Chapter 104: Creating Ghosts
Fearless, he stepped through the hospital gates, finally discerning the whispers' content.
"Join us..." "Come..." "Body...mine"...
"What exactly are ghosts?" Bai Mo selectively disregarded the drivel he heard, and began to ponder the question anew. "Are they a peculiar form of electromagnetic wave? Or are they lingering fragments of spiritual will?"
As he walked, he inexplicably felt a bustling presence, even though there was actually no one around. Even by continuously narrowing the range of his spiritual sense scan to increase precision, he could only vaguely perceive that there were indeed many things around him.
Only after compressing his spiritual sense to perceive just a few meters around him did he discover that numerous ghost-like entities had constantly been trying to squeeze into his body, but upon encountering his Life Field, they would immediately melt away like ice and snow.
Nevertheless, countless irrational ghosts, driven by something akin to instinct, still surged towards Bai Mo, one after another, like moths to a flame.
"If my conjecture is correct, and the Life Field is the materialization of will, then these ghosts being destroyed by it — could that mean their composition includes spiritual will?" The tidal wave of ghostly attacks was entirely beneath his consideration. "After all, they were just entities that could be casually wiped out in swathes."
The ghosts, constantly rushing to their deaths, sometimes dropped tiny fragments upon expiring, discernible only faintly with highly precise spiritual sense. And whenever these fragments appeared, the surrounding ghosts would scramble like mad to seize them, their desire to snatch them even overriding their impulse to surge towards Bai Mo.
The fortunate ghosts who managed to seize fragments would become markedly more sentient after devouring them, simultaneously developing the concept of "fear."
Upon observing this, Bai Mo specifically walked towards those that had gained a bit of sentience, finding that they indeed genuinely tried to evade him.
"Perhaps those provisional Ghost Kings had emerged step by step in this manner?" Bai Mo had long since detected in his spiritual sense a few entities far more powerful than their brethren, confronting each other around an unknown flower emitting a powerful aura. However, his mind was focused on exploring the characteristics of ordinary ghosts, and more importantly, the flower seemed to require quite some time to fully bloom, so he wasn't in a rush to approach it.
"I might as well try crafting a Ghost King for fun." He suddenly had such a thought.
Bai Mo began to move at high speed. He didn't even need to throw a punch; merely coming into contact with his presence caused ghosts to vanish into dust. Wherever he passed, no ghost remained. He swept away tens of thousands of ghosts in the vicinity, leaving only a small ghost cowering in a corner. The ghost in the corner struggled for a moment but ultimately couldn't resist the allure of countless fragments and began ravenously devouring the drifting pieces.
Watching the ghost gobbling down the fragments before him, Bai Mo couldn't help but feel curious and wanted to try if he could consume the fragments himself. Alas, the moment a fragment touched his body, it instantly dissolved into specks of light and dissipated.
"Was this again the Life Field's self-protection?" Possessing the exploratory spirit of Shennong tasting a hundred herbs, he attempted to actively release the Life Field's protection on his right hand and then grab a small fragment.
The fragment similarly dissolved into specks of light the moment he grabbed it, but unlike before, this time all the specks of light integrated into his right hand, and simultaneously, a segment of someone else's memory appeared in Bai Mo's mind.
"These ordinary people's memories hold little meaning for me. Moreover, if my previous conjecture is correct, the main appeal of these fragments to soul entities lies in reshaping their personalities. They are essentially blank slates, unlike me, who already possesses a complete personality, so they don't have to worry about their sense of self being overwritten. The more they absorb, the more mature their psyche should become, though it's not impossible for excessive absorption to lead to the after-effects of multiple personalities."
Bai Mo continued to analyze in his mind, while the ghost beside him ceaselessly continued to eat. As it continuously devoured, Bai Mo noticed its body was progressively "solidifying," meaning it became increasingly easier to perceive with his spiritual sense, growing closer and closer to the provisional Ghost Kings in the distance.
A group of candidates acutely detected that a new competitor might emerge from Bai Mo's side. They advanced one after another, intending to eradicate him before the newcomer completed its metamorphosis.
"One, two, three, four, five—all five have come to their deaths. Saves me the trouble of going over there."
He knew that his fists, enveloped by his Life Field, could effectively strike them, so he simply decided to strike first to gain the upper hand, preparing to dispatch them one by one. Who knew that when he punched one of the candidates, his mind was subjected to an unusually fierce mental impact.
"This time, it's a bit troublesome. So, what I thought of as 'being able to hit them' was actually a contest of spiritual will. These entities are not substantial in nature! It's just that the previous wandering spirits were virtually nonexistent compared to my mental power, which allowed for their undisputed instant kills. However, these few entities are monsters formed after devouring tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of wandering spirits. Though their spiritual will is mottled and fragmented, their total mental power might actually surpass mine, a psionic ability user."
The five ghosts continuously clashed with Bai Mo. Having acquired countless human memories, they could also be described as shrewd and calculating. Moreover, their original souls were all ability users, which allowed them to emerge victorious in the devouring war.
They swiftly set aside their prejudices, uniting to first eliminate the strongest intruder, and launched a frenzied assault together.
For the first time, Bai Mo felt unable to react to his enemies' attacks. The enemies were pure spirit bodies, unreasonably fast, and utterly without inertia! He was essentially reduced to ceaselessly defending himself.
As time passed, he noticed that the flower guarded by the several ghosts was nearing maturity, beginning to absorb the boundless Yin energy shrouding its surroundings. Seeing this, they too grew anxious.
"Well then, let's make this grand!"
"I'll hold these five, and you'll be responsible for devouring them." Bai Mo didn't bother whether the small ghost beside him heard or not; he simply initiated his plan. In his view, after devouring so many memories, it should be capable of understanding human language again.
Bai Mo simultaneously ensnared all five ghosts, initiating a primal mental power attrition battle. The five individuals and one ghost immediately fell into a stalemate.
After the small ghost realized they were all frozen in place, it slowly drifted into the midst of the several figures. Having witnessed Bai Mo slaughter countless ghosts in barely any time at all, a deep-seated fear settled into its very bones. Even though the individual now appeared motionless, it dared not approach too closely.
As for these kin who sought to kill it, the small ghost was clearly furious. It began desperately biting their spirit bodies, but alas, there was still a significant disparity, and each bite only managed to chip off a minuscule amount.
"Are you betting it will finish devouring us first, or that we'll wear you down first?" This was the first time a Ghost King candidate used mental fluctuations to communicate with Bai Mo since the battle began.
Alas, Bai Mo remained silent, for he didn't understand how to use mental fluctuations... thus, he could only listen but not speak.
One of the ghosts seemed to realize this, so it simply used mental fluctuations to transmit the method of communication to Bai Mo.
"A very peculiar sensation, much better than speaking." Bai Mo's first transmission of mental fluctuations. "Why are you so certain you can wear me down?"
"We are entities at the million-soul level! What do you have to match our sheer volume!"
"Those who are dead should just properly die." Bai Mo silently continued the attrition, appearing utterly unconcerned about losing.
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