Chapter 126: The Ghost Eater

At that moment, a series of phantom figures seemed to rise in her mind.

Some were headless, some legless; others dragged glistening, multicolored entrails across the ground, their eyes mere deep, sunken blood-filled hollows…

Various grotesque, horrifying corpses suddenly screamed with a wail like thunder, pressing in upon her.

Among them, Miss Yue even saw the man she had brutally tortured to death the previous night, chewing him limb by limb with her teeth.

“What? Has your blood food turned into ghosts? Come to demand justice from me?”

She suddenly realized all these people had died by her own hand; after a brief stunned pause, she threw back her head and laughed wildly:

“Become a ghost? Even as ghosts, you’re still *** bastards! What do you think you can use to fight me?!”

She raised the Yin Dou Rope, which instantly transformed into a dark-purple light and slashed toward the foremost figure—BOOM!—it shattered the apparition into fragments.

Before Miss Yue could even feel triumphant, the looming spectral figures, as if terrified by the blow, instantly dissolved into wisps of black smoke.

And shortly after they vanished, the scene before her shifted into another vision.

The heavens rained down blossoms, golden light blazed brilliantly, crimson flames roared fiercely, and dazzling clouds of colorful radiance shimmered.

She felt as if she had suddenly been transported into a celestial palace of Lingxiao, surrounded by radiant light and myriad auspicious rays; elegant, beautiful men and women moved to and fro, their bodies encircled by countless swirling, flying colored butterflies—dreamlike, illusory, with exotic fragrances drifting far and wide, subtly sweetening her breath and nostrils.

“Is this… have I become?!”

In her dazed, foggy state, seeing this sight, Miss Yue’s heart surged with overwhelming joy:

“Have I become a Yin Spirit? Am I about to attain the Dao?!”

She shoved aside a celestial maiden who approached to bow, giggled, then casually seized a beautiful man clad in golden-immortal robes, stripped him bare in seconds, swallowed hard, and prepared to take him to bed.

Suddenly, an odd sensation erupted violently within her spirit.

Miss Yue startled, leapt to her feet, and whirled around in shock.

In an instant!

A red-and-white Primordial Pearl, wrapped in layers of thunder and fire, surged like a streak of lightning straight toward her face!

*Puch!* The light shattered.

The beautiful men and women, the Lingxiao Celestial Palace—all vanished without a trace.

Before her stood only a single, ferocious Primordial Pearl of Thunder and Fire!

Miss Yue’s heart filled with regret, her eyes nearly bursting with rage.

But she had only noticed it when it was already this close—clearly, there was no time to evade.

In sheer terror, she rolled sideways on the ground—but the Thunder and Fire Primordial Pearl still pierced through her shoulder, shattering part of her ghostly body; she screamed in pain and collapsed backward.

Chen Hang did not relent; he pointed his finger, and the Thunder and Fire Primordial Pearl spun again, descending toward the fallen Miss Yue.

But this time, a crimson light blocked it.

Closer inspection revealed the crimson light to be a bleeding skull.

Instantly, the Thunder and Fire Primordial Pearl and the skull clashed dozens of times, sparking showers of embers, shaking the air with deafening booms—neither could overcome the other, locked in a stalemate.

“Ziying!”

As soon as she struggled to her feet,

Miss Yue took in the scene before her, her pupils contracting; she pounded the ground with her fists, tears streaming down her face:

“Damn it, how the hell did you get killed by me? If you’re dead, how am I supposed to steal your men and play with them? This cursed heaven treats me so cruelly! My life’s going to be utterly boring from now on!”

A few steps away from Miss Yue,

Ziying, having inhaled the mirage qi, fell into a daze, struck by the Yin Dou Rope, and instantly perished, her soul dissolving away.

Her cultivation was already inferior to Miss Yue’s; after inhaling the mirage qi, her consciousness grew hazy, unable to break free or escape.

At that moment, Miss Yue herself had been pulled into the illusion by the mirage qi, mistaking Ziying for a living soul come to seek vengeance.

The Yin Dou Rope struck—and naturally, her head and body were severed.

Miss Yue’s grief surged; she was about to wail again.

Then the Green Law Sword shot toward her like lightning; though its blade had not yet reached, the wind it cut already scraped her flesh and bone raw, forcing her eyes to squint shut.

“You slipped up and fell for my illusion—did you really think you could win so easily?!”

Miss Yue wiped the tears from her eyes and sneered inwardly.

Her ghostly body shimmered, effortlessly dodging the incoming Green Law Sword, shifting several zhang away.

She shook her shoulder, and a murky Yin light-curtain flew out from her back; no matter how the Green Law Sword slashed left and right, it could not penetrate, only striking with a continuous *ding-ding-ding*.

