Hei Qin used his lantern to observe the ghosts. They didn't resist; instead, they voluntarily came to the lantern, akin to food serving itself on a plate.
Without wasting time, Hei Qin moved to the center of the whirlwind of ghosts. The ghosts slowly turned into dust as the Lantern of Parting pulled them into itself.
Hei Qin sat in the lotus position and began to circulate his Qi. With the help of the Lantern of Parting, he started to cultivate.
Time passed.
***
After a month…
With the help of the Nether Yin Physique, along with the pure Yin of this place and the death energy of the ghosts refined by the Lantern of Parting, Hei Qin reached the advanced sub-stage of the stage four of cultivation.
It was a terrifying speed, even for Hei Qin. He hadn't expected to reach the advanced stage within a single month. It was the collective effect of his body, the pure Yin of this place, and the death energy.
Moreover, the entire forest was covered in a terrifying level of death energy. In a way, it was a paradise for ghost cultivators.
At the same time, there was no shortage of danger in this forest.
With a long breath, Hei Qin slowly opened his eyes, unaware that someone was watching him closely—very, very closely. As his eyelids finally parted, a figure began to outline itself in his vision. His brows knitted as he tried to focus on the person standing only a breath's distance from his face.
"Aahhhh….!!!"
Hei Qin let out a panicked scream. His breath hitched midway. Subconsciously, he scrambled back several meters, using his hands to push himself away.
"Puff… puff… W-who is that?" With short, shallow breaths, Hei Qin asked in an uneven tone.
It wasn't that Hei Qin was a coward; it was the natural reaction of anyone. After all, who could remain calm in this situation?
"That was my question… Who. Are. You?" the young man in front of Hei Qin asked in a carefree tone.
The young man was handsome, with messy white hair and dressed in a white robe. The only contradiction was his pitch-black eyes, which seemed to reflect the abyss itself. Hei Qin slowly calmed down, realizing it was just a young man, not a high-level ghost or that blasted eye.
'For a second, I thought it was that damned eye and that it had somehow broken the barrier. But who is he… some righteous cultivator? Strange, I don't sense any kind of Qi in him, as if he were just a mortal…' Soon, Hei Qin's face turned pale. '…Wait a minute… a mortal? No… what kind of monster have I encountered this time?'
In this forest, known as the Black Mist Forest, even powerful righteous cultivators were afraid to enter. Yet, a mortal was roaming here carefreely without a hint of fear?
There was no way that could be possible. Then, what was he? The only conclusion was that he was an old monster who was at least at the tenth stage of cultivation or perhaps even higher.
Hei Qin quickly stood up, realizing he was still on the ground, which was impolite. Reminding himself that this was an old monster who could kill him with a single finger, Hei Qin bowed deeply and cupped his hands.
"Senior, please forgive me if I have offended you in some way. As for my identity, I was a disciple of the Blood Phantom Sect in the past. But now, I am merely a lone cultivator."
Hei Qin stole a quick glance to see what kind of expression the young man wore.
The young man looked at Hei Qin with a complicated expression. "Hmm… a disciple of Shen Pian?"
Hei Qin's body trembled slightly. 'He knows the Master's name? Are they enemies or acquaintances?'
Hei Qin was in a dire situation, regardless of which it was. If the man was an acquaintance of his master, he might capture Hei Qin for betraying the sect. If he was an enemy, there was a high chance he would kill Hei Qin to get revenge on his master.
"Why are you so tense? Just relax. It's not like I'm going to capture you and return you to your master… in fact, your master and I don't really get along.
"Moreover, I've wanted to kidnap you from your master for a long time, and now you've delivered yourself to me without me having to do any of the hard work! Haha!"
The young man laughed heartily. In contrast, Hei Qin's expression was extremely complicated.
After noticing Hei Qin's expression, the young man's laughter slowly subsided. He cleared his throat and said, "Ahem, don't get me wrong. I wanted to kidnap you because I wanted to save you… of course, there was an ulterior motive, but it wasn't that ulterior."
Hei Qin put on his usual calm facade and began to rack his brain.
Hei Qin was a little surprised by the young man's friendly tone. He had already confirmed that this was someone at a much higher stage of cultivation. He could have ordered him around with a single gesture. Instead, he was explaining things in detail.
'What does he want from me?'
"That aside, we can speak more later. First, answer me…" His gaze lingered on the Lantern of Parting for a moment before he asked in a stern tone, "Were you the one who absorbed the pure Yin energy and the ghosts here?"
"Forgive me, Senior! I didn't know this was Senior's place. If I had known, I wouldn't have come here."
Hei Qin decided to tell the whole truth—especially about that eye and its "good intentions." He described how it had helped him and even added extra information about how formidable the eye was. Hei Qin smirked slightly to himself.
After Hei Qin finished, the young man slowly shook his head. "It wanted to escape, huh? It seems the punishment I gave it was not enough."
'He knows the eye… and he was the one who imprisoned it behind that barrier!'
Hei Qin had already come up with various plans to escape from the eye, and he was eighty percent confident in them. However, he hadn't expected the problem of the eye to be solved this easily. Now, it seemed he would have to come up with entirely new plans.