After changing into a set of regular clothes and putting on a red cloak that billowed behind him as if it were a cascade of blood, Shan Jian slowly walked out of the operator cabin and stood beside Shan Tian on the deck.
“You will really have no chance to escape if you don’t leave now,” said Shan Jian in a low voice which could only be heard by the two of them.
Shan Tian was silent.
He just gently patted the shoulder of his sixth brother and remained silent.
The High Mountain finally came to a steady stop at the dock of the harbor.
The members of the Shan family had been waiting at the harbor for a long time. They scurried to meet them from far away upon seeing their arrival.
The man in the lead was tall and beefy. He appeared to be in his 60s or 70s. He was clad in a suit of brown armor and his hair was grey; even his long beard was greyish. There was an old look on his face, but his appearance and spirit made people involuntarily associate him with a vigorous dragon or a tiger. In particular, the divine splendor swirling in his eyes gave people an oppressing sensation. At a glance, one could tell that he was a big shot who had been in a high position for a long time.
“Father.” Shan Tian and Shan Jian both went up and saluted.
That gray-bearded, fierce-looking old man was none other than the current patriarch of the Shan family named Shan Zhengfeng.
The patriarch of the Shan family could be considered the overlord of that planet. He was a real bad*ss who rarely showed his face in public. Shan Tian still rarely saw his father whenever he returned home.
But then, Shan Zhengfeng had shown up of his own accord.
The patriarch of the Shan family marched with the bearing of a dragon and the air of a tiger. He was emanating an indescribable pressure and solemnity from head to foot.
He moved closer, glanced at Shan Jian, his sixth son, and nodded. Like Shan Tian did before, he patted Shan Jian on the shoulder without saying a word. He then threw a glance at Shan Tian, and the fierceness in his eyes grew stronger. There was a flash of anger in his eyes; but in the end, he held back his anger and said nothing.
“Is this the captain of the Sword of Freedom who also goes by the name ‘Starry Sky Tiger’? You are indeed a man of striking appearance. Hehe, your fame absolutely follows merit. I’m so honored to meet you.”
A gentle and warm voice came from the side.
Shan Tian turned to look for the source of the voice.
The speaker turned out to be a handsome young man of around nineteen years of age who was slowly strolling over.
The young man of medium height was very thin. He was wearing a black swordsman’s uniform, a pair of black high boots, a black cloak, and a black band on his forehead with a round square black jade tied to it, offsetting his skin which was white as snow. At first glance, people couldn’t help but exclaim “what a handsome man.” He seemed to be a graceful and cultivated master in the chaotic world.
Shan Tian acutely noticed that there was a small pattern of a demon snake coming out of the handsome childe’s collar. He vaguely recalled that he seemed to have seen that special pattern somewhere, but he couldn’t recall at the time.
Shan Zhengfeng, the patriarch of the Shan family, called politely, “Young Master Wei.” When his eyes landed on that young man, the expression on his face quickly changed. “I never thought you’d come in person. This is my incompetent son; we’ve captured him and brought him back.”
Shan Tian distinctly saw an edge of fear in the depths of his father’s eyes.
Being the most powerful person on the Opposite Bank Star, it was rare for Shan Zhengfeng to be that afraid of another man. Even if the patriarchs of the other major sects made an appearance, he wouldn’t have been as humble.
“Haha, Patriarch Shan, ‘capture’ is a too strong of a word.” Young Master Wei smiled warmly, which was so delightful that others felt they were enjoying a spring breeze. He continued, “I was just looking for your son to inquire about some matters. You really shouldn’t have gone through this much trouble.”
Shan Zhengfeng said, “Young Master Wei is indeed kind and righteous… If you have anything to ask, go ahead.”
Shan Tian frowned.
He was still thinking about what kind of force that demonic snake pattern represented. He vaguely felt that he seemed to have seen it somewhere, but he just couldn’t come up with the answer at the moment.
Young Master Wei laughed heartily and said, “There’s no rush. Captain Shan has just returned. I’m sure you and your son have a lot of catching up to do. I’ll ask him when you’re done talking to him.”
