The Journey Begins

After parting ways with Kakashi, Lu Yan hurried west and entered a dense forest.

After checking that no one was around, Lu Yan took out the Kunai Namikaze Minato had given him. The Flying Thunder God Formula was engraved on it, allowing Minato to sense it and teleport to it instantly as long as he was within range.

He opened his Mangekyō Sharingan. The black pinwheels in his red eyes spun rapidly, and he tossed the Kunai straight into the Kamui Dimension.

"I hope Minato-sensei, Rin, and the others don't worry too much." Lu Yan shook his head, gripped the Stone Bead, and activated its ability to travel between worlds.

In an instant, Lu Yan vanished from the spot, and the forest fell silent once more.

"I can't sense that Kunai of Obito's anymore."

Namikaze Minato, who had already reached the town, suddenly stopped. His face clouded with anxiety and worry as he turned toward the direction Lu Yan had disappeared in and hurried off.

Meanwhile, Lu Yan watched the light and shadows flicker rapidly before his eyes. The next moment, the world spun around him, and he collapsed to the ground.

It took a while for Lu Yan to recover. He got to his feet and looked around.

After a moment, he realized he was in another dense forest. The trees weren't as towering as those in the Ninja World, but they were just as thickly packed. Clearly, this place was far from civilization too.

"The energy in the air is a little thin."

Choosing a direction, Lu Yan raced along the branches, somewhat dissatisfied with the concentration of energy around him.

The energy between heaven and earth was as plentiful as the stars. In the Wizard World, the energy that could be observed and harnessed was classified into various elements, while the Ninja World lagged far behind in that regard, lumping it all together as Natural Energy.

But the energy concentration in both the Wizard World and the Ninja World was high. This world's energy was far too weak to support the development of a cultivation civilization.

"I hope I find something useful."

Lu Yan sighed and hurried onward. Now that he had made this journey, the Third Ninja World War was probably about to escalate. Unless he could find enough resources to strengthen himself, his plans would never get off the ground.

After traveling for half a day, Lu Yan stopped and looked at the scattered burial mounds ahead. He activated his Sharingan.

The moon was already high in the sky. Cold moonlight filtered through the branches overhead and fell on the crooked tombstones, casting a bleak and desolate scene.

Strangely, the chirping of insects and birds, which had been rising and falling around him, suddenly stopped altogether when he reached the place. Only the wind howling through the trees remained.

"A mass grave. This is interesting."

There was no sign of panic on Lu Yan's face; instead, he wore a faint smile. In his eyes, a few ghosts stood or sat atop the graves ahead, pointing at him and whispering.

Most of them were blurry and indistinct. Clearly, they wouldn't last much longer before fading away.

Only three ghosts ahead had solid forms. Blood-red light and black resentment clung to them as they floated toward him with twisted expressions, clearly up to no good.

At the front was a stooped old woman with a ghastly green complexion and bloody tears in her eyes. She lunged at Lu Yan with a greedy look.

A male and a female ghost followed behind her, their eyes glowing green as though they couldn't wait to devour him.

Seeing that the old woman was about to reach him first, the two ghosts fused together in midair. Their speed suddenly surged, and they shot past her straight at Lu Yan.

"They're certainly eager."

Lu Yan shook his head with a laugh, opened his Mangekyō Sharingan, and looked at them, casting a genjutsu.

The two ghosts abruptly halted mid-flight and fell facedown. They curled up on the ground, shivering and letting out scream after scream.

"Let's not waste these."

Lu Yan glanced at the two ghosts on the ground and clicked his tongue. He took a milky-white bottle from the Kamui Dimension and used Mage Hand to stuff them inside.

After that, Lu Yan turned toward the other ghosts atop the graves, ready to say something. But they seemed to have seen Zhong Kui. With startled cries of "Ah!" they shrank down behind the mounds.

"Is that really necessary?"

Lu Yan shook his head speechlessly, then sat on a nearby branch. He planned to ask the three captured evil spirits about the basics of the area.

Taking out the bottle, Lu Yan gave it a few shakes. Several screams came from inside.

"This bottle's pretty sturdy."

Lu Yan nodded with satisfaction. The Ninja World really did have plenty of good things. The milky-white stone used as the base for sealing arrays was excellent at blocking energy, and it could block spiritual power just as well.

With a few basic arrays carved onto it, it made a fine tool for trapping ghosts.

Lu Yan opened the bottle and tipped it downward, releasing the three ghosts.

"Master, spare us! I had my reasons!"

The three ghosts were crafty. Realizing they couldn't win, they dropped to their knees and wailed piteously.

"Let's hear it."

Lu Yan watched the three pathetic specimens put on their act with an amused expression, then nodded at the old ghost to let her speak first.

The old woman was delighted, her wrinkles bunching up as she hurriedly knelt and said, "Master, my life was miserable. My husband died young, and I worked so hard to raise my son. But once he married, he forgot all about his mother.

"His wife was cruel and beat and cursed me at every turn. And my son—he didn't help me. He took her side instead. The two of them starved me to death!"

"And then?" Lu Yan asked with interest.

"Since killing his own mother was such a disgrace, they didn't dare tell anyone. They wrapped me up and dumped me here in the mass grave, claiming I'd been carried off by wolves, tigers, or leopards," the old woman continued, still kneeling as she wept.

"Then why didn't you take revenge?" Lu Yan pressed, unmoved.

"Afterward, the truth came out, and they were too ashamed to stay, so they moved to another county. My bones are buried here, and I can't travel very far, so all I can do is..."

"All you can do is hurt more people, grow stronger, and then get your revenge, right?"

"What about you two?"

Lu Yan impatiently cut off the old woman before she could finish and gestured for the other pair of ghosts to speak.

"Sir, we were a married couple from the town ahead. But the town bully, Young Master Shi, took a liking to my wife. We refused to give in, even if it meant death, and Young Master Shi beat us to death!"

"And then?" Lu Yan said, nodding without giving anything away.

"After we died and became ghosts, we planned to take revenge. But we didn't expect Young Master Shi to have a master of magic by his side. We couldn't get anywhere near him..."

The female ghost's voice grew quieter as she spoke, and she trailed off. Clearly, she'd also been thinking of growing stronger by harming people before seeking revenge.

"Tell me about the town and Young Master Shi."

Lu Yan's expression gave nothing away as he calmly prompted them to tell him about the area.

The female ghost brightened, thinking Lu Yan meant to help them get revenge. She hurriedly said, "The town was originally called Stone Town. But as the Shi Family grew more and more powerful there, they changed its name to Shi Family Town. Young Master Shi has the Shi Family backing him, and he bullies men and preys on women in town. He's committed every kind of evil..."