Waiting for Mid-July

A shrill, miserable cry came from the second floor of Green Bamboo House. The piercing sound nearly echoed through the entire Suzhou garden courtyard behind Qing Brothel, while thick smoke billowed into the sky.

As he watched Green Bamboo House completely turn gray and distorted, a System Prompt Sound suddenly rang out in his mind.

"Ding! You have successfully killed Lüzhu (Late Celestial Immortal). You seem to have affected something within the City of Phantoms. You have gained 2 Skill Points."

Watching the distorted colors gradually spread outward, Lu Ren saw countless bizarre auras rapidly proliferate beneath the gray, decaying atmosphere. Strands of black qi coiled around the blazing orange flames, turning them faintly green. Within the rolling smoke, numerous ghostly faces filled with resentment became plainly visible to the naked eye.

Lu Ren did not hesitate in the slightest. He swiftly retreated, turned, and left without a second thought. After returning to his little courtyard and resting for a while, he finally relaxed when night fell.

Dragging out a reclining chair and slumping down in the courtyard, Lu Ren quietly gazed at the sky and suddenly let out a long sigh. According to Lüzhu, he would likely have to wait until the fifteenth of July, the Lantern Festival, before he could leave the city.

Over the past few days, Lu Ren had gone to inspect the city gates and tried various ways to leave. Unfortunately, the instinctive intuition granted to him by the Shamanic Path made him understand that the rolling mist outside the city was extremely similar to the surging fog that rose from behind him after he had remained on the Path to Ascension for too long.

Not to mention the guards standing watch nearby. Those soldiers possessed the authority of the City of Phantoms.