Chapter 19: Black Mountain

“Shen Gui World?”

Wu Ming wore a look of confusion and innocence, naturally not foolish enough to admit he had been prepared all along.

“How could this be? A medium-sized dungeon with Hong-level difficulty, and it’s a world where gods and ghosts coexist…”

On the other side, Tu Yanghao’s expression completely changed, and even the cold-faced swordsman and the woman in a cloth dress beside Wu Ming didn’t look too pleased.

“Excuse me, miss, is the Hong-level task of the Temple of the Main God really difficult?”

Wu Ming approached the woman, bowing respectfully.

“Hehe… Young man, you sure know how to flatter. My name is Shan Lan, and yours?”

Obviously, Wu Ming’s appearance was quite good—at least his innate charm attribute was high enough that it was hard for people to dislike him. Shan Lan laughed heartily, adding a touch of charm to her demeanor.

“My humble name is Unknown!”

Since the other party had given a nickname, Wu Ming naturally followed suit.

“Brother Unknown is great!”

Shan Lan chuckled. “Sister really likes clever young men like you! Today, I’ll give you a piece of information. Tasks from the Temple of the Main God are easiest at the Huang level, followed by the Hong level. According to past conventions, they should only be small-scale scenarios with relatively low difficulty. The enemies are at most at the Xiantian or Wai Gang level, and ghost scenarios are rare… But now, the difficulty has clearly increased…”

At this point, even her face showed a trace of worry.

“No wonder Tu Yanghao looked so smug before but now acts like a cat on a hot tin roof. It’s just like going fishing with a relaxed holiday mindset, only to catch a great white shark…”

Wu Ming thought to himself, sweating slightly: “Could this change have something to do with me?”

He had a vague suspicion that perhaps the jade pendant he brought had completed a part of the Temple of the Main God, making the world more realistic and the difficulty significantly increased.

“Then… what exactly is the Temple of the Main God aiming for? Surely it’s not just for fun?”

Wu Ming’s eyes flickered with thought, but he loudly said, “Everyone, the task sends us to Heitai County without specifying a time limit. Doesn’t this imply that the journey must be fraught with danger, forcing us to go there?”

“That makes sense!”

Tu Yanghao said, “Now, we have no choice but to work together!”

At his words, even Shan Lan and the cold-faced swordsman seemed somewhat convinced, but Wu Ming shook his head: “Thank you for the kind offer, but I usually travel alone!”

He rejected without hesitation!

Upon hearing this, Tu Yanghao’s face suddenly darkened.

“My friend…”

Before Tu Yanghao could say more, rustling trees around them emitted a wailing sound, like ghostly cries!

Wuwu!

In the dim morning light and thick fog, the surrounding wails were enough to make one’s scalp tingle.

Even within the white mist, a vague black shadow emerged, bleeding from the seven orifices, with a horrifyingly gruesome appearance.

“Wandering ghosts?!”

A name surfaced in Wu Ming’s mind, but he wasn’t particularly afraid.

After all, in the Great Zhou world, such things were common. Real wandering ghosts could only make eerie noises to scare people. They were easily subdued by yang energy or filth. Unless they were vengeful or evil spirits, they wouldn’t pose a significant threat.

“Hey!”

At this moment, among the newly arrived who had just stood up, a young man dressed in a scholar’s robe and wearing a square headpiece stepped forward. He looked like a learned person and shouted at the ghost: “In the light of day and the clear sky, how dare you ghosts not retreat?!”

Zila!

His words were forceful and resonant, as if an invisible force field expanded outward.

Upon encountering this, the ghost immediately seemed like water hitting hot oil, sizzling as it shrieked and vanished into the darkness.

“Oh? Didn’t expect there really to be a scholar cultivating the righteous spirit!”

Wu Ming’s eyes lit up.

Such ghosts could be scared off by a martial artist’s loud shout or even a commoner biting their tongue to draw blood, but the effect wouldn’t be nearly as good as this scholar’s!

Confucianism says: “I am good at cultivating the righteous spirit!”

This righteous aura is a unique capability of the Confucian school. If one attains the level of a great Confucian scholar renowned throughout the land, a single shout could force even ghost kings to retreat, and even practitioners of dark arts would feel unsettled, their sinister powers significantly weakened!

Of course, this scholar was far from that level, but he did possess a sense of righteousness and had achieved some academic success, being more than capable of passing the Tongsheng examination in the Great Zhou imperial civil service exams.

“Master…”

Tu Yanghao smirked, and someone beside him immediately stepped forward, clearly attempting to recruit him.

Regardless, a Confucian scholar cultivating the righteous spirit would be quite useful in a world of gods and ghosts.

“Something’s wrong…”

Suddenly, Wu Ming felt his scalp tighten, and a chill ran down his spine: “Why are there wandering ghosts everywhere? Aren’t they usually escorted by ghost soldiers, land gods, or city gods as soon as they appear? Could this place… actually be a haunted ground?!”

“Look at that!”

Shan Lan cried out in alarm as more and more ghostly figures emerged from the fog, all with pale faces and ghostly, floating forms.

Even in the center of the ghostly crowd, where the fog was thickest, dark tendrils appeared, accompanied by eerie, cackling laughter.

