Listening to the eerie laughter, Mo Jian felt all the hair on his body stand on end. His back was drenched in a cold sweat.
Suddenly, he heard various strange whispers in his ear—wails and screams of fallen souls. With each passing second, the whispers grew louder, as if they were ready to devour him whole.
Mo Jian's soul was shaken to the core, and he took a couple of steps back. Shaking his head, he forced himself to wake up from the endless whispers.
Fear gripped his mind like a vice.
He raised his head and stared at the Restless Phantom in dread. 'Now, I understand why everyone was scared of it...'
When the Restless Phantom discovered it could not possess Mo Jian's body, it was furious. Letting out an ear-piercing scream, it lunged at him.
Mo Jian's heart quivered, but he was not afraid. His face burned with determination.
"Thunderstrike Slash!"
A phantom of thunder tore through the air with immense momentum, striking toward the Restless Phantom.
The Restless Phantom trembled and retreated, its fury intensifying as it dashed forward at an extreme speed.
'What incredible speed?!' Mo Jian exclaimed in his mind.
At the last moment, he raised his sword just in time to block the attack. His arms trembled, but he tightened his grip on his sword.
Quickly, he countered with a barrage of sword strikes.
The Restless Phantom did not retreat. Instead, it met Mo Jian's strikes head-on with its claws.
The two were locked in a deadly battle.
The sounds of their fierce clash echoed through the forest. Mo Jian leaned back, narrowly dodging a deadly claw strike before responding with a punch.
"Flowering River Fist Strike!"
The attack forced the Restless Phantom to tremble momentarily before it retaliated with a palm strike.
Mo Jian did not expect such a sharp counterattack and was sent flying. He crashed into a large tree, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
He shook his head, inhaling sharply. 'How does it have such terrifying defense?'
Now, he understood why people were helpless against the Restless Phantom. Compared to it, the Vengeful Wisps were nothing.
Quickly, he got back on his feet and dodged to the side.
The Restless Phantom's claws shattered the massive tree as if it were nothing. Its eerie face twisted as it turned to attack again.
Mo Jian did not dare let his guard down. He quickly raised his sword to block the attack, but with each strike, his hands grew numb.
'If this continues... it's only a matter of time before I'm defeated.'
'I need to do something—or find a way to escape.'
Lost in thought, he failed to notice the rapid incoming attack.
His ribs cracked, and he stumbled backward.
Wincing in pain, his face paled.
'I can't continue ...'
'Since you want to kill me, let's see who dies first.' A sharp glint flickered in his eyes, tinged with madness.
Ignoring his injuries, Mo Jian attacked with all his might. He had long abandoned the thought of escaping.
His sudden, frenzied assault caught the Restless Phantom off guard. Its form flickered, and its ghostly light dimmed.
More than that, Mo Jian's strikes were growing stronger with each blow.
His Thunderstrike Slash surged in power.
A miserable shriek escaped the Restless Phantom as it retreated, its spectral glow flickering dangerously.
Desperate, it tried to drown Mo Jian in ghostly whispers, but it was useless. Mo Jian's relentless attacks rained down from all directions.
Under his overwhelming assault, the Restless Phantom shattered into pieces and dissolved into thin air.
Mo Jian gasped, his breath erratic as he watched the phantom vanish completely.
He coughed up another mouthful of blood. His face was deathly pale, and his chest and ribs throbbed in pain.
With a weak hand, he opened his spatial pouch and retrieved a healing pill.
Swallowing the pill, he sat down to recover his strength.
"Hmm! I've broken through!" His eyes widened in shock.
He hadn't expected that, in the midst of a life-and-death battle, he would break through to the Peak of Mortal Rank-9.
Instantly, his mood lifted, and a faint smile crept onto his face.
Ten minutes later, having recovered some strength, he stood up.
"Should I return?" He hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "I've come this far. I can't turn back now."
With that, he rushed toward his destination.
Along the way, he encountered several Vengeful Wisps, but he cut them down with ease.
One hour later, he arrived at an old abandoned mine.
The entrance was shrouded in ghostly mist, teeming with Vengeful Wisps.
Without hesitation, he stepped inside, his confidence unwavering.
Now, with his strength at the Peak of Mortal Realm, he had nothing to fear. With each swing of his sword, Vengeful Wisps fell one after another.
Navigating the narrow tunnels, he searched for the Ember Flame. According to rumors, a disciple had once detected a powerful heat source deep within the mine.
He hoped he would be fortunate enough to find it.
After scouring numerous tunnels, Mo Jian found nothing. But he refused to turn back.
Venturing deeper into the mine, the passage narrowed, and the wind howled like wailing spirits. His visibility decreased drastically.
"I don't think the Ember Flame is in this mine," he muttered in disappointment.
"As for the other location, the chances of finding it there are even slimmer."
He had placed all his hopes on this mine, but reality left him disappointed.
Just as he prepared to turn back, something in the distance caught his attention.
Quickly, he picked up his pace and rushed forward.
As he moved ahead, he noticed the dense yin energy thinning at a visible rate.
Seeing this, his heart began to race.
Emerging from the narrow tunnel, he arrived at a small open space.
The temperature had risen significantly, and the oppressive yin energy had completely evaporated.
At the center of the cavern, a lone flame danced back and forth with the wind.
"Finally, I found it!" he shouted; his voice filled with excitement.
AN: Can we get 100 power stones or 2 golden tickets before this week runs out?