After a brief exploration, Zhong Yi figured out the purpose of the small house.
Here, one could purchase magical artifacts, inquire about ghostly entities, and adjust settings.
The artifacts section was filled with what appeared to be low-tier folk tools.
For example, a finger-chill needle for measuring temperature, warding copper coins to repel spirits, and exorcism incense to disperse ghosts…
"Many items are still locked. Seems like I need to level up first."
Zhong Yi skimmed through the list and immediately sensed that this illusionary realm was anything but ordinary.
The basic information on ghosts included various descriptive traits.
Some spirits haunted locations with bone-chilling cold;
Others left footprints on salt, while some were accompanied by barely visible ghostly flames…
These characteristics perfectly matched the tools available in the shop.
Clearly, this was a unique new gameplay mechanic.
It likely involved elements of deduction!
And this was Zhong Yi’s forte.
Without delay, Zhong Yi gathered his team, pulling the other three into his squad, and started the first round of the game.
A system prompt from the illusionary realm appeared:
【You are investigators from a renowned folk ghost-hunting team, specializing in gathering and analyzing details of supernatural incidents.】
【A nearby town is plagued by malevolent hauntings…】
【Use your knowledge of spirits and the tools at hand to collect as much information as possible and identify the type of evil entity.】
【Map: Haunted House】
【Current Difficulty: Amateur (Remaining Attempts: 5)】
【The evil entity will not initiate hunting within the first five minutes.】
【Friendly Reminder: Stay away from darkness and maintain your sanity.】
"What’s this? Amateur difficulty? Zhong Yi, who do you take us for?"
Zhou Yue immediately voiced his displeasure.
As a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, why should he bother with amateur-level ghost hunting?
"I didn’t choose it. The default setting is amateur," Zhong Yi shrugged helplessly.
"Amateur it is, then. And they even remind us we only have five tries… As if we care!"
Zhou Yue scoffed, rolling his eyes.
He glanced around.
The five of them appeared inside a large carriage.
The walls were adorned with an array of shabby-looking folk artifacts.
Zhou Qiaoling had already crouched in front of them, examining each one intently.
"Wow, rare to see Junior Sister Zhou taking the initiative to explore the rules?"
Zhong Yi felt a flicker of relief.
"She’s not exploring anything! She’s just looking for valuables to pocket first…"
Zhou Yue’s lips twitched as he mercilessly exposed her.
"This is strange…"
Unfazed by the accusation, Zhou Qiaoling muttered to herself, frowning.
Zhong Yi: "What’s strange?"
"Here…"
Her expression was full of confusion.
"There’s not a single artifact that can harm ghosts… not one!"
Hearing this, the others quickly scanned the items.
For this beginner round, the system had provided them with a batch of free basic tools.
But no matter how hard they looked, none seemed combat-ready.
Not even a basic peachwood sword…
The only remotely useful items were the copper coins and exorcism incense.
But both were single-use, meant only to block ghostly attacks…
"So that means…"
Zhong Yi stroked his chin, deep in thought.
"We can only defend against ghosts, not fight back?"
"Hmph! What about our cultivation? Surely we still have some spiritual energy!"
Zhou Yue snorted and immediately tried channeling his internal energy.
But reality struck—
His body felt hollow, completely drained.
Zhou Yue was stunned.
He instantly understood Lu Ze’s intention.
No cultivation, no weapons…
Against ghosts, their only option was to flee or perish.
"Luckily… this illusionary realm doesn’t require us to capture or kill ghosts, just identify their type."
Zhong Yi turned to the other side of the carriage and exhaled in relief.
A special cyan stone slab displayed several lines of text:
【Optional objectives for this mission:】
【1. Confirm the type of evil entity】
【2. Use warding copper coins to block one hunting attempt】
【3. Lower sanity to below 25】
【4. Have one team member witness a paranormal event】
Beside the slab was a voice-transmitting jade slip, its message clear: the more objectives completed, the greater the rewards.
Clearly, this was not a combat-oriented illusionary realm where one fought ghosts head-on.
Instead, it was a battle of wits—using tools to gather clues and deduce identities.
"Ugh! Lu Ze the Demon really is up to no good!!"
Zhou Qiaoling gnashed her teeth in frustration.
Upon realizing they had no cultivation or weapons, she instinctively retreated to the center of the group, wary of being targeted by ghosts.
"Hah! Mere ghosts, nothing to fear!"
Mu Yawen, however, brimmed with confidence.
"I possess the Pure Yang Spirit Body—my soul is blazing with yang energy! Let’s see which ghost dares come near me! They’ll burn to ashes… Hahahaha!"
With that, Mu Yawen leaped off the carriage and strode boldly toward the haunted house.
The moment his feet touched the ground, he shivered.
"Brr, it’s freezing!"
He glanced around.
It was dusk, the sky gradually darkening.
Despite the summer scenery, an inexplicable chill hung in the air.
Zhong Yi and the others each picked a few tools and followed him out.
"Whoa, a Piercing Heart Sha combined with Solitary Yin Sha? This is definitely a haunted house."
Zhong Yi stood at the entrance, surveying the surroundings.
The road’s direct alignment with the front door, which then led straight to the back window, instantly revealed the ominous feng shui.
"The bedroom is probably positioned in a cursed spot too."
Zhou Yue, who knew a thing or two about feng shui, nodded in agreement.
The oppressive atmosphere, the eerie color palette, the sinister feng shui…
Yet none of them felt fear.
This was the world of cultivation.
Most of them had encountered real ghosts, malevolent spirits, and cursed locations in their lives.
Translated into this illusionary realm, it wasn’t nearly as terrifying as it might have been in their past lives.
Meanwhile, as Zhong Yi and Zhou Yue began streaming, more and more cultivators tuned in to watch.
【Is Lu Ze out of his mind? Does he really think some cheap feng shui and spooky visuals can scare us?】
【You’re facing a Nascent Soul cultivator here!】
【This is supposed to make us cry?】
【Senior Brother Zhong, show that demon what players are made of!】
【I can’t imagine how a Nascent Soul cultivator could possibly be frightened by ghosts】
"Come on, Zhong Yi! Let’s speedrun this illusionary realm. I still need to climb the rankings later!"
Zhou Yue impatiently followed Mu Yawen into the haunted house.
At the rear of the group, Zhong Yi lingered at the entrance, his gaze fixed on the bottom-right corner of his vision.
There, a special indicator read:
【Sanity: 100】
"Strange…"
"What exactly does ‘sanity’ represent?"
Zhong Yi recalled that both the rules and mission objectives mentioned it.
Just then.
A cold evening breeze swept past, rustling the locust tree outside.
His sanity dropped from 100 to 99.
The night seemed to grow darker.
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
