Chapter 1750: Ghost Thing

The night passed, and early the next morning, everyone woke up and gathered.

Seeing the group of people staring blankly at each other, Jing Teng's expression became a little unnatural. "I don't have human food here," she said. "You'll have to find your own."

Being either demons or ghosts, they naturally had no human food. Strictly speaking, in some ways, humans themselves could even be considered their food.

Wei Suo looked eagerly at Zu An. He only had a few stale steamed buns in his travel bag, whereas Zu An, their boss, had plenty.

Zu An didn't mind. He took out a large pile of exquisite pastries from his Glazed Pearl and shared them with Qiu Honglei and Wei Suo. These had been provided by the Zhengyang Sect when they were at Mount Zi.

Because Zu An's status was special, his meal provisions were on par with those of the major sect leaders.

It had to be said that the Zhengyang Sect truly lived up to its reputation as the foremost Daoist sect. The pastries were not only exquisitely delicious, but more importantly, they were made entirely from precious spiritual herbs and elixirs, greatly benefiting cultivation.

However, after the great battle on Mount Zi, Wang Wuxie had also died, making the future existence of the Zhengyang Sect uncertain.

Just then, he noticed Jing Teng's eyes involuntarily darting his way. Her nostrils seemed to twitch, and her lips subtly pursed.

He chuckled, "Would you like some?"

Jing Teng's eyes lit up, but she still said casually, "We don't need human food, but I'll humor you out of consideration for your good intentions."

With that, she took a pastry. She had already sensed the essence of spiritual herbs radiating from it. As she put it in her mouth, a delightful, refreshing sensation indeed melted within her.

"Is it good?" Zu An asked, smiling.

"Good..." Jing Teng began, her face flushing slightly, then added, "It's passable, I suppose."

"Want more?"

"It's not strictly necessary."

"Then never mind."

"Fine, I'll try a little more."

Qiu Honglei, seizing a moment, tugged at Zu An's sleeve and transmitted her voice to him: "A'Zu, are you interested in her?"

Zu An chuckled, "I just feel she has too many secrets. Building a good relationship might prove beneficial in the future."

He recalled Mi Li's words from last night—she had actually been curious if a man would get chafed when being intimate with a vine demon. Tsk tsk, what a kinky old perv.

Hearing him say that, Qiu Honglei bloomed into a radiant smile. "Then I'll cooperate and help you well in the future," she said.

Zu An just stared, bewildered.

How exactly would she help with something like that?

After breakfast, the group exited the cave. Jing Teng extended her hand, and a wisp of light floated out from within the cave, coalescing into a jade pendant necklace.

Zu An let out a sound of surprise. He released his qi to investigate, finding that the cave's aura had completely vanished. Instead, the jade pendant in her hand had a familiar feel to it.

"Is this jade pendant the Blessed Land cave-dwelling from last night?"

Qiu Honglei and Wei Suo were both equally astonished; they had never witnessed such a technique before.

"That's right." Jing Teng had just enjoyed the exquisite food, and her mood was still quite pleasant, so she didn't mind answering some of his questions.

Zu An was a little curious. "If something so small were stolen," he mused, "the loss would be immense."

Jing Teng glanced at him, then, right in front of him, put the necklace around her neck, tucking the jade pendant between her breasts. "I don't believe anyone could steal it without my knowledge," she stated.

Everyone stared dumbfounded. Placed in such a spot, it was indeed utterly impossible to steal.

Then she said to Xiao Ying, "As we move further out, this forest won't be able to block the sunlight anymore. You should go inside first."

"Understood." Xiao Ying bowed. "Thank you, Grandma."

She then curtsied to Zu An. "And thank you, Young Master," she added.

After speaking, her entire being transformed into a wisp of light smoke and slipped into a porcelain jar, which was clearly her urn.

Jing Teng flicked her sleeve, instantly tucking it away.

Zu An's expression turned strange. The woman's every gesture and movement made her seem more like a legendary immortal cultivator than a demon.

At this moment, Qiu Honglei asked, "Miss Jing, you just mentioned the forest wouldn't block the sunlight anymore. Do ghosts in this world also fear sunlight?"

Jing Teng was somewhat surprised; why had this woman's tone become so pleasant? She originally hadn't intended to engage with her, especially after their rather unpleasant encounter yesterday.

However, on second thought, she realized they might still need to rely on their strength along the journey. So, she explained, "That's right, sunlight is the ultimate embodiment of strength and yang, a natural bane for many ghosts. However, some spectral entities, if powerful enough, possess their own methods to resist the sun's corrosive effects."

Zu An asked curiously, "Then what level of combat prowess does Miss Xiao Ying possess among ghosts?"

