Chapter 11 Encounter in the Ghost Realm

Under the dark sky, darkness surrounded them. After the Ghost Sun had set, the Ghost Realm had clearly entered the night, and the light appeared much dimmer than before. Six light shadows slowly circled in the night sky, occasionally pausing, as if searching for something.

Looking around, Lu Yunkai spoke up, "Yun Feng, it's been so long. Have you detected any traces of ghosts? We've been flying for almost half an hour, covering at least two hundred miles. How come there's been no sign of activity?"

Yun Feng's expression was strange as he scanned the surroundings, his eyes flashing with blue and red lights, as if searching for something. When Lu Yun asked, he couldn't help but whisper, "This place is strange. I've been searching for a long time, and the ghostly aura around here is eerie, but there's no sign of any ghosts. This is different from the human realm. I don't understand where all the ghosts in the Ghost Realm have gone. Since we entered the Ghost Realm, apart from encountering countless ghosts at the entrance, we've only encountered a group of ghost soldiers and encountered some ghosts in the Black River. Other than that, it seems like we've never encountered any. Could it be that there are no solitary ghosts in this place?"

Ziyang True Person interjected, "It's unlikely. The Ghost Realm is so vast. How could there be no solitary ghosts? Could it be that we're looking in the wrong direction, as if we've entered a deep mountain or wilderness in the human world, where there are no traces of people?"

Lu Yun glanced around and whispered, "Wait for me here, I'll check the ground and then make a decision." With that, he descended. The five watched his figure, showing a hint of surprise, not understanding what he was going to check on the ground.

After landing, Lu Yun carefully inspected the ground, moving around. After a lap, Lu Yun's eyes showed a hint of confusion. His mental waves instantly spread out in twelve directions, carefully searching for any movements around him. A black light flashed on Lu Yun's body, barely noticeable under the dark sky. After carefully observing the surroundings, Lu Yun quickly discovered something. At this point, nine mental waves had returned, and only one mental wave had detected a strange but extremely weak aura three hundred miles away. The remaining three mental waves were still exploring everything around them at high speed.

Glancing at the five figures above, Lu Yun saw them watching him and couldn't help but sigh softly. In this situation, even if he had any ability, he didn't dare to display it openly. After standing quietly for a while, waiting for the remaining three mental waves to return, Lu Yun smiled faintly and floated up.

Looking at Lu Yun, Yun Feng asked, "How did it go? You've been searching for a while. Did you find anything?" Lu Yun looked at the five and smiled faintly, "I did find something. Let's talk while we walk. It's three hundred miles ahead." With that, the Sword of Heart and Soul flashed, and Lu Yun shot forward with his companions.

As they flew, Lu Yun said, "I now think that we've been making a mistake all along. Humans in the human realm have physical bodies, so they live in houses or caves. But the ghosts in the Ghost Realm are incorporeal. Do they also live in houses? We've been searching the ground for signs of ghostly habitation, but I think we've been mistaken. We never considered whether these ghosts live underground. What do you all think?"

This statement stunned the other five, not expecting Lu Yun to suddenly come to this conclusion. Looking ahead, Cang Yue spoke softly, "Now that you mention it, it does make some sense. After all, we don't understand the habits of ghosts, and we don't know where they hide."

Yun Feng didn't agree with this, saying, "Even if those ghosts hide underground, we should still be able to detect their aura. But why haven't we found anything after so long? I don't think your theory is plausible."

Lu Yun smiled faintly, "Yun Feng, let me test it. I'll go twenty feet ahead, and you see if you can detect my movements. Try it yourself, and you'll see the result. Pay attention." With that, he shot away. Shortly after, his body disappeared into the night sky.

Yun Feng chuckled, "Well, well, Lu Yun, you're trying to challenge me, huh? Let's see if I can find your trace." With that, he formed seals with both hands, and a red and green light suddenly appeared around him. Looking ahead, Yun Feng shouted, "Qiankun Infinity, Yin and Yang Borrowing Method, present!" Suddenly, everything within dozens of feet around him became bright, revealing everything that had been hidden. Unfortunately, there was no sign of Lu Yun's figure or aura.

The five were shocked, and Yun Feng couldn't help but exclaim. They glanced at each other, and Yun Feng shouted, "Lu Yun, are you playing tricks? Did you run far away to hide? Why can't I find your figure or aura nearby?" As he spoke, Lu Yun's voice came from twenty feet away, "Yun Feng, I'm only twenty feet away from you. Can't find me?"

The five were startled, and they saw a light silently appear in front of them. Lu Yun's body seemed to emerge from the void, mysterious and eerie. Yun Feng rubbed his eyes in disbelief and exclaimed, "This can't be possible. I don't believe it. How did you do it? Tell me quickly."

