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

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Time passed slowly.

Some of the cultivators who ventured into the Ghostly Land witnessed an extremely horrifying scene—

A gigantic tiger-shaped demonic beast chased after powerful ghosts in the ghostly mist, devouring them one by one, like a tiger among sheep!

Wherever the giant beast passed, the ghosts fled in terror, but none could escape its pursuit!

On the top of that giant beast stood an inconspicuous little monkey, seemingly directing its actions.

After seeing this giant beast, how could those cultivators dare to linger?

They all took detours, staying away from this area.

What they didn't know was...

Behind the giant beast and the little monkey, two figures followed closely.

-

Zhou Yuan, accompanied by Ti Hun and the beast Xiao, hunted in this haunted land for several days.

In the past few days, he has identified five ghost kings and nearly a hundred other powerful ghosts comparable to those in the early to mid-stages of the Core Formation realm!

Zi Ling was dumbfounded.

These ghostly creatures, which would strike fear into the hearts of even Core Formation cultivators outside, were like lambs to the slaughter in front of Zhou Yuan, being dragged out one by one to become food for the weeping souls and beast demons.

"That's about it."

Zhou Yuan calculated the time and decided to leave.

However, just as he was about to put the beast demon into his spirit beast pouch—

A sudden change has occurred!

The beast demon actually resisted entering!

Its massive body trembled slightly, and a glint of wisdom flashed in its eyes!

Zhou Yuan's gaze sharpened.

"Has he/she become intelligent?"

He understood instantly.

This beast, having come to this place of extreme yin energy and devoured many powerful ghosts, finally took that crucial step—advancing from the strength of a false infant to the strength of a true nascent soul!

As its strength increased, its intelligence was fully awakened!

"Zhou Yuan, you can forget about enslaving me again!"

The enormous beast-like creature spoke in a hoarse and cold voice, its blood-red eyes fixed on Zhou Yuan with hostility!

Zi Ling's expression changed, and worry welled up in her heart.

A spirit beast turning against its master is an extremely dangerous thing! Especially for ferocious creatures like beast demons, the consequences of such a backlash are unimaginable!

Just then—

Tihun leaped forward, his body instantly growing larger!

It transformed into a giant ape over ten zhang tall, its fur turning from emerald green to silver, shimmering with dazzling light in the gray-white ghostly mist!

Behind it, a bright red demon image suddenly appeared, ferocious and terrifying!

It stared at the beast-like creature and let out a low roar!

The voice was full of warnings and threats!

The two strange beasts, who were fighting side by side just moments ago, are now at each other's throats, ready to fight!

The beast's eyes gleamed, a glint of intelligence flowing within them.

It dared not make a move.

Just looking at the soul of its former comrade-in-arms before it, it had little confidence in winning.

Moreover, there's the unfathomable Zhou Yuan nearby...

"Beast Demon." Zhou Yuan spoke, his tone calm but carrying a hint of coldness.

"If you had been enlightened when I first met you, it would have been virtually impossible for me to enslave you."

He paused, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips.

"However, you are already my enslaved. I have placed countless mental restrictions within your body. Do you believe that with just a thought from me, you will die?"

Fear flashed in the beast's eyes!

Of course it knew about the existence of those restrictions!

Those restrictions were like shackles, firmly binding its soul!

Zhou Yuan's mind stirred—

One of the small restrictions was detonated!

"ah--!"

The beast let out a shrill scream, its massive body trembling violently.

He rolled on the ground in agony!

That pain penetrated deep into the soul, making it utterly unbearable!

This is different from a physical injury!

No matter how severe the physical injury, it has an indestructible body and can quickly recover as long as half of its body is not instantly shattered.

The divine sense restriction set up by Zhou Yuan directly damaged the beast demon's soul body itself!

If the soul is gone, and consciousness is lost, even if the physical body is still there, it is as if the person is dead.

A moment later, Zhou Yuan stopped the detonation.

The beast-like creature lay on the ground, panting heavily, its eyes filled with terror.

"I was wrong... Master!"

It begged for mercy in a trembling voice, no longer having any thought of resisting.

"If there's a next time, I won't give you a chance to beg for mercy."

Zhou Yuan said coldly, raising his hand and waving it to put both the Beast Demon and the Soul-Crying Beast into his spirit beast bag.

He turned to look at Zi Ling and smiled gently.

Then, his face contorted, and he reverted to his appearance as a middle-aged man with a long beard.

Zi Ling looked at him, her eyes filled with admiration and tenderness.

……

Outside the land of ghosts and vengeance.

A place that resembles a garden.

This place is completely different from the eerie, ghostly world. Nearby, there are patches of exotic flowers and plants whose names I don't know, all vying for attention.

There are also seven or eight exquisitely carved jade pavilions, standing gracefully, their surfaces gleaming with a warm luster under the soft light.

Inside and outside those jade pavilions, there were as many as one hundred cultivators, some standing and some sitting.

These people are the lucky ones who successfully passed the first trial, the Land of Ghosts and Vengeance.

Most of them were cultivators in the Foundation Establishment and Core Formation stages, and their faces were filled with undisguised excitement as they whispered among themselves, sharing their thrilling experiences.

Some cultivators huddled together, whispering amongst themselves, their gazes occasionally drifting toward the figures in the jade pavilions.

Inside the two most prominent jade pavilions in the middle, the Ancestral Master of Extreme Yin, Wan Tianming, and a group of Nascent Soul stage cultivators each occupied a spot.

They were all resting with their eyes closed.

Their auras were restrained; if they had only read one fantasy novel in their entire lives, it would probably be "In Huangfeng Valley, I Have an Equipment Slot!" Yet, an invisible pressure emanated from them, preventing lower-level cultivators from approaching.

