Lesson Time: Ghosts and Spirits (Ooh, Spooky)

Lan Xiang glanced at the stairs. There was a trail of muddy water going up, left by the rapid escape of the spider.

He furrowed his brows. "I'm already fine."

As he tried to stand up, Xie Jian blocked him. "Aiya, you just started to rest, how come you already want to stand up?"

"Leaving the spider to rest would do us more harm than good." Lan Xiang furrowed his brows. "The spider consumes other ghosts to get stronger, and it's ghost buffet in this building. Who knows how much stronger it could get while we wait idly."

"Un," Xie Jian replied, "but your wellbeing is more important right now. How about this, at least rest for 5 minutes, okay?"

"Hmm, fine." Lan Xiang thought that 5 minutes were really nothing. "At least we should do something worthwhile while resting. Teach me about those spirits."

"Ahh, the spirits." Xie Jian pursed her lips. "I mentioned earlier that ghosts have a relatively low skill ceiling, right? The strongest ghost would probably be at Level 9 or 10, tops. Unlike a ghost, a Spirit is an accumulation of both Qi and negative emotions, meaning it can become much, much stronger. In fact, its potential is as high as a cultivators."

"Wait, only Spirits have qi? Then what are ghosts made of?"

"Hmm. Well, to be honest, no one knows. We only call it negative emotions because it's the most convenient. Researchers, to this day, have no idea how a simple lack of hormones in one's brain could result in the formation of a being, a ghost. There are many hypotheses about this topic.

My teacher told me one of them, it's that when humans experience depression, or to some extent, sadness, their serotonin production levels are actually the same, but there was a high percent chance it would just be excess and leave the brain, floating into the atmosphere. When enough serotonin accumulate and coagulate, they form into a ghost."

Lan Xiang nodded his head. Personally, he heard that as complete bullcrap, but he was inclined to believe it since: one, it was Xie Jian speaking, and; two, he was in a cultivation world, who's to say this wasn't possible?

"Aiya, we went off into a wild tangent. You were supposed to tell me about spirits."

"Hmph, you're the one who asked me what ghosts are made of. This is relevant to the topic anyway, since Spirits are made of the same thing as ghosts, plus qi. When a ghost cultivates, or at least gains the ability to control qi, they have the unique power to materialize, making them much, much stronger than they already are."

"Materialize? Aren't ghosts already doing that? How come we can hit them then?"

"See, that's the thing. Normally, ghosts can't be hit by physical objects. Only matter formed by qi can be used to attack them. Of course, they quickly nullify it, so if you don't have an exorcism technique, your only option is to run away.

However, these spiders aren't normal ghosts. We can hit them with normal water without qi, or, as you said, Qingle threw some random chairs towards the spiders, right?"

"Wait, so... normal ghosts are stronger than those spiders?"

"Well, no, because those spiders are actually about Level 10 or 11 in cultivation standards. You easily got rid of every other ghost you encountered, right? Not like the spiders."

"Hmm." Lan Xiang fell into contemplation. "You mentioned earlier that a Spirit is controlling the spider ghosts, is that why they're stronger?"

"Yes, definitely. These spiders are not ghosts naturally formed through accumulated negative emotions. They must be artificial, by the hands of a Spirit. I sensed a trace of qi within them earlier. It was very, very faint, but it's there. That slight mistake by the Spirit while forming these spiders caused them to be able to get hit by normal objects."

"Huh?? Then, if the spiders are already this strong, how about the Spirit controlling them?"

"...This is what I've been worrying about since earlier. To be honest with you, I think we should just leave. I'll call grandpa to take care of the ghosts, he has an exorcism technique."

"That would probably be the safest bet..." Lan Xiang agreed. "But how long can we wait for grandfather-in-law? For all we know, the Spirit is commanding the spider ghosts to consume all of the other ghosts in the vicinity so that the Spirit could gobble it all up by himself! How much stronger would it get while we wait?"

"But... how strong is it right now? Do you think you can handle it?" Xie Jian had a concerned expression.

"Hehe, I'll be honest with you. If the situation gets really bad, I can just run away. You know how I can control all elements, right?"

"Right..."

"Well, Xifa actually allowed me to practice her Spatial Distortion Technique."

"..." Xie Jian was speechless. 'Thi- this is your secret family technique, right?? Why are you allowing a friend to use it? Is she... making moves on my Xiang?'

She squinted her eyes, becoming suspicious. Lu Xifa was now marked in her brain...

"Hello? Earth to Jian'er?"

"Ah, sorry, I was thinking about something. Where were we?"

"I was just saying that if we ever get into a dangerous situation, I can use my portals to get us out of there! Although, they're still unstable, I don't know if they'll have some side effects."

"...So we're doing this? We're attacking the Spirit then?"

"Yes, let's skip the spiders and go straight to the source!"

Five minutes had passed since Lan Xiang collapsed. Due to his vigorous massaging of himself during their talk, he quickly recovered and could now stand up.

Xie Jian gulped as she grabbed Lan Xiang's hand.

"What, are you scared?"

"N-no!... Well, yeah, honestly..." Xie Jian was gazing at the floor.

Lan Xiang was drooling. He never thought he would see the timid Xie Jian in a scenario where they have to fight! "Don't worry, I'm here. I'll save you, my princess~"

Xie Jian chuckled as some of her tension was relieved.

The pair ascended the stairway.