Chapter 35 – Soul Shackling Chains

Liu Ming considered the proposal and thought that there were no problems, so he agreed.

After he was exhorted by the woman to go to the Duty Hall early, he said goodbye to the two and left the bamboo forest, carried off by a cloud.

“Junior Mu, he is only a Three Spiritual Pulse Disciple who just entered the sect, why did you bother to entice him. Low quality disciples like him can be found all over the sect; at most he will probably become a Middle Spirit Apostle.” Du Hai opened his mouth and said to Mu Xian Yun after Liu Ming left.

“Senior, you should know that the Nine Infant Faction’s Small Competition just ended a few days ago,” replied Mu Xian Yun with a light laugh.

“Nine Infant Faction’s Small Competition, I heard someone talk about it once. What, did this brat perform well in the Small Competition?” Du Hai’s expression slightly changed and surprisingly, he guessed part of it correctly.

“Correct. In the Nine Infant Faction’s Small Competition, this junior Bai Cong Tian was the only one who received the compliment of ‘moderate to good’ as a Three Spiritual Pulse Disciple,” Mu Xian Yun replied heavily.

“That being said, he has some potential,” Du Hai said while thinking about it.

“Yes, if it was not so, even if I wanted to entice people to join, I would not go and randomly find a new disciple to join our mission three days later. After all, this mission, like I said, is not dangerous; it is just a bit bothersome and time-consuming. If I didn’t have some relationships, I would not have known that this mission will be given out in the morning after three days,” Mu Xian Yun said.

“If it is so, then I have nothing to say. This mission will basically be an investment on this kid. I hope that he will not make us disappointed. By the way, I heard that Ou Yang Xin annoyed you a few days ago,” Du Hai said with a cold flash in his eyes after he nodded his head.

“That’s right. A few days ago, when I went to collect some webs of the Blinding Spiders, I didn’t think I would meet this beast, but luckily Lady Wu was next to me so he didn’t dare to be rampant,” Mu Xian Yun said, smiling bitterly.

“Hmph, Ou Yang Xin just became a Middle Spirit Apostle and he dares to use filthy words on you. If it was not because of Martial Uncle Ou Yang, I would have shown him my power long ago. However, Yun Er, don’t worry, one more year at the most and I can become a Late Spirit Apostle. At that time, I can officially send the Mu Clan a request to marry you. At that time, Martial Uncle Ou Yang will most likely not stop it,” a trace of kindness showed on Du Hai’s face as the iciness on his face melted away.

“Senior Du, I appreciate your kindness. Back then, even though my husband by name had already died, we had already exchanged our birthdays. The Mu Clan had also received the dowry of the Ou Yang Clan. If I want to marry someone else, it would be a difficult matter. In addition, my joining of the Barbarian Ghost Sect was largely in part due to the help from Teacher Ou Yang. Senior Du, it is a blessing to be maintaining the relationships that we have right now,” Mu Xian Yu had a complicated expression when she heard Du Hai’s words and showed a sorrowful expression when she replied to him.

TL: Exchanging birthdays is a sacred “event”/shows trust since birthdays are extremely important in the Chinese Culture.

“If being a Late Spirit Apostle is not enough, then I will become a Core Disciple in the Large Competition in a few years. No matter what, you will be my wife.” Du Hai showed a savage expression as he spoke without hesitation.

Hearing this, gratefulness floated to Mu Xiao Yun’s face but she said nothing.

…..

Liu Ming sat cross legged in his room while playing with a porcelain bottle that was sealed shut with a blood red glyph. Within the bottle was the low quality ghost that he had just bought.

After silently rehearsing the training method for the Soul Shackling Chain again, Liu Ming beckoned with one hand to pull a wood bowl that he prepared in advance towards him.

The wood bowl was full of pungent black and red blood and there were some purple black cotton like things floating within the bowl.

Liu Ming had bought the things within the bowl from the Outer Duty Hall of the Nine Infant Mountain for one Spirit Stone. The bowl contain various materials such as black dog blood that would aid him in the refining of a ghost.

After thinking for a while, Liu Ming ripped the Glyph off of the porcelain bottle and opened the cap of the bottle.

After a strange “wu wu” cry, a wisp of black smoke flew out of the bottle and after spinning around mid air, turned into a black ball of light that floated in the air. The ball of light had no shape or form and lightly shivered mid air.

TL: Who got the pun?

Liu Ming held his breath as he was completely still, while his gaze was locked onto the ball in mid air.

After a few seconds, the black ball let out a piercing shriek and started a rapid nosedive.

With a “peng” sound, the ghost dived into the liquid in the wood bowl and disappeared.

Liu Ming slowly closed his eyes as his hands started moving. Immediately, he formed a couple of hand signs with his hands.

Instantly, the black red liquid in the bowl shuddered and flew out of it. With the blood flying out of the bowl, the ghost that had been swallowing the blood in large gulps appeared.

Liu Ming’s hand sign changed once more.

After some “chi, chi” sounds, the purple black cotton in the blood seemed to have come to life as they formed a web that bound the ghost.

An incredible sight appeared!

