Chapter 115

115. Chapter 115: Encounter on Ghost Street

Since he entered the danger zone alone this time, with no teammates or large group of cultivators accompanying him, Li Yi was exceptionally cautious; his eyes emitted a faint glow in the darkness, and his entire body moved like a sleek leopard, swiftly yet steadily weaving through the abandoned city along a relatively safe route.

Li Yi clutched his sniper rifle tightly in both hands; the bullets were already chambered, and he had even fitted a high-precision scope—should any danger approach, he would shoot without hesitation.

This weapon, capable of hunting transcendent beings, granted him great security.

“Ghost Street isn’t far from the blockade line; I’ve walked this route before, so I have experience. As long as I’m not extremely unlucky, I shouldn’t encounter danger.” He thought to himself.

After all, the late Tao Ge had said that transcendent beings possess territorial instincts and rarely change their domains; the time gap between his last entry into the danger zone and this one was short, so the previous safe route should still be usable.

That was the advantage of experience.

Soon.

Li Yi passed the spot where he had once killed the biao, and he could even see the footprints he had left on the ground.

Everything felt so familiar.

Arriving here meant Ghost Street was not far off.

But just as Li Yi slowed his pace and continued forward, a sudden instinctive warning surged through his body—as if some danger lurked nearby.

It was his spiritual sense sending a signal.

Since Li Yi had become a Spiritual Sense cultivator, though his body was still injured and not fully healed, requiring several more days of transformation, his current state resembled Ning Wu’s back then; under normal circumstances, Li Yi would not have left the cultivation base but would have stayed to refine his Spiritual Sense.

Yet Zhao Qian had visited him in a dream, forcing him to make this trip.

Suddenly.

Li Yi halted his step, then changed direction, becoming a shadow as he leapt into a pile of ruins; moments later, the barrel of his sniper rifle extended from a hole within the debris.

A pair of luminous eyes also sank into stillness.

“Not an illusion—something is lingering nearby. It’s not a transcendent being; my spiritual sense only warned me, not issued a stronger signal.” Li Yi remained calm and immediately used his scope to scan the surroundings.

Once he locked onto the target, he would fire instantly to kill it.

The scope also had night-vision capability, allowing clear vision in darkness.

As Li Yi swiftly scanned the area, a shadowy beast figure drifting through the ruins came into view.

“That’s a cat?” Li Yi’s expression shifted slightly.

He saw a domestic cat walking boldly through the danger zone, appearing utterly relaxed; occasionally leaping onto high ruins to lick its fur and paws, looking nothing like a ferocious beast—completely harmless.

Yet spiritual sense never lied.

Li Yi quickly noticed the cat’s eyes glowed like emeralds, emitting a faint, striking light.

“This isn’t an ordinary night cat—it’s a cat that has entered cultivation. Its eyes shine brightly, like a cultivator who has opened their spiritual medium. No, this level of gaze far surpasses a spiritual medium.”

“Forget it—shoot it now.”

Brief thoughts did not delay Li Yi’s actions.

The moment he locked onto the cat, his finger pulled the trigger.

“Bang!”

The gunshot echoed through the night.

Almost simultaneously, the cat turned its head sharply, its green eyes locking directly onto Li Yi, hidden in the ruins.

Clearly, it sensed danger.

“Whoosh!”

The instant the gun fired, it moved—its speed unimaginable, vanishing from Li Yi’s sight as if teleporting.

The shot missed, only blasting up a cloud of dirt ahead.

“The cat’s reaction speed is too fast—over five times that of a human, let alone a cultivated one. Missing was expected.” Li Yi scanned again but saw no trace of the cat; though he hadn’t killed it, the shot had made the cat aware of his threat.

So it had fled.

But that was enough.

Li Yi didn’t want to get entangled; after confirming the area was safe, he picked up his sniper rifle and continued onward.

As he pressed forward, he encountered no further danger; likely, this entire zone belonged to that cat, and all other threats had already been cleared away by it.

This saved Li Yi considerable trouble.

Soon.

As Li Yi advanced further, a cluster of urban buildings appeared ahead—a city street flanked by towering skyscrapers. Though long abandoned, this section of the danger zone remained relatively intact, undamaged and untouched by transcendent beings.

The reason was simple: this area was itself the most perilous zone.

Ghost Street!

Li Yi gazed at the street.

Lanterns hung brightly along the road, red lights glowing overhead; shadowy figures moved and drifted along the pavement. Faintly, he saw eerie ghosts clad in funeral robes, and terrifying yin soldiers with withered, corpse-like faces—anyone unfamiliar might think they had stepped into the underworld. Every cultivator entering or exiting the danger zone had declared this place forbidden.

Because except for Li Yi, almost no one had ever survived leaving Ghost Street.

