Chapter 364 184: Death Breath Crystal

"Oh? I wonder what kind of materials Master requires. Why not tell my sisters and me? Perhaps we've seen them before." A glint flashed in Mei Ji's eyes when she heard Li Ziyu was troubled over some materials, and she continued in her gentle voice.

The Fox Maidens were far from useless. As members of the Royal Family of the Balfeite Beastman Empire, they stood at the pinnacle of society. They had seen and heard of a great many things, including all sorts of rare and bizarre materials.

Back in the Balfeite Beastman Empire, the Fox Race had accounted for half of the great Merchants. They were not only intelligent but also worldly and knowledgeable.

Mei Ji's words made Li Ziyu realize something. 'Just because I don't know doesn't mean no one else does. I have millions of Ghosts from all sorts of Empires. Maybe they'll know!'

'Even if too much time has passed for them to find the two resources, they could at least give me a picture. Once I know what the things look like, I can have Zhang Peng and Liu Xingxing help me search.'

'Tsk, my brain's gone rigid. I'm not thinking flexibly at all.'

"The two materials I need are Soul Crystals and Death Breath Crystals. Do you know of them?" Li Ziyu asked, looking at Mei Ji expectantly.

Mei Ji froze at his words and blinked. "I'm not too sure about Soul Crystals, but as for Death Breath… We Ghosts have Death Breath. It's just in a gaseous state. We don't have the Death Breath Crystals that Master needs."

'Hm?'

'Huh?'

'That's right!'

'Death Breath… don't Ghosts have that?'

To a Ghost, Death Breath was as common as air is to a Human. Their bodies were constantly enveloped in an aura of it.

The reason a Ghost's body was as cold as a block of ice was largely thanks to Death Breath. Furthermore, it could interfere with a person's emotions. If a Ghost lost control and let their Death Breath spread, it would cause people to feel an unconscious sense of dread, even leading to hallucinations of their greatest fears.

'Now that I have a source of Death Breath, I just need to do some research. I'm sure I can figure out how to create Death Breath Crystals!'

Li Ziyu slapped his forehead, growing excited. He finally had a solid lead on one of the materials.

"Mei Ji, release some Death Breath. I want to see if I can get it to condense!" Li Ziyu said excitedly.

Mei Ji hesitated for a moment, but seeing the excitement in Li Ziyu's eyes, she gave a charming smile and nodded. She retreated a few meters and slowly exhaled.

Li Ziyu watched Mei Ji with a grin, and she watched him right back. The two held each other's gaze for a full minute.

"So, where's the Death Breath?" Seeing that Mei Ji wasn't doing anything, Li Ziyu couldn't help but ask.

"I already did it. Didn't I just exhale a moment ago?" Mei Ji blinked, explaining in a low voice.

Li Ziyu: ...

He then recalled that Mei Ji had indeed exhaled a moment ago. He hadn't been paying attention, but that was apparently the moment she had released the Death Breath.

"One more time. I wasn't ready," Li Ziyu said to Mei Ji, scratching his head.

Mei Ji nodded. After Li Ziyu gave the signal, she once again slowly exhaled.

This time, Li Ziyu saw it clearly. The breath that streamed from Mei Ji's cherry-red lips was tinged with a faint, grayish-black color. Perhaps because the amount of Death Breath was so small, the grayish gas dissipated almost instantly upon contact with the air.

He waited, but the system gave no notification.

'Is it because I'm too far away? That makes sense. Mei Ji didn't exhale much Death Breath to begin with, and we're several meters apart. It must be difficult for the system to collect it.'

"Mei Ji, come forward. Get a little closer," Li Ziyu said, beckoning to her.

Mei Ji drifted forward a few steps and looked up at Li Ziyu.

"Still no good. It's too far. Come stand right in front of me," Li Ziyu said, shaking his head and pointing to the spot before him.

"Master, you have a Human body. Coming into contact with Death Breath will be bad for you," Mei Ji said, hesitating for a moment before cautioning him.

"Hmm, a small amount of exposure shouldn't be a problem. Come here," Li Ziyu insisted after a moment of thought.

'It's just an experiment, anyway. Talking about toxicity without considering the dose is just fearmongering. I refuse to believe Mei Ji can kill me with a single puff of Death Breath. If she had that kind of power, wouldn't Ghosts be invincible?'

Mei Ji didn't insist further and floated directly in front of Li Ziyu.

"Alright, let's try it," Li Ziyu said, waving his hand.

Mei Ji carefully exhaled, and wisps of grayish-black, smoke-like Death Breath drifted out.

Being so close, Li Ziyu saw it with perfect clarity this time, and the sensation was much more intense.

'Cold. So damn cold!'

It felt as if he were standing in a walk-in freezer. The chill made Li Ziyu shudder, and his mind grew foggy for a second. He even felt a strange, inexplicable wave of depression wash over him.

As the Death Breath dissipated into the air, everything returned to normal. Li Ziyu stood there, stunned. The system still hadn't given any notification.

'What's going on? Why isn't there a notification from the system? Without the system's help, how am I supposed to collect Death Breath and condense it into Death Breath Crystals?'

Without Li Ziyu having to say a word, Mei Ji could read the outcome on his face. She quietly moved to stand by his side.

'Death Breath Crystal… Death Breath Crystal… I've found a source of Death Breath, but how do I turn it into a crystal?'

Li Ziyu's earlier excitement vanished, replaced by a growing sense of frustration.

"Master! Master!"

Just then, Spirit Maiden floated in front of Li Ziyu, calling out in a bright, clear voice. Spirit Maiden was different from the other three Fox Maidens. She had the look of a pure and innocent schoolgirl, with a touch of charming naivety. Moreover, the girl was quick-witted and anything but cold or aloof. She could get along with everyone and was the group's ray of sunshine.