When the ghost tackled the web that seemed like it would break apart with a touch, it suddenly dissolved into black smoke that was contained within the web. Even though the ghost charged left and right, it could not break the confines of the web.

Liu Ming took a deep breath and extended his hands without hesitation.

The skin on his hands was shining brightly, because of a coat of unknown oil, before they plunged into the wood bowl.

Liu Ming face was solemn as he muttered chant after chant….

Two days later, the door to Liu Ming’s training room opened and Liu Ming walked out with excitement on his face.

Twirled around Liu Ming’s arm was a black chain with the thickness of about a finger.

Walking into the courtyard, Liu Ming looked around and saw the segmented tree that he had cut with Wind Blades before.

Liu Ming made a hand sign.

After a slight trembling, one end of the black chain shot out like a viper attacking and in the blink of an eye, wrapped itself around the remaining trunk of the tree. The other end of the chain stayed wrapped around Liu Ming’s arm.

“Return.”

Liu Ming’s arm lightly pulled back as he said the word.

With incredible speed, the black chain released the trunk of the tree and returned to Liu Ming’s arm.

Seeing the responsiveness of the chain, Liu Ming nodded and showed an expression of satisfaction.

The main purpose of the Soul Shackling Chains was not to attack enemies but rather to bind and distract them. The fluid responsiveness and speed that the chain showed was proof that Liu Ming had succeeded in refining the ghost. However, if he wanted to achieve a faster speed and even quicker responses, Liu Ming needed to practice using the chain a lot more.

It was only one day until Mu Xian Yun’s Sect mission, which meant that Liu Ming definitely had no time to effectively practice his Cultivation Method or his spells and techniques. Thus, Liu Ming could only familiarize himself with his new Practitioner Weapon – the Three Star Shield.

Deciding his course of action, Liu Ming walked back to his room.

…..

At the morning of the second day, Liu Ming had rested well the previous night. After preparing his things, he flew away from the Nine Infant Mountain and went straight to the Duty Hall.

Because it was still early, there weren’t too many people in the Duty Hall. In fact, the Enforcer of the first floor had his head buried in his arms as he slept on the table.

Without wasting time on the first floor, Liu Ming went straight to the second floor.

It was the first time Liu Ming actually went to the second floor of the Duty Hall. After taking a glance at his surroundings, Liu Ming showed faint surprise on his face.

The second floor had about the same amount of space as the first floor; it even had a similar stone table that had a middle aged enforcer sitting behind it.

However, at the middle of the second floor was a square crystal monument that was about forty feet high.

On the crystal monument were line after line of small golden words. At the left edge of the monument, there were even numbers that corresponded to each mission.

Mu Xiao Yun, Du Hai and two other disciples, a male and a female, were standing under the monument discussing something and when they saw Liu Ming arrive, they immediately beckoned him over with smiles.

“Junior Bai, you have finally come. Now that we have everyone, we can go accept the mission that had just been posted. Oh right, let me introduce you to the others in our group, this is Junior Mei and Senior Wu.”

“I am Junior Bai Chong Tian. Hello seniors.” Liu Ming glanced over the two and stepped forward as he spoke with a smile.

The “Senior Mei” was a inner disciple that seemed to be about seventeen to eighteen. He was carrying a pitch black steel bar and seemed quite strong.

“Senior Wu” was a beautiful woman who looked two or three years older than Mu Xian Yun. Her expression seemed as if she was eternally calm and wore a green Inner Disciple’s woman clothing. On her waist were a couple of bulging leather pouches that had something within.

When the two of them saw Liu Ming, they also started appraising him. Although, they returned the greeting, they did not open their mouths.

Liu Ming could clearly sense the belittlement in their gazes. However, besides a small smile, he did not feel any other emotions.

For a new disciple like Liu Ming that hadn’t even been cultivating for an entire year, it was natural for the older disciples to belittle him.

“Senior Mu, what mission are we taking?” Liu Ming turned his head to ask Mu Xian Yun.

“We will be taking mission Number 23 that requires us to collect 100 Blood Wire Fruits. The reward is 25 Contribution Points and 100 Spirit Stones. If we evenly split the rewards, everyone will be getting a quite high income.” Mu Yun Xian explained as she brought them towards the stone table.

Liu Ming gazed towards the crystal monument and found the mission with the same number. The information on the monument about the mission was also the same as what Mu Yun Xian said. Thus, he simply nodded and stayed quiet.

Walking before the stone table, everyone gave their nameplates to the Enforcer and successfully claimed the mission.

“Alright, even though we have claimed this mission, other people can still claim the mission. Therefore, we need to hurry. The Blood Wire Fruits grow on the Rock Tuo Mountain that isn’t too far from the sect. The only problem is that the Blood Wire Fruit is the favorite food of Black Cloud Butterflies. Anywhere where Blood Wire Fruit appears, there will definitely be flocks of Black Cloud Butterflies. Before this, I asked a good friend of mine for a bottle of Spirit Attraction Dust which can attract the Black Cloud Butterflies away for a while. At that time, we will split into two groups: Junior Mei and Senior Wu, you guys will be in charge of attracting the butterflies while Senior Du and I will be picking the Blood Wire Fruits.” Mu Xiao Yun said with solemnity after exiting the Duty Hall.