Chapter 105: The Plot to Seize Haishan! (Part 1)

Shadow’s gaze burned intensely toward the towering mountain range, where the bizarre sea mountain creature was trapped within a sealed magnetic energy field established by the military command of Binhai City. This creature had once provided the Pure World Society’s leader with the spiritual body under his guardianship.

Just a few days earlier, Chen Jack and Shadow, who had taken refuge nearby to recover from injuries, happened to witness the battle between the Formless and the sea mountain creature. They deeply realized the vast gap between Qixing and themselves; unlike ghosts or monsters, Qixing’s humans had no weaknesses. The fully unleashed Formless entered and exited the sea mountain creature’s confinement seven times, shattering its core spirit.

However, the sea mountain creature was unusual. The Formless, caught off guard, failed to finish it off and was instead struck by a retaliatory sneak attack, leaving him wounded. Though the Formless retreated, the damage he inflicted was immense. The threat posed by the sea mountain creature had sharply diminished in the short term.

Chen Jack and Shadow, hiding here, were the unexpected variables no one had foreseen. At that moment, Shadow made a significant decision.

“Little sister, even with that skull, isn’t it too dangerous for you to face it? Big brother can easily handle another monster or ghost spirit. You don’t have to pick such a difficult one. My lost realm can be slowly recovered through practice,” Chen Jack said, his face full of concern.

The two had known each other since childhood. Though not biological siblings, they had grown up together in the same orphanage, relying on each other so closely that their bond was stronger than blood.

Chen Jack didn’t want Shadow to come to harm. He especially hoped nothing like what happened in their childhood would ever happen again.

As if sensing his thoughts, Shadow replied, “Big brother, it’s rare that this creature is weakened and injured! Once we acquire its core spirit for your fusion, we’ll truly have a foothold in the Society. Don’t worry, I have enough strength to protect myself now.”

Seeing her resolve, Chen Jack hesitated a moment before saying, “Alright, but be extremely careful. In my current state, the best I can do is avoid adding to your troubles.”

He was frustrated by his injured body, still not healed from the wounds inflicted when his spirit was killed. If he followed her, he would only be a burden, unable to help.

“I won’t be a burden, big brother. Having you here is enough,” Shadow said softly, nuzzling her head against his chest.

After many years apart, their reunion still felt like a dream. Though Chen Jack hadn’t fully recovered and was not as powerful as Shadow, she believed the brother who once protected her would soon return.

Shadow then arranged for Chen Jack to stay with a family in Qianjia Village, concealing his residence with her black liquid to ensure his safety despite his inability to defend himself.

Once everything was in place, the shadow beneath Shadow’s feet grew larger. Riding the spirit within her shadow and holding the black skull, she headed straight for the sacrificial altar atop the sea mountain. She was confident of seizing the sea mountain creature’s core spirit.

What others didn’t know was that the Pure World Society’s greatest asset, besides their method of fusing with spirits, was a book detailing various ghosts and monsters. This knowledge had been left behind by the Society’s leader, currently in seclusion.

Shadow only saw the book’s contents after the leader delegated power and she and three others took temporary control of the Society. One entry contained a detailed description of the sea mountain creature: its abilities, weaknesses, and preferences.

What set the sea mountain creature apart was that it possessed more than one core spirit. Coupled with Qixing monsters’ unique ability to bear offspring, it was extraordinarily difficult to kill.

Otherwise, the Formless, who had forced the Qixing whale creature to self-destruct, would not have failed against it. Fortunately, the Formless had consumed much of the sea mountain creature’s power, making it incapable of launching strong attacks for the time being.

Dealing with multiple core spirits was not a problem for Shadow. The book also recorded the creature’s weakness: it took a brief nap daily at noon, lasting about half an hour. During this time, one could enter its body through the sacrificial delivery passage and reach the very center, where its three core spirits lay.

If someone were capable of suppressing the spirits there, the Qixing monster would be as helpless as fish on a chopping board, completely at others’ mercy. The black skull Shadow held could effortlessly achieve this.

However, this passage was essentially the creature’s esophagus, carrying flesh and blood offerings. Even a living body entering it would face fierce corrosion from substances lining the passage walls, akin to sulfuric acid.

Any cry of pain would instantly awaken the creature, and facing a fully alert sea mountain monster meant certain death.

Before noon, Shadow reached the edge of the mountain summit, waiting quietly.

Her black liquid was special, highly effective against beings with weak sensory abilities. The sea mountain creature’s perception was incredibly dull—after all, it was a monster. This was why she chose it.

She stopped on the mountain path just a step short of the summit. Moving further would alert the creature despite its weak senses. Now, all that remained was to wait for its rest.

Under Shadow’s watch, the once uneven ground atop the mountain gradually stilled—a sign described in the book indicating the creature’s slumber. The time window was short — only about thirty minutes.

Shadow swiftly entered the sacrificial passage and leapt down. Though slender and small, she inevitably touched the red substance coating the passage.

The corrosive hiss began.

The black liquid composing her body started to dissolve. Her face, not yet fully transformed into liquid, suffered the worst. Large patches of skin corroded away, exposing scarce flesh and bright red blood.

Clenching her teeth, Shadow uttered no sound.

The long slide through the passage felt like an eternity.

Finally, she emerged into a circular chamber made entirely of flesh and blood. At her feet was a concave pit connected by three thick, blood vessel-like tubes—each about a meter thick—leading to three core spirits.

Two resembled giant eggs over five meters tall, formed from human flesh and blood. The third was shriveled, unlike the plump others, appearing dried and cracked.

The blood vessel-like tubes pulsed continuously, pumping red liquid into the core spirits, causing each to throb like a human heart.

Shadow scanned the surroundings, then drew forth the black skull hidden within her shadow. As the resentment of living beings surged into it, the head of the Living Buddha of Yidu suddenly opened its eyes and mouth wide.

Shadow raised the black skull above her head. With the ongoing influx of spiritual resentment, twin beams of black light shot from the skull’s eyes and a third from its gaping mouth.

The three black beams sought out the sea mountain creature’s core spirits. In the next moment, the black light severed the massive blood vessels connecting to each core spirit, enveloping all three cores in darkness.

The sea mountain creature instantly awakened.

A colossal human face emerged from the flesh walls beside Shadow.

“Pure World Society’s! You… seek death!” it roared with fury and shock. It had never suspected the Society’s leader, a longtime ally, would send agents to ambush it while it was injured.

At that moment, Shadow felt the world tremble. Discovering her actions, the sea mountain creature launched an assault. Tendrils of flesh erupted from the walls, striking indiscriminately at her position.

These blood-red vines were coated with corrosive liquid. Each lash stripped away much of Shadow’s black liquid form, inflicting agony akin to being flayed alive.

Yet, for Chen Jack’s sake, Shadow endured the whipping, intensifying the flow of spiritual resentment. Soon, thin blood vessels beneath each core spirit snapped. The three core spirits began to rise from the pit.

The black light dragged the cores toward the black skull.

The skull’s black light expanded until only three holes remained—two small and one large. The beams emitted from these apertures gripped the sea mountain creature’s core spirits tightly, slowly drawing them inside.

As the cores neared the skull, they shrank in size. The creature, though furious and launching frenzied attacks, was too weakened to retaliate effectively.

Once the core spirits were completely seized, the creature lost its source of power. The human face on the flesh wall crumbled instantly, and the attacking blood-red vines withered into putrid, decaying flesh.

Even the blood-flesh chamber began shedding clumps of blood. The ground and walls, already pulverized by the creature’s attacks, rapidly rotted and collapsed.

The entire sea mountain seemed on the verge of collapse.