Worldwide Awakening: My Soul Kinds Are Lost

As it turned out, the Powerful Ghost King had lost the bet; Wang Linchi's conscience wasn't exactly stellar. After plundering the Ghost Village, he blew the entire place up. Ultimately, he obtained an Epic Level Soul Kind, settling the Exam Ghost incident.

[Summoning System Soul Kind/Soul System Soul Kind: Black Mountain Ghost General (Epic Level)]

[Ghost General: Summons a ghost general whose strength is determined by your spiritual power.]

[Mountain Shield: While the Ghost General is active, your Constitution increases by an amount equal to 20% of the Ghost General's Constitution.]

[Blade Soldier: While the Ghost General is active, your Strength increases by an amount equal to 20% of the Ghost General's Strength.]

[Divine Action: While the Ghost General is active, your Agility increases by an amount equal to 20% of the Ghost General's Agility.]

[Bloodsucking: When the Ghost General attacks, it gains an additional 5% lifesteal effect.]

It was a rather unique Soul Kind. The Ghost General it summoned wasn't the type to charge into battle, but rather one that protected and enhanced the summoner. Wang Linchi glanced at it, then tossed it into the Soul Seed Page·Storage Space. This was useless to Wang Linchi. He didn't follow the summoning path and had no spare potential positions.

This didn't mean it was worthless. If not for the Soul Device from the Rooster Crow Temple, Wang Linchi would have had a ninety-nine percent chance of being killed by the Powerful Ghost King. After all, the Powerful Ghost King's strength far surpassed that of the ghost kings at the previous Longevity Banquet. Receiving an Epic Level Soul Kind was to be expected.

The items scavenged from the Ghost Village were quite good. For instance, he found the Restricting Ghost Fox Law he had always wanted, and additionally, a rather unique Detained Five Strange Ghosts Method. The Five Weird Ghosts were a "five-in-one" ghost combination. Four of the five ghosts had no eyes; only one did. The other four ghosts depended on this one eye to see. Except for the one with eyes, the other four ghosts could not act freely and had to obey the orders of the One-Eyed Ghost. What made it unique was that this Detained Five Strange Ghosts Method didn't turn one ghost into a Ghost Pattern, but five.

The killing method of these Five Weird Ghosts was even stranger. The five ghosts would go to where a person slept and sniff their scent. They didn't rush in together but went one by one, in order. After the fifth ghost had taken a sniff, the person would die. The Five Weird Ghosts didn't harm good or evil people, only those who were neither good nor evil, possessing neither fortune nor blessings. Meaning, they only targeted poor, ordinary people. Thinking about it, it's utterly absurd.

Other than two Ghost Sigil Methods, he also found a Longevity Fruit, which astounded him. Theoretically, a ghost obtaining a Longevity Fruit would consume it immediately. For ghosts, it not only prolonged their lives but also strengthened them.

"Where did you get this Longevity Fruit?" Wang Linchi asked the Powerful Ghost King on the road, after inventorying his spoils.

The Powerful Ghost King looked as wilted as a frosted eggplant at this moment. After all, Wang Linchi not only broke his promise but also enslaved him, showing a complete lack of integrity. Only when Wang Linchi asked this did the Ghost King look up in surprise. "You, a mere human, actually recognize the Longevity Fruit?!"

Most Longevity Banquets were hosted by Ghost Kings. Even Wanderers couldn't get in unless they were like Chen Wen, who managed to gather over thirty Wanderers, and the Ghost King hosting the banquet was relatively weak; only then could they win.

"Are you a member of the Royal Family? No wonder you can casually produce so many things," the Powerful Ghost King concluded before Wang Linchi could even reply. After all, those who could recognize the Longevity Fruit were most likely from the Court's Royal Family. Even if other Wanderers knew about the Longevity Fruit, they wouldn't recognize it, as they had never seen one.

"Enough speculation. Just tell me where it came from," Wang Linchi said with a glance.

"I don't know, but I'm certain it was a human. He gave me this Longevity Fruit and the right to host a Longevity Banquet, on the condition that I massacre Yuan City."

"However, Yuan City has some Court forces, so I couldn't act recklessly. I could only use the indirect method of having the Jealous Wife River God draw up a Defense Map for me," the Powerful Ghost King confessed honestly.

The qualification for the Longevity Banquet was actually the knowledge to calculate when the Longevity Fruits on the local Longevity Tree Branches would ripen, so as to conveniently draw down the branches using a Longevity Catalyst. As for the Defense Map of Yuan City drawn by the Jealous Wife River God, that was simple. The Yuan River flowed through the entirety of Yuan City, including its main course and tributaries, so mapping it wasn't difficult.

