The divine manifestations began at the Gongwei Division.

Chen Zhaowu struggled to his feet, but his legs gave way and he knelt down on one knee.

At that moment, everything went black before his eyes.

Zhou Heng had already stepped in front of him.

Chen Zhaowu felt a surge of warmth in his heart and, enduring the excruciating pain, quickly said, "That is a ghost wood staff made from thousand-year-old Yin wood. It is incredibly hard and cannot be damaged by ordinary weapons."

Once a ghost attaches itself to it, it is as if it has a body. Unless the ghost wooden staff is broken, the ghost's true form cannot be harmed!

This is troublesome.

Ghosts are different from demons and monsters; they don't have much killing power before they have enough strength.

However, there is only one exception.

That is when they have "bodies".

In theory, for a ghost to have the ability to possess a body, it must at least cultivate to the level of a sixth-grade corpse-guarding ghost.

However, if they could obtain some kind of yin object, they could use that yin object as a body to interfere with the physical world.

This ghostly wooden staff is an example of this.

"Furthermore, the ghost attached to the demon staff is an eighth-rank evil spirit!"

Before Chen Zhaowu could finish speaking, he saw Zhou Heng take a step forward and slash at the falling ghost wooden staff with his sword.

"Don't--"

Chen Zhaowu's face showed an expression of unbearable disapproval.

He could almost see Zhou Heng's fate: his sword broken and he severely injured.

That ghostly wooden staff was as hard as metal; trying to break it with an ordinary steel knife was like throwing an egg against a rock.

laugh.

The sound of gold foil tearing rang out.

Then came a piercing scream.

A flash of blood-red light passed by.

A ghostly phantom appeared in the air, with a blood-red flame in the middle of its body. The flame exploded and instantly engulfed the phantom.

Clang! Clang!

The two pieces of the ghostly wooden staff struck the blue brick floor with a crisp sound.

Chen Zhaowu stared wide-eyed, his face filled with shock.

He secretly glanced at the long sword hanging in Zhou Heng's hand.

The blade was as bright as the moon, and remained undamaged even after severing the ghost wooden staff.

This is no ordinary steel knife; it is clearly a top-grade treasured knife!

Thinking about how he had previously shown off his fine knife to Zhou Heng, he wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground.

"Can we still fight?"

Without turning his head, Zhou Heng said, "The scholar isn't finished yet."

There are still some persistent ghosts here.

"able!"

Chen Zhaowu gritted his teeth and got up. He looked around and saw that his knife had just flown far away.

"Use this!"

He suddenly noticed the ghost wooden staff that Zhou Heng had cut off, picked it up casually, held one piece for himself, and handed the other piece to Zhou Heng.

"The Ghost Staff can be used to encounter ghosts, and it does not require any additional consumption of Qi and Blood."

Chen Zhaowu explained.

Zhou Heng weighed the two-foot-long wooden staff in his hand, slid a step to the right, and swung the staff.

boom!

A ghostly figure, invisible to the naked eye, flew out.

Although it is not as effective as the Dragon Sparrow Blade, it is more energy-efficient.

"Three steps to the left."

Zhou Heng said casually.

Chen Zhaowu gripped the wooden staff with both hands and swung it forcefully.

Although he couldn't see it with the naked eye, the sensation from the tip of the staff confirmed that he had hit the target.

The two men, one on each side, protected Lü Zi'an's room.

Zhou Heng's voice rose and fell, directing Chen Zhaowu's actions.

I don't know how much time has passed.

Both of their clothes were soaked with sweat.

suddenly.

A figure darted out of the room.

The doors and windows remained unmoved; the figure simply passed right through them.

"retreat!"

Lu Zian appeared beside Zhou Heng and Chen Zhaowu, hovering a foot off the ground, his figure appearing semi-transparent.

He waved his hand and shouted.

An invisible force surged forth.

The ghosts that had been surrounding the room and trying to rush in scattered instantly.

Chen Zhaowu was panting heavily, looking left and right.

Although he couldn't see Lü Zian, he could feel the eerie atmosphere around him receding like the tide.

"Zhou Heng, what's going on? Did we scare the ghost away?"

Chen Zhaowu said, panting heavily.

Bullying kids is tiring too.

Zhou Heng glanced at his side out of the corner of his eye.

