Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 174 Ghost Night Walk

"Where can I see it?"

In his past and present lives, Lu Zheng had heard some strange stories.

However, I have never witnessed such grand scenes as the night parade of a hundred ghosts or the passage of ghost soldiers.

Lu Zheng thought for a moment and said, "You might see them in ancient battlefields and tombs. Ghosts tend to gather in places with dense yin energy."

"Oh, there's none here?" Qing Wan asked curiously.

Lu Zheng pondered and said, "We probably won't see such a scene, but we can walk around later and maybe encounter some ghosts."

On the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, the yin energy is so strong that even some little ghosts will come out and wander around.

Qing Wan waved her fist and said excitedly, "Then hurry up and eat your meal so we can go find the ghosts and kill those bad ghosts!"

During the time she followed Lu Zheng, Qing Wan had learned to distinguish between good and evil, and would occasionally help kill the little demons.

However, Qing Wan is just a small grass spirit after all. Even though she has reached the second realm and has practiced some Confucianism and Taoism, her combat power is not strong. She is unable to deal with the monsters and ghosts of the first realm and cannot stand on her own.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "No rush, it's not even completely dark yet, there's still a lot of time left tonight."

After Lu Zheng finished writing his experiences, he slowly ate his meal.

Qing Wan controlled several small bean soldiers to take root in the soil. The spiritual energy of these bean soldiers was almost exhausted and they could not be controlled for a long time. After taking root in the soil, they could turn into pea seedlings and grow in the wild, avoiding the fate of being exhausted of spiritual energy and dying.

"When we visit these places again in the future, you will have plenty of peas to eat." Qing Wan said.

"maybe."

Lu Zheng smiled. They had traveled through many places along the way, and Qing Wan had planted a lot of peas in the mountains and fields, which served as a trace of their travels.

After doing all this, Qing Wan felt extremely tired, so she took out the Green Bamboo Scroll and absorbed the vitality and spirit in it.

As night falls, a bright moon hangs in the sky.

Lu Zheng and Qing Wan hurried on their way through the wilderness under the moonlight.

The mountain breeze was gentle, mixed with an unusual hint of coolness.

Qingwan moved her short legs very quickly as she walked in front, looking for a flat route for Lu Zheng and looking for ghosts at the same time.

After a while, Qingwan came back quickly.

She came close to Lu Zheng and whispered, "It seems like there's a ghost floating ahead."

Lu Zheng had already sensed a faint ghostly aura. When he looked over, he discovered that it was a wandering soul in the mountains, without even a trace of intelligence.

The wandering soul only heard the human voice and didn't even feel Lu Zheng's breath, so it instinctively flew away to avoid him.

Lu Zheng explained, "This is considered the weakest ghost. If it lacks Yin energy, it will soon dissipate between heaven and earth... Even though it's a ghost, ordinary people wouldn't dare get close to it."

"Oh……"

Qing Wan was a little disappointed, thinking that this ghost was too weak and not much stronger than an ant.

In the distance, on the branch of a dead tree, a shiny black crow stood there, tilting its head to look at Lu Zheng.

Hearing the conversation between Lu Zheng and the other man, the crow flapped its wings and flew to a nearby big tree.

"But Master Lu Zheng?"

The crow opened its mouth and spoke in human language, its eyes staring at Lu Zheng brightly.

Lu Zheng raised his head slightly and looked at the crow, "It's me."

The crow lowered his head and said, "I have long heard of your great name!"

Without thinking, Lu Zheng knew where the crow learned about him.

"Hello." Lu Zheng smiled. "What can I do for you?"

The crow said, "I have no intention of disturbing you, sir. I just happened to be here. I just heard that you seemed to be looking for ghosts. I happen to know a place where ghosts often appear. I can take you there."

Birds like crows are sensitive to evil spirits, so they can often be seen in places like cemeteries.

In the world, some people regard crows as sacred birds, while others believe that crows are a symbol of bad omen and an evil bird that brings death. Their image has received mixed reviews.

Lu Zheng, however, did not have much opinion on this.

Crows often appear in certain places, not because they bring any bad luck, but because of their habits, and they are attracted by certain smells.

Some people attribute bad luck to the appearance of crows, which is putting the cart before the horse.

"Oh? Then thank you for your help, sir."

Hearing Crow's words, Lu Zheng quickly thanked him.

The crow said, "It is my honor. Please follow me, sir."

The crow flapped its wings and flew away into the distance.

Lu Zheng let Qingwan sit on his shoulders and quickly followed.

After flying over several hills, the crow stopped on a tree.

The crow raised a wing and pointed in a direction, saying, "Over there is a small town of your human race. There is a cemetery outside the town with many ghosts in it, but there are fewer ghosts there recently."

"I accidentally discovered that the ghosts went to another place, in that valley... But the yin energy in there is very heavy, so I didn't dare to get too close."

The crow pointed in another direction.

Lu Zheng looked carefully at the valley the crow pointed to, which was just a few miles away.

He didn't have the ability to see qi, but with his own eyes, he could tell that the aura of that place was unusual.

That valley was not only filled with thick yin energy, but also with the flow of bloody evil energy, giving people a gloomy and terrifying feeling.

