Chapter 23: The Cursed Yin Spirit

Chapter 23: Cursed Yin Spirit

The future?

That was, of course, the thing Mo Xi wanted most, but also the thing he feared most.

Because Mo Xi didn't know what he would become once he was no longer a "cauldron."

Being a man with an Extreme Yin Body, forced to cultivate an Extreme Yin technique, forged into a cauldron—Mo Xi naturally didn't feel good about it. Almost every night, he endured bone-chilling cold, unable to sleep night after night.

But what about abolishing the Extreme Yin Body and switching to a different cultivation technique?

Mo Xi couldn't even imagine it.

Because the "Extreme Yin Body" was the source of Mo Xi's suffering, yet it was also his greatest "talent."

Cultivation was something that heavily depended on talent. A good spiritual root was equivalent to being guaranteed a path from Qi Refining to Golden Core, let alone the Extreme Yin Body. This constitution guaranteed that Mo Xi could cultivate all the way to Spirit Transformation without any problems.

—This was also why he and Mo Bei could serve as top-quality cauldrons. A pair of cauldrons with guaranteed Spirit Transformation potential was enough to help a Void Refinement cultivator break through a bottleneck and successfully break through to Body Integration. If this pair of cauldrons were "maintained" even better, breaking through to Mahayana wasn't completely impossible.

On the other hand, if Mo Xi gave up his Extreme Yin Body, whether he could even reach Golden Core was doubtful.

So when he first became the master's disciple, Mo Xi had refused his master's proposal to change his cultivation method. Though the official reason was that his and Mo Bei's methods were the same, allowing them to complement each other and increase cultivation progress, for which he was willing to endure the yin cold—in reality, he was simply afraid.

He feared losing his Extreme Yin Body.

He feared that once he was no longer a cauldron, he would be worthless.

He feared that discarding his so-called talent would prove he was nothing but garbage.

It was then that Mo Xi realized in horror that he was actually reliant on the very "commodity" value he despised, unable to separate himself from it.

Every time he thought about this, Mo Xi felt that Mo Bei might just be right.

If he lacked the courage to give up the past, what was the point in struggling? No matter how many spirit stones he stored, they couldn't change his fate. Perhaps he really was a fool.

But his master saw through his cowardice and gave him the choice a second time.

And he had even put a spirit stone mine in front of him.

Honestly, when it came to spirit stones, no problem was a problem.

If he owned a mine like this, what did it matter if the crappy talent of the Extreme Yin Body was discarded? Even with a five-element spirit root—a mixed one—being guaranteed a path to Spirit Transformation wouldn't be an issue.

Mo Xi swallowed hard and heard himself say in a hypocritical voice, "Master, this isn't worth it. Just for my sake, it isn't worth it."

"Would it?" Zhou Hui disagreed. "It would go to waste anyway, so using it for one thing or another makes little difference—and besides, I don't think you'd need to use the entire mine. Even after abolishing your Extreme Yin Body, you'd still have a rare single-element spiritual root. Given your endurance, keeping up your original cultivation progress wouldn't be a problem at all."

"Haha, it's only because you're my master that you'd have such confidence and courage, right?" Mo Xi said with a bitter smile.

Yes, if it were Zhou Hui, switching cultivation techniques wouldn't warrant a moment's hesitation.

Zhou Hui thought so himself.

In his view, Mo Xi continuing to cultivate the Extreme Yin method was all harm and no benefit: the Extreme Yin Body helped a bit in the early stages, but as long as he kept it, he would be seen as a cauldron. And the higher his Cultivation Level, the more formidable those who coveted him would become—so few Extreme Yin cultivators ever successfully reached Mahayana; they were used up before that. Even if he truly reached Mahayana, he would become prey for higher-level cultivators, demons, or even True Immortals. For instance, Zhou Hui, while researching Ascension, had heard that finding a cauldron at the Integration Stage was enough to achieve ascension.

That said, in the script of heaven's will, Mo Xi's collusion with demons was almost inevitable. If he didn't change his constitution, demons would find him sooner or later.

