After taking out the yellow talisman, Sevrin's expression turned solemn. He began forming hand seals with one hand while chanting an incantation.
After several breaths, he let out a sharp cry:
"Divine Steed Curse, Hasten!"
With that command, the yellow talisman gripped between his fingers ignited without fire, shifting from substance to essence. It transformed into a wisp of invisible Qi that swirled and coiled around his legs.
WHOOSH~
Then, Sevrin experienced what true lightning-speed flight felt like.
Originally walking at a normal human pace, his speed instantly surged dozens of times over. It was as if he were riding an invisible divine stallion; his feet seemed to touch the ground and yet not, as he flew toward the mountain range at the edge of the wilderness.
"Incredible! HAHAHAHA~"
Bathed in the brilliant sunlight, Sevrin, his legs barely moving yet hurtling forward at extreme speed, spread his arms and laughed heartily.
As he "flew" close to the ground, the rays of sunlight enveloping his body were miraculously converted into threads of Yang Qi. They were absorbed into his body, integrated into his soul, and subjected to three rotations and nine refinements, transforming into streams of invisible magical power.
The reason Sevrin could convert sunlight into Yang Qi and then into magical power was that the Sun hanging in the sky was the greatest source of Yang energy in the world.
Furthermore, the "Heavenly Incision Yang-Guiding Art" he had learned from Canji focused its core principles on drawing in sunlight and converting Yang Qi.
As for the other technique that also carried the word Yang, the "Primal Breath Yang-Refining Method", it served as the even more vital foundational technique for refining Yang Qi into magical power.
With the aid of the Divine Steed Curse, Sevrin crossed the entire wilderness in a short time without exhausting a single shred of physical stamina or mental energy, reaching the mountain range he had seen from afar.
Upon his arrival, the talisman's power reached its end, and Sevrin's pace dropped back down to that of an ordinary man.
Although he could have continued using the Divine Steed Curse to speed his journey, the talisman was ill-suited for mountainous forest terrain; furthermore, its speed was actually not as fast as Sevrin's own two legs.
Therefore, after having his fill of using the Divine Steed Curse once, he decided to travel on foot for the remainder of the path.
As a peak steal-realm martial artist, when Sevrin unleashed his physical potential, the results were terrifying.
Though his body was as powerful as a tiger's, he moved like a blurred phantom, navigating the wilderness and forests with the speed of a lightning strike.
With a single light stomp, he could leap across hundreds of meters.
At such fearsome speeds, whether facing steep slopes or deep hollows, Sevrin traversed them as if he were walking on level ground.
Even when massive boulders or solid rock faces blocked his path, he only needed to tap their solid surfaces twice, shattering and cracking small indentations into the stone, to gain enough leverage to easily vault over towering cliffs.
As Sevrin trekked across the mountains, the terrain grew increasingly treacherous, and the trees scattered in every direction became taller and more dense.
These trees were massive and lush, their interlocking branches forming vast, dark canopies. Combined with the thick mountain mists drifting through the air, the light in this mountain realm was as weak as twilight.
In the midst of this gloomy wilderness, Sevrin suddenly halted his rapid pace. He turned his head, gazing intently toward the southeast.
"A ghostly entity's aura," he noted.
He stared fixedly toward the southeast. "Within it, there's also a thick scent of the living. The two auras are fused together, indistinguishable from one another. Truly strange."
Ghosts were ghosts, and men were men; the two were distinct, and there was never a middle ground.
This had always been the world's stance, and it was likewise Sevrin's long-held understanding.
Even though he himself could freely switch between ghostly and living forms, he could not become an entity that was simultaneously both.
Yet, what was the deal with this aura that was both human and ghost, blurred and inseparable?
"Bizarre, truly bizarre," Sevrin murmured. "Let me take a closer look."
With that, he changed direction and sped toward the source of that neither-human-nor-ghost aura.
Possessing three types of sensory techniques, "Ghost and Monster Tracking", "Qi Observation Technique", and "Yin-Yang Eyes", Sevrin was extremely sensitive to the movement and shifts of various auras in the world.
Therefore, even though this sliver of bizarre aura was incredibly faint, almost non-existent, Sevrin was still able to lock onto it, tracking the trail back to its origin.
