Chapter Sixty: The Ghostly Car of Red River's White Night

Within the ancient celestial pouch, there were not many items, and they fell into a few distinct categories.

Among them were four books—three rather thick, one slightly thinner.

The first was a cultivation manual from the Beast Tamer Sect, considered orthodox in nature. The second was also a method of cultivation, but one of dark arts: slaying men to seize their souls, refining their blood to bolster one’s own practice—a path of wickedness. The last thick volume detailed the techniques of crafting blood pills and refining pelts. It described various methods depending on the type of pelt—be it from birds, beasts, or even human skin. Though the general procedure remained consistent, subtle differences existed for each kind.

The thinner book was the personal journal of the surviving disciple of the Beast Tamer Sect. In it, he recorded his cultivation dilemmas and the solutions he later discovered, interspersed with occasional mundane observations.

Qingyuan flipped through several pages, glanced over them, exhaled, and muttered under his breath, “In just a few pages of records, so many innocent children were killed. Death was too gentle a fate for him.”

“Come to think of it, the inheritance he received seems scant—only three volumes of the Beast Tamer Sect’s canon are true legacies.”

“He mastered the technique of transforming man into beast. If he’d possessed the combat arts and profound martial techniques of the old Beast Tamer Sect, he would’ve been a formidable foe indeed.”

His gaze shifted to a pile of objects beside him.

There lay the pelts of many fierce birds and savage beasts, most of whom had attained spirit, likely slain by the Beast Tamer Sect’s remnant, leading a pack of ferocious wolves. Their hides had been flayed but not yet refined.

As for the flesh and blood, perhaps they had already been used to make blood pills.

Once these pelts were properly refined, one could ingest the blood pills and don the hides to assume the form of each beast.

He counted them one by one—astonishingly, there were over a hundred pelts. At the bottom were several human skins, about ten in number, two of which bore clear patterns and retained a faint aura—likely possessing internal energy in life.

Turning further, he found some miscellaneous items.

He opened the remnant’s journal and discovered these sundries had been acquired through chance or by murder. Their diverse forms rendered their use unclear to the Beast Tamer Sect’s survivor, but they seemed extraordinary, so he kept them together.

Apart from these, there was one object in the ancient celestial pouch that greatly surprised Qingyuan.

It was a cart, dull gray in color, scarcely two feet in length—so small it could only be considered a child’s plaything.

It resembled a carriage, yet had no horse at its front, nor any canopy above.

“What is this?” Qingyuan mused with curiosity. Its delicate craftsmanship and diminutive size were intriguing. He thumbed through the journal, finding nothing in the first or last pages. Still curious, he searched the middle and finally found an entry about it—his face instantly darkened.

The Red River White Night Yin-Spirit Carriage.

This was an evil artifact.

Years ago, after the Beast Tamer Sect widely spread the murderous, soul-cultivating dark arts, some of their more gifted members, emboldened by the lack of restraint, pushed these arts further, inventing even more sinister techniques.

This particular method required a girl, born in a yin year, month, and hour, whose bones would be harvested to form the carriage, her blood poured over it, and her soul bound within.

To craft this vile object, one needed cultivation beyond the mortal realm—at least at the Fourth Heaven. To wield it required at least the Third Heaven, with a fully formed will and magical power.

It was said that if this artifact was restored to perfection, and commanded by a true master, it could even shatter a mountain with its full might.

The Beast Tamer Sect survivor, however, possessed only a fragmentary inheritance and lacked sufficient talent, never breaking through to the Third Heaven—thus he could not wield the Red River White Night Yin-Spirit Carriage.

Qingyuan read on, uncovering its origins.

When the Beast Tamer Sect was destroyed by divine wrath, annihilated by celestial tribulation, the sect was wiped out. This carriage had once belonged to a sect elder—a cultivator of great attainment. In battle, he wielded this treasure, but it was sundered by a single blade; both man and carriage were destroyed.

Later, when the sect’s remnant returned to the mountain, he found the shattered carriage. Upon closer inspection, he was shocked and delighted—astonished that such a supreme treasure could be split by a single stroke, yet pleased that it was not wholly destroyed and might be restored.

In the years that followed, as he cultivated and strove to reach the Third Heaven, he also sought out girls born in the yin year, month, and hour, in efforts to repair the Red River White Night Carriage.

For this purpose, he even mastered a peculiar art of augury, with which he could discern people’s ages, bones, and dates of birth.

“This wicked thing…”

Qingyuan drew it from the ancient celestial pouch. As he held it in his palm, the mountains and forests around him were suddenly swept by a chill wind, seeping into the bones and making the flesh crawl.

He raised his hand, true energy surging, prepared to shatter the thing with a single blow.

Yet, he hesitated.

“My abilities are meager. Once I reach the Third Heaven, I could wield this evil artifact—it would serve as a formidable weapon.”

Among the disciples of the Purple Dawn Palace, few were overly rigid, unlike certain orthodox sects descended from the Grand Tao Patriarch.

Since this evil thing had already been made, destroying it would not bring back the dead children. Used against an enemy, it might at least serve some purpose.

Such artifacts could easily corrupt the soul, but so long as it was sealed within the ancient celestial pouch, its aura would not seep out—there was no need to worry.

“Though this thing is evil, my heart need not be so…”

He stowed the Red River White Night Yin-Spirit Carriage away, then tore from the journal every page detailing its creation or repair, reducing them to ashes with a wave of his hand.

He did not mind employing this completed artifact in battle, but he would never murder innocents or harvest souls and blood to mend it, nor would he ever craft a new one. Since the methods for repair and forging were useless to him, there was no point in keeping them, lest they fall into another’s hands and bring disaster.

“That Beast Tamer Sect remnant, though not highly skilled, at least managed to restore this shattered object to a usable state. Once I reach the Third Heaven, it will serve well against foes…”

Qingyuan mused in silence, thinking, “But it is, after all, damaged. I fear that once it is used, it may be destroyed entirely. Being a fragment, its power must be a hundredth of what it once was.”

Yet, even in its broken state, it remained a treasure of the highest order; even a fraction of its original might was extraordinary.

As he was still examining it, Gu Cang returned.

Bounding nimbly through the mountains, Gu Cang reported, “Master… That evil wolf was gravely injured but managed to cross the river ahead…”

His furry face furrowed as he added, “The whole river ran red with blood; there was no trail to follow.”

Qingyuan shook his head slightly. “If there’s no trail, let it go.”

Gu Cang asked, “What’s our next move?”

Qingyuan deliberated. “We’ll return to Shu and visit Mingyuan Daoist Temple to consult Master Shuiyuan. If that fails, we’ll go to Yuangjing City and seek Bai Jiye. If those paths are blocked, we’ll think again.”

Gu Cang, ever obedient, nodded and followed at his side.

As Qingyuan was tying the pouch with a dragon sinew cord, he noticed among the miscellaneous items an unremarkable object.

“This is…”

It was a bronze disk.

Upon it were engraved the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, as well as the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.

At the top was an engraved symbol.

And at the bottom, two characters:

Yan Family.