From the perspective of the Qi Observation Technique, all he saw was a ball of light.

However, he knew that this was Lü Zi'an.

He is a ninth-rank deity, also known as the Night Wanderer.

It can enter a trance at night and wander in all directions.

Although he didn't have much power, he still managed to intimidate a group of ghosts who hadn't yet reached the rank of immortal.

Just then.

A rooster crowed.

Lu Zian bowed to Zhou Heng and Chen Zhaowu with his hands clasped, and then sprang back into the room with a whoosh.

After a few breaths.

The door creaked open.

Lu Zian reappeared at the door; this time it was him in person.

He looked somewhat tired, but his eyes were full of excitement.

"Scholar, have you succeeded?"

Chen Zhaowu turned around upon hearing the sound and asked.

"It's done!"

Lu Zian nodded and said.

"Yay!"

Chen Zhaowu clenched his fist forcefully, looking even more excited than Lü Zian.

Zhou Heng remained calm, but his eyes were somewhat unfocused, as if he were daydreaming.

Before him.

The red countdown timer jumped once and then reset completely.

The eastern sky was already turning a pale white, and before he knew it, he and Chen Zhaowu had been fighting all night.

You survived a night of crisis and received the reward: sixty years of cultivation.

The settlement screen flashed, eventually turning into a line of small text.

Zhou Heng's lips curled up slightly.

Sixty years in a cycle, sixty years of spiritual practice!

He had only used ten years of cultivation to master the art of observing qi, which helped him overcome last night's crisis.

If it weren't for his ability to read qi, those ghosts would probably have already stolen Lü Zian's talisman last night, and even he and Chen Zhaowu would have been ambushed.

Among the ghosts last night were several ninth-rank Yin spirits and eighth-rank fierce ghosts, all of whom could harm them.

If he had used all sixty years of his cultivation on the art of observing qi, I wonder to what extent he could have improved it.

Zhou Heng pondered, and hesitated for a moment.

Taoist cultivation can also be used to improve other martial arts. Isn't it a waste to consume it all on the Qi Observation Technique?

The Qi Observation Technique seems to be sufficient now...

"Thank you both."

Lu Zian clasped his hands in a respectful bow and thanked him formally.

He had already thanked them once while in his night-wandering state, but neither Zhou Heng nor Chen Zhaowu could see it then.

"You're welcome, we're all brothers."

Chen Zhaowu waved his hand and said, "If you want to thank someone, you should thank Zhou Heng."

"If he couldn't see those ghosts, there's nothing I could do."

"You should thank me."

Lu Zian said solemnly, "It's a pity that I have nothing of value now and am just a useless scholar, so I can only express my gratitude verbally."

"I'll treat you two to drinks when I get my salary."

"Take it."

Zhou Heng raised his hand and tossed the ghost wooden staff in his hand to Lü Zian.

Lu Zian caught it in a bit of a panic, his arm suddenly felt heavy, and he almost dropped it to the ground.

Although the ghostly wooden staff was only about two feet long and as thick as a goose egg, it weighed over ten kilograms.

"This is?"

Lu Zian asked with some doubt, "He's not a combatant either."

Besides, giving him a stick is not as good as giving him a knife.

He might be able to injure the enemy if he swung the knife twice, but he'd have a hard time even wielding this stick.

"The Ghost Staff. Ghosts can possess it and launch attacks. They can, and you should be able to too."

Zhou Heng said casually.

"Yeah, how come I didn't think of that?"

Chen Zhaowu said with some annoyance.

He also handed the ghost wooden staff he was holding to Lü Zian.

"These are Zhou Heng's spoils of war."

Chen Zhaowu said, "You've been promoted to a ninth-rank divine official, and Zhou Heng gave you such a great gift. I can't lose face."

Give me some time, I'll think carefully about what gift to give you.

Also, Zhou Heng, I haven't given you a congratulatory gift yet for your promotion to Demon Slayer Captain.

I never show favoritism, so I'll also give you a congratulatory gift.

Throughout my life, I, Chen Zhaowu, have never been inferior to anyone.

"You're an eighth-rank assassin, how about I give you a seventh-rank martial arts manual?"

Chen Zhaowu said, glancing discreetly at the long sword at Zhou Heng's waist.