The First Immortal of Destiny

Shen Mo broke into a smile!

He drank raucously with it, cups clashing and wine flowing.

Originally, Shen Mo was worried about the Heaven Abandoned Ghost King, a Class III vicious ghost. After all, Zhang Taian, who was merely at the peak of the Body Tempering Realm in his lifetime, had transformed into a Soul Ghost and now possessed late-stage Class III strength. He feared that the Ghost King's strength would be earth-shattering!

However, after inquiring with Zhang Taian, he received a fragmented message. The general idea was that there was no need to worry about the Heaven Abandoned Ghost King. During the upheaval in the Ghost Zone, that Ghost King had been suppressed by several Human Cultivators whose qi was terrifyingly powerful.

Even though Zhang Taian was already a Soul Ghost, Shen Mo still detected a hint of fear in its crimson eyes!

A Dao sword!

A Ghoul!

A moon disc!

A streak of starlight!

Divine might, like a prison, had completely overturned the Ghost Zone. A true apocalypse! Those who hadn't experienced it could not possibly understand the immense terror involved.

Having finished their drinks, Zhang Taian earnestly invited Shen Mo and his companions to a "forbidden land." Of course, it primarily wanted Shen Mo to go, seeming to have something to show him.

"Junior Brother Shen, do you want to go?" Jiang Yingying asked, her voice tinged with a questioning tone.

Originally, as disciples of the Heaven Sword Sect, they wouldn't have dared to look down on Shen Mo due to his combat strength. Now, by a twist of fate, Shen Mo had saved them from the Ghost General. Hence, their attitudes had subtly changed. Especially Peng Chenshu, whom Shen Mo had saved twice, now treated him as if he were a senior disciple of high status and great power within the sect. Even Geng Zheng owed him a favor and no longer wore an annoyed expression.

As for Chen Mengze, her attitude towards him hadn't changed much; it was about the same as before.

Shen Mo wasn't sure if he was imagining it. He always felt that after Chen Mengze emerged from Death Jaw, she exuded a sense of alienation. It was different from her previous aloofness. Perhaps it had something to do with the opportunities she had encountered inside Death Jaw. With these thoughts, Shen Mo didn't press further.

"Senior Sister Chen, Senior Sister Jiang, the forbidden land Zhang Taian invited us to is on the path out of these ruins," Shen Mo said. "With it leading the way, we can avoid some trouble. Why don't we go together? Maybe we can find some treasures."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mengze, Jiang Yingying, and the others agreed.

Before leaving, everyone divided the collected artifacts. Shen Mo made another small fortune! He even obtained Master Hong Jue's water-like magic artifact from the plump woman. Then, he summoned his Soul General and reabsorbed the water flow—which was part artifact, part technique—into his body. Correspondingly, this Soul General of Master Hong Jue recovered some of its strength.

Shen Mo didn't take it for free. He asked Zhang Taian for the plump woman's head, then incinerated her and the other ruined corpses into ashes. He found a relatively secluded place and buried them together. The corpses of other cultivators killed by Zhang Taian were also properly dealt with by Chen Mengze and the others. After all, having taken their belongings despite having no grievances with them, they naturally had to find a place to bury them, rather than leaving their bodies exposed in the wilderness.

At any other time, Shen Mo might have considered using their corpses to cultivate the Dragon Elephant Blood Fiend Body. But now... The experience for the Dragon Body aspect of this external magic was almost maxed out, so there was no need to be so distasteful!

On the way to the forbidden land with Zhang Taian, Shen Mo activated "Insight into All Beings"!

Zhang Taian seemed to notice but didn't react. Apparently, it didn't mind someone probing its true nature.

[Soul Ghost: Zhang Taian]

[Realm: Late-stage Class III]

[Description: This ghost was originally a gate commandant in Tianshun Country. After Tianshun Country became a Ghost Zone, it perished due to immersion in ghostly energy, transforming into a Class II vicious ghost. Its ghostly body is harder than gold and iron, and it is adept in military martial arts. It has also mastered the Skill "Accelerated Movement," allowing it to move with extreme speed and unpredictability. Due to a deep-seated obsession, it retains a sliver of its original nature.]

[Weakness: This ghost cherishes certain things. These can be used as leverage against it. Destroying them could cause its obsession to shatter, leading to its demise.]

Soon, Shen Mo learned what it was that Zhang Taian protected.

「In the area marked as the "Forbidden Land" on the jade slip map.」

Within a radius of several tens of miles, not a single Soul Ghost could be seen.

Here, however, fields and houses stood intact. People bustled about, toiling within them! The crops in the fields were Nether spiritual plants, unique to the ruins of the Ghost Country. Even if the soil was extremely barren, they grew stubbornly, relying on the dense ghostly energy.

Shen Mo had also used "Insight into All Beings" to examine the laborers in the fields, who lived like mortals. They were a type of creature called "Human Ghosts"—half-human, half-ghost. Or rather, three parts human and seven parts ghost.

Their ancestors were originally living humans, but they were corrupted by ghostly energy. Some died violently; others, though tainted, did not transform into Soul Ghosts and managed to survive. These survivors reproduced, passing this trait to their descendants. Over generations of evolution, they became the creatures known as Human Ghosts. Such beings were not exceptionally rare in the cultivation world, but neither were they common.

Zhang Taian stood at a distance, not disturbing their work or lives. Shen Mo noticed, however, that all traces of anger and madness had vanished from its face. Instead, a relieved and bright smile appeared.

Rumor had it that the Ghost General was extremely bloodthirsty, Shen Mo mused. Whether living Human Cultivators or wandering Soul Ghosts, any who appeared before it would be brutally slaughtered. Perhaps all its bloodthirstiness and brutality are merely to eliminate outsiders. Be they ghosts or living Human Cultivators, in its eyes, they are all the same—all capable of destroying this place! What it truly cares for, what it longs for, is perhaps nothing more than protecting this sanctuary!

These creatures known as Human Ghosts were considered anomalies by both Soul Ghosts and living Human Cultivators alike. Hungry Ghosts, for example, viewed these Human Ghosts, with their trace of human aura, as a delicious delicacy. If not for Zhang Taian's deterrence, they would certainly not miss an opportunity for such a feast.

Human Cultivators also coveted Human Ghosts. They could be used to concoct specific elixirs or, like with Shen Mo's Soul Refining Flag, be bound and refined into Soul Generals. Some cultivators on heretical paths, with peculiar tastes, were particularly fond of the comelier Human Ghosts.

Shen Mo's group did not loot any treasures from this "forbidden land." As they were leaving, Zhang Taian gifted them numerous Nether mineral deposits it had accumulated over the years. Shen Mo received the largest portion, while Chen Mengze and the other three also received a share.

Shen Mo had no suitable cultivation methods, elixirs, or other items to gift Zhang Taian in return. As for the specialties of the Nether Ghost Zone, Zhang Taian had no lack of those either. So, Shen Mo simply bought all the spiritual wine and provisions from the others and gave them all to Zhang Taian.

After bidding farewell, Shen Mo and the others departed directly from the Ghost Country Ruins without stopping. One by one, their figures pierced through the dense, dark ghostly clouds and flew out of the Abyss crack.

A ray of warm sunlight bathed them. Shen Mo took a deep breath, his mood instantly brightening.

Once I return to the Riverside Sect, I'll need to properly digest my recent gains!