Protected by the murky Yin light-curtain,

Miss Yue relaxed her expression, gazed forward, and chuckled with a sinister grin:

“You hit me with your Pearl, and still couldn’t kill me! I don’t know how you mimicked our ghostly aura, but your abilities are clearly nothing special!”

“Wait! I’ll avenge Ziying—I’ll sit on you until you’re crushed to death!”

She slowly traced the wound piercing clean through her shoulder, laughing wildly and grotesquely.

Chen Hang ignored her entirely; he shook his sleeve, simultaneously controlling both talismanic artifacts, continuing to duel her as wind and fire entwined.

Each strike of the Thunder and Fire Primordial Pearl shook the rafters, making them creak and crack.

The Green Law Sword emitted waves of chilling radiance, slashing back and forth, overlapping sword shadows ringing with clear, continuous tones…

After fighting like this for a cup of tea’s time,

Miss Yue’s heart began to tremble with unease; cold sweat slowly seeped from her back, her earlier arrogance completely gone.

She was, after all, from a renowned family with considerable insight; she had not only studied the Yin Ghost Dao but also possessed many orthodox immortal texts from her family’s collection.

This man’s primordial breath was vast as an ocean, boundless—seemingly inexhaustible!

Even while wielding two mid-grade talismanic artifacts, he remained calm and composed, showing not the slightest sign of fatigue.

In contrast, she was gradually weakening, nearly drenched in sweat from being hunted…

“I must take a desperate risk—first cripple one of his arms!”

Miss Yue gritted her teeth, suddenly tilted her head back, and spat out a roaring gale that swept toward the Green Law Sword as it slashed at the murky Yin light-curtain.

The wind came with immense force, like hundreds of galloping horses trampling forward; in an instant, it shattered the roof, pulverizing countless tiles and bricks with piercing, shrill cries.

Even the Green Law Sword was momentarily trapped within this furious wind, swaying helplessly, deprived of control.

Seizing this opening, Miss Yue did not hesitate; she sneered and transformed the Yin Dou Rope into a dark-purple streak, striking toward the Green Law Sword.

This ghostly artifact had been specially bestowed upon her by Shanhu Gong and Feihua Po Po after she left home, meant to protect her life—it was, without doubt, her most potent offensive weapon.

Even the notorious Chi Mei Three Ghosts of the region had been unable to withstand a single strike of the Yin Dou Rope and died instantly.

Moreover, the Yin Dou Rope was not only deadly in attack, but also possessed a terrifyingly corrupting power.

Ordinary mid-grade orthodox immortal talismanic artifacts would almost instantly lose their spiritual radiance and be rendered useless if merely touched by it.

In past encounters, whenever she had been cornered by immortal cultivators seeking to exterminate ghosts, she had reversed the tide by corrupting their talismanic artifacts with this very technique.

The Yin Dou Rope shot out like a coiling serpent, trailing mournful, ghastly light!

Just as it seemed certain to entangle the Green Law Sword, a sudden sword-song rang out, the light trembled—and the Yin Dou Rope struck empty air.

“How?!”

Miss Yue’s heart jolted.

In battle, she had clearly seen Chen Hang’s sword art was still uninitiated—he hadn’t even reached the most basic realm of “Ten Steps, One Kill,” relying solely on the advantage of his talismanic artifacts.

Yet this maneuver, though not quite “Ten Steps, One Kill,” was dangerously close.

After retracting the Green Law Sword, Chen Hang noticed Miss Yue’s aura had dipped—using the Yin Dou Rope had clearly drained her significantly.

After another dozen exchanges, he let out a clear cry, his body trembled, and he unleashed the Primordial Solar Divine Light.

In the blink of an eye, a brilliant golden radiance shot forth, shaking the void, illuminating the entire space, casting a radiant glow over the unconscious ghosts as if draping them in colorful robes.

Seeing this golden light strike with such ferocity, Miss Yue knew its danger; she desperately summoned her last remaining strength and raised the Yin Dou Rope once more to meet it.

Primordial Solar Divine Light met the Yin Dou Rope.

The moment they collided, the latter immediately retreated, melting like snow under the sun, spewing countless wisps of black smoke.

Seeing her once-unbeatable Yin Dou Rope fail, Miss Yue was utterly terrified, paralyzed with panic—she had no time to deploy any other technique.

The murky Yin light-curtain protecting her shattered like paper; the Primordial Solar Divine Light swept over her, instantly vaporizing half her body.

Then, with a twist and compression, she didn’t even have time to scream—she died instantly, no breath left.

Without her control, the bleeding skull fighting the Thunder and Fire Primordial Pearl lost all resistance; its glow dimmed, and it fell straight to the ground, denting the floor with a small crater.

After retrieving his talismanic artifacts, Chen Hang reached out his hand.