The two white-robed elders of the Star Palace sat cross-legged in an open space between the two groups, expressionless, like two stone statues, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding noise.

The area surrounding the garden, about a hundred feet away, was enveloped by billowing, dark, ghostly mist, completely blocking the passage.

"Why hasn't Senior Brother Zhou come out yet...?"

In an open space, Han Li sat cross-legged with a slight frown, secretly worried.

He had been out for quite some time, but Zhou Yuan was nowhere to be seen.

This was his only ally in the Void Heaven Palace; if something really happened to him…

Just then, the ghostly mist parted again, and two figures walked out side by side.

Han Li glanced at it.

After seeing that one of the people who appeared was Zhou Yuan, I finally felt relieved.

However, the next moment was shocking!

"Senior Brother Zhou, he actually... he actually reached the late stage of Core Formation?" Han Li was shocked.

Previously in the hall, his divine sense was limited, so he did not know Zhou Yuan's specific cultivation level. Now that he has sensed Zhou Yuan's aura, he is simply astonished!

It should be noted that more than a hundred years ago, when Zhou Yuan came to the Chaotic Star Sea with him, he was just a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

But now he has reached the late stage of Core Formation!

Even those cultivators with Heavenly Spiritual Roots don't have a cultivation speed as terrifying as Zhou Yuan's!

He must have received a great opportunity!

But after the initial surprise, Han Li suddenly felt relieved, because the stronger Zhou Yuan was, the greater the help he would receive.

"It seems that because I led the Weeping Souls and the Beast Demons to cleanse the Land of Ghostly Injustices, the number of people who successfully passed the test far exceeded that of previous years!"

After Zhou Yuan came out, he took in the entire scene with a single glance.

He led Zi Ling slowly toward an open space.

As soon as they appeared, many cultivators turned their gazes toward them, or more precisely, toward Zi Ling beside Zhou Yuan.

The most beautiful woman in the Chaotic Star Sea truly lives up to her reputation.

Even though her face was veiled and shrouded in a faint purple aura, her graceful figure and ethereal气质 still captivated many male cultivators.

Zhou Yuan remained calm, seemingly oblivious to the gazes around him.

Just then, a figure quickly approached.

That was a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator. She had a beautiful face and a gentle temperament; she was the one who had come to the Void Heaven Palace with Zi Ling earlier.

When she saw Zi Ling appear safely, the worry on her face immediately disappeared, and she quickly stepped forward and took Zi Ling's hand.

"Ziling, are you alright? I couldn't find you after I came out, I was so worried!"

"Aunt Hua, I'm fine."

Zi Ling smiled slightly and said softly, "Thanks to Senior Jia for protecting me and helping me pass the first test, otherwise I'm afraid I would have..."

As she spoke, she looked at Zhou Yuan, a hint of tenderness flashing in her eyes.

The woman referred to as "Aunt Hua" quickly said to Zhou Yuan, "Thank you very much, Fellow Daoist Jia!"

Zhou Yuan nodded slightly in response.

Zi Ling then said to Aunt Hua, "Aunt Hua, after we finish gathering the herbs, let's skip the second trial, the Ice and Fire Path."

Aunt Hua was taken aback, but seeing Zi Ling's serious expression, she nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

Zhou Yuan then went to an open space, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes to rest.

Zi Ling and Aunt Hua also sat down to the side and talked in hushed tones.

……

Time passed slowly.

Later, more cultivators emerged from the ghostly mist, some in twos and threes, others alone.

Most of the cultivators who came out late were pale and had unstable breathing, clearly having suffered a lot in the Ghostly Land.

But in any case, it's a blessing to have survived.

At this moment, the two white-robed elders of the Star Palace who were sitting cross-legged on the open ground quietly opened their eyes, their gazes sweeping over the increasing number of cultivators in the arena, their brows furrowing slightly.

"How could this happen..."

One of the elders transmitted his voice, which carried a hint of solemnity.

"This time, the number of cultivators who successfully traversed the Ghostly Land is far too many. It's almost double the number from last time."

The other elder nodded slightly, his eyes flickering.

"Did you hear that?"

"What those low-level cultivators are talking about... seems to be that a huge evil beast has appeared in the Ghostly Land, which specifically hunts ghosts."

"Was it born in a place of vengeful spirits... or was it deliberately brought in?"

The two exchanged a glance, a hint of suspicion flashing in their eyes.

The ensuing conversation was conducted telepathically, and outsiders had no way of knowing what happened.

After a moment, the two seemed to have reached some kind of consensus and nodded slightly.

"So many people passed the first hurdle this time, it seems we'll have to do something shady for the second hurdle. We can't let so many people get their chance so easily."

"Alright, then let's release the Black Desert and Blood Ice Forest in the Ice and Fire Path of the second level."

……

Zhou Yuan sat cross-legged on the ground, seemingly resting with his eyes closed, but in reality, he was quietly releasing his divine sense.

Although the two Star Palace elders' telepathic communication was discreet, it still revealed flaws in the face of his powerful divine sense, which far surpassed the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

"With so many people passing the first test, the people in the Star Palace must be getting anxious!"

Finally, at a certain moment.

At the center of the area surrounded by several jade pavilions, on the bare stone slab, a blinding white light suddenly flashed!

The light was so intense that it drew the attention of all the cultivators!

After the white light, a teleportation array appeared on the flat ground.

Its shape and size were exactly the same as the teleportation array that had led into the Ghostly Land.

All eyes were on the teleportation array, their eyes filled with anticipation and tension.

The second stage is about to begin.

——ps——

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