White-Level Ghost! White Mist Ghost!

The black text that inexplicably appeared in Jiang Xiao's vision left him dumbfounded for a moment.

"What the hell?"

He clearly hadn't intended to go deep into the area to look for a White-Level Ghost!

Jiang Xiao vaguely felt that the presence might have its own consciousness, deliberately guiding his actions.

"No, I won't go! A White-Level Ghost already has lethal abilities, and only a First-Grade Spirit Master can deal with it. Wouldn't I be asking for death if I went?"

Jiang Xiao said this deliberately and began walking back down the mountain.

At this moment, another line of text appeared in his vision:

"...You suspect this text has ulterior motives, so you return the way you came. In the end, you lose that Qing-level Soul Orb and fail the selection test for the Tiangji Palace..."

Jiang Xiao stopped in his tracks, his forehead covered in black lines.

"Feels like I'm playing a MUD text-based game!"

Jiang Xiao really wanted to complain about his "golden finger," wondering which deity was controlling his character in this game.

"...After thinking about the consequences, you decide to venture deep into the area to find the White Mist Ghost..."

The presence seemed to have a firm grip on Jiang Xiao's thoughts, and in an instant, his decision changed.

Jiang Xiao simply sat down and said, "You'd better give me a solid answer. How can I deal with the White Mist Ghost? If I turn back, I just lose a Qing-level Soul Orb, but if I follow your suggestion, I could lose my life."

Soon, black text appeared in his vision again, twisting into a new line of text:

"...You try every possible method but cannot find a way to deal with the White Mist Ghost. Finally, you turn your gaze to the shadow on the ground..."

Jiang Xiao looked down at his shadow.

At that moment, it looked even more eerie in the ghostly place, as though it were the deepest darkness of hell.

For some reason, the longer Jiang Xiao stared at it, the more it seemed like this wasn't even his shadow, but a living person!

Shudder!

Jiang Xiao gave a tremble, the thought was too terrifying, and he couldn't bring himself to think further.

"...You prepare to set off, heading north, and ultimately find the White Mist Ghost in a graveyard..."

This time, the text in Jiang Xiao's eyes grew faint and disappeared quickly.

"This thing is truly strange! I need to figure out how to understand it!"

Jiang Xiao thought to himself.

In truth, he never planned on turning back; he had only pretended to do so to test this eerie presence.

The Qing-level Soul Orb—he had to get it!

...

Swish!

A dazzling white light flashed.

Then, a nearly solidified wandering soul shattered into a multitude of water droplets.

"Quick! Catch them!"

In a pink robe, Bai Qi Dream hurriedly instructed.

At once, the people around her rushed forward without hesitation, using jade bottles to catch the droplets.

"Sure enough, wandering souls come in different strengths. The water droplets from this soul are surprisingly abundant. Unfortunately, the spirit power consumption is quite high..."

Feeling the dwindling spirit power in her body, Bai Qi Dream frowned slightly.

Nearby, a young man in a blue robe smiled and said, "Qi Dream, you truly are the best talent at our school. This wandering soul is almost turning into a White-Level Ghost, right?"

Bai Qi Dream suddenly cast a cold glance at him. "Don't call me Qi Dream."

The young man froze.

Swish!

Bai Qi Dream withdrew the long sword from her hand and asked, "How much time is left until the sun sets?"

The young man in blue answered, "Two hours."

"That's enough. Let's rest for a while and continue after recovering our strength," Bai Qi Dream instructed, sitting cross-legged under an old tree.

The young man said, "Qi Dream, our jade bottles are almost full. We don't need to push ourselves so hard, do we?"

"It has to be flawless!" Bai Qi Dream's almond-shaped eyes showed determination. "I not only want to win first place this time but also want to crush the competition and earn the reward! Only then can the Tiangji Palace see my potential!"

On the other side.

Zhang Hai's face was pale, his forehead drenched in cold sweat.

Beside him, a young man holding a glowing blue assault rifle spoke urgently, "Brother Zhang, we've probably disturbed a wandering soul nest. We need to retreat!"

Before them, thick white mist swirled, and the sounds of ghostly wails echoed, terrifying beyond measure.

Zhang Hai gritted his teeth and said, "Fine! Second brother, switch places with Xiao Zhou. Remember, don't panic. As long as we keep our minds steady, the wandering souls won't hurt us."

Afterward, the four-person team finally broke free from the vine-covered forest.

"Whoosh~ whoosh~ whoosh~"

Zhang Hai looked at the jade bottles that were more than half full, excitement surging through him. "The greater the danger, the greater the opportunity! This haul is worth it!"

Suddenly, he turned his head sharply toward the right and shouted, "Who's there?"

A rustling sound came.

Then, a plump little boy crawled out of the bushes.

The boy's face was flushed, his lips trembling, unsure of what to say.

Seeing the little boy, Zhang Hai's eyes filled with contempt, replacing his wariness. "I thought it was someone important. It's just you, Zhang Dongdong."

Though the boy had emerged from the bushes, his clothes were far from as ragged as those of Zhang Hai and his group.

Zhang Hai immediately understood. "You didn't go deeper into the mountain, did you? You hid the moment you got here?"

Hearing this, Zhang Dongdong lowered his head even further.

"Waste!" Zhang Hai spat on the ground in disdain. "No wonder you're hanging out with that loser, Jiang Xiao. Turns out you're a loser too!"

