Chapter 166: Infinite Death Substitution

Facing the Ghost Bride who has already fully unleashed terror.

When the Ghost Bride replicates everyone's image and carries cursed supernatural painted ghosts.

Han Mo finally couldn't hold back; now everyone has been suppressed, including Zhang Baihua, who has also fallen into a disadvantage.

In this situation, a gamble must be made.

"Ye Zhen, take my Ghost away."

Blocking several painted ghosts that attacked Ye Zhen, buying Ye Zhen a brief respite, Han Mo's face was filled with solemnity.

"At this moment, the only person I can think has a chance of victory is you."

"Your Death Substitute Ghost, combined with my Disaster Blocking Ghost, will greatly amplify your death‑substitution frequency."

"Moreover, with the help of this Ghost from my body, the targets of your death substitution can increase significantly."

"What does that mean?" Ye Zhen frowned, looking at Han Mo.

"Literally, as you've probably noticed, our situations are quite similar," Han Mo explained.

"You can transfer damage through death substitution. I, on the other hand, can transfer damage via the Disaster Blocking Ghost's Ghost Shadow."

"If you take the Ghost from my body, perhaps we can defeat the Ghost Bride, at least gaining enough strength for a fight."

"You just noticed that Yang Jian, Zhang Baihua, and even the Ghost Bride all possess what could be called an infinite stacking ability."

"You and I, however, lack that ability."

"Ha, I, Ye Zhen, am not the type to exploit others' misfortune for my own gain," Ye Zhen snorted coldly, rejecting the proposal.

Hearing that, Han Mo felt a bit helpless; he had heard Ye Zhen's temperament was odd, but not this odd.

Even though possessing a Death Substitute Ghost that guarantees a Fierce Ghost will never revive by completing the Puzzle, he still did not agree as decisively as other captains.

Any other captain, regardless of who, would not refuse to remove the Ghost from their own body in such a predicament.

But precisely because of that, Han Mo laughed when Ye Zhen refused.

Ye Zhen refusing to take the Ghost from his own body at this moment shows that Ye Zhen is an upright person.

Even if he removed the Ghost from his body and completed the Puzzle, rendering it utterly unsolvable, Ye Zhen would still not become an unchecked menace to the world.

"This is not exploiting misfortune! It is a necessary sacrifice of war."

Han Mo's background is not simple; years ago he was a minor leader within the system, so understanding Ye Zhen's current mindset is not difficult for him.

"Ye Zhen, take my Ghost, avenge me, defeat the Red and White Double Evil, and you will become this world's hero."

As Han Mo's words fell, Ye Zhen's previously resistant mindset relaxed considerably, his gaze toward Han Mo now hesitant.

"Aren't you afraid of death?"

Han Mo heard this, shook his head. "Both afraid and not afraid."

"The real Han Mo died back in the summer of '17; the one alive now is merely a malevolent ghost wearing Han Mo's Human Skin, driven by lingering obsession."

"Even without you, someday I will die from the erosion of a Fierce Ghost."

"Rather than that, I might as well give you the Ghost on my body; at least you won't be affected by the Fierce Ghost, right?"

"Moreover, in the current situation, if we cannot win, everyone—including all the people of this world—will likely die."

Hearing that, Ye Zhen's inner turmoil completely released. Han Mo's words were indeed reasonable.

"Fine, is there anything else you wish to say, or anyone you care about, that I should convey for you?" Ye Zhen asked.

"Not much else. I only hope that after you take the Ghost from my body, you will, like a hero, punish evil, uplift good, be revered by all, and become this world's Savior."

"That was once my wish, I suppose!"

Han Mo's tone became calm and slightly solemn as he adjusted his glasses.

"Of course, if possible, I hope you can deliver a message to my parents."

"Han Mo may be timid, yet he fears not protecting his family!"

In fact, the current Han Mo, having become a Ghost Tamer, no longer needs glasses.

Perhaps the glasses are more a memento of the time before he became a Ghost Tamer. After finishing his words, the lingering Ghost Shadows behind him surged toward Ye Zhen.

The terrifying Ghost Shadow seized Ye Zhen, yet inflicted no harm; instead, Ye Zhen felt his body's supernatural energy rising rapidly.

Han Mo, by attacking to inflict damage, inversely transferred his own Fierce Ghost onto Ye Zhen.

As the Ghost left his body, Han Mo exuded a chilling aura.

Each missing Ghost makes the remaining Ghosts in his body grow more uncontrolled; after Han Mo dumped all the Fierce Ghosts he thought Ye Zhen could use onto him.

At this moment, Han Mo's body turned completely ashen, devoid of any life.

His skin rotted rapidly, as if something was stripping away his Human Skin, and the Ghost Shadows behind him vanished together.

