“So, you’re saying that the ghost has died nine times and become a ghost spirit?” Leo’s heart trembled.
The woman in black nodded from a distance, “When a woman dies nine times, it’s different from a man. If a man dies nine times, he becomes a ghost spirit. However, if a woman dies nine times, she becomes a ‘Nine-Lives Grudge Spirit,’ even more powerful than a ghost spirit.”
“Since the ghost has become a ‘Nine-Lives Grudge Spirit,’ why does she only kill in Unlit Alley and not wreak havoc elsewhere?” Leo inquired.
“After becoming a ‘Nine-Lives Grudge Spirit,’ she can only stay in the place where she died for the ninth time and cannot move more than three kilometers from there. Otherwise, her soul will disperse, and she won’t be able to reincarnate.”
Leo nodded, and the woman in black continued, “But there are exceptions.”
“What exceptions?”
“If that ‘Nine-Lives Grudge Spirit’ absorbs the Three Souls and Seven Spirits of forty-nine people, she can break this restriction and become even more powerful.”
“How many people’s Three Souls and Seven Spirits has the ghost absorbed so far?”
“Forty-eight.”
“How do you know?”
The woman in black did not answer his question, coldly saying, “That’s enough. You’re on your own now.”
With that, a black light flashed, and the woman in black disappeared again before Leo.
Understanding the ins and outs of the situation, Leo calmed down. It seemed he had underestimated this ghost. Instead of relying on others, he needed to handle this matter himself.
Just as Leo turned around, he found that the surroundings had changed. He was back in Unlit Alley, not the yard of the ghost.
Just a wall illusion, a deceptive technique. Leo sneered and took out a talisman.
The talisman burned in his hand, a flash of fire, and a palm-sized white crane appeared in his hand.
Leo tossed the white crane into the sky, and it chirped, soaring into the sky. Soon after, it descended rapidly, plunging into the soil with lightning speed.
As the white crane entered the ground, the scenery around Leo changed again. It reverted to the yard he had seen before, with the old locust tree, now almost completely devoid of leaves, looking particularly desolate.
A chilling atmosphere surrounded him, causing Leo to shiver. Looking around, the scenery was roughly the same as before, but with some differences.
The once intact brick and tile houses now lay in ruins. Weeds grew in front of the houses, making the place look desolate. The surrounding walls were also in a state of decay.
The heavy negative energy here made even Leo, a cultivator, somewhat uncomfortable. If an ordinary person were here, the negative energy alone could cause their death.
Leo felt a cold breeze brushing against his face, extremely cold. Looking around, the scene inside was roughly similar to before but with some differences.
The previously robust locust tree now appeared dilapidated, with most of its leaves fallen, giving it a particularly desolate look.
“Honey, have you come back to see me” A woman’s voice sounded beside Leo, ethereal and elusive.
Hearing this female voice, Leo’s scalp tingled. He had almost fallen into her trap. Now, hearing her call him “Honey” again, anger surged within him. He shouted angrily ahead, “Who’s your Honey!? Have the guts to show yourself instead of hiding!”
“Honey, you don’t recognize me anymore. You… are so heartless…” The ghost actually started crying, her cries filled with melancholy and sadness, like a lovelorn woman weeping in despair.
Amidst the disturbance caused by the ghost’s crying, a red light, originating from an unknown source, shot towards Leo.
Unfazed, Leo waved his right hand, conjuring a light shield in front of him.
Just as a “clang!” echoed, as if a massive iron hammer struck metal, Leo took several steps back to dissipate the terrifying force carried by the red light.
The attack missing its mark, nine black, ghostly mists suddenly appeared out of thin air around Leo. Observing these nine black mists, Leo was greatly alarmed, “The cultivation level of this ghost is incredibly strong!”
The nine black mists emitted an extremely piercing, eerie sound around Leo, akin to the wailing of countless ghosts. After entwining and swirling around him for a few rounds, the nine black mists dispersed, forming a circle that enclosed Leo within.
In the next moment, all nine launched an attack simultaneously, resembling nine black swords converging and attacking like a hurricane.
With the enemy concealed and Leo exposed, he could only defend. Drawing an Eight Trigrams pattern with his hands, a faint protective light shield appeared, enveloping him.
As the black light flashed, in the next second, the nine strange black mists fiercely struck the light shield.
Just as the black mists, like sharp swords, collided with the light shield, Leo pulled out another talisman, a protective one this time.
The black mists attacked vigorously, and Leo needed to reserve some power. With a “snap!” sound, the light shield, like a balloon pricked by a needle, burst into non-existence.
After the light shield shattered, a light blue one immediately replaced it. Fortunately, Leo had kept a trick up his sleeve. Behind the light shield, he had set up a water shield, within which was a fire shield, and inside the fire shield was a lightning shield!
The nine black mists, resembling diamond drills, attacked the water shield this time.
A “bang!” sound echoed as even the strongest water shield shattered like a mirror under the assault of the nine black mists.
Next was the fire shield, and finally, the lightning shield. The nine black mists, like a bulldozer, broke through all four layers of protective shields!
Fortunately, the black mists exhausted their strength after breaking through the four layers and gradually dissipated, eventually disappearing.
“It seems you have some skills, but you are still not my opponent. Today, you only have one ending, and that is death!” The eerie voice of the ghost sounded again near Leo’s ears, dragging out the syllables of the word “death” with a sinister tone.
“Spirits gathers, grievous spirits overflow, blood as the guide, devour the heavens and earth – gather!” As the ghost uttered the word “gather,” the surging black mists around Leo once again swept towards him, more fierce and powerful than before, several times stronger.
“Faced with overwhelming enemies, those who fight will form a battle formation! Urgently as per the command – invoke!” Leo, unwilling to wait for death, directly invoked the Nine-Syllable True Mantra.
A talisman flew out of his hand, suddenly expanding, and a small fiery sun appeared above Leo’s head. The black mists around couldn’t advance a bit.
“You seek death!” The ghost roared, and the black mists suddenly gathered, forming a tangible black brilliance!
The black brilliance, with a momentum to destroy the heavens and earth, rushed towards the fiery sun above Leo’s head.
As the black brilliance flashed by, the fiery sun suddenly ruptured, and Leo, like being hit by a car, was sent flying five or six meters away!
The power of the black brilliance was overwhelmingly formidable!
Leo crashed to the ground, and the ghost suddenly revealed her figure.
With flowing long hair and white clothes as snow, her complexion, however, was quite terrifying. Nine different colors kept changing on her once-beautiful face. Her eyes, in particular, were eerie and full of deep resentment and hatred!
She looked down at Leo, who was lying on the ground, with a sinister smile on her face.