As he spoke, he cupped his hands to Shan Tian and said, “Captain Shan, I won’t disturb you any further. Let’s have a good chat in a couple of days.”
With that said, he turned around and took off.
Shan Zhengfeng still had something to say and raised his hand, but the Young Master Wei had already left without looking back, so there was no time for him to get his words out.
“Father, who’s that man?” asked Shan Tian.
Shan Zhengfeng glowered at him and said, “Let’s talk about it when we get home. You’ve caused big trouble this time.”
A small flying shuttle of the Shan family arrived. The father, his two sons, and the high-level guards of the Shan family went on board. They left the number one dock under countless gazes.
The armored cultivators of the Shan family retreated in an orderly manner.
Many cultivators who were passing by walked out from different places and curiously gazed at the luxurious flying shuttle as it made its retreat.
Although the Shan family was the most powerful family on the Opposite Bank Star, they had always kept a low profile and never aimed for glamour. That day was the first time they had made such an ostentatious scene. People started to wonder if something big had happened.
Li Mu’s countenance changed.
Ghost Seer’s figure disappeared in the void.
However, a bizarre green mist suddenly emerged without warning and pounced on Li Mu. It looked like an illusion or a shadow, which directly broke through the protective energy field around Li Mu and crept into his right arm. Before Li Mu could reject it, the green mist seemed to have already integrated into his flesh and blood, then it disappeared.
“What the hell was that?”
Li Mu was distraught.
But after careful observation, he failed to detect anything wrong with his right arm.
When he looked again, Ghost Seer’s body had completely vanished between heaven and earth, as if the ghost had never existed.
Li Mu was sure that Ghost Seer had truly died.
The three Holy Sages and the tens of thousands of ghost cultivators of the three major ghost sects had also completely disappeared from that world.
The battle had taken a turn for the better and had finally reached an end.
It was still raining heavily in the sky.
The 100,000 ghost cultivators of the Bone Sacred Mountain had been engrossed in their cultivation.
Li Mu, the Ning couple, and Caicai returned to the Bone Sacred Mountain.
There was a big hall in the mountain. It was ancient-looking, bearing every sign of its long exposure to the elements.
Li Mu was having a long chat with Caicai and the Ning couple in the hall.
“It turns out that after a man dies, if his essence, qi, and spirit are not destroyed. He would be delivered to this Ghost Rally Star by the laws of heaven and earth and become a ghost cultivator.” Li Mu sighed with emotion, and then apologized to the three. He more or less had something to do with their deaths at that time. It could be said that he had gotten them into trouble but failed to protect them well.
He was particularly sorry for Ning Jing and his wife.
“Don’t say that, Young Master. It’s all thanks to you that we can have today’s good fortune. My husband and I are very grateful to you. It’s just that we miss you and Her Ladyship very much, so we came to this world and started cultivating day and night. We even didn’t hesitate to fight against the three Holy Sages because all we want is to use the place of reincarnation and return to the world of the living,” Dong Xue explained.
Dong Xue had held Li Mu in great reverence.
Li Mu felt even more guilty.
“By the way, Caicai, where’s your granny?” Li Mu asked.
Granny Cai had died in that tragedy together with Caicai.
“I have sometimes been able to sense a vague trace of granny’s aura. But I have never been able to locate her on the Ghost Rally Star.” Tears began to well up in Caicai’s eyes while she spoke of her granny, whom she had depended on for life.
The only thing that could be confirmed was that the soul of Granny Cai had not really left yet.
Sharing the familial blood link with her grandmother, Caicai had always had a vague connection to her granny after becoming a ghost cultivator.
“As long as Granny Cai is still in this world, we will find her sooner or later,” Li Mu consoled.
After talking with the three of them, Li Mu learned that the three were really in luck. They all happened to land near the Bone Sacred Mountain when they were delivered to the Ghost Rally Star. Later, one thing led to another and they reunited by chance. Then, they began to cultivate as a team, gradually making great progress in cultivation and gaining a higher status.
