ATAVID CH12: Soul-Returning Lamp

When the commotion underground completely subsided, the bluestone ground returned to its original state.
It was as if there had never been any ghost hands, and there had never been a disciple named Baishu.

Wei Xun stood up and brushed the floating dust off the hem of his clothes.
The ghost energy and demonic energy surrounding him converged back into his body, and the eye that had been flooded with black gloom gradually returned to its original appearance, leaving only a heavy coldness.

Jiang Qunyu, in his arms, clung to his collar and poked his head out. With a shift of his mind, he transformed into Wei Xun’s appearance.
Standing shoulder-to-shoulder beside him, he asked, “Where are we going now?”

Wei Xun reached out, his fingertips gently pushing away the face that was leaning in extremely close, his tone flat: “The Lingxiao Sect Ancestral Hall.”

“What are we going there for?” Jiang Qunyu had a bizarre expression on his face and tugged at his clothes. “Shouldn’t we be running for our lives right now?”

“Not running.” Wei Xun’s voice didn’t have the slightest fluctuation.

“Are you sick in the head? If you want to die, don’t drag me down with you!” Jiang Qunyu got a headache from his anger, and his speaking speed even sped up a bit.
“Didn’t you hear that dumbass say he has the Thousand-Lead Powder planted by an elder in his body? Now that he’s dead, his soul lamp must have definitely gone out. The people of the Lingxiao Sect will quickly investigate and trace it here. If we don’t run now, we’ll both die here!”

Right now, Wei Xun only had the cultivation of the third layer of the Nascent Soul stage. If they encountered ordinary inner sect disciples, they could still deal with them.
But if they encountered those sect elders who had long been at the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage… Wei Xun wasn’t liked in the sect, and absolutely no one would plead for mercy on his behalf. If caught, the only path was death.

“Do you still have some important things you haven’t taken? As long as the green mountains remain, there’s no fear of running out of firewood.”

Wei Xun suddenly stopped and turned to look at him: “Jiang Qunyu, but there are some things that can only be done now.”
When he said this, his eye color was as deep as spilled ink, very calm.

Jiang Qunyu looked into his eyes.
Hidden in that thick blackness was a stubbornness he couldn’t decipher. His heart inexplicably skipped a beat, and the words that had reached his lips were entirely swallowed back. He only silently released the hand tugging at the clothes.

The cold moonlight leaked out from the clouds, pouring down onto the bluestone-paved path, shattering into a ground of silver radiance.
The winter chill had completely dissipated, and the spring breeze blew gently, carrying the faint fragrance of fallen plum blossoms.

Under the moonlight, Jiang Qunyu followed behind Wei Xun, a piece of foxtail grass dangling from his mouth, his hands pillowed behind his head, walking leisurely.
When crossing the stone arch bridge, he would occasionally glance at the small stream on both sides of the bridge. Petals of fallen plum blossoms floated on the water surface, spinning as they drifted downstream.

Wei Xun’s shadow was stretched long and slender by the moonlight. Jiang Qunyu stepped on that shadow, following step by step, his toes grinding over the silver radiance at the edge of the shadow.
As if sensing his little actions, Wei Xun turned his head and shot a cold glance at him.
Jiang Qunyu curled his lips. Not only did he not restrain himself, but he stepped even more vigorously, deliberately using his toes to grind and sway along the silhouette of the shadow.

Probably because Wei Xun was wearing the Lingxiao Sect disciple uniform and the sky was truly too dark, the few disciples who occasionally brushed past them merely assumed they were fellow disciples breaking curfew. Not a single person grew suspicious; they took a hurried glance and left.

They arrived before a palatial hall.
Jiang Qunyu looked up. Layers upon layers of white jade stairs led to the hall doors. The roof was covered with glazed tiles, and hundreds of strings of silver bells hung from the eaves. When the wind blew, they jingled softly, making the entire palatial hall look elegant yet solemn.
The plaque placed in the middle had three large words written on it—
Floating Lantern Hall.

Jiang Qunyu understood in his heart; this must be the place Baishu mentioned where the soul lamps were located.
He had heard that all registered disciples of the Lingxiao Sect had to light a soul lamp here; when the soul lamp went out, the person died.
He just didn’t know why Wei Xun would come here.

“Who goes there!”
The guarding disciples outside the hall suddenly saw a tall and slender figure walking slowly over in the night, his posture as cold and silent as a ghost. Greatly alarmed, they sternly shouted for him to stop.
“Stop right there immediately! Do you not know this is a sect forbidden area! Those who trespass without a token will be dealt with according to sect rules!”

The other guarding disciple also frowned tightly, his hand resting on his佩剑 (saber/sword worn at the waist), his tone cold and hard: “Take one more step forward, and don’t blame us for disregarding our fellowship as fellow disciples!”
The silver bells chimed softly in the wind, contrasting with the shouts outside the hall, abruptly tightening the atmosphere in the night.

