After a few hours of the battle.
Hei Qin sat in the lotus position, circulating his Qi. His wounds were almost completely healed. At this time, he was only focusing on replenishing his Qi.
Gui Ling and the Ghost General. Of course, both of them were still imprisoned by the compass. Slowly, their essence was being sucked dry. Gui Ling's body had become very thin, and his face looked dull compared to before. As for the Ghost General… Well, it didn't really have a face to speak of.
"Hey! Brat. Where did you get this stage-six artifact? Did you steal it?" Gui Ling asked the question that had been haunting him ever since the end of the battle.
Like human cultivation, artifacts are also divided into twelve stages.
"Stolen it? Don't joke around, Senior Brother Gui Ling. How can someone steal the possessions of the sect? Don't you have a brain? Just use it." Hei Qin answered, his eyes still closed as he circulated his Qi.
"You!... Damn it. Then how is this here, slowly sucking my life away? Are you saying it's an illusion?" Gui Ling's voice was filled with anger.
"Illusion? Do you think I have learned illusion and mastered it to the level where one can feel pain so authentically?" Hei Qin replied, his eyes still closed.
"Who knows… maybe. That's right! Where the heck did you learn this fucking formation? I didn't expect you to be so well-versed in this. If I had known…" Hei Qin cut him off and said, "…and what? You would have praised me for it? Or perhaps you wouldn't have underestimated me."
After that, there were a few minutes of silence before Hei Qin spoke again.
"I exchanged it. The artifact and this formation technique… everything…"
"From who… and in exchange for what?" Gui Ling pressed for an answer.
"From who? Of course it was from our master. And the cost… my life. It's not that hard to guess, right? That was the reason I was still alive after all. Otherwise, I would have died five years ago." Hei Qin said.
"Nether Yin Physique… that's nothing special. At least among ghost cultivators. However, you are the only one with this physique in our branch. And I heard that people with the same constitution as you are used like living stock or cattle in the Main Branch and the other branches. You should be grateful to our master for giving you at least five years of freedom, don't you think? Cough… cough."
Gui Ling coughed heavily. It seemed his end was near. "I can't believe it. He gave such a treasure for your puny life. It's not like he couldn't have just imprisoned you. Why would he need your approval? So you could betray him?"
"Who knows what he is thinking? But he is planning something. That's why I have to escape as soon as possible." Hei Qin said.
Gui Ling wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at the neighboring prisoner. "This Ghost General… It's weird. I already seen it when I guarded this cave, but it wasn't like this. I can't figure it out. Even though my ghoul is just close to the General stage, it's still not weak. And I myself have stage-six cultivation."
"Tch… Senior, you are very talkative for a dying man." Hei Qin clicked his tongue and continued, "I tried to raise its cultivation to the Ghost King stage. Huh… but I failed. That's why its cultivation is a little chaotic."
"Haha, so that's what you meant when you said there was more than that. I thought you were bluffing. Yes, you said something like this, right? 'If you don't know, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist, Senior Brother.' That's a fantastic line. Where did you come up with it? Haha." Gui Ling teased. He seemed to be in a surprisingly good mood.
Hei Qin sighed deeply and slowly opened his eyes. "Laugh all you want, Senior Brother. It's your last laugh after all."
He slowly stood up, stretched his body, and walked toward the place where his senior was imprisoned. With a polite smile, he asked, "Senior, give me the permission token for the treasury."
"Token? I don't have anything like that," Gui Ling said.
"Senior, why are you lying? I know you have it. Just give it to me. What will you do with it if you're dead? At least it will be useful to me." Hei Qin's smile brightened.
"Even if I have it, do you think I will give it to you?"
"You will," Hei Qin said.
Gui Ling's face turned pale.
***
Gui Ling gave the permission token to his junior. Hei Qin was very happy to finally receive it. When Gui Ling handed over the token, he was practically beaming with joy.
It was truly a touching scene.
Now, Hei Qin returned to the place where the five creepy-looking buildings stood.