Chapter 147: Seeing a Ghost
"You're sure you want to settle everything with Contribution Points?"
"Yes." Bai Mo nodded gently again, watching the gray light of doubt emanating from Ji Xuan.
"Mr. Bai, would you do me the honor of joining me for a simple meal at Ya You Ju, the most renowned establishment in the entire underground city? I've already reserved a private room there. Some dishes on their special banquet menu are quite beneficial for ability users' cultivation."
"Alright."
"It seems Spirit Lamb Meat can now be produced in small quantities," Bai Mo remarked, picking up a piece of meat at the table.
"This is quite rare. The meat contains trace amounts of spirit energy that can be absorbed by the human body. Whether for ordinary people or ability users, eating a moderate amount can improve one's physical constitution. So, it's mostly sent to the tables of those powerful figures at the top. The owner of Ya You Ju can only get his hands on it because he's backed by one of those big shots, specifically to cultivate connections and favors."
"Suddenly, a question occurred to me."
"What is it?"
"You said that the sea has intelligent Sea Race creatures that evolved. Given the number of land animals on Earth, how come we've never seen intelligent land animals that evolved naturally?"
"Have they entered those forests?"
"Of course! But after they enter the outer perimeter of those forests, they inexplicably feel a sense of unease and vexation. Even the loggers who used to work there for long periods were forced to relocate because of this inexplicable emotion. The governments of various great nations are still busy with disaster relief, reconstruction, and preparing for war against the Sea Race, so they haven't had the energy to organize large-scale explorations. They've only sent out a few scientific expedition teams to scout the way."
"Even adventurers, all of whom are ability users, felt uncomfortable, so naturally, their scientific expedition teams also returned with nothing to show for it..." He spoke voluminously, as if opening a floodgate of words. Bai Mo, who had mostly stayed indoors during this period, was quite interested in these matters.
After all, Ji Xuan was also Chen Xi's classmate, and in terms of age, he wasn't much older than Bai Mo. There wasn't much of a generation gap between them, though Ji Xuan's slightly rotund figure and a casual outfit in gray and black made him appear middle-aged.
Once they started chatting freely, Ji Xuan cast aside the formal honorifics; using "you" (you) for someone younger than himself felt awkward.
Bai Mo, however, never cared how others addressed him and could automatically filter out irrelevant information. He didn't even notice the change in address, continuing to listen intently as Ji Xuan regaled him with tales of his experiences at the dinner table.
"Let me tell you about the time I recently saw a ghost... Several months ago, a few guys and I went to Tianzhou to loot the dead. A city so large suddenly lost tens of millions of people, and the wealth left in the ruins was naturally incalculable. Although I had a decent amount of assets myself, who ever dislikes more money? So, a few of us explored according to the maps from before the disaster, searching for jewelry stores in the ruins." After a few rounds of drinks, Ji Xuan began to recount his adventure story.
"By the time we dug up the third store, we'd already amassed half a sack of gold and jade. That's when I had a premonition that something bad was about to happen. So, I called my brothers and told them to leave quickly. It's quite taboo to act on sudden whims when profiting from the dead."
"With such immense treasures before them, how many people would be willing to leave? Just one jewelry store could yield tens of millions in goods, and fencing the stolen goods was no problem for us black market merchants."
"So, in the end, only two people followed me in the car. We'd barely driven for five minutes when that sense of danger in my heart intensified sharply. I floored the accelerator, desperate to escape the ruins of Tianzhou City."
"The two guys who came with me also sensed something was wrong. All three of us felt as if something was rapidly catching up behind us, or rather, it wasn't chasing, but surging towards us like a flood. Yet, when we looked back, it was perfectly calm, with nothing there."
"I drove like a madman, constantly swerving to avoid the debris and wreckage on the road. Otherwise, hitting a piece of concrete at over a hundred kilometers per hour would have been the end of us. That was the most focused I'd been in my twenty-plus years of life, even more focused than the first time I watched adult films."
"When we reached the city outskirts, I could feel it was already upon us. We could faintly hear countless chaotic sounds from behind. Clutching the steering wheel, I felt despair and wanted to give up trying to escape. The car was still speeding forward only because I, dumbfounded, had forgotten to take my foot off the accelerator."
"Just as it was about to pounce, it seemed to hit something, getting forcefully blocked. After a few seconds, having narrowly escaped death, we finally came to our senses, but we didn't dare to stop for a moment, fearing it would breach the barrier."
"I happened to be in Tianhai at the time and encountered something similar." Bai Mo listened to the entire story, then began to recount his own experience. Chen Xi, who had been eating while listening, also put down her chopsticks. She was very interested in the past of her superior, who had become terrifyingly powerful in such a short time.
"What you encountered was likely the Ghost King that emerged from the final, brutal struggle of the millions of remnant souls in Tianzhou."
"Many Feng Shui masters say the same thing. How could a place where tens of millions of people died in a single day not have something strange going on?"
"My luck was better. When I went back to Tianhai, the Ghost King hadn't fully formed yet. They were still fighting and vying for the final victor."
"Could it be that you killed them all and became the new..." Chen Xi trailed off, shifting her body away from Bai Mo.
"If I truly wanted to kill someone, they wouldn't even be able to commit suicide. What good would hiding far away do?" Bai Mo showed a faint smile, gently pulling her back to her seat with his psychic power, and continued his story. "They fought relentlessly, and the final victor could devour the Soul Gathering Flower that bloomed at the point of densest yin energy, instantly advancing to the Ghost King stage."
"Wait, Mr. Bai, what is this Soul Gathering Flower you mentioned?" Ji Xuan, highly sensitive to treasures, immediately noted the term.
"It's a flower that absorbed the spiritual power of countless deceased individuals. An ability user at Spirit Animation Stage Level 7 or above, who has entered the Unmelting Realm, might have a chance to directly break through beyond the Unmelting Realm if they consume it. If someone below Level 7 eats it, they'd likely burst, or be washed into an idiot by the incalculable spiritual power within it."
"Is that the reason?" Chen Xi asked from the side. "The reason you're so strong?"
"I didn't eat it."
"Why not?"
"Because I had no method for breakthrough! Even a Foundation Establishment Pill in novels requires cultivation techniques and qi circulation to assist with breakthrough after consumption. But I still knew nothing about what came after the Unmelting Realm, let alone any cultivation techniques. Being able to break through was just my conjecture, just my personal feeling."
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