But Mo Xi was lucky in that he was, after all, a man. Switching to a method that balanced yin and yang could ultimately change his cauldron status—unlike Mo Bei, whose female constitution practically nailed her to the position of prey. Even if she changed her method, it wouldn't change the malice others might harbor toward her—even heaven's will was malicious toward her, arranging her for the child of destiny as a mature experience gift package. Not only did she generate experience herself and help the protagonist maintain his harem, but she also died for the protagonist's ascension, leaving behind her refined essence as the protagonist's weapon.

Every time Zhou Hui thought of this plot, he felt utterly disgusted—ah, getting off track.

Back to Mo Xi.

Zhou Hui hadn't forced Mo Xi to change his method before, simply because he felt Mo Xi was still young. Changing methods at that age would be too painful. Better to wait until his body and soul were more mature, his spirit stronger, and then it would be timely.

In previous lifetimes, Zhou Hui had even placed a cultivation method with Yu Wenxuan, in case he ascended or was severely injured and couldn't attend to it, so that the senior brother Yu Wenxuan could teach Mo Xi then.

But after this sect examination, Zhou Hui had realized where Mo Xi's Inner Demon lay.

The child was afraid.

He was afraid that losing his Extreme Yin Body would make him useless.

He wasn't as arrogant and willful as he appeared—not only did he not believe his master could back him up, but he also feared being abandoned.

Zhou Hui suddenly understood, and even felt a bit of self-reproach for not realizing it sooner.

Zhou Hui didn't find Mo Xi's fear strange: it was perfectly normal for a child with no fallback to feel uneasy about the future. Even outside the cultivation world, in the aerospace sector of another world, plenty of people ran away every year. Zhou Hui himself had struggled between a big company and his ideals for a long time back then.

Since Mo Xi lacked confidence, Zhou Hui would give him confidence.

Their Celestial Spirit Sect could afford it.

After all, heaven's will had scripted Mo Xi as the spoiled junior brother!

In the novel, Mo Xi was furious that the protagonist dared to provoke his sister, leading the Celestial Spirit Sect disciples to deliberately ostracize him. After repeated failures, he grew jealous of the protagonist's cultivation progress and even developed murderous intent—in short, a textbook vicious cultivator second generation supporting male character.

So then, let's just lean into it!

Other families' cultivator second generations rode around on white deer cloud chariots, always boasting "my parents this, my parents that," while the most beloved disciple of the Celestial Spirit Sect struggled to conjure an illusory undersea palace, using all his strength just to show off in front of his master!

Zhou Hui then encouraged Mo Xi, "It doesn't matter if you lack confidence. Use the entire spirit stone mine, and you'll surely succeed."

Was that even human speech?

Mo Xi nodded with red-rimmed eyes.

*

I don't know if I'm a fool, but I'm definitely a rotten seed.

Mo Xi thought.

He believed that if he had even a shred of gratitude and ambition, he should prostrate himself in thanks for his master's kindness, declare that he didn't need the spirit stone mine, that he could abolish his Extreme Yin Body and, like his master, continue cultivating through his own efforts.

But those words circled at the tip of Mo Xi's tongue and never came out.

Because it was a spirit stone mine!

Sob, he couldn't refuse it.

Mo Xi asked in a small voice, "Master, how do I switch cultivation methods? What do I need to prepare?"

"No need. Your preparation is already done."

"Huh?"

"You already exhausted your spiritual power creating the illusion earlier. Over the past few days, I've used the jade bed to nourish your body, and external spiritual power has been flushing through your meridians without a trace of yin energy being produced," Zhou Hui explained. "That final spirit peach consolidated your dantian. Now is the perfect time to change methods."

"...Master."

He hadn't expected that his passing out was all part of his master's careful planning, and Mo Xi's expression grew even more ashamed.

Zhou Hui, however, had no use for Mo Xi's shame. As a master, he felt that his disciple should just accept everything he gave him without a fuss.

"Alright, sit like you do when meditating," Zhou Hui instructed. "Feel the spiritual energy around you..."

