The night passed just like that. The next morning, the group woke up and met again.

When she saw them all staring at each other, Jing Teng felt a bit awkward. She said, “We don’t have any food for humans. You’ll need to settle that on your own.”

In such a place, there were only fiends or ghosts, so there was indeed no food for humans. Technically, humans were their food.

Wei Suo stared at Zu An. He only had some buns in his bag, and only boss had more food. Zu An didn’t mind, however. He took out a large pile of exquisite refreshments and shared them with Qiu Honglei and Wei Suo. They had all been provided by the Righteous Sun Sect when he was on Violet Mountain.

Zu An’s status was special, so his food was on the same level as that of other sect masters. The Righteous Sun Sect really was a large sect. These refreshments had all been prepared in a delicate and delicious manner. Most importantly, the ingredients all consisted of the most precious spiritual herbs and other things that were really beneficial for cultivators.

After Violet Mountain’s great battle, Wang Wuxie was already dead. It was hard to say whether the Righteous Sun Sect even still existed.

Zu An suddenly noticed Jing Teng’s eyes darting in his direction from time to time. Her nose twitched a bit, and her mouth clenched from time to time too. He chuckled and asked, “Do you want to try a bit?”

Jing Teng’s eyes lit up, but she still said calmly, “We don’t need human food. However, out of consideration for your generosity, I’ll show you some courtesy.”

She received the food, and immediately sensed the spiritual herbs within the pastries. She delicately ate one, and sure enough, a wonderful feeling began to spread throughout her mouth.

“Is it good?” Zu An asked with a smile.

“It’s goo…” Jing Teng began. She had just opened her mouth when her face reddened and she said, “I guess it’s okay.”

“Do you want some more?”

“It’s not as if I need more.”

“Then forget it.”

“I guess it’s alright for me to try a bit more.”

…

Qiu Honglei tugged at Zu An’s sleeves when there was some downtime. She asked him through a voice transmission, “Ah Zu, you’re interested in her, aren’t you?”

Zu An chuckled and said, “I just think she has a lot of secrets. Getting a bit closer might just be of use in the future.”

He remembered what Mi Li had said the previous night. She had actually been wondering if a man’s thing would get hurt from all the friction with a vine fiend. Tsk tsk, she really is a freakish old woman.

When she heard what he said, Qiu Honglei had a big smile as she said, “Then I’ll help you with that!”

Zu An was stunned. You can even help with this kind of thing?

…

After they finished their breakfast, the group left the cave. With a wave of Jing Teng’s hands, a mote of light appeared from inside the cave, and a jade pendant materialized.

Zu An voiced his surprise. He released some energy to check the place, but he discovered that there wasn’t a trace of energy in the cave. It was actually the jade pendant that gave off a familiar feeling. Thus, he asked, “This jade pendant is that hidden paradise from last night?”

Qiu Honglei and Wei Suo were both shocked. When had they ever seen such a thing?

“That’s right,” Jing Teng said. She had just enjoyed their food, so her mood was pretty good. She didn’t mind answering some of his questions.

Zu An asked curiously, “Wouldn’t it be really bad if this small thing ended up getting stolen?”

Jing Teng gave him a look, then put it around her neck right in front of him. The pendant nestled in her chest as she said, “I refuse to believe that there’s anyone who can take it from me without me noticing.”

The others were stunned. If you put it in that kind of place, there really isn’t a chance of anyone stealing it…

Jing Teng said to Little Ying, “We’re heading out. The forest won’t be able to cover all the sun, so you should stay inside for now.”

“Okay,” Little Ying said with a bow. “I’ll be troubling Grandmother.” Then, she bowed to Zu An and added, “And the young master as well.”

Afterward, she turned into a strand of smoke and disappeared into a porcelain altar. It was clearly her ash altar. Jing Teng waved her sleeve, and the altar disappeared within.

Zu An had a weird look on his face. This woman is just like a legendary immortal with every movement she makes. She doesn’t seem like a fiend at all…

Qiu Honglei asked just then, “Miss Jing, earlier, you mentioned that the forest can’t hide the sunlight. Do the ghosts of this world fear the sun too?”

Jing Teng was a bit surprised. Why had this woman’s tone suddenly become so nice? She hadn’t wanted to pay Qiu Honglei any attention after the unpleasant interaction yesterday. But after thinking about it, she figured she could end up needing their help along the way, so she explained, “That’s right. The sun is the embodiment of extreme yang energy, which is the bane of many ghosts. However, there are some ghost creatures that are especially powerful and can resist the corrosion of the sun.”

Zu An asked curiously, “Then what’s Little Ying’s level among ghosts?”

Jing Teng led them out of the forest while replying, “Not that great. She’s only a bit stronger than some wild lonely souls who haven’t completely gained intelligence yet.”

