Chapter 55: 055 Evil Corpses, Vengeful Ghosts (II)

"You're already dead, so why care about the flesh you wore in life?"

"You're already dead, so why does the vengeful soul still cling?"

Zhao Xingyue lay on the bed, speaking softly as she looked at the blood‑splattered skull beyond the ceiling. Her tone was very calm, revealing no hint of fear.

"I don't want to die, I don't want to die!!!! Senior sister!!!!"

Hearing Zhao Xingyue's words, the voice roared again; his eyeball fell out of its socket, held by a muscle that kept it from dropping, wobbling in the air.

"Sigh."

Zhao Xingyue sighed, turned her head away and no longer looked at the other.

On the ground ahead, Zhao Xingyue saw no bloodied flesh or gore falling from the sky, only a figure seated there. Though the roar and wail of the Third Junior Brother above her were deafening, he remained oblivious—whether he simply didn't hear or chose to ignore it.

The light sphere above him illuminated the small hut, allowing Zhao Xingyue and the Third Junior Brother to see clearly his tattered, blood‑smeared face during their conversation.

Her gaze passed over Wang Wu's silhouette and continued toward the doorway that had no door. In the profound darkness, she could vaguely see something seeming to writhe there.

It might be demons and malevolent spirits roaming the night, or perhaps comrades who have risen from death.

The corpses of one's own companions were left untreated, and dying in such an environment makes corpse transformation almost inevitable.

In fact, if those two monsters chose to devour her companions' bodies, that would be the relatively best solution in the current situation.

Unfortunately, Wang Wu does not eat humans, even just corpses. Wu Er Niang had intended to eat them, but since Wang Wu refuses, she also decided not to.

Even though the inner core has been taken, the corpse remains there.

Even for cultivators, an untreated corpse is far more dangerous than an ordinary person's. Even without an inner core, a real person's corpse remains extremely hazardous.

To be honest, my junior brother has now become this sort of thing, which is already a relatively good situation.

The human face looking down from above belongs to Third Junior Brother Dou Xiu; he is an outstanding entrant among the True Realm disciples who came to Si Hun Shan to explore the former merchant cultivators' caves, not far from the True Realm, likely to breakthrough within ten years.

Among his peers, reaching this level at seventeen is truly exceptional.

However, with Dou Xiu's death, everything vanished like smoke. Now he has become a vengeful ghost in Wang Gu Lin, following his memories from life to seek the sole survivor—her—for retribution.

The leading true cultivator fought desperately to block a True Realm Great Demon, and she led the remaining sect members out toward the outskirts of Wang Gu Lin, yet even then they were intercepted by another True Realm half‑demon.

Demons run rampant in Si Hun Shan; although it was once one of the Sacred Sites of the Great Merchant Dynasty, with countless hidden treasures buried within, cultivators still rarely choose to come here.

Moreover, Si Hun Shan is the largest forbidden ground in Southern Province and the neighboring regions.

Decades ago, imperial troops plowed and swept the Wang Gu Lin of He Dong and He Xi counties, exterminating the forest's monsters. Yet this effort only covered the outer parts of Wang Gu Lin, leaving the areas nearer Si Hun Shan untouched.

"Senior sister, senior sister… Senior sister, do you know, do you know… I actually… I actually…"

The vengeful ghost above still spoke, its tone no longer bitter but tinged with tenderness and affection. Zhao Xingyue still ignored it, yet she let out a slight sigh upon hearing the words.

She knows Dou Xiu likes her, even though he never said so nor showed any favor. Because her having a lover is no secret within the sect.

But some things, you know, cannot be hidden.

Zhao Xingyue closed her eyes, stopped watching the outside, and focused all her attention on the demon pill in her hand, preparing to refine it.

Although her condition seemed worse—she could barely lift even her hand now—her bodily metrics were actually stable and slowly improving.

Moreover, slowly refining that demon pill would further accelerate her recovery.

She hadn't wanted that demon pill before, but Wang Wu still placed it in her hand. This made Zhao Xingyue even more grateful toward him.

As for the vengeful ghost of the Third Junior Brother above, Zhao Xingyue doesn't intend to pay attention; she's now no different from a corpse and can't do much. Moreover, it can't enter; if it could harm her, she would already be dead.

This should be Wang Wu's lair, so it's quite safe, albeit a bit crude and not befitting his status, but Zhao Xingyue doesn't mind.

As for the surrounding environment and the eerie darkness beyond the door, she still has a True Realm cultivator turned vengeful ghost above her demanding her life; the outside stuff matters little.

"Ha ha! It's coming!!!"

But at that moment, an excited voice rang out, pulling Zhao Xingyue out of her refinement. She looked toward the voice's owner, only to find they had already vanished from the spot.

Outside the house, in the deep darkness, Zhao Xingyue saw a massive, vague silhouette, a pair of dark‑red eyes, and above the eyes a golden, prism‑shaped crystal that glittered.

Boom!!

Aaa—...!!...!!!

"Ha ha, just die for me!!!"

Accompanying the man's voice, countless golden bolts of lightning burst across the black night sky, like summer thunder, cracking and exploding.

The light sphere that illuminated the room vanished instantly, but each subsequent flash and each thunderclap lit Zhao Xingyue's world with blinding clarity.

When the first flash illuminated the world before Zhao Xingyue, she could still see Dou Xiu hovering above her; when the world was lit a second time, Dou Xiu's face had vanished without a trace.

Only a voice Zhao Xingyue knew well echoed from the distant darkness:

"Your mother… you actually ripped my roof off??"

After an indeterminate amount of time—maybe a moment, maybe an hour—a thick golden beam of light sliced through the roof's night sky, shooting outward.

After that, the world fell into complete silence. Only intermittent buzzing echoed in the night sky above Zhao Xingyue, growing ever fainter.

Thud, thud, thud

After a while, heavy footsteps approached from afar, stopping at the doorway. Then a golden light sphere flew in from outside, re‑illuminating the interior.

Hearing this, Zhao Xingyue's lingering anxiety eased. A faint smile curled her lips as she closed her eyes again, continuing to refine the demon pill in her hand.

(End of Chapter)