"This Spirit Realm is simply impossible to conquer?"
The morning light spread across the conference room, where people were already seated on either side of the ten-meter-long table.
This was the headquarters of the Exorcist Guild's branch in Mount Chi City, where veteran exorcists qualified to enter A-level Spirit Realms had gathered to discuss the threats posed by the newly emerged Spirit Realm.
Twenty-three years ago, the supernatural had suddenly revived.
Mysterious entities once confined to legends and storybooks flooded in, and within just a few years, the originally peaceful and stable world had transformed completely.
Apart from the solitary ghosts and wandering spirits that could be seen anywhere outside the safe zones, there was another type of threat filled with uncertainties—the Spirit Realm.
If solitary ghosts were like wild beasts that could devour humans in the forest, then the Spirit Realm was like a separate forest filled with such beasts, existing as a parallel space that influenced the real world, always on the verge of instability and ready to descend into reality, turning everywhere it touched into a paradise for ghosts and demons.
Only the chosen Exorcists could prevent the Spirit Realm from descending into the real world.
Fortunately, after more than twenty years of development, the crisis of the Spirit Realm was no longer an imminent time bomb ready to explode at any moment and gradually became controllable.
The recent Spirit Realm crisis had not attracted much attention at first, as the higher-ups believed that dispatching a few seasoned exorcists could easily resolve it.
However, as one exorcist after another failed and even died, everyone finally realized the situation was far from simple.
The person speaking now was just lucky enough to have returned alive from the Spirit Realm of "Family Portrait."
He was an official senior Exorcist, with the code name Cleaner and a level of 26.
"Yes, as long as someone holds good intentions, it's impossible to conquer this Spirit Realm!"
The Cleaner appeared deeply shaken, sharing the intelligence he had acquired at the cost of nearly losing his life:
"This Spirit Realm can be described as unpredictable and full of deceit. I've been to the northern suburbs many times, and before this Spirit Realm descended, I had never seen the villa that acts as its core. So it can be said that it has already intersected with reality to the degree that one might not realize they have entered the Spirit Realm.
At first, I thought that the reason this copy became A-level was because the resident spirits and ghosts had killed many people and were filled with deep malice, which, indeed, was true. It took me a great deal of effort to deal with her, but in the end, I was lucky to succeed.
But even after I eliminated the resident spirits and ghosts in the Spirit Realm, the system gave no hints of conquest.
So I used items to purify the entire villa, ensuring there wasn't the slightest possibility of any evil spirits being born there.
But just when I thought it was over, everything had actually just begun.
In only a brief moment of distraction, the dilapidated villa transformed into a brand-new one, and the rotting resident spirit appeared indistinguishable from a normal person.
I suspect this is a double-layered Spirit Realm related to time; after surviving the present on the first layer, one would be transported to the past on the second layer.
There were three bodies in the hall of the villa from the past, and according to the name of the Spirit Realm and the information points in the villa, they were the family members of the resident spirit when she was alive.
Out of curiosity, I attempted to communicate with the resident spirit while she was still human, but she was crazed, having lost her sanity, continuously muttering 'it wasn't me,' and I also found evidence of other ghosts within that villa at the time anchor point.
I immediately judged that there might be another resident spirit, and the rotting female ghost on the first layer was just one of the victims, turned into a pawn by the true resident spirit.
So, I planned to find the real mastermind hiding somewhere."
At this point, the Cleaner expressed his profound regret:
"I tried everything, practically turning the entire villa upside down, but it was all in vain. What I hadn't considered was the pawn who was still human back then!
The true resident spirit was hiding inside her! As time went by, its control over the pawn grew stronger, and it seemed to possess an ability to steal life force from others to sustain itself.
By the time I noticed that I was inexplicably growing weaker and finally realized what was happening, it was too late. It had grown strong enough to crush me easily.
Then I could only watch helplessly as it tore off my face and extracted my heart. If it weren't for my life-saving items, I would probably be on the list of casualties now."
The Branch Chief sitting at the head of the table, a middle-aged man with the Exorcist code name Scythe, adjusted his glasses. He was the strongest member of the Mount Chi City branch, being at level 60.
"So you're saying, the only solution is to kill the pawn as soon as you see her, forcing the true resident spirit to appear, otherwise the longer it takes, the bigger the threat will become?"
"Exactly." The Cleaner said with a face full of sorrow, "But that's just impossible. What normal person would kill someone who appears completely helpless, especially when that person is also a victim."
Scythe's expression turned solemn: "Indeed, so those who sacrificed themselves probably fell into the same trap as you."
