Chapter 59

Shen Shi was dressed elaborately, holding a bouquet of flowers, standing outside the courtyard, pacing back and forth, his heart pounding with anxiety. When he heard that Dong Mei, whom he had secretly pursued for a long time, had suddenly agreed, his heart bloomed with joy, and his smile was even more radiant than the flowers in his hands.

Indeed, the decision to cast a wide net and focus on the catch was right. If Chun Lan wouldn't bite, Dong Mei would surely be interested.

Shen Shi smiled, grabbed the ghost servant, and asked eagerly, "Dong Mei finally agreed to see me. Was she moved by my sincere feelings?"

"Who knows?" The ghost servant shrugged. His only job was to bring Shen Shi inside; he didn't care about anything else.

Shen Shi didn't get an answer from the ghost servant, but he wasn't angry at all. He was eager and almost ready to fly.

The carved jade railings wound around, leading through a deep courtyard. Outside the path were artificial hills, fountains, and fresh pines.

"Truly worthy of being the residence of the master of the Western Garden," Shen Shi sighed, lost in the beauty of the scenery, reluctant to leave.

Suddenly, Shen Shi shivered and immediately threw away the flowers in his hands, his face flushed with embarrassment. He realized that the wildflowers by the path were even more beautiful than the ones he held, and he had lost face.

Shen Shi secretly glanced at the ghost servant leading the way, relieved to see no reaction from him.

At least he didn't see it, or I would have lost even more face.

Thinking of this, Shen Shi straightened his clothes, walked with large strides, and exuded confidence.

Ha, just a country bumpkin, wanting to pursue Dong Mei, what a toad dreaming of eating a swan! The ghost servant sneered, looking down on Shen Shi. He didn't even glance at the flowers in Shen Shi's hands; there were plenty on the ground, and they didn't need to be given as gifts.

After passing through a pavilion and another turn, Dong Mei's residence came into view. Because she had to serve the master of the Western Garden, her living quarters were not far from the master's, and the room was luxurious.

"Go in, Dong Mei is waiting for you inside." The ghost servant said and disappeared.

"Lowly dog!" Shen Shi said unhappily, then rubbed his hands, pushed the door open, and walked in, his heart pounding with anxiety.

...

Su Xing had been eating too much meat lately, and his cultivation had advanced too quickly. Now he wasn't in a hurry to cultivate; he mainly focused on consolidating his cultivation to avoid future problems.

"Rustle"

The scroll unfolded, and a yellowish mist rose, revealing a golden statue.

"It can absorb yin energy automatically!" Su Xing exclaimed, his eyes fixed on the scroll, which gleamed with the light of treasure.

"Will it automatically become a ghost artifact?" Su Xing speculated. The scroll might transform into a ghost artifact due to the mysterious golden statue's power.

Indeed, as Su Xing had guessed, the scroll was transforming into a ghost artifact. After a few days in the ghost pocket, it had automatically absorbed yin energy. If given more time, the scroll would surely become an extraordinary ghost artifact, even a treasure!

"I didn't expect my ghost luck to be so good. Although I've been having a love disaster recently, my cultivation luck is excellent!" Su Xing said with a smile, his deep eyes narrowing into a thin line, his face beaming with happiness.

He spread out the scroll, focused his gaze, and began to visualize the golden statue.

First, he memorized the golden statue through his eyes, then closed his senses and visualized the golden statue in his heavenly soul.

If it were an ordinary object, Su Xing's photographic memory would have allowed him to remember it at a glance and easily visualize it in his heavenly soul. The "Hell Ghost Capture Map" was an example. However, the mysterious golden statue was different. It contained a wondrous aura, neither Buddha nor immortal nor saint, but a combination of all three, making it difficult to describe.

Su Xing tried hard to visualize, not expecting to complete the image in his heavenly soul in one go. He divided the golden statue into 33,333 strokes, combining the visualization methods of Buddhism and Confucianism.

His virtuous soul was strong and vibrant, and his heavenly soul was like a lush tree canopy. A few leaves of thought swayed, and a faint golden image appeared, only an outline, but enough to stabilize his heavenly soul.

At this moment, Su Xing's forehead shone like a crystal wall, with points of light floating and sinking, constructing the golden image in his heavenly soul, striving to draw one of the 33,333 strokes.

After a while, the excess light gathered and formed a crystal-clear leaf of thought, hanging on his heavenly soul.

Su Xing's ghostly thoughts became stronger, and he opened his eyes with satisfaction.

"Now it's time to deal with you." Su Xing looked at the scroll, where the golden image seemed like a true celestial being, possessing mysterious powers and possibly becoming a rare ghost artifact, though its rank was unknown.

"Since you have become a ghost artifact, you shouldn't be taken lightly. You should have a name." Su Xing pondered, his expression serious. He should give it a good name, like "Time is a butcher's knife."

"Neither a celestial being, nor a Buddha, nor a saint..." Su Xing murmured, his eyes brightening. "Let's call it 'Three Unlikenesses'!"

"Because it is neither a celestial being, nor a Buddha, nor a saint, let's call it 'Three Unlikenesses.' What a straightforward and easy-to-understand name!" Su Xing praised himself.

If the image had a spirit, it would probably be furious. Su Xing was too mischievous, and his ability to name things was truly not to be admired by ghosts.

"No, there's already a 'Four Unlikenesses,' so it can't be called 'Three Unlikenesses.'" Su Xing suddenly changed his mind, feeling relieved.