"Has it always been like this here?" Lu Zheng couldn't help but ask.

Even if it wasn't tonight, if there was less gloomy energy, this place would be too conspicuous.

Upon hearing this, the crow said, "No, I just discovered that this place has changed a few days ago, and the aura wasn't so strong before. I guess that some powerful ghost must have come here." "Is that so..." Lu Zheng nodded thoughtfully.

"Thank you for the directions, sir. This is just a small gift, not a token of respect."

Lu Zheng spread his hands and took out a pill.

Crow's eyes lit up and he said, "It's just a small matter, but since it's a gift from Master, I dare not refuse it."

Lu Zheng smiled slightly and threw the pill to Crow.

The crow was quick-eyed and quick-mouthed. It grabbed the pill in one gulp and swallowed it with its head tilted back.

The crow flapped its wings joyfully and said, "I dare not bother you any further, sir. I will take my leave now."

Lu Zheng nodded slightly, then walked towards the valley.

The crow stood on the branch and did not leave. Instead, it silently watched Lu Zheng go away, then half-closed its eyes and refined the elixir.

Before reaching the valley, Lu Zheng discovered something unusual.

Because he found that the ghostly aura around him was very mixed, and it was the breath left by many ghosts.

Just then, several hazy figures floated towards the valley.

Lu Zheng observed carefully and found that these were some powerful ghosts.

Several ghosts looked confused, as if attracted by something, and headed towards the depths of the valley.

Lu Zheng moved his nose and faintly smelled a strange fragrance.

An indescribable fragrance penetrated into my forehead.

However, this fragrance was completely wiped out by Lu Zheng's own breath halfway through, and could not cause any effect on Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng guessed that this was a kind of aroma that could induce hallucination.

After a while, more wandering ghosts gathered in the mountains and fields, and among them there were even some evil ghosts close to the second level.

Qing Wan showed curiosity and whispered, "Is this a ghost party?"

Qingwan couldn't help but think of the literary gathering she had attended in Changchuan County.

Lu Zheng thought that these ghosts were not that smart. Why would they gather together to hold a party? There was obviously something strange about it.

After seeing several evil spirits entering the valley, Lu Zheng discovered that there were no other ghosts around, so he quickly followed them into the valley.

Lu Zheng restrained his breath and tried not to expose his figure.

The valley was filled with yin energy, not only with ghostly energy, but also with some blood energy.

Lu Zheng clearly smelled the smell of blood, the smell of human blood, and the smell of monsters.

All kinds of messy smells filled his nostrils, making Lu Zheng feel like he was back in the bear monster's cave.

But the slight difference is that these smells are the smell of fresh blood, without any smell of corruption.

Not only that, Lu Zheng also felt the medicinal aroma of the elixir.

However, Lu Zheng could not distinguish the more detailed and specific source of the smell.

The reason why he could distinguish so many auras was due to his use of righteous energy during this period.

Lu Zheng knew very little about the art of elixirs and had no idea of the effects of these elixirs.

Deep in the valley, there was a gray mist and it was so dark that even the moonlight could not shine in.

The ghosts that were attracted floated into a dark cave one after another.

Lu Zheng stood not far away and after some observation, he found that there was a formation at the entrance of the cave.

It seems that only ghosts can pass through. Once other people get close, it will definitely trigger the ban and alarm the person who set up the formation.

Being able to lure ghosts here, and having formations arranged in this place, it goes without saying that there must be a "person" with some means hiding here.

Lu Zheng took out a storage bag and rummaged through it.

When Lu Zheng was dividing the spoils of the dragon, he got some talismans from Taoist Qingxuan, who said that he could exchange them for spirit stones if he couldn't use them.

Lu Zheng couldn't find a suitable buyer for the time being, so he used some of it himself.

It must be said that Qingxuan gave quite a few kinds of talismans.

Lu Zheng searched for a while and found a hidden array talisman. This talisman can allow people to enter the array without triggering the array.

Lu Zheng activated the talisman, and a trace of spiritual energy emerged and lingered around his body.

Seeing this, Lu Zheng did not hesitate and quickly stepped into the cave.

When passing through the cave, Lu Zheng clearly felt a slight obstruction, but he still passed through smoothly without touching anything.

The cave was pitch black, and you couldn't see your hand in front of you.

Lu Zheng stood there for a while to adjust himself, and when he could vaguely see the surroundings, he slowly walked deeper into the cave.

Lu Zheng walked slowly, trying not to make any noise.

However, a few more ghosts appeared from behind.

Lu Zheng noticed something and couldn't help but hold his breath and move close to the stone wall.

A few ghosts seemed unaware and passed by Lu Zheng directly and went deeper into the cave.

Lu Zheng quickly followed behind, keeping pace with the ghosts to avoid going around in circles.

Qing Wan hid in Lu Zheng's pocket, covering her mouth with her little hands, afraid that she would make any noise, with a look of curiosity and excitement on her face.

When we got inside the cave, we saw a faint light flickering in front of us.

Lu Zheng discovered that the space in front of him was filled with strong blood and yin energy. When the ghosts entered it, their figures could not be seen clearly and no sound was made.

(End of this chapter)