Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Secret of the Ghostly Path

The sorcerer Tukacha from Thailand was notorious in his homeland, an infamous figure who inspired fear wherever he went. This time, he had come to Jiangcheng in China for a grand undertaking.

Practitioners of magic are not immortals; they still need to eat, drink, and take care of life's necessities. Naturally, they must also cultivate relationships with ordinary people. So, as soon as Tukacha arrived in Jiangcheng, he used some sinister spells to quickly win the admiration of certain underworld figures in the city.

Just a few days prior, a local boss surnamed Sun had sent him over a million yuan, seeking from him the rights to use a little ghost for a month. But unexpectedly, this morning when Tukacha awoke to practice, he sensed that his little ghost was under attack by Chinese magic. It was soon exorcised.

Furious, Tukacha flew into a rage!

Southeast Asian black magic is broadly divided into three categories: head-hunting, poison-cursing, and malediction. Among them, head-hunting magic is the most sinister and bizarre.

The little ghosts Tukacha created all carried his personal mark. When destroyed, in their final moments, they would connect with his eyes...

He had already seen the faces of Fu Yang and Ah Huang!

Of course, those two carefree fellows had no inkling of this. They were still happily celebrating their good deed.

“Haha, not bad at all. Although exorcising that foreign little ghost was exhausting, the merit gained is considerable,” Ah Huang said, taking off his Taoist robe and calculating with his fingers, full of pride.

Merit is much like sin—mysterious, intangible, yet cultivators can sense it. The more merit one accumulates, the greater their advantage when receiving the Taoist register.

Fu Yang stretched and yawned, rubbing his eyes as he spoke to Ah Huang, “I’m heading back. Woke up too early, haven’t greeted Vika yet. I’ll pick up some breakfast for her on the way...”

“Ha! I knew your relationship with the Ghost Queen wasn’t that simple. Calling her Vika so intimately? Bringing breakfast home too. Does the Ghost Queen really need to eat human food?” Ah Huang teased, laughing mischievously from behind.

Fu Yang flushed, embarrassed and angry. He grabbed a wooden box from the table and hurled it at Ah Huang, storming off without a backward glance. All he heard was Ah Huang’s furious shout, “Damn it, you’ll have to pay for that!” followed by a cacophony of crashing sounds...

After buying several meat buns, soy milk, and fried dough sticks, Fu Yang returned to his rented apartment.

He habitually took out his keys and opened the door.

Looking up, he was greeted by a sight that nearly made his nosebleed uncontrollably!

He saw Dong Vika wearing nothing but lace-trimmed underwear, in the midst of changing clothes.

Fu Yang was instantly dumbfounded!

His mind was filled with nothing but her perfect, alluring figure...

Two warm streams of blood dripped from his nose onto his lips.

Dong Vika had been happily trying on clothes, but at the sound of the door opening, she turned and saw Fu Yang standing there, breakfast in hand, utterly bewildered, nose bleeding.

After a brief pause, her furious shout erupted:

“Don’t you know to knock before coming in? Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”

“I... I’m just used to it...” Fu Yang replied, face long with misery.

“Then why the nosebleed?! Did you see something? Speak!”

“No, I didn’t see anything...”

“You’re lying to a ghost!” Dong Vika yelled, instantly conjuring a set of clothes with her magic, and unleashed a torrent of scolding upon Fu Yang.

He could only nod and apologize repeatedly, promising to always knock before entering in the future.

Inwardly, he grumbled, “Damn, she can just conjure clothes with magic, so why did she spend so much money buying them?”

Seeing the breakfast in Fu Yang’s hands, Dong Vika finally calmed a little.

The two sat together at the table, slowly eating breakfast.

Fu Yang seized the opportunity to cautiously ask Dong Vika a few questions.

But the queen merely gave him a few cold glances and spoke lightly, “Fu Yang, there are some things you’re not ready to know yet. I’ll tell you when the time is right—I know exactly when. For example, right now I can tell you a tremendous secret. It’s of great importance, and only you and I must know. You must never tell anyone else! Do you understand?”

As she spoke, her expression grew very grave.

Fu Yang found it odd. “Not even Ah Huang?”

“What he already knows is fine, but no more information must be revealed!” Dong Vika’s tone was firm and uncompromising. Fu Yang could only nod in agreement.

“The spell I taught you—called Devouring Desolation—is the core secret of the Ghost Path.”

Devouring Desolation! Ghost Path!

Fu Yang felt a shock run through his body. He finally learned the name of the ferocious beast mouth on his right hand, and for the second time heard the term “Ghost Path.”

The first time was in the ruins of Ronghua Village, when Liu Mengshu saw the spell spontaneously activate on his right hand and mentioned it. Because he practiced the Ghost Path, they had spared his life...

“Vika, what exactly is the Ghost Path?”

“You don’t need to know what the Ghost Path truly is right now. You only need to know what it can do—and what taboos it holds.”

Eating breakfast together, Vika spoke at length, revealing shocking secrets!

If these words were heard by seasoned members of the Taoist sects, they would be utterly astounded...

The Ghost Path, though it sounded sinister and eerie, was not a cultivation for vengeful spirits. Rather, it was a vanished school within the Taoist tradition!

Throughout the millennia of Chinese history, many magical schools rose and fell, each reigning in its prime. Yet those that truly endured and remained strongest were the Complete Reality Sect and the Orthodox Unity Sect of the Taoists, hailed as the “orthodox schools.”

The Ghost Path, though also a branch of Taoism, was utterly different from the Complete Reality and Orthodox Unity Sects!

Taoism preaches purity and non-action; the Ghost Path, on the contrary, honors engagement with the world. Taoism speaks of forgiveness and tolerance; the Ghost Path advocates fighting violence with violence. It follows its own path, disdainful of associating with other Taoist sects...

Such a peculiar, individualistic tradition was naturally unpopular.

Luckily, practitioners of the Ghost Path, though powerful, tended to keep a low profile. They became the “outcasts” of the Taoist world, regarded as both righteous and evil!

Until, around the early Ming Dynasty, the highest ranks of some orthodox Taoist sects accidentally discovered a core secret that the Ghost Path carefully concealed, unleashing a storm of chaos.

Practitioners of the Ghost Path could devour vengeful spirits and demons, converting their power into their own at a certain ratio!

When this news broke, the upper echelons of the Taoist world were shaken.

Leaders and elders of every sect were horrified, many immediately plotting against the Ghost Path, even planning a covert purge!

“No wonder! No wonder the beast mouth on my right hand can devour all kinds of spirit entities. It’s because the Ghost Path’s magic naturally possesses such power. But why does this bring about a Taoist purge?” Fu Yang mused as he finished the last meat bun, staring at the beast mouth on his right hand in awe.