"Let's call it 'True Reality Manifestation Map'!" Su Xing suddenly had an inspiration, his eyes brightening, and he said loudly.

"Immortals, Buddhas, and saints are like the heavenly soul, human soul, and earth soul of the three souls and seven spirits. The essence of the 'three souls' is 'True Reality' (the true nature of life), and the 'three souls' are a form of energy produced by the 'True Reality' and shaped by spiritual essence."

Su Xing's thoughts were clear, and the more he explained, the more reasonable it seemed. He felt that "True Reality Manifestation Map" was an excellent name.

"Good, good. From now on, you will be called 'True Reality Manifestation Map'!" Su Xing rolled up the "True Reality Manifestation Map" and laughed loudly, feeling too happy to contain his emotions.

The "True Reality Manifestation Map" emitted a golden mist, like a divine realm, as if the golden statue's divinity had been integrated.

Suddenly, a golden light flashed, and Su Xing's ghostly body rippled. The "True Reality Manifestation Map" sank and disappeared.

Su Xing was startled and immediately sat down to meditate, discovering that the "True Reality Manifestation Map" was floating in his heavenly soul without any abnormalities.

"This is... happiness came too suddenly!" Su Xing exclaimed, almost overwhelmed with joy.

Generally, only ghost treasures could enter a ghost's soul. The fact that the "True Reality Manifestation Map" could enter Su Xing's soul proved its extraordinary and mysterious nature.

"It's probably not a ghost treasure," Su Xing said calmly, analyzing the situation.

"If it were a ghost treasure, it would have drained me instantly, and only a ghost general could activate it. Ordinary ghost officials at the ghost officer level could only dream of owning one."

"The 'True Reality Manifestation Map' is something I copied stroke by stroke, so it's unlikely to be a ghost treasure. It probably entered my soul because it absorbed a bit of the golden statue's divinity."

Su Xing's eyes gleamed with insight, and his analysis was mostly correct.

"Having a treasure is not a crime, but having it and not protecting it is. I must not let other ghosts know, or I will surely die without a proper burial, and I won't even have the chance to reincarnate." Su Xing immediately became alert, treating the "True Reality Manifestation Map" and the mysterious golden statue as his greatest secrets.

After exiting his meditation, Su Xing let the "True Reality Manifestation Map" float in his heavenly soul and took out a black butcher's knife and a whetstone from his ghost pocket.

The butcher's knife had been stained with the blood of many powerful ingredients in the food area and had been sharpened by the whetstone. It was about to advance to a high-quality low-level ghost artifact!

Su Xing's lips curled into a smile as he sharpened the butcher's knife, ready to slaughter pigs and sheep.

"I'm happy when I sharpen the knife. Butcher's knife, butcher's knife, advance quickly, advance quickly..." Su Xing sang a self-composed song, sharpening the knife leisurely and contentedly.

"Hey, neighbor, be quiet, you'll kill someone!" The neighbor immediately complained.

"I'm sharpening the knife!" Su Xing shouted, "I'll be careful, no one will die!"

The neighbor, satisfied with Su Xing's response, immediately quieted down and had no further objections.

Without any interference, Su Xing continued to sharpen the knife. He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but the thick butcher's knife was gradually becoming thinner, the wide blade narrower, and the short blade longer, with a yellowish liquid seeping out.

That was the impurities in the butcher's knife, being removed by the whetstone, replaced by blood essence and pure yin energy, making it sharper and harder.

Seeing the positive changes in the butcher's knife, Su Xing became even more motivated. He repeatedly pushed the whetstone, and on the 1,001st stroke, the butcher's knife suddenly burst with a black light, so sharp that it left a mark on the wall, though only a scratch.

"It advanced!" Su Xing's eyes lit up when he saw the butcher's knife's transformation.

"High-quality low-level!" Su Xing held the butcher's knife, unable to put it down, his teeth almost falling out from smiling. A ghost officer of the eighth rank having a high-quality low-level ghost artifact would make many ghosts envious.

"Is the goddess of luck my wife from a past life? Why does she favor me so much?" Su Xing joked.

Of course, Su Xing didn't believe in the goddess of luck. Good luck was due to good fortune and a strong spirit.

Of course, this was also related to his own efforts. If not for the bold attempts with the nine pulse wheels, the bloody battles in the food area, and the tons of meat he had eaten, he wouldn't have achieved his current success.

Su Xing didn't become complacent, knowing that there were always higher mountains and stronger opponents.

Today was full of surprises, whether it was the transformation of the "True Reality Manifestation Map," its mysterious power, or the advancement of the butcher's knife. Su Xing was very satisfied and content.

He extended his hands, recalling the battle with the top-grade ingredient, the dominant crocodile. The gains were not less than today's, all because of two words.

Ghost Technique!

That day, he had a sudden inspiration and almost created a powerful ghost technique, one hand like a flower in a mirror, the other like the moon in water, which left the dominant crocodile in awe.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, Su Xing couldn't remember how to perform that ghost technique. It was like a beautiful dream, impossible to perfect.

"I will remember it. Whether it was a coincidence or luck, I did indeed perform it!" Su Xing said firmly.

However, for the study of ghost techniques, he wasn't focusing on the relatively vague ghost techniques but on the concrete ones recorded in the "Niraya Sutra," which Su Xing could learn and cultivate!