During the time the Ghost Gate is open, there are three ways to earn activity points.
The first: scaring ghosts.
Yes, you read that right. You scare them. It sounds simple in theory—after all, they're just monsters, right? But in reality, this is the most difficult method. If you do manage to scare a ghost, you'll receive 100 activity points.
Sounds worth it—until you try.
Because almost no one succeeds. And the few who do? Never share how.
The second: being scared by ghosts.
That's right—when a ghost catches you off guard, and you genuinely jump or flinch, you get one point.
Of course, it's not that easy. The scare only counts if the ghost actually startles you. Not some weak fake jump-scare either. No, the system knows. It's a sudden-appearance, pants-wetting, "I'm gonna die" kind of fright that counts.
And since everyone knows ghosts are around, it's surprisingly hard to get caught unprepared.
The third method is more conventional: kill ghosts.
The ghosts that emerge from the Ghost Gate are neutral mobs—until you attack them. Once you do, they fight back.
Defeat one, and you get XP as normal, but more importantly, you gain points equal to 1% of the XP you earned from that ghost. So if the ghost gives 100 XP? You get 1 point.
Nice and simple. And very, very grindy.
These three activities continue until the early morning of the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month. At that point, all ghosts return through the Ghost Gate, and two brand-new events begin.
The First Event: Soul River Lanterns
A mystical river, invisible before, will appear. Players can spend their activity points to buy lanterns (price range: 1–10,000 points) and float them on the Soul River for a chance at a random reward.
More expensive lanterns offer higher chances of rare items—but nothing is guaranteed. It's all RNG, baby.
The Second Event: The Wrath of the Ghost King
Apparently, the Ghost King's not too happy we've been murdering his kin. So, a bunch of his clones will descend on various regions across the Dragon Kingdom.
These clones are tanky, but their attacks are pitiful. Anyone can help attack them using activity-point-purchased tools. In return, players earn back 0.1–2× the cost of the attack item, plus a contribution-based reward if the clone is slain.
Once both events conclude, the system opens the Point Exchange and Point Lottery, where players can redeem their hard-earned points for rare gear, mounts, and other riches.
Wang Xian knew all of this like the back of his hand. He'd played through the Zhongyuan Festival in his previous life. He remembered everything—except for how the hell you were supposed to scare a ghost.
He'd tried. Many times.
Once, he crawled under his blanket hoping to prank a ghost only to lift the quilt and see a grinning, green-faced spirit staring back.
Another time, while hiding in a corner hoping to ambush a passing ghost, a hand had tapped him on the shoulder and a voice said, "Hey, buddy, what are we doing?"
He nearly died.
Once he even opened a pot of food and—bam—a ghost was stewing in it.
No, scaring ghosts was a lost cause.
But the other events? Very profitable.
The ghosts may be a logistical headache for the Dragon Kingdom, but for players? The Zhongyuan Festival was one of the best opportunities to level up fast and earn big.
Now with only two days left until the festival started, Wang Xian wasn't about to waste time. He took his parents and Su Jin to the Wetland Park to level up.
His dad, now a [Warrior]. His mom, a [Priest]. And Su Jin? A [Mage] with a mythical talent that basically made her a walking loot piñata.
After boosting them all to level 10, Wang Xian sent them home.
It was now the 31st of the sixth lunar month. Noon.
Only eight hours until the Ghost Gate opened.
Wang Xian hopped onto his trusty electric tricycle and made his way into the city. He was off to pick up Cheng Yao, just as promised.
Originally, he had planned to let her ride her own motorcycle. But she messaged him saying she was with her cousin and four of her cousin's friends—could Wang Xian take all six of them leveling?
After thinking about it, Wang Xian agreed. Ten players made a full party anyway. Besides, bringing Cheng Yao's cousin would earn him some brownie points.
She asked, "Do you have a car?"
Wang Xian replied: "Of course."
"Can it seat six?"
"No problem," he said confidently.
So now, Wang Xian rolled slowly into the plaza near Taibai Tower, where Cheng Yao and her party were waiting.
Cheng Yao's jaw dropped. "Uncle… You call this a car?"
Wang Xian blinked at her from the driver's seat of his electric tricycle. "Isn't it?"
Cheng Yao's face was black. "Technically yes. But you… you're actually going to drive us in that?"
"Why not?" Wang Xian shrugged.
"…No problem," Cheng Yao said through gritted teeth. "Wait here."
A few minutes later, five more people approached—three women and two men. All young, all good-looking, all decked out in decent early gear.
Their expressions when they saw the "car"? Identical to Cheng Yao's.
But Wang Xian wasn't paying attention to the tricycle's haters.
He was too busy staring at one of the women, stunned.
He recognized her.
He recognized all three women.
In his past life, they were senior members of one of the top guilds in the entire Dragon Kingdom—Fengwu Jiutian.
And one of them… was Nangong Wu herself.
The [Mage Queen] of the Dragon Kingdom.
President of Fengwu Jiutian.
The #1 Mage in the country.
And now, she was about to get into his tricycle.
Wang Xian's lips curved upward.
Let the Ghost Festival begin.