Two Types of Power

As the words fell, a figure in white robes with black hair, wrapped in thick Yin Qi, instantly appeared beside Zheng Que. It was Qing Li.

Qing Li glanced at Zheng Que and nodded with great satisfaction. “Human brat, well done!”

“Thanks to your dull aptitude, being unteachable, and a hopeless block of wood, you finally managed to drive that old Daoist away!”

“Your grandma is in a good mood today, so I’ll be merciful and cooperate with you this once!”

Zheng Que was already feeling somewhat irritable, and hearing this made him even more displeased.

However, he was no match for her at the moment. If he really tried to teach this female ghost a lesson, the most likely outcome would be another beating.

As the master of the Underworld, why was he living so miserably?

Saying nothing, Zheng Que directly began cultivating the 【Spirit Descent Technique】.

The spiritual power within his body began to circulate under the guidance of the cultivation method, and he formed one strange hand seal after another.

His master had said earlier that among the three spells, the 【Spirit Descent Technique】 was the easiest.

Now, as he tried it himself, he quickly discovered that cultivating this spell was indeed surprisingly easy.

Before long, he had already completed most of the hand seals. The Spiritual Qi within his body circulated like a wheel, completely restraining all the Yang Qi in his body.

At this moment, Zheng Que changed his hand seal and opened the palm inscribed with the character “令.”

Unlike the 【Ghost Taming Art】, the 【Spirit Descent Technique】 did not require aiming this character at the ghost servant. Instead, it used the caster as the vessel, forcibly recalling the ghost servant onto the caster’s body.

In the next instant, Qing Li seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, uncontrollably drifting toward Zheng Que’s palm.

Whoosh!

Qing Li immediately transformed into a streak of blood-red light and was instantly drawn into Zheng Que’s palm.

The streak of blood-red light did not remain in his palm but instead spread rapidly along his hand, up his arm, across his body.

Soon, Zheng Que’s entire arm was covered in interwoven black and white patterns.

These patterns extended like dense roots, spreading to his neck in the blink of an eye and rapidly growing along its side.

Zheng Que felt his body growing colder and colder, his temperature rapidly draining away. Yet his hand seals did not pause in the slightest; instead, he accelerated the circulation of Spiritual Qi within his body.

At the same time, he clearly sensed the power within his body beginning to surge steadily.

As Zheng Que formed the final hand seal, the patterns on the side of his neck seemed to have gathered enough momentum and abruptly sprouted a second head.

This head had a pale complexion, disheveled long hair, and a purplish-black strangulation mark on the chin, exuding a fierce and violent aura. It was unmistakably Qing Li.

The moment Qing Li’s head appeared on Zheng Que’s neck, his entire aura turned intensely yin-cold. Yet it felt as if immense power had been forcibly infused into his body. Every movement was filled with overwhelming strength, and he felt more powerful than ever before.

The 【Spirit Descent Technique】 had been successfully cultivated!

The entire temple felt as if it had been plunged into an ice cellar. The intense Yin Qi veiled everything once more in a layer of black gauze, making the surroundings appear exceptionally gloomy and cold.

Zheng Que stood in the open space. His face, his neck, the backs of his hands, every patch of skin exposed to the air was covered in interwoven black and white patterns. These patterns seemed as though they had grown naturally, their shapes resembling both nets and roots, spreading across his entire body while converging toward the side of his neck, clustering around the female ghost’s head.

This sight was terrifying and grotesque, far surpassing even demons and ghosts.

Zheng Que’s expression remained calm as he carefully sensed the changes in his own power.

The Qing Li head beside his own suddenly spoke: “Human brat, this spell of yours is truly fascinating!”

“With this spell, that great… you brat won’t have to worry about the calamity three days from now.”

“Alright, hurry up and go to sleep with that head of yours. Don’t hog this body. Your auntie here wants to study this spell properly.”

Hurry up and sleep?

Don’t hog the body?

Zheng Que immediately smiled. His master had said that the greatest risk of the 【Spirit Descent Technique】 was being devoured by one’s own ghost servant. In this situation, if an ordinary cultivator who practiced this technique suddenly heard their ghost servant say such things, they would surely be terrified.

But he was different. With his other identity in the Underworld, even if he punched Qing Li in the face right now, nothing would happen.

