Aspiring to the Immortal Path

A major battle had just concluded.

As the victors, the ghost soldiers of the Ghost March Ship were busy moving the goods from the enemy ship onto their own.

Tang Jie sat on his bone throne, a hand propping up his chin as if he was waiting, or thinking.

"Master." The ghost eagle came over carrying a box and prostrated before Tang Jie. "All the goods have been collected and accounted for. There were two sets of Shadow Bones, one bottle of Corpse Extract, three Phantom Jellyfish…"

In the Ghost Dao sects of the mortal plane, any one of these would have been a rare treasure, and even non-Ghost-Dao sects would have had a use for them. Shadow Bones could be used to create an ultimate-grade Ghost Guard, Corpse Extract could ensure that a corpse would not decay for a thousand years, and Phantom Jellyfish could be refined into special medicines. There were other rare and special treasures besides, but Tang Jie simply listened without comment.

By the end, he was even yawning in boredom.

While these were excellent treasures, in the Nether Domain, they were rather mediocre. Tang Jie had loosted so much in these past few days that his initial surprise and excitement had degenerated into numbness and disdain.

"Is there nothing else? Like Severing Hooks," Tang Jie lazily asked.

The ghost eagle helplessly smiled. "Severing Hooks are the children of Reincarnation and not so easy to obtain."

It was impossible for the Severing Hook to not appear. It was just that the Nine Nethers River was too large, so some luck was required.

Tang Jie's luck wasn't that good. After floating about the Nine Nethers River for so many days, he had only found a pile of "Nether Domain local specialties", with not a single real treasure.

Tang Jie was at a loss for what to do.

Over the last few days, he had been studying the black grain in his Sea of Cognition and finding it to be even more amazing than he had first thought. Moreover, it had some sort of connection with the Weapon Mantra and seemed to be trying to say something, though Tang Jie couldn't figure out what.

He was frustrated, but he could only get some more Severing Hooks and shatter them in order to strengthen that connection.

Severing Hooks were the children of Reincarnation, the valued weapons of the various cities and the foundation of prosperity. If the city lords knew that Tang Jie was going to such great lengths to find Severing Hooks just to shatter, they probably would have flayed him alive.

"If it's really no good, there's also…" The ghost eagle stopped midway as he shot a glance at Tang Jie.

Tang Jie knew what it meant. "You're talking about refining?"

The ghost eagle hastily said, "This subordinate did not mean that. I'm saying that if another ghost master was attempting refining, we can profit from their efforts."

He knew of Tang Jie's identity and naturally didn't dare to advise Tang Jie to kill other humans to refine them. But if Tang Jie was so desperate to get Severing Hooks, seizing the Severing Hooks refined by other ghost masters was plausible.

Tang Jie's face turned harsh. "Never bring that up again! On the day of the Nine Nethers eruption, we have to do everything we can to stop the refining formations. Is the task I gave you complete?"

The ghost eagle replied, "Master, we still lack Shadecorpse Grass and Chillmoon Pearls."

"Then keep up the attacks! Don't stop until you find them!" Tang Jie commanded.

The ghost eagle shivered and withdrew.

While it was much stronger than Tang Jie, it didn't dare to think of betrayal in front of him.

The descent of the avatar had left some trauma on its soul, but there was also the fact that in this time, it had seen Tang Jie easily defeat foe after foe, which had inspired some sincere admiration.

The Life Flame could only control its life, not its mind, but after seeing Tang Jie's prowess, it no longer had a desire to rebel.

As Tang Jie began to wonder what to do next, his Sea of Cognition was suddenly thrown into turmoil.

A strange feeling welled up within him.

At first, Tang Jie didn't know where this feeling was coming from, but he soon discovered that the black grain in his Sea of Cognition was trembling and sending out strange waves that sent ripples through his mind.

This was…

Tang Jie sat up in alarm.

As he examined those ripples, a scene formed in his mind.

It was a place of dark yellow waters, haunted by countless ghosts, and he was sinking down into the waters.

As he descended, he saw something gleaming in the water. Alas, no matter how much he focused his vision, he couldn't make out what it was. All he managed to do was blind himself with its light.

Tang Jie saw light erupt from the depths, and then this light began to ascend.

Tang Jie looked over, and as that light ascended, Tang Jie almost cried out.

A Severing Hook!

Wasn't that a Severing Hook?

That curved scythe blade was somewhat different from the scythe Tang Jie had shattered before, but it emanated the same energy that could decide life and death.

