Chapter 4

"Finally reached the first level of Qi Cultivation..."

In a simple room, a young boy sat cross-legged on a cushion on the bed, slowly opening his eyes.

The boy was about fifteen or sixteen years old, with a delicate appearance. His eyes, though not particularly bright, seemed to carry a sense of沧桑 (沧桑 means "沧桑" which can be translated as "weathered" or "worldly"). If one were to look only at his eyes and not his face, they might think he was a middle-aged man well past his forties.

The boy's name was Hu Donghan, who originally did not belong to this world but came from a planet called Earth.

On Earth, Hu Donghan was just an orphan. By chance, he obtained a Daoist scripture called "The True Interpretation of Ghost Dao," and practiced Daoist techniques during the End Law Era. However, he ultimately died from being devoured by the evil ghosts he controlled, leaving no trace of his body.

After Hu Donghan died, his consciousness did not disappear. Instead, he somehow came to this world and possessed the body of a three-year-old child, and had a child bride who was three years older than him.

Perhaps Hu Donghan was truly like a disaster star. Just after he possessed the body, before he could experience the love of parents, bandits invaded and wiped out his entire family. Only he and his child bride managed to escape by hiding in a secret cellar.

After narrowly escaping death, Hu Donghan and his child bride resumed their life as orphans, wandering about. Eventually, they were kindly adopted by a wealthy merchant family surnamed Hu, and he was given the same name as in his previous life. His child bride was named Hu Meier and became Hu Donghan's older sister.

Three months ago, the Yin Soul Sect, which recruits disciples every ten years, tested Hu Meier and found that she had a ghost spirit root, indicating extremely high cultivation potential. Although Hu Donghan's talent was not great, he was also admitted to the Yin Soul Sect as an outer sect disciple due to Hu Meier's influence.

The Yin Soul Sect is located in the southern part of the Tian Nan Domain, in Chaozhou, with its base in the Broken Soul Mountain Range.

The entire Broken Soul Mountain Range is the site of a great battle between the righteous and the evil that took place a million years ago.

At that time, the righteous, the evil, and numerous extraterrestrial demons chose the largest mountain range in the Tian Nan Domain, the Heaven-Connecting Ridge, for their confrontation. Both sides invested over ten million cultivators, and over ten million cultivators perished. After the great battle between the righteous and the evil, although the righteous and the evil cultivators ultimately won, the Heaven-Connecting Ridge, the largest mountain range in the Tian Nan Domain, was completely flattened. The mountain rocks scattered around, and due to the countless deaths, this once fertile land became a dead zone within a few years. Low-level cultivators would be directly devoured by the ghosts if they entered.

Thus, the former Heaven-Connecting Ridge became the current Broken Soul Mountain Range, where ghostly winds howl and ghostly creatures scream all day long. Ordinary cultivators dare not come here.

Once entering this place, one's soul is severed, hence the name "Broken Soul"!

After a period of rest and recuperation, the remaining evil cultivators from the great battle between the righteous and the evil gradually recovered some of their strength and began to explore this dead and ghostly land. After a million years of evolution, the Broken Soul Mountain Range became the most concentrated area for ghost cultivators!

In the Broken Soul Mountain Range, most of the cultivators practice ghost techniques, forming various sects of different sizes. The Yin Soul Sect, where Hu Donghan is located, is one of the dominant sects in the Broken Soul Mountain Range and one of the most powerful evil sects in the entire Tian Nan Domain!

The Yin Soul Sect, as its name suggests, is a sect specializing in ghost techniques.

Within the sect, all cultivators, big and small, practice ghost control techniques, raise ghosts, and refine ghost banners. The screams of ghosts never cease, and one can encounter wandering ghosts even while strolling around the sect. Even on a sunny day, the atmosphere is always gloomy. From outside the Yin Soul Sect, one can only see a thick black fog, and within the fog, one can vaguely see the heads of various ghostly creatures poking in and out. If ordinary people saw this, they would likely be scared to wet their pants.

"The talent of a medium-grade four spirit roots is far inferior to that girl. It took me a full three months to reach the first level of Qi Cultivation! If it weren't for that girl's request, I probably wouldn't even be able to enter the gates of the Yin Soul Sect and would have to become a wandering cultivator or a servant."

Hu Donghan thought to himself, frowning with a look of distress.

"With that girl's superior ghost spirit root and her cultivation of the Profound Yin Heart Method, she is likely already at the middle stage of Qi Cultivation. When we meet next, she will probably bully me to death. Even when she was just a mortal, her methods of tormenting people were terrifying. If she has learned magical techniques, it will be even worse!"

"Hmph! She's just my child bride, I don't know where she gets such audacity!"

As he thought, Hu Donghan seemed to recall something terrifying and shook his head, feeling a chill run down his spine.

"Never mind! The most urgent task now is to master the two techniques and ghost control techniques mentioned in the jade slip, so that if that girl comes, I won't be completely defenseless. Also, I wonder if the various secret techniques in my 'The True Interpretation of Ghost Dao' will be useful..."