Soon, in front of Ye Zhen remained only a blood‑stained skeletal frame, and beneath it, a pair of still‑somewhat normal black dead feet.

"Han Mo, you are a man! I respect you!"

Ye Zhen opened his eyes; he received the supernatural essence of the three Ghosts from Han Mo's body, but did not take those Ghost Feet.

Han Mo's Ghost Feet would prevent one from using Ghost Domain movement, which, for Ye Zhen who possesses Ghost Domain, is a restriction.

Completing the Puzzle truly offers Ye Zhen no benefit.

"I will fulfill your dying wish."

Ye Zhen looked toward a nearby direction; Han Mo's assistance in blocking bought him some time to rest.

Now that the Ghosts from Han Mo have been completed, his strength has leapt qualitatively.

Ye Zhen extended his hand, punching a painted ghost that had taken his own form.

Terrifying supernatural energy began to corrode that painted ghost's body; as Ye Zhen attacked, the disguised supernatural aura on the painted ghost dissipated.

At the same time, the painter's curse also took effect on Ye Zhen.

However, after Ye Zhen was assaulted by the supernatural, a black Ghost Shadow appeared behind him.

The Ghost Shadow hunched, bent over as if struck hard, limping forward.

This is a Ghost Shadow helping Ye Zhen block disaster, and apparently because of the Death Substitute Ghost, some change occurred: only after Ye Zhen is attacked does it crawl toward the other painted ghosts around.

The Ghost Shadow quickly crawls to another Fierce Ghost disguised as Ye Zhen and seizes that ghost.

As the Ghost Shadow grabs it, that ghost's appearance begins to revert to its original form.

And behind Ye Zhen, a new Ghost Shadow appears, seeking a new target.

In just three seconds, with a single punch, Ye Zhen shatters the disguises of all painted ghosts that had taken his form.

"Yang Invincible can unlimitedly stack his past self; is this called Infinite Derivation? Or infinite stacking?"

"Then now I can also unlimitedly stack death‑substituting supernatural, can that be called Infinite Replacement Death?"

Ye Zhen, heedless, stops attacking the surrounding painted ghosts and heads toward the Ghost Bride. Painted ghosts around attack Ye Zhen, but each time he is hit, even his movements cannot be interrupted; a Ghost Shadow steps in to take the damage for him, and then carries that attack that hit Ye Zhen to other Fierce Ghosts.

The Ghost Bride continues to summon new painted ghosts without cease.

Strangely, after Ye Zhen obtained the Fierce Ghost inside Han Mo's body, the Ghost Bride can no longer create painted ghosts in Ye Zhen's likeness.

Each time the Ghost Bride imitates Ye Zhen's painted‑ghost creation, what she produces are assorted, low‑combat Fierce Ghosts.

The Ghost Bride's medium targeting Ye Zhen has been killed as a death substitute, so she can no longer draw Ye Zhen's form.

Now Ye Zhen's scope of death substitution has been expanded.

Previously, he could only substitute death for supernatural effects that acted on himself; although the supernatural now acts on Ye Zhen, even if he substitutes death it cannot affect the painted ghosts that have been created.

Now, before substituting death, Ye Zhen has an additional step: the Disaster Blocking Ghost Shadow.

Only by breaking through those Ghost Shadows can the effect reach Ye Zhen; under such circumstances, while the Ghost Bride's painted ghosts are still in the imitation stage, Ye Zhen will transfer the death‑substituting medium on the Ghost Shadow away.

"Did that guy sacrifice himself? He's a real man!"

Zhang Baihua glanced at Han Mo's corpse, repelled the surrounding painted ghosts, approached the corpse, and collected it.

Facing someone who voluntarily sacrifices himself for others, one must never let his bones lie exposed in the Wilderness, nor allow his corpse to be enslaved by Fierce Ghosts.

At this moment, Yang Jian's physical condition has deteriorated to the extreme.

Yet at that instant, a hand slapped Yang Jian.

When Yang Jian's shoulder was slapped, his condition improved greatly; in its place, a Ghost Shadow radiating Hong Bai Shuang Sha light and burning furnace fire lunged at Ye Zhen.

This is the second effect of Ghost Blocking Disaster: when assisting in blocking disaster, it takes damage on behalf of others.

However, likewise, this disaster‑bringing power is partially stolen by the Disaster Blocking Ghost.

Just as now, that Ghost Shadow, like the earlier Yang Jian, emits Hong Bai Shuang Sha light and burning furnace fire; these are the powers seized by this Disaster Blocking Ghost Shadow.

"Yang Invincible, you can't do that!"

Ye Zhen's tone sounds casual, seemingly no big difference, yet his expression is solemn at this moment.

