I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

A place of ghosts and vengeance.

After embracing Zi Ling for a moment, Zhou Yuan gently released her, his gaze falling on her stunningly beautiful face.

The purple tinge on her face had dissipated, revealing her bright eyes filled with tears and her cheeks slightly flushed with excitement.

"Zi Ling, once you've passed this first trial, the Land of Ghostly Injustice, you should leave the Void Heaven Palace."

Zhou Yuan spoke, his tone gentle.

Zi Ling was slightly taken aback, then nodded.

"Hmm... I definitely overestimated myself this time. If I hadn't met you, I'm afraid I would..."

She lowered her head, her voice tinged with lingering fear.

If Zhou Yuan hadn't intervened in time, she would have been humiliated by the Crimson Fire Monster.

He has either committed suicide or died.

The dangers of the Void Heaven Palace far exceeded her imagination.

Zhou Yuan took out several jade bottles from his storage bag and handed them to her.

"Take these. Regardless of whether you obtain other opportunities in the Void Heaven Palace, they will definitely help you advance to the Core Formation stage."

Zi Ling took the jade bottle, opened it, and a look of surprise flashed in her eyes.

The bottle contains top-quality elixirs for enhancing cultivation.

With her current late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, these pills are enough for her to break through to the Core Formation stage.

She accepted it with a smile, then looked up at Zhou Yuan with eyes full of tenderness.

"Thank you... Zhou Yuan."

……

Next, it's time to venture into this haunted place.

The two stood at the edge of the earthen slope, looking out.

Just a few dozen feet away from the earthen slope, everything was shrouded in a gray mist, with an endless gray-white fog permeating the area.

A chilling wind blew through the fog, accompanied by faint wails and screams that sent shivers down one's spine.

Near the earthen slope, the ghostly mist was blocked by a faint white light, preventing it from advancing even an inch further.

Otherwise, some wandering ghosts and spirits would have already swarmed around them while they were talking.

Zhou Yuan's gaze narrowed slightly.

This place of ghosts and vengeance was not originally difficult to enter.

But as more and more cultivators fell into the ghostly mist, it became dangerous.

The resentment of those who had fallen was extremely strong. After their deaths, they transformed into fierce spirits, harboring intense hatred for these newcomers who had stormed the hall.

Once they meet, it's a fight to the death.

In the last few times the Void Heaven Palace opened, even more cultivators perished at this stage.

There were even ghost kings with heightened senses who appeared, and even late-stage Core Formation cultivators had to deal with them with difficulty.

Zi Ling stood beside Zhou Yuan, looking at the eerie ghostly mist, but felt no fear whatsoever.

She glanced at the man beside her—he was now a Nascent Soul cultivator, and could easily deal with even a Ghost King.

With him around, she had nothing to fear.

Zhou Yuan patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist.

A flash of black light appeared, and the Soul-Crying Beast appeared before the two.

The little guy was still about a foot tall, all green, with a pair of bright, darting eyes and an unusually large, prominent nose.

After it came out, it first looked around warily, then rubbed against Zhou Yuan's trouser leg and made a "chirp" sound, which seemed quite affectionate.

"A weeping soul?"

Zi Ling looked at the little thing in surprise.

She knew the legend of the Soul-Crying Beast—this beast was born with the ability to absorb souls and devour ghosts, making it the nemesis of ghosts.

But this little guy in front of me doesn't look like the ferocious beast from the legends at all.

It's clearly a cute little monkey.

She couldn't resist reaching out her hand, wanting to touch it.

The Soul-Crying Beast tilted its head and looked at her, not moving away, letting her fingers gently touch its soft fur.

A look of surprise flashed in Zi Ling's eyes, and she gently patted its head.

Zhou Yuan smiled and said to Ti Hun, "Little guy, this time I'll make sure you're well-fed."

Upon hearing this, Ti Hun's eyes lit up immediately, and it chirped excitedly.

Zhou Yuan patted the spirit beast pouch again.

A massive black shadow roared out and landed on the ground, causing the ground to tremble slightly!

It was a gigantic tiger-shaped monster, tens of feet long, resembling a tiger but emaciated with withered muscles, yet exuding a ferocious aura that sent chills down one's spine!

Its eyes were blood red, its claws and fangs were incredibly sharp, and its body was surrounded by a dense aura of death!

It is indeed a beast demon!

"This...the legendary beast demon?!"

Zi Ling stared wide-eyed at the giant beast in disbelief.

She had heard the legend of the Beast Demon—a creature born from the lingering resentment of a dead beast in an extremely yin place, incredibly ferocious, killing anyone it saw!

Every appearance of them means a field littered with corpses!

How could Zhou Yuan have something like this on him?

What puzzled her even more was that, according to legend, the beast demon was at least at the Nascent Soul level when it was born.

But the beast-like creature before them didn't seem to have reached that level.

"That is precisely why I am able to command and enslave it."

Zhou Yuan noticed her confusion and explained, "When this beast was first born, it was awakened prematurely and only had the strength of a nascent soul. I enslaved it using a secret technique before it gained intelligence. If it had possessed the strength of a Nascent Soul from the beginning, I would never have succeeded."

Zi Ling nodded in realization, and her gaze toward Zhou Yuan held an added touch of admiration.

She can enslave beasts and subdue weeping souls. Just how many secrets does this man still hold?

……

Ready.

With a thought, Zhou Yuan sent the Howling Soul Beast and the Beast Demon into the grayish-white ghost mist!

Zhou Yuan activated his protective aura and followed behind Zi Ling, stepping into the ghostly mist.

Upon seeing living people approaching, the grayish-white ghostly mist seemed to come alive, boiling and churning as it rushed towards the two of them!

If an ordinary mortal were to be enveloped by this mist, he would immediately have his life essence drained and turn into a withered corpse and die.

