Chapter 103: The Origin of Galan Society

By that definition, the members of Galan Society possessed immortal bodies, freed from the limits of flesh and blood. They had mastered the rules of ghosts while retaining their human minds. They enjoyed all the benefits of both the living and the dead.

When you put it that way, what difference was there between them and the immortals of ancient legend?

Gao Tian pondered this. Meanwhile, although he tried his hardest to avoid looking at the scenes below the Phantom Train, he inadvertently caught sight of them from the corner of his eye. The train had already arrived in the skies above the Inner World. Below lay all sorts of indescribable, nauseatingly terrifying stations. Blood Door Village, Corpse-Sewing Alley, and the Old District shrank into tiny dots on the ground, passing by one after another.

"It all started when the President of Galan Society, Xu Yuan, discovered that special Supernatural Item—the Divine Tree," Dead Man's Head continued.

"At a certain station in the Inner World, while Xu Yuan was still alive, he laid eyes upon the great Divine Tree.

"The Divine Tree is a very unique Supernatural Item. Its abilities actually touch upon altering the laws of life and death in this world.

"When a person dies and becomes a ghost, they rapidly lose their original mind and degenerate into a mindless beast. But the Divine Tree is different. First, it acts like a bank, storing the lifespans of the living like deposits.

"Then, after you die, if you want to retain your living mind, you just need to withdraw that lifespan from the Divine Tree. As long as your lifespan within the Divine Tree hasn't run out, you can maintain the consciousness of a living person, completely unchanged from before you died.

"However, the lifespan in the Divine Tree burns away much faster when applied to a ghost. Three or four years of a living person's lifespan will only last about a year when used to maintain a ghost's sanity.

"Once the lifespan stored within the Divine Tree is exhausted, your mind will immediately be swallowed by your ghostly instincts. You will truly become an evil spirit cast down to hell, and you will never be able to recover.

"Therefore, for every ghost transformed by the Divine Tree, a human lifespan is the absolute boundary between life and death. With a mind, you are an immortal; without a mind, you are a beast."

Dead Man's Head brought the topic back to Xu Yuan. "After discovering this secret, Xu Yuan knew he had acquired a Supernatural Item capable of truly changing this era. He might even be able to rely on it to bring the paranormal age to an end.

"Long before he died, Xu Yuan had already stored a massive amount of lifespan within the Divine Tree. After his death, he was the first to be transformed by it. Just as he expected, he retained his memories from life and even gained a new Killing Rule and ghost domain.

"Not only that, he also utilized the Divine Tree in the Inner World to ensure the ghost hunters of Galan Society who died later turned into ghosts with sane minds. Some powerful ghost hunters who died unexpectedly after entering the Inner World were also resurrected by Xu Yuan's Divine Tree, naturally joining Galan Society in the process.

"The resurrected ghost hunters could also use the lifespans they had collected to recruit other ghost hunters who died by accident, making them part of the Divine Tree as well. Through this method, Galan Society snowballed, growing ever larger and stronger.

"As for me, I was a ghost hunter when I was alive. Because I could control the Phantom Train—this special Supernatural Item—and travel between different worlds, Xu Yuan deemed me a valuable existence after my death. He bestowed the life of the Divine Tree upon me, allowing me to be reborn in the form of a ghost."

The sheer shock Gao Tian felt after hearing Dead Man's Head's explanation was immense.

He had never expected that this special group of "ghosts" in Galan Society came about in such a way.

No wonder they were so unique.

Dead Man's Head concluded, "So, I advise you not to think you can just throw your weight around now that you've become a ghost. In a place like the Inner World, it's better to be careful.

"There are some special scenes and Fierce Ghosts down below with Killing Rules that completely exceed your imagination. Just by taking a single glance, you might be dragged down, or even assimilated into a part of some location.

"Trapped down there, your lifespan from the Divine Tree will continue to drain. When the time is up and you still can't escape, you'll lose the Divine Tree's protection and become a true ghost."

At this point, Dead Man's Head patted its chest, its lingering fear palpable.

Seeing even a ghost look so terrified, Gao Tian found it slightly comical.

To sum it up, the members of Galan Society could only be described as beings stuck between ghosts and humans—ability users, perhaps?

Gao Tian truly couldn't find a suitable word, so he could only use "ability users" to describe them for the time being.

One step back, and they would become true Fierce Ghosts. It was just that, under the protection of the Divine Tree, they were constantly hovering on the edge of the abyss.

Since Dead Man's Head had already shared so much, Gao Tian took the opportunity to ask another question about the Divine Tree. "What are those Small Transparent Bottles growing on the Divine Tree?

"Don't mind me asking; I don't even know who turned me into a ghost. After that guy brought me up, he didn't explain a shred of common sense to me. Now I'm left completely in the dark. I actually thought I was just a traditional ghost."

Hearing the words "Small Transparent Bottle," the eyes on Dead Man's Head's thighs revealed a look of envy. "Did Xu Yuan promise to pluck a Small Transparent Bottle and give it to you?

"I really envy you, Brother Memory Ghost. This is the second effect of the Divine Tree. You've truly struck it rich."

Without waiting for Gao Tian to ask, Dead Man's Head continued on its own, "The fruits of the Divine Tree are very bizarre. Every once in a while, it produces a Small Transparent Bottle.

"These Small Transparent Bottles are incredibly precious. As for what's inside them, if you ask me, I don't know, and no one else does either. The contents of each Small Transparent Bottle are completely random.

"If there is any rule at all, it's that for a ghost who plucks a Small Transparent Bottle in front of the Divine Tree, the bottle will automatically generate the item most suitable for you, the thing you need the most at that exact moment.

"This is also how Boss Xu Yuan controls so many ghosts in Galan Society. Galan Society has transformed quite a few peripheral ghost hunters by now. When they were alive, they were all top-tier figures, accustomed to ordering others around. Even though Galan Society saved their lives, how could they submit to Xu Yuan so easily?

"Only those who obey Xu Yuan's commands and help him accomplish important tasks can receive a Small Transparent Bottle as a reward. The unruly and rebellious naturally shouldn't even dream of laying their hands on the Divine Tree's specialty.

"I'm so jealous of you, Memory Ghost. Xu Yuan gave you a Small Transparent Bottle so easily. I have no idea what you did for him. Sigh, when will I ever be qualified to get one?"

'Actually, it wasn't just one Small Transparent Bottle, but two,' Gao Tian noted silently.

Moreover, he hadn't done anything for Galan Society either. On the contrary, he had beaten two of Xu Yuan's juniors to a pulp.

Right at that moment, Gao Tian felt the Phantom Train's gliding speed through the air noticeably slow down. Ahead of him, a massive blood-red tree stood towering between heaven and earth, surrounded by rolling clouds. Its thick trunk was like a snapped pillar of heaven from mythology, savagely piercing the heavy cloud layer and stretching upward. Gao Tian tilted his head back with all his might, yet he still couldn't see its top.

The long Phantom Train lingered around the endless edges of the Divine Tree, forming a stark contrast with the tree's rough bark covered in eerie patterns. From this angle, the massive and ferocious train truly looked like a tiny, wandering bug that had strayed into a realm of giants, clumsily wriggling beneath that living wall forged from flesh and withered bones.

Countless, densely packed dots hung on the surface of the endless bark. From this distance, it was still impossible to see exactly what those little black dots were.

They had arrived at the "Divine Tree" Xu Yuan had spoken of.