"It’s a woman?"
The disguise of "Yan Lintong" was completely torn to shreds by Lu Yun’s ferocious Qi. What appeared before him now was the phantasm of a woman, her body twisted and her clothes barely covering her.
Her face, blurry and indistinct, was a mask of agony and endless hatred.
Moreover, her spectral body was covered in wounds of all sizes, some so deep you could see the "bone."
Some looked like slashes, others like puncture wounds, and still others like they were from the bite of a wild beast... A thick, black miasma emanated from every wound.
Lu Yun was all too familiar with this black miasma. It was the same chilling aura that had afflicted Lu Jingteng, only far more concentrated.
At the sight of this unspeakably tragic and malevolent soul, a bone-chilling killing intent erupted from Lu Yun’s hitherto placid eyes!
His previous state of detached calm was instantly incinerated by the towering inferno of rage in his heart!
Lu Yun understood. He now knew exactly where this female ghost had come from!
She was a victim of that past massacre! One of the countless vengeful souls brutally murdered by the fiends from Wa Country thirty-one years ago, her body thrown into the river’s heart!
While alive, they had endured endless humiliation and torture. In death, their bodies were lost forever.
The fiends from Wa Country... DAMN THEM ALL!
Watching the ghost’s soul struggle on the deck, letting out silent wails, Lu Yun felt not a shred of pity, only an almost cruel resolve.
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Your suffering in life has ended. You should not have to endure this torment in death."
The moment his voice fell, Lu Yun struck out with both fists, unleashing the immense Qi of a Grandmaster of Huajin to its absolute limit!
BOOM! BOOM!
Two torrents of solidified, immense Qi tore through the night sky. With irresistible force, they slammed into the ghost’s remnant soul!
Washed over by the two currents of pure, unyielding Qi, the ghost’s twisted, agonized phantasm began to fade rapidly.
Finally, she dissolved into faint wisps of white smoke, dissipating completely into the river wind.
On the deck, Lu Yun slowly lowered his fists. He immediately turned his focus inward, delving deep into his mind.
An ethereal blue screen materialized as expected.
[Extreme Blue Martial Arts Modifier]
Name: Lu Yun
Gender: Male
Realm: Grandmaster of Huajin (Mid-Stage)
Cultivation Technique: Mountain-Breaking Inch Force Fist 2nd Floor (Beginner)
Modified Value: 23
The modified value had jumped from 15 to 23! A direct increase of 8 points!
This number gave Lu Yun a slight jolt. It was double the 4 points he had gained from dispelling that wisp of chilling aura from Lu Jingteng!
’Looks like my previous guess was wrong.’
’So there’s no single, powerful main entity.’
’Jingteng was probably just possessed by a relatively weak vengeful soul that night.’
’In that case... there must be quite a few of these vengeful souls slumbering beneath the waters of Ghost Wail Ridge...’
As Lu Yun mulled this over, his gaze returned to the dark surface of the river.
’The modified value is precious and tempting, but should I really risk my life for it by jumping into these waters? They’re brimming with resentful energy and hiding who-knows-how-many horrors.’
’That would hardly be wise. A wise man doesn’t court needless danger.’
’I’m pursuing longevity to live a better, longer life, not to go looking for trouble.’
’Dealing with these ghostly things, especially when they have the home-field advantage underwater, is risky.’
’One wrong move, and even a Grandmaster of Huajin like me could suffer an unexpected defeat, dragged to the cold, dark bottom of the river by countless vengeful souls.’
Therefore, Lu Yun decisively dismissed the thought of entering the water to investigate the moment it crossed his mind.
At least, not until he had a safer method. He would absolutely not take such a risk lightly.
This time, Lu Yun had no intention of sitting down again. The chair had been shattered by the recoil from his earlier attack and now lay in pieces on the deck.
He simply stood in the center of the deck, leaning on his cane, maintaining the highest level of alertness and honing his senses to their peak.
Ever since his breakthrough to the Realm of a Grandmaster of Huajin, the potent, condensed Qi in his body had been nourishing and refining his old frame day and night, causing his body to undergo a complete transformation.
His internal organs were brimming with vitality, and the sensitivity of his senses—his hearing, sight, smell, taste, and even his skin—had improved dramatically.
With his perception fully extended, the slightest disturbance within a radius of a dozen meters—be it a change in temperature, a shift in aura, or even a hidden, malicious gaze—could not escape his notice.
The reason Lu Yun had instantly seen through the female ghost’s nearly flawless impersonation of Yan Lintong was precisely this: his perception, which was far beyond that of an ordinary person.
Within Lu Yun’s perceptual field, the approaching ghost hadn’t carried the warmth and aura of a living person. Instead, she brought a raw, unconcealed, bone-chilling cold. It would have been difficult *not* to notice.
The night remained black as ink, with only the tireless whining of the river wind for company. Lu Yun stood his ground, his expression tranquil, his perception continuously blanketing the dozen-meter radius around him.
He was waiting, waiting for the next vengeful soul that might appear.
Time slipped by in silent waiting. Lu Yun habitually reached for the cigarette pack in his pocket, only to find it was empty.
He had smoked them one after another during the long wait.
Lu Yun silently crushed the empty pack and tossed it into a nearby metal trash can.
A short while later, he sensed a change and looked up toward the eastern horizon. A warm, golden-red streak of light had just pierced through the clouds.
"Is it dawn already?"
Lu Yun murmured. He had actually been standing on the deck all night, waiting.
However, after that first ghost impersonating Yan Lintong, nothing else out of the ordinary had happened.
He had waited all night... for nothing.
"Ah, well."
Lu Yun sighed in disappointment. He was naturally a patient man and knew that such opportunities couldn’t be forced.
The main purpose of this hasty trip out on the river had been to test his theory about the vengeful souls of Ghost Wail Ridge and how to acquire modified value.
Now, his theory had been tentatively confirmed: there were indeed vengeful souls underwater, and they could provide modified value for his Extreme Blue Martial Arts Modifier.
Since his primary goal was accomplished, there was little point in waiting around any longer.
After all, no one could be sure how many vengeful souls were still hidden in the depths of this river, or when they would appear again.
’What if that ghost last night was the last one in this stretch of water?’
’I can’t just spend the rest of my life here as some "River Guardian".’
Besides, there was a crew of ordinary sailors on the ship. They needed supplies and rest; they couldn’t just wait here with him indefinitely.
With that, Lu Yun walked toward the cabins and called out in a deep voice from outside the door.
"Lintong."
The cabin door opened at once, and Yan Lintong hurried out, his face pale with lingering fear.
He had clearly heard the commotion on deck last night from inside his cabin, especially that inhuman shriek.
"Master! Are you alright?" Yan Lintong asked, nervously looking Lu Yun up and down before casting a wary glance around the deck.
If it weren’t daytime, he wouldn’t have dared to open the door so quickly.
"Prepare to head back. We’re returning to Red Tree Bay Pier."
"Yes, Master!"
Yan Lintong immediately agreed, a look of immense relief washing over his face.
It was for the best, of course, to finally leave this godforsaken place.
’Next time I come back... it will be when I’m fully prepared,’ Lu Yun thought to himself.
The steam boiler roared back to life. The iron anchor was slowly raised. The massive hull turned, breaking through the waves as it headed back toward Red Tree Bay Pier.

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