This is the true immortal of the Taoist sect.

Leaving Lijiang Prefecture and heading north, Chen Jing, aided by a fast horse, arrived in Yunzhou, where Shangdu was located, in just ten days.

Because he was in a hurry to get on his way, Chen Jing did not stop in the previous town, and as darkness fell, he still hadn't made it to the next town.

Chen Jing had no choice but to spend the night in the wilderness, braving the spring chill.

Although he had been traveling all this time, Chen Jing's internal energy cultivation had made great progress.

The body will naturally be tempered and perfected, resulting in abundant qi and blood, which will be as refined as mercury, with a profound foundation.

With his current level of martial arts skill, he is no longer afraid of the cold or heat, so Chen Jing doesn't care whether he sleeps outdoors or not.

But tonight seems a little different.

By the campfire, Chen Jing awoke from his meditation, his eyes glancing almost imperceptibly at the rocky forest not far away, a glint of light flashing in them.

"You cowardly, treacherous scoundrel, come out..."

Chen Jing suddenly roared, and true energy containing a trace of pure and bright Taoist meaning surged out, causing the stone forest to tremble violently.

The sinister aura in the stone forest immediately subsided and retreated.

Chen Jing had long ago sensed the presence of ghosts in the stone forest.

Now he has not only reached the fourth level of Grand Martial Master and mastered true qi, but his swordsmanship has also greatly improved. He is confident that he can face even ordinary ghosts.

Unexpectedly, he actually encountered a foolish ghost that delivered itself to his doorstep, which was a perfect opportunity to test his current strength.

Thinking of this, Chen Jing drew his longsword, leaped into the air, and landed in the stone forest.

With a single thrust of the sword, its energy surged and filled the entire stone forest.

"You beast, come out here..."

The martial arts true energy of a martial artist is formed from the condensation of flowing blood and qi. It is an extremely yang and powerful force, capable of greatly killing evil spirits and demons.

Therefore, even a vengeful ghost would not easily provoke a Grand Martial Master of the fourth realm or above.

Unless it's a powerful ghost that has gained momentum and is almost a tangible entity.

Clearly, the ghosts in this stone forest are not of that level.

It doesn't even qualify as a vengeful ghost; it's merely a wandering spirit.

By some unknown stroke of luck, they managed to escape the netherworld and remain in this world forever.

"Ah...spare me, young master, spare me..."

With a piercing scream, a figure dressed in wedding attire tumbled out of the stone forest.

Then he scrambled to his feet and knelt a short distance in front of Chen Jing, kowtowing repeatedly.

"Spare me, young master, spare me! I had no intention of harming anyone..."

Chen Jing's sword-wielding hand froze, and in the end, he couldn't bring himself to stab.

Because he discovered that the ghost in front of him was not only a wandering soul that had not yet become a vengeful ghost, but he could not even sense any evil aura on it.

In other words, this wandering spirit has never taken a human life since its birth.

Are there any ghosts that don't harm people?

Chen Jing was somewhat taken aback.

In people's minds, all ghosts and spirits are believed to harm people's lives.

For ghosts to survive, they must become stronger; otherwise, they will be assimilated by the unseen rules of heaven and earth and drawn into the netherworld.

For ghosts, the fastest and most effective way to become powerful is to devour the essence and yang energy of living people.

Therefore, basically every ghost, after being born, will harm people due to instinct and the pressure of survival. Then, its humanity will be eroded by the evil energy, and it will completely become a vengeful ghost that only knows how to devour and kill.

Chen Jing couldn't help but have some doubts, wondering if this ghost might have some means to conceal its malevolent aura.

He then circulated his inner energy, unleashing his aura, and pressed his sword against the ghost's brow, shouting:

"Evil spirits and demons, intolerable to Heaven and Earth, deserve to die..."

The wandering spirit, dressed in a blood-red wedding gown, was terrified and completely lost his composure, only able to kowtow and beg for mercy.

