Cultivation starts from devouring the Dao fruits

In the area behind the village, an eerie Taoist dressed in pitch-black robes appeared abruptly before everyone's eyes, his body already beginning to rot, his eyes brimming with malice.

"That's a Second-Order ghost! An existence I cannot contend with!"

Upon seeing the ghastly Taoist, Zhao Yu's body immediately bristled with chills, and an uncontrollable sense of fear surged through him.

Even though Zhao Yu had cultivated the Vajra Dragon Elephant Art to the fortieth level, which made him as strong as a late Qi Refinement cultivator, he still faced a vast divide in the hierarchy of life compared to that Second-Order ghost.

Su Bingyun leapt into the air, lunging directly towards the Second-Order ghost Taoist.

The rest of the cultivators unleashed their spells, with Fireballs and other fiery projectiles bombarding the humanoid skeletons, setting them ablaze, emitting copious amounts of black smoke.

One after another, the humanoid skeletons caught fire and turned into balls of flame.

The ground writhed, and skeletons of humans and demonic beasts alike began to crawl out from underneath, pouncing toward the cultivators of the caravan.

The caravan's cultivators deployed various spells to attack the skeletons.

Bang!

Zhao Yu holding a Magic Sword struck down on the skull of a skeleton, shattering its head completely.

"So tough! And the effect is modest! It seems that fire-based spells, thunder-based spells, or ghost-based spells are indeed stronger against these evil spirits!"

Zhao Yu frowned slightly; the skeletons seemed to turn to ash upon being hit by a Fireball, but when he actually took a strike, he realized they were tougher than fine iron, and the one he had beheaded did not die. Instead, its claw lunged for his heart.

Zhao Yu swung his Magic Sword, creating multiple layers of sword light that instantly chopped the skeleton into pieces, which fell to the ground.

The pieces of the skeletons still trembled on the ground, then flew together from all directions, reassembling into the same skeleton.

"Physical attacks are too ineffective!"

Zhao Yu took out a talisman for warding off evil and affixed it onto the skeleton's skull.

The talisman burnt without any wind, its evasive power filling the air. The skeleton's fragments emitted a considerable amount of black aura, shattering completely, no longer coalescing.

"To deal with these skeleton evil spirits, either use spells to destroy them or use physical means to break them apart, then employ talismans to purify."

Zhao Yu pondered, then looked towards where Su Bingyun was.

There, Su Bingyun was controlling the Fire Crow Mirror, and the transformed fire crow, several meters long, plunged toward the Second-Order ghost Taoist.

Black claws wrapped in dark light flew out from the ghost Taoist, attempting to shred the fire crow. However, as soon as the black claws made contact with the fire crow, they emitted copious amounts of black smoke and were eventually incinerated by the bird.

The ghost Taoist was completely at a disadvantage against Su Bingyun.

Zhao Yu affixed talismans onto his Superior Earth Attribute Magical Sword and, activating the Vajra Dragon Elephant Art, used the Flying Dagger Technique, causing the sword to burst forth with a faint glow and fly toward the ghost Taoist.

The ghost Taoist easily caught the Superior Earth Attribute Magical Sword with a claw, and the dozens of talismans on the sword combusted without wind. The true power of warding off evil erupted all at once, causing black smoke to billow from its right claw and its body to tremble momentarily.

The fire crow, ablaze with more intense flames, took the opportunity to turn a bone claw into ash and then pounced on the ghost Taoist.

Fearsome flames engulfed the ghost Taoist in an instant, and a great amount of black smoke rose from its body.

Amid the flames, the ghost Taoist struggled violently and endured for the duration of ten breaths before being completely burned to nothingness, leaving behind a green hairpin among the ashes.

With the death of the ghost Taoist, the thick fog enveloping the area slowly began to dissipate, revealing the true path before everyone's eyes.

Zhao Yu looked curiously at the green hairpin and asked, "What is this?"

Su Bingyun replied, "This is a Relic of a ghost! Many powerful ghosts have Relics, such as ashes, hairpins, shoes, etc. When merged with their Relic, that's when those ghosts are most powerful. Only when the Relic is destroyed can they truly die."

"If this hairpin is left here unchecked, it will automatically absorb the surrounding dead energy, Spiritual Energy, and evil energy, allowing that ghost Taoist to regenerate."

"Some of the Ghost Path Sect's magic instruments for controlling ghosts are refined using the Relics of ghosts. This hairpin is useless to us, but for those guys from the Yin Ghost Sect, it is an extremely precious resource."

Zhao Yu asked, "Can I take a look at it?"

Su Bingyun handed the green hairpin directly to Zhao Yu, "I'm giving it to you!"

"Thank you!"

Zhao Yu took the green hairpin and immediately felt a chill emanate from it.

After destroying the Ghost Village, the caravan continued its journey.

Late at night.

"Can I eat this thing?"

Playing with the green hairpin, Zhao Yu thought for a while, then took out his Magic Sword to cut his finger and dripped a drop of blood onto the hairpin.

The blood fell on the hairpin, but it underwent no change.

"It seems that blood won't work!"

Zhao Yu stuffed the green hairpin into his mouth and gave it a suck.

A mysterious force surged out from the green hairpin, entered Zhao Yu's body, and was directly refined by his Dao Fruit, turning into a cool and refreshing stream that nourished his physical body and soul.

Within a single breath, the green hairpin turned into a pile of dust, which Zhao Yu spit out.

"Ghost Control Talent: Mediocre (0/100)."

"Divine Sense: Qi Refinement Fourth Level (89/100)."

Plus signs appeared behind both Ghost Control Talent and Divine Sense.

His eyes lighting up, Zhao Yu revealed a hint of a smile, "Devouring the Relic of a ghost can enhance my Ghost Control Talent and Divine Sense! Of course, I need to improve my Divine Sense!"

Divine Sense is extremely important for cultivators. Although Qi Refinement Realm cultivators cannot project their Divine Sense out of their bodies to search like Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators can, nor can they use it except for introspection. However, the stronger the Divine Sense, the more Magic Artifacts they can manipulate, and the more effortlessly they can do so.

Su Bingyun once told Zhao Yu the secrets of Foundation Establishment. During Foundation Establishment, the stronger the physical body, Mana, and Divine Sense, the better. The importance of the physical body is slightly less than that of Mana, which in turn is slightly less important than Divine Sense.

Pills and Secret Techniques that enhance Divine Sense are scarce in the Northern Desolation, and even the Cang Ling Sect, one of the four Great Sects of the Northern Desolation, does not have a Secret Technique that can strengthen Divine Sense.

"Divine Sense: Qi Refinement Ninth Level (53/100)."

After Zhao Yu allocated the points, a cool and refreshing stream surged from deep within him, continuously nourishing his Divine Sense, making it grow stronger and stronger.

Once Zhao Yu had finished upgrading his Divine Sense, he activated his Mana and brought out an Earth Attribute Superior Magical Instrument Grade Magic Sword along with the white Superior Magical Instrument Grade small bell.

A satisfied look appeared in his eyes, "I can now operate two Superior Magical Instruments at the same time with ease. However, while my Divine Sense can support it, the Mana within me is insufficient to sustain combat with two Superior Magical Instruments for an extended period. Still, a short burst is fine!"