Chapter 36: Floating as if Immortal, Satisfied Chen Mo!

The sudden pop-up notification made Chen Mo pause in surprise.

The little maid who had just been serving him his bath now had her vital energy surging, a green light blooming at her third eye, faintly revealing a miniature scripture.

As the pages turned, characters surged forth, coalescing into chains that bound the black mist in place.

"Lord of the Throat, Tiger Guard, Qi guides the saliva… Hey, don't zone out—I can't hold him much longer!"

The little maid cried urgently.

The black mist churned violently, struggling fiercely, the green light flickering erratically.

Chen Mo suppressed his shock for now, gathering life essence in his palm and striking the black mist from afar.

The faceless man knew this essence was the ghostly qi's nemesis; he dared not meet it head-on, opened his mouth and sucked the entire black mist into his belly, revealing his true form—a fat, greasy giant.

He pressed his fingers together like a blade and plunged them unhesitatingly into his chest, slicing downward to rip open his own torso!

No blood flowed from the wound; instead, countless faint ghostly lights glowed densely.

Like the eyes of a ferocious beast, they sent chills down the spine.

"Without the Soul-Calling Banner, I've had to nurture ghosts with my own body, feed them with flesh and blood, endure the agony of a hundred ghosts gnawing at my heart day and night!"

"Three years—do you know how I've lived these three years?!"

"Since you stole my treasure, let you experience the torment of being devoured by vengeful spirits!"

Seeing he couldn't escape, the faceless man's ferocity surged.

This was beneath the Son of Heaven's feet, where experts gathered in droves—he must end this swiftly; if he drew the attention of a Grand Master, even wings couldn't save him!

He thrust both hands into his chest and tore them wide apart—instantly, dark winds howled, countless pitch-black shadows shrieked as they lunged at Chen Mo, while the faceless man's bloated body deflated like a leaking balloon.

The little maid watched this scene, her face ashen.

"Commanding a hundred ghosts, devouring souls and seizing spirits… Watch out—he's a Fifth-Rank Ghost Envoy! Don't let those spirits latch onto you!"

As a sorcerer, she often dealt with souls, but only to capture wandering ones.

Wandering souls were the lingering fragments of dead humans' attachments—unconscious, drifting through heaven and earth; unless attached to an object, they dissipated within days.

But ghostly entities were entirely different—usually born from corruption or forged from living souls, they were fiercely violent, feeding on living flesh and souls, and even possessed bizarre, sinister abilities!

Chen Mo's strength was exceptional among his peers, but he hadn't yet condensed his Martial Soul—he had no capacity to resist a hundred ghosts gnawing at him…

Yet before she could finish speaking, in the space of a breath, Chen Mo's form was swallowed by a sea of ghostly shadows.

The shrieks and gnawing sounds made the scalp tingle with dread!

"Chen Mo!"

The little maid, frantic, abandoned the faceless man and sent the green characters surging toward the ghosts.

The faceless man broke free instantly, a cruel grin twisting his blurred face as his blackened hand reached for the little maid's lower back.

"A Sixth-Rank Sorcerer? Excellent material—perfect to turn into a ghost. It'll surely help my Cultivation Technique advance further!"

"Leave your life here…"

Suddenly, the gnawing ceased; the room fell briefly silent.

The clustered ghosts froze, and streams of emerald light pierced through the gaps between them!

"Aoooo!"

The next instant, they screamed in terror and scattered in all directions, fleeing as if confronted by something horrific.

Chen Mo's form reappeared.

He was wreathed in blazing emerald flames; the black ghostly qi melted like snow under the sun, and the surrounding ghosts' bodies gradually grew transparent and ethereal.

He raised his palm—black seal script appeared on the back of his hand, directly sucking the ghosts inside!

Simultaneously, an extremely pure energy surged into his spirit altar.

Chen Mo felt overwhelming bliss, his whole body floating as if wandering among the immortals.

