Chapter 89 - A Mission For A Ghost (2/2)

”What am I nervous about” she thought, ”they are my seniors, my Ghost brothers. If the Patriarch believes the bell can save us from a war with the Sky Earth Sect, then he should know my side of the story!”

Perched on her arm, Nuan looked straight at Shin Sumi. The spirit creature wasn't gifted with speech but from their divine sense link Shin Sumi could immediately tell that Nuan was against her idea.

”Don't tell them” was the feeling that Shin Sumi got from Nuan's serious eyes before the two black beads blinked and Nuan jumped on top of Shin Sumi's head, using the higher spot to glide away farther.

”About the black ravine, why can't it be explored? I drew close to it once but the stifling pressure and the oppressive darkness made me turn away.”

Fen Wudao nodded. He, too, had already seen the place and had thought about exploring it when he was a Honorary Disciple in the lower valley.

”Only the orange talented disciples and above have access to that area and I am betting on their gut feeling to not approach it too much. Despite years of research about the curse and what the artefact that conjured it might be, I still haven't found a way to close off the area in a sufficient manner.

It seems as if enclosing the black ravine in a building or barrier of sort only makes it stronger and more intense.”

Shin Sumi could see in the old Patriarch's eyes that his failure was a deep regret in his life and it was somewhat difficult to admit to his juniors.

”As for exploring it, no cultivator who ever tried has been able to escape. I have no idea what is under the layer of darkness. Divine sense is blocked by the curse. For all we know there might be a Demon of ancient time living in there, or a pocket dimension. My humble guess is that the area is simply empty except for the special artefact, the curse having consumed everything else.”

Shin Sumi was thinking deeply about the Patriarch's words. She knew that if she wanted to talk about the Copper Bell and her own experience of the dark chasm, it had to be now.

Shin Sumi inhaled and exhaled deeply. She simply couldn't ignore the feeling that emanated from Nuan earlier. In nut form, Nuan had followed her everywhere, dark chasm included, had saved her life countless times and had given her everything she owned now.

Shin Sumi was certain now. Unless it was absolutely necessary, she would not tell about the secrets she had acquired from the dark chasm. Instead she had to change the subject before the Patriarch could read her emotions.

”The Sky Earth Sect is willing to go to war because of this artefact?” she asked.

Patriarch Sen stroked his beard before answering, ”They have a lot of reasons for wanting to eradicate us and take back the land of the Sky Sect. The artefact is only one of them. You can also count the cultivation techniques and resources, the different pocket dimensions like the Floating Continent and the Dark Fortress, and a chance at going stronger again to ggain back the power and fame of the Sky Sect.

I am confident they haven't attacked us yet, giving us five years to prepare, simply because they think we have the curse artefact of daoist Dark Sky and we can use it at will.”

It made sense now. Even Fen Wudao who already understood the global picture before now realized more of the in-depth causes and consequences.

Even if the Sky Earth Sect knew they had the upper hand in terms of power during a war, they were doing everything they could to avoid fighting. Unsure of the real power of the artefacts owned by the Dark Sky Starry Sect, they were giving Patriarch Sen an ultimate chance to surrender before having to shed blood on both sides.

”Reverend Purple Rain, an old disciple of Old Man Mui like me, has come from the Sky Earth Sect a few years ago, asking me to give them our ancestor's corpse. It was when I told him to get lost that he declared a war five years from then. But his decision had been made earlier I'm sure.”

Shin Sumi was perplexed, ”Is there no way at all to avoid the upcoming war?”

The word 'war' had just left her lips when she suddenly realized there was something fishy about the whole situation. She had been invited by Fen Wudao to exchange pointers to her and instead both him and the Fourth Ghost Patriarch Sen had spent hours telling her about the political history of the Dark Sky Starry Sect. Finally the Patriarch had linked it all to the war with the Sky Earth Sect.

”There is one way...” Patriarch Sen looked in the distance, hiding both his hands in his sleeves, ”As our sister Seventh Ghost, with your talent that is seen only once in a millenia, you are our best asset for this mission. We want you to infiltrate the Sky Earth Sect and retrieve something for us.”

Shin Sumi's heart tripled its beating tempo. Was she excited? Terrified? Confused? All of these emotions and much more.

Patriarch Sen then went on to explain the details of the infiltration mission. Shin Sumi was perfect for this secret quest, not only being talented enough but especially being able to hide her identity in a natural way and take on the features of at least three persons.

Because of the Cross Branch Arena and the fame he had already acquired within the sect, Bai Fulong was not a wise choice. The chances of spies from the Sky Earth Sect, were there any, having heard his name were really high. In fact, maybe Yan Yan's identity was also already compromised.

She instantly knew she would have to go as herself, as Shin Sumi, unless she managed to create a new persona through the Copper Bell.

As the Patriarch and Fen Wudao explained to her the rough idea of the plan they had, Shin Sumi could feel her mind spinning more and more. She had known that meeting them would amount to a situation bigger than herself but she didn't know how big of a situation it would be.

”It is getting dark soon. Why don't you go home and think about it for the night, Seventh Sister?”

Fen Wudao was right. She needed to think. The choice was ultimately hers to make although she wasn't certain she even had the choice.

But for the sake of the sect and its fate in the upcoming war, Shin Sumi understood the importance of her mission and the obvious reasons why nobody else could take her place.

Behind the heavy clouds formed by daoist Dark Sky's dying curse, the sun slowly disappeared as Shin Sumi and Nuan walked home.

In the comfort of her bathing room, Shin Sumi entered the pool of fresh water.

She closed her eyes to meditate, attempting to make sense of everything she had been told that day.

As the night progressed, a lot of questions took shape in her mind, some of which she answered herself, some others she kept in her memory in order to ask the Ghosts later.

”Did you believe that, Nuan? It turns out the little bell I found is actually Patriarch Mui's priceless relic! It is capable of obscuring the sky for centuries and turn a ravine into a black hell that not even a Core-Development expert can go into... I have been using it only to get rid of illusions and change my appearance to someone else's. I need to try new things now that I have an idea of where it came from and what it can do. If I can, I would like to use somebody else's face if I'm going to the Sky Earth Sect.”

At no point since she became a Ghost had the others inquired about how she was able to change identities so easily many times a day if necessary. Since Patriarch Sen had talked extensively about the lost treasure of daoist Dark Sky, Shin Sumi was ninety-nine percent sure he didn't know she had the Copper Bell or at least where it came from.

For certain, the Ghosts had assumed her capacity for stealth and transformation had come from her cultivation technique.

In the Immortal world, cultivation techniques were not a taboo but were more of a personal thing. Each cultivator had their own and it was not common to ask somebody what technique they cultivated. As the effects and the speed were different between techniques, unveiling one's cultivation technique was akin to reading them like an open book, for the better or the worse.

They did not know that Shin Sumi cultivated the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow technique to gather and purify Shinsoo in her dantian and it had nothing to do with changing her physical appearance.

Besides the Copper Bell and its uses, Shin Sumi had many more questions for the Ghosts.

Going to the Sky Earth Sect... She didn't even know where it was located or how far. She didn't know either how long she would have to be there for.

”Retrieve something for us” the words of Patriarch Sen reverberated endlessly in her head. They wanted her to steal a treasure of the Sky Earth Sect.

She didn't know what yet but it had to be something precious enough to change the fate of the war to come.

Something precious that was probably well guarded. A secret mission full of dangers.