Ghosts lift lotus, twelve years of effort

From the moment Tan Shuchang began his cultivation, he knew that refining ghosts was highly beneficial for him, allowing him to further develop his unique abilities.

It was like how certain wild animals, such as dogs and cats, instinctively knew which herbs were good for them.

It was a kind of unspoken heritage of ability.

However, the extent to which his uniqueness would evolve depending on the level of the ghost was unclear to Tan Shuchang, as there had never been a suitable ghost before. He had attempted to make do with lesser spirits, but each act of refining only diminished his own spiritual cultivation.

Once, he chanced upon a relatively powerful spirit, already giving rise to malevolent energy. Refining it did not diminish his power, but the stream of blood that flowed from it simply made him vomit what he had eaten.

It wasn't until a few days ago that he captured his first ghost from that bizarre game, and the issue did not arise.

He had finally succeeded in refining one!

At that moment, as Tan's thoughts shifted, the stream of blood reappeared, but this time, apart from the blood, a phantom Lotus Platform also emerged.

Due to its ethereal nature, the exact appearance of the Lotus Platform remained indiscernible.

But what he could confirm was that sitting on this Lotus Platform just once would increase Tan Shuchang's spiritual cultivation by twelve years. However, the prerequisite to sitting on this Lotus Platform was refining two more ghosts, totaling the power of four to jointly elevate this platform and solidify it.

After using it, the Lotus Platform would revert to being ethereal, and to increase his cultivation again, he would need eight ghosts.

Twice as many as the first time.

The third time, he would need twice the initial amount, which would be twelve ghosts.

Then the number would continue to increase progressively.

Each time the ghosts elevated the Lotus Platform, Tan Shuchang could gain twelve years of spiritual cultivation.

"Finding ghosts doesn't seem too hard…"

Tan Shuchang calculated the time he had entered the bizarre game twice.

In the past, he would have been distressed because in the Jiawu Realm, there is a Land of Yin and Darkness that occasionally sends creatures to capture lingering spirits and bring them back.

The well-known methods of capturing and subduing ghosts in the Jiawu Realm also originated from the Land of Yin and Darkness.

Because these creatures would come to "recycle" the spirits.

In exchange, they would offer rewards like "Yin virtue," "elixirs," "magic artifacts," among others, where "Yin virtue" was the currency of the Land of Yin and Darkness.

If the spirits handed over reached the level of a ghost, they could even retrieve information regarding the whereabouts of a psychic treasure.

A psychic treasure was something countless cultivators dreamt of obtaining.

However, most cultivators, even when encountering a psychic treasure, were not destined to acquire it.

Just like what had happened to Tan Shuchang before.

The Chaotic Life Dharma Bead had simply slipped away; even if he had wanted to stop it, he couldn't have.

Although the psychic treasures chose their owners, and the cultivators had no active role in it, it did not detract from the treasures' value. Thus, even just a clue to its location was incredibly valuable.

Even most of the time, unless it's a deep grudge like the killing of one's father or the stealing of one's wife, an effective clue to a spirit-communicating treasure could directly negate any resentments between two people.

"Previously it was two days, so in about another day or two, it will be my time to enter the bizarre game..."

"As for these two days, I need to find the little thief who stole my diary!"

Immediately after, Tan Shuchang descended from Black Heart Mountain and made his way to Qinghe City.

This was the only city in the nearby area.

After all, Black Heart Mountain was in a very remote place, and apart from the neighboring sect of Jiuxiao Sect, it could be said that within ten miles, there was not a soul to be seen.

This city, where cultivators and mortals lived together, was very different from other cities inhabited by mortals.

Firstly, there was no county magistrate or county office here.

After all, establishing such institutions would not only make the imperial court uncomfortable but also the Jiuxiao Sect. As a righteous and evil power that intermingles and is unchallenged, Jiuxiao Sect's influence was not merely due to familial relations.

Although many cultivators admired the female sect leader of the Jiuxiao Sect, and most who were ambiguously associated with her held high positions, whether as sect leaders or elders on the righteous path or as renowned figures within the evil sects.

But the cultivation of this female sect leader was not low.

Moreover, her disciples were known as the Seven Fairies, which meant that these seven disciples were not only beautiful in appearance but also top-notch in their cultivation and abilities.

The eldest disciple of the Jiuxiao Sect, Li Luoxia, was the oldest at just over twenty, belonging to the younger generation. But her strength had already reached that of the more mature generation.

Even some loose cultivators with over thirty years of cultivation were far from her match.

At this moment, this Li Luoxia was in Qinghe City.

Since the people from Mount of Swords had been in this city for so long, and also sent batch after batch of people here, it was somewhat essential for the Jiuxiao Sect to send a disciple of some stature.

As for sending an elder, that would seem like accusing Mount of Swords, so someone like Li Luoxia was just right.

Li Luoxia, having just sent away the delegation from Mount of Swords and feeling relieved, saw her maidservant hurrying over, so she couldn't help but cover her forehead and said in agony, "Xiangxiang, you're not going to tell me another major righteous sect has sent someone, are you?"

"No, miss. Tan Shuchang wants to see you," the maidservant hurriedly said.

"Tan Shuchang? The Tan Shuchang who killed the Heartless Old Man?" Li Luoxia was instantly startled, then felt some tingling in her scalp, as this was even more troublesome than a disciple from a major righteous sect coming over.

The first and most important point was that she felt she might not be a match for this Tan Shuchang.

Although the Heartless Old Man had greatly weakened in strength after the battle a few years ago, as long as he had the Chaotic Life Dharma Bead, his strength wasn't much diminished.

At least if she were to face such a spirit-communicating treasure, Li Luoxia believed she would undoubtedly die.

"Yes, miss, it's the Tan Shuchang who wrote that cultivation diary!" The maidservant had followed Li Luoxia for many years, and her family had been servants in the Li family for generations, so Li Luoxia trusted Xiangxiang deeply, and often shared many things she knew with her.

When Li Luoxia heard Xiangxiang mention the cultivation diary, her expression shifted slightly because she remembered her little junior sister who seemed to have a somewhat unclear relationship with this Tan Shuchang. A few years ago, when her junior sister created a disturbance on the Cliff of Contemplation, it was Tan Shuchang who went to persuade her to come down.

So, Li Luoxia said, "Please ask him to come over quickly, and ah, don't mention anything about the cultivation diary."

"Don't worry, miss. Haven't I been with you long enough to know what can and cannot be said? And isn't it because I'm very discreet that I could come to the Jiuxiao Sect to cultivate with you!"