Soft Feather was dancing gracefully, but her heart was seething with annoyance—she had actually been tricked by a mere Spirit Ghost. And right in front of Senior!
She had learned about Ghost Lantern Temple and the Spirit Ghost from an old journal of her father's.
Many years ago, her father had passed through this place and seen a Spirit Ghost that was about to mature.
Spirit Ghosts were rare treasures. Once a mature Spirit Ghost—even one of the lowest tier—signed a contract with its master, they could communicate telepathically and share energy. In other words, having multiple Low-Tier Spirit Ghosts was equivalent to having an extra reserve of energy compared to others!
However, a Low-Tier Spirit Ghost could only advance as far as the Third-Grade Houtian Realm.
Once their quality reached Mid-Rank or higher, Spirit Ghosts would possess considerable offensive power, and their cultivation speed would be no slower than that of ordinary cultivators. If nurtured properly, they could even advance to the Sixth-Grade Spirit Lord Realm, making them invaluable assistants to cultivators.
Moreover, Mid-Rank Spirit Ghosts all possessed one or two innate skills. These innate skills came in all sorts of forms, and with enough luck, they might even double their master's combat strength.
As for High-Tier Spirit Ghosts, they already possessed intelligence no weaker than that of humans, and cultivated even faster than ordinary cultivators. They could even practice some ghost-path spells. If they cultivated to the utmost, they could undergo tribulation and transform into Ghost Immortals, making them almost comparable to the legendary Clone Secret Art. However, High-Tier Spirit Ghosts were existences that could be longed for but never reached. Looking across tens of thousands of years, there had been fewer than five recorded High-Tier Spirit Ghosts.
In addition, Spirit Ghosts of Mid-Grade or higher could temper their master's energy. Whether it was Blood Qi, true qi, or spiritual energy, through the shared energy connection between master and Spirit Ghost, it could be tempered by the Spirit Ghost and become purer and higher in quality.
Once a contract was formed, they would never betray their master. They worked tirelessly without complaint and would never utter a single grievance. Aside from not being able to warm the bed or give their master children, Spirit Ghosts were simply the best kind of cultivation partner.
Unfortunately, Spirit Ghosts had always been few and far between. They were rarely seen even in ancient times, and in modern society, they had nearly gone extinct.
Venerable Spirit Butterfly had been astonished when he saw a Spirit Ghost back then. To see a wild Spirit Ghost in this era was like suddenly discovering a living Tyrannosaurus rex in a major city.
It was a pity that this Spirit Ghost had not yet matured at the time. Thus, Venerable Spirit Butterfly had bought Ghost Lantern Temple, set up a simple seal to confine the Spirit Ghost, and planned to wait for it to grow.
To him, a Spirit Ghost of this level was simply too weak. Even a mature one would be completely useless. But he was about to have a daughter, so he could keep it for her to use in the future.
However, afterward, Venerable Spirit Butterfly seemed to have forgotten about it. He had never mentioned Ghost Lantern Temple to his daughter at all. Perhaps to an existence like him, a mere Spirit Ghost was simply too insignificant.
That was, until Soft Feather "accidentally" found her father's journal.
Thus, while her father had gone to stir up trouble for Senior Mad Saber Three Waves at his place, she had secretly traveled alone to J City, intending to subdue this Spirit Ghost.
Everything had gone smoothly at first, but Soft Feather had never expected that there would actually be two Spirit Ghosts in Ghost Lantern Temple!
While she was pressing one Spirit Ghost down and pummeling it, the second Spirit Ghost had hidden in the shadows and seized the opportunity to ambush her, catching her off guard.
Her father had clearly sealed only one Spirit Ghost, so why had it become two? Who had put the other one inside?
Besides, how could she not be annoyed after suffering a setback at the hands of a mere Spirit Ghost?
There were two ways to subdue a Spirit Ghost. One was to take the emotional route: spend every day and night together with the Spirit Ghost, and begin a ghost-human romance that could make the heavens quake and the ghosts weep. Once the feelings reached a certain point, subduing the Spirit Ghost would come naturally. This method required a certain amount of courage and charisma. Charisma was especially important. If it was too low, one might not even have time to develop feelings with the Spirit Ghost before becoming a meal in its belly.
The other was the violent route: might made right. It was crude and simple—when one encountered a Spirit Ghost, one simply had to beat it savagely, pummel it half to death, and it would naturally submit.
Soft Feather was using the latter method.
She was a Third-Grade Houtian Battle King, and all her true qi had already condensed into a True River, flowing endlessly. Her fists were harder than hard! On top of that, she had an incredibly awesome father and was decked out in divine equipment. When she met a god, she slew the god; when she met a ghost, she cut down the ghost!
The Spirit Ghost's ambush had thrown her into momentary confusion, but that was all!
