Chapter 59

Through the Ten Thousand Insect Furnace, Jiang Wei could see Meng Feiyun's soul continuously tearing apart and recondensing; Meng Feiyun wanted to scream, but with his soul torn into tens of thousands of pieces, he couldn't make a sound.

"Enjoy the agony of your soul being torn apart, I wish you a long afterlife!" There was a sense of vengeance in Jiang Wei's eyes.

After watching for a moment, Jiang Wei finally put away the Ten Thousand Insect Furnace.

"Master, I have made a fool of myself..." Jiang Wei said, "One of my biggest concerns after death is finally resolved!"

"Hmm!" Elder Bai understood very well.

Many ghosts have lingering attachments after death; and Jiang Wei's attachment was to seek revenge on Meng Feiyun. If the attachment doesn't dissipate, they probably wouldn't even be willing to reincarnate.

"But, disciple..." Elder Bai suddenly changed the subject, "You've been on the Dao Seeking Mountain for over a month, and your soul strength has only increased this much?"

Elder Bai saw that Jiang Wei's soul concentration was only about twenty times; such a rate of progress made Elder Bai very unsatisfied. Elder Bai originally thought that when Jiang Wei returned, he should have already reached the peak of the Spirit Meeting stage—after all, reaching the peak of the Spirit Meeting stage is not difficult; as long as one is a ghost, they can practice Dao. What is difficult is crossing from the peak of the Spirit Meeting stage to the Soul Condensation stage.

Most ghosts can only stay at the peak of the Spirit Meeting stage for their entire afterlife; those who can cross into the Soul Condensation stage are one in a hundred. Only by crossing into the Soul Condensation stage can one truly begin to understand the ghost realm.

If too much time is wasted at the Spirit Meeting stage, it becomes difficult to cross into the Soul Condensation stage; as for breaking through the Soul Condensation stage and becoming a powerful ghost, it is even more out of reach. This is why Elder Bai showed such obvious dissatisfaction when he asked.

"Master, I had another encounter!" Jiang Wei was already prepared to explain, "My soul concentration is only about twenty times, but in reality, my soul strength is about sixty to seventy times!"

"Oh?" Elder Bai was surprised, "Is this true?"

Elder Bai had heard of cases where soul concentration and soul strength were inconsistent, but he had never seen it with his own eyes. It was said that some ghosts mistakenly consumed some heavenly treasures or had some extraordinary encounters, which altered their souls, leading to such a situation. Of course, such things are purely a matter of chance.

"Yes!" As he spoke, Jiang Wei demonstrated his strength slightly.

"Indeed!" With Elder Bai's keen eyesight, he naturally saw through the truth as soon as Jiang Wei displayed his strength, "This is a significant encounter!" Elder Bai praised, "Soul strength is the foundation of all power; in the future, your strength will be three times that of other ghosts at the same level just by relying on your soul strength!"

A threefold difference may seem small, but in reality, many ghosts, even with all their trump cards and means, cannot make up for this gap—this is a very typical case of winning at the starting line.

Such an encounter left Elder Bai deeply moved. However, what Elder Bai didn't know was that three times was just the beginning; once Jiang Wei's "Divine Casting Technique" was cultivated to a high level, it wouldn't be three times, but nine times!

"Master, while on the Dao Seeking Mountain, I also went to a strange place!" Jiang Wei said.

"Oh? Where?" The area around Sin City was as familiar to Elder Bai as his own backyard, so he couldn't help but ask.

"It's a valley, with very thick mist inside..." Jiang Wei described, "I also encountered a very powerful evil ghost there, who seemed to be some kind of hall master; he threw a feather fan from a distance, almost knocking my spear out of my hand!"

"What!?" Elder Bai was greatly alarmed, "You went to the Misty Valley!?"

"So that's what it's called... Yes, it should be that place!" Jiang Wei said.

Elder Bai stared at Jiang Wei for a long time before bursting out, "You went to the Misty Valley and still managed to return alive... You really have a big destiny!—That place is the lair of all races of evil ghosts!"

"Uh..." Jiang Wei smiled wryly, "I also feel that my destiny is very big—If that feather fan-wielding evil ghost had chased me, I probably wouldn't have been able to return alive!"

"He already showed you mercy! Otherwise, with his strength, a single feather fan could have killed you instantly, not to mention an ordinary great ghost at the Soul Condensation stage!" Elder Bai seemed to know a lot about that hall master.

"So strong!?" Jiang Wei was shocked.

"Of course! Do you think the Grand Hall Master of the Evil Ghost Hall is made of paper!?" Elder Bai said irritably, "If it weren't for him, the evil ghosts in the Sin City area would have been exterminated long ago, and there would be no Evil Ghost Hall!"

"Uh... Then why didn't he kill me?" Jiang Wei thought about this point after hearing Elder Bai; in his view, such a "powerful ghost" had no reason to show him mercy—after all, he was just an ant in the other's eyes!

"He didn't kill you because he saw that you are a disciple of the Heavenly Wasteland Pavilion, and behind you stands the entire Heavenly Wasteland Pavilion, so he didn't dare to act rashly!" Elder Bai immediately understood the key point, "It seems that the old monster's time is finally coming! Otherwise, with his character, he would never have shown you mercy!"

"Uh..." Hearing Elder Bai's words, Jiang Wei realized that his destiny was truly extraordinary, "How dangerous, I almost didn't make it back alive..."

"Ah!" Elder Bai shook his head, "I told you to be low-key and cautious, but you dared to intrude on the lair of evil ghosts, really not knowing the meaning of 'death'!"

Jiang Wei weakly said, "I didn't know it was the lair of evil ghosts..."

"Still have the nerve to say that?" Elder Bai scolded, "You dared to intrude without even knowing what place it was! If you had died there, you probably wouldn't even know how you died!—In the ghost realm, not every place can be intruded upon recklessly!" Elder Bai said earnestly, "The ghost realm is vast and boundless, with countless mysterious and dangerous places; usually, the more mysterious a place is, the more dangers it hides—In the future, as you explore the ghost realm, you will encounter many mysterious and dangerous places; if you intrude without any understanding, it's no different from courting death!"

Elder Bai's words made Jiang Wei feel a chill—indeed, during this time, he had been too smooth on the Dao Seeking Mountain, gradually becoming arrogant and reckless, thinking that with his strength, he could go anywhere on the Dao Seeking Mountain.

If it weren't for Jiang Wei's good luck, he might have been permanently left on the Dao Seeking Mountain!

"Thank you, Master, for your teachings!" At this moment, Jiang Wei finally understood—life is not to be played with!

If you succeed, you might gain some opportunities; if you fail, you lose everything! Playing with your life is a typical example of courting death!

"Courting death..." Jiang Wei silently remembered—life is precious, in the future, without absolute certainty, he must not take risks lightly!

It was precisely because of Elder Bai's teachings that Jiang Wei gradually became more cautious in his future explorations, to the point of being almost excessively cautious.

PS: After working overtime tonight and getting home, I planned to take a short nap and then write, but I ended up sleeping until midnight... I quickly wrote this chapter... I'll sleep now and start making up for the chapters I owe this week when I wake up!

Sorry!