First Immortal of Destiny

Chapter 142: Starving Ghosts

Upon reaching the entrance of the Ghost Country ruins, Shen Mo finally understood.

Why is this ruin located near the Ghost Corpse Gate and the Heavenly Sword Sect, yet these two major sects cannot claim it for themselves and expel other cultivators?

On the vast land, a long and winding crack split open.

There were rivers and streams blocking the way, and the crack itself was divided into two parts. The water from the upstream poured down, forming a magnificent scene like a galaxy waterfall.

There were even half-collapsed hills, with one half remaining on the surface and the other half sinking into the Ghost Country ruins.

As far as Shen Mo's eyes could see, he couldn't see where the crack ended.

Roughly estimating, just this crack alone was hundreds, if not thousands, of miles long.

Crooked and twisted, it resembled a scar on the earth.

To expel the other cultivators who entered to explore for treasures, the Ghost Corpse Gate and the Heavenly Sword Sect would need to send all their inner disciples to patrol both sides, and it still wouldn't be enough.

As for the outer disciples, who were more numerous, they couldn't even ride their swords, so what use could they be?

It was more likely that they would be killed with a casual strike when trying to stop others from entering or leaving.

"There are so many people!"

Within Shen Mo's line of sight, there were hundreds of Body Tempering realm cultivators carrying tools such as ropes and iron picks, climbing on the cliffs on both sides.

Occasionally, Qi Gathering realm cultivators could be seen stepping on magical tools and vertically descending into the crack.

There were even people offering transportation services, charging ten low-grade spirit stones for a trip, carrying Body Tempering realm cultivators who couldn't fly into the ruins.

They even provided round-trip tickets.

As long as the time was agreed upon!

As for the guests who died in the ruins... once a person died, there was naturally no talk of a refund.

Ten low-grade spirit stones were not a small sum for many Body Tempering realm cultivators.

When Shen Mo was guarding the gate of the Outer Sect of the Linqing Sect, he had saved up for a long time, and his entire fortune was only six low-grade spirit stones.

If he were to put it here, it wouldn't even be enough to ride a flying sword.

He had originally wanted to find a wealthy Body Tempering realm cultivator and make a quick ten spirit stones.

However, considering that he also had to provide a return trip, he dismissed the idea.

Once inside the ruins, even he himself didn't know when he would come out.

"We're going in."

Chen Mengze called out and stepped on his flying sword, descending straight into the abyss.

"Whoosh!"

The Longque Sword supported Shen Mo's figure, turning into a stream of light and following closely behind.

As they went deeper, a chilling ghostly aura pervaded the surroundings.

It was as if they had suddenly stepped from a warm spring day into a harsh winter, a coldness that came from deep within their hearts and bones.

[You are attempting to enter the Ghost Country ruins. You are being affected by the chilling ghostly aura, and your body feels uncomfortable.]

Seeing the information flowing through the panel, Shen Mo didn't pay too much attention to it.

Just like the Yin Ming ghostly aura and other types of spiritual energy, it would cause harm to mortals and cultivators alike.

It was similar to how living in a blessed place like the Linqing Sect could prolong one's life, while living in a burial ground would easily lead to illness.

Once at the Qi Gathering realm, one would not be greatly affected.

Otherwise, how could those Body Tempering realm cultivators dare to keep diving into the Ghost Country ruins?

"For the Ghost Corpse Gate, this is undoubtedly an excellent place to cultivate and refine corpses."

"Now, I'm afraid many disciples of the Ghost Corpse Gate have entered this ruin."

"I wonder if they will run into Xun Tian and Li Chen, the two geniuses of the Ghost Corpse Gate?"

"And there's also the Heavenly Sword Sect's natural-born sword body."

While contemplating, Shen Mo's thoughts stirred.

The Yin Ming underground fire hidden in his Qi Sea Dantian surged up.

With a flick, it absorbed all the chilling ghostly aura that had seeped into his body.

Born in the mysterious Yin Ming land and accompanied by wandering spirits and fierce ghosts, the Yin Ming underground fire was a piece of cake when dealing with such chilling ghostly aura.

Ten zhang.

Fifty zhang.

One hundred zhang.

Five hundred zhang...

The abyss seemed bottomless until the two of them fell thousands of feet and the view suddenly became clear.

It felt as if they had entered another world.

The surface of the earth was extremely desolate, covered in strange withered weeds.

The sky was obscured by heavy ghostly aura, but Shen Mo knew that it was not just the underground rock layers that they had passed through.

Apart from towering cliffs, looking ahead, there was an endless expanse of space, with no sight of the other side of the cliff!

"It feels somewhat like a mountain and river boundary."

If the Ghost Corpse Sect could stabilize this ghost country relic, perhaps they could have their own spatial relic like the Linjiang Sect, Qixing Altar, and Tianjian Sect.

Moreover, it was particularly suitable for the disciples of the Ghost Corpse Sect to cultivate and train.

But although it sounded simple, it was difficult to achieve.

To seize this ghost country site and prevent it from hiding in the netherworld, who knows how much precious materials, treasures, and effort would be required!

Perhaps after planning for a hundred years, in the end, it would all be in vain.

The two of them were currently in the outskirts of the relic.

It had long been plundered by cultivators like locusts.

They had to pick up even a stone from the ground and taste its saltiness or sweetness.

There was really no value in carefully exploring.

They took out the map jade slip, determined their position, and flew deeper on their flying swords.

...

"Run, run away! These starving ghosts are too ferocious..."

"Brother, please save me. My legs have been eaten by the ghosts, I can't run."

"Ah~~~ My intestines~~ My intestines have been eaten~~~"

"Use all the hidden means you have, don't hold back, wait to be devoured alive!"

Just as Shen Mo and Chen Mengze had been flying for a quarter of an hour, they ran into a group of Body Tempering realm cultivators traveling together.

However, their situation seemed dire!

A group of bloated and hideous ghosts surrounded them, feasting on them.

Feasting in the truest sense!

Their hearts, livers, spleens, lungs, hands, feet, and heads had all become their delicacies.

Even the blood that flowed onto the ground was licked clean.

These seven or eight Body Tempering realm cultivators were still desperately resisting, their blades and swords constantly slashing at the bloated evil ghosts.

They also used protective talismans, which emitted brilliant light, casting sealing spells to try to stop the evil ghosts from harming them.

Why did I say "seven or eight"?

Because among the eight survivors, some were missing hands, some were missing feet, and they could barely piece together seven intact bodies.

Unfortunately, their strength was too weak.

It seemed that they were about to become the main course for the bloated evil ghosts!

"Should we intervene..."

Before Chen Mengze could finish speaking, Shen Mo had already turned into a streak of light and rushed towards the group of man-eating bloated evil ghosts.

"Clang!"

The Longque Sword whistled and rang, with a pale flame attached to it.

The sword momentum was fierce!

Shen Mo wasn't driven by a sense of justice.

Nor was he unable to bear seeing human cultivators being devoured by evil ghosts.

Daring to team up and explore deeper into the relic, these Body Tempering realm cultivators should have been prepared to die at the hands of the ghosts.

Moreover, human cultivators hunted ghost spirits to obtain their souls.

Naturally, the ghosts could also resist and devour cultivators weaker than them, treating them as food.

Shen Mo made a move because he saw the souls of these bloated evil ghosts.

He came to the ghost country relic to make a fortune in cultivation resources and continue to strengthen himself.

With prey right in front of him, how could he resist?

As for saving those Body Tempering realm cultivators, it was just a casual act.

After all, it wouldn't take much effort on his part. Who knows, he might even earn a few spirit stones as "survival money."

(End of this chapter)