Chapter 195

196. Chapter 196: Investment and Danger

At this moment, on the first floor of the Peace Financial Building, quite a few people had gathered. These people were all relatives and friends of everyone. They didn't want to leave Tianchang City with their families, so they chose to come here to take refuge, to avoid encountering danger at night and meeting with misfortune.

"Li Yi, you've become successful recently, really not bad. If your dad knew you were so capable, he would definitely be very gratified. This time, Uncle Biao is basking in your glory; otherwise, I really wouldn't know where to hide these few days. I don't know what that fellow Lin Yue is thinking, suddenly selling the house in the Stability District, leaving her with nowhere to go now."

Uncle Biao greeted Li Yi enthusiastically when he saw him.

"Uncle Biao, don't say that. Everyone is an acquaintance, and helping each other is what should be done. But Uncle Biao, you said Lin Jie sold the house in the Stability District? What's going on? Why didn't I know?" Li Yi said with some surprise.

Lin Yue walked over at this moment and said: "Don't listen to Uncle's nonsense, that's not the case. I've always rented a house in the Stability District; how would I have the money to buy one?"

She didn't want Li Yi to know that she had sold the house in the Stability District to get money to buy guidance techniques.

Uncle Biao only then reacted. Lin Yue had warned him before not to let this matter out. He hurriedly patted his head and said: "Right, right, it's renting a house. I might have recently opened my Spirit Medium senses and seen too many unclean things, so my head is a bit muddled, and I remembered wrong."

Li Yi looked at Uncle Biao and then at Lin Yue, finally saying: "Is that so? Why do I feel like you, Uncle Biao, are hiding something from me?"

"How could that be? Li Yi, you're overthinking it. You should discuss the next mission with Lin Yue properly." Uncle Biao smiled: "However, regarding the Old City District, Uncle Biao can't help you with anything. I'll go find your dad to chat. Recently, I saw on the news that many dormant people have woken up one after another. I don't know if your dad can wake up recently. If he can, I'd like to invite him for a drink."

"My mom and dad are in the room over there. If you go, Uncle Biao, greet Zheng Lan and ask her to help open the door." Li Yi said.

"Okay, I know." Uncle Biao greeted him and left.

"Li Yi." At this moment, someone shouted from the first floor again.

Li Yi looked in the direction of the sound and saw Lu Jue waving at him from beside the lobby sofa not far away.

"Lu Jue." His expression flickered, and then he walked over.

Subsequently, Li Yi discovered that this time Lu Jue hadn't come alone. Beside him was a group of cultivators, including Kong Sheng, who had helped him deal with Ning Wu before, Zhao Xiaoxia, who had worked with him before, as well as Fang Hang and Cheng Pingfang, whom he had saved in the danger zone before. Among these cultivators, there were Spirit Mediums and Inspiration Realm practitioners, with varying strengths.

But they all had some friendship with Li Yi.

"Li Yi." Seeing Li Yi walk over, everyone greeted him one after another.

"Hello, everyone." Li Yi nodded and responded.

Lu Jue said: "Li Yi, I have something I want to talk to you about."

"What is it?" Li Yi asked.

"In the current situation, if we cultivators are a scattered mess, we won't accomplish anything. So, they and I thought about it and chatted earlier. They all expressed willingness to invest in you, hoping that you, Li Yi, can enter the Golden Academy and become a cross-dimensional traveler... It's just that I don't know if you agree." Lu Jue didn't cover up and spoke directly to the point.

"Invest in Li Yi? This is a good thing, but we are not short of money. If you really want to invest, you have to put in effort, and it must be a great effort. There are risks, and if not handled well, people will die."

Lin Yue walked over at this moment. Her gaze flickered, and she said very seriously: "You all know the current situation. The entire Tianchang City is looking for important people to invest in. Among them, Li Shaoqing, Yang Yi Long, as well as the Investigation Bureau's Gu Mengping and Daoist Priest Pite have the most investors because they are the strongest and have the best chance of becoming cross-dimensional travelers, with a high probability of obtaining returns."

"However, Li Yi's potential is also huge, it's just that he is still growing and progressing, which is why he isn't favored by many people. But I think Li Yi will definitely stand out. So if you are just holding a wait-and-see attitude, I advise you to forget it, so as not to end up with even friends not being able to be made."

