Chapter 27: Activating the Spirit Medium

“Still chasing me? Why won’t these monsters stop hunting me?”

Li Yi ran for his life, daring not to stop for a single moment.

He realized that on flat ground, these spider-like humanoid monsters had grown even faster; if things continued this way, he had no chance of escaping the danger zone alive—he’d be caught before halfway, and death would be inevitable.

“What do I do?”

Cold sweat poured down Li Yi’s forehead as he frantically searched for a solution.

But just then—

Two figures dashed out from nearby streets—other cultivators involved in this operation, apparently fleeing for their lives as well.

The man seemed to spot Li Yi, hesitated for a moment, then immediately sprinted toward him.

“I’m He Army. Who are you?” the cultivator called out loudly.

“He Army?” Li Yi suddenly remembered—he was a Spirit Medium cultivator who had dealt with Tao Ge before.

“I’m Li Yi. Tao Ge mentioned you.” He replied.

“Tao Ge? If you know him, good. Join me. Let’s team up and deal with the beast behind us—otherwise, none of us will survive. Don’t worry, you’ll get your share of the spoils after we slay the monster,” He Army said, his figure closing in on Li Yi.

Only then did Li Yi notice a monstrous shape growling behind He Army, chasing him.

So He Army was in danger too.

“Li Yi, don’t trust him. He doesn’t want to team up—he’s trying to lure the beast onto you so you’ll buy him time to escape. One of my colleagues died exactly like that because of him. I won’t go down without dragging him with me. That’s why I’ve been following him—I refuse to sacrifice myself to draw the beast away.”

Suddenly, a cultivator behind He Army shouted a warning—he sensed he was done for and didn’t want Li Yi to suffer the same fate, so he revealed He Army’s treacherous intent before dying.

“What?” Li Yi was stunned.

He Army was truly that malicious—a born evil soul from the Earth Prison.

But—

Li Yi glanced back—and realized his own situation was even more dangerous.

Just as he thought that, a scream echoed.

The cultivator collapsed from exhaustion and was caught—his throat torn apart in an instant. Yet the beast didn’t stop to feed; it kept charging straight for He Army.

“You damn fool, dying and still yapping,” He Army cursed as he fled.

But soon, He Army noticed that instead of running away, Li Yi kept sprinting toward him—this filled him with sudden joy.

Another poor soul to distract the beast? He’d definitely escape the danger zone now.

But then, He Army’s face froze.

What was that...

Behind Li Yi, a horde of gray-black humanoid monsters, each with eight arms, scuttled forward like spiders at terrifying speed—and they looked far more horrifying than the beast chasing He Army.

“Brat, stay back!”

He Army shouted, skidded to a halt, and instantly changed direction to flee.

“I can’t hear you.”

Li Yi closed the distance rapidly. Since the man had evil intentions, Li Yi had no intention of playing the hero.

Let’s see who’s more unlucky.

“Get closer and I’ll kill you with my spiritual sight,” He Army threatened.

“If I die, you’ll be chased by two packs of monsters. If I live, I can help share the danger. If you’re not afraid of death, go ahead and strike,” Li Yi said, undeterred, still advancing.

He Army was furious—but he held back from attacking Li Yi, because Li Yi was right: more living people meant more safety.

If he were alone, the monsters would have no choice but to target him.

“Damn brat,” He Army cursed inwardly, pushing himself harder to put distance between them.

But Li Yi’s sprinting speed matched his exactly—and the brief delay He Army had caused now closed the gap rapidly.

As Li Yi neared He Army, he finally saw the beast pursuing them: a gaunt, emaciated tiger, its fur completely shed, grotesque and hideous.

Yet this ugly, monstrous tiger had already killed two cultivators and driven He Army to flee without daring to look back.

It wasn’t an ordinary tiger—it must be a tiger that had entered cultivation.

Li Yi instinctively judged.

“Get lost! Don’t come near me!” He Army screamed, his scalp prickling as he saw the crawling horde, and erupted again in curses.

“Why don’t you get lost? You’re blocking my escape route,” Li Yi retorted without mercy.

“You’re asking for death. Cross me, and even after you leave this zone, I’ll make sure you never make it home alive,” He Army snarled again.

“Since you say that, then I’m coming,” Li Yi said, deliberately steering the horde behind him straight toward He Army.

Seeing Li Yi actually charging at him, He Army turned pale—did this kid have no fear of the beast behind him?

