Chapter 602: Promotion
She paused before smiling faintly.
"But, at least for now, Thessy won’t be able to touch you. I told him about Thessy’s unstable mental condition and how her reckless behavior could eventually put your life in danger."
Lana blinked. A trace of uncertainty appeared in her beautiful eyes. "Won’t he use that information against me someday?"
Harper immediately shook her head. "Don’t worry. He isn’t that kind of person."
With those reassuring words, she quietly left. As Harper disappeared into the distance, the noisy corridor finally became peaceful again.
Lana slowly let out a long, exhausted sigh. She rubbed the bridge of her nose before giving a bitter smile.
"So much for this competition, I honestly thought I’d simply come here, win the championship, collect the trophy, and quietly go home."
She sighed,
"But somehow, I’ve ended up caught in an even bigger mess than I ever expected."
As Lana shook her head regretfully, Phillips subconsciously extended his hand, intending to gently pat her head.
However, before his hand could reach her, Lana immediately took a step back.
She raised an eyebrow and looked at him suspiciously, her expression silently asking, "And what exactly are you planning to do?"
Phillips froze awkwardly. A faint cough escaped his throat as he hurriedly withdrew his hand. "I... I think I saw a bug in your hair. That’s all."
Without giving anyone the chance to question him further, he immediately changed the topic. "What reward do you want?"
Lana lazily waved her hand. "For now, I just need some rest."
Hearing those words, everyone nodded in agreement.
After everything that had happened during the competition, both physically and mentally, she truly deserved a proper break.
..............
Soon afterward, Lana returned to her mansion. The moment her head touched the pillow, sleep completely overtook her.
She slept for an entire day without waking once. It had truly been exhausting.
Not only had she fought several intense battles, but she had also been dragged into political negotiations, recruitment offers, and endless responsibilities she had never wanted.
Meanwhile, the International Mystical Cultivation Competition would begin in just three week. Before participating, she had something important she wanted to accomplish.
Fortunately, she had already made a complete plan. However, before executing that plan, she needed proper rest.
............
The following morning, Lana slowly opened her eyes.
She stretched comfortably. Her entire body felt refreshed. Thanks to her Healing Light ability continuously nourishing her body while she slept, every trace of fatigue had completely disappeared.
She felt lighter than ever. After finishing breakfast, Axel looked toward her. "What are you planning to do now?"
Lana’s playful expression disappeared.
A serious look replaced it.
"I want to use the two-week cultivation opportunity offered by the university. I’m planning to enter the Ghost Zones and train there."
Axel nodded without hesitation. "All right. Then I’ll supervise you."
Lucian looked at Lana before calmly speaking. "My spirit will accompany you."
Lana smiled. "Yes, yes. I know. It’ll protect me. Don’t worry. It already protected me extremely well the last time."
Then she noticed Conrad opening his mouth. She immediately raised both hands in surrender before he could even begin.
"Big Brother, please don’t start nagging again. I’ve already listened to enough lectures these past few days. If I hear even one more, I’m afraid my ears might literally fall off."
After saying that, she quickly turned around and walked away before anyone could stop her. Her exaggerated behavior immediately made everyone burst into laughter.
The previously heavy atmosphere completely disappeared. Bright smiles appeared on everyone’s faces.
After all, Lana had successfully become the champion.
Now, everyone was quietly looking forward to seeing what incredible thing she would do next.
.........
Lana calmly took out her phone. The moment she unlocked it, she couldn’t help raising her eyebrows slightly.
Her social media notifications were exploding. Before the competition, she only had around ten thousand followers.
Now, that number had skyrocketed past ten million. Seeing those astonishing figures, Lana immediately realized something.
’This is the perfect opportunity.’
Without wasting another second, she created a new post. Instead of boasting about becoming the champion, she simply introduced Hedge City.
She wrote about how the city had recently been completed, how rapidly it was developing, and why it was one of the most promising places for investment.
She also officially announced that Hedge City was now open to tourists. The moment the post went live, countless people clicked on it.
Within minutes, the comments exploded. This was a common tradition among Mystical Cultivators.
