Everyone's expressions lit up with joy they had almost forgotten that the team captain was a high-level Curse Element mage.
Of course, Ai Jiangtu still had some doubts. Although Lu Jun's cultivation was indeed a bit higher than his, they were both high-level Curse Element mages was the gap really that big? Why hadn't he sensed anything?
Lu Jun didn't explain. He first began sketching out a Summoning Element star Maps. A vast black-violet magic array interwove in front of him, surging with dark mist, streaked with threads of black lightning. A powerful psychic-curse wave shot skyward.
For a moment, Ai Jiangtu and the others were forced back, their expressions stunned as a majestic, elegant, black-and-white giant beast stepped out from within the array. A domineering commander-level pressure swept across the area.
"Commander-level summoned beast!"
Jiang Yu exclaimed in shock, his tone laced with envy. "Lu Jun, did you catch it in the Dark Forest under your mentor's guidance?"
"That's right." Lu Jun smiled faintly. "I must thank your mentor, Head Instructor Pang Lai."
The others were just as shaken in spirit. A single commander-level giant demon was equivalent to a dozen national team members. Each secretly made up their minds to break through to the high-tier as soon as possible.
Lu Jun then turned and instructed the Night Thunder Dream Beast, "Guard me."
There were two reasons he summoned the Dream Beast. First, to protect himself he wasn't about to entrust his safety to these national team members he barely knew. Second, to cover him while he cast his spell and to enhance his mental domain.
In truth, Lu Jun was lying. The Curse Element alone couldn't draw out the evil spirit it required participation from the Psychic Element. And the Night Thunder Dream Beast's attributes conveniently concealed that.
The Night Thunder Dream Beast nodded and paced around his body. Black patterns spread out, forming a dark formation. Anyone who stepped in would be nailed down by giant shadow spikes.
Immediately after, Lu Jun sat cross-legged, shrouded within the hazy nightmare domain of the summoned beast. Outsiders could not see him clearly.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
He controlled the stars. One after another, transparent star maps manifested, interweaving into a dazzling star constellation. At the center of his mind, a vertical pupil pierced through, locking firmly onto Old Zhao lying in front of him.
In the next moment, Lu Jun's soul detached from his body. A solid translucent spirit form floated out, etched all over with black-red curse runes. A galaxy spiraled around his heart, and every gesture stirred a ghastly wind—eerie and sinister.
Indeed, he had brought the Curse Element star galaxy into his soul form. "Tsk tsk tsk… feels a bit like Yin Soul Projection."
At the same time, Lu Jun glanced downward and saw his physical body slumped softly on the Night Thunder Dream Beast.
"Woodfish Evil Spirit, let me find your trail."
Lu Jun's eyes gleamed as he looked toward Zhao Manyan lying on the bed. Under the dual reflection of the Psychic and Curse domains, his vision shifted.
He saw a long soul thread extending from Old Zhao's forehead, disappearing into the void, reaching toward a distant place.
This was the link between soul and flesh.
With a thought, he activated Ghost Punishment. A specter of Black Impermanence emerged, transforming into a black cloak that draped over his soul form.
Soon, Lu Jun's soul form drifted, following the thread through the void. A hazy mist passed through the walls, flying deep into the mountain forest toward a secluded small temple.
Along the way, he saw the twelve national team members below, visibly tense. In the dense woods, he passed by many small animals and insects.
"Got you."
Lu Jun's soul form arrived at an ancient, dust-covered shrine. He sneered coldly as he gazed into the temple, spotting a wooden fish placed on the altar.
Around the temple, a faint spiritual illusion fell like a veil, radiating an ominous dark-red hue.
This was something ordinary people could not see. The essence of an evil spirit was a cursed wraith detectable only with spiritual vision even more advanced than seeing the undead.
"So this is the internal space tied to the magic tool Wooden Fish?"
He mused. It was similar to the blood-red swamp of the White Tiger Pendant or the Nether River of Mo Fan's Azure Dragon Pendant.
After a moment, Lu Jun's soul form floated to the edge of the spiritual illusion. His illusory palm touched the barrier Zzz Zzz Zzz! a corrosive sound echoed. A dark-red radiance flared, and a repelling force struck him, flinging him several meters back.
