Nine Serenity Venerable’s breathing stopped.

As for whether he forgot to breathe or didn't dare to breathe, even he himself couldn't say.

In an instant, scenes of him being cruelly trampled like an ant by the terrifying Ghost Buddha before him flashed through his mind again and again.

This time, it wasn't the Ghost Buddha’s Illusion Realm.

It was his own baseless conjecture.

In a trance,

A strange character appeared before him:

“Death.”

Immediately after, came the second, the third...

Dense “Death” characters filled his mind, suffocating him.

Nine Serenity Venerable, who considered himself to have walked the line between life and death thousands of times, only now understood the weight of “Death.”

He had no doubt at ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) all,

He would die!

If it were in the game just now, death would be death, but it was just an Illusion Realm.

But this was reality!

Dying here meant truly dying!

If this Ghost Buddha in front of him just blew a breath, he wouldn't even leave a wisp of his soul!

Therefore, even though he had his full Cultivation Realm at this moment, he was a thousand times, a hundred times more terrified than when he was unarmed in the Illusion Realm!

“I... I...”

Under extreme fear, Nine Serenity Venerable’s snot and tears flowed uncontrollably.

The Ghost Buddha, three meters away from him, slightly raised his head, a hint of mockery curving his lips.

That expression clearly conveyed a condescending message:

Bow, or not bow?

With a “thud.”

Nine Serenity Venerable knelt on the ground, his brain having given up thinking.

Driven by the instinct for survival, the only thing he could do was—

Kowtow.

It wasn't a devout prostration, but a mechanical, frantic kowtow, as if he wished to smash his head into the ground.

Even if it shattered into pieces, he wouldn't care!

While frantically kowtowing, Nine Serenity Venerable uttered indistinct syllables from his throat:

“I... bow... I bow...”

“Spare, spare me... spare me...Woo... spare...”

“I shouldn’t have listened to Demonic Path slanders, shouldn’t have presumptuously coveted the power of a Ghost Immortal... I’m unworthy, I’m unworthy...”

“Let me go! Let... let go...”

...

Nine Serenity Venerable felt he had gone mad.

Boundless trembling spread continuously through his mind.

All he could do,

Was kowtow! Only kowtow! Only beg for mercy!

This was the only thing he could offer as a sacrifice in front of an incredibly terrifying existence!

Blood flowed down his forehead, and in the world stained by blood, the black Death Qi around the Ghost Buddha seemed even more despair-inducing!

He didn't know how long passed.

The Ghost Buddha’s expression finally changed.

His crimson eyes curved into crescent moons, and the angle of his grinning mouth grew wider and wider, the fangs within exuding an indescribable evil:

“Too late.”

Two understated words,

But to Nine Serenity Venerable’s ears, they were the most terrifying signal in this world!

“No... no!!!”

He wanted to escape, but couldn't make any movement.

It was as if his body had already predetermined its own death.

Nine Serenity Venerable could only watch helplessly as the Ghost Buddha peeled off his skin little by little, severed his tendons and bones...

In the next moment,

Nine Serenity Venerable’s figure suddenly vanished from this world.

The scene of Lingxiao Sect collapsed bit by bit.

Immediately a settlement interface popped up:

【Match Settlement:】

【Evil Creature Type: Nightmare (+0)】

【Evaded a ghost hunt (Failed)】

【Witnessed a bizarre perspective and survived (Failed)】

...

At the same time.

Inside Nine Serenity Venerable’s live stream room.

The bullet comments were utterly shocked by this horrifying scene!

【This... an Illusion Realm within an Illusion Realm?】

【Old man thought he exited the Illusion Realm... but it was still an illusion created by the Ghost Buddha...】

【An illusion at first glance? Who here would call Old Devil Lu, Lu Ze?】

【To be honest, if I went in, I probably wouldn’t have noticed either】

【Too exaggerated! This monster is meticulous and ruthless... anyone who went in would be scared stiff!】

【Who the hell would dare to challenge Ghost Immortal difficulty now?】

【He’s practically treating the old man like a Demonic Path member...】

【Wait, did he just say he listened to Demonic Path slanders?】

【Wow, the old man disappeared!】

【He must have been scared into quitting the Illusion Realm, right? The old guy is quite resilient, I would have run away long ago...】

...

...

Lingxiao Sect, guest room.

Nine Serenity Venerable sat slumped on the ground, muttering “I can’t tell” and similar phrases.

His mind had become deranged.

Nangong Yuan and Lu Ze stood by, watching coldly.

Nine Serenity Venerable’s words just now had exposed some unspeakable secrets.

Lu Ze wasn't surprised by this, as he had already learned from the System that this ghost disaster was related to the Demonic Path.

Nangong Yuan had already contacted Chao Wendao, preparing for a more in-depth investigation.

“Your Illusion Realm... how can it be so sinister?”

Nangong Yuan looked at Lu Ze with hesitation.

Although by a strange coincidence, Nine Serenity Venerable’s collusion with the Demonic Path was exposed;

The horrifying degree of this Ghost Immortal difficulty was simply too exaggerated.

Especially the Illusion Realm within an Illusion Realm design,

Even being outside the Illusion Realm, it still made him break out in a cold sweat.

“Isn’t it useful? It’s just a bit hard on Master.”

Lu Ze replied cheerfully.

Nangong Yuan’s face immediately darkened.

Thinking about himself in the Illusion Realm being instantly killed by the Ghost Buddha under everyone’s gaze, he felt a little unconvinced.

“You’re slandering your Master! How could I be that weak? Can a Ghost Buddha instantly kill me?”

“Cough cough, the Ghost Buddha was lovingly portrayed by a Fragment of the Heavenly Dao...”

“...I just said, the Ghost Buddha isn’t that weak, there’s no need to use so much force to hit your Master...”

“...”

...

...

Nine Serenity Venerable’s live stream caused a huge uproar.

The Ghost Immortal difficulty of “ghost town” immediately became synonymous with “the ultimate horror in the world.”

Regarding Nine Serenity Venerable’s self-talk, seemingly hinting at collusion with the Demonic Path, Lingxiao Sect’s investigation also reached a conclusion.

The “ghost disaster” was indeed the work of the Demonic Path.

Nine Serenity Venerable was also involved, with the Demonic Path promising to lend him the power of a Ghost Immortal to help him Breakthrough his Realm.

As for the investigation method, it was quite simple.

Using an Illusion Realm and disguising himself as the Ghost Buddha, Nine Serenity Venerable even clearly recounted how many times he wet the bed as a child...

...

After regaining his sanity, Nine Serenity Venerable’s reverence for ghosts and evil creatures could not be extinguished.

His proud Soul Cultivator Dao instantly collapsed, and his Cultivation Realm plummeted.

In Tianxuan Continent, when Nine Serenity was mentioned again, he no longer bore the title of Venerable, only the casual after-dinner talk about the dual Illusion Realm that day remained.

...

...

【Task completed!】

【Host successfully accumulated 100,000 points of fright value from Righteous Path Cultivators using evil creatures within thirty days!】

【Task Reward: Breakthrough System upgrade, Demonic Value income coefficient increased】

“Ho, the coefficient can even increase?”

Lu Ze raised an eyebrow.

Good heavens, so this System is pushing him to continue making horror games?

However, horror games probably won't work in the short term, after all, the recently concluded Ghost Immortal difficulty live stream left too great a shock on the Cultivators, no one will dare to seek death and challenge it anytime soon...

“As long as it breaks their defense? Maybe I’ll make a knife game another day...”