Chapter Thirty: The Urgent Crisis in the Haunted Village

The journey afterward went smoothly, without any further unexpected incidents. Within a few minutes, the van and the SUV entered Daping Village, one after the other.

Yet, as they crossed the village entrance, Li Yunfei’s mind was suddenly filled with the familiar chime of the system’s prompt.

“Attention, Host: Instance ‘Daping Village’ detected, level range forty-six to fifty. Please select the instance difficulty.”

Hm?

Li Yunfei was surprised to discover that the difficulty rating for the Daping Village instance was a tier lower than that of Qingyuan Village. The Qingyuan Abandoned Village instance ranged from level fifty-one to fifty-five. Why was that?

Daping Village, Qingyuan Abandoned Village...

Could the difference lie in the word “abandoned”? Because Qingyuan Village had been deserted for many years, the ghosts there had grown significantly stronger?

That seemed likely. After all, Daping Village still had a considerable population of residents, and their vibrant presence must help dilute some of the malevolent energy. Over twenty years, the strength of the supernatural entities in Daping Village had diverged sharply from those in Qingyuan Abandoned Village.

But ultimately, it made little difference. He still couldn’t touch either at his current level.

The mass grave was a level thirty-six to forty instance, but in reality, it was merely inhabited by wandering spirits, whom Li Yunfei could easily eradicate. By system standards, those spirits were no stronger than monsters of level seven or eight.

If he entered the instance, those wandering souls would likely transform into ghost soldiers, or worse, the boss might be a ghost general. At only level ten—a mere novice just entering the Qi Refinement stage—if he stepped into the instance, not even Uncle Nine could save him.

Below level ten was the Foundation stage; only upon reaching level ten did one truly step onto the path of cultivation. That was why the system unlocked the class-change quest at level ten.

Level ten was equivalent to the Qi Refinement stage: mastering the art of absorbing spiritual energy from the heavens and earth, refining it into spiritual power.

Although he could not yet engage with these instances, he had already discovered those ranging from level thirty up to fifty-five. In the future, he wouldn’t have to wander about searching for instances as he did now.

As these thoughts passed through his mind, Li Yunfei followed Master Yang’s car into a spacious courtyard.

It was already past ten o’clock, and the entire village was enveloped in silence, the darkness broken only by the faint glow from the houses in this courtyard. No electric lights were lit; instead, the rooms were illuminated by candles.

Inside the main hall sat six people: two appeared to be in their forties or fifties, while the other four were robust men in their twenties or thirties.

Seeing the two vehicles pull into the courtyard, the group rose in curiosity and came out to greet them.

Li Yunfei turned to the little fox in the passenger seat and said, “Honghong, this time I’m facing ghostly creatures. You won’t be able to help for now. Stay in the pet space so I can summon you quickly if we need to make a swift escape.”

The little fox nodded obediently. Li Yunfei stroked her head, and with a thought, she vanished, returning to the pet space.

He got out, slung his Bagua pouch over his shoulder, took up his peachwood sword, and walked to Master Yang, who was waiting for him.

Master Yang said, “Brother Da Fei, wait here a bit. I’ll go explain things to them first.”

“Alright.”

Master Yang approached the six men and quietly began to tell them of Li Yunfei’s background and purpose. After all, bringing someone back without prior notice required some explanation to his companions.

Some matters were best kept within their team, so they asked Li Yunfei to wait.

Understanding Master Yang, Li Yunfei did not intrude. Instead, he walked to the edge of the courtyard and activated his spiritual sight, scanning the village.

As expected, Daping Village, like Qingyuan Village, was shrouded in a haze of foul energy. Especially to the northwest, the mountain’s aura was particularly dense—almost certainly the source of Daping Village’s troubles.

Rural folk are not entirely ignorant of warding off evil. At the very least, the ancestral shrines and altars in their homes offer some protection. During the day, when the sun is out, the foul energy is suppressed to its maximum extent. As long as one stays indoors at night, serious problems rarely occur in the short term.

But living long-term in such a saturated environment, illness was only a matter of time.

Sadly, there was nothing he could do. The livelihood of an entire village was beyond his ability to affect. Now that the country had mysterious agencies—like those that “looked nothing like the National Security Bureau”—he could only hope the government would soon notice and take action.

The miasma was so thick that activating the spiritual sight impaired his normal vision; even looking a bit farther rendered everything a blur. Li Yunfei quickly cut off the spiritual supply and closed his vision.

“Brother Da Fei.”

Soon enough, Master Yang returned, leading the other six men toward him.

Li Yunfei turned, stepped forward to greet them with a smile.

Master Yang came to his side and first introduced the man in the middle: his hair was already graying, yet his physique remained robust and his face unlined.

“Brother Da Fei, let me introduce our leader. You may call him Master Chen.”

Li Yunfei extended his right hand in greeting. “Hello, Master Chen.”

Master Chen, evidently educated and worldly, shook his hand naturally and smiled. “Pleasure to meet you. Brother Da Fei, so young and already accomplished—remarkable!”

Li Yunfei smiled. “You flatter me, Master Chen. I’m just starting out and will need much guidance from you veterans.”

“I’ve already learned a lot from Master Yang along the way,” he added.

“Experience can’t be found in books or classics. If you haven’t lived it, you simply won’t understand,” Master Chen said, giving a thumbs-up. “Brother Da Fei, talented and humble—rare indeed.”

He then looked at the younger men beside him. “See? This is your example. Learn from him.”

The young men nodded quickly, sizing Li Yunfei up. Noticing that his physique seemed even stronger than theirs, they couldn’t help but admire him.

After instructing his apprentices, Master Chen introduced the others to Li Yunfei.

Li Yunfei learned that the man beside Master Chen, about his age and dressed in a white undershirt and blue trousers, was the village chief of Daping, surnamed Tian.

Next to Chief Tian was his son—an energetic young man, though a bit short.

The group consisted of five: Master Chen and Master Yang were the core of this small team, while the other three young men were their apprentices.

After the introductions, Li Yunfei asked, “Master Chen, could you explain the situation in detail?”

Master Chen nodded. “Of course. We still have a bit of time. Let’s go inside and discuss.”

“After you, Master Chen. After you, Chief Tian.”

The group returned to the main hall and sat around a square table, with four benches just enough for eight people. After the chief’s daughter-in-law served tea, Master Chen began to explain the details to Li Yunfei.