Chapter 96 - 89: Resources Secured

Chapter 96: Chapter 89: Resources Secured

"Such a troublesome human."

"Don’t let me catch you next time, or I’ll kill you a thousand times over!"

SWOOSH.

The speaker turned and left.

She walked with a limp, her gait quite awkward.

However, this didn’t affect her speed in the slightest, even with an ankle swollen to twice its size.

One step.

Two steps.

...

Soon, she stopped in front of a house.

The courtyard gate stood open, funeral banners fluttering in the wind. A coffin lay in the center of the yard—a funeral was underway.

"This place isn’t somewhere just anyone can find."

"Even if you can see through illusions and resist the hallucinogenic effects."

A slight smile played on her lips as she walked in, step by step, heading straight for the coffin. With considerable effort, she pried it open. Seeing what was inside, her smile grew even wider. "Good thing I had a trick up my sleeve."

"Otherwise, I really would have died in that last explosion."

"That human would have actually gotten her way!"

A closer look revealed this person to be none other than Zhu Fangfang.

She wasn’t dead.

No.

To be precise, she had died long ago. Before Xia Yu had even entered the village, she had been separated from the others and turned into a Ghost Slave. She had been following Xia Yu as a Ghost Slave ever since.

It had never made a move.

This was all because Xia Yu’s performance had been too outstanding, making the Soul-eating Ghost extremely curious. ’Just how strong is this woman?’

Originally, it had been very confident.

’With so many powerful Ghost Slaves under my command, plus a ghost artifact, wouldn’t killing Xia Yu be a piece of cake?’

So, it had always treated this as a game.

But when it saw Xia Yu instantly kill the Widow, then blow up the woman in the bridal gown and destroy the great red bridal sedan without so much as a scratch, it realized the situation was out of its control.

By then, however, it was too late for regrets.

Later, when Xia Yu was carrying Zhu Fangfang, she was unarmed, so there was no opportunity for a sneak attack.

Then, Xia Yu detonated a Crystal Core once more. The ghost suffered a devastating blow; its main body disintegrated, and its soul scattered.

If Zhu Fangfang hadn’t been far enough away, even the wisp of its ghost soul hiding in her head would have likely been annihilated. If that had happened, it would have been truly and utterly dead.

Even so, this wisp of a soul was extremely unstable and on the verge of collapse at any moment.

That was why it had come here!

"The Soul Spirit Jade."

Zhu Fangfang bent down and picked up a Jade Pendant from inside the coffin. It felt cool to the touch. Her soul, which had been on the verge of collapse, was instantly stabilized. ’With this, I have what I need to return to my Peak!’

Hm?

The moment the Soul Spirit Jade lay in her palm, a deep sense of unease washed over her.

WHOOSH.

The sound of something slicing through the air rang out.

Zhu Fangfang was extremely familiar with this sound—no, it was the Soul-eating Ghost who was familiar with it, having been shot at like this many times before.

"No!"

"You treacherous human!"

PFFT.

The words had barely left her lips when her head was pierced through.

The ghost soul hidden within was instantly annihilated.

The Soul-eating Ghost was, at last, completely dead!

In its final moments, it was utterly bewildered.

It made sense that Zhao An had been exposed. After all, his actions had been under its direct control, driven by the clear goal of trying to separate Xia Yu from the others.

But why had Zhu Fangfang been exposed?

After Zhu Fangfang became a Ghost Slave, it had let her act freely, completely in line with her original personality, never interfering. It only dared to take direct control of Zhu Fangfang after Xia Yu had supposedly left.

Unfortunately, it would never get the chance to puzzle that out.

THUD.

Zhu Fangfang’s body, now just a corpse, fell heavily to the ground and lay still.

STEP.

Xia Yu strode in, a weight lifting from her heart.

’Finally, it’s over!’

Looking at Zhu Fangfang’s corpse, her eyes flickered as she recalled her train of thought:

’First, suspicion.’

’Zhu Fangfang’s behavior was far too composed for an ordinary person, too rational, especially considering she was facing the Ghost Clan! Of course, people like that do exist, but it was a red flag.’

’Second, confirmation.’

’The Yin Qi on Zhu Fangfang changed too quickly. When a normal person stays in a place with dense Yin Qi for a long time, they get tainted by it, but the process is very slow. A Ghost Slave is different. For them, the process is rapid—the difference is obvious.’

’If a Ghost Slave stays in a place with dense Yin Qi for too long, they gain some of a ghost’s abilities.’

