Chapter 7: The Ghost of the Ravine
One Month Later.
The Dark Mist Ravine had always been a place of death, but recently, the flavor of fear within its foggy depths had changed.
Beasts were no longer the only things hunters had to worry about.
Rumors had started to drift back up to the Spirit Beast Sect. Outer Disciples who ventured too deep spoke of a "Ghost." A shadow that moved faster than the wind, immune to swords, with eyes that burned blue and gold. They said it did not use Qi, yet it tore High Tier Spirit Beasts apart with its bare hands.
Some said it was a demon born from the resentment of the dead. Others said it was a beast taking human form.
None suspected it was the "dead" genius, Lin Yun.
Deep in the jagged terrain of the ravine, a massive Obsidian Bear, a beast known for its terrifying defense, crashed through the trees. It was roaring in panic, fleeing for its life.
Its thick, rock like hide was covered in scorch marks. Not fire burns, but strange, frostbitten patches where the flesh had turned necrotic and grey.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Behind it, heavy footsteps echoed. Not hurried, but relentless.
The bear turned, cornered against a sheer cliff face. It rose on its hind legs, towering three meters tall, and swiped its massive claws at the pursuing shadow.
The shadow did not slow down.
Lin Yun burst through the foliage.
He looked wilder now. His white robes were gone, replaced by trousers stitched together from beast hides. His upper body was bare, his muscles dense and compact like twisted steel cables. His hair had grown longer, tied back loosely with a tendon.
But the most striking change was his aura. He did not radiate the sharp, expansive pressure of a cultivator. He radiated the heavy, suffocating dread of an apex predator.
The bear's claw descended.
"Too slow," Lin Yun muttered.
He stepped inside the bear's reach. His right arm, wreathed in a faint, ghostly blue mist, shot upward.
Sovereign Art: Frost Fire Palm.
BANG!
He struck the bear directly in the chest.
There was no explosion of blood. Instead, the sound was like a hammer hitting an anvil. The massive bear froze. Its eyes bulged.
From the point of impact, blue veins of ice spread instantly across its chest, while steam erupted from its back. The force of the blow had cooked its heart while freezing its ribs.
The mountain of muscle swayed, then toppled over with a ground shaking crash.
[Essence Devoured]
Lin Yun placed a hand on the corpse. The familiar rush of energy entered his system, but it was barely a trickle now.
"Useless," Lin Yun sighed, kicking the massive carcass. "Rank 1 beasts do not even fill my teeth anymore. My Bronze Skin has not improved in a week."
"That is because you have hit a bottleneck," Long Xi's voice floated from the token hanging around his neck. She had transferred a wisp of her consciousness into the Nine Prison Token so she could communicate with him outside the cave. "Quantity can no longer replace quality. To reach the Silver Bone stage, you need resources that this forest cannot provide."
Lin Yun wiped the sweat from his brow. He looked at his hands. They were calloused, scarred, and lethal.
In one month, he had slaughtered over two hundred beasts. He had stabilized the Blue Lotus Spirit Fire, allowing him to coat his attacks in frost fire at will.
He was strong. Stronger than any 9th Stage Spirit Gathering cultivator. He could likely fight an Early Earth Spirit Realm expert head on.
But it was not enough. Gu Cang was a Sky Spirit Realm expert. The gap was still an ocean.
"The Ruins," Lin Yun said, looking toward the north. "Is it time?"
"The fluctuation in the token is peaking," Long Xi confirmed. "The Nine Prison Gate will open in two days. The sect will be gathering at the entrance."
Lin Yun smirked. "Then it is time to rejoin society."
He crouched down by the bear and pulled out a jagged, white dagger, carved from the fang of the Frost Venom Python. With practiced ease, he sliced open the bear's skull and retrieved its beast core.
"Another gift for the sect," he whispered.
Two Days Later. The Northern Valley.
The entrance to the Nine Prison Ruins was located in a vast, desolate valley usually forbidden to disciples. But today, it was teeming with life.
Hundreds of disciples from the Spirit Beast Sect had gathered. Flags waved in the wind, marking the territories of different factions. The excitement was palpable. The ruins were a treasure trove of ancient pills, techniques, and weapons.
At the front of the crowd, standing on a floating platform, were the Inner Disciples. They looked down on the Outer Disciples with arrogance.