“Here.”

The eerie spectacle was utterly familiar to Li Yi.

He checked the time.

10:51.

Nine minutes remained until the appointed midnight hour.

Li Yi took a deep breath, found a safe spot to sit, removed his backpack, pulled out the foul-smelling human-skin mask, tucked the mud horse into his pocket for immediate use, and slung his sniper rifle across his back instead of holding it.

Firearms were useless against ghostly entities and had little effect in Ghost Street.

After preparing everything, Li Yi donned the human-skin mask and deliberately followed his previous route toward Ghost Street.

Because he had opened his spiritual medium, the moment he stepped into Ghost Street, countless eerie figures surged past him, drifting around—each radiating deathly aura; merely being near them triggered his spiritual sense into warning, inducing intense discomfort.

The “people” of Ghost Street were complex: some were wronged souls, others disguised living humans, and still others were terrifyingly powerful yin soldiers—mixing real-world elements with yin-world entities.

It was a convergence of mortal realm and hell, filled with countless inexplicable things.

Li Yi carried his sniper rifle on his back, wore the mask, held his breath as much as possible, and minimized his living aura to avoid drawing attention from ghostly entities.

Moving cautiously, he avoided large crowds and began searching for his previous route.

“I remember—if I keep going, there’s an alley with ancient-style buildings. Last time, I met my Master there. I wonder if Zhao Qian will be there again this time.” Li Yi pondered inwardly, deciding to check the old spot.

As he advanced deeper, the surroundings changed.

The modern skyscrapers gradually vanished, replaced by an ancient street paved with blue bricks and gray tiles; the number of “people” flowing along the road increased steadily.

Li Yi avoided touching any ghost or soul, carefully sidestepping each one.

Around 11:10 p.m., he finally found the familiar alley.

“This is it.” Beneath the human-skin mask, Li Yi’s eyes flickered; memories of their parting flashed instantly in his mind.

Without hesitation.

He plunged into the alley.

This alley saw few visitors; even yin soldiers rarely wandered here.

Li Yi quickened his pace; his memory was sharp—he turned left, then right, swiftly navigating until he reached a small courtyard with a slightly ajar wooden gate.

This courtyard was where his Master, Zhao Ge, had once taught him fist techniques.

He never imagined he’d return to this place.

But unlike last time, the door gods pasted on the gate had completely faded and were torn apart; only fragments of paper clung to the wood, their painted images long eroded beyond recognition.

Li Yi pushed open the gate.

A cold wind blew through the courtyard, carrying the stench of mildew and decay; scattered joss paper fluttered wildly, nearly blinding him.

Yet when Li Yi entered to investigate, he found the courtyard empty.

The main hall held no coffins or spirit tablets for Zhao Qian or Zhao Ge—only a wooden board on the ground, bearing a fist imprint, proved he had not come to the wrong place.

“Time has come. Zhao Qian isn’t here. Has something gone wrong?” Li Yi checked the time again.

11:30.

“Could I have arrived too early? I’ll wait a little longer. If Zhao Qian hasn’t appeared by midnight, I’ll immediately ride the mud horse back and not linger.” He had already planned his next move.

He glanced around.

After confirming temporary safety, he sat in a corner and waited quietly.

Yet Li Yi waited until midnight, and the courtyard remained unchanged; meanwhile, yin soldiers drifted past the gate, sniffing the air as if detecting a living presence, glancing toward the courtyard.

Fortunately, Li Yi held his breath and stayed motionless—the yin soldiers did not enter to investigate, avoiding danger.

“Could my position be wrong? Last time, my Master and Zhao Qian entered Ghost Street from this courtyard, but next time they might emerge elsewhere. I should wait at the intersection—then I’d see Zhao Qian no matter which way she came.”

Li Yi considered this, then abandoned his post. He left the courtyard and retraced his steps along the original path.

Just as he returned to the alley entrance, he suddenly saw a paper doll standing perfectly still.

But upon closer inspection, he realized it wasn’t a paper doll—it was Zhao Qian; she had disguised herself so perfectly that at first glance, she looked like a funeral paper figure.

“I’ve really met Zhao Qian again?” At that moment, Li Yi felt a surge of excitement and stepped forward quickly.

Before he reached her.

The paper-doll-like figure suddenly turned her head, glancing back cautiously.

Zhao Qian froze for a moment, then recognized the familiar human-skin mask—her eyes instantly filled with tears, like a child who had suffered hardship and finally found family and refuge, her emotions breaking free.

“Big Brother Yi…”

An involuntary cry escaped her lips; Zhao Qian’s eyes were red, and she rushed forward, throwing herself into Li Yi’s arms.

“Wu-wu~!”

Feeling his familiar aura and living warmth, Zhao Qian could no longer hold back—she burst into tears.