Building a sect from scratch.

Chapter 177 People Die and Become Ghosts
"Fuck!"

Everyone gasped in surprise. Then, disregarding Jin Cai's wishes, Bai Chenxue threw it directly into the Pot Heaven Space. Zhen Junzi, with a burst of strength from who knows where, picked up Bian Yuanzhi, who was only half a head shorter than him, and hoisted him onto his shoulder. He then used all his strength to ride the wind, leaping and bounding, occasionally flapping his wings as he ran out.

Bian Yuanzhi was so disoriented that he could barely speak: "Master, ah ah ah Father—I, ah ah ah, can run by myself—"

The group flew back along the path they had come from, while Shen Yun and Zhongzhou Jinli instinctively gripped their weapons tightly and stayed at the very back of the group to cover the rear.

The group flew for several minutes, almost in a panic, until the wasteland was gradually hidden by the surrounding trees. Only then did they stop and catch their breath.

Leaning against a thick tree, Jia Xiaoren gasped for breath as he asked, "What... what happened?"

Zhen Junzi collapsed to the ground with a thud, adjusting his position as he fell to ensure Bian Yuanzhi landed steadily on top of him. He groaned softly from the impact, and after a few seconds, asked in bewilderment, "Yeah! Why were we arguing just now? It's completely inexplicable?"

Zhongzhou Jinli couldn't help but complain, "I thought you two were really that unreliable!"

"Although Lao Jia isn't very reliable, I wouldn't do that kind of thing! Hmm... Could there have been some kind of debuff just now? I didn't see any!"

Zhen Junzi felt that his entire behavior and mindset had been very strange. He added, "Besides, isn't this just a game? Why can it control my emotions? This is too outrageous! Doesn't the government care?!"

Jia Xiaoren, who had finally caught his breath, couldn't help but retort after hearing his friend's words: "What do you mean I'm unreliable! Can't you speak properly! And what were you thinking just now? Why did you suddenly start barking like a dog?"

"Fuck it—okay, okay, I'll put up with it!"

Zhen Junzi took a deep breath after being rebuked, calmed himself down, and then said, "Let's report this situation to the game's official team first. If it really is a bug or some other problem, they might be able to compensate us with a few activation codes!"

Jia laughed and said, "You're dreaming! Maybe you're arguing with me because you're too naive! You just don't believe it! Besides, if you really had a problem, wouldn't this game be banned? And you'd have to pay for the activation code? Tsk! You may be ugly, but you're really dreaming!"

"You two, calm down! Stop talking nonsense!"

Bai Chenxue couldn't stand it any longer, so she raised her voice again to stop the two of them from having such a pointless conversation.

Jia Xiaoren: "..."

Zhen Junzi was a little more composed than Jia Xiaoren. He realized that something was definitely off between him and Jia Xiaoren today. He frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "It seems like something's definitely not right since the beginning. I feel very anxious, and my heart rate feels much faster than usual!"

Jia Xiaoren was shocked: "Oh no! Will this game really affect my health?"

"How can it be!"

Zhen Junzi said confidently, "This game is backed by our China. If there were any problems, how could we possibly be allowed to participate!"

"What if the flower grower didn't notice either?"

"Do you think all the big shots are as brain-dead as you, like they've had their brains burned by an iron?"

Bai Chenxue clapped her hands to attract their attention and said with a serious expression, "Alright! From now on, you two shut up! Until we figure out what's going on!"

Shen Yun added, "Yes, I've already submitted feedback, but I don't know how long it will take to get a response."

Bai Chenxue nodded and said, "If you've submitted it, then so be it. I've submitted mine too. Actually, it might just be their own problem. Anyway, they argue every day!"

Warninged by Bai Chenxue not to speak, Jia Xiaoren grumbled in dissatisfaction, "Uh-huh (I'm not making a sound)!" "Ignore him," Bai Chenxue scoffed dismissively, then said to the others, "Let's go back and ask for help first, see if there's any good way to deal with the ghosts... By the way! Sister, you just said 'it's all ghosts,' could you elaborate on what happened?"

The fear in Lin Muning's eyes faded somewhat, but her expression was still a little flustered. She swallowed and said, "Most plants can sense the presence of spirits. I can't quite describe what it feels like, but at the time, I felt like there were all sorts of spirits all around me! And that feeling was exactly the same as the ghosts I sensed during the ghost bounty mission I took on last time! They were definitely ghosts! A lot, a lot of ghosts!"

Bai Chenxue scratched her head blankly: "This..."

“We’ve managed to snatch a few bounties from the local government in nearby towns, but each time we only get bounties for things like ghost stories. The first one was when Xiao Ning used plants to locate the ghost’s hiding place, and we’ve been doing that ever since…”

Zhongzhou Jinli explained, "Actually, ghosts aren't that scary. The main thing is that they're hard to figure out because you can't see them. They don't have many ways to harm people. They can only smash things at night when the yang energy is weakest, or they'll giggle and laugh in your ear to scare you. Once the person who has been living with the ghost for a long time also has weak yang energy and is mentally confused, the ghost can enter their dreams and make all sorts of strange requests, but none of them are too malicious..."

"The worst we've ever seen was when the ghost possessed the person who was weak, and then went to the neighbor's house in the middle of the night to plow the fields, fetch water, and chop wood. Later we found out that the ghost was the neighbor's son who died in an accident."

Everyone listened with great interest, and Bai Chenxue urged, "That's quite filial! What happened next? What became of that ghost?"

The koi from Zhongzhou spread its hands and said, "It's gone!"

The crowd, who were listening with great interest, exclaimed in bewilderment, "Huh!?"

Lin Mu Ning's emotions had been calmed by the unique comfort of the Central Continent Koi. She then added, "The Guixu Realm... at least in the Central Continent, there is no such thing as reincarnation. We have also checked the information in the library. The Guixu Realm believes that 'when people die, they become ghosts, and when ghosts die, they become demons.' There is no underworld, and there is no reincarnation."

"Ghosts have very short lifespans, ranging from a few hours to a few days, unless they have some obsession that keeps them going. However, in that case, they can easily turn into vengeful ghosts or evil spirits. Alternatively, they can learn to cultivate in the way of ghosts. There is a special school of this called 'ghost cultivation.' The 'soul cultivation' that our sect does not open is also related to this school!"

Since it was everyone's first time encountering the details of the game's background setting related to ghosts, they found it quite novel and started discussing it animatedly.

"Is soul cultivation the same as astral projection?"

"Sounds somewhat like it, anyway, it's probably something like solidifying a soul!"

"That sounds pretty awesome! But why can't we play soul cultivation?"

"Maybe it's because we players don't have souls? Aren't we supposed to be puppets that we control?"

"Doesn't controlling a puppet require a soul?"

"You're still lying in the game pod! Where did your soul come from?!"

"This is a game! It's not real!"

"Hiss... That's right! Why isn't soul cultivation allowed? Damn it!"

Even if it were offered, you might not choose it!

"That's different. I can choose not to choose, but I can't be without it!"

Jia Xiaoren then pressed on, "And what about '魙'? What exactly is '魙'?"

(End of this chapter)