents with numbers. It’s an ability for battle. If you can’t defeat the caster in a single stroke, it’s extremely easy for you to be swallowed up by a sea of ghosts.”

“Then what about the strength of the ox demon and tiger demon that I cultivate?”