When the five approached, Lu Yun smiled, "As I told you before, by adjusting the frequency of the true qi waves outside my body to match the frequency of the surroundings, I can hide my body. This is one of the characteristics of the 'Five Thunder Heavenly Doctrine' technique. Practice it more in the future, and maybe I'll teach you the 'Five Thunder Heavenly Doctrine' someday. Understand?" The last sentence startled both Yun Feng and Ziyang True Person, not understanding why Lu Yun said that.

Ziyang True Person said solemnly, "Lu Yun, what do you mean by your last sentence? Yun Feng practices the 'Heavenly Soul Shocking Technique' of the Yin Academy, which belongs to the Yin Soft Path. How could he also practice the extreme Yang and extreme hardness of the Heavenly Doctrine? Are you hiding something from us?"

Lu Yun shook his head slightly, looking at the dark night sky, his eyes showing a hint of strangeness. After glancing at everyone, Lu Yun whispered, "Who can say what will happen in the future? Things are unpredictable, and anything is possible. Let's continue on our way now. I sensed a very familiar aura ahead. Perhaps we will encounter unexpected individuals." Without saying more, Lu Yun's body suddenly accelerated, like a streak of light, instantly pulling away, flying forward.

Three hundred miles away, in the blink of an eye. Landing lightly on a rocky cliff, Lu Yun's eyes flickered with light as he carefully searched for that familiar aura. A red flame burst from his body, forming a red nebula around him, beautiful like a red lotus. The Sword of Heart and Soul erupted with a dazzling light, and a fire dragon soared into the sky, circling in the air before roaring towards the sky.

The crowd looked at Lu Yun in confusion, unable to understand what he was doing. They saw Lu Yun's body slowly descending, and the Yi Tian Method of Yi Garden suddenly burst forth with a strong momentum, enveloping the entire area within several miles in his powerful aura. As Lu Yun descended, a tremendous momentum suddenly rose from below the cliff, a very familiar momentum that illuminated the entire area below. Layers of dark blue light, accompanied by a fierce and domineering aura, soared into the sky.

On the cliff, Ziyang True Person's face changed drastically as he exclaimed, "This aura is so familiar, could it be the Splitting Peak Technique of Qian Garden?" Aozhi was also surprised and said, "The person below is highly skilled, seems to be a master from our Yi Garden. But who could it be? How come we've never heard of him before?"

Ziyang True Person looked at the intertwining blue and red light below, feeling the familiar yet powerful aura, and suddenly realized something. Ziyang True Person's face lit up with joy, and he exclaimed, "I understand now. It's Yun Fengyang, the most outstanding disciple of Yi Garden sixty years ago. It's really great to meet him here. Ha ha, let's go down and see them to avoid any misunderstandings." With that, he floated down.

Yun Feng said, "Misunderstanding? How could that happen? We're all disciples of Yi Garden. Would they fight each other?" Ziyang True Person was taken aback by this statement, then smiled, realizing that he was indeed too happy to think straight.

Looking at the powerful blue light, Lu Yun's eyes showed a faint smile as he slowly suppressed it without showing any weakness. In the blue light, a figure looked at Lu Yun with a hint of surprise in his eyes and asked, "Who are you? Are you from Yi Garden? From the light on your body, you should be from Yang Garden. I didn't expect that after so many years, Yang Garden would finally produce an outstanding talent."

Lu Yun smiled faintly and said, "Indeed, I come from Yang Garden. My name is Lu Yun. And you? Are you also a disciple of Yi Garden? How did you end up here in the Ghost Realm?"

The man smiled faintly, retracted his powerful aura, and revealed his true appearance. Upon closer inspection, he turned out to be a handsome man in his thirties, with sharp eyebrows and a commanding presence. The man looked at Lu Yun with some joy and said, "I didn't expect to meet a fellow disciple here today. It's really something to be happy about. I'm Feng Yunyang. Have you heard of my name?"

Lu Yun retracted his powerful aura, landed beside Feng Yunyang, and smiled, "I've heard of you, Senior Brother. You're a renowned master in our Yi Garden, admired by countless disciples. How did you end up here? Is there something you need to do?"

Feng Yunyang looked at Lu Yun and said softly, "What a handsome young man. Since you've asked me, how did you end up here? And who are the people up there?"

Lu Yun smiled and said, "Up there is my Master, Ziyang True Person, and Senior Sister Zhang Aoxue from Kun Yuan, Senior Brother Lin Yunfeng from Yin Yuan, and the most outstanding disciples of Fenghuang Academy, Cang Yue and Xu Jie."