Jing Teng led them out of the forest, replying, "She's insignificant, only slightly better than some unintelligent wandering spirits."

Zu An secretly felt a pang of sympathy for Xiao Ying; she was truly pitiably weak.

However, she was quite beautiful. And if her talents in certain *other* areas were also considered, her combat power might not be low...

His face flushed, and he quickly composed himself. "Miss, don't worry," he said. "We're not afraid of any powerful ghostly entities. Honglei is a light-element cultivator, which naturally has a suppressive effect on evil spirits. And I also possess a skill that can deal with them."

His Primordial Chaos Scripture possesses a purifying effect, and he was quite adept at dealing with undead creatures back then.

Qiu Honglei nodded. "That's right," she said. "Since ghosts fear light, it should be easy to deal with them."

Wei Suo puffed out his chest, initially wanting to boast that he wasn't weak either. However, after racking his brain, he couldn't think of any ability he possessed that could deal with ghosts, and he instantly drooped like a frost-bitten eggplant.

Jing Teng frowned slightly. "Don't be careless," she warned. "Ghosts are not so easily dealt with. They are unlike those low-level undead creatures that can be easily countered by certain skills."

"Those ghosts often possess various special abilities that can make you fall victim without even realizing it, or without even having time to resist."

Zu An was startled. "There are such abilities?" he asked.

"That's right, many ghosts possess abilities that are impossible to guard against," Jing Teng said, her expression growing somewhat grave. "For example, they can trap you in an illusion from which you cannot escape, or cause you to go mad and kill each other, drag people into water, or even seal all your skills..."

Wei Suo listened, cold sweat beading on his forehead, thinking, "What sin did I commit to end up in this place?"

After a brief overview, she continued, "If you don't employ the correct methods, even if you manage to defeat a ghost, they will quickly revive and return."

"Revive?" Zu An frowned. "Ghosts can revive after being eliminated?"

"That's unreasonable. How can we possibly fight them then?"

Jing Teng explained, "Actually, it's not quite a revival, because ghosts often possess an undying quality. They typically reside within a specific item or another entity. As long as that host object isn't destroyed, they remain indestructible. To truly eliminate them, you must destroy their corresponding host object."

"For many ghosts, their host object is their remains from their former life. Only by destroying these remains can you truly eliminate them."

"Additionally, some ghosts will reside within an item they owned during their lifetime. That item must be destroyed."

"Finding the corresponding item is not a simple task, which is why ghosts are so difficult to deal with."

"Particularly powerful ghosts might reside within a series of related items. If you don't find and destroy all of them, they can continuously regenerate."

Wei Suo couldn't help but ask, "Does destroying a ghost once have no effect on them whatsoever? Do they not become weaker or anything?"

Jing Teng shook her head slightly. "It has almost no effect," she said. "It might cause ghosts to feel pain, and they will instinctively sense your power, perhaps choosing not to provoke you anymore. However, many ghosts become ghosts precisely because they possess powerful obsessions, so it's more likely they will fight you to the death."

"Then how do we fight?" Not to mention Wei Suo, even Qiu Honglei and Zu An's expressions changed. If the opponent could simply hide their host object well, they would be completely invincible.

Jing Teng explained, "Ghosts have a distinct characteristic: they cannot stray too far from their host object, or they risk being reduced to ash. Therefore, if you encounter a ghost, its host object must be in the vicinity."

Zu An finally breathed a sigh of relief. That was more like it; the laws of heaven wouldn't truly allow for an unkillable existence.

"Additionally, some more powerful ghosts can move freely with their host objects, as they have merged with them. As long as you are strong enough, it actually becomes easier to kill them after defeating them head-on. However, it is also very difficult to defeat a ghost that has cultivated to this realm in a head-on battle."

Zu An chuckled, "Compared to ghosts who hide their host objects somewhere unknown, I'd rather encounter these more powerful entities—simple, direct, and brutal."

Jing Teng had initially wanted to caution him, but recalling their confrontation last night, she understood he had reason to be confident, so she said nothing more.

"Is Xiao Ying's hometown also in Zhichuan?" Zu An asked, simultaneously inquiring about the direction to Zhichuan.

"That's right. It was precisely because she was from my hometown that I saved her back then," Jing Teng replied, pointing him in a direction.

Zu An said in a deep voice, "Walking like this is too slow. Let's just fly."

"No!" Jing Teng's expression changed, and just as she was about to stop him, he had already taken out two flaming wheels and shot straight into the sky.

Hearing Jing Teng's cry, Zu An's heart tightened. Almost simultaneously, he suddenly felt the previously calm air above them suddenly boil, instantly transforming into countless incredibly sharp gales of qi shooting toward him.