CHAPTER 596 THE LAND OF GHOSTS

In most cases, Ricky couldn't care less about what other people thought of him. He liked to do

everything in his own way and turn a deaf ear to others' gossip. But now because this Samson was

Madeline's relative, he had to make some redemption and change his mind about him. It was not for

himself, but for his sworn brother Soar. Since Soar liked Madeline so much, Ricky couldn't just turn

Samson into his enemy.

Of course, Ricky knew that he was the one to blame for the deaths of the many geniuses from the

Nanchao Clan. So on all accounts, he shouldn't turn his back on this matter.

"Alright then, tell me what Martin wants. What makes him so sure that I will definitely go there?" Ricky

asked, having decided not to go against Samson.

"Our clan and warriors from the Golden Leopard Valley call that place the Land of Ghosts. It was

discovered a long time ago by the ancestors of our clan and the Golden Leopard Valley together,"

Samson started answering, sounding much calmer now.

"The Land of Ghosts?" Ricky and the others repeated with a little surprise on hearing the name. They

were startled by the strange name. It was the first time that they had heard about this place, whose

name alone was reeking of danger.

"Then? What's so special about that area?" Ricky asked on, clearly intrigued.

"It is a hidden area on this Land of Legacy and the story says that it is haunted by ghosts. From the

moment that it was found, the ghosts have acquired all of its space. Hence, the area is named after

them." Samson went on telling about it.

"I bet you have heard about the ghost. It is a rather special kind of creature that is either formed

naturally in heaven and earth or evolve from a soul filled with resentment. Usually, it is without any flesh

or bones. Some of them still have psychic intelligence if they were some intelligent creatures before

they died. Some of them are fortunate enough to possess intelligence through long ages. But the rest This belongs to : ©.

of them are just simple forms of life."

"I can see that it obviously deserves the name, and it is also obvious that this is by no means a safe

place. Is there any prize for those who are brave enough to explore the land inspite of the risks? And

most importantly, why was Martin so certain that I would be willing to go to this strange land?" Ricky

inquired, showing more interest.

"You said it. There exists some kind of truly valuable treasures that none of the innate spiritual kings

can resist. It's said that the Enlightening Trees may be found there, and with a bit of luck, one can even

expect to find the Enlightening Fruits on the land," Samson answered.

"The Enlightening Fruits!" Ricky and the others exclaimed excitedly, their faces lighting up at once.

As a matter of fact, luck was something that they surely had these days, for they had just gained the

fourth-level Glazed Fruits that they had craved for. It seemed that their luck hadn't run out, as now even

the Enlightening Fruits had come knocking at their door.

"Well, looks like my reaction has met Martin's expectation," Ricky declared with a smile. "He was right. I

can't resist the temptation of the Enlightening Fruits. No wonder that he was so confident that I would

go."

"However valuable and rare the Enlightening Fruits might be, it is not the crown jewel of the Land of

Ghosts," Samson, however, continued before their excitement wore thin.

"No way! You mean that there are even more valuable things in that area?" Soar and Terrence asked in

unison. It was unbelievable. They couldn't contain their excitement knowing that something even more

amazing than the Enlightening Fruits could be waiting for them.

Even Ricky was filled with more expectations. After all, the Enlightening Fruitst alone were enough to

boost their cultivation greatly. Could there be something even more powerful than that? It was hard to

imagine, but that seemed to be what Samson was trying to say.

"What is it then? What could possibly be more precious than the Enlightening Fruits?" Ricky asked, the

curiosity almost killing him.

Even though he truly was powerful and had proved himself to be a real ace genius, he had merely

reached the level of an innate spiritual king. For him to become the top warrior of this time, there was

still a long way to go. So naturally, he just couldn't miss any precious cultivation resources and rare

opportunities to level himself up. Ricky wanted to go to the Phoenix tribe as soon as possible. And to

achieve this goal, there was no doubt that he was willing to give everything up to experience good

opportunities to improve himself.

"It's a place called the Birthplace of Ghosts," Samson explained. "Our ancestors happened to tread into

this place deep within the Land of Ghosts in one of their expeditions. They further discovered that the

place contained the purest enlightening power for innate spiritual kings—a kind of special and unique

power that they had not encountered anywhere else in the world."

