Ghost Domain, where ghosts use their own ghostly aura to influence the heavens and the earth.
The ghost domain of ordinary fierce ghosts can cover at most a range of a dozen meters, with limited power.
However, at the level of Ghost Generals and Ghost Marshals, they can easily spread their ghostly aura over hundreds to thousands of meters.
As for the Ghost King...
The current Ghost King City is the ghost domain of the Ghost King of Liang City! It accommodates countless ghosts. The overwhelming power of the Ghost King can also be seen here.
Lin Ji's face instantly became serious.
The blood rain pouring down was all an illusion.
But to create such an illusion, ordinary fierce ghosts would find it difficult to achieve.
"I knew that when a dozen or so ghost soldiers gather, there can't be anything good, but they came really fast."
Lin Ji regretted a bit. If he had known earlier, after dealing with the ghost soldiers, he should have left this place in the rain as soon as possible. Now, it seems he might not be able to leave even if he wants to.
"After all, I've lived too comfortably in Qingyang County for too long. Going out, I've lost even a bit of vigilance."
It was too late for regrets at this moment. Lin Ji's mind moved, and his spiritual eyes quietly opened.
In the blink of an eye, the blood rain that filled the sky completely dissipated, replaced by the surrounding ghostly aura that was completely shrouded and seemed endless.
"Such momentum, at least a Ghost General."
Lin Ji quickly returned to the temple, kicking awake three sleeping scholars one by one.
"Lin brother? Why the panic?" Liu Chengru was the first to wake up, still looking drowsy.
The other two were the same.
Lin Ji couldn't be bothered to explain, bluntly saying, "Follow behind me, only stare at my back. Ignore everything else, no matter what happens, don't pay attention! Understand?"
Without waiting for the three to respond, Lin Ji directly walked towards the outside of the temple.
Seeing Lin Ji so serious, Liu Chengru and the others didn't dare to delay and quickly followed.
"Lin brother, what's going on?"
"Shut up and follow me! Focus on the task!" Lin Ji said coldly, "The leader of those ghost soldiers we killed earlier has arrived."
Ghost Generals correspond to cultivators from the third realm of Opening Spirit to the fourth realm of Understanding Wisdom, depending on their strength.
The Ghost General had already set up the ghost domain long ago, but he didn't rush to take action. Lin Ji judged that this Ghost General probably only had the strength of the third realm, comparable to him, hence the caution.
If Lin Ji were alone, he could easily escape.
But with three people slowing him down, that was the real problem.
Lin Ji, with the insight of his spiritual eyes, led the three scholars towards the direction outside the ghost domain.
Just a hundred meters away from the Mountain God Temple, the scenery in Lin Ji's sight changed once again. It was still a dense night forest, but the direction of departure had changed.
"You're not planning to stop, huh? But it's understandable. After killing a dozen of your subordinates, if you still don't dare to show up, you're not worthy of being a Ghost General."
Thinking of this, Lin Ji couldn't avoid it anymore.
Lin Ji stopped in his tracks, cupping his hands towards the sky.
"Is it the arrival of the Ghost General from the Ghost King City?"
There was no response, but suddenly, hundreds of bats fluttered from the treetops towards Lin Ji and the others.
Lin Ji frowned slightly, drawing his long sword.
With a swing of his sword, he completely dispersed the hundreds of bats formed from ghostly aura.
"Are you really not going to give up, and fight me to the death?" Lin Ji asked.
This time, there was finally a response.
A gloomy voice sounded.
"Killing my ghost soldiers without reason, even the Heavenly Supervisory Bureau cannot forgive!"
"Without reason? Your ghost soldiers dare to harm people on the official road, so brazen! Do you think that just because there's a Ghost King in the Ghost King City, you can resist the Heavenly Supervisory Bureau?"
In the time it took to speak, Lin Ji suddenly felt a tightness in his face.
Turning around abruptly, as expected, the three scholars behind him all had a look of being lost and soulless, devoid of anger, becoming like walking corpses.
"Have they fallen under the spell? Ghost Generals are fierce ghosts who have cultivated successfully. Even a few words in their ghost domain are enough to make ordinary people lose their minds and senses, troublesome."
Lin Ji had already instructed these three not to listen, look, or pay attention, but in the domain of this Ghost General, these three requirements were not so easy to fulfill.
The voice of the Ghost General sounded again.
"Hehe, with the world plagued by demons and evil spirits rampant, the Heavenly Supervisory Bureau is too busy to care. Why would they start a war because of a small fry like you? Killing you and turning you into my fierce ghost underling is the only way to ease my resentment."
"Rubbish resentment! If you want to fight, then fight. Stop spouting nonsense." Lin Ji couldn't help but curse.
Ghost soldiers are slightly stronger than wandering ghosts. These creatures with little intelligence, how many of them does a Ghost General have under his command?
If they set their sights on the soul of a cultivator like him, they should just say it directly, instead of talking about resentment.
Lin Ji didn't bother to waste words, his finger forming a sword gesture, sweeping across the sword edge.