The details of his journey, leaping through forests and crossing ravines, are not worth mentioning. In short, after traveling about 10 miles, he arrived at the bank of a narrow, muddy mountain stream.
That increasingly distinct and strange aura was hidden right beneath the surface of this murky creek.
Something hidden in the water that was neither human nor ghost, what could it be?
As his thoughts churned, the muddy stream suddenly rippled. A humanoid creature crawled out, its entire body covered in filthy green hair that completely obscured its facial features.
Upon emerging from the water and spotting Sevrin, the green-haired creature reacted as if a human had seen a ghost. It let out a startled cry of terror and immediately tried to dive back to the bottom of the stream.
But Sevrin was not about to let it go so easily.
He pulled a yellow talisman from his robe and rapidly performed a hand seal while chanting:
"Spirit Freezing Curse, Hasten!"
The talisman ignited without fire, turning from substance to nothingness.
WHOOSH~
A streak of invisible energy arrived in a flash, striking the green-haired creature with pinpoint precision.
"GAH..."
Under the influence of the curse, the creature only had time to let out half a shriek before it froze atop the stream's surface as if dead.
SWISH
In the next instant, an inexplicable gust of wind swept past, blowing the creature onto the bank and depositing it right at Sevrin's feet.
This gust was also Sevrin's creation, formed through the manipulation of Canji's "Heavy Wave Palm". This technique was originally intended for Canji to launch yellow talismans, but Sevrin using it to retrieve objects from a distance was quite fitting.
"I didn't expect..."
Leaning down to inspect the motionless green-haired creature, Sevrin clicked his tongue in wonder, "There really are half-human, half-ghost creatures in this world."
Indeed, through observation and System detection, this green-haired creature was truly a thing that was both human and ghost.
The creature's personal interface was as follows:
[ Character Name: Unknown
Level: Ghost Citizen → Hidden Emergence
Mastered Skills: "Extreme Environment Survival (Damaged)""Minor Yin Arts (Damaged)""Ghost-Eye Night Vision (Damaged)"
Special Traits: None
Expert Shards: None ]
"Ghost Citizen..."
Sevrin furrowed his brows as he inspected this so-called Ghost Citizen from head to toe, feeling for the first time that he had no desire to learn the other's cultivation system or skills.
According to the System's detection results, once a person became one of these Ghost Citizens, their lifespan would be cut nearly in half. Furthermore, they would suffer from mental confusion, a fear of light and cleanliness, and a craving for raw, tainted food.
This was essentially an inferior, short-lived species, even lower than a normal human.
Just as Sevrin was about to release the green-haired creature from the Spirit Freezing Curse and kick it back into the stream in disgust, the creature scrambled up and began kowtowing incessantly. It spoke in a stuttering, halting human tongue:
"Master... mercy... spare me, this lowly one... is not a monster. Please don't kill me!"
"Oh? You can speak?"
Sevrin looked at him in surprise. "Then tell me yourself: what exactly are you?"
"Master, I... I... am a man!" the Ghost Citizen stammered. "I am a man, truly a man, not a monster!"
With that, he hurriedly lifted the matted, filthy green hair covering his head, revealing a withered, gaunt, and deathly pale face.
The face was etched with misery and hardship, as if its owner had exhausted all his strength just to stay alive.
Sevrin's attention, however, was focused more on the green-haired leather "cap" the Ghost Citizen held in his hands.
Noticing the rows of stitches inside the leather cap, which, though crude, were clearly the result of human craftsmanship, Sevrin said thoughtfully:
"The green hair on your face is fake. Then the green hair covering your whole body... that can't be fake too, can it?"
"Master... you're... you're right."
The kowtowing Ghost Citizen continued to stutter his reply as he quickly stripped off the thick, damp green-hair bodysuit. In a flash, he transformed into a scrawny man wearing only a tattered thin shirt.
From his appearance, he was indeed a human, albeit a weak, malnourished one. He wasn't exactly powerless, but anyone with even a modicum of martial training could likely beat him to death with ease.
Driven by curiosity about the origins of the Ghost Citizen race, Sevrin asked again: "What is your name?"
Hearing the question, the Ghost Citizen answered truthfully: "This lowly one... is named Dashan."
"Very well, Dashan. Within this creek..." Sevrin shifted his gaze back to the muddy stream and said coolly, "You aren't the only one, are you?"
