After pouring a large mouthful of wine into his mouth, he suddenly grinned and said, "Born as a human, you should cultivate yourself, help others, be like water, and do good while dwelling in the evil abyss… Well said."

 

After saying this to himself, he poured another mouthful of wine into his mouth, then wiped the corners of his mouth with his ragged sleeve and continued muttering, "I never expected that after many years, I would hear these words from an unnamed outer disciple. It's really ridiculous, so ridiculous!"

 

After saying this, he yawned and then looked in the direction of the Green Bamboo Residence, his tone suddenly becoming extremely cold as he said, "Doing good while dwelling in the evil abyss. If this is your Dao heart, then show me your means of protecting the Dao. I, Jiangu, detest those who boast without the ability to back it up!"

 

…

 

Nine days later, at dusk.

 

Yanglu Mountain, Purple Bamboo Forest.

 

"Bang!"

 

Xu Taiping used the "Green Bull Rams the Mountain" technique to send a demonic wolf flying backwards.

 

But soon, two more demonic wolves pounced on Xu Taiping from behind.

 

"My True Qi is almost depleted, looks like I have to go back."

 

Xu Taiping looked somewhat unwillingly towards the depths of the bamboo forest.

 

In the depths of the purple bamboo forest, a decaying corpse ghost was wielding a large axe, vigorously hacking at a rock on the ground.

 

Underneath this rock was the spring that flowed into the Green Bamboo Residence. If the rock covering the spring was split open and blocked, the water flow to the Green Bamboo Residence would be cut off. Not only would the spirit grass in the medicinal garden wither, but even the barrier of the Green Bamboo Residence might fail.

 

"Bang!"

 

At this moment, the corpse ghost struck the rock again, creating a ripple of spiritual power and countless flying stone chips.

 

This blow caused the runic stone to crack open.

 

"Little guy, you can still back out now!"

 

The corpse ghost turned its head and looked at Xu Taiping with a terrifying smile.

 

Undoubtedly, this corpse ghost was the new body possessed by the evil ghost.

 

"The victor is still unknown!"

 

As Xu Taiping spoke, he activated the True Qi in his body and used the "Bull Charges the Formation" technique.

 

With a sound like a bull's roar, the demonic wolves that pounced on him were smashed away by the sudden appearance of several fist shadows, howling in pain.

 

"Swoosh!"

 

Taking advantage of the retreat of the demonic wolves, Xu Taiping agilely grabbed a piece of purple bamboo and leaped out of the encirclement of the demonic wolves.

 

"If you can't even handle a few demonic wolves, how do you plan to stop me from cutting off the water source? Keep hiding, keep hiding. In a few days, I'll see where you can hide!"

 

Watching Xu Taiping escape, the evil ghost's face revealed a stiff smile.

 

Since discovering that the water source spring was in the purple bamboo forest, Xu Taiping had already tried to stop the evil ghost from doing so several times in the past nine days, but he had been defeated every time, which made the evil ghost even more complacent.

 

…

 

Back at the Green Bamboo Residence.

 

"Splash…"

 

Xu Taiping poured a basin of cold water from the water tank over himself, washing away all the sweat and dirt.

 

After doing all this, he quickly dried himself off, changed into clean clothes, and walked into the bedroom, sitting down at a simple desk he had made for himself.

 

"The fifth failed ambush on the evil ghost. This time, I used about sixty percent of my strength, which is ten percent less than last time, and the evil ghost didn't notice anything unusual. I've also figured out the weaknesses of the three demonic wolves. The one with a scar on its eye has a wound on its hind leg, and the smallest one has an injured eye, making its reaction slower than the other two…"

 

Xu Taiping wrote down the insights gained from this ambush.

 

In these five attempts, especially the last two, he actually had the opportunity to kill the three demonic wolves, but in order to confuse the evil ghost and avoid getting injured before the final battle with the evil ghost, he deliberately held back.

 

"I've tested it five times in a row. The evil ghost should already think that this is my full strength. Next, I just need to work on improving my skills, preferably to the point where I can advance the residual glow technique to the Frozen Period."

 

Xu Taiping put down his pen, silently contemplating for a moment, then sat down on the edge of the bed.

 

After advancing the residual glow technique to the Frozen Period, not only would the protective power of the residual glow Qi greatly increase, but it would also allow the residual glow True Qi to condense into ice.

 

"If I break through to the Frozen Period, I can seal the several jars of wine I bought in ice, and the evil ghost definitely won't notice."

 

He looked at the jars of strong liquor placed on the bedside.

 

Although the people of the West Wind Pavilion turned a blind eye to the evil ghost, when Xu Taiping wanted to buy something, they would still send spirit birds to deliver it.

 

Unfortunately, the spirit birds that delivered the goods these few times were not Baihong, and they were all very indifferent. Otherwise, Xu Taiping could have asked them for help.

 

"Don't always rely on others. Sister Linglong said it herself, as an unnamed outer disciple at the foot of this mountain, the only one you can rely on is yourself."

 

Xu Taiping shook his head to clear his mind.

 

Then he directly popped a soybean-sized spirit crystal into his mouth and began to try to elevate the residual glow True Qi in his body to the Frozen Period.

 

…

 

In the blink of an eye, three more days had passed.

 

During these days, Xu Taiping had almost been practicing the residual glow technique without eating or drinking, and even when the water source in the garden had been cut off, he hadn't wavered at all, as if he had entered a state of forgetfulness.

 

"Little guy, come out and meet your death!"

 

This afternoon, the evil ghost arrived once again at the door of the Green Bamboo Residence, accompanied by three demonic wolves.

 

Although Xu Taiping's interference had delayed him for a few days, the evil ghost had finally completely blocked the spring in the purple bamboo forest on this day.

 

"Bang!"

 

Seeing no response from inside the house, the evil ghost leaped down from the demonic wolves and then fiercely chopped at the door of the Green Bamboo Residence with a chilling ghostly aura.

 

"Boom!"

 

Although the barrier around the Green Bamboo Residence had not completely dissipated, its power had diminished significantly, no longer capable of harming the evil ghost as it had before.

 

"The power of the barrier is indeed weakening."

 

A sinister smile appeared on the evil ghost's face.

 

"Little guy, I will guard this place tonight. When the barrier completely dissipates, it will be your time of death. I will make you taste what it means to be unable to seek life or death!"

 

He stood at the door of the Green Bamboo Residence, laughing loudly.Just at this moment, Xu Taiping, who had been cultivating continuously for several days in his bedroom, opened his eyes.

 

As his eyes opened, the grey-white mist that had been swirling around him suddenly condensed into ice, freezing a large chunk of the bed beneath him.

 

"Condensing Qi into ice, I've broken through to the Frost Formation stage!"

 

Xu Taiping looked at the ice crystals dancing around him, his eyes brimming with excitement.

 

Having broken through to the Frost Formation stage of the Remnant Sunset Technique, he was now qualified to attempt the Opening Realm.

 

What's more, with this body of Remnant Sunset's Frost Guarding True Qi, his odds of victory against the Evil Ghost would undoubtedly increase.