Mo Xi obeyed.

Zhou Hui's instructions weren't difficult. Deep within the spiritual mine, spiritual energy was everywhere, so thick he barely had to try to sense it.

The only thing that bothered Mo Xi was that this was a fire-attributed spiritual mine—most spirit stones had no attribute, but the earth's veins could influence a mine—and fire clashed with his constitution.

In the past, Mo Xi would never have let his body touch such things. Even with high-grade spirit stones, he would have purified them first. But since he needed to switch cultivation methods, he had to absorb the spiritual energy here.

Zhou Hui added, "Relax, feel the spiritual energy, and accept it—don't let your mind wander!"

"..." Mo Xi obeyed on reflex.

It wasn't as painful as he'd imagined.

Normally, even a trace of this kind of spiritual energy would burn his Extreme Yin Body like fire, but now, with his original power spent, his empty dantian and limp limbs absorbed the spiritual energy without any resistance.

So this was what it felt like to embrace fire...?

"Wait, Xi'er, don't rush to accept it. You have to convert it first—"

"Urk!"

Zhou Hui's warning came a step too late, and Mo Xi spat out a mouthful of filthy blood.

Mo Xi gritted his teeth against the sharp pain in his dantian, trying to control how much spiritual energy he absorbed as Zhou Hui had said, but the energy poured into his dantian like wildfire, completely out of his control.

"What's going on?"

Zhou Hui also noticed things spiraling out of control. He pressed down on Mo Xi's shoulder and poured his own spiritual energy in, but it was like a stone sinking into the sea—Mo Xi devoured it along with everything else.

Zhou Hui quickly caught on: "...You've got yin spirit blood in you?!"

"Yin spirit?" What the hell was that?

Mo Xi wanted to ask, but another mouthful of black blood came up instead.

No, that wasn't blood! It was straight-up filthy water!

Mo Xi had seen this before, when he was really little.

Thinking back, he'd lied to his master—no, not exactly lied, but when his master asked about his and Mo Bei's origins, only Mo Bei answered, so his master probably figured he didn't remember his childhood either.

But Mo Xi actually did remember.

He remembered clearly that from the moment he'd gained awareness, he'd been locked in a pitch-black underground palace with many, many other kids like him and Mo Bei.

Thinking about it now, it might've been a cauldron-making workshop.

There, besides being forced to learn cultivation methods he hated, what terrified Mo Xi most was mealtime. Their only food was pitch-black filthy water, so cold that the moment it went down, it felt like his organs froze. In fact, plenty of kids turned into ice shards right after swallowing it.

Mo Xi had always avoided eating, and the girl who looked just like him—back then, Mo Bei wasn't Mo Bei, and Mo Xi wasn't Mo Xi; they didn't even have numbers—would drink his portion.

But she probably wasn't trying to save him either. It was just that this girl's mind seemed especially dull; put anything in front of her, and she'd drink it all. Her brain was exceptionally slow, and after drinking that filthy water, her already poor mind seemed to get even worse, until she eventually lost even that memory too.

But thanks to her, Mo Xi made it out alive.

Later, everyone seemed to think Mo Bei and Mo Xi were "a pair of cauldrons," but Mo Bei didn't see it that way. He knew that only Mo Bei had passed the trials and truly survived in the end; he was just a defective leftover kept alive by Mo Bei's protection.

Because he understood this, Mo Xi clung to his Extreme Yin Body all the more desperately, and for the same reason, even after arriving at the Celestial Spirit Sect, he lived in constant fear that someone would see through his worthlessness.

Sometimes Mo Xi even envied Mo Bei.

He envied that she had no memories, that she wouldn't be jolted awake by recollections in the dead of night; envied that she had real talent; even envied that she had no heart, able to lie flat and do nothing without any guilt.

And him—he really was a mongrel, a hybrid of some unknown filth.

Before, he'd only ever stared blankly as Mo Bei suffered. Now, having been saved by his master, he shamelessly felt greed for the spiritual mine.