Dashan's body trembled. "Th-th-there are also my family members."
"Then take me to see them," Sevrin said calmly. "I'm very curious how a group of living people can hide inside a silt-filled, muddy stream."
Through his "Ghost and Monster Tracking" and "Qi Observation Technique", he could clearly sense several more of those neither-human-nor-ghost Ghost Citizen auras slowly emerging from the depths of the stream.
"This... this..." Dashan was clearly reluctant to satisfy Sevrin's curiosity.
"Rest assured," Sevrin's tone softened. "I'm not a bad person. If you're facing some kind of trouble, perhaps I can help."
As he spoke, he pulled a shiny silver coin from his pouch and gave it a shake, the lure of profit.
"Al-alright then."
Seeing the money, Dashan bit his lip and agreed.
In truth, even without the temptation of gold, facing a two-meter-tall, powerful man built like an ox in this deserted wilderness meant he lacked the courage to say "no."
And so, Sevrin followed Dashan as he dove into the muddy stream, swimming toward the bottom.
It was only after entering the water that he realized the stream wasn't as turbulent as it appeared on the surface; in fact, even a child skilled in swimming could manage it for a while.
The dive did not last long. After swimming down about 33 meters to the streambed, Sevrin followed Dashan into a pitch-black cavernous opening at the edge of the bottom.
After entering this dark hole and swimming diagonally downstream for another 33 meters, they reached a stretch of water that was noticeably clearer. Dashan began to swim toward the surface, and Sevrin followed closely behind him, starting to ascend.
"This Dashan has impressive breath-holding abilities."
Watching the figure ahead swaying and ascending as swiftly as a fish, Sevrin thought to himself, "This must be the effect of that "Extreme Environment Survival" skill."
After ascending about 66 meters in this manner, the two of them emerged from a dark pool within an unknown limestone cavern.
"This is a fine spot," Sevrin noted with a smile, looking up at the warm light filtering in from above and the vast stretches of limestone slopes surrounding them. "Dashan, you're quite lucky to have found such a place. Tell me, what kind of enemy managed to drive you to this extreme?"
In fact, after climbing out of that deep dark pool, he immediately spotted four Ghost Citizens hidden in the dim shadows about 300 meters away, none of them even daring to breathe loudly.
It was a woman and three children.
The three children, though deathly pale, appeared quite healthy; clearly, they hadn't suffered much from hunger in their daily lives.
The woman, however, was in much worse shape. Although one could see her features weren't bad, she was as frail as Dashan. Coupled with what was likely a prolonged lack of sunlight, she looked withered and gaunt.
In short, these people and Dashan were clearly a family of five. And what else could drive a family of five to live in such a secluded place other than fleeing from an enemy?
"Master, we... we..."
Dashan fell to his knees with a THUD. "Our... our family was originally from Nina Town, under the Xin Family Fortress..."
As he told his story, Sevrin gradually understood. It turned out that Dashan, his wife, and their three children used to run a small inn in Nina Town.
It was the lowest class of inn, offering only a large communal bed and plain noodles, with no private rooms or meat to speak of.
Such a shop was usually only frequented by poor merchants in a hurry or passing travelers staying for a single night; anyone with even a little money wouldn't step foot in it.
Thus, for many years, Dashan's family had only managed to scrape by, far from being wealthy.
Despite this, the family shared deep bonds and lived in harmony; life was passable.
But one night three years ago, a captain from the Xin Family's militia got drunk. He stumbled into the inn with two or three of his cronies and laid eyes on Dashan's wife, who was quite beautiful back then.
Fueled by alcohol and the egging on of his friends, the captain's primal urges took over, and he attempted to assault the poor woman on the spot.
Dashan stepped forward to block him but was beaten to the ground.
Then, just as the man was about to commit his foul deed, Dashan grabbed a knife, lunged forward, and stabbed him.
Because the wound was serious, the militia captain was quickly helped away by his friends, fleeing the inn in a panic.
But before leaving, that captain left behind a vicious threat:
"From this day forth, I will see to it that your family never knows a moment of peace!"
It was this single sentence that terrified Dashan so much he abandoned the shop that very night and fled Nina Town.
