At this moment, in Yingluo Manor.
The old servant stood in the courtyard, his eyes slightly narrowed, his bark-like face expressionless, his aura extremely faint, as if in deep meditation.
Suddenly, a gust of cold wind swept around him, causing the weeds and withered leaves on the ground to spiral upwards.
At this moment, the old servant's aura became even fainter, his eyelids drooping uncontrollably, as if he had returned to the vegetative state his body was in, neither alive nor dead.
The cold wind grew stronger, something seemed about to emerge.
But at the crucial moment, the old servant's body suddenly trembled, a "poof" sound echoed in the air, and the swirling cold wind abruptly dissipated, as if something invisible had fallen back into his body. The old servant bent over, staggering back two steps before barely regaining his balance.
"Huff—"
The old servant's eyes widened, his body still trembling uncontrollably, as if burdened by a thousand-pound weight, his breath unusually weak.
"It still won't work."
After a while, the old servant regulated his breathing, squinting at the villa where the Shanghai Queen Jiang Yingji was, a glint of greed and fear lurking in his eyes.
He had just been attempting to separate his soul from his body, something that should have been simpler than breathing for him, but now it was a complete pipe dream.
The cause of this situation wasn't actually the exorcism technique.
This spell wasn't created by the Shanghai Queen; in fact, it was merely a rudimentary spell, just a common folk shamanistic practice for summoning ghosts.
In fact, the spell itself was taught by Jiang Hua, with a simple purpose: prolonged exposure to yin energy through the exorcism technique would allow Jiang Yingji's pure yin body to mature quickly… so that he could harvest it.
However, unexpectedly, the seemingly simple exorcism technique was transformed in Jiang Yingji's hands. Those imprisoned were all ancient monsters, now completely subservient to her, ultimately turning the scheming Jiang Hua into a coward, trapped in his own web.
Unlike the self-taught Jiang Hua, the old servant, the Grand Preceptor of the Ming Dynasty, knew perfectly well what made the exorcism technique so miraculous—it was the pure Yin body that Jiang Hua so desperately coveted.
The pure Yin body not only made her an unparalleled beauty that captivated the world, rendering any other woman powerless with envy, as if she were the most perfect and flawless woman, favored by heaven and earth.
She was also the ultimate Yin, the essence of Yin, known in Taoist texts as the Mysterious Woman. Her hair was as black as ink, her skin as smooth as jade, snow-white and delicately translucent. Minor injuries sustained during her growth would leave no trace.
So much so that her entire body was flawless, her natural fragrance like the delicate scent of orchids in a secluded valley after rain, or the sweet, rich aroma of a blooming flower.
She could captivate any man.
Even the emperor was no exception. History has seen several beauties like her, such as Daji and Yang Guifei… all stunningly beautiful.
For cultivators, she was the ultimate, coveted vessel, the perfect vessel for cultivation.
But if it were merely this, it wouldn't silence these seasoned monsters. For yin alone cannot last. Even a pure yin body, without encountering a pure yang body, can at best become a peerless vessel.
But Jiang Yingji met Li Zhiyu. She made Li Zhiyu who he was, and in turn, Li Zhiyu made her who she was.
Just like the earliest recorded "Red Child" of the Yellow Emperor in Daoist texts, who only achieved immortality through dual cultivation with the Mysterious Woman.
While the Yellow Emperor ascended to immortality, the "Mysterious Woman" thus became the Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman.
In fact, the ancient hierarchy is remarkably similar to that of today. Aren't the mysterious and unpredictable immortals the equivalent of today's "forbidden level"?
Although Li Zhiyu didn't reach the forbidden level, he was theoretically the closest to it. The Shanghai Queen, Jiang Yingji, was certainly not an ordinary "Mysterious Woman," but rather closer to the "Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman" described in ancient texts.
It is precisely because of this that these powerful figures, whose influence has lingered throughout history, become like lambs to the slaughter before the Shanghai Queen—a true suppression of status.
The difference between immortals and mortals.
Thinking of this, the old servant's heart burned even hotter. This meant that if he could obtain Jiang Yingji, the benefits would be unimaginable—an opportunity and fortune comparable to the Yellow Emperor's!
However, for now, he was trapped in this decaying body and could only watch helplessly as this unimaginable opportunity was wasted. —If it were him who had experienced that three-way encounter with Jiang Yingji, Luo Xuetang, and Luo Yutang, the benefits he would have gained would have been enough to achieve near-rejuvenation!
Of course, rejuvenation doesn't mean actually becoming a child, but rather restoring potential and vitality.
Like that old ghost Jiang Hua, after obtaining Luo Xuetang's virginity, he had already achieved rejuvenation, his vitality almost equivalent to that of a man in his forties.
And for three peerless beauties of pure yin to serve one man, even if none of them were virgins, the quantitative change would lead to a qualitative change, and the benefits would be almost equivalent to losing the virginity of a pure yin body once.
However, such unimaginable benefits have little meaning for ordinary people who don't cultivate Taoist arts; at most, it's just enjoying a dreamlike bliss. Of course, no pure yin body is perfect in every way, and the honey hole is at least an extremely exquisite "masterpiece."
The unparalleled blessing of possessing three beings with pure Yin bodies is not something anyone can achieve. For someone of average ability, it would only make them a laughingstock…
The reason this old servant is so eager to possess and seize a body is because an eight-Yang body is sufficient to withstand such astonishing blessings. Even though Xiang Anping is currently still an ordinary person, he has received some delicious food, and his physique is constantly being strengthened.
However, this is not good news for the old servant. The stronger Xiang Anping's physique, the greater the difficulty of possession.
Possession also has its rules. For cultivators, longevity is an eternal pursuit; but the legendary realm of immortals is unattainable, so most cultivators attempt to achieve longevity through another shortcut.
And this shortcut is the soul.
Taoist texts compare the physical body to a boat, carrying the soul across a "sea of suffering." To reach the other shore, naturally, taking a boat is better.
However, the "boat" is easily eroded by time; in modern terms, its durability is far inferior to that of the soul.
This is especially true in the Dharma-ending Age. Cultivating a strong physical body is extremely difficult, and people like Jiang Hua are incredibly lucky to have reached this point.