Chapter 186: The Terrifying Old District

At night, Li Yi left the training base.

He discussed team formation with Lin Yue; according to their plan, a five-member squad would be ideal, but so far they were still missing two members—a sniper and a cultivation specialist handling logistics. The sniper needed highly specialized marksmanship skills, while the logistics specialist required extensive social connections.

And both had to be trustworthy.

That was hard to find.

But Lin Yue also said that if they couldn't find teammates, they could start with three people and gradually search for new members later.

Regardless, the matter was essentially settled—they only needed to reply to Zheng Gong first thing tomorrow.

Zheng Gong would surely be pleased to hear this news; he had been waiting for this opportunity, but previously lacked both connections and strength to form a qualified squad. But with Li Yi and Lin Yue leading, it was different—both were powerful cultivators, the core of any team. If they agreed, a squad could be assembled immediately.

"Wait, I think I took the wrong turn—this is the road back to the old district. I've moved already; I should be heading to Peace Financial Tower."

Suddenly, Li Yi stopped in his tracks and realized he was on the way to his old home.

There was no choice—he had to switch routes and quickly leave this district, for he had heard from Lu Jue that the old district was no longer safe, and many had already moved out.

Li Yi had sensed something off during the day; otherwise, he wouldn't have moved so urgently.

"I don't want to run into any danger here."

Thinking this, Li Yi immediately sped up, dashing swiftly through narrow alleys, trying to exit the district as fast as possible and return to a safer area.

Around him, there was not a single sound—the streets were utterly silent, and not a single light glowed in the nearby apartment buildings. Had it not been for how familiar everything looked, Li Yi might have thought he had entered a danger zone. It was hard to imagine that in less than a month, the once-busy old district had become this desolate.

As Li Yi swiftly passed beneath an apartment building, his nose twitched.

A thick stench of decay surged toward him.

His face darkened, his body tensed, his vertical pupils glowed, and he instinctively glanced at the building.

Though the building was dark and unlit, Li Yi's eyes could see in the dark—he saw at a glance that every window and stairwell entrance was filled with figures, standing motionless like statues, their faces covered in horrifying necrotic patches; some faces were rotting, skin peeling off continuously.

The brief glance from Li Yi's vertical pupils seemed to draw the attention of those inside the building.

Then, pair after pair of strange eyes turned toward him.

But before those figures inside the building could fully turn to face him, Li Yi had already used his speed to pass through the building and vanished around the street corner, avoiding their gaze entirely.

Seeing the empty street, all the figures inside the building slowly withdrew their gazes and resumed their motionless poses, just as before.

"Just what were those things in the building? Corpses? Ghosts? I don't know—but I'm certain the building hides grave danger. Even my current strength couldn't handle it."

Li Yi didn't stop walking—he had put enough distance between himself and the building—but that fleeting glance still sent chills down his spine. When the stench of decay hit him, his spiritual sense screamed a warning. Fortunately, his speed was fast enough to escape the danger zone in the shortest time possible; otherwise, he might have truly provoked something he shouldn't have.

"The old district has become like this—no wonder everyone left. Who'd dare stay here? If these things aren't dealt with, the problem will only grow. Soon, not just the old district, but even the Peace Zone will be affected. At that point, no one in Tianchang City will be safe." Li Yi thought to himself.

With unease and urgency, he fled the old district at top speed.

Now, Li Yi could see the distant Peace Financial Tower—his own building.

But when he looked up, his face showed no relief—only grim concern.

For in the darkness, his eyes spotted a giant spider-human crouched on a nearby apartment wall. No—not just one. Two. Three. Others clung to walls of surrounding buildings. A quick scan revealed at least seven or eight spider-humans.

He had seen these spider-humans before—first in the danger zone, second in the abandoned district. This was the third time.

"No way—these spider-humans have infiltrated the old district? And their numbers have increased, their bodies grown larger. Has the Investigation Bureau noticed nothing? No—wrong. It's not that they haven't noticed; the situation has changed too rapidly. Some things simply can't be handled in time." Li Yi's eyes glowed faintly, filled with worry.

Perhaps the situation was worse than he imagined.

"Wait—what's that spider-human doing?" Suddenly—

Li Yi's gaze shifted. He saw one spider-human clinging to a wall slowly moving. Its long, bony hand deftly opened a window of an apartment. Then, its massive body began inching slowly inside through the open window.

Light flickered in the bedroom of that apartment.

Someone lived there—it wasn't an abandoned home.

The spider-human moved with extreme caution; such a large action drew no attention from nearby residents. If nothing changed, within seconds, the spider-human would fully enter the apartment—and then the family inside would be in danger.

Seeing this, Li Yi didn't hesitate. He pulled his sniper rifle from his back, crouched down, chambered a round, and aimed directly at the spider-human.