That was attributable to the Taoist magic arts that Li Mu had taught Caicai, given that that those Taoist magic arts had a natural restraint on ghost cultivators, especially the simplified version of the Xiantian Skill. It had many wonderful uses on the Ghost Rally Star, especially in terms of oppressing many ghosts Cultivation Methods.
However, what really caused them to rise to prominence and unite the Bone Sacred Mountain was the martial legacy of an ancient Celestial Demon hidden in the Bone Sacred Mountain they accidentally stumbled upon. The legacy included the Netherworld and Azure Heavens Two Forms Scripture. That was the cultivation method and perceptions left by a Celestial Demon who had been powerful enough to go back to being a living person through ghost cultivation.
Thanks to the secrets in the martial legacy, the three of them managed to cultivate quite a powerful combat strength in just a few years, being nearly on par with the three Holy Sages.
Caicai was particularly talented in cultivation. Adding that she had taken lessons from Li Mu, she was the strongest among the three. Some of Ning Jing and Dong Xue’s combat skills were actually taught to them by Caicai.
From the moment the three reached that world of the half-dead, they had hoped to return to the world of the living and had been bending over backwards to fulfill that goal.
After asking around, they learned that there were only two ways for the ghost cultivators to return to the world of the living.
One was to reach the pinnacle of the Celestial Demon Realm, break the barrier in the circle of life, and go back to the world of the living.
The other was to enter the place of reincarnation on the Ghost Rally Star and employ the Power of Rebirth to visit the world of the living.
The former was a true way to liberation. That way, a person could stay in the world of the living forever. However, the latter only provided a temporary visit; you could not stay in the world of the living for too long. When the time was up, you would have to return to the Ghost Rally Star.
Of course, the three of them hoped that they could be truly liberated. But before that, they also wanted to return to the world of living, even if it was just once, to meet their relatives and Li Mu to tell them everything about the world of ghosts so that they could see hope again.
Otherwise, their loved ones would be ignorant of the news and devastated by their deaths for life, for it would probably take them tens of thousands of years to cultivate to the Celestial Demon Realm. By then, everything would be too late.
They had initially planned to cultivate a divine ability mighty enough to crush the Three Divine Sects within ten years and defeat the three forces that had ruled the Ghost Rally Star. After that, they would use the place of reincarnation to return to the world of the living and then go back to work their way to the Celestial Demon Realm.
But the vigilance and sense of smell of the Three Divine Sects were even frighteningly keener than they had imagined.
This time, had Li Mu not gone there for some other business and turn the tide at the most desperate moment, Caicai and the Ning couple would have been in serious trouble. They might have succeeded in resisting the three Holy Sages, but they would absolutely have no chance against the huge face that appeared at the end.
After hearing their accounts of the store, Li Mu also broke out in a cold sweat.
“Thank god I came here.”
“Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had any chance to make it up to them in the rest of my life.”
“There’s a somewhat strange stone in the Bone Sacred Mountain which can be used to forge weapons. It’s extremely powerful and can also bear the power of the Taoist magic arts that you’ve taught us. We’ve used that strange stone to forge swords and broadswords,” Ning Jing said, scratching the back of his head.
“It’s indeed a strange stone. I’m afraid it can only be found on the Ghost Rally Star.” Li Mu had already noticed something curious when he wielded the stone sword and the stone broadsword before.
The jade-colored stone weapons of the three were quite extraordinary. Each of them had been engraved with a Taoist talisman, and the refining method was relatively rough. And yet, they were already comparable to the finest Taoist Treasures.
Li Mu had used those stone weapons to display the old faker’s Taoist magic arts to the extreme. When the glowing Taoist figures passed through the strange stone, their power seemed to have been enhanced. Adding that Li Mu had made a breakthrough in the Xiantian Skill earlier, he successfully defeated the huge face at the last moment.
“Young Master, let me take you to see that remarkable quarry,” Caicai said jubilantly.
At the moment she had completely returned to being a cute, well-behaved little girl. She was no longer the aloof, unapproachable, and arrogant ponytailed girl. As if she were to offer Li Mu a treasure, she grabbed Li Mu’s hand and just wouldn’t let go.
