Lin Ji slept in the side hall of the yamen and woke up in the afternoon.
He was awakened by the restless spiritual energy in his body.
"Did I receive a gift after killing the ghost general and breaking through the ghost domain last night?" Lin Ji felt the swelling sensation in his dantian and knew he couldn't delay any longer.
Previously, he didn't have this feeling, mostly because he used spiritual energy to suppress his injuries. Now that his injuries had somewhat recovered, he had to intensify his cultivation to stabilize his dantian.
Returning home from the yamen, Lin Ji plunged into his room.
After a few breaths, he entered a state of cultivation.
This cultivation session lasted until the early morning of the next day.
At first, Lin Ji was just sorting out his meridians and adapting to the more vigorous spiritual energy than before. But as he progressed, he seemed to have some different insights.
Even though his eyes were closed, he could sense everything around him. Losing his sight, his hearing and touch became more acute.
And it wasn't just that.
Initially, it was just a vague enhancement of his five senses.
But in the latter half of the cultivation, Lin Ji felt like something in his mind had been broken.
That thing had always existed, but it was just there.
But at this moment, when Lin Ji tried to touch it, he found that he seemed to be able to perceive everything within a dozen meters around him.
The range was small, but this feeling was quite novel.
"Divine Sense?" Lin Ji opened his eyes and exited the cultivation state.
Opening the window, it was already dawn outside.
"Is this the gift I received after killing the ghost general? A profound enlightenment, actually allowing me to open my Divine Sense, which is the most important step before the Fourth Realm." Lin Ji pondered.
If the third realm's opening of the Ling Eye was a cultivator's weapon against evil spirits, then the fourth realm's opening of Divine Sense was a means higher than the Ling Eye.
"Now that my Divine Sense has been opened, and my five senses have been enhanced, but the spiritual energy in my dantian has not been fully replenished after this cultivation. However, with Divine Sense opened, it's like I've already stepped into the Fourth Realm. Just need to continue cultivating steadily for a few more days, and I should be able to smoothly enter the Fourth Realm."
Thinking of this, Lin Ji wanted to be excited, but found that he couldn't muster any excitement at all.
In the end, he could only force a smile, revealing a strange expression that was neither a smile nor a frown.
Breaking through was expected, a matter of course.
What was the bottleneck from the third realm to the fourth realm? What was it?
After having lunch at Ruyi Tower, Lin Ji went to the county yamen.
The events of last night needed to be documented and sent to Liangcheng once the road to Liangcheng was clear.
Especially regarding the ghost general from last night, even though it was dead, there were still many doubts surrounding it.
"According to the 'Records of Ghosts and Monsters,' once a ghost creature reaches the level of a ghost king, it can control its subordinates, clearly manipulating the residual souls of its subordinates. If a subordinate has treacherous thoughts, with just a thought, it can be killed."
Due to frequent dealings with ghost creatures, Lin Ji was quite knowledgeable about them.
But the ghost general from last night seemed to be an exception.
"There's no reason for it to be an exception. The ghost general was already strong. Even if it was as strong as a ghost king, it wouldn't use a subordinate like a cannon fodder and let a ghost general escape its control. As a ghost king, how could it turn a blind eye?"
"Could it be that the ghost general found a way to reclaim its residual soul, making it difficult for the ghost king to deal with it?"
"But that's not possible. How could a ghost king of such a realm be taken advantage of by a mere ghost general? Could someone have helped? Otherwise, how would the ghost general dare to escape?"
It was because Lin Ji hadn't anticipated the existence of the ghost general that he dared to boldly enter the ghost domain last night.
Although he eventually killed the ghost general, the danger involved made Lin Ji have to think more.
After all, with a ghost general's defection, who knows if there will be a next time.
What if there is, what if the next time it's a ghost marshal defecting?
"This matter needs to be reported to Liangcheng by Guo Yi without delay."
With a plan in mind, Lin Ji had already arrived at the county yamen.
Lin Ji walked in with a heavy heart, but unexpectedly, someone came towards him, and the two collided head-on.
"Who is it? Can't you see where you're going?" Lin Ji frowned.
"It's me, your grandma!" Zhong Xiaoyan widened her eyes and glared at Lin Ji.
"What are you doing in the yamen?" Lin Ji was somewhat surprised, but then he saw Zhong Xiaoyan dressed in the attire of a constable, something Lin Ji never wore.
"Why are you wearing the yamen's clothes? Stolen? Quickly return them." Lin Ji said somewhat displeased.
How could he not know that this girl was probably made into a constable.
But Lin Ji didn't feel the slightest joy in having disobedient subordinates. What's the point of having disobedient subordinates?
Zhong Xiaoyan said with a smile, "You're the one who stole clothes! I'm now a probationary demon catcher. When the documents from Liangcheng come back, I'll be a registered demon catcher!"
Lin Ji pursed his lips.
"Eating your fill and still wearing men's clothing."
Ignoring Zhong Xiaoyan, Lin Ji walked quickly into the hall and found Guo Yi.
Seeing Lin Ji's hurried steps, Zhong Xiaoyan, curious, followed him.
In the hall.
Ignoring Zhong Xiaoyan's presence, Lin Ji explained the doubts about the ghost general from last night to Guo Yi.
"You need to send this information to Liangcheng immediately. This matter is not trivial. The fact that the ghost general has escaped control means that there may be more ghost generals or even ghost marshals rampaging in Liangzhou! If this really happens, the two of us alone won't be able to defend Qingyang County."
"I know, I'll take care of it right away." Guo Yi didn't dare delay and quickly took out a transmission talisman to start working.
Watching Guo Yi busying himself, Lin Ji's mood didn't lighten at all.
Perhaps the matter of the fierce ghost would temporarily come to an end, but no one knew how things would develop in Liangcheng.
Would the Heavenly Supervisory Bureau send experts to kill the ghost king and quell the chaos? Or would the ghost king of Liangcheng lose patience and let his subordinates attack the city?
Or would the ghosts of the Ghost King City rampage in Liangzhou?
Lin Ji couldn't figure out why the matter of the ghost king had been delayed for so long. The Heavenly Supervisory Bureau of the past would never have been so sluggish in its actions.
Even though the Heavenly Supervisory Bureau was somewhat stretched thin in various places in Daqin, Liangcheng was a prefectural capital. Being surrounded by ghost creatures like this, the Heavenly Supervisory Bureau's reputation had long been tarnished.
"What are the higher-ups doing?" Lin Ji looked at the sky outside the gate, feeling uneasy.
He was getting closer to the Fourth Realm.
What was the task that Master Xingchi wanted to entrust to him?
And what was the origin of the Soul-Subduing Demon-Slaying Staff?
These trivial matters made Lin Ji quite overwhelmed.
It wasn't until Lu Cong walked into the hall and handed Lin Ji a steaming meat pie that his chaotic thoughts finally eased a bit.
Taking a bite of the meat pie, the taste was average, but it aroused Lin Ji's appetite.
"You all worked hard last night. Come to my house in a few days, let's get together."