No choice—he changed course again, desperate to avoid the horde trailing Li Yi.

Their figures crossed paths.

In that instant, the beasts hunting them switched targets.

The spider-like monsters turned and chased He Army, while the monstrous tiger roared and lunged toward Li Yi.

“I’ll fuck your—”

He Army, seeing the monsters’ grotesque limbs swinging toward him, began hurling curses at Li Yi’s entire family.

“Stop cursing. Save your strength for running,” Li Yi called back, his voice fading as he vanished down the street.

But he wasn’t safe either—the monstrous tiger still chased him relentlessly.

Still, at least there was only one beast, not the horde before.

But it was still no small threat.

Li Yi wasn’t yet strong enough to handle it, and his stamina was already waning.

“Even if I escape the previous monsters, this beast will keep hunting me—I need to find a place to lose it.”

At that moment, Li Yi suddenly remembered.

When he’d entered the danger zone with Tao Ge, Tao Ge had detoured around a ruined district, saying it was haunted.

But Li Yi had seen nothing—he hadn’t activated his Spirit Medium yet.

“I don’t have Spirit Medium activated—I can’t see ghosts. That means ghosts are less likely to target me. This is my chance—I can use the danger there to shake off this beast.” Li Yi’s eyes flickered as he recalled helping Lao Ya in the abandoned city.

That time, the abandoned building had been haunted too—but because he was just an ordinary person, invisible to ghosts, he’d rarely been targeted.

That’s how he’d obtained the half-coin, his first incomplete wonder.

Maybe he could repeat the same trick today.

Thinking this,

Li Yi no longer hesitated—he took a shortcut, heading straight for the ruined district.

After narrowly dodging the beast’s attacks several times, he plunged into the area Tao Ge had called haunted.

After narrowly avoiding the savage beast’s attacks several times in a row, he dashed into the dangerous area that Tao Ge had said was haunted.

When Li Yi sprinted into an empty street, the beast suddenly halted at the intersection behind him, pacing back and forth, refusing to step forward, and finally let out a frustrated roar from afar as it watched its prey vanish.

The biao is a type of tiger; in ancient times, tigers were called Mountain Lords.

Thus, the biao possesses the Mountain Lord’s ability—its eyes naturally see impure things.

So now, in the biao’s eyes, the street Li Yi stood on wasn’t empty—it was packed with countless figures, bustling like a marketplace.

But this marketplace reeked of death, thick with ill omens and danger.

Even the mighty biao dared not advance.

“I guess I’ve made it,” Li Yi thought, breathing out in relief as he realized he was temporarily safe. He collapsed onto the curb, exhausted.

Recalling the last moments—it had been terrifying, thrilling.

In just ten minutes, he’d danced with death countless times.

His body’s potential had erupted again and again.

Such life-or-death trials greatly accelerated a cultivator’s evolution.

After only a brief rest, Li Yi already felt his strength returning—but his arms still ached, as if injured during the fall.

Upon checking, he found his injuries were worse: his palms were raw and bloody from abrasions, and a deep, bloody scratch marred his back.

Li Yi had only rested briefly when he felt his strength largely restored, but his arms still ached—he seemed to have been injured during the fall. Upon checking, he found his injuries were worse than he thought: multiple spots on his palms were raw and bloody, and a bloody scratch marred his back, its origin unknown.

After catching his breath, he rose again, preparing to flee the area.

He felt the surroundings pitch-black, icy, and utterly silent—not a sound to be heard.

This unnatural stillness made Li Yi increasingly uneasy.

But as he hurried through the street, he suddenly rubbed his eyes.

Then, a blurred figure appeared in his vision.

The figure was stiff and cold, like a corpse, gliding past—gone in an instant.

“Hallucination?” Li Yi’s heart tightened, a chill spreading through him.

No—not a hallucination.

He saw again: several floating figures passed ahead, dressed in paper-thin funeral robes, faces deathly pale—no living soul.

He then saw several figures floating through the air ahead of him, dressed in paper-thin funeral shrouds, their faces deathly pale, devoid of any color—clearly not living beings.

Li Yi took a deep breath—now he felt the air itself was cold, a nameless dread crawling over his skin.

But the more he walked, the more grotesque figures appeared in his sight.

At that moment, Li Yi finally realized.

He was activating his Spirit Medium.

He seemed to be awakening as a spiritual medium.