Chapter 18: The Evil Ghost and the Jade Buddha

Waking from his cultivation, Qin Sang couldn't help but let a smile curl at the corners of his mouth, unable to hide the joy in his heart.

He lifted his arm and gave it a squeeze; it seemed no different from before, making it impossible to tell what benefits this breakthrough had brought him.

He channeled a portion of his Qi into his finger, and a moment later, a faint, hazy blue aura appeared upon it.

*Is this what Bai Jianglan meant by "external projection of true Qi"?*

Curious, Qin Sang attempted to coalesce the aura into the shape of a sword, but found he could not. Unwilling to accept failure, he suddenly thrust his finger toward the nearby bamboo table. With a loud *bang*, he failed to pierce the table, and instead, a piercing pain shot through his fingertip.

"Right," Qin Sang slapped his forehead suddenly. "I almost forgot about the Yama Banner!"

Qin Sang hurriedly pulled open his shirt, untied the cloth wrapped around his chest, and took out the item inside. Setting the other items aside, he took the Yama Banner in his hands.

This small banner exuded an eerie aura, and since it was the weapon of the men in black, Qin Sang had not dared to defy the *Netherworld Scripture* before. For an entire year, he had endured, not daring to act recklessly.

Now that Qin Sang had broken through to the second level, according to the manual, he could finally command the Yama Banner.

Holding the banner, Qin Sang looked it over, but his heart hesitated as he thought of that dried corpse.

The evil spirits on the banner were lifelike, as if they might leap out at any moment. Even if it was a cultivator's weapon, it might very well be a demonic or evil artifact.

*But I've already practiced a demonic technique; isn't it a bit late to be worrying about this now?*

Qin Sang hardened his resolve and made his decision, grasping the Yama Banner with both hands.

Following the steps written in the book, he circulated his cultivation technique, driving the Qi within his body through his meridians, guiding it to converge in his palms, and finally forcing it into the Yama Banner.

Qin Sang stared intently at the banner, his heart racing with tension.

A hazy blue mist enveloped the Yama Banner. The pitch-black banner suddenly flashed, and the evil spirits upon it seemed to twitch; Qin Sang thought for a moment that his eyes were playing tricks on him.

In the next instant, the misty aura surged violently and was instantly swallowed whole by the Yama Banner.

Immediately following this, an incredibly powerful suction force erupted from the banner. The remaining Qi in Qin Sang's dantian surged outward frantically.

Qin Sang turned pale with fright. He tried to pull the Qi back, but it was utterly futile. In his panic, he swung his hand wildly, but the Yama Banner seemed stuck to him as if with glue, clinging firmly to his palm.

Watching helplessly as the Qi he had worked so hard to cultivate was drained dry by the banner, Qin Sang felt like weeping.

Just then, another change occurred.

The Yama Banner began to move without wind, its fabric fluttering. The evil spirit on the banner, facing Qin Sang, actually blinked its eyes and curled its lips into a sinister grin before lunging out from the surface of the flag.

Qin Sang had never seen such a terrifying sight. He screamed in terror, but with nowhere to hide, he could only watch helplessly as the horrific demon lunged toward his face.

Qin Sang felt as if he had been struck by a massive force. His mind went dizzy, and when he regained consciousness, he found he was still aware.

"Where am I? Where is that demon?"

Qin Sang opened his eyes wide, only to find himself surrounded by boundless darkness; he could see nothing.

*Where is this place?*

*Am I dead? Is this the underworld?*

Filled with confusion, Qin Sang looked down and was startled. His body had become only the size of a palm, completely transparent and shimmering with a faint blue light, encased in a layer of pale yellow light that made him look like a glowing orb from the outside.

*How did I become like this? Is this my soul?*

*Where did the demon go?*

Qin Sang widened his eyes and lifted his transparent limbs, attempting to take a step, only to find himself flying a great distance away.

At that moment, he suddenly heard a terrifying roar from the depths of the darkness. Looking up, he saw a dark shadow flying out from the gloom—it was the demon!

The demon was much larger than Qin Sang. Its blood-red eyes stared fixedly at him with pure greed. With startling speed, it lunged toward him like a ferocious beast.

In terms of sheer size, Qin Sang felt utterly frail. Seeing the demon chasing him, he was struck with horror and fled like a headless fly.

However, his speed was far slower than the demon's, and he was easily overtaken.

*Whoosh!*

The demon's figure moved like the wind, intercepting Qin Sang in the blink of an eye. It let out a sinister laugh and opened its bloody maw, preparing to swallow him whole.

Qin Sang was filled with despair.

Unexpectedly, at the very moment Qin Sang was about to be devoured, the layer of yellow light surrounding his soul suddenly released an infinite radiance. Amidst the dense, golden Buddhist light, a Buddha statue appeared.

The Buddha statue had one broken arm and sat in the lotus position with eyes cast downward. The divine light shone everywhere, and the tiny Qin Sang was positioned within the body of the statue.

"Amitābha!"

A grand, resonant Buddhist mantra echoed in Qin Sang's mind like the tolling of a great bell. Qin Sang's mouth hung open in shock.

While the Buddha statue remained motionless, the demon was filled with terror, as if it had encountered its natural predator. It turned and fled instantly, its previous arrogance completely vanished.

*Is this... the jade Buddha from my past life?*

Qin Sang ignored the fleeing demon and instead gazed at the broken arm of the statue, his heart surging with immense emotion. He had worn that jade Buddha for thirty years in his previous life, and it was the last thing he saw before he died; how could he ever forget it?

The jade Buddha was a family heirloom from his mother's side and had always been incomplete, with one arm broken off—the position was identical to that of the statue.

Qin Sang had thought he was merely a wandering soul that had drifted into this world, but he never expected the jade Buddha to follow him in this form and even save his life.

"Mom, Dad..."

Qin Sang cupped his face in his hands and wept loudly for the first time, though his soul could not shed actual tears.

After venting his emotions, Qin Sang quickly calmed down and began to contemplate his situation. However, surrounded by boundless darkness in every direction, he couldn't help but feel lost.

*The jade Buddha saved me. I might not be dead yet. Is this inside my body? How do I get out? The demon is still outside; will it try to eat me again?*

Unexpectedly, the moment Qin Sang had the thought of leaving, he felt a wave of dizziness. His vision shifted drastically, and his familiar room appeared before him.

Qin Sang's heart tightened. Realizing he was still clutching the Yama Banner, he hurriedly threw it far away. As his gaze shifted, he caught sight of a dark shadow in the corner of the room—it was the demon.

The demon was curled up in the corner, watching Qin Sang with shrinking terror, its face etched with profound fear as it trembled violently.

Qin Sang's body felt somewhat stiff, but seeing the demon in such a state, his fear subsided significantly.

*It's afraid of the jade Buddha.*

*The jade Buddha is inside me, merged with my soul, so it's afraid of me too.*

*Can I command it, or perhaps drive it?*

As Qin Sang was turning these thoughts over in his mind and about to speak, a sudden *thud-thud* of knocking sounded at the door, followed by Old Wu's questioning voice.

His previous outburst of screaming must have woken Old Wu up.

With so many secrets, he absolutely could not open the door.

"I—"

Qin Sang quickly changed his train of thought. Just as he was about to offer an explanation, he saw the demon suddenly lunge into the bamboo wall, and he cried out inwardly, *Oh no!*