The woman next to him, who was dressed in formal attire and had obviously been attending some event late at night before being called to this emergency meeting, nodded: "This Spirit Realm is rated as A-level because if one knew this information beforehand and could kill the pawn immediately, the resident spirit, not having grown strong yet, wouldn't be too formidable. But now it seems that's just the best-case scenario, and in reality, the difficulty of this Spirit Realm far exceeds its rating."
"Right." Scythe suddenly spoke up: "Does this Spirit Realm have a secrecy mechanism?"
At his words, everyone tensed up.
The reason they did not relax because of the intel brought back by the janitor was precisely this.
Some specialized Spirit Realms have secrecy mechanisms in place, causing people who enter them to forget everything related to the Spirit Realm, as if invisible hands had meticulously erased those memories from the minds of the Exorcists.
Therefore, many Spirit Realms cannot be conquered, even with the sacrifice of lives, because the experiences of predecessors cannot be carried forward by those who come after.
Based on past experiences, these kinds of Spirit Realms involved in riddle-solving mostly have such secrecy mechanisms.
Upon hearing the inquiry from Scythe, the janitor's expression immediately turned bitter.
"Yes, I failed twice at the same place, and if I had not been experienced with plenty of life-saving tools, I would have been done for long ago."
Hearing this, even the veteran Exorcists inhaled sharply, and Scythe even showed a trace of sympathy.
It was like a person being granted a chance at rebirth, but since rebirth did not retain memories, those full of fighting spirit prepared to defy fate would find no change after being reborn and only realize in their old age that they had already lived through a similarly tragic life once before.
It was hard to imagine what kind of psychological shadow this Spirit Realm would cast over him.
"That's troublesome."
While feeling pity for the janitor, Scythe also showed a worried look.
Looking over the entire guild, if not all were saints who would act for the common good, at least they were people of decency and goodwill. But who could smoothly conquer the Spirit Realm this time?
Worse, even sending Exorcists who could challenge S-class or higher Spirit Realms to try might not resolve this crisis.
The first issue was the special ability of the residing spirits and demons to grow stronger as they faced stronger opponents; this ensured they became stronger when confronted with strength.
Even ignoring this, if an Exorcist beyond the Spirit Realm's specified [Levels 1~30] range of conquest were to challenge it, no matter how flawless the conquest process was, the highest settlement rating obtainable would only be a pass.
The settlement ratings are: fail, pass, good, excellent, perfect.
A "pass" is sufficient to survive, but unless a rating of "good" or better is achieved, the Spirit Realm would still descend.
This was a vicious cycle!
Just as the meeting room was engulfed in a heavy atmosphere, the woman in a dress beside Scythe, codenamed Secretary and who also served as Scythe's secretary in reality, suggested, "Why not let the folks from Black Jade give it a try?"
Unlike the Exorcist Guild, which concentrated on conquering Spirit Realms and sweeping rogue spirits outside the safety zones, Black Jade, though also an organization of Exorcists, behaved more like mercenaries. Whether it was protective escort or pioneering beyond the city, as long as there was payment, they would take on the job.
More importantly, these Exorcists lived on the edge, dealing death decisively. Compared to the Exorcists who adhered to 'With great power comes great responsibility', they might be more suited to conquering this Spirit Realm.
"Black Jade, huh..." Scythe seemed to have some disdain for them: "They have the ability to fight the oddities but choose to profit from the desperation of others. If they feel that a Spirit Realm wouldn't bring them any improvement or benefits, they wouldn't care less about whether it descends or not. Honestly, I don't want to deal with them."
However, the Secretary held a different view: "But now we are in a special situation. What if the Spirit Realm actually descends if we delay any further?"
Scythe fell silent.
Seeing that he was somewhat swayed, the Secretary hustled to have everyone vote on the decision.
This was the most democratic aspect of the Exorcist Guild. From headquarters down to each branch, even the guild leader did not possess an overriding vote in the face of diverging opinions on non-principle issues.
The result of the vote proved that although most people, like Scythe, didn't like the way Black Jade operated, they were more concerned about the impending descent of the Spirit Realm.
In the end, Scythe compromised. He sighed, "If that's the case, then..."
Just at that moment, all Exorcists who had added "Family Portrait" to their system collection received an announcement.
[Spirit Realm "Family Portrait" successfully conquered]
[Descent Terminated]
[Rating: An Inimitable Pinnacle]
[Conqueror: The Conqueror has Chosen to Remain Anonymous]
The Secretary, just about to leverage contacts with Black Jade, suddenly froze and exclaimed, "An Inimitable Pinnacle? I've never heard of this rating before!"
Scythe glanced at him. "Shouldn't the focus be on the fact that the Spirit Realm has already been conquered?"
"The Conqueror has Chosen to Remain Anonymous, huh..." The janitor seemed a bit puzzled. "Who could it be?"
Scythe, looking at the panel's rating, also fell into thought.
"I thought the highest rating was 'perfect'..."