Lonely Soul Ridge (Today's Second Update, Please Bookmark!)

Chapter 6: Lonely Soul Ridge (Today's Second Update, Please Bookmark!)

Early the next morning, Hu Donghan woke up and yawned.

After eating the meal delivered by a servant, Hu Donghan meditated for another half hour, nourishing the spiritual power within his body before rising to leave his room.

He beckoned over a servant and instructed him to repair the room. Then Hu Donghan left the outer sect disciples' residence again, heading to the foot of Die Luan Peak's main summit to request a map of Die Luan Peak from an outer sect steward and study it.

The Yin Soul Sect had always been a sect that played with ghosts.

Throughout the sect's territory, there were naturally countless places for raising ghosts—graveyards, Mass Grave Mounds, tomb clusters, and the like. Such places were everywhere within the Yin Soul Sect. If the Yin Soul Sect's cultivators wished to hunt ghosts, they could run into who knew how many the moment they stepped outside.

The master of Die Luan Peak was a late Golden Core Realm expert. In addition, Li Chengfeng had always paid considerable attention to nurturing his disciples, so he had designated over a hundred ghost-raising grounds exclusively for Die Luan Peak. These hundred-odd grounds naturally varied in strength.

Some ghost-raising grounds were ancient and thick with yin energy, and only cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Realm or above were allowed to enter. Others had been established more recently and served as trial grounds for Qi Refinement Realm cultivators.

Hu Donghan was only at the first level of Qi Refinement, so naturally he would not foolishly run off to those high-level ghost-raising grounds to throw away his life. He swept his eyes over the map a few times before finally choosing the ghost-raising ground closest to Die Luan Peak—Lonely Soul Ridge!

Lonely Soul Ridge was a place where Qi Refinement Realm cultivators hunted ghosts. The yin souls and ghost creatures within were not especially powerful. With peak Qi Refinement cultivation, one could practically run rampant throughout Lonely Soul Ridge. However, in terms of scale, it could be considered one of the larger ghost-raising grounds for Qi Refinement cultivators, so there were also more powerful yin souls and ghost creatures within.

Yet when Hu Donghan saw Lonely Soul Ridge, he suddenly recalled that a few days ago, he had seen a local reward mission for Die Luan Peak in the External Affairs Hall. It offered one spirit stone for hunting the yin souls and ghost creatures of Lonely Soul Ridge—kill one hundred, and the reward was yours.

For Qi Refinement disciples who were desperately short of cultivation resources, this was extraordinarily tempting!

One could imagine that the number of Yin Souls and ghost creatures in Lonely Soul Ridge must have already fallen to its lowest point!

In its current state, even with only first-level Qi Refinement cultivation, Hu Donghan dared to take a chance in Lonely Soul Ridge!

"Lonely Soul Ridge is near Die Luan Peak. At this stage, it must be one of the safest ghost-hunting grounds! It should only take one or two hours to get there, and I can arrive around noon. If I head to any other ghost-raising ground, it will take at least half a day..."

"Every day at noon, yang energy is at its most abundant. The Yin Souls and ghost creatures around the outskirts of Lonely Soul Ridge will also be somewhat restrained. Comparatively speaking, hunting ghosts will be easier."

With that thought, Hu Donghan made his decision—no matter what, he would first go take a look at Lonely Soul Ridge. If it was suitable for hunting ghost creatures, that would naturally be best. If not, he would have to search for another ghost-raising ground.

He walked down the mountain path of Die Luan Peak to its midpoint, then crossed a suspension bridge. Only then had he left Die Luan Peak.

Outside Die Luan Peak stood another large courtyard.

Outer sect disciples occasionally came and went through the courtyard, but most were servants dressed in coarse clothing. Quite a few stalls were scattered throughout the courtyard, and each contained bone beasts!

Although the Yin Soul Sect mainly played with ghosts, raising corpses and skeletons was no challenge either. While they were not as proficient in those arts as they were with ghosts, handling simple matters was still no problem.

The bone beasts raised in this courtyard beneath Die Luan Peak were mounts provided for the ordinary disciples of Die Luan Peak. This place was somewhat like a mule and horse shop in the mortal world. The only difference was that these mounts were for use within the sect, and they were completely free.

When he saw Hu Donghan walking toward the courtyard, one of the servants stepped forward, respectfully bowed, and said, "Martial Uncle, do you need a bone beast for travel?"

Within the Yin Soul Sect, servant disciples occupied the lowest rank. All manner of large and small chores throughout the sect were basically handled by servants.

Though servant disciples bore the title of "disciple," they were not entered into the Yin Soul Sect's official registry. Only upon reaching late Qi Refinement could they join the outer sect and be formally registered. The Yin Soul Sect had more than a million registered disciples, while the number of servant disciples even exceeded ten million!

If Hu Donghan had not received a helping hand from his child bride at a crucial moment, then even if he had been lucky, he would probably only have ended up as a servant.

Hu Donghan nodded and said, "That's right. I wish to go to Lonely Soul Ridge, so I came here to find a bone beast for travel."

"Martial Uncle is going to Lonely Soul Ridge?" The servant disciple's expression flickered with surprise. Then he pointed at a bone horse beside them and said, "Lonely Soul Ridge is only a little over one hundred eighty li from here. If Martial Uncle wishes to arrive quickly, this bone horse should be more suitable. Bone horses have gentle temperaments. As long as Martial Uncle sends in a strand of spiritual power, it should be enough for a round trip."

This bone horse truly had an excellent appearance. Its bones were neat and smooth from top to bottom, faint corpse energy gathered within its skeletal frame, and a weak soul light flickered softly inside its skull. By bone beast standards, this bone horse could indeed be called a fine breed.

Though the surprise on the servant disciple's face had vanished in a flash, Hu Donghan still noticed it.

That was no wonder. Within Die Luan Peak, Lonely Soul Ridge was mainly a ghost-hunting ground for late Qi Refinement cultivators. Yet Hu Donghan was only at the first level of Qi Refinement, even weaker than this servant disciple!

"Then thank you." Hu Donghan did not say much more to the servant disciple. He smiled calmly, took the reins from him, mounted the bone horse, poured in a strand of spiritual power, and galloped away.

Only after Hu Donghan's bone horse had gone far away did the servant disciple let out a faint snort of disdain and mutter under his breath, "Only first-level Qi Refinement, yet he dares go to Lonely Soul Ridge? These outer sect disciples really don't know whether they're alive or dead! With a brain like that, he actually managed to enter the Yin Soul Sect's outer sect. What a waste! It would be better to give that wonderful opportunity to me..."

Though the bone horse was merely a skeleton, corpse energy filled its frame and deathly energy drifted around its bones. Riding it did not feel uncomfortable at all. Instead, with the deathly energy complementing it, the ride was remarkably refreshing and comfortable.

Following the map of Die Luan Peak, the bone horse galloped south for nearly an hour. The ghostly baleful aura in the surroundings grew denser and denser, and wandering souls began to appear nearby.

Before he knew it, he had arrived outside Lonely Soul Ridge.

(End of Chapter)