Catching the Spirit Ghost

The Soul Burial Tree was still there.

That meant the Spirit Ghost was still inside.

Lu Li felt a surge of joy in his heart.

However, he did not immediately rush over to chop down the Soul Burial Tree and drag out the Spirit Ghost within.

Doing so would be far too obvious and easily arouse suspicion.

"Right! The Blood-Devouring Heaven-Swallowing Art can devour everything; I wonder if it can consume the pure yin energy within the Soul Burial Tree to raise my cultivation realm?"

Lu Li suddenly thought of something, his figure pausing as he muttered to himself.

With that, he took a step forward, drifting like a ghost up the nearest small hill, and landed before a three-zhang-tall Soul Burial Tree.

Then, he threw a punch.

Bang.

A massive force erupted.

The Soul Burial Tree was shattered at the waist on the spot, crashing down with a roar.

The moment the tree snapped and collapsed, a mass of fluffy, cold, yin energy burst forth from within the trunk, sweeping in all directions.

This was the pure yin energy the Soul Burial Tree had absorbed over the years, cold enough to freeze blood.

"Hoo!"

Lu Li leaned in and took a deep, violent breath.

All the pure yin energy was swallowed into his belly, then devoured by the Blood-Devouring Heaven-Swallowing Art.

"For such a large tree, there was surprisingly little pure yin energy? Could it be that the smaller the Soul Burial Tree, the more pure yin energy it accumulates?"

Lu Li looked dissatisfied, turning his head to scan the surroundings.

The next moment, his eyes locked onto the Soul Burial Tree where the Spirit Ghost was hidden.

Lu Li leaped, drifting down the hill and shooting toward the small hill where the Spirit Ghost resided, reaching the summit in a few bounds.

Standing before the seven-foot-tall Soul Burial Tree, he did not hesitate in the slightest, reaching out his large hand to grip the trunk, which was as thick as a bowl.

He exerted force and snapped it with a violent jerk.

Crack.

A crisp sound rang out.

The Soul Burial Tree was snapped clean in two.

Lu Li tossed the upper half aside and leaned his head in, ready to inhale the pure yin energy erupting from the trunk.

"Huh!"

Suddenly, he seemed to discover something and let out a cry of surprise.

Instead of white pure yin energy erupting from the trunk, a mass of black mist drifted out.

The mist was the size of a fist, condensed from pure, ink-black ghost energy, and it rotated slowly.

Amidst the swirling ghost energy, faint golden glimmers flickered.

Looking closer, a plump, white baby soul seemed to be curled up inside the mist.

This was the Spirit Ghost!

There really was a Spirit Ghost!

Lu Li was overjoyed. Without a second thought, he pulled out the Ghost Raising Tower, channeled his mana, and poured it frantically into the tower.

Hum.

A trembling sound echoed.

The pitch-black Ghost Raising Tower floated into the air, releasing rays of golden light that coiled around the Spirit Ghost, attempting to pull it into the tower.

Just then, the Spirit Ghost seemed to be startled awake! It snapped its eyes open!

Its pupils were as scarlet as blood!

Screech!

Suddenly, an invisible sound wave erupted from the mist-like mass, shattering the golden light of the Ghost Raising Tower.

This was the Spirit Ghost's innate divine ability!

Immediately, the ghost-mist mass wrapped around the baby soul and shot straight into the sky.

It wanted to escape!

"You want to leave? Stay here! Begone!"

Lu Li had been prepared; he opened his mouth wide and let out a thunderous roar.

This Lion's Roar was incredibly fierce, like a thunderclap shattering the air.

Visible sound waves, like rapidly expanding ripples, struck the mist-like mass flying in mid-air.

In an instant, the Spirit Ghost's misty form shuddered violently and began to dissipate.

It grew incredibly thin.

The infant soul trapped within seemed stunned by the roar, paralyzed and unable to flee.

Lu Li immediately took control of the Ghost Raising Tower, sending it soaring into the air. It erupted with a golden radiance, weaving into a vast net that descended to shroud the Spirit Ghost.

Swish.

A flash of golden light passed.

The Spirit Ghost had vanished.

It had been dragged directly into the space within the Ghost Raising Tower.

"Haha! What an unexpected joy! To actually capture a low-grade Spirit Ghost!"

Lu Li beckoned with a large hand, retrieving the Ghost Raising Tower, and laughed aloud.

Then, his expression turned solemn. Without another word, he turned and fled.

Clearly, he feared someone might jump out to snatch his Spirit Ghost.

"Tsk tsk, this kid really has good luck. He goes out to practice and manages to find a Spirit Ghost."

The moment Lu Li turned to leave, a red-haired man materialized in the gloomy sky, shaking his head with a sigh.

"Isn't that even better? This Concubine has always favored men with good luck."

