The specter suddenly realized that things had gotten a bit strange.

She had come to ask Fa Wuzun for help, mentally prepared for his refusal or for him to make some unreasonable demands.

But now, Fa Wuzun did indeed make an unreasonable demand, yet he was also paying her three hundred thousand spirit jade.

This was indeed quite unpredictable.

Gritting her teeth, she thought, no big deal, it's not like she's going to lose a piece of herself.

Moreover, while the Spectral Race's spectral runes are secretive, they aren't too confidential; many races have studied their spectral runes. If Fa Wuzun really had his ways, he could totally study the spectral runes through other channels.

After organizing her thoughts, the specter looked at Lu Ye: "If you have any preparations to make, hurry up. We can wait for you here."

Lu Ye shook his head; he had nothing to prepare.

"Then let's begin!" As the specter spoke, she took out an object. Lu Ye focused his gaze and discovered it looked like a leg bone, but entirely white and jade-like. Whether it was made from bone or jade was unclear.

This thing should be the pass to the exclusive scene.

Because the exclusive scene can't be entered directly; you need to acquire a pass from another scene and then use its power to enter.

For instance, during the previous Melee Battle Meet, if a pass to an exclusive scene appeared on the battlefield and was obtained by a cultivator, he could use it to enter the corresponding exclusive scene.

Or like the time when Lu Ye first encountered Chu Shen on that battlefield, there might have been a pass to an exclusive scene as well, but no one searched carefully, and even if it existed, it was missed.

The specter held the spotless jade bone, pouring spirit force into it, and in an instant, a layer of white aura spread out, forming a portal.

"You go in first!" the specter instructed.

Piao Ke said nothing, rushing in first, with Lu Ye following closely behind.

After the two entered the portal, the specter stepped into it as well, and as her figure disappeared, the portal vanished too.

In the not-too-spacious passage, where Lu Ye appeared, he saw Piao Ke just ahead holding a fishing rod about a zhang in length, poised for vigilance.

Lu Ye couldn't help but glance at the rod, his eye twitching. It was his first time seeing such a spirit treasure.

But then again, although he had known Piao Ke for quite some time, they had never fought side by side.

Turning to observe the surroundings, it was as the specter had previously described. It seemed to be an ancient tomb, not damp inside, with its passages like a labyrinth, crisscrossing in all directions. They appeared in a relatively spacious passage.

The light wasn't dim, as there were clusters of ghostly fire-like things floating around, emitting faint light.

One ball of spectral fire floated in front of Lu Ye, and as he reached out to touch it, it floated away like a frightened rabbit.

Lu Ye's movements were swift. Changing his tactic, he caught the spectral fire in his hand.

It wasn't warm; instead, it was chilling to the touch, a layer of frost spreading over his palm.

Lu Ye raised an eyebrow. The spectral fire looked unremarkable but actually had a strange power. He needed to be cautious to avoid getting too much of it on him, or it would be troublesome.

The specter had already explained this, and Lu Ye was just experiencing it firsthand, finding it no different from what was described.

The specter had entered as well, appearing not far from them.

Lu Ye turned to her, "Let's begin!"

He was, of course, referring to observing the specter's spectral runes. Previously in the hall, with people coming and going, it was inconvenient. Now, with only the three of them here, there was no problem.

Moreover, Lu Ye didn't trust the specter much. He had paid a deposit of a hundred thousand, so he needed to sort the spectral runes matter before finishing this mission. Otherwise, once they left, there's no telling if the specter would honor the agreement.

"Why so urgent?" the specter replied begrudgingly.

"Either we start now, or I leave now!" Lu Ye insisted.

"What a hassle!" The specter pouted, glancing at Piao Ke.

Piao Ke showed great awareness: "I'll go scout ahead." He walked ahead and disappeared around a bend.

With just the two of them left, the specter's expression turned shy, as though ants were crawling all over her, looking at Lu Ye: "Just saying, make sure you pay up after you see it!"

"Stop nagging!"

"And, you only get 5 breaths, no more!"

"Twenty breaths!" Lu Ye stared at her.

"Ten breaths, it's non-negotiable!"

After some verbal sparring, they settled on fifteen breaths.

Only then did the specter slowly turn around, showing the back of her head to Lu Ye before taking a few steps forward, stopping. She tilted her head, warning Lu Ye: "Stay right there!"

"Okay," Lu Ye agreed.

Only then did the specter turn her head back, taking a deep breath as if making a very difficult decision. Lu Ye waited quietly, knowing it was not the time to urge her. No matter how cheeky she was, she was still a girl.

