Temporary Recruitment, Tumen Village!

"Master Lin, thank you so much!" Wu Xue said, her face full of gratitude.

"You're welcome!" Lin Chen smiled faintly, then looked at Wu Xue. "Can you tell me what really happened? Last night, I saw lingering ghost energy on you, but I'm certain you were never possessed."

If that ghost had been on Wu Xue last night, he would have simply struck it down. But he was sure—there was no ghost on her.

"It's like this..." Wu Xue didn't hide anything and recounted the whole story.

Xu Huan, Wu Xue's roommate and close friend, was jealous of Wu Xue's beauty, wealthy background, and how she often caught the eye of handsome men. In contrast, Xu Huan felt like an ugly duckling next to Wu Xue.

That gaunt man approached Xu Huan and told her she could replace Wu Xue by raising a little ghost. So Xu Huan secretly raised one, mixing her own blood into Wu Xue's food to let the ghost gradually erode her body.

The details only came to light last night when Wu Xue's soul entered Xu Huan's body and she learned them from Xu Huan herself.

"Where's Xu Huan now?" Wu Xue looked at Lin Chen.

"Raising a ghost isn't so easy," Master Yi Jie shook his head, his tone indifferent. "What entered your body last night wasn't Xu Huan anymore—it was a ghost that had devoured Xu Huan's soul and taken her memories."

Hiss—

Wu Xue sucked in a breath, but she also felt much more at ease. At least she didn't have to worry about Xu Huan harming her again.

"Since this is settled, I'll take my leave." Lin Chen glanced at the Wu father and daughter, then said to Master Yi Jie, "Big monk, don't forget what you promised me."

"This humble monk wouldn't dare!" Master Yi Jie quickly nodded.

"Master Lin, let me see you off."

Seeing Lin Chen about to leave, Wu Hongbin immediately stood to escort him. Not only did he arrange a car for Lin Chen, but he also handed him a bank card, saying it was payment for saving Wu Xue.

"Origin:" "Upgradable Martial Art: Phoenix Undying Body, First Layer (1/9)"

Lin Chen chose to upgrade without hesitation. The Blood Qi True Flame within him grew stronger, becoming more scorching, its burning power greater than before.

"Awesome!"

A smile spread across Lin Chen's face. If he could keep acquiring Origin at this rate, he believed he'd finish upgrading the first layer of the Phoenix Undying Body soon.

He checked the bank card on his phone. The long string of zeros nearly blinded him.

"Fifty million—quite the generous move!"

In both his past and present lives, Lin Chen had never seen so much money. But now, wealth wasn't that important to him anymore.

What Lin Chen didn't know was that Wu Hongbin had originally prepared only ten million. After witnessing Lin Chen's abilities, he changed his mind on the spot and upped it to fifty million, all to build a good relationship with him.

Logging into the Cultivator Forum, Lin Chen started looking for suitable missions. Just then, a red pop-up window suddenly appeared—an urgent recruitment for cultivators at Third Order and above.

Lin Chen clicked in without hesitation. It was a recruitment from the Demon Suppression Division.

The Demon Suppression Division had run into trouble at a place called Tumen Village. Short on manpower, they were temporarily recruiting cultivators at Third Order and above to assist, with a reward of one million.

"Demon Suppression Division, short on hands—this is a Big Catch!"

Lin Chen's expression turned excited. When this happened, it meant either too many Mutated Creatures or ones that were too strong. Either way, it meant a ton of Origin!

Lin Chen immediately accepted the mission and said to the bodyguard in the front seat, "Change course—Tumen Village. Fast!"

"Yes, Master Lin!" The bodyguard nodded, immediately changing direction and speeding toward Tumen Village.

"It's time to get a car. If I'm late, someone else might beat me to it." As he headed to Tumen Village, a thought flashed through Lin Chen's mind.

He hadn't owned a car before because he didn't need one. But now that he had to hunt Mutated Creatures everywhere, not having a car was really inconvenient.

The bodyguard's driving skills were solid, and soon the car arrived outside Tumen Village. But the road into the village was blocked off with tape.

"Master Lin, it's sealed off up ahead. Is it one of those things again?" the bodyguard asked curiously.

"Yeah, this is far enough. You can head back."

Lin Chen nodded slightly, got out of the car, and stepped past the tape, heading into the village.

After walking a short distance, Lin Chen frowned. It was almost noon, yet the village was still shrouded in mist—far too abnormal.

"There's ghost energy, and something else mixed in." Lin Chen's gaze fixed on the mist, but a hint of excitement crept onto his face.

Just as he'd guessed earlier, there were plenty of Mutated Creatures here. Besides ghosts, there were other kinds too—good news for Lin Chen.

"Babies, your grandpa's here!" Lin Chen pushed off the ground and charged straight into the mist.

"Holy crap, who's that? So reckless?"

"He just ran right in?"

As Lin Chen plunged into the mist, two figures in the distance watched in disbelief. That mist was clearly off—wasn't he afraid of getting into trouble charging in like that?

After all, even the Demon Suppression Division had run into problems and had to call for backup!

"What do we do?" the man in the short shirt asked his companion.

The other man's expression hardened, and he said in a low voice, "Go in. There's bound to be a treasure in there—otherwise, that guy wouldn't be going all out!"

A one-million reward meant nothing to cultivators. They'd come because large-scale mutation zones like this often held special treasures—that was what cultivators really wanted.

Once inside the mist, visibility dropped to just two or three meters. The entire fog was eerily silent. Even with Lin Chen's sharp senses, he couldn't hear a single insect or bird, let alone human voices.

"Anyone home?"

"You're not saying anything, so I'll take that as agreement. Don't worry, I'm not a bad person."

Approaching the nearest house, Lin Chen spoke as he entered to look around.

Seeing the slightly spoiled food on the dining table, Lin Chen raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. They were clearly eating, but suddenly put down their chopsticks and left."

Finding no clues, Lin Chen withdrew from the room and continued deeper into the mist.

Hm?

Suddenly, Lin Chen's expression shifted. Blood Qi True Flame instantly covered both his hands as he punched forward, and a dark shadow slammed directly into his fist.

It looked like a collision, but Lin Chen had simply predicted the target's trajectory, creating that illusion.

"Slain Second-order Ghost. Origin +1000."

With the system's prompt, a smile spread across Lin Chen's face. He had just entered Tumen Village and was already reaping rewards?

Thinking this, Lin Chen grew even more eager about Tumen Village. Maybe this wave alone would be enough for another enhancement.

After advancing a short distance, a rapid burst of breaking air suddenly came from all around. Lin Chen's expression shifted sharply. "Evil Cultivator!"

Mutated Creatures would ambush too, but never like this—three hundred sixty degrees, no blind spots, using hidden weapons for a sneak attack!

Using the mist to obscure vision and launching a lethal ambush, this was clearly meant to leave Lin Chen no room to dodge, to put him to death!