Someone was willing to invest in Li Yi, and Lin Yue was very happy, but she didn't want these people to invest with a wait-and-see attitude. Such an investment wouldn't matter in normal times, but it absolutely wouldn't do now.

"Lin Yue, of course we know what the word 'invest' means. As the saying goes, it's hard to provide charcoal in snowy weather, but easy to add flowers to brocade. We are willing to invest in Li Yi at this time, naturally, it is providing charcoal in snowy weather." That cultivator named Fang Hang said seriously: "To tell the truth, without Li Yi, what I lost in the danger zone before wouldn't have been just this arm, but my life."

"Li Yi saved me and helped me. Now that he wants to compete for the Golden Academy spot, I am very willing to help him."

"Since we have spoken about investing in Li Yi, we naturally intend to go all out." Cheng Pingfang also said seriously.

Zhao Xiaoxia, who was a woman, also said very seriously: "Lin Yue, I know you are a Spirit Perception expert and look down on us ordinary cultivators a bit, but I know Li Yi's potential better than you. When I worked under Yang Yi Long before, I wanted to invest in Li Yi, but I was rejected at that time. However, my thoughts have never changed."

After finishing, she looked at Li Yi again: "From the beginning until now, I have saved a total of 20 million. This time, I intend to take it all out to support you. I hope you won't mind it being too little."

"Li Yi, whether it's money or effort, I won't hesitate. I hope you consider it seriously." Kong Sheng also spoke up.

For him, in the entire Tianchang City, he couldn't find anyone more suitable to invest in than Li Yi.

Because he had dealt with Li Yi and knew that Li Yi was a person who kept his word and wasn't the kind of person to burn bridges, so he dared to gamble.

If it were someone else, he absolutely wouldn't even pay attention.

"Li Yi, you know all these people. You make the decision." Lin Yue didn't say anything at this moment and looked at Li Yi.

At this moment, everyone looked at Li Yi, waiting for his reply.

Li Yi's expression was calm, and he was thinking. After a moment, he spoke: "Everyone trusts me and invests in me. For me, this is indeed a good thing. But at this moment, the Old City District, the Waste District, and the danger zone—one incident after another. Once you invest in me, there are many things you won't be able to stay out of. Just as Lin Jie said, if you are not careful, you will lose your life."

"For example, tonight, there is a mission. The Investigation Bureau is going to carry out a major sweep codenamed 'Demon Extermination' against the walking corpses and fierce ghosts in the Old City District. The risk is very high, and many people will die. You consider whether you want to join."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Jue said immediately: "I'll join. Wherever you need me, just say the word, and I absolutely won't refuse."

"I'll join too." Fang Hang touched his severed arm and said: "Although I'm missing an arm, I still have the strength of the Inspiration Realm and can help."

"Me too..."

These people didn't have the slightest hesitation, obviously having prepared and made up their minds beforehand.

For them, Li Yi wasn't just a friend; he was the hope for crossing dimensions. Only by firmly investing in Li Yi would they have a glimmer of opportunity to come into contact with cross-dimensionality. Otherwise, with their potential, they would never dream of walking out of Tianchang City in their lifetime. If a second Sky Tilt incident really happened in the future, they could only stay here with their families and leave it to fate.

This was something they, as cultivators, were never willing to see.

If they retreated at this time and refused to fight, then when disaster came in the future, they would deserve to be finished.

Being able to become a cultivator and reach this step, everyone might have their own shortcomings, but not one of them was a fool. Even Zhao Xiaoxia firmly chose to invest in Li Yi at this moment.

She had witnessed with her own eyes how fast Li Yi's rise was.

This was something ordinary cultivators couldn't reach, so she absolutely wouldn't miss the opportunity like before this time. Therefore, she was betting everything without hesitation, putting it all on the line, to win back everything she had lost before.

Facing everyone's attitude, Li Yi wanted to say something, but at this moment, Zheng Lan walked over quickly: "Li Yi, a helicopter came outside, it seems to be Investigation Bureau staff, saying they have an important matter to find you."

Li Yi immediately handed a Soul-Returning Pill that had already been prepared to Zheng Lan: "I know about this matter. Give this thing to the Investigation Bureau people. They know what this is; you don't need to explain."

"Okay."

Zheng Lan didn't ask much either. She took the Soul-Returning Pill and walked towards the outside of the building immediately.