“A vengeful ghost!”

Wu Ming muttered.

If wandering ghosts were equivalent to ordinary people, then vengeful ghosts were at least on par with elite soldiers.

“Actually… so many!”

The scholar previously mentioned also turned pale, knowing that with his cultivation of the righteous spirit, maintaining inner peace would keep ordinary ghosts at bay. But vengeful ghosts were different! These ghosts had strong negative energy. If they didn’t care about their own losses, three or five of them could overwhelm him, leaving him no choice but to retreat.

Even martial artists with strong yang energy could fall seriously ill or even die if haunted by vengeful ghosts.

The fog thickened, and the ghosts’ footsteps drew closer.

“Everyone, gather together and do not let fear enter your hearts. We are strong in numbers, and united, we can withstand these ghosts. Together, we can break through!”

Tu Yanghao said solemnly, exuding authority.

But Wu Ming remained silent and suddenly dashed into the fog.

“Could this man be a fool?”

Shan Lan and others exchanged glances, their eyes gradually widening.

Because after Wu Ming entered the fog, the ghosts clearly retreated, even those dark shadows doing the same.

“A Daoist practitioner?! No, it’s the ghost-repelling pill!”

Tu Yanghao exclaimed in shock, his tone tinged with envy and regret.

With his resources, a ghost-repelling pill was nothing, but for each mission, could he really just exchange for such items?

Didn’t he need to upgrade his martial arts skills? Stock up on supplies and medicines? Prepare items to guard against witchcraft, gu sorcery, Daoist techniques, and even set aside merits as a precaution…

Generally speaking, after a thorough discussion, specialized items for warding off ghosts would barely amount to a few anti-evil talismans.

Unlike Wu Ming, who had obtained specific information and then exchanged accordingly, the effect was naturally extraordinary.

“Still… this rookie, could he possibly exchange for items specifically countering ghosts? Such carelessness will surely lead to his downfall sooner or later!”

Tu Yanghao inwardly sneered, then quickly put on a righteous expression, rapidly arranging the formation. The scholar with the righteous spirit naturally took the lead, followed by several members of the Blood Oath Alliance. Shan Lan and the cold-faced swordsman flanked the sides, nervously charging into the fog.

…

“Quite interesting indeed!”

Wu Ming, wearing a sachet with the ghost-repelling pill on his arm, watched as one by one the pale, frightened wandering ghosts avoided him, his face revealing a thoughtful expression as he ventured deeper.

In the realm of Great Zhou, the system of underworld deities was well-established, clearly demarcating the boundaries between humans and spirits. Thus, there weren’t many wandering ghosts for him to encounter.

Now, seeing these pale faces of the old, weak, women, and children, an ordinary person would probably be trembling in fear, ready to flee.

“Vengeful ghosts?”

Wu Ming looked at the dark shadows before him, which were only slightly deterred by his ghost-repelling pill and seemed eager to attack. He smiled slightly and patted the long cloth strip on his back.

Swish!

In an instant, a peach-wood sword with a purplish-copper sheen appeared in his hand. With a cold smile, he thrust it forward.

Peachwood swords were capable of warding off ghosts and spirits. Coupled with his own physique at the peak of the fifth layer of physical cultivation—nearly reaching the power of Xiantian and Waigang—his sword shadows flashed brilliantly, even carrying a faint yet dazzling gleam of sword light.

“Ahh!”

A vengeful ghost screamed, its form scattered by the sword qi, wisps of gray-black energy emerging, unable to reassemble.

Seeing this, the surrounding ghosts retreated further, avoiding Wu Ming at all costs.

“Pity… no merit points…”

Wu Ming withdrew his sword, expressionlessly smirking as he looked behind, realizing he had long since left the others far behind.

“I wonder how many proclamations there are at Heitai County?”

Wu Ming charged ahead, discovering after exiting the thick fog that a small path faintly emerged in the mountains. Half an hour down the path, there were signs of human habitation.

“So there’s only one path down the mountain…”

Wu Ming looked back, seeing the mountains hidden in fog, presenting a huge black shadow, like a beast devouring living beings, and couldn’t help but sigh.

By the time he reached the foot of the mountain, what lay before him was a dilapidated town.

There were no able-bodied men in sight, mostly elderly with white hair, their faces marked with numbness and a deathly pallor.

Yet, upon meeting Wu Ming’s gaze, they looked as if they had seen a ghost.

“Sir, are you from Heishan?”

Wu Ming had walked to the center of the town before an old man, trembling and leaning on a cane, cautiously approached, his deeply lined face nervously scrutinizing Wu Ming.

“Indeed… May I ask where this place is? And where is Heitai County?”

Wu Ming bowed respectfully.

“This is Heishui Town. Leaving the town and heading east for twenty miles will bring you to the county seat…”

The old man turned aside, unwilling to accept Wu Ming’s bow, saying, “Since you come from Heishan, you must either be a messenger from Heishan or a master of strange arts. How could I dare to accept such a gesture?”

“Heishan?!”

Wu Ming looked back at the mountain behind him, its dark aura seemingly never seeing the light of day, yet stretching endlessly with a long-standing ominous energy. His pupils slightly constricted: “It seems this mountain is considered a cursed place by the locals…”