Cultivation by Trial and Error

Having learned the ins and outs of the matter, Chen Hai felt there was something odd about it, but he didn't think it had anything to do with ghosts dragging people away.

Of course, had it been a year earlier, Chen Hai would have likely shared the same thoughts as the onlookers after witnessing such an incident.

But now, after so long spent cultivating the Taoist Skill, his horizons had broadened considerably compared to that time.

He had been wandering aimlessly, trying to lift his spirits.

The desire to join a crowd is human nature.

Chen Hai was quite a swimmer himself, but he merely watched from the sidelines and didn't enter the pond.

It wasn't that he lacked compassion; he simply felt that there were already enough men searching in the pond, and his joining or not wouldn't change anything.

Mingling with the crowd of onlookers, he had already circled the pond a few times.

Sadly, the lay of the land and the flow of water were matters of Feng Shui, and Chen Hai, knowing nothing about Feng Shui, couldn't decipher anything from what he saw.

Now, it was still afternoon, with the sun hanging in the sky.

Even if Chen Hai wanted to use soul departure to search the area, he would have to wait until nighttime.

Time ticked away, and the men searching for Xiaozhi in the pond all hoped to find him and help out.

But after such a long search with not a trace found and recalling similar past incidents, one by one, the men began to climb out of the water.

After all, they were only human; even without doing anything, staying too long in the water would leave anyone feeling exhausted.

Not to mention they had to hold their breath to dive and search the pond depths.

The sun was setting, and dusk was upon them.

By this time, the number of people still searching for Xiaozhi in the pond had dwindled.

Aside from two or three men who persisted, most had already gotten out.

As for Xiaozhi's parents, they remained just as before.

Xiaozhi's mother had already fainted from crying.

Xiaozhi's father was taking care of her.

After all, the trouble that had befallen their son was all but certain, and he didn't want anything more to happen to his wife!

However, now that there were fewer people searching for Xiaozhi in the pond, the man stood up, looking as if he wanted to go down and search himself.

"Look! What is that?" Just at that moment, someone among the onlookers shouted in alarm.

In the very center of the pond, there was clearly something slowly and gradually surfacing from the water.

"It's Xiaozhi! It's Xiaozhi!"

Someone with sharp eyes had recognized the thing floating up from the water and confirmed its identity.

Without any hesitation, the few men still in the water swam over quickly and clumsily pulled Xiaozhi up.

But by this time, Xiaozhi's body was already bloated, dead beyond any doubt.

His condition seemed as if he had been in the water for many days, rather than having fallen in that afternoon.

Especially on his left foot, near the ankle, there was a patch that had turned a blackish hue from bruising.

"It's a ghost's doing, definitely a ghost dragging him away!"

"I knew it, Xiaozhi's accident must have been caused by those demons."

Seeing this scene, the sturdy men exchanged glances, most of them silent.

Instead, some of the seniors, considering themselves experienced and knowledgeable, began to murmur to themselves.

It seemed as though she knew her son's corpse had been found, and although Xiaozhi's mother had been unconscious, she abruptly opened her eyes at this moment.

Like a madwoman, she rushed to the edge of the pond and snatched her son's corpse from the hands of the men.

Then, kneeling on the ground, she hugged the corpse and started to wail and sob.

Yet no tears flowed as she cried, for her tears had already run dry earlier.

"There must be something strange in this pond."

"Could it be the doing of some demon?"

"Since I've cultivated Taoist skills, it looks like I'll need to find some time to go down into the water and take a look!"

Watching Xiaozhi's mother at this moment, Chen Hai couldn't help but think of his own parents, his heart wrenching as if cut by a knife.

Besides, when he had encountered the Snake Demon behind the school the last time, it really hadn't seemed too difficult to deal with.

On the contrary, he had inadvertently devoured the Snake Demon's soul, which propelled him heavenward and into the Night Tour Realm.

With such an experience under his belt, Chen Hai naturally did not hold much reverence for demons.

Once the corpse was found, Xiaozhi's parents were in pain, but they could only go back first.

People began to disperse from around the pond, and of course, Chen Hai did not linger.

After all, it was getting late, and if he didn't go back now, he worried that his parents would give him a good scolding.

After dinner at home, Chen Hai went to his room early.

After his parents had gone to bed, he quietly opened the back door and slipped out.

Since he planned to investigate the pond, tonight was obviously the best opportunity.

After all, as a high school graduate, Chen Hai and his classmates had been given a two- or three-day break, and they would have to rush back to school for self-study the evening after the next.

His soul could now depart his body by a considerable distance.

If he really wanted to use his Soul Body to probe the pond, there was no need for his physical body to go there in person.

But Chen Hai knew that the farther his soul strayed from his body, the weaker its power would become.

Details determine success or failure.

Should there really be something formidable within that pond, he didn't want his carelessness and arrogance to land him in danger.

Arriving near the pond, Chen Hai found a bush to sit cross-legged in.

A chill wind swept by, and his soul burst swiftly from his body, speeding towards the edge of the pond.

With all the cultivation he had done, his soul's current flying speed was many times faster than when he first entered the Night Tour Realm.

As soon as he reached the pond, Chen Hai abruptly stopped.

At that moment, he saw a middle-aged, ugly woman standing in the air above the center of the pond.

Specks of moonlight continuously fell from the void above, entering the body of the ugly woman.

"Who's this boy who dares to spy on me?"

As Chen Hai's gaze fell on the ugly woman, she likewise became aware of his presence.

Ceasing the absorption of moonlight, she bellowed furiously at Chen Hai.