All disciples entering the Yin Soul Sect receive a low-grade storage bag, thirty spirit stones, a bottle of ten small Qi Nourishing Pills, and a jade slip from the sect.

The low-grade storage bag is blood-bound and has a capacity of about one cubic meter. The thirty spirit stones and ten small Qi Nourishing Pills are provided by the sect for the initial cultivation needs of each disciple. The jade slip mainly records the history of the Yin Soul Sect, the sect's rules, the cultivation method of the Profound Yin Heart Method during the Qi Cultivation stage, and the usage methods of spirit stones and small Qi Nourishing Pills, etc.

Generally, with a medium-grade three spirit roots talent, plus the assistance of small Qi Nourishing Pills and spirit stones, one can cultivate to the first level of Qi Cultivation in about a month. The initial cultivation resources provided by the sect are just enough. Once one reaches the first level of Qi Cultivation, they can receive five spirit stones and two small Qi Nourishing Pills each month as basic cultivation resources.

However, for someone like Hu Donghan with a medium-grade four spirit roots, it is slightly insufficient. Therefore, Hu Donghan used up all the initial cultivation resources in one month, dedicating all his time to cultivation except for eating and sleeping, and it took him three months to reach the first level of Qi Cultivation!

"Reaching the first level of Qi Cultivation, the two techniques mentioned in the jade slip should also be able to be used. In these three months, although my cultivation was not sufficient to use these two techniques, I have studied them roughly. I think using them now should not be a problem."

As he thought, Hu Donghan made a few hand seals and shouted "Spirit Bullet Technique." A multicolored spirit bullet appeared and struck the wall of the room. Although the spirit bullet was released, its power was unsatisfactory, leaving only a shallow hole in the wall before dissipating.

However, even so, Hu Donghan felt a bit excited—this was a real, tangible magical technique! Although its power was not great, with hard work, the power of the Spirit Bullet Technique could definitely be improved. Moreover, the Spirit Bullet Technique is one of the most widely spread and simplest techniques in the entire cultivation world. In the future, as long as he has the opportunity, he can naturally learn more powerful techniques!

In his previous life, although Hu Donghan practiced "The True Interpretation of Ghost Dao," it contained only techniques for controlling ghosts, skeletons, and zombies. Even the killing techniques were about driving ghost servants to kill. This was the first time he had actually used a real magical technique.

After trying the Spirit Bullet Technique, Hu Donghan then attempted the other technique mentioned in the jade slip—the Spirit Shield Technique.

The Spirit Shield Technique can control spirit energy to form a shield around oneself to block simple attacks, providing a certain level of defense for Qi Cultivation stage cultivators.

After using the Spirit Shield Technique, a multicolored spirit shield immediately appeared around Hu Donghan. The spirit shield was very beautiful, almost mesmerizing to look at. However, Hu Donghan, who had a certain theoretical understanding of the Spirit Shield Technique, knew that although the spirit shield looked good, its actual defensive power was far inferior to a single-colored shield!

A single-colored spirit shield means only one type of spirit energy, which is more condensed and thus has stronger defensive power.

This is why cultivators with fewer spirit roots are more powerful than those with more spirit roots.

Fewer spirit roots mean purer and more specialized power, while more spirit roots mean chaotic and mixed power. In a battle, the winner is clear.

The Spirit Shield Technique is like this, and the Spirit Bullet Technique is also like this.

"Alas... the talent of four spirit roots is really too poor! Moreover, my talent is not even good among those with four spirit roots. It seems that in the future, I should try to choose single-attribute techniques when using them. Otherwise, with this power..."

Hu Donghan tried the Spirit Bullet Technique and the Spirit Shield Technique a few more times, stopping only when his spirit energy was exhausted.

After that, Hu Donghan sat cross-legged and began to recover his spirit energy.

The cultivation at the first level of Qi Cultivation is too low. In less than an hour, Hu Donghan's spirit energy was fully restored.

"Besides the Spirit Bullet Technique and the Spirit Shield Technique, there is also the signature technique of the Yin Soul Sect, the Ghost Control Technique!"

"The Ghost Control Technique can control ghosts to serve oneself and even enhance one's cultivation through it. The evil path truly prefers shortcuts! However, I currently have no ghosts to control, so I cannot practice this technique! For now, I need to stabilize my cultivation at the first level of Qi Cultivation and then find a ghost to control!"

"Moreover, I don't know if my secret techniques will be useful. If the secret techniques in 'The True Interpretation of Ghost Dao' are really feasible... then I will be in luck! At that time, even with my medium-grade four spirit roots talent, I won't necessarily be weaker than that girl! When my strength surpasses hers, I will give her a good beating!"

As he thought, Hu Donghan slowly reined in his spirit energy.

Feeling the slow circulation of his spirit energy, he waited until it gradually calmed down before standing up and leaving the room.

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