The attendant recalled, "The Master Cultivator wants to get rid of a ghost? Those people didn't die in the city. They were a group of scholars on a spring outing in the southern suburbs. Later, they were found dead outside the city, looking as if they'd been scared to death."

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

"If you're talking about ghosts... the only possible haunted place outside the city would be Chiyun Temple to the south. It's been abandoned for decades."

"How cliché. Think harder, where else could it be?"

According to Lu Xiangjun, ghosts couldn't survive for long periods. An abandoned temple... highly unlikely.

The attendant shrank back, whispering, "That's really the only place that could be haunted. You see, Master Cultivator, our Haitang House is famous for its excellent service. Every year, we get one or two distinguished guests with... special kinks, who take our girls out to the desolate wilderness to get their kicks."

"Especially Chiyun Temple... they all love going there. They're willing to risk their lives for a thrill."

Xu Shan sucked in a cold breath.

Were the clients in Litai Town really this wild?

Such bold and untamed folk...

The attendant continued, "Two months ago, someone hanged himself at Chiyun Temple. A client saw it and reported it to the authorities. They say it was some family's servant who couldn't stand the abuse and killed himself... Sigh, it's always like this. I wouldn't be surprised if he came back as a ghost to get revenge on the rich."

This sounded much more plausible.

In any case, he had no other clues. He might as well go to Chiyun Temple and check it out. If he found nothing, he would just head back.

He would just try his luck. It didn't matter if he didn't find it. This Nether Spirit wasn't that valuable anyway.

Xu Shan picked up the tea caddy from the table and emptied out the tea leaves.

He then pinched off a sliver of silver and shook it into the attendant's hand. "I'm buying this caddy. The extra is a tip for you."

As expected of a Master Cultivator, even his insults were a cut above the rest!

The attendant's face looked like he'd just eaten shit. He handed the silver back.

"Sir, your presence at Haitang House brings us great honor. A mere caddy is worthless, and besides, you've already tipped me."

"Fair enough. You know how to appreciate a good thing. I'll be back next time, then."

Xu Shan smiled and took back the silver.

Under the attendant's twitching gaze, he pressed the sliver back onto the silver ingot...

Leaving the brothel, his ten taels of silver were, after rounding, still ten taels.

Xu Shan headed straight for the southern outskirts of the city.

He was very familiar with Litai Town, but he had never been to Chiyun Temple in the outskirts.

After asking a few passersby for directions, he spent over an hour running before finally reaching the area they had pointed to.

The path was small but still easy enough to follow, until he reached a dense forest and suddenly stopped.

He rubbed the spot between his eyebrows... something felt off.

A faint warmth was emanating from between his eyebrows. It wasn't his imagination.

Now that he was in the Foundation Establishment Stage, his perception of both his internal and external state was countless times more sensitive than before. He noticed the anomaly the moment it appeared.

This absolutely could not be ignored. The space between his eyebrows was where the Qing Seal was located.

When he submerged his consciousness into his sea of awareness, Xu Shan had a bad feeling.

The Qing Seal was flashing with a faint light... a situation he had never seen before!

A reaction like this definitely meant something was wrong... The Qing Seal was incredibly mysterious; perhaps this was a warning.

Although, this was the first time such an anomaly had occurred.

Taking his flying sword from his Storage Bag, Xu Shan gripped it tightly and cautiously walked inside.

The deeper he went, the more intense the heat between his eyebrows became.

Xu Shan stopped again and took two steps back.

The heat between his eyebrows began to subside... It was just as he'd guessed. This thing seemed to function like some kind of detector.

Xu Shan continued forward, and the heat between his eyebrows intensified again.

After walking about thirty more steps, the constant heat suddenly lessened significantly.

Xu Shan frowned, turned in a different direction to test it, and the temperature rose again.

Looking at the dense woods ahead, Xu Shan couldn't help but feel a sense of vigilance rise within him.