"Interesting. But it won't stop me."
Lu Jun said calmly. A massive surge of spiritual power burst forth. Though in a ghostly form, his soul showed signs of manifesting physically, interfering with reality and distorting the air.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
His aura climbed higher and higher, reaching the peak of the sixth realm. With the support of the Night Thunder Dream Beast, his mental strength had already reached the upper limits of high-tier.
"Open up!"
Lu Jun extended both hands, transforming them into giant ghost claws. He clawed at the barrier and pulled with force.
Tsssss!
His spirit form, like a demonic god, actually tore the spiritual illusion apart with his bare hands, ripping a crack open and charging straight into it!
In an instant, Lu Jun's vision spun violently, and he plummeted into a realm of genuine reality.
He stood in the sky, looking down below. This was a region identical to the outer world's Yanming Temple, except it had turned to daytime. Crowds bustled through the streets, streams of vehicles passed by—it was a scene of great prosperity.
"A record of Yanming Temple from the past ten years?"
Lu Jun murmured to himself. He knew there were no unjust evil spirits in this world.
Where there is an evil spirit, there must be unresolved grievances.
There was a tragic yet clichéd tale behind the evil spirit Nara Monk and the girl Miyata.
Originally, Yanming Temple thrived with incense offerings. Nara was an inconspicuous figure among the monks, tasked with fetching water from the foot of the mountain. Coincidentally, there was a girl named Miyata living below. As the two interacted over time, feelings naturally blossomed.
However, another monk, Nanami, chanced upon them. Out of jealousy and his own impurity, as he had secretly gone to seek prostitutes and was almost discovered he falsely accused Nara and Miyata of engaging in illicit acts that same night.
It just so happened that the two really were together that night, and their testimonies didn't align. With no way to clear their names, Miyata chose suicide to prove her innocence.
Nara, overwhelmed with hatred and grief, followed her in death. By a twist of fate, his spirit was captured by the Wooden Fish Totem Artifact of the Baxa and cultivated into an evil spirit.
Thus, the evil spirit was born.
"Your revenge is justified, but if you take innocent lives in the process, then you've become truly evil."
Lu Jun's face turned cold. The moment their group entered Yanming Temple, the evil spirit had immediately launched a sneak attack proving that Nara was no longer the Nara of the past, but a full-blown fiend.
Boom rumble rumble!
He had no interest in searching room by room. His terrifying spiritual force spread out, layer upon layer of ripples engulfing the temple atop the mountain, causing the illusory world to tremble violently.
Finally, in one corner of the dreamscape, a dark red bloodlight surged into the sky. The murderous aura rolled forth, no weaker than his own.
An ominous monk's figure emerged. Nara's soul, twisted with resentment, roared frenziedly:
"Damn outsider! Why are you meddling in our affairs?!"
"Heh... And you think you're in the right, after harming my friend?"
Lu Jun's fury surged. Old Zhao had fought shoulder to shoulder with Mo Fan and himself against the Lu Family he already considered the man a true friend.
"Die for me!"
In a flash, Lu Jun unleashed his newly developed variant magic. His entire outfit transformed half black, half white. Even his hair mirrored the change. Black-blue winds howled around him, lifting gray-white gravel into the air, with thick fog billowing, dust swirling, and debris flying in all directions.
He had fused Body-Borrowing Curse, Soul Projection, Soul Control, and Spectral Judgment, temporarily integrating the Black and White Impermanence into his soul, mastering all the powers of the Twin Ghost Envoys of Yin and Yang.
Backed by Sixth Realm-level spiritual strength, Lu Jun was now equivalent to a Commander-level peak ghost official, capable of immense spiritual destruction.
Woooooo!
Sky-covering cyan-white winds swept across the mountain-top temple. The thick smoke consumed all the temple buildings, turning them into stone, which were then shredded to powder under the fierce gales.
The entire illusion shook violently, gradually crumbling apart.
The evil spirit Nara failed to escape in time and was completely enveloped suffering an excruciating punishment as if facing an execution.
For additional chapters
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