Mo Xi spat out another mouthful of filthy water but couldn't help but laugh:

"Master, I really don't deserve saving, do I?"

"Calm down. It's unexpected, but it's not beyond remedy."

Zhou Hui gently patted Mo Xi's back while using his spiritual energy to check the boy's dantian.

This wasn't the first time Zhou Hui had checked Mo Xi's dantian.

Not to mention when he'd first brought Mo Bei and Mo Xi back to the Celestial Spirit Sect—even during daily lessons and assessments of cultivation progress, Zhou Hui would inspect their dantians—yet he'd never noticed anything off.

Had someone specially sealed it?

If not for this exhaustion of spiritual energy, he never would have noticed.

Zhou Hui frowned, deep in thought.

He'd intended to start unsealing Mo Xi, but looking at the boy vomiting black water with his face twisted in pain, Zhou Hui abandoned that time-consuming approach. Instead, he gave Mo Xi's back a hard slap.

A moment ago, Mo Xi had been retching violently; the next, he felt his body go light and float upward, nearly crashing into the cave wall beside him.

But the chill "on his body" didn't dissipate—if anything, it got worse.

Mo Xi almost thought he'd freeze to the stone wall.

He struggled to turn his head and look down, only to find that "he" was still sitting cross-legged in his original spot, though his body was now crawling with black-red runes. His master was also sitting cross-legged atop "him," but a "master" radiating a soft white glow was slowly rising from the seated master's body.

Soul projection?!

Mo Xi wasn't some newbie who'd just started cultivating. He immediately understood what was happening and instinctively raised a hand to look at it.

Then he scared himself.

What Mo Xi saw wasn't the semi-transparent, ethereal soul of an ordinary ghost, nor the solid, radiant soul-body like his master's, but a form of black liquid—exactly like the filthy water he'd been vomiting.

His body had turned into this, so what about his face?

Panicking, Mo Xi raised his hand, dripping black liquid, and reached toward his face.

He cared a lot about his looks.

Not because Mo Xi particularly liked his face, which was indistinguishable from a girl's, but because he knew deep down how many advantages a pretty, cute face brought him.

But he couldn't feel his features; his hand only met something sticky and muddy.

What the hell do I look like now?!

Mo Xi was about to cry.

It wasn't just his body that felt cold anymore—his heart felt even colder.

Just then, a warm hand grabbed his ice-cold wrist.

"Come on, let's head into the mine," Zhou Hui said.

As he spoke, he casually threw up a light barrier around both their physical bodies to prevent any accidents, while pulling Mo Xi toward the mine.

Mo Xi instinctively pulled his hand back.

He felt all dark and sticky, and just being near that radiant, pure figure might dirty him, let alone touching that hand as white as jade.

But just like he couldn't refuse the earlier gift, Mo Xi couldn't refuse the warmth of that palm.

He let Zhou Hui drag him into the mine, feeling awkward the whole way.

Seeing this, Zhou Hui tried to comfort him. "You really don't need to worry that much. I told you in class that in our realm, everything has a spirit, including 'spiritual energy.' So the 'spirit race' refers to life forms that came from spiritual energy gaining sentience, and yin spirits are one branch of that—they're a real, objective thing."

"But yin spirits—they just sound like something bad," Mo Xi said.

"That's true," Zhou Hui said, never one to deceive his student on matters of knowledge. "A yin spirit's spiritual energy is made of yin qi, and you've already studied where yin qi comes from on your own, haven't you?"

"..." Why is he suddenly quizzing me at a time like this!

Mo Xi was so startled he forgot the chill on his body for a second, stammering out, "Yin qi comes from mass death, resentment, and hatred... So I really am something bad, huh?"

Zhou Hui didn't answer and just asked another question: "Then what happens when a person comes into contact with yin qi?"

Mo Xi furrowed his brow. Because of his innate constitution, he hated this part of the material, but he'd still studied it seriously and happened to remember it. For some reason, Mo Xi always felt that failing to answer his master's question was scarier than death.