The soul becomes part of the ghostly mist, trapped in the ghostly realm, unable to escape.

However, Zhou Yuan and his companion were protected by a protective aura, preventing the ghostly mist from getting close.

This fog has a strong suppressive effect on spiritual consciousness.

An ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator here can only probe a few miles with their divine sense at most.

However, Zhou Yuan's divine sense far surpassed that of the late Nascent Soul stage, and when released at full power, it could cover an area of ​​dozens of miles!

"Now, let the hunt begin."

A smile appeared on Zhou Yuan's lips.

He communicated with the weeping spirit and the beast demon through his thoughts, and the two strange beasts immediately understood and began searching for prey in this ghostly mist.

……

Not long after.

Zhou Yuan's divine sense detected a ghostly creature not far ahead, comparable to the early stage of Core Formation!

The ghostly creature was entirely grayish-white, its form elusive, wandering through the ghostly mist.

It seemed to sense something and suddenly turned around—

I saw the weeping soul!

The ghost's expression changed drastically, and it turned and ran!

It didn't recognize this thing!

However, one can sense that this thing is the natural enemy of these ghosts!

However, no matter how fast it runs, how can it escape Zhou Yuan's grasp?

Zhou Yuan raised his hand and waved it, and a surge of magical power emerged, transforming into an invisible hand that instantly imprisoned the ghost and grabbed it directly in front of Ti Hun!

The wailing spirit chirped excitedly, its enormous nose aimed directly at the ghostly creature—

Soul-Absorbing Divine Light!

A beam of yellow light shot out from the nose, engulfing the ghost and sucking it directly into the nose!

The ghost didn't even have time to scream before it completely disappeared into the nose of the weeping soul.

Zi Ling was dumbfounded.

That's a ghost at the Core Formation stage!

Just like that... he was eaten?

Zhou Yuan remained calm and continued to lead the two strange beasts forward.

……

Half an hour later.

Two green-haired monsters appeared ahead.

The two monsters, covered in long green fur, with ferocious faces and wielding bone staffs, were wandering aimlessly.

Their aura is comparable to that of a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator!

This is a demon yaksha—a demon with a physical body, which is more difficult to deal with than a pure soul.

The bone staffs in their hands can also spew out eerie will-o'-the-wisps!

With a thought, Zhou Yuan sent Ti Hun and the Beast Demon rushing forward at the same time!

The beast-like creature, with its massive body resembling a small mountain, lunged directly at one of the demon-like monsters!

The demon yaksha hurriedly brandished his bone staff, spewing out a ball of eerie green ghost fire!

The beast demon neither dodged nor avoided the will-o'-the-wisps, letting them burn its body—it possessed an indestructible body, and this injury could be healed instantly!

With a single swipe of its claw, it pinned the demon to the ground!

On the other side, the Crying Soul, though small in size, was incredibly fast. It nimbly dodged the will-o'-the-wisps while continuously spewing yellow light from its nostrils, forcing the demonic yaksha to retreat steadily!

Moments later, the two demon demons were subdued.

The weeping soul and the beast-like creature each devoured one, completely satisfied.

……

Another hour passed.

Zhou Yuan's divine sense finally detected a large creature.

Thirty miles ahead, there is a ghost comparable to the late-stage Core Formation realm!

A ghost with this kind of power can be called a ghost king!

Zhou Yuan's eyes lit up, and he quietly approached with the two strange beasts.

The Ghost King was a black ghostly figure, tall and surrounded by thick black mist.

It seemed to sense something and suddenly turned around—

"Humans?!"

A fierce glint flashed in its eyes, and it let out a sharp screech!

In an instant, more than a dozen ghostly figures emerged from the surrounding black mist!

Each one possessed the strength of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator! They densely surrounded Zhou Yuan and his companions!

What's even more troublesome is that the Ghost King was holding a green bead in his hand!

The bead emitted a faint green light, clearly indicating that it was a magical artifact!

"good."

Zhou Yuan nodded in satisfaction.

Only when they encounter the Ghost King can the Weeping Soul and the Beast Demon truly have a feast.

He raised his hand and waved, and a small green arrow flew out from his sleeve!

This is the small sword made from the Golden Thunder Bamboo that I obtained from Master Xuan Gu!

This sword is forged from Golden Thunder Bamboo and contains divine thunder to ward off evil, making it the nemesis of all demons and evil spirits!

After being refined by the Xuan Bone for many years, the color of the Evil-Repelling Divine Thunder changed from gold to black, but its power remained undiminished!

With a thought, Zhou Yuan sent the small green arrow into a streak of light, shooting straight at the Ghost King!

The Ghost King sneered and activated the green bead, sending out a beam of green light that collided with the small green arrow!

"boom!"

The two collided, unleashing a violent shockwave!

However, a flash of black light suddenly appeared on the small green arrow—

A bolt of black lightning shot out from the small arrow; it was the Evil-Repelling Divine Lightning!

The ghost king's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly dodged! But the exorcising lightning was too fast, and it struck his shoulder in an instant!

"ah--!"

The Ghost King let out a shrill scream, and a large portion of the black energy on his shoulder was dispersed by the Evil-Repelling Divine Lightning!

It stared at the small arrow in terror, its eyes filled with fear!

Zhou Yuan did not make any further moves.

Before he could even think of anything, the beast pounced!

The dozen or so late-stage Foundation Establishment ghosts tried to stop them, but Tihun sucked seven or eight of them away with a sniff of his nose!

The remaining few trembled in fear under the ferocity of the beast demon, not daring to move at all!

The beast opened its blood-red maw and swallowed the heavily wounded ghost king whole!

The demon king didn't even have time to struggle before it disappeared into the beast's belly.