Advancing to the Nascent Soul Stage

In the western region of Xianyuan Continent, within the Ten Thousand Ghosts Cave.

"The Nine Nether Heavenly Venerable... that useless old fool, I heard he’s been exposed?"

"So what? The [Ghost Immortal]’s demonic embryo is already complete. That waste is irrelevant now."

"True... consider it the righteous faction doing us a favor by taking care of him."

"Hehehe... with the [Ghost Immortal] in our hands, all beneath the Refining Void Realm are mere ants... The day of the demonic path’s rise is upon us!"

...

Above a massive ancient tomb, a group of minor demonic sect leaders were grandly discussing their ambitions.

Thanks to an ancient malevolent artifact they had stumbled upon, combined with the Nine Nether Heavenly Venerable’s guidance, they had successfully created a horde of powerful evil spirits—the recent "Ghost Calamity" that had thrown the land into chaos.

The terrifying strength of these spirits lay in their ability to bypass a cultivator’s spiritual defenses, directly attacking the mind, instilling fear and sapping their will to fight.

Now, with the emergence of a Ghost King, even a Nascent Soul cultivator would become nothing more than fodder for these malevolent entities!

If this continued, the [Ghost Immortal]’s power would only grow stronger.

Given enough time, they might even wipe out the righteous factions entirely!

The thought filled them with exhilaration.

Originally, their plan had been to collaborate with the Nine Nether Heavenly Venerable, pretending to teach righteous disciples how to counter ghostly threats.

They would then arrange a joint examination for the five great sects, sending the disciples into a prearranged barrier.

There, the demonic path’s pre-placed [Ghost Immortal] would devour them all, fueling its evolution...

"Pity that useless old man got exposed."

"What’s there to fear? The [Ghost Immortal] is complete. Let’s find a Nascent Soul cultivator right now to celebrate its birth!"

"What about the intel the Nine Nether old fool sent earlier about the Lingxiao Sect?"

"Oh? There’s someone named Zhou Yue who’s coming to Xianyuan Continent for disaster relief soon..."

...

...

Seven days later.

Lingxiao Sect, Hall of Nurtured Spirits.

"...Elder Zhao, that’s everything I encountered in Xianyuan Continent."

Zhou Yue held a black, embryo-like evil entity in one hand and dragged a group of bound demonic cultivators with the other as he reported to Zhao Wendao.

"So this is the source of the Ghost Calamity? But I heard... it ignores spiritual energy and directly affects the mind?"

Zhao Wendao pinched his chin, deep in thought.

"Ignore spiritual energy? Affect the mind? Oh... I did feel a slight chill down my spine? Hmm, about the same as when your sanity drops to 85 in Phantomville?"

Zhou Yue paused, then turned his head as if recalling before concluding.

What mind-ignoring attack?

All he remembered was the black creature called the [Ghost Immortal] giggling foolishly while he felt only a slight coldness.

When he first heard the name [Ghost Immortal], his expression had darkened, fearing it might be on the level of a "Ghost Buddha." He hadn’t held back, striking with full force immediately.

And then... he slapped it to death in one hit.

"Ho! So that rebellious disciple’s illusionary realm actually has this effect?"

Nangong Yuan puffed out his chest, preening with pride.

"Who would’ve thought... So Lu Ze really created that illusionary realm to counter the Ghost Calamity?"

Zhao Wendao stroked his beard, smiling thoughtfully.

"Zhong Yi, relay my orders... Every member of the sect, whether disciple or elder, must pass the [Nightmare] difficulty at least three times!"

...

...

As for this unexpected "surprise," Lu Ze’s reaction was simple: Perfect!

He hadn’t thought that far ahead—originally, he was just completing a system task.

But in hindsight, it made sense.

How could a mere [Ghost Immortal] compare to the supreme immortal formation gifted by the system?

Those who had played Phantomville were practically immune to the psychological terror of ghostly entities.

The mastermind behind the "Ghost Calamity" had been captured, but the evil spirits had already evolved.

So it wasn’t just the Lingxiao Sect—after learning that Zhou Yue was completely immune to the [Ghost Immortal]’s attacks, all major sects and even rogue cultivators sprang into action.

Phantomville instantly became an illusionary realm every cultivator had to experience.

From trembling in fear at first, cultivators soon grew accustomed to it.

As long as they avoided the [Ghost Immortal] difficulty, the other levels weren’t much scarier than the original Phasmophobia.

Just a bit more intense.

Before long, led by Zhong Yi and other strategy experts, guides emerged—methods to identify ghosts without evidence, kite spirits in open fields, and optimized clearing routes.

The players evolved rapidly.

During the recent Ghost Festival, Lu Ze launched a special event, temporarily removing the player limit per session.

The result? Over a hundred players crowded into a single haunted house.

They strutted with confidence, playing instruments, singing, sipping tea, and debating philosophy—turning the eerie atmosphere into a lively gathering.

Many joked that Phantomville had become Humanville...

...

...

For an illusionary realm like Phantomville, the demonic energy it generated for Lu Ze in such a short time was staggering.

Because in the beginning, cultivators were most susceptible to fear.

In just over a month, he had achieved what would’ve taken three months otherwise.

Now, the demonic energy was enough for Lu Ze to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm!

"Finally, Nascent Soul..."

After his quiet breakthrough, Lu Ze examined his inner self, testing the limits of his illusionary realm’s range with his divine sense.

Six thousand meters—three times farther than the Golden Core Realm’s two thousand.

"Only six thousand? No wonder treasures that enhance divine sense are so rare..."

Lu Ze clicked his tongue in disappointment.

If others heard him, they’d surely accuse him of humble-bragging.

After all, an illusionary realm’s range wasn’t the same as divine sense range.

When crafting a detailed, lifelike world, even some Nascent Soul cultivators struggled to maintain a six-thousand-meter illusionary realm!

But for Lu Ze, it still wasn’t enough.

Neither the MMORPGs—the pinnacle of online gaming—nor the large-scale battlefield games ideal for farming demonic energy could be contained within a mere six kilometers.

Even battle royale or survival games would feel cramped at this scale.

"Guess I’ll have to trim the maps and make do."

Lu Ze put away his illusionary tower and withdrew his divine sense, shrugging.

He couldn’t wait until the Nascent Soul Realm to start these projects.

If necessary, he’d release scaled-down versions—earning coins... no, demonic energy was the priority.

Just as he was about to embark on his grand plans, the communication jade slip beside him lit up.

To his surprise, the caller was none other than Chi Shengtian, the Grand Elder of the Tianxuan Sect.

Lu Ze smirked. Speak of the devil...

"Young friend Lu... Young friend Lu!"

"I’ve found it—the heavenly treasure that enhances divine sense, just as I promised!"