"Young master, spare my life! I have never harmed anyone! Young master, spare my life..."

Seeing that he was like a lamb to the slaughter under his true energy, with no power to resist whatsoever.

Chen Jing's doubts subsided slightly, but the sword light emanating from the tip of the sword remained sharp.

"Never harmed anyone? Then let me ask you, if you've never harmed anyone, how have you maintained your ghostly form and remained in existence forever?"

The wandering spirit, dressed in wedding attire, dared not conceal anything and recounted everything in detail:

"This stone forest is a place where wind gathers and energy accumulates, gathering the pure yin energy of mountains and rivers, forming a natural place to nourish the soul."

"I was fortunate to be born here, nourished by the yin energy of the earth's veins, which is why I have been able to maintain my ghostly form."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jing suddenly understood. He looked around and saw that the stone forest was dark and the yin energy was extremely heavy. The ghost was indeed weak and had no evil aura. He was already somewhat convinced.

However, since the other party was a ghost, and as the saying goes, ghost stories are endless, Chen Jing still dared not believe it completely.

So he continued to ask:

"Since you are a ghost, you must exist because of resentment. Why is your resentment so persistent?"

Upon hearing this, the ghost was taken aback, a look of confusion flashing in its eyes.

"This servant...this servant...cannot be in such a hurry..."

Chen Jing couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

According to worldly customs, if one encounters a ghost and has the ability to do so, one must eliminate it to prevent it from harming others.

But the ghost in front of us had no malevolent aura and had never harmed anyone.

Chen Jing hesitated to do it.

"I ask you, how long have you been entrenched here?"

Upon hearing this, the ghost lowered its head and began silently counting on its fingers. After a moment, it raised its head, looking embarrassed, and said:

"This servant...this servant can't quite put my finger on it, but it's been quite a few years..."

Chen Jing was speechless, but he also breathed a slight sigh of relief.

This ghost doesn't seem to be very smart.

However, since it has lingered here for many years without harming anyone, it means that this ghost has no intention of harming people.

Chen Jing then abandoned the idea of ​​killing him.

Thinking of this, Chen Jing's true energy suddenly erupted, and in an instant, sand and stones flew in the stone forest, creating a great shock.

His true energy contained a trace of Taoist essence, and its suppression of ghosts was clearly stronger than that of ordinary martial arts true energy.

The ghost, witnessing this, felt as if the sky were falling and the earth were collapsing; its heart was filled with unbearable fear and unease.

Chen Jing said coldly:

"It's good that you know fear. I'm warning you, you haven't harmed anyone in the past, and you can't harm anyone in the future."

"If I find out you've taken someone's life, I'll beat you to a pulp, so badly you'll never be reincarnated, understand?"

The ghosts, as if granted a pardon, kowtowed repeatedly.

"I understand, thank you for sparing my life, young master..."

Chen Jing sheathed his sword, nodded, and turned to leave.

The ghost collapsed, its eyes filled with relief.

On the other hand, Chen Jing encountered a problem after stepping into the stone forest.

Before them lay a jumble of rocks, layer upon layer, shrouded in a thick fog, making it impossible to discern directions for a moment.

After wandering around in the stone forest for a long time, I still couldn't find the exit.

Just as Chen Jing was about to use his lightness skill to leap onto the stone forest and leave from above, he suddenly felt a chilling wind coming from behind him.

He turned around abruptly and saw a glimpse of a blood-red wedding dress flash by.

Chen Jing frowned and shouted:

"Why are you following me?"

After a long while, the wandering spirit finally floated out, head bowed, hands clasped nervously together, and whispered:

"I see that you, young master, cannot find your way, so I wish to offer you directions..."

Chen Jing's cold, hard expression suddenly relaxed, and he smiled and nodded, saying:

"Then I'll have to trouble you, young lady..."

The wandering spirit's expression brightened, and it turned to the side, saying:

"Young master, please follow me..."