Realm Walker

Chapter 22: Nocturnal Specter Assembly

Zhang Yuanqing opened his mouth, but couldn’t bring himself to ask the question.

Being different from the mainstream meant being unusual. He couldn’t go around talking about it carelessly before he knew if it was a good or a bad thing. Besides, since there was no relevant information listed in the forum, that could only mean that it was not information that could be shared with low-level people within the organization.

The more such information was restricted to those higher up, the more it naturally needed to be kept secret. That was just common sense, and it applied to him especially, since he was still a rookie who didn’t yet possess the ability or experience to handle unexpected situations.

Still, he couldn’t help but fume inside. Why is the Character Card that Bro Bing gave me different from those of ordinary Nocturnal Specters? That bastard went missing without giving me any information.

Next, he exited the post and clicked on the forum’s search box, planning to look up information about the Temple of the Three Paths Mountain Goddess.

After entering the name of the temple into the search box, he got two results. One was the dungeon guide he’d seen before (Five Elements Alliance version), and one was an introduction to the temple itself.

【The Temple of the Three Paths Mountain Goddess is a shrine on Three Paths Mountain in Songjiang Prefecture. Established during the early Ming Dynasty, it is dedicated to the worship of the Three Paths Mountain Goddess deity.

【This goddess was widely known for her success in praying for rain and driving out ghosts, refining pills and treating illness, which brought prosperity to the region. After the Three Paths Mountain Goddess achieved Ascension and became an immortal, local officials took the lead in constructing a temple for her, with the gentry and common folk funding the construction.

【The Temple of the Three Paths Mountain Goddess declined early on, and with it came the loss of many precious research materials. 】

【Note: Excerpted from the Songfu Library.】

Wait... Excerpted from the Songfu Library?

Zhang Yuanqing’s face went blank, his gaze lingering on the last line of text. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

So the Temple of the Three Paths Mountain Goddess really existed? It existed in history? And if that was the case, did that goddess truly exist? Or rather, was she herself a real person?

Did real people appear in Spirit Realms?

If she’s real, might she crawl out of the Spirit Realm to find me, Zhang Yuanqing thought suddenly, scaring himself in the process.

When it came to things he could ask about, he would never subject his own brain to torture.

”Sis Guan Ya, I have a question.”

Guan Ya turned around, and Zhang Yuanqing told her his speculation about the Three Paths Mountain Goddess.

The veteran flirt lifted her cup, took a sip, and said, ”The Squad Leader should have told you that Spirit Realms exist between reality and illusion. Many locations within Spirit Realms are based on reality.

”For example, the Lingang Reservoir and Xiangshui Amusement Park Nocturnal Specter trial Spirit Realms all have corresponding locations in the real world. For obvious reasons, the supernatural phenomena of the Spirit Realms do not exist in the real world, or things would have descended into complete chaos long ago.”

Zhang Yuanqing felt relieved. So, although the Three Paths Mountain Goddess really existed, the one I saw was probably fabricated by the Spirit Realm.

Old hag, just stay obediently in the Spirit Realm.

***

Beishuimen Airport, Beijing.

The gaunt-faced Yuan Ting sat in his spacious business-class seat, wearing a black suit and black shirt, his hair combed meticulously, looking like a business elite.

Through the small airplane window, he gazed down at the myriad lights below, brilliant and dazzling.

He had just reported the news of Sheling Tunnel being cleared to the organization that day. By the same afternoon, he had been summoned to Beijing.

However, this summons wasn’t related to Sheling Tunnel. He was returning to Beijing because the Taiyi Sect Master had summoned all the Nocturnal Specters scattered throughout the country to Beijing for a meeting.

Large scale meetings like this usually only happened at the end of the year, when Nocturnal Specters from all over the country went to Beijing to report on their duties.

If there was an exception, it had to be a major matter.

Hopefully it’s not bad news, thought Yuan Ting as he watched the city lights growing closer, his mind churning.

The plane landed smoothly. He got off the plane and dragged his suitcase straight to the underground parking garage on level two, where he boarded a waiting car.

Forty minutes later, the car arrived at a five-star hotel. Yuan Ting put away his luggage and took the elevator to the large conference room on the top floor.

A banquet was being held there. Gentlemen and ladies in black formal wear―black coats and black gowns―held wine glasses as they moved among the tables full of food, chatting and laughing over drinks.

Yuan Ting had just taken a glass of wine from a server’s tray when a man in a black shirt approached him. The man had a neat crew cut, bright eyes, rugged facial features, and a perfect inverted-triangle build.

”Well, it seems Captain Yuan has arrived,” the man said.

Yuan Ting smiled at his approaching friend.

”Jian Ji!” he greeted in return. ”Long time no see.”

”Everyone’s been waiting for you forever,” his friend replied. ”Come on, come on, let’s go say hello.”

Jian Ji put his hand on Yuan Ting’s shoulder and led him to a table where six people―three men and three women―sat. These were all Nocturnal Specters who had trained with Yuan Ting when he first joined the Taiyi Sect.

Now, they were all captain-level figures, and had been scattered across the country.

After some brief small talk, Yuan Ting probed, ”Why did the Sect Master summon everyone to Beijing this time?”

Yang Qian, who had her hair in a ponytail and wore a leather jacket and leather pants, pursed her lips and said quietly, ”We were just discussing this topic. All we know is that security is really high. Even the Stewards don’t know.”

She had a graceful figure, and her ponytail tapered to a sharp point. She had a heroic, spirited look about her, and she wore no makeup or jewelry.

Even the Stewards don’t have clearance to know? That’s interesting, thought Yuan Ting.

