In the Jiawu Realm's twenty-five states of Yuezhou, Yuezhou was not the largest, but it was not the smallest either. It had the Qingping Mountain Range, the Fish Water River, and a piece of barren land that neither grandparents loved nor uncles cared for. This land was unsuitable for growing crops or for fishing and livestock, thus it became a gathering place for those who were unwilling to pay taxes to the imperial court.
Black Heart Mountain was located within this barren land, not deep within but rather at the edge. As for the Joxx School, it was situated within the Qingping Mountain Range because the mountain range was full of rare treasures, and sometimes, one could even encounter Immortal Elixirs that had absorbed the essence of the sun and moon by a fortunate coincidence.
The city of Qinghe City was originally built with the motive of preventing other cultivators from entering the Qingping Mountain Range to pick Immortal Elixirs.
In that barren land, there were scattered households.
The houses were simple and could barely shelter from the wind and rain, and the people living in them could only just manage to survive, eating one meal and going hungry the next. Once the climate turned cold, many would often freeze to death.
And if someone fell ill, although the people here knew of some medicinal herbs, their knowledge was extremely limited, so if it was a serious illness, they could only resign themselves to fate.
Tan Shuchang, taking advantage of the night, arrived here and encountered a ghost.
It was the dim figure of a young girl, dressed in tattered clothes, standing under an old tree, staring blankly ahead, motionless.
Without hesitation, Tan Shuchang stepped forward, clasped his fists in a salute, "Miss, I have a job here that provides food and shelter, would you be willing to come with me? If you do not speak, I will take it as your agreement."
Ghosts do not possess consciousness, and some that begin to generate malevolent spirits have a certain aggressiveness, devouring the vitality of the living. However, this kind of ghost would just stand there in a daze.
So, the ghost was simply taken away by Tan Shuchang. After all, silence was taken as consent.
Having taken the ghost, Tan Shuchang did not immediately leave; he dropped the food and some cold-weather items he carried at the front doors of the nearby homes and then left.
This was the reward for taking away someone's "ghost daughter".
Because Tan Shuchang did not know whose family this was, and it was not convenient to go from house to house to ask, he simply gave to all. After all, it is a common rule that ghosts linger near their former residences.
With this ghost included, Tan Shuchang had successfully found eight ghosts.
At that moment, he entered that mysterious game.
He planned to use these eight ghosts to exchange for four more malevolent spirits. Since this mysterious game allowed him to substitute ghosts for malevolent spirits, Tan Shuchang had no reason to miss such an opportunity.
As for exchanging for more…
Tan Shuchang was not quite daring to do so now, as the game did not seem to be unchanging.
Because Tan Shuchang had to compensate for the loss of property inside the instance, the mysterious game granted him a temporary privilege that allowed him to enter with the ghosts.
This time Tan Shuchang entered the game, the place he saw was pitch black. But soon, two rows of green light appeared in front of him, illuminating a path and also revealing an ancient temple faintly visible in the distance.
Tan Shuchang walked forward, unobstructed all the way, until he arrived in front of the ancient temple.
For at that time, four green-faced fierce spirits stood in front of the temple.
One with a green face and a single horn, one with green face and fangs, one with a green face and long tongue, one with a green face and four eyes.
"My name is Shun Buwangxi."
"My name is Ni Buhuangnei."
"My name is An Bushexi."
"My name is Wei Bujingju."
Four fierce ghosts each reported their names, and then they all shouted at Tan Shuchang in unison, "Who goes there? Why dare you, with a body of flesh and blood, trespass into the land of bitter Buddha?"
As the four fierce ghosts spoke at once, quadruple domains of malevolence directly descended upon Tan Shuchang.
However, this naturally posed no problem for Tan Shuchang.
With malignancy resistance at the Grade A level, one could directly face the gaze of a Yin God; even more so, as Tan Shuchang's abilities in this aspect were not just limited to Grade A.
"Please report that student Tan Shuchang has committed offenses, and has been punished to make recompense to the wandering spirits," Tan Shuchang said, clasping his hands together in salute, while forcibly suppressing a trace of greed in his eyes.
After all, these were four "living and breathing" fierce ghosts!
Capturing these four, he could instantly proceed with another Lifting Lotus for Ghosts. Who in the world could resist the temptation of a simultaneous twelve-year increase in strength without side effects, also accompanied by an understanding of Cultivation Techniques?
"I will go report to Earth Extinguish Venerable, you wait here," one of the fierce ghosts with a green face named "Ni Bu Weinei" and "Shun Bu Wangxi" stepped forward. Then, he walked towards the depths of the ancient temple.
The other two ghosts, at this moment, didn't look at Tan Shuchang anymore, but each turned towards a direction, akin to transforming into two stone statues.
Tan Shuchang did not have to wait long; soon, the two ghosts named "Ni Bu Weinei" and "Shun Bu Wangxi" returned. Upon seeing Tan Shuchang, they said, "Have you brought the Impermanence Order?"
"I have."
Tan Shuchang took out a Token.
"What about the spirits you are here to recompense?" One of the two ghosts then asked.
Upon hearing this, Tan Shuchang waved his sleeve and shook out eight wandering spirits he had collected.
"Eight? Not bad! Not bad! You do have ambition. Earth Extinguish Venerable has said, if you are still capable, you will be granted a task," one called "Ni Bu Weinei" nodded slightly.
And with that ghost's nod, as if triggering some kind of invisible mechanism, the Impermanence Order in Tan Shuchang's hand underwent a dramatic transformation.
Even as it trembled slightly, it emitted a humming sound.
This Token, as if awakening with spiritual intelligence!
"The Guardianship of Ghost City still lacks a Master. Since you can capture instance fierce ghosts, then you shall take the seat," a voice then came eerily from within the ancient temple, not from the four green-faced ghosts in front of him.
And with that voice's conclusion, another indifferent voice, undistinguishable as male or female, also rang out: "Earth Extinguish Venerable has perused the after-death memories of the spirits and learned of your merciful nature towards ghostly beings despite being a living person. Thus, you have won the appreciation of Earth Extinguish Venerable and have been exceptionally promoted to Master of the Ghost City."
"The privileges of Master of the Ghost City are as follows: You have significant authority over the fierce ghosts within Ghost City. All production within the Ghost City's boundaries, ten percent belongs to the Master of the Ghost City."
"Any instances that appear in Ghost City, and the nearby regions, are considered property of the Ghost City. The Master of the Ghost City can modify the basic rules of such instances."
"Do you accept?"
"If you do not accept, you will be marked by Earth Extinguish. In the future, when encountering fierce ghosts under Earth Extinguish Venerable, the ghosts will launch unrestricted attacks on you."
After listening, Tan Shuchang's eyes lit up again, because there were evidently two ways to activate the role of Master of the Ghost City!