158. Ghost City of Fengdu (Second Update, Subscriptions Requested)

Upon returning, Chen Fengyun remembered he still had 320 attribute points. After careful consideration, he first used 90 points to elevate his artifact crafting, alchemy, and qi meridian techniques to the mid-Yellow grade.

Next, consuming a large quantity of crafting materials along with 180 attribute points, he upgraded his flying sword, spirit-gathering array flags, and dark-yin mirror to the late-Yellow grade, leaving him with 50 attribute points.

At this moment, his personal attributes had transformed:
Spiritual Roots: Peak Yellow Grade
Spirit: Peak Yellow Grade
Cultivation: Peak Foundation Establishment
Cultivation Techniques: Universe Wind and Cloud Art (Peak Yellow Grade), Vajra Indestructible Body (Peak Yellow Grade)
Skills: Formations (Late Yellow Grade), Medicine (Tier 10 Mortal Grade), Artifact Crafting (Mid Yellow Grade), Alchemy (Mid Yellow Grade), Qi Meridian Technique (Mid Yellow Grade), Deliverance Sutra (Mid Yellow Grade), Six-Syllable Mantra Incantation (Mid Yellow Grade)
Magical Treasures: Flying Sword (Late Yellow Grade), Spirit-Gathering Array Flags (Late Yellow Grade), Dark-Yin Mirror (Late Yellow Grade), Alchemical Cauldron (Peak Yellow Grade), Mantra Bead (Peak Yellow Grade)
Pets: Earth Dragon
Special Items: Miniature Grotto-Heaven
Attribute Points: 50

Having possessed the Xianshi cultivation system for half a year, Chen Fengyun had transformed from an ordinary person into a mighty expert at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage. Had it not been for the restrictions of his cultivation techniques, the attribute points would likely have been sufficient to elevate his cultivation to the early Golden Core stage.

His cultivation speed would undoubtedly completely eclipse the geniuses of the major families and prominent sects in the cultivation world, leaving them far behind in despair.

Currently, he needed not only to search for his next tier of cultivation techniques but also to accumulate massive amounts of attribute points; the meager attribute points occasionally picked up in antique markets could no longer satisfy his demands.

Therefore, Chen Fengyun decided to rest for a period before setting out one by one to seek out those ancient entities, seeing if he could extract attribute points from them while simultaneously searching for an inter-realm teleportation array.

However, the opportunity arrived sooner than expected. In early December, a large ancient tomb complex was discovered in the Three Gorges Reservoir region in Chongqing, requiring a large number of personnel to participate in the excavation work. Coincidentally, Chen Fengyun's academic advisor was participating and brought along several top-performing students to assist with various tasks, allowing Chen Fengyun to seize the opportunity and tag along.

The large ancient tomb complex was located within the borders of the former Fengdu County, exposed due to a mountain landslide just a few kilometers away from the Three Gorges Reservoir area. According to preliminary exploration, the tomb complex covered an area of about ten square kilometers.

Upon arrival, Chen Fengyun immediately sensed a chilling ghostly aura hovering above the tomb complex, though it was somewhat faint. If his aura-observing and vein-seeking technique had not already reached the mid-Yellow grade level, he would have been completely unable to detect this ghostly energy.

"Since ancient times, Fengdu has been rumored to be the Ghost City. It seems this ancient tomb might be related to the historical Ghost City of Fengdu," Chen Fengyun thought to himself, and then he began using his divine sense to survey the surroundings.

"So the actual ancient tomb is only this portion revealed by the landslide; the ruins discovered in other places are actually the remnants of an old city. People simply didn't know the truth and assumed it was a massive ancient tomb complex."

After surveying the surrounding ten square kilometers, Chen Fengyun finally uncovered the truth, though he did not share it with his professor or the others, preferring to let them discover it through their research when the time came, especially since there was no danger here.

The truly dangerous location had already been submerged beneath the waters of the Three Gorges Reservoir. That spot should have been the site of the ancient underground ghost city palace of Fengdu, and now, shockingly, cyan ghostly energy was seeping outward from it.

"I am currently at the Three Gorges and have found the lair of that old ghost. Would you like to come over and pay it a visit together?" Chen Fengyun sent a message to Ma Dingdang.

"I want to, I want to! Definitely wait for me, I'm applying for leave right away and coming over!" Ma Dingdang replied promptly.

Barely fifteen hours later, by noon the next day, she appeared charmingly before Chen Fengyun, dressed in a leather jacket and trousers, looking sharp, capable, and full of tomboyish vigor.

"When are we going to find that old ghost?" Ma Dingdang asked excitedly.

"Let's get a good rest this afternoon and go tonight. I estimate one night should be enough to meet the old ghost. Is there any preparatory work you need to do?" Chen Fengyun asked.

"No need. During this time, I had the divine dragon absorb some of the giant crocodile crystals you gave me, and now its power has increased by a third. My own strength has also grown immensely," Ma Dingdang said smugly.

Chen Fengyun examined her closely and discovered that her cultivation and strength had indeed advanced by leaps and bounds, reaching the early Foundation Establishment stage and surpassing a peak martial arts grandmaster.

"You've truly improved. However, what tier is your current strength called in the martial arts world?" Chen Fengyun asked.

"Above the martial arts grandmaster is the Innate Martial Saint, and my current level is precisely the Innate Martial Saint tier. From what I understand, there are currently fewer than five Innate Martial Saint experts in the entire world. If Uncle Thirteen of the Southern Sect hadn't been injured back then and had been younger, he would have had a chance to break through to the Innate Martial Saint level as well."

"It seems your talent is quite impressive; achieving the Innate Martial Saint level at such a young age means your future prospects are boundless," Chen Fengyun smiled and said.

"Aren't you indirectly praising yourself? Compared to you, my little bit of strength is practically nothing, so shouldn't I be praising you as a cultivation prodigy of all ages?" Ma Dingdang cast a sideways glance at him, tinged with a hint of allure.

The two rested until nightfall, then quietly left the hotel. Chen Fengyun took Ma Dingdang with him on a sword flight, quickly arriving at the edge of the reservoir. Looking into the distance, the Three Gorges Reservoir was boundless and vast, with the opposite shore out of sight, giving them the sensation of standing before an ocean.

"Be careful, I'm going into the water."

Chen Fengyun softly cautioned Ma Dingdang. Then, the brilliance of his flying sword expanded into a light barrier that enveloped them both, and with a swift swoosh, it plunged directly into the water, heading toward a ruined city not far away that emitted cyan ghostly energy.

This city ruin was the former Fengdu County town. On the outskirts of the county town lay a famous tourist attraction known as the Underground Ghost City, built by utilizing some remnants of underground structures and remodeling them. However, a portion of these underground structures was shrouded by a formation.

"Boom..."

Arriving outside the formation, Chen Fengyun directly tossed out several formation bases to disrupt the operation of the grand array, and then his flying sword crashed thunderously into the formation. Beyond it lay another world.

Indeed, once the two entered the world enveloped by the formation, they found themselves inside a massive cavern where the water was completely gone. However, the cavern was collapsed everywhere, leaving only a few crevices, and those ghostly auras were slowly seeping out through those gaps.

"It looks like we'll have to play excavation workers and clear a path before we can get in," Chen Fengyun said with a smile to Ma Dingdang.

"Leave it to me. Let you witness the current power of the divine dragon," Ma Dingdang insisted, stepping forward. She summoned the divine dragon, which plunged headfirst into the collapsed earth and rocks of the passage, piercing straight through. Wherever the divine dragon passed, all the earth and debris in the passage were completely cleared away.