Chapter 138: The Birth of a Spirit Vein!

As Lu Yan’s very first main soul, Lishi was far inferior to Bloodbeard and the Giant Spirit God in both innate spells and raw strength.

And yet, Lu Yan still held Lishi in the highest regard—because Lishi was, without a doubt, the most loyal of them all.

Back during the most difficult days of the apocalypse version, it was Lishi who had taken the initiative to suppress the eruption of vengeful spirits. Thanks to that, Lu Yan was able to retain control of the Soul Banner and later cultivate the Xuanhuang Merit Flame.

However, as time went on, Lishi gradually fell behind. The gap between him and the other two main souls became more and more obvious.

To undergo Ghost God transformation, one needed to be at the Foundation Establishment Realm. But Lishi was still only at the peak of Qi Refining, unable to take that final step.

Lu Yan still had two high-level psionic souls left. But they were weaker than divine souls, and even if Lishi devoured both, he might still fall short of Foundation Establishment.

And even if he did break through, the damage from potential failures during psionic code inscription would require even more soul material to repair.

It seemed like Lishi’s transformation would have to be postponed to the next version.

As the two Ghost Gods continued experimenting with Yin Soldier modifications, Lishi remained standing in the shadows like a silent guardian, never straying from Lu Yan’s side.

Lu Yan walked over and gently patted his shoulder.

“If you choose to stay here in the manor, I’ll wait until the next version to help you reach Foundation Establishment. But by then, you’ll have fallen even further behind the other two.”

“But if your heart remains unwilling to accept that—then follow me. I’ll grant you a great opportunity.”

“Though whether it’s fortune or disaster… that remains to be seen.”

With that, Lu Yan strode toward the manor gates.

Lishi’s face didn’t change at all. But the moment Lu Yan stepped outside, he followed silently, without hesitation—just like a faithful bodyguard.

From a distance, Blood God looked over curiously.

“What are my lord and Lishi up to?”

The Giant Spirit God stared after them, countless streams of data flashing across his eyes before a look of shock appeared on his face.

“So that’s it…”

After a long pause, he sighed.

“I pride myself on being all-knowing, yet I am still bound by the Heavenly Dao. I’m nowhere near my lord’s level.”

“One leaf obscures the eye, and you can no longer see the sky.”

Lu Yan left the manor without the Soul Banner. With no vessel to contain him, Lishi simply trailed behind.

They didn’t use any vehicles or flight techniques. Instead, the two—man and ghost—traversed mountains and valleys on foot.

Lu Yan had no fixed destination. He was searching the surrounding mountains, observing feng shui and terrain, looking for a place to plant an artificial spirit vein.

Back when Lu Yan purchased the manor in Phoenix Mountain, the key reason had been the mountain’s unique geography. Phoenix Mountain was part of a vast mountain range stretching hundreds of miles.

That mountain range bore a grand and ancient name:

Beimang.

Luocheng had served as the capital for several dynasties, and Mount Beimang lay nearby. The mountain had once held the tombs of royalty and was the site of numerous wars—countless soldiers had fallen and been buried here.

Legends of ghost kings and specters on Mount Beimang had existed since ancient times.

Countless tales had turned it into one of the nation’s most famed and storied mountains.

Phoenix Mountain, being one of Beimang’s main peaks, had originally been Lu Yan’s chosen place for his plans. But once he arrived, he discovered its feng shui wasn’t suitable after all.

Moreover, while Lu Yan had rejected the Giant Spirit God’s Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment proposals, he had to admit—some of the speculation wasn’t wrong. To establish a Heavenly Dao Foundation, one had to stir the tide of destiny.

Thus, Lu Yan abandoned his previous cautious strategy of secretly planting artificial spirit veins and began seeking to leverage the spirit vein to guide the world’s momentum.

Under such circumstances, building momentum on Phoenix Mountain would make the manor far too conspicuous and likely draw unwanted attention.

So Lu Yan moved dozens of kilometers away, deeper into another part of the Beimang Mountain Range.

There, amidst the encircling peaks, he chose a site and buried a spiritual marrow ore into a feng shui formation.

Unlike the crude underground factory-style feng shui arrays he had created during the Cyber version, this spot was part of a naturally formed Taiyin Hill feng shui formation—an arrangement shaped by Heaven and Earth itself.

Only moments after planting the spiritual marrow ore, Lu Yan could feel the earth beneath his feet trembling. The ore began absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy at high speed, corrupting and transforming the local earth veins.

With a wave of his hand, Lu Yan dropped three hundred spirit stones onto the ground, forming a small pile as tall as a person’s waist.

The spirit energy from the stones was quickly devoured by the spiritual marrow ore, and soon the earth veins beneath his feet began to glimmer with a jade-like luster.

Then, a faint spiritual energy began to rise from the now-transformed earth veins.

Back in the Cyber version, it had taken Lu Yan half a month to raise his first artificial spirit vein.

But now, with the support of this natural feng shui terrain—and the reckless expense of three hundred spirit stones—he completed in moments what once took weeks.

An artificial spirit vein was forming right before his eyes.

Even now, while still in its infancy, the spirit vein had already reached the quality of a First-Grade Low-Rank Vein, far surpassing the scrap-tier miniature veins of the Cyber version.

And in the future, if nurtured well, this spirit vein might even grow into First-Grade High-Rank, or perhaps even Second-Grade Low-Rank.

Standing atop the spirit vein, Lu Yan bathed in long-lost spiritual energy. He formed hand seals, and his peak Twelfth Layer of Qi Refining cultivation poured fully into his spell.

First-Grade Mid-Rank Spell — Misty Cloud Technique!

In an instant, thick fog rolled out from the spirit vein beneath his feet like a rising tide, expanding outward in all directions.

The Misty Cloud Technique was a Heavenly Timing spell. It had no offensive power of its own, but with enough cultivation and spiritual power, it could even alter the weather.

At the base of Mount Beimang, a group of hikers wielding trekking poles and backpacks climbed the stone stairs.

The lead hiker in red turned back and called out to the others:

“We’re almost at the campsite—just a little more!”

At that moment, a hiker in the rear gasped and shouted:

“An avalanche!!”

“What the hell are you talking about? There’s no snow on Mount Beimang—wait, what the f—! It’s real?!”

“That’s not snow—it’s cloud mist!”

Everyone stared in shock as thick clouds surged down from the mountaintop like an overwhelming tide, threatening to engulf all of Mount Beimang.

Just as the massive wave of fog was about to swallow them whole, a towering figure in pitch-black armor stepped out of the mist.

In that instant, the fog’s advance halted completely.

Several hikers had their phones raised, capturing every moment of the scene.

The next second, the deep voice of the armored Ghost God echoed through the mountains:

“Mount Beimang is forbidden. Living beings, do not enter.”

With those words, a gust of yin wind swept through and lifted all the hikers into the air, gently depositing them several hundred meters away at the base of the mountain.

At the campsite below, stunned bystanders watched in disbelief as over a dozen travelers descended from the sky and landed unscathed.

Half an hour later, dozens of video clips were uploaded to social media, pinned under a glaring red headline:

Mount Beimang—Haunted by a Ghost God!

(End of Chapter)