Chapter 619: Master and Disciple Meet

The timing was perfect; as Ji Yuan and Song Lun arrived at the foot of Burial Mound Mountain, the last rays of twilight lingered in the sky. To their eyes, the entire mountain was filled with chilling winds and potent deathly energy.

The area comprised several peaks, some with spacious, luxurious tombs, others densely packed with ordinary graves. This was due to the local belief that the site had excellent feng shui. Naturally, the tombs of the powerful and wealthy occupied the best, less crowded peaks.

As many high-ranking officials and nobles were buried here, there were once professional tomb guardians in earlier years. However, few of these guardians lived long, and over time, no one dared to guard tombs here anymore. As Ji Yuan and Song Lun stood at the base of the mountain, the entire Burial Mound Mountain was eerily silent. Not even the roars of beasts or chirping of birds could be heard from the distant deep mountains, as if even animals knew to stay away at night.

"Daoist Song, how do you plan to capture Shi Jiu?" Ji Yuan asked.

Song Lun stroked his beard, looked towards a part of the sky, and replied, "The natural 'wind-gathering, water-collecting' auspiciousness of this place has long been secretly altered by that evil creature into a formation that gathers yin and breeds malevolence. Tonight, on the full moon, that fiend will surely appear under the moonlight to cultivate. At that time, I will subdue him with the mountain-suppressing spell."

Ji Yuan nodded and said nothing more. The two walked leisurely up the mountain, passing one tomb after another, their figures gradually disappearing from sight.

Night deepened, and a full moon hung high above Burial Mound Mountain. In the midst of this profound silence, a grayish-white light emerged from one of the peaks. From within it, a brawny man appeared, at least a head taller than an ordinary person.

"Ho..."

The man exhaled a grayish-white light, which then spread towards the surrounding peaks, gradually causing the deathly energy there to condense and transform into tall platforms. Each platform was adorned with huge banners, creating a unique formation that resonated with itself.

Moonlight cascaded down, coating the deathly-energy-shrouded Burial Mound Mountain with a silver sheen. This created a peculiar beauty, and as Shi Jiu sat cross-legged within it, he surprisingly exuded a faint sense of divinity.

With the deathly energy altered in form by the grand formation and moonlight, an ordinary person would truly not be able to discern that Shi Jiu was cultivating the Path of Corpses or even dark arts. Meanwhile, Song Lun, standing on another empty peak, wore a cold smile.

In Ji Yuan's eyes, a thin golden needle had appeared in Song Lun's hand at some unknown moment. The moment the needle appeared, its sharp tip already disturbed the nearby deathly energy.

"Who? Who dares to spy on my cultivation?" Shi Jiu's muffled question echoed as his gaze swept towards a slightly distant peak. He could sense a sharp edge revealing itself there. With a thought, the ground on that peak burst open with four loud bangs, and four brawny zombies leaped out from underground.

"Roar..." "Roar..."

The zombies' roars were hoarse, yet more terrifying than any wild beast. Four pairs of reddish eyes stared towards the peak. In the night mist, a figure faintly appeared, holding their right hand outstretched, their gaze fixed on the peak where Shi Jiu was located.

"Fiend, surrender now and I will spare your life!"

As Song Lun's furious rebuke rang out, the seated Shi Jiu's expression instantly changed drastically.

'Master?! This is bad!'

It was an almost instinctive reaction. Before Shi Jiu could even rise, he violently raised both arms to his chest.

"Pff... Clang..."

At almost the same instant, a thin golden light pierced through Shi Jiu's jade-like left palm. It was then clutched by his right hand, revealing the gleaming golden needle. The tail end was firmly gripped by his right hand, while its sharp tip was already lodged in Shi Jiu's chest, emitting a metallic clang.

"Hm?" Song Lun murmured in slight surprise. The golden needle actually failed to directly pierce Shi Jiu's vital point?

"Boom!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"...

In the next instant after Song Lun's surprise, all the illusory platforms on Burial Mound Mountain exploded. The originally ethereal banners materialized, plunging into the peaks. A vast grayness instantly enveloped the entire mountainside.

"Roar!" "Eugh!" "Ah!"...

Various bizarre and terrifying roars emanated from within. Countless illusory vengeful spirits, malevolent ghosts, and brawny evil corpses emerged from the ground and various tombs. Meanwhile, Shi Jiu's right hand was desperately gripping the golden needle, resisting it and preventing it from piercing his vital point, while he had already fled into the mountain.

"Fiend, how dare you strike at me?"

As Song Lun's furious roar echoed across the mountains, loud rumbling explosions resounded throughout Burial Mound Mountain. The banners exploded one after another, and endless deathly and corporeal energy dragged the entire mountain into an evil, ghostly realm.

The fleeing Shi Jiu felt even greater fear upon hearing Song Lun's voice, and his escape speed unconsciously quickened. At the same time, the piercing pain from the golden needle grew increasingly intense. He hadn't felt pain in a long time, not since transforming into his current state, and he never expected that experiencing it today would feel like being tortured to death.