Wei Xun raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the two guarding disciples. An imperceptibly faint demonic energy quietly spread around him, but his footsteps didn’t stop; he continued walking toward the long white jade stairs.
Jiang Qunyu glanced at Wei Xun. Seeing this person’s expression remained unruffled, he asked him: “Do you have a token?”

Wei Xun shook his head very slightly. His pitch-black pupils shifted slowly as he shook his head: “No.”
The words in Jiang Qunyu’s throat were temporarily stuck. He opened his mouth, but still couldn’t resist asking: “If you don’t have one, why are you pretending to be so calm and breezy?!”

“Naturally, to deceive them.”
He was wearing the sect disciple’s clothing today—a light blue disciple uniform with dark cloud patterns embroidered on the cuffs and waist, and a plain jade pendant hanging from the jade belt cinching his waist.
It was originally a common standard uniform, but worn on him, it highlighted his tall and straight posture, handsome and refined features, naturally bearing an aloof and cold demeanor.

Not many disciples had seen Wei Xun.
He grew up by Wei Lan’s side since childhood. His sword technique enlightenment was entirely self-comprehended after a few pointers from Wei Lan, and he rarely attended the sect’s large classes.
Standing in the night in such plain clothes, he looked like a newly promoted inner sect disciple.

When Wei Xun drew close, those two disciples saw his face clearly.
Perhaps they had never seen such a good-looking person—with clear and cold features, an aloof temperament, and even a speaking voice that was faintly pleasant to hear—they were stunned for a moment.

“You… who are you? Why come to the Floating Lantern Hall deep in the night?”
One disciple asked stammeringly, his sternness from a moment ago already mostly dispersed.
Seeing this posture, Jiang Qunyu knew these two had been blinded by Wei Xun’s pretty skin again.
He feared someone was about to suffer a huge loss again.

Wei Xun reined in all the hostility around him, his eyes shifting slightly as he looked at the two of them.
He opened his hand, flipped his palm, and a black iron token appeared. His tone was flat and without fluctuation.
“The Sword Venerable was not at ease with just you two, so he specifically ordered me to come here and stand guard together with you. Otherwise, relying solely on you two against that demon, you would have no power to fight back.”

Hearing him say this, coupled with the token, the two believed him for the most part.
In their hearts, they coincidentally breathed a sigh of relief.
Recently, strange things had been happening frequently in the sect, with disciples dying violently one after another. The fellow disciples with higher cultivation had all been sent to guard the mountain-protecting grand array.
The Floating Lantern Hall only contained inanimate objects. After a joint discussion, several elders felt that given the urgency of the situation, they would act according to circumstances and only left two Golden Core stage disciples here to stand guard.
Although they didn’t say it, guarding a hall full of soul lamps at night had long scared them into a panic, terrified that they would be the next to die violently.

Now that this disciple said he was the Sword Venerable’s disciple and was specifically sent to the Floating Lantern Hall, they figured his cultivation must be extraordinary, so the two relaxed their guard.
“As long as you have a token, everything is easy to discuss.”
As one disciple spoke, he reached out to take the token from Wei Xun’s palm, his finger pads inadvertently brushing against Wei Xun’s fingertips.
That overly cold body temperature made him pause slightly, but he only assumed the other party had a constitution leaning toward the cold side, and casually flipped over the token.

The night was too dark, so he subconsciously leaned in closer. With this look, his face instantly turned pale white.
That was actually a wordless token!

The disciple beside him also saw it clearly. A chill shot straight up from his tailbone to the top of his head, and the hairs all over his body stood on end.
“You—”
The two abruptly looked up, about to shout a question, but were caught off guard and crashed into Wei Xun’s eye that had already been flooded with black gloom.

Their pupils instantly dilated, and their gazes became sluggish.
“Shh.” Wei Xun pulled at the corners of his lips. Raising his fingertips slightly, he pressed them against his lips, instructing word by word, his tone carrying an irresistible power.
“But you must absolutely not make a sound. You two remember this well: tonight, by the order of Elder Huazhen, Baishu came to the Floating Lantern Hall to keep night watch together with you two. At exactly the first quarter of the Mao hour (5:15 AM), Baishu heard a commotion outside the hall and left the Floating Lantern Hall alone.”

Those two disciples dazedly opened their mouths and mechanically repeated: “Tonight, by the order of Elder Huazhen, Senior Brother Baishu came to the Floating Lantern Hall to keep night watch together with us two…”

Wei Xun had no interest in listening to them repeat it. He put away the token, brushed straight past the two of them, and stepped into the Floating Lantern Hall.

Jiang Qunyu didn’t expect that besides being able to trap people in a Domain, Wei Xun’s eyes also had a hypnotic effect. He asked in confusion, “If you tell them this, will they truly forget what happened tonight by tomorrow?”
“I don’t know.” Wei Xun said expressionlessly: “It’s my first time using it too.”

“…” Jiang Qunyu choked. “Then why were you acting so calm?!”
Wei Xun sneered lightly, a hint of mockery hidden in the depths of his eyes.
“Could it be I have to be like you, wishing the whole world knew I was running for my life, and even going in to set a fire before leaving?”