Immediately, a charming, beautiful woman appeared out of thin air beside him. She brushed a strand of dark hair behind her ear and giggled, "Besides, the way this little fellow runs away is exactly like that Old Devil Wang from next door, who used to scramble out the window in a panic whenever my husband came home. It really brings back memories. Old Devil Wang, Husband, wouldn't you agree?"

As she spoke, she suddenly lowered her head to stroke her own belly.

Seeing this, the red-haired man's expression changed drastically. As if recalling something terrifying, he vanished in a teleportation blink.

He had no desire to be devoured by this Poison Widow and become a vengeful soul trapped in her belly for eternity.

By now, Lu Li had returned to the Star Gazing Tower.

He went straight to the top floor.

Bathed in the sunlight, Lu Li sat upon the massive jade bed and began to circulate the Purple Haze Sun-Refining Scripture.

He held the Ghost Raising Tower in his hands, sensing it carefully.

Within his perception, the once-empty chamber of the Ghost Raising Tower now contained a cluster of ghostly mist, shimmering with an incredibly faint golden light.

It was the low-grade Spirit Ghost!

The low-grade Spirit Ghost seemed severely shaken, huddled obediently in the corner of the tower, motionless.

The ghostly aura surrounding it had grown very thin.

It looked as if it might dissipate at any moment.

However, wisps of ink-black ghostly energy began to drift up from the base of the Ghost Raising Tower, automatically merging into the Spirit Ghost's mist to nourish and replenish it.

The Spirit Ghost's mist gradually solidified.

Only then did Lu Li set his mind at ease.

It was fortunate that he had this Ghost Raising Tower to help injured spirits recover and grow stronger. Otherwise, if the mist had dissipated, the nascent intelligence within would have perished under the overwhelming force of heaven and earth.

If that happened, those ten thousand low-grade spirit stones would be gone.

Yes, Lu Li had decided to sell this low-grade Spirit Ghost.

The reason was simple.

First, he was currently penniless and lacked the time, energy, and money to cultivate this low-grade Spirit Ghost.

Second, he was still penniless.

He needed a massive amount of low-grade spirit stones to rapidly improve his cultivation and strength.

Most importantly, the Blood-Devouring Heaven-Swallowing Art was a mature child that knew how to help find Spirit Ghosts to subsidize the household. Perhaps next time, it would find a mid-grade Spirit Ghost!

Or even a high-grade one!

Spirit Ghosts were divided into four grades: low, mid, high, and supreme.

A low-grade Spirit Ghost could only cultivate up to the Foundation Establishment Realm at most.

A mid-grade Spirit Ghost had a small chance of advancing to the Golden Core stage.

A high-grade Spirit Ghost had a high probability of reaching the Golden Core stage, and even a sliver of a chance to ascend to the Nascent Soul stage!

As for the legendary supreme Spirit Ghost, it was said they could cultivate to the Spirit Transformation realm or even higher.

The method to distinguish the grades of Spirit Ghosts was simple: the higher the quality, the more intense the golden light surrounding the ghost.

Legend had it that when a supreme Spirit Ghost was born, its golden light would shine for a hundred miles! It was earth-shattering!

Naturally, the higher the quality, the rarer they were.

In the three thousand years since the founding of the Yin Underworld Ghost Sect, only three supreme Spirit Ghosts and about twenty high-grade Spirit Ghosts had ever appeared.

"I hope the Blood-Devouring Heaven-Swallowing Art can find a mid-grade Spirit Ghost next time I go out. That would be perfect."

Lu Li was not greedy; he offered a silent prayer.

A mid-grade Spirit Ghost was only equivalent to a magic treasure of a Golden Core expert.

It was worth roughly ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones.

Converted, that was one million low-grade spirit stones.

If he truly found a mid-grade Spirit Ghost, he could cultivate to the Golden Core stage in peace without worrying about spirit stones.

"However... who should I sell this low-grade Spirit Ghost to?"

Lu Li frowned.

Two figures immediately appeared in his mind.

A girl in green, Green Lotus.

A young master in white, his Eighth Senior Brother, Bai Jinfei.

Or perhaps, offer it to Ghost Demon True Person to gain even greater benefits?

But the next moment, Lu Li immediately dismissed the idea.

This was a demonic sect.

The people of the demonic sect were ruthless and selfish; if Ghost Demon True Person took his Spirit Ghost and gave him nothing in return, there would be nothing he could do.

In that case, he would just lose a Spirit Ghost for nothing.

That woman Green Lotus was too calculating and too strong; it would be easy to get swindled by her.

Therefore, it was better to sell it to Bai Jinfei!

After all, they were fellow disciples.

Besides... that man seemed to have connections; perhaps he could get a few Buddhist cultivation techniques from him.

Lu Li weighed his options, made up his mind, tucked the Ghost Raising Tower into his robes, and left the Star Gazing Tower, heading straight for Bai Jinfei's palace.