Of course, if he really did that, once the 【Spirit Descent Technique】 ended, Qing Li would definitely seek revenge. Until his strength surpassed hers, he would need to exercise some restraint for the time being.

Thinking this, he replied without hesitation: “Enough nonsense. Am I the master, or are you?”

“Have you already forgotten how miserably you lost in our last master-servant battle?”

“Remember this, you lowly ghost servant: only the master can occupy the ghost servant’s body and study the ghost servant’s methods. No ghost servant can occupy the master’s body, let alone study the master’s spells!”

Hearing this, Qing Li flew into a rage. “You human brat, if you have the guts, fight your auntie again!”

“This time, I’ll beat you until you’re picking your teeth off the ground!”

“Oh, and you’re not allowed to use the 【Ghost Taming Art】…”

Hearing this, Zheng Que chuckled. At the moment, his strength was inferior to Qing Li’s, so there was no way he would fight her again.

Of course, if they really did fight, he wouldn’t just use the 【Ghost Taming Art】. He would also drag her into the Underworld and use his other identity to intimidate her into kowtowing and admitting her guilt to his real-world self.

With that thought, Zheng Que ignored Qing Li. He tried moving his limbs, performing a few simple actions, and found that aside from Qing Li’s head, which he couldn’t control, the rest of his body showed no abnormalities.

He then walked out of the dilapidated temple and threw a punch directly at the open ground in the courtyard.

Boom!!

Amidst the deafening roar, dust and stones flew. The bluestone ground was instantly blasted into a deep pit. Water gurgled within it, and broken stones and gravel scattered everywhere, creating a shocking spectacle. The few nearby households, which had previously shown faint signs of activity, suddenly fell silent as if a switch had been flipped. After the loud noise, even the sound of breathing vanished without a trace, as though Zheng Que were the only person there.

Zheng Que brushed away the dust that had blown into his face, looked at the deep pit, and nodded slightly.

His current strength might have already reached the level of Qi Refining second layer, or even Qi Refining third layer.

However, compared to Qing Li’s true form, there still seemed to be a gap.

This was likely because his own physical body was too weak to fully unleash the power of Qing Li’s yin Qi.

Zheng Que then proceeded to test his spells, quickly discovering that the area covered by the 【Yin Gathering Art】 he now cast had more than doubled. Moreover, the yin cloud produced by the spell greatly enhanced his strength.

The 【Ghost Taming Art】 had no ghosts to test for the time being, while the 【Spirit Eye Technique】 remained unchanged, just as before.

In addition, he could now fully utilize all the techniques Qing Li herself had mastered, and their power seemed even greater than when Qing Li used them directly.

Only the speed of his casting was not as fast as Qing Li’s.

After further attempts and comparisons, Zheng Que finally gained some understanding of the general workings of this spell.

During the 【Spirit Descent Technique】, although the caster risked being devoured by the ghost servant, they could simultaneously control both the cultivator’s spiritual power and the ghost’s Yin Qi: two types of power.

Moreover, aside from the 【Spirit Eye Technique】 and the 【Ghost Taming Art】, all other spells and techniques were enhanced to some extent.

However, his current use of Yin Qi was too clumsy, so Qing Li’s techniques felt rather stiff when he employed them.

To achieve the same level of proficiency as Qing Li, he would need more practice.

Once he understood the situation, Zheng Que immediately formed a hand seal to dispel the 【Spirit Descent Technique】.

In the next moment, Qing Li’s head separated from Zheng Que’s neck like a ripe fruit. In the blink of an eye, the black and white patterns also detached from Zheng Que’s body, falling to the ground along with Qing Li’s head.

Zheng Que felt his body temperature rapidly return to normal, soon becoming as it was before.

Seeing Qing Li lying on the ground without getting up, Zheng Que frowned and asked, “Lowly ghost servant, what’s wrong?”

Qing Li remained motionless, prostrate on the ground, her body trembling slightly. The Yin Qi around her flickered violently like a candle flame in a strong wind. After a long while, she replied coldly, “Human brat, this spell of yours consumes a great deal of this lady’s Yin Qi!”

“This lady needs to rest now, so don’t disturb me, you little brat!”

With that, Qing Li slowly rose and drifted toward the withered old tree by the courtyard wall, soon hanging herself from its branches.

Watching this, Zheng Que realized that after using the 【Spirit Descent Technique】, the ghost servant would enter a period of weakness.