The grave ghost burrowed underground, and the paper effigies following behind paused in mid-air.
The livestream camera also paused, hovering in the air for a moment.
Then it rapidly moved north.
After moving several hundred meters, it suddenly plunged straight into the ground.
The viewers felt the camera go black, followed by a rushing sound.
They lost all sense of direction.
This state lasted for about a minute before stopping.
The livestream view then suddenly opened up.
"Good heavens, it was underground. Buried deep!"
"Buried deep... why does that sound strange to me?"
"You're not right in the head, upstairs!"
...
In the livestream view—
The grave ghost and the three ghosts behind it also stopped.
It pulled off the hoods from their heads, "We're here."
The view before them became clear.
What appeared in front of Xu Nan and the machine ball was a mountain stream.
Gurgling spring water flowed down the stream, with trees of varying heights on both sides and some hidden caves.
The moon was reflected in the water.
Looking up slightly, one could see the moon directly opposite them.
It was indeed a hidden yet elegant place.
And where they stood was a rocky platform.
"This is it," the grave ghost said.
Besides them, many other ghosts were gathered here.
The soul-calling ghost was clearly familiar with the place and looked around.
It then ran towards where the other ghosts were clustered.
At first glance, other ghosts mistook it for a new mosaic ghost.
The machine ball looked around curiously and said to the grave ghost:
"Big Brother, this place really looks like where those reclusive masters live."
"How did you find this place? It's so quiet and beautiful!"
As it said this, its expression was excited, tinged with a hint of admiration.
Coupled with the honest face of the fourth one, it looked like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world.
Xu Nan also looked around cooperatively, appearing to find the place quite nice.
The grave ghost was pleased by this, "Naturally, the boss found it."
It secretly thought: They really are two ignorant little ghosts.
The machine ball continued, "There are so many ghosts here! Are they all from the organization?"
"I used to be with my brother, and I've never seen so many ghosts at once!"
"I really hope to do things together with everyone..."
The grave ghost raised its chin dismissively, "This is nothing."
"There are plenty of partners in the organization; this is just a small portion."
"As long as you work hard, you will eventually be recognized by the organization."
The machine ball clenched its fist, "Big Brother, you're right, we'll work hard!"
"By the way,"
It quickly glanced left and right, lowering its voice:
"Big Brother, isn't our boss here? We just arrived, should we go and see the boss?"
"Like in the novels, offer a cup of tea or something."
The grave ghost raised its chin, gesturing them to look at the highest cave:
"The boss is there. You newcomers aren't allowed to see him."
"Big Brother is right, I was too naive."
The machine ball's gaze fell upon that cave, and it immediately noticed the barrier at the cave entrance.
It wondered if the other party's cultivation was high.
But that wasn't a problem; as long as it touched the barrier, it could estimate it.
—The ghost artifact masters of the West Hall loved to create these data-related things!
It placed its finger behind its back and wiggled it.
A mini ball the size of a marble rolled out.
It grew two small wings and, using the cover of the mountain vegetation, quietly flew towards the cave above.
Xu Nan also saw the barrier and was about to tell the machine ball not to act rashly.
Suddenly, the entire ground trembled.
Many low-cultivation ghosts wobbled and sat down on the ground.
The machine ball caught a glimpse of the grave ghost also wobbling and quickly stumbled.
With a cry of "Ouch,"
It almost fell, and even pulled Xu Nan along.
They both sat down on the ground.
Xu Nan, who was trying to figure out what was happening: "..."
Give this guy an Oscar for Best Actor.
...
This scene amused the viewers in the livestream:
"Hahahaha... learned it, learned it!"
"Xu Nan: If you're going to fall, at least don't drag me with you."
"This fourth one is truly amazing!"
...
Thump, thump, thump—
The ground continued to shake and was approaching them.
Following the sound, they saw.
To the left of the rocky platform they were standing on, a ghost three to four times taller than a normal person appeared.
It was at least three meters tall, with its flesh piled together, appearing very round and massive.
If not for its short black hair, at first glance, it looked like a fat monk.
As it walked,
The ground shook with every step.
"..."
Nearby ghosts quickly made way, not daring to say a word.
For fear of being accidentally stepped on by this giant ghost.
However, Xu Nan glanced at it; its cultivation was only at the mid-stage of the Ghost Soul realm.
With this display, he wondered if it was deliberately putting on a show for these little ghosts.
Among ghosts, if the cultivation levels differed too much, unless external forces were involved, the weaker ones could not see the strength of the stronger ones.
Xu Nan could see it simply because he was exactly one realm higher.
—Late stage of the Ghost Soul realm.
Ghost levels: Ghost Soul, Ghost Soldier, Ghost General, Great Ghost General, Ghost King.
Among these, they were divided into early, mid, and late stages, as well as a peak stage.
The Ghost Soul realm could be considered the threshold of cultivation.
...
But Xu Nan's cultivation was achieved through the formal methods of the Underworld.
Backed by the entire eighteen halls.
Talent, effort, resources.
He possessed them all.
If his cultivation hadn't progressed, he would have felt ashamed to continue working for the eighteen halls.
The giant ghost before him, however, was covered in various blood qi and resentment.
Most lone ghosts wandering outside had no cultivation.
For example: the soul-calling ghost.
Its true strength was only effective against humans and newborn souls.
The methods it could use to harm people were basically limited to 'calling souls.'
For the ghost envoys of the Underworld, this kind of ghost hadn't even touched the basic cultivation threshold.
As for those ghosts that could possess cultivation, they either had too much obsession.
Or... through some other methods.
—For example, harming others, or devouring their own kind.
Or perhaps, they encountered some opportunity.
Opportunities were good, but not everyone could encounter them.
Therefore,
Most lone ghosts with cultivation fell into the first two categories.
And the strength gained in this way basically had certain drawbacks.
For example: instability, irrationality—consuming sanity, and being manic.
In summary, when the ghost envoys of the Underworld went out on missions.
If they encountered ghosts outside, they would mostly bring them back.
To reduce those unpredictable outbursts.
But there were so many places in the human world, and so many humans.
Even with the ghost envoys' meticulous efforts, there were always loopholes.
Moreover,
Even if a batch of ghosts was taken away, no one knew when new ones would appear.
Just as they couldn't predict when humans would suddenly die from accidents other than the end of their lifespan.
Therefore, it was difficult to say when the ghosts in the human world would be completely cleared.
Unless...
...
Xu Nan withdrew his thoughts and swept his gaze over the ghosts that were making way.
Moreover, for those powerful ghosts,
The weaker ghosts, if not careful, could easily be overlooked.
This was like ants to humans.
Because ants were too small and too harmless, they were rarely noticed.
Thump, thump, thump—
Thump, thump, thump—
With the ground shaking, the giant ghost arrived near Xu Nan and them.
The grave ghost quickly led the two new little ghosts to make way.
Thump! Thump!
After the giant ghost took two more steps forward, it suddenly stopped.
It sniffed, and its huge head turned.
Its gaze shifted downwards, looking at Xu Nan and the machine ball.
...