One day later, Ling Feng and Shen He arrived at Wuwang Hill. As soon as they entered, Ling Feng felt the surroundings suddenly change. A cold, ominous aura permeated the air, the forest was deathly silent, and even the crystal-clear streams showed no sign of fish or shrimp.
It was as if they had passed through Doraemon's Anywhere Door, transitioning from one place to another.
Normally, the mountains and forests should have been filled with the chirping of insects and the calls of birds. Instead, it was eerily quiet, devoid of any sound, as if life itself did not exist.
If an ordinary person were in this situation, being able to run away would be a good outcome.
After walking for half the day, it was time for lunch. Ling Feng and Shen He casually chose a spot under a large tree with ample shade to rest.
After finishing their meal and drinking fresh water to replenish their strength, Ling Feng and Shen He continued their journey deeper into the mountains. The boundary land was located in the deepest part of Wuwang Hill, and its entrance was extremely well-hidden.
The entrance to the boundary was in Liyue, and only the successive leaders of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor were privy to its location. This was the foundation of the funeral parlor's existence.
As they ventured further into Wuwang Hill, the surroundings were no longer just quiet and desolate. A layer of white mist gradually rose, obscuring their vision and making it easy to lose their way.
However, this had little effect on Ling Feng and Shen He.
"Rustle, rustle..."
After an unknown period of walking, the surrounding Yin energy suddenly intensified, and a fierce wind began to howl, causing the branches to rustle. Ling Feng and Shen He stopped simultaneously, turning their heads to look in a particular direction.
What greeted them was an evil spirit wreathed in black energy, its form indistinct, shrouded in darkness. However, its silhouette suggested a middle-aged male ghost, exuding an extremely potent Yin energy as it growled and advanced step by step.
"It seems we've encountered an evil spirit," Shen He said calmly. A faint glow flashed in her hand, and a demon-repelling talisman was completed.
Physical means were ineffective against spirits; only non-physical methods could achieve anything. Otherwise, Shen He could have defeated the evil spirit with close-quarters combat alone.
This was the advantage of rich combat experience.
"This is Wuwang Hill, the land between Yin and Yang. How can there be an evil spirit here?" Ling Feng asked, bewildered. In his mind, such a special place should not harbor evil spirits.
"In any place, once a soul absorbs enough malevolent thoughts, wicked intentions, and all other negative emotions, it will lose its sentience and become an evil spirit."
"Furthermore, those who have committed grave sins in life are almost certain to transform into evil spirits after death, and these will be powerful ones."
"The spirit before us should have been corrupted by the surrounding malevolent thoughts and wicked intentions, losing its sentience and becoming a beast that only knows how to kill."
After Shen He's explanation, Ling Feng nodded, understanding the origin of the evil spirit. More knowledge was always good.
"Senior Sister, let me handle this one."
Ling Feng said, wanting to test the power of the Ghost Slaying Incantation he had obtained from a previous wish mission. Even if the incantation couldn't resolve the evil spirit, he still had his Earth Fire, and defeating an evil spirit was not an issue.
Seeing the confidence in Ling Feng's eyes, Shen He nodded and cautioned, "Be careful."
"Leave it to me." Ling Feng clenched his fist, twisted his neck, and charged towards the evil spirit.
The evil spirit, upon seeing Ling Feng charging, seemed to go mad. With a frenzied roar, it also lunged at Ling Feng, its Yin energy fiercely impacting everything around it.
"Taishang Laojun taught me to kill ghosts, imparting to me this divine method.
...
Hurry as per the law, CHU!"
As Ling Feng had just mastered the Ghost Slaying Incantation and was not proficient or fully understanding it, he could not yet cast it instantaneously or by other means. He could only use the simplest method of reciting the incantation and performing hand seals.
A blood-red talisman took shape. Ling Feng punched the talisman, pushed off the ground, and lunged with a punch towards the evil spirit.
"Kill!" The evil spirit roared. Its fingernails became long and sharp, comparable to steel blades. Its body trembled as it met the attack.
"Bang!"
"Hiss hiss hiss..."
"Roar!!!"
As the man and the spirit collided, the evil spirit let out a piercing, ear-splitting roar. The moment it touched the Ghost Slaying Incantation, it was like fire meeting water, producing a sizzling sound of evaporation. A large amount of white mist rose, the black energy surrounding the evil spirit diminished significantly, and its form became more translucent.
The Ghost Slaying Incantation was originally powered by spiritual energy. However, Ling Feng was a cultivator, and his true qi was superior to spiritual energy. Moreover, he was in the Foundation Establishment stage, meaning his true qi was even more potent. It was akin to replacing a steam engine on a train with a nuclear reactor, resulting in much greater power.
This casual use of the Ghost Slaying Incantation had almost critically injured the evil spirit.
"Kill!" The severely wounded evil spirit did not retreat but became even more frenzied, as if disregarding the pain. It lunged at Ling Feng with a full claw strike.
The evil spirit's sudden frenzy caught Ling Feng off guard. The sleeve on his arm was directly torn open, and a shallow claw mark appeared on his arm, with a trickle of blood flowing out. Yin energy attached itself to the wound, preventing it from healing and attempting to infiltrate Ling Feng's meridians through his arm.
"It's true that fighting with lunatics is the worst! They'll fight to the death." Ling Feng cursed inwardly. He bent down, pushed off the ground, forming a sharp angle as he retreated rapidly. Simultaneously, he began reciting the incantation again, his true qi annihilating the Yin energy attempting to invade his body.
"Kill!" Having forced Ling Feng back, the evil spirit's next move was not to flee but to continue its assault on Ling Feng. Its eyes were blood-red, as if Ling Feng had a deep, blood feud with it.
"Damn it, you think you're so great!" Seeing the evil spirit pounce, the Ghost Slaying Incantation had formed again. Ling Feng unleashed a palm strike, and the blood-red talisman directly slammed onto the evil spirit.
"Roar!!!"
The evil spirit let out a heart-wrenching cry as its body rapidly dissolved, turning to ash and smoke.
The surrounding wind also died down instantly. Ling Feng approached the spot where the evil spirit had perished and grumbled, "Damn! Why didn't you drop anything? You're an evil spirit, for crying out loud! Even those Hilichurls drop stuff. What about you? Not even a single hair. Pfft! I look down on you."
Ling Feng gave it a middle finger.
Ling Feng looked at the claw mark on his arm and shook his head. He had been a bit careless earlier. The strength of this evil spirit was comparable to dealing with one or two Hilichurl Brutes.
"Senior Sister, let's continue," Ling Feng said, returning to Shen He's side.
"Your injury..."
"Ah, it's nothing. It's not even a flesh wound, just a minor scratch," Ling Feng waved his hand dismissively.
Later, Ling Feng took out a bottle of healing ointment from his space and applied a little. He didn't pay it much mind. What he was worried about was his clothes. While the fabric of his clothes had good elemental resilience, its physical resistance was much weaker, and it was also expensive.
Ling Feng hadn't wanted to buy them initially. It was only when Yan Fei suggested that wearing such clothes while traveling and fighting was the most suitable and least prone to damage that he reluctantly spent the money. For him, comfort and appearance were sufficient; the price didn't need to be too high.