The First Immortal of Destiny

Early-stage Class III, the Ghost King transformed from the ruler of Tianshun Country!

Shen Mo's heart sank slightly.

When he was slaying and refining various Soul Ghosts in the Capital, he had caught a far-off glimpse of the Tianshun Country ruler's face. The Ghost King now leading the march of ten thousand spirits had undergone some changes in appearance after becoming a ghost. Still, he was recognizable from his mortal days; he had indeed been the ruler of a nation!

Unexpectedly, when Tianshun Country fell and became a Ghost Zone, he had been the first to advance into a Class III Soul Ghost—still a king among ghosts! Perhaps, in the grand scheme of things, he was affected by the fate of the dynasty. Otherwise, this coincidence would be hard to explain!

This time, Shen Mo didn't think about escaping on his sword. If it were any other peak Class II ghost, he was confident that he could temporarily evade them with his superior Sword Control Spirit Technique. But a Class III ghost was different; its strength was comparable to that of a Spirit Sea Realm powerhouse! Merely flying through the air without any external assistance, their speed far exceeded that of most peak Qi Gathering Realm cultivators. Unless Shen Mo had cultivated the Sword Control Spirit Technique to the point of Master, only then might he have a slim chance of escaping from a Class III ghost.

Shen Mo withdrew his gaze, silently restoring his Mana and preparing for the upcoming fierce battle.

BUZZ!

BUZZ!

Suddenly, a sound like dull thunder rumbled deep within him.

Damn it! An untimely breakthrough!

Shen Mo was more shocked than pleased. His face turned even uglier than before. Ordinarily, a breakthrough in Realm would naturally be a cause for joy and excitement. But now, he was in the Ghost Zone, where nature's Spiritual Qi was scarce, and a formidable enemy was at hand; it was hardly an opportune moment for a breakthrough. This kind of breakthrough, achieved through profound accumulation and occurring as naturally as water carving a channel, could not be suppressed.

Shen Mo formed a hand seal. The seven Big Dipper Swords vibrated with a clear chime, instantly forming The Big Dipper Array to shield his body. Even this wasn't enough. The Nine-Extreme Crystal Sand Energy dormant within his Chakra also expanded like a balloon, forming an energy shield. Beside him, the Soul Refining Flag billowed with a blood-red light! Ghostly figures with powerful auras emerged from the bloody curtain one after another: The Ghost Bride, Master Hong Jue, Gold Piercing Ghost Jinshan, Green-skinned Ghost Tieshan, Red Fiend... and the thirteen newly refined late-stage Class II Soul Generals. All of them materialized and stood guard before Shen Mo.

As for the hundreds of middle-stage Class II Vicious Ghost Soul Generals, summoning all of them now would completely deplete his Mana. Therefore, he temporarily summoned seventy to surround him. With these preparations, he reckoned he could hold out for a while, even if the Ghost King itself attacked.

Then, Shen Mo delayed no longer and focused on managing his breakthrough. His Qi and blood roiled within him. The Spiritual Qi within his limbs, viscera, and Chakras surged like a tidal wave. His three Dantians began to operate, generating an extremely strong suction force. This drew the nature's Spiritual Qi from a ten-li radius, which swirled into a vortex and surged towards him. However, the Spiritual Qi in this Dungeon was less than a tenth of that in the Outer Realm, let alone comparable to an Inner Door cave mansion of the Riverside Sect. Vast amounts of Spiritual Qi flowed into Shen Mo's body like trickling streams, were refined by the Purple Knack Sutra, and began to fill his Ocean of Qi Dantian.

But it was nowhere near enough!

GULP!

GULP!

Shen Mo stuffed all the remaining Qi Coalescing Pills from his Universe Bag into his mouth. Like eating candy, he chewed them briefly and swallowed them with his saliva. The rich Spiritual Qi contained in the Elixirs began to flow into his limbs, viscera, Chakras, and Ocean of Qi Dantian, compensating for the Spiritual Qi deficiency caused by the breakthrough.

