The Northern District is located in the north of Yuzhou, a barbaric land that has never been developed, with continuous mountain ranges and rarely visited by people.
Rumors had circulated for years that explorers encountered strange occurrences here, but after the recent upheaval of heaven and earth, the rumors became reality—a small Ghost Domain had actually been born here.
The origin of Ghost Domains remains an unsolved mystery to this day, but every Ghost Domain is a forbidden zone where the living must not tread, filled with heavy deathly aura and countless demons and monsters.
The most well-known is the Lost Ghost Domain in the Huaxi region.
Xidu, once a city with a population of ten million, has now been completely swallowed by the Lost Ghost Domain, reduced to a forbidden land for the living. ......
The rolling mountain ranges resembled a giant dragon lying dormant upon the earth.
Jiang Han and his group were currently standing at the mountain pass, preparing to enter.
Everyone wore different expressions—some excited, some fearful.
Although they were only dealing with Wandering Souls that posed no threat to life, the psychological pressure on these adolescents was still significant.
"Jiang Han, how about we team up later?"
Fatty tugged at the corner of Jiang Han's clothes, his voice revealing a hint of worry.
Jiang Han shook his head. "No, acting separately is more efficient."
The shadow within his body was likely an anomaly in this world, best not exposed to others' eyes.
Jiang Han's gaze swept toward Bai Ruoxue, who was surrounded by admirers like the moon among stars.
A large group of followers had already gathered around her; having just become a Spirit Master, she already displayed the air of a leader.
Seeing that the time was about right, Chen Yuan spoke up: "Alright, let's enter the mountain."
As his words fell, everyone looked at each other, none willing to be the first to take the plunge.
Swish!
Suddenly, Jiang Han took the first step.
Unlike the others who hesitated, he firmly stepped onto the path ahead.
Watching Jiang Han's retreating figure, the expressions of the crowd shifted slightly.
"Who is that?"
"Seems to be Jiang Han from Class 3?"
Chen Yuan, standing at the periphery of the crowd, nodded secretly, thinking to himself: "This child is decisive in nature, not dragging his feet at all. He is a talent worth cultivating, just a pity his aptitude is somewhat lacking..."
Bai Ruoxue had just assembled a six-person team and intended to be the leader to set an example, but unexpectedly, Jiang Han beat her to it.
"Hmph, let's go too!"
Bai Ruoxue memorized Jiang Han's retreating figure, then led her team on their way.
"That idiot, has no ability but loves to show off in places like this."
Zhang Feng spat in disdain, then also led a few people into the mountain. ......
In the dense jungle.
Ancient trees towered into the sky, and undergrowth grew thick.
Jiang Han raised his full attention, moving forward cautiously.
Though it was noon, upon entering this mountain forest, it was eerily as if he were in the dead of night.
Sunlight could not penetrate the layers of branches and leaves at all. The forest was dark and silent, permeated with an unsettling atmosphere everywhere.
"It's fine, just some Wandering Souls."
Jiang Han took a deep breath, cheering himself on in his heart.
Rustle—
Suddenly, a gust of Yin wind struck.
Jiang Han's body stiffened, his eyes changing abruptly: "Here it comes!"
Accompanying the Yin wind, a faint pale mist inexplicably rose from all around. It looked like the morning mist in the mountains at dawn, but even paler and more sinister.
A flash of dark light.
An eerie dagger was held in Jiang Han's hand in a reverse grip.
Feeling the warm, jade-like touch of his Lifebound Spirit Artifact, Jiang Han finally felt a bit more confident.
Just then, the temperature in the forest plummeted, as if falling into an ice cave.
"Young man... have you seen my eyeballs... where did they roll off to?"
A sorrowful, complaining voice sounded beside Jiang Han's ear.
It was so close it seemed to be pressed against his body, and he could even feel an icy breath on the back of his neck!
Jiang Han's hair stood on end, and his legs went weak.
In the next instant, he bit the tip of his tongue hard, forcibly seizing back control of his body. The dagger in his hand transformed into a dark light, violently tearing through the air.
Slash—
A humanoid pale mist was torn apart by the dagger like a torn sack.
Immediately after, a pale white droplet fell from the air.
Jiang Han hurriedly took out a white jade vial from his bosom and caught this drop of liquid.
This droplet was the product formed after a Wandering Soul dissipated.
It was said to be of great benefit to the daily cultivation of Spirit Masters. Though not as precious as Soul Jade, it was still quite valuable.
As for this white jade vial, it was distributed by Chen Yuan on the way here.
"Phew~"
Having successfully eliminated a Wandering Soul, Jiang Han let out a breath.
Although the process was easy, that sudden sense of fear had indeed caused him a moment of panic.
"This dagger is quite handy."
Jiang Han weighed the Spirit Artifact dagger in his hand, savoring the sensation of tearing through the Wandering Soul just now.
There was no resistance at all; it was as easy as cutting tofu, and the consumption of spiritual power within his body was minimal.
"If only there were more skill slots."
Just as Jiang Han was thinking this, another Wandering Soul darted out from the surrounding pale mist—
"Why... I am already dead... yet you still live... I am so unwilling..."
This Wandering Soul was slightly more solid than the previous one, filled with intense resentment, loathing the living, and longing to turn everything into dead matter.
Just hearing the voice made Jiang Han shiver.
This was far more realistic than any sound effect in a horror movie.
Jiang Han did not dare to be careless and swung his dagger again, obliterating the Wandering Soul—
"Boohoo... have you seen my daughter..."
"My intestines are spilling out... it hurts so much... save me..."
"I regret it so much... that woman was hiding under my bed..."
Wandering Souls, formed from collections of negative emotions, impacted Jiang Han's eardrums with every appearance, shaking his sanity.
With the slightest carelessness, one could have their mind seized by these wandering ghosts and fall into panic and unease.
After a long while. The pale mist around Jiang Han finally dispersed.
"It seems every swing of the dagger consumes a certain amount of spiritual power."
Jiang Han wiped the thin sweat from his forehead, panting heavily, and retracted the dagger into his body.
However, seeing that the white jade vial was already one-third full of the liquid, Jiang Han felt his previous efforts were worth it.
Moreover, in battle with the Wandering Souls, he had also gained a conviction.
Ghosts could be defeated!
"I just wonder how much the others have collected by now..."
Jiang Han frowned slightly: "No, I'm fighting alone, but Bai Ruoxue, Zhang Feng, and the others are all fighting in teams. If they pool their resources onto themselves, there's no way I can compare."
Additionally, as far as Jiang Han knew, one of Zhang Feng's lackeys had a rifle as his Spirit Artifact.
Lifebound Spirit Artifacts were manifestations of one's state of mind; anything could be conjured. Let alone a rifle, even a missile was possible.
It was just that the bullets fired were formed from spiritual power, consuming a tremendous amount, far beyond what swinging a dagger could compare to.
Furthermore, as one's realm improved in the future, a Spirit Master's abilities would change in a thousand ways. One could traverse space in an instant and close the distance. Without means to preserve their lives, ranged Spirit Masters would basically be done for once they were approached.
But at the starting stage, the efficiency of a rifle was definitely far superior to other Spirit Artifacts.
"Damn it! I still wanted to get that Green-rank Soul Jade!"
Jiang Han gritted his teeth, momentarily at a loss for a good strategy.
Just then, a line of ink-like text suddenly appeared in his pupils:
"...Because you can't compete with those teams by eliminating Wandering Souls normally, you plan to head deeper into the woods to search for White-rank Ghosts. In a mass grave, you encounter the Mist Ghost..."