"Let me guess, Jiang Xiao, that trash, is probably hiding somewhere now too, too scared to come out? Hahahaha!!!"

Zhang Hai laughed loudly.

Zhang Dongdong's face turned red, and he angrily muttered, "No... I... I..."

But he couldn't say anything.

"Forget it, Brother Zhang. Why waste time on trash like this? We'll never be on the same level as them again."

At that moment, the young man holding the assault rifle spoke up.

Zhang Hai nodded. "True. Let's go!"

The group left without a second glance at Zhang Dongdong, leaving him behind.

The little boy felt aggrieved. In a place like this, fear was a normal reaction.

He looked toward the depths of the forest, muttering, "Jiang Xiao... If only you were with me... we could look out for each other..."

...

In the northern outskirts, the Ghostly Labyrinth.

Time seemed to lose all meaning.

The sun could never penetrate here, and the surrounding environment was always dim and gloomy.

Jiang Xiao ventured deeper, eventually arriving in a desolate field.

What was strange was that even though it was early spring, there was not a single insect or bird in sight. In the midst of the eerie silence, the only sound was Jiang Xiao's footsteps on the grass.

"Looks like I've arrived..."

Jiang Xiao's sharp eyes soon spotted several black stone tablets in the field.

A desolate graveyard... filled with Yin energy...

It was the perfect scene for a horror movie.

If someone were alone here, they would probably go insane within a short time.

At the same time, unlike wandering souls, White-Level Ghosts already possess lethal abilities, and a single mistake could lead to death.

Even though Jiang Xiao had something to rely on, his heart couldn't help but race.

Whoosh—

Suddenly, a cold wind, as if from the underworld, blew in.

The waist-high grass rustled, sounding like the wailing of souls, sending a chill down his spine.

Jiang Xiao immediately gripped his dagger tightly, focusing on his surroundings.

Soon, a thick white mist surrounded him from all sides.

In an instant, Jiang Xiao was engulfed in the mist, his vision completely obscured by the white fog. He could barely distinguish anything.

"This is bad!"

Jiang Xiao immediately recognized the technique of the White Mist Ghost.

At school, there was a special Ghost Studies course that taught about these low-level spirits, including the White Mist Ghost.

The White Mist Ghost, a White-Level Ghost, is a collective of wandering souls with strong resentment, usually found in graveyards. Its ability is to summon thick white mist, obstructing vision and hiding its true form to kill its victims.

This was far more troublesome than those Night Road Ghosts!

Just as Jiang Xiao was bracing himself, he failed to notice a withered hand slowly extending from the mist behind him.

The hand, like wrinkled tree bark, looked revolting, radiating a chilling aura.

The White Mist Ghost hid within the mist, blocking all senses.

Swish!

A withered, corpse-like hand silently reached out from the mist, gripping Jiang Xiao's nape without a sound.

In an instant, he felt as if he had plunged into an abyss of ice, an overwhelming terror descending upon him.

His pupils dilated as he instinctively tried to slash at the hand with his dagger. Yet, the bony fingers exuded an eerie, bone-chilling coldness, seeping into his very flesh without restraint.

Before long, a layer of frost formed on Jiang Xiao's face. His entire body trembled uncontrollably, robbed of all ability to resist.

"This... this is the White Mist Ghost's power..."

His lips quivered as he spoke, his mind still clinging to a shred of rationality despite the looming shadow of death.

After absorbing a significant amount of yang energy, a flicker of awareness emerged in the ghost's lifeless gray eyes.

The White Mist Ghost took the form of an old man clad in black garments from a bygone era. His face was deeply lined with wrinkles, and his soulless gray eyes were devoid of any emotion. His mere appearance was terrifying enough to make a child stop crying out of sheer fear.

At the brink of death, something in Jiang Xiao's shadow finally changed.

The eerie shadow beneath him rippled like liquid, slowly detaching from his body before silently shifting beneath the White Mist Ghost.

Crack—

The ghost's hollow gray eyes moved slightly as it lowered its gaze, staring at the strange shadow beneath its feet in apparent confusion.

Swish!

In the blink of an eye, a pitch-black tendril shot out from the shadow, wrapping itself tightly around the ghost's body.

For the first time, a flicker of panic crossed the White Mist Ghost's expressionless face.

It opened its withered mouth in a silent scream, desperately struggling to break free from the shadow's grasp.

But the inky-black tendrils were relentless, like a constricting serpent that had ensnared its prey, unwilling to release it no matter the cost.

The dense white mist surrounding Jiang Xiao rapidly dispersed.

The White Mist Ghost could no longer use its powers.

The shadow, now resembling a deadly sinkhole in the desert, dragged the ghost downward with its ever-tightening tendrils.

Though the ghost struggled fiercely, it was powerless against the overwhelming darkness, forced to watch helplessly as it was consumed bit by bit.

Even Jiang Xiao could see the unwillingness in its expression.

"This... this..."

Jiang Xiao swallowed hard, his gaze fixed on the horrifying scene unfolding before him.

Compared to the ghost, his own shadow seemed far more sinister.

A few moments later, the White Mist Ghost had vanished entirely, as if devoured by a monstrous serpent, leaving no trace behind.

Meanwhile, the shadow beneath Jiang Xiao appeared even darker, more solid than before.

Slowly, it slithered back to his feet, once again taking the form of an ordinary shadow.