Chapter 1: Obtaining Artifact 1

Ye Mo was a low-ranking ghost in the Dark Realm, a wandering ghost without a master. She couldn’t even be considered a ghost soldier—just a ghost with minimal knowledge of ghost techniques!

She had no memory of where she came from or where she was heading. Ever since she could remember, she had been drifting aimlessly as a wandering ghost in the ownerless area of the Dark Realm.

Fortunately, when she first awakened, an old wandering ghost in her area had taught her some survival skills. For instance, she learned never to acknowledge a master, as doing so would mean her ghostly existence would be under the master’s control. If the master commanded her to be destroyed by the third watch, she wouldn’t survive until the fourth.

It wasn’t as though becoming a ghost made one immortal—ghosts could still be completely annihilated. However, if a wandering ghost was fortunate enough not to be destroyed, they could exist for ages, just like the old ghost who had taught her. It was said that he had been wandering for tens of thousands of years.

Ye Mo followed the old ghost for about two months. After imparting basic knowledge and some cultivation methods, the old ghost left without a word. Ye Mo was once again a lone, wandering little female ghost. She was timid—so much so that she would hide whenever she encountered other ghosts! After all, the old ghost had warned her that, with her meager abilities, any random ghost could obliterate her with a flick of the finger.

Ye Mo valued her life greatly, so she lived with extreme caution.

It was well known that a wandering, ownerless little female ghost was highly sought after in the Dark Realm. Ye Mo had personally witnessed many little female ghosts being captured by ghost soldiers and ghost guards. She even overheard their conversations while hiding in a dark corner.

Rumors circulated that capturing a little female ghost could be exchanged for a treasure of the Dark Realm! It was said that a certain big shot in the Dark Realm needed hundreds of little female ghosts! Another rumor was that a particular alchemist in the Dark Realm needed a few ghosts to refine into pills. And this refining didn’t mean simply watching from the sidelines—it meant being thrown into the pill furnace to be turned into ghost pills.

These stories terrified Ye Mo, making her even more cautious. The world was far more dangerous than the old ghost had described. Because of this, Ye Mo gradually strayed further from the area where most wandering ghosts resided, driven by the fear of encountering ghost soldiers and ghost guards.

Finally, after wandering for some time, Ye Mo arrived in a ghost-free area. There was no ghost energy for the ghost clan to absorb in this place. Strangely enough, it was easy for Ye Mo to sustain her existence here—just a trace of ghost energy each day allowed her to live comfortably in the ghost-free area. And if she could absorb even a trace of worship energy, she could probably go for a month without needing anything else.

But worship energy was rare. Generally, only ghosts who had living relatives or friends in the human realm possessed such energy. As for ghosts like Ye Mo, with no known origin, there was no worship energy for her to absorb.

One day, as Ye Mo wandered around this ghost-free area, she sensed a comforting aura and stopped in her tracks. She made an effort to absorb this aura.

Ever since the old ghost had taught her cultivation, Ye Mo had never truly practiced. The other ghosts in the wandering area didn’t even know she was practicing. But when Ye Mo absorbed this aura, she felt she could begin cultivating.

So Ye Mo decided to stay in this area, absorbing the aura and starting her cultivation. To avoid being discovered by other ghosts, she gathered a pile of random stones in the previously empty area, turning it into a rocky beach. She hid beneath it, digging a hole below to continue her cultivation inside the cave.

Time seemed to stand still as Ye Mo cultivated. She had no idea how long she had been at it, but she could feel her ghost power growing stronger. She continued absorbing the comforting aura until she could no longer sense it. Then, she stopped her cultivation, feeling delighted that her ghost power had reached what she believed was the second level—though she couldn’t explain how she knew this.

In the following days, Ye Mo resumed her routine. Every day at midnight, she would run to the area with ghost energy and take a deep breath before returning to her cave beneath the rocky beach.

There was a reason she stayed there—she had come to see it as her home. She had dug out a large hole beneath the rocky beach and arranged stone beds and stools inside, creating her own little space.

One day, while returning to her cave, Ye Mo caught a whiff of a peculiar fragrance. The scent deeply attracted her, as she realized that each time she absorbed a bit of it, her cultivated ghost power grew stronger.

Ye Mo followed the direction of the fragrance and arrived at a place where it was emanating from a crevice in a hill. Impulsively, Ye Mo reached into the crevice and pulled out a ring emitting a white light. The fragrance was coming from this ring.

Ye Mo held the ring close to her nose and took a few deep breaths. Surprisingly, her ghost power increased significantly. Knowing she had found something valuable, Ye Mo tucked the ring into her bosom and hurried back to her cave. From then on, she clung to the ring, inhaling its essence. She lost track of time, unaware of how many days she had been absorbing its power. Her ghost power had surged, jumping from the second level to the sixth level.

As for how she knew she had reached the sixth level, she couldn’t explain it—after all, the old ghost had never mentioned anything about levels. But somehow, she felt certain she had reached this stage.

Unfortunately, the ring that had once glowed had now lost its radiance, leaving Ye Mo feeling frustrated. Why had it become like this? Why had the ring lost its fragrance? Did she need to return to the place where she had found it?

It was nighttime in the Dark Realm, and one must understand that the ghost clan resided in a place of perpetual darkness. During the night, it was even darker. As Ye Mo quietly sneaked toward the vicinity, she overheard some ghostly voices.

“Is this the place?”

“Probably.”

“That thing is glowing. It should be easier to find in this pitch-black night.”

“Isn’t that something from the human realm? Just throw it away!”

“No, we must find it. Although the Ghost King hasn’t said anything yet, if we can’t find it when he asks for it, we’ll be in trouble.”

“But isn’t it just a ring?”

“That’s no ordinary ring. The Ghost King obtained it from a secret place, and it is said to have belonged to a powerful being from the divine realm.”

“So it’s a divine artifact?”

(End of Chapter)

Reminder: This is not my work. The author’s name is Li Xin Yu(李心语) and please support me❤️

https://ko-fi.com/grace030