’For example, Little Flower could manipulate Yin Qi.’

’The Widow could manipulate corpse qi.’

’Even after confirming Zhu Fangfang was a Ghost Slave, I still didn’t make a move. I wanted to see what the Soul-eating Ghost was planning. This came from absolute confidence in my own strength.’

’Third, the gamble!’

’This Soul-eating Ghost was clever; it wouldn’t be killed so easily. And yet, I definitely sensed its main body being destroyed. That was clearly a feint to mislead me.’

’There had to be a remnant soul!’

’So, where was it?’

’I was gambling.’

’Gambling that the Soul-eating Ghost’s remnant soul was inside Zhu Fangfang’s body!’

’And gambling that it would most likely prioritize finding this place’s Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to heal itself! After all, finding those treasures on my own would be too difficult, and I was running out of time.’

’That’s why, at the end of the battle, I deliberately said what I said and made a show of leaving the village.’

’In reality, it was all to give the Soul-eating Ghost the illusion that it was safe.’

’Then, secretly, I circled back and followed it.’

’I won the gamble!’

PHEW.

Letting out a breath of relief, Xia Yu fixed her gaze on the Soul Spirit Jade, unable to hide her delight. "A Soul Spirit Jade. I never expected this."

"This haul is far better than I imagined."

The Soul Spirit Jade was a type of Spirit Jade, and it was extremely rare.

Even powerful beings from a Different Dimension Space were not guaranteed to obtain one.

This was simply because its supply was so incredibly limited.

The Ghost Clan adored it and would often nurture it with their own energy. The longer it was nurtured, the better its effects and the longer they would last.

Its functions were to:

Nourish the soul.

And stabilize the soul.

A moment ago, the Soul-eating Ghost had intended to use it to stabilize and nourish its soul, thereby recovering its strength.

If a human were to wear it, it would have the same effect: stabilizing their soul, nourishing it, and increasing its overall strength.

Beyond that, the Soul Spirit Jade had another huge advantage, which was the main reason for Xia Yu’s pleasant surprise: it was reusable!

Even if its power faded, a ghostly being could simply nurture it again to restore its effects.

She bent down and picked it up.

It was cool to the touch, and Xia Yu felt an indescribable sense of comfort wash over her soul. She did a quick mental calculation: this jade’s soul-nourishing and soul-stabilizing effects would last for about three months.

She hurriedly put it away in a spare Jade Box to prevent its power from leaking.

’Good thing I brought an extra one this time, or I’d be out of luck. Next time I go on a Mist Event, I have to bring more Jade Boxes, just in case.’

"Hm?"

Just then, Little Flower floated over, communicating its desire for the Soul Spirit Jade.

Xia Yu refused without a second thought.

’This is a treasure I risked my life to get for my little brother. How could I possibly give it to someone else?’

’I wouldn’t even bear to use it myself!’

"Absorb all the Yin Qi here, and you should be able to complete your second transformation, right? That’s already a huge prize for you."

"Don’t be too greedy."

Xia Yu sat cross-legged to mend her injuries and wait for the Mist Event to end.

She showed great restraint in this regard: though she knew the coffin was a powerful ghost artifact, far beyond what Little Flower could handle, she had still decisively chosen to leave it.

It wasn’t something she could subdue, and at her current level, it wouldn’t be of much use anyway.

Little Flower gave up, but it still coveted the jade.

After all, the allure of the Soul Spirit Jade was simply too great.

With that, it went back to greedily absorbing the surrounding Yin Qi to continue its second transformation.

...

...

「Mengyuan Bar.」

The area was shrouded in mist, drawing the attention of many. People who had been planning to visit the bar and random passersby all stopped in their tracks to stare at the scene.

They took out their phones.

Took pictures.

Recorded videos.

Posted to their social media feeds.

Uploaded to all the major platforms.

Just as the posts started trending,

they were deleted, and the accounts that posted them were banned.

The buzz dropped to zero.

Immediately after, a large number of official warriors swarmed the area. They quickly set up a cordon, clearing all personnel from a three-kilometer radius. With onlookers unable to get close, no more footage could be taken, and the source of the leak was choked off.

Before long,

the anomalous mist began to dissipate.

Everyone stood by, on high alert, holding their breath.

When the mist had vanished completely,

STEP.

A tall figure emerged from the entrance of Mengyuan Bar, walking out step by step with her hands raised high in the air...