Chapter 604: Dense Yin Energy
Axel nodded approvingly. "Exactly."
Lana let out a quiet sigh.
Her exorcism talismans were already powerful enough to eliminate ghosts that had been cultivated for nearly eight hundred years.
If she truly wanted to, she could rescue almost everyone living inside this Ghost Zone.
The only obstacle was the mysterious two-thousand-year-old ghost lurking somewhere within.
’As long as I eliminate it, everyone here can finally be freed.’
...............
With that thought, Lana began wandering through the Ghost Zone.
At first glance, she behaved exactly like an ordinary tourist.
She leisurely admired the streets, glanced at nearby shops, and occasionally looked at various old buildings.
Surprisingly, there were actually several tourists wandering around just like her.
Each of them had priests accompanying them for protection.
Seeing this scene, Lana frowned slightly. Something felt wrong.
The local residents behaved completely normally. None of them showed obvious signs of possession.
They laughed. They bargained with shopkeepers.
Children ran around the streets while elderly people chatted outside their homes. Everything appeared peaceful.
Perhaps that was precisely why those tourists had lowered their guard and confidently walked around buying souvenirs and local goods.
Suppressing the strange feeling in her heart, Lana continued walking.
Eventually, she and Axel arrived at a modest inn.
The old wooden building looked worn by time, its faded walls carrying the scent of damp timber and old incense.
After paying for a room, the receptionist accepted the money before looking first at Lana, then at Axel, then back at Lana again.
A strained smile slowly appeared on his face.
"Sir, Madam, please make sure you lock your room properly tonight. There have been quite a few thefts recently."
Hearing those words, Lana narrowed her eyes and looked carefully at the innkeeper.
"Aren’t you planning to increase the security or hire bodyguards?"
The innkeeper let out a helpless chuckle. "It’s not that we don’t want to."
He sighed deeply, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to deepen under the dim lantern light. "But that’s easier said than done."
He spread his hands helplessly.
"Please think about it. How can ordinary people like us possibly afford professional bodyguards? We barely earn enough to keep this inn running. So, I can only ask both of you to be careful."
Lana was about to ask another question when Axel gently placed a hand on her shoulder. He subtly shook his head.
There was no point in making the old innkeeper uncomfortable. Both of them quietly accepted the room key before walking upstairs.
.......................
Once they entered their room and firmly locked the wooden door behind them, Axel let out a long sigh.
The room was simple. A wooden table stood beside the window. Two old beds occupied opposite sides of the room, while the faint scent of old wood lingered in the air.
Without saying a word, Axel placed his hand on Lana’s forehead and channeled his energy into her. Lana frowned. "What’s the meaning of this?"
Axel looked at her seriously as he withdrew his hand. "Lana, didn’t you notice something?"
She blinked. "What?"
He sighed again. "You’ve become much more impulsive."
Those simple words immediately stunned her. She lowered her head.
Thinking back... she had nearly exposed her Exorcism Talismans just to save one possessed guard.
Then, moments ago, she had almost confronted the innkeeper over the security issue. Neither of those actions matched her usual calm personality.
Axel continued.
"Not only that... It feels as though the negative energy here is slowly affecting your mind. I know it’s asking a lot of you, but you need to stay vigilant."
Lana frowned deeply. "But how is that possible? I’m already a Celestial Core cultivator. So why am I still being influenced by the negative energy inside this Ghost Zone?"
Axel calmly explained.
"Lana, until now, you’ve lived almost exclusively in cities overflowing with positive spiritual energy. You’ve rarely been exposed to such dense Yin and negative aura."
He pointed toward the window where a faint black mist drifted silently through the streets outside.
"The moment you entered this environment, that negative energy naturally started invading your mind. And because you’ve never specifically learned how to reject or purify that energy, it managed to influence your emotions."
He paused. "However..."
A puzzled expression slowly appeared on his face. "The strange part is, you’re already quite powerful. You shouldn’t have been affected this severely."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "There must be another reason."
Lana quietly lowered her gaze. ’Another reason...?’
At that exact moment, Mayra floated out of Lana’s body. The tiny spirit crossed her arms before rolling her eyes dramatically.
’Of course my host would have this problem. After all, she has...’
Before Mayra could finish her thoughts, Axel suddenly looked directly at her. His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Perhaps, it’s because you’ve formed a bond with Mayra."
Lana blinked several times. She looked at Axel before looking back at Mayra. Then she shook her head. "That doesn’t sound logical at all."
Axel calmly smiled.
"It’s actually more common than you think. Sometimes, when Mystical Cultivators form contracts with powerful spiritual beings, their bodies temporarily become unstable while adjusting to the new connection. That instability can make them more susceptible to outside influences. So, that may be the reason."
Hearing those words, Lana slowly turned toward Mayra. The little spirit blinked innocently, pretending she had absolutely nothing to do with it.
She even tilted her head adorably. Lana narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Mayra was just about to defend herself when Lana sighed.
"All right. I’ll admit, maybe there is some truth to your theory, Uncle."
Mayra immediately rolled her eyes. ’Hmph. Then I won’t tell you the real reason.’
Naturally... she kept those thoughts entirely to herself.
.........................................
After resting briefly, Lana and Axel left the inn. Their objective today wasn’t sightseeing. It was training.
Using Lana’s Third Eye, the two of them searched for places where negative energy gathered most densely.
Not long afterward, Lana suddenly stopped walking. "I found it."
She pointed toward the distance. A terrifying concentration of black aura was rising into the sky like thick smoke. The two immediately hurried over.
However, when they finally arrived, Lana froze. "It... It’s a hospital?"