To avoid being ambushed, they didn't even dare take the main roads, traveling along small paths for a day and a night until they escaped into these deep mountains.
Since then, Dashan's family of five had settled here, hiding for a full three years.
"Something's not right," Sevrin said to Dashan as he sat cross-legged by the deep pool. "You've left something out."
"This..." Dashan stammered, "This lowly one... I've said everything I should say."
"No, you haven't," Sevrin said unhurriedly.
"You didn't mention how your family found this hidden cavern, nor did you say how you knew there was a stream leading to it. I suspect there must have been someone outside your family who helped."
"It was Big Uncle who helped..."
About 300 meters away, one of Dashan's children had just muttered half a sentence before his mother quickly covered his mouth.
But it was too late; Sevrin had heard the half-sentence clearly.
"Your child said Big Uncle helped," he said, looking at Dashan. "Big Uncle... that would be your brother-in-law, right? But didn't you just say your family had no other relatives?"
"Sigh~" Dashan let out a helpless sigh. "I will speak the truth now, Master; please do not blame me. It was indeed a brother-in-law who helped us, not a biological one, but one my wife acknowledged here in the mountains."
"These mountains are pitch black and have almost no living souls," Sevrin noted with a bizarre expression. "Where did you go to find a relative?"
"Well, Brother-in-law... he..." Dashan stammered, "He is actually... a... ghost."
"A ghost?!" Sevrin said in astonishment. "A ghost didn't harm you, but instead became your relative?"
"Uh..." Dashan nodded, "That's how it is."
"Well, I'll be," Sevrin shook his head in amazement. "That truly is... rare in this world."
He immediately asked, "Then where is this brother-in-law? Is he here in this cavern?"
With that, Sevrin swept his gaze across his surroundings. Although the cavern was vast, geologically complex, and shrouded in darkness, everything remained crystal clear under his incredibly sharp senses.
However, after scanning the area three times over, he failed to capture even a trace of a pure ghostly aura.
Within this limestone cave, there were only the murky auras of Dashan's Ghost Citizen family drifting about.
"Interesting," Sevrin whispered to himself. "To be able to hide from my senses... this ghostly entity is extraordinary."
To leave no trace under the combined scrutiny of "Ghost and Monster Tracking", "Qi Observation Technique", and "Yin-Yang Eyes", the ghost must possess an incredibly potent ability for aura concealment.
"Brother-in-law doesn't come out during the day," Dashan said honestly. "Only after the sun sets will he appear, seemingly out of nowhere."
"I see," Sevrin replied. "Then I'll wait until nightfall."
Since arriving in this world, he hadn't had a proper rest. He could take this opportunity to close his eyes for a while.
"Take this money." Sevrin pulled ten silver coins from his pouch and handed them to Dashan. "When you have a chance, go down the mountain and find a place to exchange them for some cooked food and new clothes. Improve things a bit for your wife and kids."
Dashan took the money and bowed repeatedly. "Thank you, Master! Thank you so much! Uh... but the new clothes, maybe not."
He added hesitantly, "Brother-in-law... he can't stand to see people dressed neatly. It makes him go berserk."
"?"
Sevrin chuckled. "Your brother-in-law has such a taboo? HAHA, he's quite an interesting fellow... no, an interesting ghost."
"Master, you..." Dashan looked at Sevrin's attire. "Your clothes might trigger his taboo."
"No matter," Sevrin said dismissively. "That's his taboo, not mine."
"But..."
Dashan wanted to continue, but seeing Sevrin had already closed his eyes and laid down on the ground, clearly finished with the conversation, he swallowed his words and walked silently back toward his family.
Sevrin, happy for the quiet, began to fall into a deep sleep.
As a Steel-rank martial artist, things like insomnia didn't exist. If Sevrin wanted to sleep, he could sleep at any moment.
However, that didn't mean outsiders could take the chance to ambush him; that would be seeking death.
Time flowed slowly as Sevrin slept.
During his slumber, Sevrin could clearly sense three small, nimble figures creeping up to peek at him secretly. These were Dashan's three children, quite bold indeed.
Sevrin didn't wake up suddenly to scare them, though; he simply let them watch.
Just like that, three hours passed quickly.
The sunlight filtering through the gaps in the limestone ceiling of the cavern slowly faded, and Dashan's family lit an oil lamp inside the cave.
