Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

At the end of the passage appeared a peak second-tier Nether Bone Serpent.

It is about ten feet long and is made up of grayish-white bones connected together, with each bone segment exuding a ghostly green light.

The snake's head is shaped like a human skull, with two dark red ghost flames flickering in its eye sockets.

The Nether Bone Serpent coiled in the center of the passageway. Sensing the presence of a living person, it suddenly raised its head and spewed out a cloud of dark green venomous mist.

Lin Zhao raised his hand and turned the Heavenly Treasure Jade Talisman.

Second-tier Golden Light Talisman for Breaking Evil.

The rune transformed into a golden beam of light, piercing through the poisonous mist and striking directly into the open mouth of the Nether Bone Serpent.

Golden light exploded inside the snake's body.

The sound of bones cracking was like a series of muffled thunderclaps. The body of the Nether Bone Serpent shattered piece by piece, and the fragments of bone flew onto the walls of the passageway, clanging and clattering.

In the end, only the human skull and snake head remained. It rolled twice on the ground, and the ghostly fire in its eye sockets went out.

Lin Zhao walked over, stepping on the broken bones, without stopping.

The main room has a heavy stone door with the final protective seal engraved on it.

Lin Zhao broke through the barrier and pushed open the door to go inside.

There was only one dark figure inside.

It was a blurry humanoid silhouette, suspended in mid-air, surrounded by gray resentment, so dense that it was almost tangible.

A vengeful spirit bound to the earth.

This should be the original owner of the cave, who was probably a Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator.

To survive, I transformed into a ghost cultivator here.

Clearly, he failed in his attempt to cultivate the Ghost Path and was then bound by the formation. Ultimately, the remaining resentment formed a Bound Earth Spirit, whose strength was comparable to that of a Core Formation cultivator.

Lin Zhao looked at the blurry humanoid outline and shook his head.

He raised his hand, and the Heavenly Treasure Jade Talisman condensed into a talisman.

Second-tier superior grade, talisman for warding off evil and killing ghosts.

The talisman transformed into a golden blade of light and flew out.

The bound spirit let out a shrill cry, the sound waves making the entire tomb vibrate.

But before the shriek ended, a golden blade of light had already sliced ​​through the center of its body.

As clean and efficient as cutting paper.

The body formed from resentment split in two, and a large amount of gray-black mist surged from the broken surface. The mist churned for a few breaths, then dispersed as if it had lost its support, dissipating into the air.

The vengeful spirits that bound the earth completely dissipated.

Ding.

A grayish-black crystal the size of a walnut fell to the ground; it was a ghost crystal.

It's just that its grade isn't high. After all, vengeful spirits aren't considered true Core Formation ghost cultivators, so this Ghost Crystal is at most a near-third grade.

Lin Zhao put the Ghost Crystal into his storage bag and found a few jade slips. He probed them with his divine sense and found some basic cultivation methods and insights on switching cultivation methods for ghost cultivators. They were of little use to him, but he still put them away.

Besides that, there are only some Tier 2 materials, not many in quantity, and of average quality.

The entire possessions of a Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator are indeed somewhat insignificant in front of Lin Zhao.

Lin Zhao drew a line in the air with his finger.

A second-tier Cleansing Spirit Talisman flew out, exploded in mid-air, and transformed into countless fine purifying spiritual lights.

The spiritual light, like spring rain, spread throughout the entire cave, and the bad luck, ghostly aura, and lingering yin energy all quietly dissipated under the spiritual light, just like morning mist illuminated by sunlight.

The entire cave was completely renovated, and he used it as a temporary residence.

Before leaving, Lin Zhao stood at the entrance of the cave, forming a hand seal with his hands. The Heavenly Treasure Jade Talisman hung in front of him, and countless runes emerged from the surface of the jade pendant.

Third tier, Xuanwu Zhenyue Talisman.

The runes were deep blue, each one heavy and imposing, carrying a mountain-like aura.

They fell to the ground and merged into the underground spiritual veins.

The ground near the cave also began to shake.

The terrain within the cave also changed accordingly, and the layout was rearranged.

The entire cave seemed to come alive, regenerating underground.

The talisman is already connected to the underground spiritual vein, and the resulting restriction is equivalent to several superimposed third-order protective formations, which ordinary third-order ghost cultivators cannot break at all.

Lin Zhao looked at the resealed entrance to the cave and nodded in satisfaction.

He didn't want to return to find his base back to its haunted state.

---

Several months passed in the blink of an eye.

Lin Zhao explored over a hundred caves.

Most of them are Foundation Establishment stage ghost cultivators, and a small number are Core Formation stage.

He gradually figured out the situation of this plain.

First, there's the strength of the monsters.

They are generally weaker than cultivators of the same level and are completely countered by various spells and supernatural powers.

But there are some exceptions.

Some ghosts or monsters may awaken troublesome abilities due to the techniques they practiced in life or because they harbored too much resentment at the time of their death.

For example, it can switch between physical form and phantom form, or it can parasitize other ghosts and monsters.

For example—

This is what Lin Zhao is facing right now.

That cave was different from the others; its walls were not made of stone, but of a black crystal, smooth as a mirror, reflecting people's shadows.

The moment Lin Zhao stepped inside, he sensed something was wrong. The black crystal walls were absorbing spiritual energy, and he could feel a suffocating chill seeping in from all directions.

In the shadows opposite Lin Zhao, a human-shaped silhouette was slowly emerging.

Ghostly General of the Netherworld.

It is equivalent to a ghost cultivator in the mid-stage of Core Formation, but much more troublesome than an ordinary ghost cultivator.

This thing has a very special ability—it can disappear into the shadows.

The Black Crystal Cave itself is its best battlefield; each black crystal wall is an entrance to a shadow.

It can move freely in this secret room without any discernible pattern, and physical attacks are almost ineffective against it.

Its attack method is a continuous stream of Shadow Needles.

call out--

The first wave of Shadow Needles has already shot out from the shadows.

As fine as cow's hair, dark gray in color, they move so fast that their trails are almost invisible. Only the faint buzzing sound they create as they cut through the air reveals their existence.

Lin Zhao did not dodge.

With a turn of the Heavenly Treasure Jade Talisman, more than ten second-order mirror reflection talismans appeared out of thin air, arranging themselves into millstone-sized light mirrors around him.

The moment the Shadow Needle struck the Light Mirror, its direction was forcibly deflected, and it bounced back along its original trajectory.

But the Ghost General's figure had already merged back into the shadows, and the Shadow Needle, which was stuck in the black crystal wall, was bounced back.

In an instant, the entire secret room was filled with shooting dark gray rays of light, weaving together into a dense net of needles.

The Spectral Fiend will emerge from another shadow, and a new wave of Shadow Needles will be fired.

Lin Zhao stood still.

The mirror-reflection talisman deflected every shadow needle aimed at him, while his gaze remained fixed on the Ghostly General who was constantly moving in the shadows.

These things have consciousness, but not many.

They know how to use shadows to avoid attacks, but seem to only know how to use the Shadow Needle move.

Back and forth, it's just shooting needles, dodging, shooting again, dodging again.

Lin Zhao watched for a while, confirming that this thing really only knew this one move, and then he took out a chair and a tea set from his storage bag.

The recliner was set up, and the teapot was lit.

He sat down, drinking tea as he watched the Ghost General darting about in the secret chamber filled with Shadow Needles, exhausted from his efforts.