He pulled the trigger.

The sniper rifle fired instantly.

"Bang!"

The gunshot echoed through the district.

The next moment—

In Li Yi's vision, the spider-human, nearly inside the apartment, was struck squarely. Though not a specialized round, its power was enough to kill. In an instant, the massive creature's body was pierced by a grotesque wound, blood sprayed, limbs twitched, and it collapsed onto the balcony.

Startled by the shot, the other spider-humans scattered instantly, vanishing from Li Yi's sight within moments.

Li Yi tried to raise his rifle again—but there was no chance left.

"These things are too agile. They flee at the slightest noise. Hunting them clean is nearly impossible. And these spider-humans seem to reproduce. The giant white spider-human I saw with Wang Jian in the abandoned district was probably the mother. Wang Jian was right—failing to kill it back then left a hidden threat. Now it's become a disaster."

He felt regret. If only he'd shot that mother spider-human then. He Xiong had wanted to act—but a human bear had suddenly appeared and ruined the plan.

But thinking about it now was useless.

After confirming all spider-humans had fled, Li Yi holstered his rifle and quickly left.

At that moment, screams erupted from the apartment he had just shot at; lights turned on, and a figure appeared on the balcony.

Clearly, Li Yi's shot had startled the residents.

Li Yi ignored them and didn't retrieve the dead spider-human. He knew residents still living here likely had poor conditions—he might as well leave the corpse for them. Tomorrow, they could sell it for money. With current monster recovery prices so high, it could change their entire fate.

Thinking this, he realized he was actually a good person—nothing like inherently evil.

Soon—

Li Yi fully exited the old district. Around him, safety improved noticeably; lights glowed, and people appeared.

This area was safer because ahead lay the Peace Zone, where many cultivators passed through regularly.

Monsters possessed some intelligence. Seeing cultivators constantly entering and leaving the Peace Zone, they naturally avoided the area, fearing to approach—thus creating the illusion of safety.

Li Yi quickly arrived beneath Peace Financial Tower.

He scanned the surroundings—no immediate danger. No spider-humans clung to the building's walls. But soon he noticed five brand-new vehicles parked in the plaza below: three pickup trucks, one SUV, and one armored vehicle—all freshly registered today.

"Zheng Lan must have bought them. She's efficient—got everything done today." Li Yi nodded inwardly. He had planned to form a team; vehicles were essential. Buying extras as backups was also necessary.

Using facial recognition, he opened the building's main door and entered the first-floor lobby.

The lobby glowed brightly, fully illuminated.

Li Yi first visited his parents' room on the first floor, greeted them silently, and checked the medical pod's status. Satisfied they were stable, he relaxed—but their condition showed no sign of awakening. This saddened him. Awakening for the comatose wasn't unheard of—but he wasn't lucky. It hadn't happened to him.

"I have some money now. Maybe I should consult someone—ask how to awaken comatose patients." Li Yi realized he needed to change his mindset. He couldn't just rely on the medical pod to sustain his parents. With his current strength, perhaps he could actively try to cure them.

With this thought, Li Yi turned off the lights, left the first floor, and took the elevator straight to the thirtieth floor.

Upon reaching the top floor—

Li Yi opened his door, entered his apartment, and gazed over the city's night view. The change was obvious: the center of the old district was completely dark, and that darkness had spread outward, extending several kilometers until it reached the area near his building.

"Areas without lights are danger zones? From here, the danger zone is huge—no wonder the Investigation Bureau rushed Zhang Lei's squad to handle the old district's supernatural events. Too bad it didn't go well."

Li Yi murmured.

He turned and glanced at the hanging spear in his room.

The phantom bronze spear could kill vengeful ghosts.

Could he use this weapon to resolve the old district's supernatural events? If he could, it would be a major achievement. Perhaps he could leverage that to get the Investigation Bureau to help awaken his comatose parents.

After thinking it over, Li Yi finally set the thought aside. He drank a cup of golden nutrient fluid, prepared to wash up, and began tonight's cultivation.

At all times, cultivation and evolution must not be interrupted. Li Yi held a miraculous artifact—wasting time on cultivation would be a crime against heaven.

As he walked toward the bathroom, Li Yi's ears twitched—he heard movement inside.

"Who? Who's in the bathroom?" Li Yi froze, then called out sharply.

"Li Yi, it's me—Zheng Lan. I was running errands for you today and got back late. Sweated all over, so I figured you hadn't returned yet and borrowed your room to shower and rest. Then I remembered—you've moved in today. I'm so sorry. I'll clean up and leave right away."

A woman's voice came from inside. Soon, Zheng Lan emerged, towel wrapped around her, hair dripping wet, cheeks flushed with embarrassed awkwardness.

