Chapter 197: Solving Sawyer's Information

Jiali’s black hair whipped wildly as surging power radiated outward.

Watching the house being painstakingly crushed and destroyed inch by inch, Jiali’s eyes showed not a flicker of emotion.

Even as Emma and the others below were speaking, she pretended not to hear, instead increasing her telekinetic output.

Among all of them.

The most loyal to Louis were she and Maria, but Maria’s personality was fractured—even after her transformation, it remained incomplete, easily influenced by outsiders.

Just like now, unable to resist her best friend’s coaxing, she reluctantly agreed.

But Jiali was different.

She had truly undergone a baptism.

Weakness, indecisiveness, fear—all had fled from her, leaving only calmness, cruelty, and resolve.

Louis was in seclusion, a time when stability was essential; any mishap would only bring him trouble. They existed as aids, not burdens.

Though she and Emma were close, Jiali, now awakened, knew full well Emma’s nature was vile, so despite their bond, she ignored Emma’s wishes.

Facing this so-called adventure, she struck first from afar.

No matter what curses, hidden powers, or powerful spirits lurked inside—destroy the dwelling itself. Demolish it!

Erase it at its root.

What can you do?

Faced with Jiali’s immense telekinesis, capable of restraining demons, the deep-seated power within the destroyed house finally manifested at this moment.

A malevolent force began to stir.

Emma and the others fell silent, watching solemnly as thin streams of black mist slowly rose from the ruins.

Simultaneously, flies emerged from the young man’s body, instantly coalescing into a black wind column that flew back into the house, merging with the black mist.

In an instant, the number of black flies surged dramatically.

The spectacle was truly immense.

Below, Emma and the others began their own actions.

Flames ignited in midair and shot forth.

But Jiali, hovering above, carefully sensed with her telekinesis—just as Ailan had said, this house was strange; the swarm of flies seemed unable to leave the circle encompassing it.

Trapped?

No, its power source was also this house and the land beneath.

Earthbound spirit?

Jiali, taught by Louis, thought this.

If so…

Hummm!!!

Ripples flashed across the sky as a massive semi-transparent hand descended directly from above.

Boom!

The immense pressure whipped up a vortex that extinguished the flames.

Emma and the others stumbled backward in disarray.

The swarm of flies in midair was crushed clean by this force, each one dying instantly—yet leaving no physical flesh or blood, instead dissolving into streams of black mist that began to coalesce again.

“Hmph!”

This time Jiali extended both hands.

She slammed them together!

Crack!

A thunderous roar, as if heaven itself had shifted, shook the already ruined house, shattering it further—so powerful that even the foundation cracked under the force, fissures spreading across the ground.

The endless depths beneath were exposed.

The corpse buried below was obliterated by Jiali’s terrifying power, reduced to dust.

Boom!

The black mist, now shaped into a giant fly, let out a piercing shriek and plummeted straight from midair.

It reformed into a human figure, twisted and contorted, writhing on the ground.

Finally,

It opened a mouth full of black voids and roared toward the sky.

Splash!

It exploded completely, dissolving into nothingness.

Jiali silently assessed: an earthbound spirit, within the house’s range, barely possessed the power of a high-tier demon—but its limitations were severe; once the vessel housing its power—the corpse or object—was destroyed, it perished outright.

Snap!

Jiali landed on the ground and walked straight toward the fissure.

Emma and the others below were stunned.

No wonder Louis took only Jiali and left them behind—this was a clear, undeniable gap in raw power!

They were already on two entirely different levels.

Destroying houses, collapsing earth, splitting ground.

A demon that didn’t seem weak had been brutally eliminated.

If it had been them, they’d have cautiously explored, then fought a long, grueling battle to win, wouldn’t they?

But…

While simple, this robbed them of the very purpose of their adventure.

There was no joy in it at all.

Emma looked dejected but didn’t confront Jiali; instead, she wondered whether she should pressure Louis harder, hoping that after breaking through to Yin Spirit, she could challenge Jiali.

Maria and Madison beside her wore different expressions—Maria, at least, sighed in relief; she’d been torn and conflicted, and now someone had made the decision for her.

Madison, however, snorted coldly, finding Jiali increasingly irritating.

Yet inwardly, she wondered: her own awakened power seemed somewhat similar to Jiali’s?

Both were formless forces—though the strength gap was vast—but perhaps she too could grow stronger in time, one day becoming like her.

At this moment,

“Juliette!” Patricia shouted, rushing over to check on her sister and brother—thankfully, Jiali had shown restraint; both were unharmed.

But their home…

Nancy beside her felt awkward: the exorcist she’d summoned had destroyed her friend’s house—what should she do now? Urgent!

Meanwhile, Jiali, who had destroyed the house, now stood at the fissure’s edge, staring at the rotted coffin below and the remains she had turned to dust, her eyes flickering.

Bone dust gathered, forming a gray-white sphere the size of a fist—within it, a faint but discernible power lingered.

Clearly, the demon had not been fully extinguished.

Jiali turned, the gray bone sphere floating silently behind her.

She approached Patricia, looked at her brother, and said coldly, “We will compensate for the house. Also, your brother can still be saved—but only after Louis emerges.”

Patricia, who had been agitated, instantly calmed.

This might be the best outcome.

After all, her brother still had hope, and the house could be compensated—her only loss was a fright.

She took a deep breath, stood, and bowed deeply to Jiali. “Thank you immensely for your help.”

Jiali said nothing, turned to Emma. “We should return.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

After they left,

Patricia’s mother returned from work to find her home gone—but thankfully, Patricia and the others were unharmed.

And they told her good news.

Hearing her son’s vegetative state might be treatable, and seeing the destroyed house, she sighed and abandoned the thought she’d long harbored.

She had always known the house was strange.