Many promoted their sponsors. Some advertised cultivation products. Others recommended companies or even encouraged people to purchase shares in certain businesses.
Some even promoted their own brands. However, this was the first time anyone had seen a famous Mystical Cultivator openly promoting an entire city.
Curiosity immediately spread across the internet.
"What exactly is Hedge City?"
"A newly constructed city?"
"Should we visit?"
Many people quickly searched for information.
After discovering that it was indeed a newly built city with tremendous development potential, countless tourists immediately began booking tickets.
.........
Far away, Hunter had been nervously refreshing his phone every few seconds. He had been waiting specifically for Lana’s post.
The moment he finally saw it, he couldn’t help releasing a long sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness..."
He had honestly been worried. He thought Lana might have forgotten about their agreement.
Or worse... perhaps she had never intended to promote Hedge City in the first place.
Fortunately, none of that happened. Now that she had publicly advertised it herself, his heart was finally at ease.
.............
Meanwhile, Lana spent the remainder of the day inside her mansion. Stacks of yellow talisman paper covered the large wooden table.
She calmly continued drawing talismans one after another. This was all for her talisman shop. She had been stockpiling inventory for a very long time.
Now, she had finally accumulated enough.
Even if she didn’t create a single new talisman during the next two weeks, the existing stock would be automatically delivered to every customer who placed an order.
Once she finished everything, she neatly packed her bag.
That night, she learned some extra moves and then slept. The next morning, she had her breakfast, and soon afterward, she left together with Axel.
.........
The two of them once again traveled using the same RV they had used during their previous trip to Twin Forest.
Inside, Lana silently cultivated using the Silver Vein Root that Conrad had previously given her.
Meanwhile, Axel also closed his eyes and entered cultivation. He had begun cultivating much more diligently recently.
His only goal was simple. ’I have to become stronger. Strong enough to protect Lana whenever she needs me.’
............
Several hours later, the RV gradually slowed to a stop.
They had arrived nearly one hundred kilometers away from Xila City.
Standing before them was a place known as the Jiang Ghost Zone.
Unlike ordinary Ghost Zones, this one was strangely overlooked. Many people still lived inside it.
Strictly speaking, it couldn’t even be considered a complete Ghost Zone.
There were still villages. There were still families. There were still children running through the old streets.
However, none of them remained there because they wanted to. They stayed because they had no other choice.
The government had never granted them proper household registration.
The authorities feared that many of the residents had already been secretly possessed by ghosts.
Without concrete proof, they couldn’t relocate them.
Without certainty, they couldn’t trust them either.
It was an abandoned place trapped somewhere between civilization and destruction.
.............
The reason Lana had chosen this Ghost Zone wasn’t random.
In her previous life, she had heard a rumor. Hidden somewhere within Jiang Ghost Zone was a severely injured two-thousand-year-old ghost.
That ghost was her true target.
As long as she could defeat it and obtain its Ghost Crystal along with its Ghost Essence...
Her cultivation would rise explosively.
More importantly, battling such a powerful ghost would allow her to stabilize her rapidly increasing cultivation instead of leaving unstable foundations behind.
That frightening rumor was immediately confirmed by Axel as they approached the entrance.
His expression became unusually grim.
"Lana. The area we’re about to enter is extremely dangerous. So be careful. There are reports that even fifteen-hundred-year-old ghosts casually wander around this place."
He looked toward the distant village where an eerie silence blanketed everything.
"And the humans living here, they’ve most likely already been possessed. So don’t trust anyone too easily."
Lana nodded seriously. Seeing her understanding, Axel continued.
"If you ever feel that you’re in danger, run straight back to the RV."
He gently patted the side of the vehicle.
"This isn’t an ordinary RV. It contains several high-grade defensive artifacts. If necessary, it can protect you long enough for reinforcements to arrive."
Lana nodded once again. "I understand."
Axel took a slow, deep breath before looking toward the gloomy settlement ahead. "We’ve arrived."
The two of them stepped out of the RV.
Lana looked at Axel as they continued walking through the quiet road leading toward Jiang Ghost Zone. After remaining silent for a while, she suddenly asked,
"Uncle, is there some kind of special occasion coming up?"