"Talismans, come!" Soft Feather shouted sweetly. She flipped both hands, and two golden talisman papers shot out, slapping toward the two Spirit Ghosts.
She had originally been too lazy to use talismans, but now that she was annoyed, she only wanted to capture the two Spirit Ghosts as quickly as possible.
The instant the talisman papers touched the Spirit Ghosts, green smoke rose from their bodies, and they let out shrill squeals of agony as they rapidly weakened. Soft Feather seized the opportunity to close in, her figure dancing as both palms repeatedly struck the Spirit Ghosts, forcing them back again and again.
Every time those tiny palms struck, cracking sounds rang out from the Spirit Ghosts' bodies. Their bodies split open, looking as if they might fall apart at any moment.
This was despite Soft Feather doing her utmost to control her strength. Since she wanted to subdue the Spirit Ghosts, she only injured them and did not take their lives. Otherwise, if she unleashed her full power, a single palm strike would be enough to scatter their souls.
The two Spirit Ghosts were driven to their limits and brought out their trump cards one after another.
"Hiss!" One Spirit Ghost shrieked. A small golden shield appeared before it and crashed toward Soft Feather.
The other ghost shrieked as well, and then a red light shone over its own body. In an instant, its form swelled to twice its original size.
Innate spells! These two Spirit Ghosts were indeed both Mid-Rank or higher!
"Are these your trump cards?" Soft Feather's gaze was as sharp as a sword. She pressed her palms together, bringing her wrists into contact, then spread her palms into the shape of a butterfly. "If this is all you've got, then hurry up and submit to me!"
Spirit Butterfly Island's secret technique, Butterfly Dance Between the Palms. A Second-Stage True Master technique, it was designed to break all kinds of shields and defenses. Breaking through the innate shield cast by a mere untrained Spirit Ghost was as easy as child's play.
With one palm strike, the small golden shield condensed by the Spirit Ghost shattered like glass. The Spirit Ghost behind the shield was also gravely injured by the blow, collapsing to the ground as cracks spread across its body.
Now, as long as Soft Feather cast the contract technique, she could contract it.
Just then, the Spirit Ghost whose body was blazing red and had swelled dramatically suddenly charged forward and grabbed the Spirit Ghost lying on the ground. At the same time, its body flashed like lightning as it fled outside.
Soft Feather's strength was formidable, but she lacked experience against enemies. The two Spirit Ghosts actually escaped from her grasp.
After its body had doubled in size, that Spirit Ghost's strength seemed to have increased considerably as well. It slammed straight through the Spirit-Binding Formation Soft Feather had set up beforehand.
With the formation broken, the two Spirit Ghosts viciously charged toward Song Shuhang beside the grave. They intended to absorb this living person's Blood Qi to recover from their injuries, then fight to the death against the terrifying woman behind them.
As for escaping? The two Spirit Ghosts had never even considered it. If they could leave this place, would they have remained here for over sixty years?
Mid-Grade Spirit Ghosts possessed quite considerable intelligence.
At this moment, Song Shuhang happened to be bending down to pick up his phone after it had fallen to the ground.
"Not good, Senior Song!" Soft Feather's heart tightened. She stomped her right foot hard against the ground, transforming into a rainbow-colored butterfly and pouncing toward the two Spirit Ghosts like a streak of light!
However, the Spirit Ghost that had activated its innate ability had pushed its speed to the limit. It completely ignored Soft Feather's attack and viciously rammed toward Shuhang. They were determined to drag someone down with them even in death!
Seeing that the two Spirit Ghosts were about to pounce in front of Song Shuhang, he remained unhurried. He first picked up his phone, then turned on its light and shone it toward the ground—when he had bent over just now, he had vaguely seen a strange plant.
Under the light of his phone, he saw the plant's appearance clearly. It grew in a twist, resembling a coiling dragon. A row of barbs lined the tip of the plant, while its roots and stem were purple-black.
He wiped away his sweat. Wasn't this the "Poison Dragon Grass" Medicine Master had posted in the Nine Provinces Number One Group?!
Without a second thought, Song Shuhang reached out, gripped the grass, and yanked it out by the roots. If Soft Feather saw this thing, she would definitely find a way to give it to Medicine Master.
If Medicine Master put this thing into a pot as well, simmered it for five minutes until it became a liquid, and then drank it, he would probably die, right?
Therefore, before knowing whether this grass posed a fatal danger to humans, Song Shuhang felt that he absolutely could not let Soft Feather discover it.
Bang!
The instant the grass was pulled free, Song Shuhang suddenly heard the sound of a heavy object crashing into a wall beside his ear. But when he raised his head and looked around, he found nothing. Only Soft Feather stood not far away, her face full of astonishment and excitement.
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