"If yin qi invades the human body, at the mildest, it gives you chills and makes you sick; at a more severe level, the resentment in the yin qi messes with your mind, stirring up deep-seated obsessions and driving you crazy; and at the worst, you become a living corpse corrupted by yin qi, losing all reason and only wanting to kill." Mo Xi recited.

"Correct." Zhou Hui nodded, satisfied.

Mo Xi finally let out a sigh of relief.

Zhou Hui continued the previous topic: "Even yin qi without a mind of its own can have such a big impact on people, let alone a yin spirit that's condensed into a physical form. Theoretically, a human body can't have a child with a yin spirit. Even if it could, the yin spirit bloodline wouldn't be very strong—at most, it would grant a slightly yin-leaning constitution, not even as heavy on yin qi as a ghost fetus. Of course, what the other side wants is definitely the human body." Otherwise, they couldn't use it as a cauldron.

"And that's exactly why they needed to feed you yin water, to strengthen the yin spirit's power," Zhou Hui said with disgust.

What he hated wasn't Mo Xi, of course, but the people who refined kids like Mo Xi into cauldrons.

Zhou Hui even somewhat regretted that when he'd dealt with the Fallen Immortal Palace, he'd been too straightforward—he shouldn't have let them die so easily. He should have done a soul-search on them, dug up all their connections, and then sent them off with the full annihilation package.

But Zhou Hui didn't forget to fairly admonish his disciple: "So, if you ever feel that you have any character flaws, it absolutely has nothing to do with your yin spirit bloodline—look at yourself first!"

"Yes, yes, Master."

After being scolded like that, Mo Xi had no stray thoughts left.

He nervously looked around, trying to change the subject: "Master, where exactly are we going?"

"We should be just about there now."

Zhou Hui said, slowing down their flight.

And Mo Xi finally got a clear look at his surroundings, his eyes widening—if he still had eyes.

From what Mo Xi could tell, they must have reached the deepest part of the mine.

This vein was even richer than he'd first thought. From outside, the rivers made of massive chunks of top-grade spirit stones were already dazzling, but deep within the vein, he discovered that the spirit stones at the very core couldn't be called mere "top-grade supreme" anymore—they were pure essence.

Mo Xi had seen ore essence like this before, in the depths of the Fallen Immortal Palace's warehouse—just a fingernail-sized piece, reportedly sold at auction for the price of a top-grade magic treasure. Now, it was everywhere.

So our Celestial Spirit Sect is really that loaded?

Mo Xi thought, feeling dizzy, his whole worldview shaken.

"This is the place," Zhou Hui said with a nod. He let go of Mo Xi's hand and instructed, "Just wait here."

"Yes?"

Mo Xi said yes, but his gaze lingered reluctantly on his master's hand. Unfortunately, Zhou Hui not only let go without hesitation—he even disappeared completely.

A wave of disappointment washed over Mo Xi, but he obediently sat down right there and got into a meditative pose.

He believed his master wouldn't just abandon him here.

—Even if he were going to be abandoned, he wouldn't be dumped in a place like this! For a money-grubber, dying in a place like this would be a huge reward!

As Second Senior Brother would say, Master's every move has a purpose.

Sure enough, Mo Xi didn't have to wait long before he felt a scorching heat and intense stabbing pain at his ankle, as if something were crawling up his calf.

Mo Xi's brow twitched, but he stayed in his meditative pose without moving.

That creature (?) hung around Mo Xi's ankle for a while, and when it saw no reaction from him, it crawled up his calf. It looked like a long, snake-like thing, winding its way up Mo Xi's calf, thigh, butt, and waist.

Mo Xi gritted his teeth and bore it.

Besides the pain, the spots it coiled around felt like they were burning.

But Mo Xi stayed motionless until the thing had fully wrapped around his waist and crawled up to his chest, when he suddenly heard his master's voice in his head:

"Now."

Mo Xi obeyed, swiftly reaching out and grabbing it.

The thing struggled violently, and the scorching heat and pain in his palm nearly made him lose his grip. Luckily, this ordeal didn't last long—a white glow suddenly came down, and Mo Xi felt the burning sensation disappear.

