Strange Ghost

Spent some more time in Insect Valley, capturing a few poisonous insects that weren't ranked.

Insect Valley wasn't without low-grade Gu worms, but reaching them required venturing deeper inside, making it much more dangerous than the outer areas.

Without absolute certainty, Su Jie didn't want to risk his life.

Seeing the sky darken, Su Jie packed his bamboo basket and set off on the return journey with his day's haul.

Insect Valley was about ten kilometers from the Ghost Ridge Palace encampment. With steep mountains, dense forests, and winding, uneven paths, the return trip wasn't easy.

Rustle!

Suddenly, Su Jie's ears twitched as he heard a strange sound.

It sounded like wind blowing through leaves, but mixed with faint, almost imperceptible breaths.

He sharply turned his head, looking into the dense woods behind him.

The light was blocked by the thick trees, casting everything in gloom. A pair of crimson eyes flickered in and out of sight within the forest, rapidly approaching Su Jie.

"A Strange Ghost. It's not even dark yet."

Su Jie's expression changed drastically, and he quickened his pace, transitioning from a stroll to a sprint.

A strong wind blew at his back, and faint, terrifying growls could be heard, getting closer and closer.

Su Jie accelerated continuously. Fortunately, he wasn't far from the Ghost Ridge Palace encampment. After running out of the dense mountain forest, the encampment was visible. The surrounding area was a large open space. Fighting here would immediately attract the attention of the disciples, so he wasn't too worried about his safety.

The lingering sunlight, not yet fully set behind the mountains, illuminated the ground. Su Jie gasped for air, sweat pouring down like rain. He placed his hands on his knees, catching his breath for a while before looking back at the dense woods.

He saw a bizarre figure emerge from between the trees, pushing aside branches like dark clouds. It stared fixedly at Su Jie with eyes as red as blood, its gaze filled with a chilling malice and ferocity.

The figure was tall, with arms like a gibbon's hanging down to its knees. Its skin was withered and pale, like a moving corpse, and it let out violent growls from its throat.

Strange Ghosts, as they were called, were corpses influenced by Earth Vein Taint and then by a bloodthirsty instinct, becoming a special kind of Demon and Devil, also known as ghouls, corpse ghosts, and so on.

Strange Ghosts were nocturnal, enjoyed eating humans, were ferocious, and usually acted alone, though they sometimes hunted in packs like wolves.

Each Strange Ghost possessed immense physical strength, capable of easily tearing apart trees as thick as a man's embrace. They moved with lightning speed, making them extremely difficult for ordinary disciples to handle.

The mountain area where Ghost Ridge Palace was located happened to have an Earth Vein running beneath it, which led to a large number of Strange Ghosts.

Fortunately, they wouldn't come out during the day, and Ghost Ridge Palace disciples generally avoided them.

Su Jie watched the Strange Ghost. The creature, possessing considerable intelligence, clearly knew that the area around the Ghost Ridge Palace encampment was dangerous. It stared at Su Jie for more than ten seconds before letting out a few unwilling growls and retreating back into the dense forest.

"Something must be wrong."

Su Jie's eyes were grave. Strange Ghosts typically didn't come out during the day; it was their nature.

Su Jie had never seen a Strange Ghost during the day before. He had only heard stories of disciples and black market merchants who misjudged the time while returning to the encampment from the deep mountains and were hunted by Strange Ghosts at night.

Uncertain and troubled, Su Jie dared not stay outside any longer and quickly returned to the Ghost Ridge Palace encampment.

As soon as he returned to the stone cave area, Su Jie saw many disciples gathered together. They were all disciples of Old Daoist Qiu's lineage, numbering over two hundred.

At Ghost Ridge Palace, the relationship between master and disciple was somewhat akin to what Su Jie understood as the relationship between a professor and a graduate student.

Masters taught disciples, and disciples served their masters.

However, Old Daoist Qiu was notoriously stingy and greedy, doing little work for a lot of money. Talented disciples rarely chose to become his disciples, making his lineage the smallest in Ghost Ridge Palace.

"What's going on?"

Su Jie stepped forward to ask, not understanding why they were gathered there.

"Master has summoned us; he wants to see us."

A disciple explained. Someone nearby lowered their voice and said, "I bet it has something to do with the Strange Ghosts' activities these past couple of days."

"Strange Ghosts? But they come out during the day?"

Su Jie's heart stirred, immediately connecting it to his earlier experience.

"You ran into one? You're quite lucky to be alive."

The person looked at Su Jie with some surprise.

"Friend, could you tell me more?"

Su Jie looked at the disciple speaking. He was around fifty years old, an age where an outer disciple's hope of breaking through was slim.

As he spoke, Su Jie casually handed him a Human-faced Moth. These poisonous insects were a common currency among outer disciples.

"I think your name is Su something..."

The person quickly accepted the Human-faced Moth, a smile appearing on his face.

"Su Jie. May I ask your name?"

"Heh heh, my name is Gu Weinan. If you asked other disciples, even inner disciples, they might not know about this, but you've come to the right person."

Gu Weinan chuckled proudly and continued, "These past two days, the Strange Ghosts have changed their nocturnal habits and have been appearing in the dense forest during the day. So far, over a dozen disciples have been killed while out, and some black market merchants have suffered heavy losses.

Twenty years ago, a similar situation occurred. It was due to a surge in Earth Vein Taint, which caused the Strange Ghosts to riot, their activity patterns becoming abnormal. Many people died back then."

"I see. Thank you for the explanation, Brother Gu."

Su Jie's brow furrowed. If the situation was this dire, venturing out during the day would be dangerous from now on.

"You need to be careful when you go out in the future. Don't end up like those unlucky ghosts, eaten by Strange Ghosts and not even leaving a whole corpse behind."

Out of respect for the Human-faced Moth, Gu Weinan's attitude was quite friendly.

"I know. I'll avoid those things if I can. I won't tempt fate."

Gu Weinan nodded, speaking like someone with experience. "It's good that you know. Unlike some hotheads who think they're invincible after learning a few meager tricks and foolishly challenge enemies far beyond their capabilities."

As they were speaking, a man and a woman walked in from outside.

The man wore a blue long robe and a badge signifying an inner disciple. He was as cold as ice, his facial muscles appearing particularly stiff.

The woman, on the other hand, was extremely beautiful and alluring. She wore revealing, light gauze, showcasing her slender waist, long legs, and fair skin that peeked through, making her incredibly seductive.

These two were the only inner disciples in Old Daoist Qiu's lineage.

The man's name was Pei Haibing. He was promoted to inner disciple six months ago and was at the sixth level of Spirit Nurturing. He didn't cultivate the Hundred Poisons Gu Refining True Scripture commonly practiced by the Ghost Ridge disciples, but another demonic art called the Bone Transformation Dao Method, which was extremely brutal and terrifying when used.

The woman's name was Yu Wenxian. Her name sounded gentle and elegant, but her appearance and conduct were worlds apart from it. She was even more venomous and ruthless than Pei Haibing, and had been with the sect longer.