Feng Yunyang's face changed when he heard this, and he asked softly, "Your Master is here too? I have to go and see him. It's been fifty years since we last met. I wonder if he's okay. Let's go up and talk." With that, he and Lu Yun ascended together.

In midair, Ziyang True Person grabbed Feng Yunyang's arm and greeted him happily. Feng Yunyang smiled at everyone and returned to the top with them. After settling down, Feng Yunyang asked, "Master Uncle, why did you all come to this Ghost Realm? This place is extremely dangerous, known as the most dangerous area in the Three Realms."

Ziyang True Person sighed lightly and said, "Things are unpredictable. We didn't intend to come here, but we had no choice." He then recounted the incident of the stolen Soul Sealing Talisman in detail. Finally, Ziyang said, "This time, we came here because we don't understand the situation here. We've encountered several dangers, so Lu Yun led us to search for solitary ghosts around to inquire about the specific situation of this Ghost Realm, so that we can retrieve the Soul Sealing Talisman. Unexpectedly, instead of finding ghosts, he found you."

Upon hearing this, Feng Yunyang's face changed drastically, and he fell into contemplation. After a long time, he looked up and said, "I didn't expect such a thing to happen. As far as I know, it's almost impossible to retrieve the Soul Sealing Talisman here. First of all, it's very difficult to enter the Ghost King City. You may all have some understanding of the environment here. The recovery of true yuan is more than twice as slow as in the human realm, which is quite unfavorable for us. Secondly, there are many experts in the Ghost Realm, and the Ghost King City is even more impenetrable. Even if we rush in, it's probably difficult to leave alive under the attacks of numerous ghosts. Thirdly, you may not know that there are three Ghost King Cities in the Ghost Realm, but no one knows in which one the Soul Sealing Pool is located. I've been here for almost fifty years and still don't know where the Soul Sealing Pool is, in which Ghost King City."

The crowd's faces changed upon hearing this, realizing that there were many secrets unknown to them. According to Feng Yunyang, finding the Soul Sealing Pool had become a critical issue, and their time was running out, making the situation even more urgent.

Lu Yun asked in a deep voice, "There are three Ghost King Cities in this Ghost Realm. Do you know how they are distributed? Also, why is it so difficult to encounter ghosts and spirits here? Since we arrived here, we have never encountered any solitary ghosts. Do you know anything about these matters, Senior Brother?"

Feng Yunyang said, "As far as I know, in the Ghost Realm, there are three rivers: Black River, Yin Corpse River, and Soulless River. These three rivers form a triangle, creating a completely enclosed area. The three Ghost King Cities are located in the middle of the three rivers, distributed in a triangular pattern. As for why you haven't encountered solitary ghosts, it's because almost all the ghosts here live in that closed area. You won't find any ghosts outside except for occasional ghost troops. And it's impossible for those ghosts to come out because the three rivers act as a strong barrier, completely isolating the inside from the outside."

On the side, the three women remained silent. Yun Feng said, "No wonder I couldn't find anything after searching for so long. So that's how it is. By the way, Senior Brother, you've been here for so many years. Why haven't you thought about returning to the human realm? Don't you know that our Yi Garden is now flourishing, different from before, hehe." After speaking

, she chuckled twice.

Feng Yunyang looked at everyone and said softly, "Master Uncle, has something happened to Yi Garden? What does this Junior Brother mean by saying that? Is there something you can tell me?" Ziyang True Person smiled and said, "Indeed, many things have happened in Yi Garden. Yi Garden has now become the leader of the six academies."

Feng Yunyang was shocked and looked at Ziyang True Person with excitement, asking, "Is it true? When did this happen, and who brought such honor to Yi Garden? Master Uncle, please tell me quickly, who is it, and from which academy?"

Ziyang True Person smiled and remained silent. Yun Feng, on the side, excitedly said, "It's Lu Yun! He defeated the Nine Swords of Heavenly Sword Academy with the 'Five Thunder True Art' that no one in Yi Garden has ever cultivated before, defeating the Heavenly Sword's Destruction Technique, bringing supreme glory to our Yi Garden. You don't know, at that moment, those Heavenly Sword Academy experts were all furious. They still refuse to admit defeat and want to play dumb."

Feng Yunyang grabbed Lu Yun's arm and exclaimed, "Well done! You truly live up to being my junior brother. Although I didn't witness your competition, I am equally proud of you. Keep up the good work and continue to bring glory to Yi Garden in the future."

Lu Yun smiled calmly and replied, "I understand. Thank you for your praise, Senior Brother. Could you tell me how you ended up here?"