After the Investigation Bureau staff got the Soul-Returning Pill, they expressed gratitude to Li Yi, and then the helicopter took off again, leaving at an extremely fast speed.

Obviously, they were going to send the medicine to Zhang Lei.

Under Zheng Gong's guarantee, no one would doubt that Li Yi's medicine was fake, just praying that this medicine could exert the ideal effect, wake up the comatose Zhang Lei, and thereby stabilize the current terrible situation. After all, relying on external combat personnel like Daoist Priest Pite, Gu Mengping, and Lin Yue couldn't hold the scene; Zhang Lei's existence was indispensable.

Seeing this small episode, everyone didn't ask much and was still quietly waiting for Li Yi's reply.

Only then did Li Yi say: "Since everyone has made a decision, I won't say anything more. Tonight's mission will be hard work for everyone."

Seeing that Li Yi agreed, everyone breathed a sigh of relief while suddenly showing joy.

However, amidst the joy, they began to look solemn again.

Participating in the investment meant bearing risks and responsibilities. This mission was also a test for them to show their value.

Seeing that Li Yi agreed to these people's investment, Lin Yue was both a bit happy and felt it was a pity. What she was happy about was that Li Yi gradually had his own manpower and team, but what was a pity was that the people in this investment were too weak, without a single Spirit Perception expert... But then again, if they were Spirit Perception experts, why would they come to invest in Li Yi? They would have long gone to invest in Li Shaoqing, Yang Yi Long, and Daoist Priest Pite.

"Forget it, at least it's a good start, better than having no one to use." Lin Yue thought this in her heart.

Just as everyone began to prepare to take action, it was unknowingly dusk.

The night was getting closer and closer.

And during this time, Li Yi had Zheng Lan settle everyone down, and the necessary supplies were also fully prepared. Although not many, it was enough for everyone to survive for more than ten days.

He thought the Peace Financial Building could pass these few days safely.

Until, a gunshot suddenly rang out, directly waking everyone in the building.

"What? A gunshot? Listening to the sound, it's very close, just outside the building."

"Someone drove over here, very urgently... It seems they encountered danger."

"This gunshot is the Investigation Bureau's dedicated extraordinary M200 model sniper rifle."

For a time, everyone resting in the first-floor lobby stood up in unison.

"Go out and see."

Li Yi moved first. His arm glowed, his guidance technique was deployed, and he rushed out holding the Hanging Man Spear.

Others seeing this also followed immediately.

The movement speed of cultivators was very fast. In just a few seconds, everyone arrived at the square outside the building.

At this moment, a pickup truck sped over, and because of a sharp turn, it almost overturned. Finally, with a slam of the brakes, it stopped at the entrance. Immediately after, Zheng Gong and Yuan Mingjin were seen each holding a sniper rifle, firing at a direction behind them.

Two more gunshots rang out.

A figure was hit instantly and fell to the ground headfirst.

That was a rotting corpse, its face pale and bloodless, but for some reason, it could move. Even after being shot and falling, the corpse was still twitching, seemingly wanting to stand up at any time.

However, after struggling a little, the corpse was too severely damaged to continue moving. At this moment, a cold, illusory figure floated out from within the corpse.

"That is... a ghost."

Everyone present had already opened their Spirit Medium senses and could see ghosts. They recognized the thing above the corpse at a glance, and their expressions couldn't help but change.

Under normal circumstances, such grievances and fierce ghosts would be eroded by polluted energy in an environment like Earth and finally perish completely. But for some reason, this floating fierce ghost could briefly resist the erosion and didn't dissipate immediately, instead pouncing towards Zheng Gong ferociously.

Zheng Gong was shocked and fired again, but it was useless.

The bullet passed through the fierce ghost's body but couldn't cause any damage to it. Instead, he himself was about to be invaded by the fierce ghost, his consciousness erased, and his body seized.

But at this critical moment, a phantom-colored bronze spear flew past.

The spear directly hit the flying fierce ghost and nailed it firmly to the ground.

The fierce ghost struggled and wailed on the ground, its expression ferocious and terrifying, but it was of no avail. Instead, as time passed, its phantom body dissipated rapidly, and in the end, it couldn't even maintain its form, completely dissipating in this world.

Dead?