Zu An secretly broke into some sweat for Little Ying. She really was pitifully weak. However, she was quite pretty. If one were to include some other skills, her strength wouldn’t necessarily be that low…

His face heated up and he quickly calmed himself down, saying, “Don’t worry, miss. We won’t be scared no matter how powerful the ghosts are. Honglei is a light element cultivator and is a natural enemy of these creatures. I also have some skills that are useful against evil spirits.” His Primordial Origin Sutra had purification properties. Previously, it had proven to be especially powerful against departed spirits.

Qiu Honglei nodded and said, “That’s right. Since ghosts fear the light, things will become much easier.”

Wei Suo stuck out his chest and was about to state that he wasn’t weak either, but after thinking for a long time, he couldn't come up with anything that was good against ghosts. He immediately deflated like a balloon.

Jing Teng frowned slightly and said, “Please don’t lower your guard. Ghosts aren’t as easy to deal with as those low-level deathly spirits that can easily be kept in check. Ghosts often have some special skills that can ensnare you before you even realize it. You might not even have a chance to mount a counterattack.”

Zu An asked in surprise, “There’s even such a thing?”

“That’s right. Many ghosts have skills that are near-impossible to defend against,” Jing Teng said. Her expression became a bit grave as she continued, “For example, they can pull you into an illusion that you can’t free yourself from, or drive you crazy to the point that  you massacre each other. They might be able to drag you into water, or even seal all your abilities…”

Cold sweat poured out from Wei Suo’s forehead. Just what the hell did I do to end up in this kind of place…

After giving them a bit of an explanation, Jing Teng continued and said, “If you don’t know how to deal with them, even if you manage to win, they might quickly resurrect again.”

“They can revive?” Zu An asked with a frown. “Ghosts can still revive after they’re killed?” He thought, That makes no sense! Then how do you even fight against them?

Jing Teng explained, “It can’t actually be called true resurrection. Because ghosts tend to have undead characteristics, they reside in certain articles. As long as those articles aren’t destroyed, they won’t truly die. If you want to destroy them, you have to destroy the corresponding vessel.

“Many ghosts are attached to their bones from when they were still alive. You need to destroy their corpses to completely kill them. There are also some ghosts that reside in a certain possession of theirs from when they were still alive. In that case, you need to destroy the object. They aren’t easy to find, though. That’s why ghosts are really hard to defeat.

“That’s especially true for some powerful ghosts who live in a series of related objects. You have to find all of them and destroy them, or else they’ll continue to revive again and again.”

Wei Suo couldn't help but ask, “Don’t tell me they aren’t affected at all even if you kill them once? Like… Do they at least become a bit weaker or something?”

Jing Teng frowned slightly and said, “There’s almost no effect, but it will inflict pain on the ghost. They’ll instinctively sense your power and might just choose not to provoke you anymore. However, the reason why many of them are ghosts is because they have powerful remaining grievances. That’s why it’s more likely that they won’t give up until one of you is completely dead.”

“Then how do you fight against them?” Zu An asked. Forget about Wei Suo, even his and Qiu Honglei’s expressions changed. As long as they hid that article well, they were completely unstoppable!

Jing Teng said, “Ghosts have a distinctive trait, which is that they can’t go too far from their vessel, or else they might easily disappear. So, if you encounter a ghost, their vessel is definitely in the vicinity.”

Zu An sighed in relief. That’s more like it. How could the natural laws of the universe tolerate something so incomprehensible?

“Also, there are some ghosts that are more powerful and can move with their vessels on them. They’ve already become one with their vessels. As long as you’re strong enough and defeat them properly, it’ll actually be easier to kill them. However, ghosts who have managed to reach that level are often really difficult to win against in a head-on fight,” Jing Teng said.

Zu An said with a smile, “Compared to those ghosts who hide their vessels who knows where, I’m more interested in those powerful ghosts. I can just fight them with brute force.”

Jing Teng wanted to advise him to be careful, but when she recalled her fight against him, she knew he had a reason to be confident. She decided not to say anything else.

“Is Little Ying’s hometown also near the Zhi River?” Zu An asked, as well as asking about the direction of the river.[1]

“That’s right. It’s because of her hometown that I decided to save her,” Jing Teng replied while pointing out the direction.

Zu An asked dejectedly, “Won’t this take way too long? We should just fly.”

“Don’t!” Jing Teng cried, her expression changing. She was about to stop him, but Zu An quickly took out the Wind Fire Wheels and shot up into the sky.

When he heard Jing Teng’s shout, Zu An shivered inwardly. At the same time, he felt the previously calm air suddenly begin to stir. In that instant, it was as if endless sharp blades of astral energy hacked at him.