Chapter 10 Fellow Daoist Lin, humans and ghosts are on different paths!

"Yes, Master." You Li replied obediently, her voice soft and compliant.

She stood quietly to the side, her posture respectful, yet Xiao Ming could clearly feel that her captivating purple eyes were still quietly and intently following his figure; within that gaze, there was a mixture of calm scrutiny, burgeoning curiosity, and a hint of... indescribable attachment.

"System, redeem [Soul Gathering Curse]." Xiao Ming thought to himself. Although this curse talisman was of a low grade, it could gather, sublimate, and concentrate residual resentment within a small area in a short amount of time, forming an army of vengeful spirits that attacked indiscriminately.

[Redemption successful, Villain Points consumed: 150.]

Xiao Ming silently cast the curse talisman deep into the cold pool, where it merged with the frigid Yin Qi. Once a living person triggered the Restriction here, the curse talisman would activate immediately.

"You Li, let's go!" Xiao Ming looked at his masterpiece and said with satisfaction.

"Yes, Master!" Although You Li was somewhat confused, she still followed quickly.

About half a day later, a faint sound came from the cave entrance.

A slightly disheveled figure in green crept in cautiously. It was none other than Lin Fan!

His clothes were torn in several places, his aura was chaotic, and his face wore an expression of exhaustion and vigilance; it was clear that escaping the pursuit of the Zhang Kuang Family had caused him considerable suffering. Yet his eyes were unusually bright, filled with a near-paranoid desire.

He held tightly in his hand a piece of tattered animal hide with charred edges that looked ancient; a crude map was drawn on it, with the destination being the location of this very cave, and next to it was a line of blurred ancient text: "The place where the Yinji Ghost Way passed away, reserved for those fated..."

"According to the instructions on this 'ancient map' I dug out from a trash heap in the marketplace, this is the place!" Lin Fan's eyes were filled with wild joy. "Yinji Ghost Way... a powerful ancient ghost cultivator! If I can obtain his Legacy, I, Lin Fan, will surely soar to the skies and never have to hide from place to place again!"

He suppressed his excitement and carefully explored the cave, soon discovering the Legacy altar. The moment he stepped onto it, the [Soul Gathering Curse] talisman in the cold pool was immediately triggered, and the dense aura of vengeful spirits began to stir slowly.

"The Yin Qi here is so heavy; there must be a great treasure! It seems the ancient records are true!" Lin Fan was not suspicious at all; on the contrary, he became even more convinced. He walked to the altar, intending to inject his magic power to try and activate the Legacy.

Suddenly, countless white vengeful spirits let out ear-piercing shrieks and surged out like a bursting flood, crazily pouncing toward the only living being in the cave—Lin Fan!

"What?! Why are there so many vengeful spirits!?" Lin Fan's expression changed drastically, and he turned pale with shock! This was completely beyond his expectations!

How could he know that this was a "little gift" Xiao Ming had carefully prepared for him.

"Damn it! Demon Polar Light Shield!!" In his haste, Lin Fan summoned his protective Magic Treasure and slashed continuously with his sword technique, engaging in a fierce battle with the vengeful spirits.

These vengeful spirits were not strong individually, but there were simply too many of them, and they were fearless, crazily charging at him.

For a time, the cave was filled with ghost wails and wolf howls, and demonic light erupted everywhere. Lin Fan was overwhelmed, sustaining several wounds on his body. His already disheveled appearance became even more miserable, and his internal demonic power was rapidly depleting.

After battling for a full hour, Lin Fan finally managed to clear out the vengeful spirits by relying on a few trump cards to save his life. He slumped to the ground, panting heavily, covered in wounds, having consumed quite a few Medicinal Pills, his face looking extremely ugly.

He rested for a while, struggled to his feet, and carefully inspected the altar and the entire cave; his expression turned even uglier, as if he had eaten excrement. After the inspection, his heart sank straight to the bottom. The Legacy power at the core of the altar... had disappeared! The bottom of the cold pool was also completely empty! There was nothing!

"How could this be?! Where is the Legacy?! Where is the treasure?!" Lin Fan looked like a madman, unable to accept the result. He had risked his life to find this place with the ancient map, gone through a bitter battle, only to end up with nothing?! There was only a mess on the ground and wounds all over his body!

"Who is it?" He vaguely sensed that something was wrong. For these past few days, he had been feeling as if a pair of eyes were watching him from behind! ... Who exactly is it?

He let out a roar of unwillingness; the sound echoed in the empty cave, but no one answered. He couldn't imagine who had snatched his Opportunity or how they had done it. He only assumed that the Zhang Kuang Family or other enemies had discovered his whereabouts, but after thinking about it, he felt it was unlikely.

In the end, Lin Fan left dejectedly, filled with endless resentment, confusion, and pain. He didn't even know who had taken his Opportunity; he had suffered this loss in extreme frustration!

Watching Lin Fan walk out of the cave in a dejected state, having nowhere to vent his anger, and seeing his look of impotent rage, Xiao Ming, who had just finished organizing his recent gains not far away, grinned until the corners of his mouth almost reached his ears.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, humans and ghosts walk different paths! I am doing this for your own good..."

[Ding! Successfully plotted against the Child of Fortune Lin Fan, causing him to return empty-handed and suffer physical and mental trauma!]

[Reward: Villain Points +600!]

[Ding! Successfully seized the core Legacy of the "Yinji Ghost Way" and the beautiful ghost servant!]

[Reward: Villain Points +1800!]

[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: 100,000 years of experience as an Elementary Alchemist!]