He gave a small nod and didn’t probe further.

Jian Ji smiled and raised his glass, saying, ”We’ll find out when the meeting starts. No point thinking about it now. By the way, has anything interesting happened recently?”

The spirited Yang Qian laughed. ”I do have an interesting story. A while back, the eldest son of the coastal Xiahou family got beaten half to death by the Palace Master of the Hall of Ceased Killing. I heard when the Xiahou family elders arrived at the scene, he was already barely alive.

”Although they saved him with Life Essence, he’s severely weakened. He probably won’t dare to show his face outside for a long time, and if he has any Spirit Realm missions coming up, he’s definitely dead.”

”The Hall of Ceased Killing?” echoed one of the men. He looked over at Yuan Ting.

”If I remember correctly, that’s a Spirit Realm Walker organization in the Songhai region,” he said. ”How did they end up feuding with the Xiahou family?”

Yuan Ting shook his head and replied, ”The members of the Hall of Ceased Killing all have extreme personalities, especially that Palace Master. She’s a complete lunatic. They’ll pick fights with anyone, so this comes as no surprise. But they usually keep to themselves, and have a generally cordial relationship with official organizations.”

Yang Qian sighed and added, ”That Palace Master is a high level Spirit Realm Walker. Even Stewards might not be her match. When it comes to such people, all we can do is turn a blind eye as long as they don’t go too far.”

After some more idle chatter, Jian Ji looked around and remarked, ”There are still too few of us Nocturnal Specters. All we can do is watch as other classes make waves and steal the spotlight.”

”Speaking of which, it’s been many years since our sect produced a brilliantly talented Nocturnal Specter,” said the cute, round-faced Xia Liang, her soft voice colored with a slight coquettish tone.

Now that the topic had been broached, Yuan Ting joined in with interest, saying, ”I actually have big news related to us Nocturnal Specters.”

Everyone at the table looked over at him, their faces full of curiosity.

”Do you all still remember Sheling Tunnel?” Yuan Ting asked.

”Yeah, that’s the buggy newbie-level Spirit Realm where Jiang Lin and Zhao Kai died,” replied Jian Ji. ”Did that hellish place claim someone else’s life again?”

”It seems the first clear of Sheling Tunnel has been officially claimed. Some kid cleared it.”

Yuan Ting’s words landed like a bomb, leaving the Nocturnal Specters at the table speechless.

After a few seconds, Jian Ji said in bewilderment, ”Did that actually happen?”

Xia Liang’s eyes went wide, and she said loudly in her sweet voice, ”Yuan Ting, don’t joke around.”

The others also looked skeptical.

Yuan Ting nodded firmly and said, ”This matter has already been reported to the sect. You can ask your respective superiors about it. The Stewards should tell you about it if you just ask about it, even if they don’t let you look at the strategy guide.”

Skepticism turned to gasps of amazement, and the Nocturnal Specters at the table looked stunned and excited.

”This is huge,” someone commented.

”That guy’s amazing,” said another. ”How did he do it? Damn, now all I want to do is to see the strategy guide instead of attending this meeting.”

”Wake up. Given your clearance level, you probably won’t be able to access it.”

Yang Qian looked left and right, then asked, ”Did this newcomer join the Taiyi Sect? Is he in Beijing?”

Yuan Ting seemed to be in the mood to talk. He shook his head regretfully.

”You don’t know the full story,” he lamented. ”That guy was recruited by the Five Elements Alliance, and Fu Qingyang personally called Elder Sun to ask for the strategy guide. When Elder Sun heard he had been assigned Sheling Tunnel as his trial realm, he immediately declared he did not want to recruit that person.”

He sighed, then added, ”Words spoken are like spilled water—they can’t be taken back. The elder had to be confused.”

”Really confused,” someone else agreed.

”Elder Sun... How could this happen? Now I’m angry.”

Just as they were criticizing that lofty elder, Yuan Ting suddenly saw the middle-aged man in black clothes walking over, heading straight for him.

The man stopped in front of him and said, ”Yuan Ting, Elder Sun has asked you to stay behind after the meeting. He wants you to go see him.”

At those words, Yuan Ting’s expression instantly froze.

The banquet soon neared its end, and servers cleared away the plates and drinks.

The soft lighting brightened and grew white, turning the atmosphere into one that was more conducive for a proper meeting. The hall full of Nocturnal Specters sat at their respective round tables in silence, waiting quietly. Over a hundred people sat in stillness, and the room was so quiet one could hear a pin drop.

After a long wait, and amid eager anticipation, an elderly man in white training clothes entered the hall.

He was nearly two meters tall, extremely imposing, with a face free of wrinkles and eyes as sharp as knives. On his forehead gleamed a full golden sun, like a tattoo.

If not for the head of silver hair indicating his age, he would have passed off as someone much younger and more vigorous.

This was the Grand Elder of the Taiyi Sect, Spirit Realm ID: Blazing Sun Judge.

The assembled Nocturnal Specters sat up straight and adopted a proper posture, showing the utmost respect to the strongest Nocturnal Specter beneath the Sect Master.

Blazing Sun Judge surveyed the many sect members below and began to speak slowly. ”Not long ago, the Sect Master sensed the Demon Lord’s death. The great threat to the Taiyi Sect has been eliminated. But the Demon Lord’s Character Card did not return to the Spirit Realm, and its whereabouts are unknown. From now on, all of you are to put your full efforts into searching for the Demon Lord’s successor.

”This successor has two major characteristics. First, their class mark is not a crescent moon, but a black full moon. Second, when clearing Spirit Realms, they will obtain Character Card rewards that are not offered to ordinary Nocturnal Specters.”