At that exact moment, a faint, almost imperceptible trace of sinister ghostly qi suddenly seeped out from the deep pool.
Simultaneously, a soaking wet, gloomy figure stepped out of the water, step by step, with its head hanging low.
"He's finally here: Dashan's sworn brother-in-law."
Sevrin's eyes snapped open and he stood up, turning to gaze from afar at the sinister, blood-soaked figure standing still by the edge of the pool.
[ Character Name: Unknown
Level: Ghost Path → Wandering Soul, Bloodline Divinity → Low
Mastered Skills: "Ghostly Body, Soul Remains""Gradual Submersion Yin-Gathering"
Special Traits: [Level 1 Ethereal Body][Level 1 Ghostly Visage][Level 1 Yin-Absorption][Level 1 Aura Concealment]
Expert Shards: None ]
"Bloodline Divinity?"
Sevrin said in astonishment, "A dead person can still possess a divinity?!"
While he was caught in his shock, the ghostly entity by the pool suddenly dropped to all fours and crawled toward him at high speed, leaving bloody handprints with every step.
An ordinary person seeing this horrifying scene would have their soul scared out of their body and wet their pants. But who was Sevrin? He wasn't exactly human either.
In an instant, Sevrin switched himself into his ghostly form.
BUZZ~
In an instant, centered on Sevrin, an aura of a ferociously savage and sinister vengeful ghost swept across the surrounding dozens of zhang.
CRACKLE, CRACKLE!
Nearby weeds and roots withered and died on the spot. Dashan's family, not far away, was terrified into trembling uncontrollably. And the ghostly entity by the pool immediately halted its frantic crawl, completely frozen in place.
The Ghost Path lineage had always maintained strict hierarchies and clear order. A higher-level ghost could even command a lower-level one to work like a beast of burden. Therefore, when Sevrin unleashed his ferocious aura as a Vengeful Spirit-class ghostly entity, Dashan's brother-in-law was naturally suppressed on the spot, unable to move a muscle.
However, after suppressing this ghostly entity, Sevrin didn't immediately move to destroy it.
Not all ghosts needed to be eradicated. Conversely, many humans were far more despicable than ghosts, and they were the ones who truly needed to be wiped out.
Since Dashan's family were pitiful victims forced into hiding, perhaps this ghost brother-in-law who coexisted with them was also a pitiful ghost.
Intensely curious about this, Sevrin waved at the ghost brother-in-law: "Come here, come up. Let's have a chat."
The oppressive ghostly qi that enveloped the area vanished instantly. Dashan's terrified family breathed a sigh of relief, and the ghost brother-in-law was released from his "imprisonment," slowly climbing up from the ground.
This time, he didn't dare to use that horrifying four-legged crawl, instead walking step by step in a human posture up the limestone slope.
"Come." Sevrin pointed to the ground in front of him. "Sit here."
Following the instruction, the ghost brother-in-law sat cross-legged before him in utter silence.
Sevrin didn't waste time on pleasantries and asked directly:
"What is your name?"
The ghost brother-in-law slowly raised his head, revealing a skull face completely devoid of flesh. His shattered jawbone opened and closed as he spoke in a gloomy tone:
"My Lord, my name is Peon."
Not far away, Dashan's family almost dropped their jaws at this sight.
"Big Uncle is so well-behaved today," one of Dashan's children said innocently. "He doesn't seem like Big Uncle at all."
Hearing this, his mother quickly covered his mouth, whispering an admonishment: "Keep quiet, stay put."
After scolding her child, the woman and her husband looked toward Sevrin from afar with eyes full of awe, both thinking in shock:
"This Master is truly formidable. He didn't even do anything, yet he subdued Big Brother. Moreover, whatever he asks, Big Brother answers honestly and obediently."
While they were marveling, Sevrin and the ghost brother-in-law's conversation continued.
"You say you also came from Nina Town?"
Sevrin said in surprise, "Then why didn't you know Dashan's family before?"
"Nina Town... is very large," Peon said, struggling to speak. "The largest... within two hundred miles."
"Let's skip that," Sevrin said decisively. "Tell me how you became a ghost. Why did you die suddenly in these deep mountains?"
"My death..." Peon's voice was hollow. "It was related to the Xin Family."