Like a whale swallowing the sea, he drew forth a spirit-essence the size of a child’s arm from the pile of shattered flesh that had been Miss Yue.

He glanced at it briefly, then did not hesitate; he flipped his palm and slammed the spirit-essence into his own chest.

BOOM!

A deep, resonant sound seemed to echo faintly in his mind.

Coldness surged through his heart and lungs, slowly spreading into his blood, freezing his flesh and bones.

It was entirely different from absorbing the spirit-essence of a dead cultivator…

If a dead cultivator’s spirit-essence was like a violent, untamed spring bursting from the earth, then the spirit-essence of these ghosts was like a pool of icy water, crashing down from the crown of his head, making every pore tremble, his limbs numb with cold.

Chen Hang slowly steadied his qi, sat cross-legged on the ground, and after regulating his breath for dozens of breaths, finally suppressed the Yin chill within the spirit-essence.

At that moment, his clothing suddenly swelled slightly, his sleeves stirring without wind.

Once the Yin chill was stripped away, what remained of the spirit-essence was pure, refined spiritual energy.

All his acupoints greedily inhaled and exhaled, refining it into true primordial breath, returning it to his body.

After a moment, feeling his primordial breath increase once more, Chen Hang opened his eyes, smiled faintly, and brushed his sleeve as he rose.

His “Tai Shi Yuan Zhen” could comprehensively absorb 129,600 types of spiritual energy—hence the saying: “Long Tian Tong Ming, Zhu Zhen Zong She.”

Not only did it spare him the usual troubles of qi absorption, but it also allowed him to absorb the lingering spirit-essence left in dead cultivators’ bodies, converting it for his own use and refining it into his own essence.

And since one can draw spiritual energy from the corpses of cultivators,

then—

what of these ghostly entities of the netherworld?

This hypothesis.

Long before Ziying brought Chen Hang to this haunted mansion, the moment she crushed a restless, clamoring ghost, it had already been confirmed…

“With so many ghosts, they’re perfectly suited to satisfy my spiritual energy needs. As the saying goes, gain and loss are fickle; fortune and misfortune often go hand in hand… It seems this abyss has become my blessed ground.”

Chen Hang gazed at the multitude of ghosts—hundreds in number, all bewildered by the mirage mist—and faintly curled his lips into a smile.

Outside the abyss, had he slaughtered so many to draw spiritual energy from corpses, he would surely have been attacked by all, condemned by the world.

But within the abyss,

his targets for drawing spiritual energy were precisely the ghosts that devoured human flesh and blood.

Even if this became known, it would earn him praise as a righteous cultivator purging demons—never harsh criticism.

Moreover, the most numerous beings in the abyss are these various ghosts, clinging like dense swarms of mosquitoes to raw flesh, everywhere, requiring no deliberate search.

Simply walking a few steps would bring him upon them.

In Chen Hang’s eyes, each one was a living, moving talisman coin—large or small!

In fact,

he had also considered directly absorbing the dark, turbid qi of the abyss to cultivate.

Yet the human body differs fundamentally from ghostly entities; the myriad forms of torment, calamity, and yin darkness within the abyss were irrevocably fused into the 129,600 kinds of spiritual mechanisms, inseparable.

To ghosts, perhaps, it was a great nourishment.

But for a cultivator, daring to absorb it would be tantamount to swallowing a potent poison.

After several trials within the True Law Realm, all ending in death from ruptured intestines and shattered organs, Chen Hang could only reluctantly abandon the idea.

As for why absorbing the spiritual mechanisms of the abyss would bring certain death,

yet one could still draw spiritual breath from the ghosts dwelling within it, strengthening the embryonic breath.

This is no different from ordinary mortals who cannot drink seawater, or else they vomit and collapse to death.

Yet they may freely consume the fish, shrimp, turtles, and crabs living in the sea—eating them causes no harm, but instead fills the belly and invigorates the blood and sinews.

Between the two,

the principle is identical…

“Hmm…”

At that moment,

a four-armed giant ghost let out a low groan, its eyelids trembling as if about to awaken.

Chen Hang remained unmoved, tossing the “Fuyu Mirage Pearl” into the air, where it transformed into a roaring, ten-zhang-long, three-zhang-wide torrent of water that crashed downward.

Where the waves rolled, the mirage mist spread wildly; every ghost showing signs of awakening sank once more into drowsy unconsciousness, dragged back into the endless illusion.

He walked slowly to the four-armed ghost that had first groaned, stared for a moment, then reached out and snapped its neck.

His five fingers closed together, seizing a strand of spiritual breath.

“Huh…”

As the spiritual breath entered his body, it first bit with icy cold, then became like sipping sweet dew.

Chen Hang half-closed his eyes and exhaled a long breath.