Chapter 555: Eerie

Chapter 555: Chapter 555: Eerie

Once he thought of it, Shen Hao acted. With a flicker of intent, the soul energy in his sea of consciousness swiftly condensed into soul power—something he’d learned from the "Soul Power First Volume·Upper" while undergoing trials in the Sword Emperor’s Tomb. After recent research, he could quickly condense soul power and use it in simple ways.

Soul strength is actually just soul intensity. Shen Hao’s soul intensity already exceeded that of cultivators in the Gathering Spirit Realm; only those in the Primordial Pill Realm could compare. Without reaching the middle stage of the Primordial Pill Realm, one couldn’t claim to have an absolute advantage over him when it came to soul strength.

The cultivation of the mysterious woman in front of him, veiled in black gauze, was a little obscure—likely due to some concealment-type magical skill. But Shen Hao was certain her cultivation hadn’t reached the Primordial Pill Realm. Facing his soul power, she shouldn’t have any room to resist. He’d first restrain her, then take her back for a slow interrogation; he was determined to discover her secrets.

It all happened in an instant. Shen Hao acted on his thought the moment it arose, soul power forming a cover that pressed toward his opponent.

"Lord Shen’s methods truly are formidable. Is this soul power? I never thought someone could master such a thing during the Gathering Spirit Realm."

Unexpectedly, the woman was not the least bit panicked when enveloped by the soul power. With one sentence, she exposed Shen Hao’s technique.

Shen Hao simply snorted, saying nothing. Before pinning down the opponent, he wouldn’t waste words with the enemy. Heart intent manipulated the soul power cover, tightening it—he wanted to see if she could remain so calm after being trapped. He was growing ever more curious about her—able to recognize "soul power" at a glance? This wasn’t some ordinary loose cultivator, surely?

But the one whose mood shifted quickly wasn’t the veiled woman—it was Shen Hao himself.

Despite his invisible, intangible soul power shrinking as ordered, the woman inside didn’t react as he expected and wasn’t firmly subdued.

"Lord Shen, the way you resort to violence at the slightest divergence matches Xuanqing Guard’s style. But do you really think mere ’soul power’ will let you always prevail?"

The woman’s voice remained unemotional and wooden, but her form became bizarre—her body twisted unnaturally under the squeezing soul power, as if all her bones were soft.

Shen Hao furrowed his brow deeply, forced to keep pressing with the soul power as he couldn’t help but ask, "Just who are you?" He had a bad feeling—today, he might not be able to capture her.

"Who I am doesn’t matter. Lord Shen, let me ask one final time: will you sell me that largest piece of Yin Jade? I’ll still offer three hundred thousand taels. What do you say?"

"That’s just an ordinary piece of Yin Jade—good appearance, good for collecting and display. But since you’re so persistent, I suspect it’s not simple. Tell me: what’s special about that Yin Jade?"

"...Lord Shen, you’re courting death, you know?"

"Courting death? Isn’t it you?" Shen Hao made up his mind to let the woman suffer, tightening the soul power cover—especially around her legs. He intended to crush her legs to see if she could really distort her body without limits.

But the result...even after compressing to a space as thin as an arm, her legs should have been mangled, a mass of flesh—but it was like squeezing a sponge. No blood, no flesh, no bone.

This isn’t human. Shen Hao instantly circled through his thoughts and reached his conclusion.

He decisively tightened soul power throughout, compressing her whole body into a ball half a foot in diameter. Yet there was still no blood, flesh, or bone fragments. Then Shen Hao expanded the soul power again—she reverted to her original form.

A humanoid balloon?

Shen Hao stepped closer. He realized this was not a true body, but some kind of puppet-like strange technique. Yet given her logic and speech earlier, it wasn’t a dull automaton—it was able to connect with real cognition, like a Zhenren.

A doppelganger? Or some other term? Shen Hao was unsure, but suspected this technique must be linked to the true body—by what? The soul!

Only the soul is the sole thread connecting "thought."

If this guess is correct, Shen Hao thought he might not be completely passive after all, nor completely powerless against her.

Still, it wasn’t safe to remove the soul power cover—lest something unexpected happen.

"I’m quite curious, what technique is this? Is it a doppelganger? Never mind—you probably won’t tell me, but it’s fine. I’ll keep that Yin Jade and wait for you to come for it."

"That’ll be your death date." The woman’s voice was not just wooden this time, but tinged with a cold killing intent—the emotion finally obvious. It seemed that Shen Hao’s "failure to appreciate her favor" had annoyed her.

Shen Hao grinned, shaking his black-faced fan, moving even closer, sniffing as he said, "Next time, who’ll die—you or me—is hard to say. But this time, I don’t think you’ll get away without leaving something behind."

"Heh, what can you do to me? Use your blade?"

"No, no, no—your methods are peculiar. I worry if I remove this soul power cover, you’ll escape, and then I won’t be able to catch you. But do you really think I have no way to deal with you?" Shen Hao finished and with a flick launched the array disc he’d been using for concealment once more.

This was to shield from the three Guards sent by the Commander’s Office who were secretly watching him. Shen Hao could pin soul power blame on Nie Yun or claim it’s just his exceptional talent. But what he intended to do next must never be discovered.

"You’re not human—only some peculiar magical technique." Shen Hao uttered this unexpectedly, seemingly to the veiled woman but also as if to himself.

As he spoke, Shen Hao was already close to her. With soul power restraining, she was completely immobilized.

Then Shen Hao leaned toward her nose and mouth, as if about to kiss her. The woman was startled—she hadn’t expected Shen Hao to do something like this.

The next instant, her eyes under the black veil suddenly changed, because a pulling force targeting the soul abruptly emitted from Shen Hao’s mouth and acted on her body.

"You... you’re... an Evil Cultivator..."

What does it feel like for the soul to be pulled? Shen Hao didn’t know, but he was aware the opponent would soon lose all resistance, become a puppet on strings, and finally her soul would dissipate.

This was a power given to Shen Hao by the Black Beast Tattoo; it had never failed.

But her half-finished sentence called him an Evil Cultivator? Did Evil Cultivators have similar skills?

Taking advantage of her soul being drawn, Shen Hao quickly released the restraint from her head and tore off the black veil—discovering a face burned beyond recognition, utterly lacking any distinguishing features.