Everyone felt a chill in their hearts.

They felt amazed when looking at the spear.

They didn't expect that the spear in Li Yi's hand was actually specifically used to deal with fierce ghosts.

"Zheng Gong, Yuan Mingjin, are you okay?" Li Yi walked over with big strides.

"No, no problem. We were targeted by some dirty things on the way back. Fortunately, the car was driven fast enough, and we ran over; otherwise, we would really have died on the way. Daoist Priest Pite's guess is very correct. Once night falls, these walking corpses will definitely spread, and by then, everyone nearby will be in danger." Zheng Gong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said with lingering fear.

Yuan Mingjin said: "To deal with these walking corpses, not only do we need firearms, but we also need means to harm fierce ghosts. Otherwise, it will just be like just now: killing a walking corpse and turning around, only to be invaded by a fierce ghost. By then, even if we don't die, our consciousness will be damaged, and we will be comatose..."

His words hadn't finished.

Suddenly, Lin Yue's figure suddenly pulled to the front: "Be careful."

Just at this moment.

Behind the tree shade of the nearby green belt, a withered corpse suddenly darted out, its speed like a ghost, fast to an incredible degree. In just a second or two, it had already arrived in front of Yuan Mingjin. However, just as this withered corpse was about to take action, Lin Yue had already detected the abnormality a step earlier and delivered a punch.

Accompanied by the explosion of fist energy, a fist mark was instantly left on the withered corpse's body, and then the remaining force sent it flying. It rolled several times on the ground before finally barely stopping.

A normal cultivator would absolutely not be able to stand up after taking such a punch from Lin Yue, but this withered corpse stood up again as if nothing had happened, a pair of lifeless eyes emitting a strange light, staring at everyone.

"It's a walking corpse that has gained some climate. Its cultivation realm is not low, having the strength close to Spirit Perception." Lin Yue said in a deep voice.

"What? This withered corpse has the strength of Spirit Perception?" Lu Jue, Kong Sheng, and others were shocked in their hearts.

Is this the evil spirit of the Old City District?

It's actually so terrifying.

Just a withered corpse that spread out has such strength. No wonder everyone in the Old City District ran away. If they didn't run, where would they have the life to survive?

"Lin Jie, don't take action, I'll kill it." Li Yi, however, was not afraid. Before his voice fell, his whole person had already rushed out. His energy was in operation, his Qi and blood were boiling, and in just an instant, a wave of heat spread from him to the surroundings. Then everyone saw Li Yi like a furnace, with red light all over his body.

And this red light rushed into the sky like wolf-smoke, which was very miraculous.

Once Li Yi took action, the restless Qi and blood couldn't help but spread out. At this moment, he instantly pulled up the Hanging Man Spear on the ground and killed the withered corpse.

The withered corpse seemed to have detected the danger of the Hanging Man Spear, and its figure couldn't help but retreat a few steps.

But Li Yi's action was too fast, and he instantly picked up the spear and stabbed it out.

The withered corpse dodged instantly, actually learning the same way, and like Lin Yue, clenched its fist and smashed towards Li Yi, its speed fast to an incredible degree, making people caught off guard.

Li Yi's inspiration warned him, and he unleashed a killing move of the Chuanwu.

Dingxin Elbow.

After the two collided, this withered corpse was actually not a match, and was shaken by a terrifying force, unable to stabilize its figure, retreating one after another.

During the Burning Blood Technique, Li Yi's energy was too sufficient, and in terms of strength, he was absolutely not inferior to Lin Yue, this Spirit Perception expert.

Taking advantage of the withered corpse's failure in one strike, Li Yi instantly brandished the spear and hit the withered corpse's body.

A bizarre thing happened.

The spear ignored the withered corpse's body and actually swept out a fierce ghost possessed within it, making it appear in front of everyone.

"Good." Seeing this, Lin Yue couldn't help but praise.

She finally understood. This spear of Li Yi's didn't hurt the body, only the soul. Fierce ghosts possess the bodies of dead people to become walking corpses. What they fear most is this kind of weapon. One strike can hurt their foundation, and they can no longer be fierce.

And the fierce ghost hit by Li Yi's Hanging Man Spear had its body damaged and fell to the ground, struggling and wailing. Finally, under the erosion of the polluted energy, it began to dissipate rapidly and finally disappeared completely.