Among them was a young woman in pink robes, surrounded by admirers. Liu Xue. She was beautiful, talented, and formerly, Lin Yun's fiancée.
"Sister Xue," a disciple bowed. "With Senior Brother Lin... gone... you are surely the strongest candidate for the core inheritance this time."
Liu Xue's face showed a flash of annoyance at the mention of the name, but she quickly masked it with a mournful sigh. "Poor Lin Yun. If he were here, he would surely lead us. I will explore the ruins in his honor."
"You are too kind, Sister Xue!" the disciples praised.
Suddenly, a commotion rippled through the back of the crowd. The noise grew louder, turning from whispers into gasps of shock.
"Who is that?"
"Is that a rogue cultivator?"
"Look at his murderous aura!"
The crowd parted.
Walking up the main path was a lone figure.
He wore a hooded cloak made of dark, matted grey fur, the hide of a Steel Bristle Boar. Underneath, armor crafted from the white scales of a Frost Venom Python covered his chest and shins.
But what caught everyone's attention was his face.
He wore a mask. It was made from the upper skull of a beast, bone white and terrifying, covering the top half of his face. Only his mouth and jaw were visible.
On his back, wrapped in cloth, was a massive object that looked like a greatsword, but the handle was crude bone.
He walked with a heavy, predatory gait. Disciples instinctively stepped back, their instincts screaming that a dangerous animal had entered the pen.
"Halt!"
An Enforcer Elder, a man in the Earth Spirit Realm, stepped forward, blocking the path. "This is the Spirit Beast Sect's gathering. Outsiders are forbidden!"
The masked figure stopped. He slowly raised his head. Through the eyeholes of the bone mask, two eyes, one gold, one blue, stared at the Elder.
"I have a token," the figure rasped. His voice was deliberately distorted, sounding like grinding stones.
He held up the dark iron token.
The Elder frowned. "A Nine Prison Token? Where did you get that?"
"I found it," the figure said simply. "On a corpse in the ravine. He did not need it anymore."
The crowd murmured. Found on a corpse? Did he kill a disciple?
"Insolence!" The Elder released his Earth Spirit pressure, trying to force the stranger to his knees. "Remove your mask and identify yourself!"
The pressure washed over the figure.
He did not bend. He did not even twitch. He stood there like a reef in a storm, completely unaffected.
"The rules of the Nine Prison Gate state that anyone holding a token may enter," the masked figure said calmly. "Does the great Spirit Beast Sect break its own rules?"
The Elder's face turned red. He could not crush this junior?
"Elder Mo," a silky voice interrupted.
Liu Xue floated down from her platform. She looked at the masked man with curiosity and a hint of disdain. "If he has a token, let him in. The ruins are dangerous. Fodder is always useful to trigger traps."
She smiled sweetly at the masked man. "What should we call you, stranger?"
The man looked at her.
Lin Yun felt a surge of cold rage. This woman, who had sworn eternal love to him, had not shed a tear at his "death". She had moved on instantly, likely aiming for his position.
He suppressed the urge to rip her throat out right there. Not yet.
"You can call me..." Lin Yun paused, his mind flashing back to the cave and the woman who saved him. "Ghost."
"Ghost?" Liu Xue chuckled. "How edgy. Very well, Ghost. Try not to die in the first hallway."
Rumble...
Before anyone could respond, the ground shook.
At the end of the valley, the massive stone face of the mountain began to split. Ancient dust billowed out as the Nine Prison Gate, a colossal set of bronze doors covered in rusting chains, groaned open.
A scent of decay and ancient Spirit Qi flooded the valley.
"The Gate is open!" someone shouted.
"Charge!"
The discipline broke. Hundreds of disciples rushed toward the dark entrance, eager for treasure.
Lin Yun did not run. He waited until the main wave passed.
"Sister Xue called me fodder," he whispered to himself, his hand drifting to the bone handle of the weapon on his back. "She is right. There will be a lot of dead meat in there today."
"Do not lose focus," Long Xi whispered in his ear. "The item we need is in the deepest level. The Heart of the Earth. Get that, and you can forge your Silver Bones."
"Understood."
Lin Yun stepped forward, crossing the threshold into the darkness.
The Ghost had entered the playground.