Samson paused for a while and stressed, "If an innate spiritual king could cultivate in that place, he will

be able to make huge breakthroughs in a very short period. There is no doubt about that."

"The Birthplace of Ghosts..." Ricky murmured the name as he listened to Samson's account of the

land.

He tried not to show it, but he actually was immensely curious about this Birthplace of Ghosts. He just

couldn't wait to go and explore this magical place even if there would to be ten warriors as powerful as

Martin waiting for him.

"But here is the major problem, the location of this Birthplace of Ghosts is not fixed. This means that we

just can't expect to find it in the same place every time. So discovering this place is simply luck of the

draw," Samson reminded in the end.

"All I want to say is, while there is no doubt that this place is incomparably wonderful, it would be

unwise to expect too much. After all, the ancestors of our Nanchao Clan have searched the Land of

Ghosts for dozens of times in the last hundred years, but the Birthplace of Ghosts has only shown itself

once."

"Yet you have told us about it," Ricky said with a grin. "If you don't want us to try as much as we can to

find it, why bother telling us how miraculous it is?"

"I don't deny it. The reason I revealed this secret to you is because I want you to go there without

hesitation, so that you would encounter Martin and start a fight. I'd be the happiest if you two would

have a bitter battle and would wound or even end up killing each other," Samson admitted through

clenched teeth, without any intention to conceal his anger.

"It seems to me that you hold a whole lot of prejudices against me, young man. But I'm sure you will

turn around after our travel to the Land of Ghosts this time," Ricky said with a big smile.

"Oh, I hope you can manage to change that," Samson replied with a sour face. "Otherwise, the title

'ace genius' they have given you will be no more than a joke to me, and you will prove that you're

nothing compared to Jasper."

"Ha-ha! Alright!" Ricky burst into laughter on hearing Samson's challenge.

Madeline, on the other hand, felt utterly helpless that her cousin was this aggressive. She knew that he

was indeed a kind-hearted guy, but he just had a hot temper and could be truly stubborn sometimes.

Fortunately, she also knew Ricky very well. She knew that he would not take such things to heart. So

there was still hope that the relationship between these two guys could be improved in the future.

"But let me make one thing clear beforehand," Ricky announced in a more serious tone after he had

stopped laughing.

"Out with it," Samson said with a frown.

"To tell the truth, I don't live by the opinions of others, nor do I give a damn about the comments from

people that have nothing to do with me. So it makes no difference to me whether they think of me as

vile and treacherous or as a decent and righteous man. I honestly don't care at all," confessed Ricky in

all seriousness.

"The reason is simple, I only live for myself and for those that I care about and who care about me. All

my cultivation and all the battles I join are never for people other than those.

So the only reason why I wish you could remove your prejudices against me is that you're someone

important to Madeline. I don't want to create any conflicts between you and her, which is why I need to

prove to you that I meant no harm.

Of course, even if it's not for Madeline, I will still go and fight Martin and his men. But in that case, I will

do it merely for the justice I uphold rather than for changing your mind."

Samson didn't say anything for a while on hearing Ricky's words, but he was pondering over them.

He then exchanged knowing looks with his sister Carley, but it was hard to figure out what they were

trying to say to each other.

Finally, after a few moments of silence, Samson said, "Fine, I want to believe you. I hope you can keep

your promise and change our opinions about you after this trip to the Land of Ghosts.

Honestly, since you appear to be Madeline's friend, we don't want any misunderstanding between us,

either."

"You will see, I'm sure of that," Ricky answered with a genuine smile.

"So now let's get back to the point. When can we possibly get into the Land of Ghosts? Do we need to

get the timing right?" Ricky asked as his face filled with excitement.

"From the earlier trials and experience, I would say that we might get the chance about half a month

later," Samson informed them.

"That's good to know. Alright then, make sure that you two have enough rest on this airship in the

following days. It takes time for your wounds to heal," Ricky suggested.

In the following ten days, the group of people rested and recovered on the airship. After that, they

wasted no time and headed in the direction of the Land of Ghosts.

Soon, they arrived in a mountain area, where the dark energy was lurking around. The moment they

came near that place, a kind of sinking feeling began reverberating in their bones. The entrance to the

Land of Ghosts was hidden somewhere in this eerie and wicked space.

It was waiting for whoever that dared to come, right in the crevice between the two highest mountains

in the middle of the space.