Ghoul-Class Evil Spirit

The mature Spirit Firefly Grass had already grown to thirteen stalks. If he left them any longer, their vitality might drain away and affect their quality.

Lu Xuan planned to deliver these thirteen stalks to Hundred Herbs Hall and, while he was at the Marketplace, see whether there were any suitable Spirit Seeds or Young Beasts.

"Little fellow, do you want to come out with me?"

Before Lu Xuan had even finished speaking, he felt a slight sinking sensation on his right shoulder. Turning his head, he saw the four cloud-white paws of the Azure-Eyed Cloud Stepping Lynx lightly treading on his shoulder.

Its pair of Green Eyes remained fixed straight ahead, gazing coldly into the distance, as if it had no intention of bothering with Lu Xuan, who had turned his head.

Lu Xuan focused his mind on its body and instantly sensed the joy and excitement in the Lynx Cub's heart.

He was already used to it. With a light chuckle, he instructed the Grass Puppet, which had returned to normal, to take good care of the Spirit Field, then brought the Cloud Stepping Lynx to the Marketplace.

There were clearly many more Rogue Cultivators in the Marketplace than before.

The many materials and spirit medicines brought back from the New Secret Realm had attracted numerous cultivators into the Marketplace.

Some novel items had appeared on the stalls. Lu Xuan wandered around slowly, looking to see whether there was anything he fancied.

Suddenly, several cultivators gathered ten yards ahead caught his attention.

The cultivators were wearing Standard Issue Robes. Lu Xuan recognized them at a glance as patrol guards from the Vast Forest Market.

Several Qi Refining Middle Stage patrol guards had used a Jet-Black Rope to form a circle. Quite a few strange Talismans were pasted onto the rope, and there was a scorched area on the empty ground inside the circle.

Lu Xuan saw one of the patrol guards throw an Exorcism Talisman into the circle. Pure white light flashed, bringing with it a sense of peace and serenity.

When the white light appeared, the others reacted as if facing a powerful enemy, staring intently at the empty ground. Only after the white light slowly faded did they relax slightly.

Curious, Lu Xuan edged closer to the crowd and soon learned some of the details.

"These patrol guards are fairly conscientious. That mutated cultivator has been dead for a whole day, yet they're still guarding the place in case an Evil Spirit appears."

"There's nothing they can do. Everyone knows how terrifying Evil Spirits are. It's better to be safe than sorry."

"At least ten cultivators in the North District have already died recently. Either they were invaded and contaminated by Evil Spirits and mutated into monsters, or they were killed by mutated monsters."

"I don't know whether you've heard the rumor circulating around town. They say the recent large-scale appearance of Evil Spirits in the Marketplace has a lot to do with the Wang Family."

"The rumor says they broke through a new Array Formation and disturbed the lair of a Ghoul-Class Evil Spirit in the Secret Realm. That Evil Spirit followed them all the way here."

"Watch your words, watch your words. We're only Qi Refining Low Stage Rogue Cultivators. This isn't something we can discuss recklessly, lest careless words bring disaster."

"All we can do is figure out how to scrape through this Evil Spirit invasion alive."

The murmurs gradually died down, slowly shifting to a new topic.

"A cultivator mutated and died, and a Ghoul-Class Evil Spirit invaded?"

Lu Xuan vaguely grasped two key phrases.

"I didn't expect so much to happen just because I stayed in for a few days."

"Ghoul-Class Evil Spirit..."

He felt a trace of heaviness in his heart.

The classification of Evil Spirits differed from that of Demonic Beasts. There were four grades: Strange-Class, Uncanny-Class, Calamity-Class, and Disaster-Class.

A Strange-Class Evil Spirit had already developed strange and bizarre abilities, equivalent to a Qi Practitioner. An Uncanny-Class Evil Spirit possessed mysterious and unpredictable powers, with strength generally equivalent to that of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Although the Wang Family and the other families and forces in the Marketplace were standing at the front, if an ordinary Rogue Cultivator was affected even slightly, the result would be death.

After paying a little attention, Lu Xuan noticed that, influenced by this rumor, the prices of Talismans such as Exorcism Talismans and Evil Ward Talismans in the Marketplace had risen considerably.