"I heard movement and thought there was danger in the house. It's just you, Zheng Lan. No problem." Li Yi exhaled in relief. "It's late—don't go back. Outside is dangerous. Just now, passing through the old district, I encountered a supernatural event and killed a monster. Anyone would think I live in the danger zone."

"Did you get hurt?" Zheng Lan asked, eyes wide.

"I'm fine. I ran fast—no issues." Li Yi said. "If the old district isn't resolved, this place won't be safe. Only the Peace Zone offers safety—but Tianchang City has so many people. How many can afford to live there? Even my entire fortune isn't enough to buy a single apartment in the Peace Zone."

He shook his head, helpless.

"Enough about that. Zheng Lan, rest now. I'm going to cultivate. Call me if you need anything."

With that, Li Yi entered the bathroom, washed up quickly, then found a quiet corner and sat cross-legged, eyes closed.

He clasped the treasure seal, expression serene, half-smiling, like a bodhisattva descending, like a Buddha manifesting.

As he activated the White Bone Contemplation technique, cosmic energy from the coin surged violently into his body.

Indeed—

Cultivation on Earth was faster than on the Four Seas and Eight Continents.

Of course, only if you possessed a miraculous artifact.

Earth's cosmic energy was incredibly abundant—but heavily polluted. Only miraculous artifacts could purify it and provide endless cosmic energy.

But on the Four Seas and Eight Continents, miraculous artifacts were useless. There, cosmic energy wasn't polluted, so no purification was needed. Moreover, the artifacts themselves consumed energy to maintain, making them largely ineffective.

Since Li Yi's martial cultivation had already completed Bone Refinement and was now in Marrow Refinement, his body's potential should have accelerated his progress—but now it had slowed.

"When I was on the Four Seas and Eight Continents, I took a Soul-Returning Pill. My cultivation rate was 550%. Now, it's probably only 400%. It dropped sharply. What's wrong?" Li Yi frowned, sensing something off in his body.

No—it wasn't his body. It was his consciousness.

Inside his mind, the tiny figure seated on the lotus throne was far more listless than before. His form was less solid, growing faint, as if injured.

But when had he been injured?

It must have been in Ghost Street—but why didn't he remember?

Li Yi couldn't recall, and didn't dwell on it. He opened his eyes, stood, and walked toward the storage room.

He rummaged through items until he pulled out a box of pills.

This is a Soul-Returning Pill.

Crafted from thousand-year coffin lingzhi, it mends spiritual soul injuries and, when consumed by a cultivator, strengthens the soul and increases cultivation metrics—it is an excellent elixir.

"Since your soul is injured, heal the injury."

Li Yi took out two Soul-Returning Pills and swallowed them whole.

As soon as the pills entered his belly, a surge of energy shot straight to the crown of his head, nourishing his consciousness; with the influx of this medicinal qi, faint green qi emerged from his body, dispersing into the air.

That faint green qi resembled the lingering glow of ghost fire—the primary cause of his soul injury.

"Not enough."

After swallowing two pills, Li Yi felt his injury had not fully healed, so he took two more; only then did he feel his soul wound completely mended, even slightly improved beyond his previous state.

"The Soul-Returning Pill is truly a miraculous remedy for soul injuries—it works instantly, requiring no time for adjustment."

He exhaled deeply and placed the remaining ten Soul-Returning Pills back into his storage chamber.

These are precious items—use them sparingly; I don't know when I'll next go to the Four Seas and Eight Zones.

Just as he was about to resume cultivation, Zheng Lan's voice rang out: "Li Yi, you're so young and strong, and you're taking medicine? Oh no, oh no, I'm definitely going to die in your hands tonight. Fine, come on—I'm ready."

"Huh? Ready for what?" Li Yi regarded her skeptically.

Zheng Lan's face flushed red, embarrassed: "Of course I'm ready to spend the night with you—didn't you tell me to stay?"

"You misunderstand. I'm not the kind of man you imagine," Li Yi said solemnly. "Rest early. Don't distract me from cultivation. Besides, I practice the White Bone Contemplation. Though your chest is large—and I admire it—it cannot tempt me. I see beauties as white bones—fearless, desireless, mind like a Buddha."

"Huh?" Zheng Lan froze.

Li Yi ignored her and returned to his previous position, forming the divine seal and sitting in meditation.

After healing his soul injury with the Soul-Returning Pills, his previous cultivation metrics returned—and even improved slightly.

Six hundred percent!

Such a cultivation metric is astonishing, but Li Yi felt he could still improve; if his martial cultivation reached the Qi-Channeling stage and he consumed a few more Soul-Returning Pills, he might push it to eight hundred percent—close enough to qualify for the Golden Academy's special recruitment.