Spiritual Awareness
"Uncle Wang, Uncle Li, we can't just leave like this. The courtyard is full of Spirit Realm Mist. There are only three of us; rushing out would be suicide." Jiang Wanqing glanced at the hall. Affected by the mist, the room emitted a faint glow, a sign that the talisman array was being activated. "We must gather the scattered people together!"
The two men immediately realized what was happening, and Uncle Li nodded in agreement. "Miss is right. There's a protective magic array inside the house, so going out now would be even more dangerous. As long as we hold on, the Night Watchers will arrive soon, and then we'll be saved."
Jiang Wanqing smiled bitterly to herself; the Night Watchers probably wouldn't make it in time.
The Spirit Realm Mist tonight was unusual, and coupled with what happened during the day, she already had a vague suspicion in her mind.
But thinking too much at this point is pointless; survival is the most important thing.
"Let's go..." She suddenly turned her head and her face paled instantly. "Ah, it's a vengeful ghost in red!"
Uncle Wang, standing to the side, let out a heart-wrenching scream. He was lifted three feet off the ground by an invisible force, his neck cracking, his eyes bulging, and a suffocating sound coming from his throat.
Even as they were speaking, the protective array at the entrance of the hall was shattered by the stain of blood. A vengeful ghost in red robes hovered in mid-air, its long hair obscuring its face, its arms outstretched towards the crowd, drops of scarlet blood dripping from its fingertips...
"The Jiang Clan is finished."
Outside the Jiang Clan, Night Watchers Chen Xuan looked at the mansion swallowed by the thick fog, his joyful tone tinged with a hint of melancholy.
Beside him were several colleagues dressed in Night Travel, their faces expressionless as they stared in the direction of the mansion.
Leading the group was Meng Changlin, the Captain of the third brigade of the Meng City Night Watchers. He was dressed in civilian clothes, his expression cold as he looked at the courtyard shrouded in mist. He slowly spoke, "Keep a close watch. Proceed according to plan. Leave no survivors."
"Don't worry, Captain Meng, our men are in position. The surrounding streets and alleys are completely sealed off; not even a bird can fly out," the figure standing beside him replied in a low voice.
All the lights around the Jiang Clan were turned off, and shadowy figures could be vaguely seen peering in the darkness.
The Spirit Realm is full of strange creatures. If you don't see them, you might just avoid them. But if you do see them, the chances of them coming after you increase significantly.
At this point, only one of our own people would dare to stand in the shadows and spy.
Meng Changlin felt a sense of relief, watching with satisfaction as the mansion was swallowed by the mist, as if enjoying a meticulously staged drama. "The Jiang Clan, which has dominated Meng City for a century, is finally coming to an end. When Director Chen is promoted to the provincial department, my position might even be able to move up a bit..."
"There's someone in the sky..." someone exclaimed in his ear. He looked up instinctively, and his pupils immediately contracted.
Lin Xu sat on the bed with his eyes closed in meditation. After officially starting his cultivation, his need for sleep decreased significantly.
Back in the present world, he sat cross-legged in meditation as usual, but after a moment he opened his eyes.
"Reality is indeed not a place for cultivation; the Spiritual Qi is so thin it's almost imperceptible." He frowned slightly. "No wonder even though the country has made basic cultivation methods public, one must still enter the Spirit Realm to truly embark on the path of cultivation."
He just tried it out, and at this rate, cultivating all night would probably yield less than the benefit of taking a single breath of spiritual energy in the Spirit Realm.
Cultivation in this world is of no use, Lin Xu looked out the window.
The night was as dark as ink, and the city was sparsely lit. In this era, energy was extremely scarce, and the electricity supply could only maintain basic living standards.
"Taking down the Black Tiger Gang is like driving a nail into the ground; the waters of Meng City run too deep, and who knows how many secrets it still holds."
He recalled the scene before the trial, when Jiang Wanqing stood up to protect him but was threatened by a gang leader.
I knew the Jiang Clan had been declining in recent years, but I didn't expect they couldn't even control a low-level thug, which shows the situation is not good.
"But no matter how down on their luck they are, their ancestors were once wealthy. The Jiang Clan should know exactly what kind of power exists in Meng City." Lin Xu stroked his chin. "If we can establish contact with the Jiang Clan, it might accelerate my plans in the present world."
Other things aside, after inheriting the "Spirit Lamp Wish-Making Technique," the incense and prayer power that can be produced in large quantities in the real world become a strategic resource.
In this era, due to the invasion of the Spirit Realm, ghosts and gods are no longer just existing in myths and legends.
The mystical side, which had been overshadowed by science, has seen a resurgence, with praying to gods and Buddhas even becoming a new trend.
Religions and temples recognized by the state can be built openly in downtown areas to collect donations, all in order to alleviate the panic and anxiety caused by the Spirit Realm invasion.
Lin Xu knew very well that his family's roots were in the Spirit Realm, and he was the only one left in the real Lin Lineage. His relatives and friends had long since lost contact with him after his father's death.
The best way to quickly build up influence and gather incense offerings in the mortal world is to team up with the Jiang Clan. One family lacks manpower and connections, while the other lacks strength and resources; they complement each other perfectly.
"Wanqing..." A hint of tenderness rose in Lin Xu's eyes. Things were different now. Having advanced to the intermediate level at a young age, he was no longer the poor boy he once was.
The Glazed Spirit Lamp in his hand glowed faintly in the darkness, amplifying his spiritual senses.
Perception spread out like a spider web, rapidly extending towards the distant streets.
Having broken through the Day Wandering Realm, his perception range has expanded to several miles away, and every rustle of wind and grass is clearly visible in his spiritual consciousness.
If he so desires, he can cast spells within a radius of several miles with a mere thought, controlling the entire situation without ever revealing himself.
"Hmm? Spirit Realm invasion?" Lin Xu frowned, focusing his consciousness on a residential building three miles away—there, a familiar aura was seeping out from a crack in a window on the third floor, cold and decaying.
Zhou Qian trembled all over under the covers, her fingertips digging into the sheets, her teeth chattering but she dared not make a sound—outside the bedroom door, the creaking sound of fingernails scraping against the door came from somewhere, slow and continuous, as if carrying some kind of suffocating rhythm.
In the dark and silent night, the sound was relentlessly pounding against her taut nerves.
"Hello? Is this the Night Watchers?" She held up her phone, the screen's dim light illuminating her pale face. "There's something in my room... it's right outside the door, please come save me!"
There was only static on the other end of the phone. Zhou Qian asked nervously, "I'm in apartment 702, building 3 of the Pothos Residential Complex. Hello? Can you hear me?"
"I heard you... so I came..." A cold, hoarse voice seeped from the receiver, carrying an inhuman sluggishness, the last syllable drawn out like the turning of rusty gears.
Zhou Qian's pupils contracted sharply—the sound was clearly synchronized with the rhythm of the scraping sound outside the door!
She looked up abruptly. The dim light from her phone screen illuminated the headboard, where a bluish-gray hand was slowly emerging from the concrete. Black blood dripping from its fingertips spread like a spiderweb across the mirror's surface, and the distorted face reflected in the mirror was grinning with a toothless mouth.