"Human? Didn't you eat that person?" Wang Linchi was somewhat doubtful. For the Powerful Ghost King, eating humans was as common as eating and drinking. How could a single human possibly command him? Even if given a Longevity Fruit and the right to host the banquet, why not just capture the person? Wouldn't that allow him to extract more information?

"I couldn't beat him. The person seemed to be an outsider, and the power he used was extremely strange. I was no match at all," the Powerful Ghost King did not hide anything.

An Awakener? What in Yuan City could possibly be valuable enough for an Awakener to lay plans here? Wang Linchi grew vigilant. Good thing I left quickly. Otherwise, I might have been finished once that person arrived. To easily subdue the Powerful Ghost King, make him obedient, and even provide a Longevity Fruit, that individual had to be at least at the peak Secret Silver Level, or even Elite Gold Level. Wang Linchi was indeed Black Iron Level, but with his spiritual power, he could be considered half a Secret Silver Level. Even so, he had some difficulty subduing the Powerful Ghost King and had to use the Three Corpse Brain Worm Pill. In contrast, that other person handled it so easily, which spoke volumes about their strength.

"Then why not eat this Longevity Fruit? Are you afraid there might be a problem?" Wang Linchi changed the topic again.

"It was to be used as one of the requirements for hosting the banquet. To host a banquet for the first time in a place where the Tree of Immortality hasn't descended, besides the Longevity Catalyst, a Longevity Fruit is also needed for positioning."

The situation described by the Powerful Ghost King truly surprised Wang Linchi. However, this raised another question. The very first Longevity Banquets surely didn't require a Longevity Fruit as a prerequisite; at most, they only had a date. So how did they manage to pinpoint the location? The more I think about it, the more terrifying it becomes. The waters of these large Secret Realms run deep. Wang Linchi didn't continue guessing. It was pointless, as it had nothing to do with him.

"Alright, then do you know where the Five Weird Ghosts are?" Wang Linchi asked again.

"There were some in my Ghost Village..." the Powerful Ghost King trailed off. The unspoken remainder was, naturally, ...but you already blew them up.

"Damn!" Wang Linchi cursed.

Of course, the Five Weird Ghosts were meant for observation and research. He had the Detained Five Strange Ghosts Method, and such a unique Ghost Sigil Method definitely warranted thorough study. I have a few too many experiments on my plate right now.

There were four research projects concerning Ghost Sigil Methods: the Fox Ghost, the Powerful Ghost King, the Snake Bone Witch, and the Five Weird Ghosts. Additionally, there were the Soul Kind Energy Diversion and the upgrade to a Legendary Level Soul Kind, neither of which he had time for. Both required a stable environment and a significant amount of time. Therefore, he could only first find ways to strengthen himself, survive the immediate future, and deal with the rest later. After all, Soul Kinds couldn't directly enhance his strength; they provided more indirect power and built a foundation for the future. Once he left this Secret Realm, he would most likely have to face the utter chaos of Xuan Spirit Heaven. If he were unlucky, the turmoil might even reach this Secret Realm before he could leave. That was why Wang Linchi had temporarily shelved his Soul Kind-related plans and chosen to improve his own combat strength. Survival wasn't shameful. If you're dead, what good is indirect strength or future potential?

"So where are we heading next?" asked the Fox Ghost.

Now that Wang Linchi possessed the Detained Fox Ghost method, the Fox Ghost didn't particularly care. He had done his best, so what would be, would be.

"First, let's go to Lang City and capture the Snake Bone Witch. We can look for the Five Weird Ghosts on the way." Wang Linchi decided on Lang City, which was quite far. Originally, he hadn't planned to go there. But with an Awakener scheming in Yuan City, Wang Linchi didn't intend to stay nearby. It was better to keep his distance to avoid being caught in the crossfire. He could also find the Five Weird Ghosts on the way.

"If you're looking for the Five Weird Ghosts and are heading north, I happen to know that about a hundred li north, there's a place called Rotten Peach Mountain. A Mountain Demon there has Five Weird Ghosts under his command," the Powerful Ghost King interjected opportunely.

"Do you have a grudge against the Mountain Demon?" Wang Linchi asked in return.

"No grudge. I just can't stand seeing him so carefree and comfortable. Since you have a need, you might as well send him on his way." The Powerful Ghost King made it clear that since he was miserable, he couldn't let others be happy.

"You're quite honest. Though it's mostly because you want to get rid of me." Wang Linchi understood the Powerful Ghost King's intentions. That Mountain Demon is probably quite strong, possibly even stronger than the Powerful Ghost King himself. That's why he's trying to egg me on. As for whether there truly were Five Weird Ghosts there, that still needed investigation.

Wang Linchi checked the map again. The route to Lang City didn't pass through Rotten Peach Mountain, but a detour would only add half a day's travel. Mainly, now that he had the Detained Five Strange Ghosts Method, a bold idea had begun to form in his mind.