"I'll quickly look around the Marketplace. If I find nothing, I'll go to Hundred Herbs Hall at top speed, deal with these dozen-plus stalks of Spirit Firefly Grass, and immediately return home."

Lu Xuan made up his mind. The Marketplace was becoming increasingly unsettled and unsafe, so he planned to stay in his courtyard as much as possible, keeping the Spirit Plants and spirit pets company.

The moment he quickened his pace, Lu Xuan suddenly felt the Cloud Stepping Lynx on his shoulder grow several times heavier.

He turned his head and saw the Lynx Cub glaring coldly ahead, an odd low growl issuing from its mouth.

"It even brought out its original voice. Did it discover something?"

Seeing the Lynx's unusual behavior, Lu Xuan slowed his steps.

The Lynx's posture beside him reminded Lu Xuan of how it crouched at the edge of the Spirit Spring Pool to ambush the Red-Beard Carp. When it assumed this posture, it meant that the Cloud Stepping Lynx had entered an attacking state.

"Those Different Pupils of the Lynx seem capable of seeing things that are normally difficult to detect."

Lu Xuan recalled the information about the Azure-Eyed Cloud Stepping Lynx that he had obtained when he first began raising it.

At that thought, he was suddenly startled. The Split Silver Blade at his waist gave a faint buzzing sound, while the Second Grade Myriad Sword Qi Talisman quietly slid to the opening of his sleeve.

"According to my usual behavior and the direction in which the Cloud Stepping Lynx is staring, the greatest possibility is that something strange has appeared ahead."

His expression unchanged, he naturally stopped at the nearest stall, casually pointed at a piece of merchandise, and softly asked the Stall Owner its price.

In reality, his body was taut, and all his attention was focused on the surrounding cultivators.

"Too expensive. I don't want it."

Without paying attention to what the Stall Owner said, he casually left that sentence and turned to return the way he had come.

Suddenly, two or three yards ahead of him, a Rogue Cultivator let out a muffled groan. Large and small cracks instantly appeared across his face and neck, and countless red fleshy buds shot rapidly out from the cracks. Growing wildly in the wind, they became blood-red tentacles in the blink of an eye and frenziedly attacked the cultivators in every direction.

"Ah!"

A cultivator near him failed to react in time and had his head pierced by a Blood-red Tentacle.

The instant the fleshy buds appeared, Lu Xuan had already hurriedly retreated. With a Swiftness Talisman pasted to each of his legs, he was as swift as the wind as he drifted backward.

The other cultivators nearby brought out every means at their disposal. For a moment, spells, Magic Tools, and Talismans flew everywhere.

The Blood-red Tentacles grew at astonishing speed, showing signs of covering the surrounding twenty or thirty yards.

Lu Xuan shot out like a sharp arrow, leaving several cultivators behind him. Suddenly, a tall Earth Wall appeared in front of him and several other cultivators, blocking their figures.

The instant the Earth Wall appeared, Lu Xuan noticed a cultivator ahead wearing a vicious grin.

"A bunch of idiots. It doesn't matter if I can't outrun the Evil Spirit. As long as I can run faster than you, that's enough."

The Rogue Cultivator who had used the Earth Wall Talisman felt immensely pleased with himself, convinced of his own cleverness.

Lu Xuan swiftly circled around the Earth Wall. Using the few breaths of obstruction, that Rogue Cultivator had already run quite a distance.

Furious at being used as a shield, Lu Xuan circulated his spiritual power. The Gold Metal Swordplay, at the Great Accomplishment Realm, was unleashed in an instant. Amid the chaos, a golden streak of light precisely struck the Rogue Cultivator's leg. Blood immediately gushed forth, and a huge hole appeared in his calf.

The Rogue Cultivator wailed in agony and, unable to bear the pain, could not help but stop.

Lu Xuan swept past him expressionlessly.

"Wasn't it about who could run faster? I'll make sure you can't run at all."

He glanced back and saw several Blood-red Tentacles, like colossal pythons, lunging toward the Rogue Cultivator lying on the ground.