'How did Master know about me? Shouldn't he think I've been dead for ages? How did he find me!?'

Shi Jiu was filled with fear. Although he had thought more than once that his current self might not be inferior to his former master, when directly facing him, he could not muster the courage to resist. His only thought was to escape.

Ji Yuan and Song Lun were both caught within the grand formation of Burial Mound Mountain. The malevolent banners self-destructed, unleashing boundless evil energy. Countless corpses and ghosts appeared within it, appearing both illusory and real, yet upon contact, they were all tangible. The deathly and evil energies depleted the surrounding spiritual energy and were linked to the moonlight, firmly locking everything on Burial Mound Mountain within a vortex. The formation's core and foundations had already self-destructed; the current grand formation was operating purely by consumption, sparing no expense to unleash enough power to restrain Song Lun.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

Beside Ji Yuan, streams of magical light flashed with each wave of Song Lun's sleeve or strike. Large numbers of vengeful spirits and evil corpses vanished into nothingness, as vast amounts of malevolent energy within the grand formation were swept away.

It seemed Shi Jiu might escape at this moment, but Song Lun was not in the least bit anxious. He intended to use this relatively gentle method to cleanse all the evil energy from Burial Mound Mountain. Ji Yuan was even less hurried, believing Song Lun would not let Shi Jiu get away.

A short while later, the entire atmosphere of Burial Mound Mountain cleared. The mountain was strewn with the remains of evil corpses. Under Song Lun's spellcasting, many of the corpses seemed to rapidly corrode, integrating into the soil in a very short time, becoming nourishment and part of the land.

"Mister, please follow me, he can't have gone far!"

A while after Song Lun and Ji Yuan transformed into two streaks of light and sped away, deep within a certain part of Burial Mound Mountain, two lifeless bodies, devoid of any breath, lay there. One of them stirred at that moment, then slowly opened its eyes. After surveying its surroundings, it let out a slight sigh of relief.

'Fortunately, I was able to return in spirit without leaving a trace. All thanks to Mister Ji's translation of "A Dream Journey Through Clouds." This place is not safe for long!'

After this thought flashed, Shi Jiu slowly fled in another direction, with the other body silently following. The entire process was devoid of any sound or spiritual energy fluctuation.

However, after continuously fleeing for over a hundred li, Shi Jiu's speed beneath the earth gradually slowed. A feeling of unease grew stronger in his heart. He remained motionless underground for a long time. After about a quarter of an hour, Shi Jiu finally couldn't hold back anymore and slowly broke through the earth to reach the surface.

On the ground was a winding path, its sides overgrown with weeds. When Shi Jiu emerged in the middle of the path, he looked forward, seeing the path stretch into the distance. Then he slowly turned around. A zhang behind him, Ji Yuan and Song Lun stood there, watching him.

'Master is here, Ji Yuan is here too, there's no escaping!'

At the same moment, a golden light flashed.

"Swoosh... Pff..."

Before Shi Jiu could react, the golden needle directly pierced his vital point. Shi Jiu covered his chest with his hand, feeling his primordial spirit pinned. His body swayed, then he knelt before Song Lun.

"Ma-Master..."

"Hmph, my disciple died over two hundred years ago," Song Lun scoffed. "I am not your master!" He then slightly cupped his hands towards Ji Yuan. "Mister Ji, this fiend has been captured. He and I severed ties long ago. Whether to kill or punish him is up to you, Mister."

Ji Yuan glanced at Song Lun. Since Daoist Song had spoken thus, even if Ji Yuan himself had intended to kill Shi Jiu directly (which he didn't), he would still give Song Lun face and not act on it.

"Master, though I have entered the evil path, I still wish to achieve true enlightenment. Though I know I cannot face you, nor dare to see you, my respect for you has never diminished, not even a bit!" Shi Jiu pleaded. "Mister Ji, I, Shi Jiu, bear no ill will towards you. I even revealed matters of the Heavenly Revelation Alliance to you. Even if the Wei family hadn't been involved, they would have invited destruction. 'A Dream Journey Through Clouds' is, after all, an item of my sect; it was my undeniable duty to reclaim it..."

"Impudent! How dare you mention our sect? Where is the book?" Song Lun roared, cutting Shi Jiu off.

The latter remained silent for a few breaths, then beckoned to the ground. The other body slowly floated to the surface, and Shi Jiu retrieved "A Dream Journey Through Clouds" and Ji Yuan's translated copy from it.

"Master and Mister Ji, please examine them!"

"Mister, you may keep these books."

Ji Yuan nodded, not bothering with pleasantries. He reached out directly and took the two books from Shi Jiu's hand. After a quick glance, he put them into his sleeve. Then, without further ado, he spoke directly.

"How much do you know about the Heavenly Revelation Alliance? Tell me what you consider to be the most dangerous aspects."

Shi Jiu clutched his chest. After a brief glance at Song Lun, he looked into Ji Yuan's pale eyes, which seemed to see through people's hearts. After a moment of silence, he spoke.

"I know a genuine nine-tailed fox demon is involved..."