Amateur Difficulty Who Do You Think You're Looking Down On

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.