Feng Yunyang took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, and said softly, "It's a rather coincidental story. Many years ago, while traveling around the world, I stumbled upon a gathering place of Yin spirits in a deep mountain by chance. I was afraid that these spirits might harm innocent people in the human realm, so I ventured into the depths to eliminate them. Little did I know, there were countless fierce spirits and ghosts inside, and I had to exert great effort to deal with them. Eventually, I was ambushed by one of the most powerful ghosts and lost track of it. At that time, I was young and reckless, and I chased after it without much thought, only to end up deeper in trouble. After breaking through a strong barrier, I inexplicably arrived in the Ghost Realm, which is this strange cave beneath the cliff. Later, when I tried to leave, I found that the barrier sealing the entrance from the outside had been activated by someone, trapping me inside. I attempted several times but couldn't break through the barrier, as the energy felt peculiar, seemingly of Buddhist origin, different from our Daoist methods. I was unable to penetrate it."

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned, realizing that he had accidentally ended up here and had been trapped for decades, truly a twist of fate.

Lu Yun spoke up, "So, Senior Brother, you've been here for quite a long time. Why don't you join us and return to the human realm together after retrieving the Soul Sealing Talisman? With you here, we'll have a better understanding of the environment. Let's leave this place now and head to the Ghost King City, seizing the opportunity."

Ziyang True Person agreed, "That sounds like a good plan. With Yunyang here, we won't need to waste time investigating many things. Let's go now, we can discuss matters on the way."

During the journey, Feng Yunyang inquired about everyone's experiences after entering the Ghost Realm. Yun Feng carefully recounted everything and finally asked, "Senior Brother, although the Ghost Realm has day and night like the human realm, why do I feel it's not as distinct here? Also, with the pervasive ghostly aura, aside from ghosts, why are there also demonic beings here?"

Feng Yunyang whispered, "I should clarify this. The Ghost Realm is actually similar to the human realm, but here, the ghostly sun emits no light because ghosts fear exposure to light. Hence, the distinction between day and night is less apparent. Additionally, the demonic beings here are like fierce tigers in the human realm, not only harming humans but also attacking other ghostly creatures. We're heading towards the intersection of the Black River and the Yin Corpse River. That's where the two armies confront each other, and our chances of blending in are higher."

Zhang Aoxue interjected, "Senior Brother Feng, are you saying that the Ghost Realm has three Ghost King Cities and three major legions, just like three major nations in the human realm, each opposing and expanding into each other?"

Feng Yunyang nodded, "Indeed, that's the case. There are three Ghost King Cities and three Ghost Kings, each with a Ghost General under them, supported by three Ghost Immortals. If we want to blend in, the best way is to enter through the confrontation points of the two armies, where there's a chance to slip through. However, the downside is that there's a considerable distance to each Ghost King City, and crossing that distance is very dangerous."

Lu Yun asked, "Senior Brother, you mentioned that there are peculiar barriers at the intersections of the three rivers. In that case, wouldn't it be unnecessary for us to cross at the intersections?"

Feng Yunyang whispered, "Actually, I didn't explain it clearly. The reason there are strong ghost armies guarding the intersections is precisely because the only vulnerability to enter is at these three intersections. Each river has a different nature, and their barrier mechanisms are also different. When different mechanisms converge, they repel each other, creating a gap through which people can freely enter and exit. That's why the three major legions have always guarded these points."

Lu Yun remarked, "I see. But we all emanate a heavy human aura, and with Zhang Aoxue and Cang Yue's artifacts in hand, the powerful aura would alert the ghosts from afar. It seems futile."

At this moment, Yun Feng spoke up, "Lu Yun, you can conceal your aura, can't you? We specifically tested it before coming here. Can you help everyone conceal their auras, so we can sneak in together?" With her words, everyone looked at Lu Yun, waiting for his response.

Lu Yun smiled wryly and said, "Indeed, I can conceal my

 aura from your detection, but it doesn't necessarily mean that those ghosts won't detect it. After all, humans and ghosts are different. Even if they can't detect my aura, I can't make everyone else conceal theirs. My current plan is to go in alone and explore first when we arrive. If everything goes smoothly, I can secretly investigate the whereabouts of the Soul Sealing Talisman. Once everything is clear, we can enter together, saving us a lot of trouble."

Everyone thought it over and realized that although the method was good, they couldn't help but worry. After all, if something happened to him alone, there would be no one to help. Ziyang True Person sighed softly, "While this method is good, everyone still feels uneasy about it. But given the importance of this matter and the lack of alternatives, we can only proceed this way. There's nothing more for me to say. I wish you all the best."

Lu Yun glanced at everyone, seeing the concern in their eyes, and smiled, "Don't worry. If anything goes wrong, I'll come back. Remember, I can cross the Black River, while those ghosts cannot. So, it's settled. Let's go." With a glance at Zhang Aoxue and Cang Yue, Lu Yun smiled slightly and accelerated forward.