After a considerable moment, the specter seemed to have made up her mind, her hands suddenly moving.

The next instant, a light, jade-like back came into Lu Ye's view.

He looked astonished.

Because the woman's forearms and calves were covered with spectral runes, he thought her whole body was covered, but that was not the case.

As the specter activated her power, intricate black lines suddenly appeared on her back, crisscrossing in a complex pattern.

At a glance, there seemed to be traces of Concealment Spirit Runes mixed in, but those lines were undoubtedly much more complex than simple Concealment Spirit Runes.

These were the spectral runes of the Specter Race! What the specter showed was undoubtedly the portion related to concealment, since that was what Lu Ye required.

Although spectral runes were something the Specter Race was born with, each individual's spectral runes were different, influenced by innate factors and cultivation marks.

In Lu Ye's view, the specter's abilities ranked among the top within her cultivation level among the Specter Race, as evidenced by her standing in the Cumulated Points Ranking.

Thus, her Path of Concealment must have its unique aspects.

As the specter activated her concealment spectral runes, she became ethereal. If she wasn't intentionally allowing Lu Ye to see those spectral runes, even they would have vanished.

So what appeared before Lu Ye was only the patterns formed by those intricate lines.

Such a pattern would bewilder any regular cultivator, making their heads spin, but for Lu Ye, it was a rare beautiful sight.

He immediately activated his Insight Spirit Runes to enhance his eyes, observing carefully and memorizing the structure and arrangement of those lines.

This would be the foundational basis for his Talent Tree to deduce Concealment Spirit Runes in the future.

15 breaths of time passed in an instant, and while Lu Ye was still observing, the specter reappeared, already dressed.

She turned with a stern face: "Time's up!"

Lu Ye closed his eyes, deepening the memory of the spectral runes he had just seen.

When he opened his eyes again, the specter extended a small hand in front of him, clearly asking for the remaining payment.

Lu Ye didn't hesitate, transferring two hundred thousand spirit jades to her directly.

The specter beamed with joy.

"You're a combat cultivator, why observe concealment? It's too late if you want to switch to a ghost cultivator," the specter said while counting the spirit jades.

For the first time, she found earning money so easy.

"I also want to observe the breath-concealing aspect of spectral runes!" Lu Ye said.

Concealment and Breath-concealing have always been used together to hide oneself perfectly. Since he gained insights into the Concealment spectral runes, Lu Ye naturally wanted to observe the Breath-concealing ones too.

"No way!" The specter didn't even lift her head.

"The same price!"

"I said no means no!"

"Then name your price!"

"This isn't about the price!" The specter looked up, glaring at him a little annoyed.

Lu Ye suddenly understood.

The specter agreed to let him observe the Concealment spectral runes because they were on her back, so it wasn't much of an issue. Some female cultivators dressed lightly, often exposing much of their backs.

But the Breath-concealing spectral runes were likely in places not suitable for viewing.

If Lu Ye were a woman, it wouldn't matter, but as a man, the specter would never agree. And it really wasn't about the money.

While counting the spirit jades, the specter suddenly seemed to think of something, giving Lu Ye a sultry look: "What if... you marry me, then you can look at me as much as you want!"

She suddenly thought her idea was clever. Fa Wuzun was strong, had a bright future, wasn't bad-looking, and most importantly, he was rich!

If she could marry Fa Wuzun, she wouldn't have to worry about her cultivation and could escape her poor status.

"You're dreaming!" Lu Ye decisively refused.

"Consider it?" The specter was still unwilling to give up.

"Did you forget what you called me before?" Lu Ye gave her a slight glance.

The specter was furious: "Mention that again, and I'll never forgive you!"

Lu Ye turned and walked in the direction where Piao Ke had left, not wanting to continue the argument with her.

Though the transaction was completed, he still needed to fulfill his promise, primarily because Piao Ke was also there. In this vast All Phenomena Galaxy, among the people he knew, he could only consider two as friends.

One was Chu Shen, and the other was Piao Ke.

But Chu Shen was a friend of Fa Wuzun, while Piao Ke was Li Taibai's friend.

The enemy the specter intended to deal with was formidable. If he left, abandoning the specter and Piao Ke, they might not succeed.

Turning a corner, he saw Piao Ke from a distance, using his fishing rod spirit treasure as a club, fighting a group of bizarre creatures.

Yet, it was more of a one-sided massacre than a battle, as the opponents couldn't get close to Piao Ke at all.