The Qing Seal didn't seem to be warning him, but rather guiding him through a maze...

It was likely dangerous to enter now, and probably a danger he couldn't handle.

But since it was related to the Qing Seal, he didn't want to give up...

After weighing his options, Xu Shan strode forward.

With his mediocre aptitude, playing it safe all the time would get him nowhere. It was better to seek fortune in the face of danger.

Xu Shan began to weave his way through the dense forest, leaving marks along the way. After winding around for about seven hundred paces, a dilapidated ancient temple appeared before him.

A stone stele, covered in moss, stood outside, inscribed with the three characters for "Chiyun Temple."

He had thought he was just coming to an ordinary temple to see if a Nether Spirit was present.

But now, things had taken a serious turn.

Xu Shan didn't dare to be careless. He could now clearly feel that the source of the heat was right inside Chiyun Temple.

Channeling spiritual energy to his eyes, Xu Shan walked towards the temple.

The moment he stepped through the monastery gates, the veins on Xu Shan's hand bulged.

At the main entrance of the temple hall, a person was sitting on the steps, hugging his knees.

He had an honest-looking face and a dazed, foolish expression, as if he were contemplating the meaning of life.

Just as Xu Shan was about to step forward, the heat from between his eyebrows suddenly vanished, and he froze on the spot.

At that exact moment, the person on the steps looked up and noticed Xu Shan.

A look of pleasant surprise flashed across his face, but it was quickly replaced by dejection as he went back to staring blankly.

Seeing the man's strange reaction and sensing no hostility, Xu Shan ignored the anomaly between his eyebrows and walked straight toward him, sword in hand.

"Brother, what's your name?" Xu Shan asked from fifty paces away.

The man snapped his head up, his eyes wide. "You can see me?"

Xu Shan glanced around. Seeing the man was talking to him, he replied, a bit bewildered, "What's so strange about that? It's not dark yet."

The man shot to his feet, exclaiming excitedly, "My name is Zhang Biao! I'm trapped here and can't get out. Whenever I reach the edge of the woods, I'm blocked. I've been stuck for two months! People from the outside can't see me, but you can!"

"Big Brother, what's your name?"

A passerby who wandered in by mistake?

"Just call me Master Xu." Xu Shan didn't let his guard down. "If you've been trapped here for two months, what have you been eating and drinking?"

Zhang Biao, who hadn't spoken to anyone in a long time, was overjoyed.

He pointed into the temple hall and said, "There's lamp oil in there, and it's delicious! I eat it whenever I'm hungry!"

Bullshit!

How could a temple abandoned for decades have any lamp oil?

Everything here felt wrong. Xu Shan tightened his grip on his flying sword.

"Master Xu, please take me with you... I can't stand it anymore." As Zhang Biao spoke, he started walking toward Xu Shan.

Just as Xu Shan was about to shout at him to stay back, his heart skipped a beat!

As Zhang Biao walked briskly toward him, the parts of his feet below the ankles were translucent. He had no soles, and he seemed to be walking on air.

And the strangest thing was, Xu Shan only just realized it now: if he didn't look at Zhang Biao with his eyes, his consciousness couldn't perceive the man at all.

When facing a mortal, even if they made no sound and he closed his eyes, he could clearly sense their position.

But with Zhang Biao, there was no such feeling at all, as if he were facing a pocket of empty air...

Xu Shan immediately withdrew the spiritual energy from his eyes and returned it to his dantian.

Sure enough, Zhang Biao vanished from before his eyes, leaving the front of the temple completely empty.

Nether Spirits... aren't they supposed to be stupid? How is this guy acting no different from a normal person?

Besides, in his imagination, ghosts were supposed to be somewhat transparent, but this one looked so solid...

Before Xu Shan could think any further, Zhang Biao had already approached him with a brilliant smile.

Xu Shan instinctively channeled his spiritual energy and lashed out with a whip kick at Zhang Biao...

...