"Evil dissipates, Dao energy endures!"
A blue light shimmered on the sword edge, as Lin Ji's spiritual eyes scanned the surroundings, finding the place where the ghostly aura was thickest, and struck with his sword.
A cold wind rose, a black mist dodged Lin Ji's sword aura, transforming into a fierce ghost clad in armor.
"Die!"
The Ghost General smirked, wielding a large cleaver, enveloped in a sinister wind, and slashed towards Lin Ji.
Clang!
With a crisp sound, as the sword and cleaver clashed, Lin Ji took a few steps back, while the Ghost General turned back into a black mist, then reformed after a few breaths.
"This Ghost General is approaching the strength of the fourth realm." Lin Ji thought to himself.
No wonder he could sustain such overwhelming ghostly aura; this Ghost General indeed had some skills.
At the same time, the Ghost General gained the upper hand with a strike, remaining calm and relentless, attacking once again.
The large decaying blade in his hand exuded black energy, and Lin Ji knew that if he were struck by this ghostly soldier, even with his third realm strength, he wouldn't be able to withstand the damage from the ghostly energy entering his body.
Lin Ji fought and retreated, and in no time, he was forced back to the Mountain God Temple.
"Hehe, in this cramped little temple, where else can you hide?" The Ghost General smirked, following Lin Ji into the temple.
But the moment he entered the Mountain God Temple, a burst of golden light suddenly flashed.
"Ah!" The Ghost General screamed, quickly retreating from the temple, roaring, "How can a cultivator like you possess a treasure of a bald donkey!"
Lin Ji chased out of the temple, holding a demon-suppressing staff in his hand.
It was something he had taken out from his bundle during the brief moment he had escaped into the temple.
"This was given to me by the eccentric Master Xingchi of Daliang Temple. This Soul-Subduing Demon-Exorcising Staff is ineffective against living beings, but it is extremely effective against creatures like you."
As he spoke, Lin Ji chased after the Ghost General, the golden light of the demon-suppressing staff shining brightly, restraining the ghostly aura on the Ghost General's body from spreading.
Lin Ji was surprised at how effective the demon-suppressing staff was against ghosts.
"Buddhist and Daoist paths don't match. How could a bald donkey give you a treasure!" The Ghost General shouted as he fled, still puzzled.
"This has nothing to do with you."
In the blink of an eye, as the Ghost General ran further away, Lin Ji directly threw the demon-suppressing staff at him.
"Subdue!"
It hit its mark.
After being struck by the demon-suppressing staff, the Ghost General tried several times to turn into black mist and escape, but failed repeatedly.
Lin Ji quickly caught up to the Ghost General, the sharp edge of his sword flashing, cutting down the Ghost General's momentum by more than twenty percent.
At this critical juncture, the Ghost General finally regained his ability to move, trying to transform into black mist again to escape, but kept being dispersed and reformed.
The scene looked lively, but Lin Ji was getting more and more comfortable with the fight, while the Ghost General became weaker as he fled.
After chasing and fleeing for just a dozen breaths, the Ghost General was already at his last gasp, on the verge of collapse.
Seeing Lin Ji relentlessly catching up, the Ghost General finally showed fear.
"Wait, I'll lift the ghost domain and let you leave!"
"Too late!" Lin Ji sneered, gathering his spiritual energy at his dantian.
"Thunder within, the name of the Thunder God hidden, profound insight, the five energies surge, Thunder Strike!"
A thunderous sound rang out, and the flickering lightning instantly dispersed the surrounding ghostly aura.
Lin Ji's sword fell on the Ghost General, unleashing thunder and lightning.
The Ghost General didn't even have time to scream before his soul scattered on the spot.
Seeing this scene, Lin Ji took out the Karmic Ledger from his bosom.
After flipping it open, he gestured on it, and a new line of content appeared in the blank space.
'Slay one Ghost General of the Ghost King City.'
Immediately, in Lin Ji's spiritual eyes, the soul of the Ghost General, which had already been scattered, inexplicably condensed into a shape, then was absorbed into the Karmic Ledger.
Lin Ji felt a sense of relief, as if the slight fatigue from the fight had dissipated.
"Indeed, helping someone fulfill their wish is karma, and slaying demons and evil spirits is also karma. However, this karma comes from the innocent people who were killed by this Ghost General."
Compared to the troublesome tasks like Miss Luo's errands, Lin Ji preferred collecting the scattered soul power of demons and evil spirits after slaying them.
"A Ghost General must have harmed many people to cultivate to this level."
Lin Ji pondered to himself.
This time, the encounter he had the next day wouldn't be as trivial as before.
Thinking of this, Lin Ji looked up at the sky.
With the death of the Ghost General and the dispersal of the ghost domain, the sky naturally brightened.
The rain had stopped, leaving only muddy ground.
"Is this considered a fair trade? I help you with your task, and you reward me."
Just then, urgent footsteps were heard in the distance.
Lin Ji turned to look, then chuckled helplessly.
"Right on time."
(End of Chapter)