He was only halfway through the breakthrough process when the Ghost Monarch of Tianshun Country, leading thousands of ghosts, surrounded him. To Shen Mo's surprise, it didn't attack immediately. Instead, it seemed to watch with great interest as he attempted his breakthrough. The Ghost Monarch's malicious intent was almost palpable, practically solidifying in the air! Shen Mo wouldn't naively believe it refrained from attacking immediately out of some noble reluctance to take advantage of his vulnerable state. It was more like a cat playing with a mouse: after catching its prey, it would toy with it mercilessly. Compared to killing Shen Mo outright, perhaps the Ghost Monarch preferred to let him complete his breakthrough, only to then crush his hopes, savoring the feeling of absolute control.

Regardless of its intentions, Shen Mo would not lower his guard. While refining the Elixirs and replenishing the Mana in his Dantian, his mind focused on the Destiny Panel. A whole Major Realm separated him from the Ghost Monarch. Despite his exceptional Skills making him a match for peak Class II ghosts, he had absolutely no chance of winning against a Class III Ghost Monarch. That is, unless his breakthrough defied the common sense of the cultivation world, instantly elevating him from Layer II of the Qi Gathering Realm to Layer IX. Only then would Shen Mo have the confidence to fight it!

Obviously, that was impossible.

Thus, the only way Shen Mo could increase his chances of victory was through the Destiny Panel.

Among his Special Destinies, even if he continued to upgrade [Martial Performance], [Bright Vision], [Adventure], or [Strong as an Ox], their effects against the Class III Ghost Monarch would be very limited. As for spending Destiny Points to draw other Destinies, it was simply too risky. He would most likely draw several white or green Destinies with unpredictable effects. Even to make them practically useful would require investing a large number of Destiny Points for upgrades. Perhaps he might draw powerful Destinies like [Brilliant Divine Storage (Purple)], [Green Sword Soul (Orange)], or [External Avatar (Gold)]. But the odds were incredibly slim. Under normal circumstances, he might take such a gamble. However, facing the imminent threat of a Class III Ghost Monarch, he would not waste his hard-earned Destiny Points on such minuscule odds.

He wouldn't do that!

His gaze fell upon [Monster Identify (Blue)]. This Special Destiny granted him the ability to perceive the weaknesses of demonic beasts. It had saved him from danger numerous times when facing powerful demonic beasts. However, this Special Destiny was of a relatively low tier—only a blue Destiny—and had a significant limitation: it could only detect demonic beasts. Since entering the Ghost Nation Ruins and encountering numerous Soul Ghosts, it had become almost useless.

However, based on the consistent patterns observed during Destiny upgrades, enhancing [Monster Identify] would likely improve its capabilities in two aspects. The first was an increase in depth: strengthening his ability to detect demonic beasts, allowing him to probe the information and weaknesses of even stronger ones. This possibility seems unlikely, he thought, because, so far, I haven't encountered any demonic beast that [Monster Identify] couldn't probe; it was merely a matter of how many Spirit Stones it consumed!

The second was an increase in breadth: besides demonic beasts, he might also be able to perceive the information and weaknesses of Human Cultivators, Heavenly Demons, Soul Ghosts, and other creatures. This type of enhancement seems significantly more probable. If that's the case, I can use this newly upgraded Destiny to probe the Ghost Monarch's information and then expend Spirit Stones to deduce its weaknesses. Even if I can't win, it would still increase my chances of survival!

Shen Mo had made his decision.

With a thought, his Destiny Points appeared before his eyes:

[Destiny Points: 87]

I have eight attempts!

Attempting to upgrade a blue Destiny to a purple Destiny, much like upgrading from green to blue, cost 10 Destiny Points each time.

BUZZ!

As the Destiny Points were consumed, feedback messages appeared one after another:

[You have consumed Destiny Points in an attempt to upgrade the Destiny [Monster Identify] and failed.]