She had brought the children here deliberately.

……

While Louis was in seclusion,

In a certain southern state,

The aged Native American high priest—Red—now walked with his cane, heading north.

Passing through a small town, he sniffed faintly, as if catching a scent, and his face broke into a smile.

He changed direction, heading toward the town.

Along the town’s road, the place appeared slightly desolate; as Red walked toward the highway, people watched him coldly, unsure what they were observing.

Red followed the road to the edge, where a dilapidated estate stood.

The bloodstained odor here was strongest.

“Heh, so this is it. Many cannibals, yet none have become Wendigos. Interesting. Let me lend a hand.”

His aged arm twitched slightly, shattering the steel gate outright as he walked inside.

At that moment, a servant emerged from the estate, immediately on guard. “Who are you?!”

“This is the Sawyer family estate—leave immediately! Or we’ll call the police!”

The Red remained unmoved, glancing at their weapons and smiling faintly.

The next moment.

All the servants froze stiff, their eyes dimming as if they had fallen into deep sleep.

He walked right into the estate.

He saw the estate’s sole master—an old woman with white hair, looking as if she had little time left.

“Cough—cough—”

The old woman looked at The Red; though nervous, she maintained her composure.

“Who are you?”

“Oh, mistress of this place—you shouldn’t be asking me that question.”

“After all, you have more important matters to attend to.”

“Call forth your descendants.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. I’m the only one left here. Our Sawyer family has been destroyed by the townspeople.”

The Red couldn’t help but laugh, “I didn’t expect you to tell a dark joke.”

“I’ve already smelled the blood on you, heard the wails of the dead souls. So you’re a cannibal family, then.”

Without even glancing at the old woman’s horrified face, The Red walked toward a certain direction. “Fine. Since you won’t cooperate, I’ll find them myself.”

The old woman opened her mouth to speak—but froze rigid.

Leaning on his cane, The Red quickly found a door leading downward.

Creak—

He opened the door and stepped underground.

Below lay another iron door, tightly sealed, covered in bloodstains, radiating terror.

The Red tapped his cane lightly.

Boom!

A large hole was punched clean through the lock; the entire iron door shattered open, groaning as it slowly swung apart.

Revealing the bloody chamber within.

Strips of cleanly sliced meat, severed heads, intestines, bones—all meticulously prepared, like the work of a professional butcher.

In the center stood a towering, obese, muscular man over two meters tall, clad in a white chef’s uniform, his face stitched together with grotesque skin, eyes vacant.

In his hand he held a cleaver, staring blankly at The Red.

The Red burst into laughter. “Good! Good! Good!”

“Excellent material!”

“Cannibal bloodline, naturally mutated. In the old days, you’d have been worthy to compete for the title of Great Warrior of our tribe. Too bad your mind’s weak. Oh well—just another nuisance for the whites.”

“Let me lend you a hand.”

“Great Wendigo!”

…

Rebirth Prison.

Inside the alloy room.

A figure sat cross-legged, each breath drawing in mysterious power into his body.

Behind him, a vague, larger shadow—similar in form and face—flickered in and out of view.

Gradually, with each breath, it grew more solid.

It was Louis.

Several months had passed since he entered seclusion. During this time, he gained greatly: after each day’s cultivation, he studied spellcraft; when spellcraft stalled, he refined magic treasures.

He cycled through these three tasks.

As for mundane matters like eating and drinking, he ignored them entirely, only attending to them occasionally.

He had utterly abandoned any sense of time, devoting himself entirely to cultivation—this was seclusion at the Yin Spirit level.

After months, his gains were substantial: his Yin Spirit had solidified another two-tenths, reaching four-tenths solidity.

Not insignificant progress—but he knew well that the higher one ascends, the harder it becomes.

He planned to issue orders for his family to gather some monster corpses for testing.

Perhaps he could use the Blood River Pearl to prematurely forge a Blood Elixir, aiding his cultivation.

He had also made progress in magic treasures and spellcraft.

The Centipede Bag and the Corpse Cultivation Coffin had been successfully forged—but each bore only one seal, requiring further meticulous consecration.

Of the Three Yin Spirit Spells, he had already successfully infused his body with Cold Wraith, leaving only the remaining Soul Wraith.

“Not enough. I can still improve. I’m far from ready to end this seclusion.”

Louis murmured to himself.

The sensation of quietly strengthening his power was wondrous—he didn’t want to stop yet.

He reached out.

A phone in the corner flew to him, displaying several text messages.

Louis glanced at them.

“Hmm. Grandpa’s health is excellent—he’s re-entered family affairs. Expansion is proceeding smoothly under his direction. Good. My Coffin-Birthday Fengshui Array wasn’t wasted.”

“Hmm? Emma—still restless, as expected. Well, perhaps it’s not all bad. After this, she’ll finally understand the gap between herself and true power.”

“Jiali, however—firm-willed, powerful, utterly loyal. She’ll make my best future disciple.”

“Asks me to help her brother after I emerge? I have no time for that.”

“A conscious vegetative state clearly means the soul is suppressed. Bring her before the Kitchen God statue and have her drink ash-water—might work.”

“The Consumer Company is thriving. Four of the Eight Generals of Qianmen have been assembled. Jordan has already amassed tens of millions in USD and is expanding further. Well done.”

“The Warrens are fine? Still no contact with Annabelle? Hmph. Time hasn’t come yet.”

Though in seclusion, Louis hadn’t lost his channels to the outside world—these updates were his primary concern.

Then Louis issued his orders.

Mobilize family resources to hunt or purchase monster corpses with physical forms.

Yin Spirit solidification requires the power of Blood Elixir.

After completing this, Louis returned to stillness, sinking once more into cultivation.

This seclusion would surely be long.

(End of Chapter)