Jiang Qunyu: “So can we set one?”
Wei Xun shot him a cold glance: “No, the timing isn’t right. If we set a fire now, neither you nor I will walk out of the Lingxiao Sect.”

“Then what were you saying ‘can’t’ for?” Jiang Qunyu rolled his eyes and complained.
Wei Xun turned his head to look at him, his gaze falling on him, and a wicked smile spread across the corners of his mouth: “Naturally, to tease a fool.”
Jiang Qunyu glared at him fiercely, but he didn’t really want to argue with him right now, so he pursed his lips and stopped talking.

When Wei Xun pushed open the main doors of the Floating Lantern Hall, Jiang Qunyu followed him in.
The sight before his eyes instantly made his scalp tingle and shook his heart.
He had never seen so many lamps.

Hundreds upon thousands of soul lamps, one next to another, stacked up layer upon layer.
The palatial hall was built extremely high; the soul lamps were actually stacked a full twenty layers high. The top three layers were a gloomy, cold blue, while the seventeen layers below were all scarlet flames.

The wind from pushing the doors poured in, and the flames of all the soul lamps swayed gently.
The cold desolation of the blue and the demonic allure of the red illuminated the entire palatial hall with flickering light and shadow.

Jiang Qunyu suppressed the shock in his heart and asked curiously, “Why is the color of the lamps at the very top different from the ones below?”
Wei Xun gave a light chuckle: “Why should I tell you?”

Jiang Qunyu: “…”
This despicable man.

If it were a normal day, he would definitely say “if you don’t want to tell me, then don’t,” but today he was truly too curious, so as a great man who can bend and stretch, he yielded: “Young Master, can you stop throwing a tantrum?”

“If you spout nonsense from your mouth again, I will kill you first,” Wei Xun’s face instantly sank, and he said sinisterly.
Jiang Qunyu curled his lips: “Troublemaker, then can you tell me now?”

“Tomorrow you will get on my body.” Wei Xun faintly threw out his condition.
Jiang Qunyu secretly ground his teeth: “Aren’t we supposed to run for our lives tomorrow? You’re not afraid I’ll possess your body and we’ll end up dying together.”

Wei Xun said half-truthfully: “If I die, dragging you along on the road to the underworld wouldn’t be a bad thing either.”
Jiang Qunyu hurriedly shook his head, looking disgusted: “Then forget it, I find dying together with you unlucky.”

“Alright then.” Wei Xun sighed as if in regret, hooking his lips lightly as he said: “The soul lamps at the very top…”
Jiang Qunyu instantly became alert, hurriedly raising his hands to cover his ears and taking a large step back, shouting loudly: “I’m not listening!”

Wei Xun, however, leaned in intentionally, harboring bad intentions.
His warm breath brushed against the rim of Jiang Qunyu’s ear, his thin lips parting slightly, keeping his voice low as he finished his sentence.
“You heard it. I said, the soul lamps at the very top are lit for people who have already died, while the lamps below are lit for the living.”

Jiang Qunyu pulled a long, dark face: “Wei Xun, fuck your uncle.”

Wei Xun suddenly clutched his stomach and laughed out loud, even the corners of his eyes seeping a bit of moisture.
He laughed for a while, pulling away Jiang Qunyu’s hands that were covering his ears in a self-deceiving manner, feeling very pleased: “Tomorrow, the body is yours.”

“Can I decline?” Jiang Qunyu asked genuinely.
This dumbass was definitely secretly plotting something.

“No, you can’t.” Wei Xun said.
Jiang Qunyu had no choice but to compromise, pulling the topic back to what they were just discussing: “Why light lamps for dead people? If they’re dead, they can’t live again, right?”

“Who knows.” Wei Xun’s tone suddenly became tinged with a bit of sarcasm, his gaze sweeping over the soul lamps inside the hall.
“Perhaps it’s just for some illusory delusions. Praying for a good reincarnation, or having done something against their conscience, afraid the dead will come back for revenge, so lighting a lamp to seek peace of mind.”

“Just praying for reincarnation?” Jiang Qunyu asked.
He saw Wei Xun stop in front of a gloomy blue soul lamp. Underneath that soul lamp were written the two words “Lin Qing.” On the other side was a soul lamp that had already extinguished, and beneath that lamp, was Wei Xun’s name.

A cool, thin smile spread across Wei Xun’s lips.
“Actually, there is also a way to bring them back to life. I heard there is a Hall of Eternal Life in the Ghost Realm, but no one knows where it is. It is said that as long as one is sincere enough and can light a soul-returning lamp inside the hall, the person written on the lamp can not only reincarnate but also resurrect.”

Jiang Qunyu was stunned and blurted out: “If the person is already dead, how could they possibly resurrect?”
Wei Xun didn’t care at all, the sarcasm in his laughter growing even stronger: “So it’s just hearsay. At the very least, I have never seen anyone stupid enough to believe such illusory words.”

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