"Ye Zhen? You?"

Yang Jian feels the Balance in his body has somewhat recovered, and looks at Ye Zhen with puzzlement.

He watches the opponent's body ignite with Ghost Fire and emit Hong Bai Shuang Sha light, which quickly fades, his eyes filled with startled uncertainty.

"I have sent out the supernatural that the revived excess Fierce Ghosts in your body produced for death substitution," Ye Zhen explains calmly.

The former Ye Zhen could only substitute death for his own injuries and supernatural effects, but the current Ye Zhen can, via the Disaster Blocking Ghost, transfer others' damage onto himself and then substitute death for it.

"You all step back; today is the day I, Ye, officially restore the title Yang Invincible."

Seeing Yang Jian, Ye Zhen's previously despondent mood, caused by Han Mo's self‑sacrifice of his Fierce Ghost, improves considerably.

"Yang Jian, return first, focus on dealing with the painted ghosts; the current Ye Zhen may truly have a chance to defeat the Ghost Bride."

Zhang Baihua knows that earlier Yang Jian, due to the approaching revival of Fierce Ghosts, had largely lost awareness of the outside situation, so he shouted at him.

"Alright," Yang Jian said skeptically, glancing at Ye Zhen a few times before retreating backward.

At this point, everyone's situation worsens, truly needing his help.

However, looking at the Ghost Shadows on Ye Zhen, Yang Jian always feels they come from Han Mo.

With a bad premonition, he looks around, only to find Han Mo's figure has already vanished.

"Han Mo died? Ye Zhen took Han Mo's ghost, completed himself, and that's why he reached this power?"

Yang Jian feels confused inside, but does not rush to speak, instead focuses on dealing with these painted ghosts that have regained their original forms.

One must admit, the current Ye Zhen indeed exudes an inexplicable aura.

Any attack that lands on Ye Zhen is sent out by his death substitution.

Even the Ghost Bride becomes a target for his death‑substituted attacks.

If the current Ghost Bride hadn't completed the Ghost Blood, after enduring a few death‑substituted attacks she would likely have been suppressed.

Moreover, after Ye Zhen completed the Disaster Blocking Ghost, the boost seems far beyond that.

As Ye Zhen draws nearer to the Ghost Bride, He Yuelian also notices Ye Zhen's abnormal condition.

"Ghost Bride, that guy seems to have the ability to transfer attacks."

"How about we abandon attacking him now?"

He Yuelian muses, "I've observed Ye Zhen's attack style; he is not strong in initiating attacks, mainly relying on using force against force in combat."

It must be said, He Yuelian's combat awareness has improved quite well during this period.

Through Ye Zhen's performance, they quickly identified his weak points.

Whether Han Mo or Ye Zhen, active offense is not their strong suit.

At least at this level, their attacks are weak and hardly pose an effective threat.

The Ghost Bride this time chooses to heed He Yuelian's words.

The current Ghost Bride has gained some intelligence, though still weak.

He Yuelian has already explained the pros and cons to her, and she herself can notice that many of Ye Zhen's attacks on herself stem from his own derived painted ghosts.

In this situation, the Ghost Bride immediately controls the painted ghosts and the Wooden Puppets, shifting their primary attack targets to Yang Jian and others.

Since Ye Zhen cannot be dealt with, let him be exhausted by constant running.

However, faced with this situation, Ye Zhen, who has no injury to transfer, does not panic.

"I, Ye Zhen, am not someone who can be defeated by such petty tricks. Infinite Replacement Death is merely my daily defense."

Ye Zhen quickened his steps forward, and when he was still a hundred meters from the Ghost Bride, a dense swarm of eerie human silhouettes suddenly appeared behind him.

These Ghost Shadows—some bore Hong Bai Shuang Sha flames burning Ghost Fire, some carried Grave Soil, and some stood upright as if unable to move.

The Ghost Shadows, the moment they appeared, lunged swiftly toward the Ghost Bride.

Disaster Blocking Ghosts can steal the spiritual anomalies of their disaster targets, but Ye Zhen thinks it is more fitting to call it remembering the injuries sustained during disaster blocking.

These are all the spiritual anomaly injuries Ye Zhen has suffered after commanding Disaster Blocking Ghosts.

Ye Zhen merely, at some point, used Infinite Replacement Death to bring forth a past injury and transfer it onto the enemy.

It was because the former Han Mo did not have this ability.

It was simply that Han Mo lacked the ability to actively transfer the spiritual anomalies within his body, which forced him to only steal a portion of the disaster target's spiritual anomalies.

Just as Ye Zhen previously could not help others with Infinite Replacement Death, only being able to replace his own injuries.

(End of chapter)