"This is soul force?"

By using life essence to dispel ghostly qi, then absorbing soul force with the Soul-Seizing Technique to strengthen his spirit…

And with the "Ghost's Bane" enhancement, he didn't need to fear ghostly qi corrupting his mind—the refinement speed had skyrocketed!

Chen Mo's gaze toward the ghosts turned intensely hungry.

These weren't vengeful spirits—they were experience orbs!

Don't run!

Let me absorb you!

Chen Mo raised his palm and began chasing ghosts all around.

Watching the man sprinting through the room, hunting ghosts, the little maid and the faceless man both stared blankly.

"Is this guy really a martial artist?"

"This is just insane!"

In moments, Chen Mo had devoured over a dozen vengeful spirits; the faceless man's blurred features twitched, as if his heart were bleeding.

Not every living person can be forged into a ghost—they must harbor intense resentment.

Just these dozen vengeful spirits required at least a hundred living sacrifices!

"Damn it!"

The faceless man clenched his teeth, pulling a palm-sized bronze lamp from his robe, rubbing his finger along the wick, igniting a blue-green ghostly flame.

Under the flame's glow, the vengeful spirits' power surged, resisting the Soul-Seizing pull, one by one slipping into the faceless man's gaping chest.

"Trying to run?"

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow.

How could he let meat slip from his grasp?

He flipped his wrist—a translucent amber crystal fell into his palm, and without hesitation, he crushed it.

On the attribute panel before his eyes, a flashing "+" sign had appeared behind the martial skill and the divine ability.

"Soul-Capture, allocate points!"

He directly raised the divine ability Soul-Capture from "Beginner" to "Intermediate"!

The black dharma seal on the back of his hand twisted as if alive, the edges of the characters growing sharper, faintly tinged with a thread of blood-light.

At the same time, the suction force suddenly multiplied several times over!

The ghosts that had been burrowing into the Faceless Man's chest slowed, as if mired in a swamp. After a brief stalemate, they uncontrollably flew backward, one after another sucked into Chen Mo's palm!

"One, two, five… whew, we're in business~"

The feeling of his spirit-platform being stuffed full of soul-force made Chen Mo unable to help moaning out loud.

Seeing things going awry, the Faceless Man reached out, grabbed several fierce ghosts nearby, shoved them all into his chest at once, and tried to pull free and leave.

"Stop him!"

Before Chen Mo's voice had even faded, the little maid had already sprung into action.

A green light blazed from her brow, and chains of green light bound the Faceless Man tightly on all sides.

"Hurry up, I can't hold on much longer…"

"I know."

Chen Mo strode forward and thrust his palm straight into the Faceless Man's chest!

He activated the Soul-Capture divine ability, devouring every last ghost inside him!

Having absorbed over a hundred fierce ghosts, Chen Mo felt his consciousness clearer than ever before, his soul seeming about to leap free of his body, looking down on the entire room from above — no stir or rustle could escape his perception.

Only then did he notice a ghostly light flickering in the four corners of the room.

"A soundproofing array? No wonder no one came in despite such a huge commotion."

"Such thorough preparation — looks like he'd had his eye on me for a long time…"

Chen Mo gathered his awareness, looked at the withered husk before him that had been sucked into a human dried-flesh, and stirred the hand still buried in its chest.

"Let me speak from the heart…"

"That's all the ghosts you've got? You don't have any more in stock?"

Faceless Man: "…"

Although his features were blurred and indistinct, an expression of fury could still be read on his face.

"You little beast, I'm going to flay you, pull out your bones, refine you into a vengeful ghost, so you'll never for all eternity—"

Chen Mo flipped his hand and seized that still-beating heart.

"This time, hand on my conscience — tell me, do you have any more or not?"

"…"

The Faceless Man lowered his head and said in a trembling voice, "Master, you've already squeezed me bone-dry, I really don't have a single one left…"