Other than the Severing Hook Scythe, Tang Jie saw a Cudgel of Lament, a Banner of Hanging Souls, Soul Shackles, and a Yin Yang Cleaver, all of them exuding the same kind of energy. They floated up to the surface and then spread apart, fading into the distance…

Tang Jie suddenly realized what was happening.

This was the Blade of Reincarnation creating the Severing Hooks.

Yes, all of those weapons were Severing Hooks. While their outer forms were different, their essences were the same, and the different forms of the Severing Hooks would create different kinds of ghost emissaries. For example, The Severing Hook Scythe created Nether Attendants while the Cudgel of Lament created Black and White Impermanences. The Nether Domain was vast, and the realm of the Death God was all-encompassing, so the weapons of death also came in all shapes and sizes.

They were the Severing Hooks, the children of Reincarnation, the weapons of the Death God.

As for Tang Jie not finding any Severing Hooks despite all the time he had spent, it wasn't because his luck had been bad, but because it was only now that the Death God weapons had emerged. They floated from the Blade of Reincarnation's location up to the surface of the Nine Nethers River.

What surprised Tang Jie the most was that the black grain could sense the existence of the Severing Hooks. Didn't this mean that he could use the black grain to quickly find them?

With this thought in mind, Tang Jie began to attempt to lock onto the Death God weapons.

These Death God weapons swam through the waters, using the spatial attributes of the Nine Nethers River to constantly move around, so it was impossible for them to be in the same location. Tang Jie could only seek out the one closest to him.

Finally, he locked onto a set of Soul Shackles.

This was a long black chain that seemed ordinary if not for the Reincarnation energy it exuded. It was set to emerge somewhere behind him, not too far away.

Excited, Tang Jie shouted, "Turn the ship around and set sail!"

"But, Master, we haven't finished searching this ship," the ghost eagle replied.

"Save it for later! We need to go!" Tang Jie opened the Void Stone and sent the ghost ship through.

The Ghost March Ship swiftly turned around and began to go in the direction Tang Jie indicated, and Tang Jie relied on the sensation from the black grain. But he quickly found out that using the black grain in this way would also consume it.

As time passed, the black grain in his Sea of Cognition began to shrink.

It shrank without the slightest indication, and if Tang Jie weren't so certain about the amount of black grain in his Sea of Cognition, he might not have even noticed.

Tang Jie could sense some eerie power at work behind this shrinking. At the same time, he could only sigh over the fact that the black grain could not be recklessly used. In the future, he could only use the black grain to momentarily point to a position. Constantly using it to guide him wasn't something he could afford.

Fortunately, this Death God weapon wasn't far, and Tang Jie used the black grain to quickly find the region it was in.

There wasn't another ship for fifty kilometers around, and he could see a black streak in the distance.

Tang Jie knew the moment he saw it that it was a Death God weapon, and he ordered his ship to approach. As he got closer, he saw that the Soul Shackles were floating on the surface.

Tang Jie reached for it, and as it entered his hand, he found it cold to the touch and extremely heavy, which made him wonder how it had floated to the surface.

Tang Jie was elated to have gotten his hands on a Death God weapon so easily.

The Soul Shackles suddenly began to morph, taking on the appearance of the Severing Hook Scythe. Tang Jie was startled at first, but then he realized that the Death God weapon changed its appearance according to the one holding it. The previous form had only been temporary, and it was only now that it had an owner that it assumed its final form.

As Tang Jie was wearing a Yaksha's skin, the Death God weapon had assumed the form of a Severing Hook Scythe. If he had been wearing the skin of a Yama or Impermanence, it would have become a Cudgel of Lament.

But for Tang Jie, its form was irrelevant.

Tang Jie thrust out his finger, and this child of Reincarnation, weapon of a Death God, shattered.

As this weapon shattered, a black grain flew into the air and was guided by his Spirit Will into his Sea of Cognition.

Another piece appeared next to his much-diminished original black grain, and the two merged together.

The ghost soldiers and ghost generals on the ship had all been granted intelligence, and they were all dumbfounded by this sight. Even the ghost eagle was gobsmacked.

They were still celebrating finding a Death God weapon, but then it was gone.

Had they gone through all the trouble of finding this treasure just to destroy it?

Tang Jie slapped his head and said, "A mistake."

All the ghosts thought he was saying that he shouldn't have destroyed the Severing Hook, but he instead said, "Isn't it said that the Severing Hook can be used to raise a Nether Attendant? I should have tested it first before shattering it."

The ghosts almost fainted.

Tang Jie sighed. "Forget it. Let's get another one first."

He pointed ahead. "That way."

A little bit of the black grain in his Sea of Cognition disappeared as he locked onto the location of another Death God weapon.