Now he could squeeze the creature (?) without any worry.

Only then did Mo Xi see clearly that what he'd caught was a little dragon made of red spiritual energy. It was still struggling nonstop, trying to break free from Mo Xi's grip.

"A mine spirit?" Mo Xi exclaimed happily.

He'd heard that big spirit mine veins could form physical mine spirits, and by refining such a being, you could get the spiritual energy of the whole vein.

"Correct," Zhou Hui said, finally reappearing. "Eat it!"

"?!" Mo Xi's eyes went wide. "I can eat it?"

"Normally, you'd need to refine it, but your soul's already been yin-spiritized. The advantage of being a spirit race is that you can devour each other for free, and you can even change your condition through elemental opposition," Zhou Hui said. "There's nothing better than this to change your Extreme Yin Body."

Zhou Hui paused, then added, "But doing this comes with a bit of trouble..."

"What trouble?" Mo Xi asked nervously.

He knew a treasure like this had to come at a price, and he wasn't sure he could handle it—

"If you eat it, and don't refine this mine, you might never achieve Ascension," Zhou Hui said with a frown.

...How is that a problem!

That's something most people could only dream of, right?

Mo Xi once again felt the huge gap between his master's values and those of ordinary people.

But Mo Xi, being a guy with ordinary values, quickly caught on: "Wait, Master, so if I eat this thing, the mine gets linked to my soul, and nobody else can steal it from me?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So that means this mine is mine now!" Mo Xi emphasized.

"It's always been yours," Zhou Hui said, looking at his young disciple in confusion. "Didn't I already say I was giving it to you?"

It didn't feel real... a mine that big!

Mo Xi thought, dazed.

While he was spacing out, the little dragon he'd been holding suddenly bit down hard on his arm, squirmed free, and tried to bolt.

But with Zhou Hui around, there was no way it was getting away. A white light barrier wrapped tightly around Mo Xi, and the little dragon, finding no way out, turned and dove straight into him.

Mo Xi was in a semi-liquid state now, and he immediately felt flames burning their way into his core.

"Looks like it made the choice for you," Zhou Hui said with a smile.

He reached out and flicked his young disciple on the forehead.

Mo Xi stumbled backward.

But he didn't actually fall. The next instant, he found himself back in his physical body, and the mine spirit that had tried to devour him had settled into his dantian, turning into roaring flames that instantly vaporized the yin water inside him.

"Clear your mind and refine it."

Zhou Hui's voice echoed in his mind.

Mo Xi naturally wasn't about to miss this chance. He settled back into his meditation posture, pushed aside every distraction, and as he did, a golden-red glow radiated from beneath him, lighting up his adorable face.

Without a doubt, this was a process of purification, and after this ordeal, Mo Xi would gain a cultivation physique even better than his original Extreme Yin Body.

"Talent really is everything!" Even with yin spirit blood.

Zhou Hui's soul walked back in from outside the cave.

He watched his young disciple with envy for a moment, then broke into a gentle smile.

*

Three days later, in the Formation Practice Room of the Scripture Pavilion.

Over the past few days, the Formation Practice Room in the Scripture Pavilion had easily become the most popular spot in the Celestial Spirit Sect. Disciples flocked there whenever they had free time, and even the strictest, most uptight second senior brother, Qu Qianxing, had basically moved in.

But two disciples were staring at the scene with troubled expressions.

"Ayi, I smell money."

"Arong, I think this is our chance to get rich."

The siblings Xiang Rong and Xiang Yi stood side by side at the window, staring at their fellow disciples with troubled looks: "But how do we do it?"

Seeing a money-making opportunity right in front of them but not being able to figure out how to cash in was more painful than not making money at all.

Just then, a familiar voice sounded behind them: "You can't even figure this out?"

Xiang Rong and Xiang Yi immediately showed delighted expressions:

"Junior Mo?"

They turned around, but froze in place.

"Are you Junior Mo?" Xiang Rong asked in confusion.