Chapter 106: The Plot to Seize Sea Mountain! (2)

At this moment, Shadow’s body was reduced to less than half its original size. The black liquid that composed her form had been largely corroded by the strange attacks of the Sea Mountain aberration, and the spiritual grudges within her were almost completely drained by the black skull.

If she hadn’t been clutching that black skull tightly in her hand, the malevolent spirits inside her would have begun to turn against her, consuming her as their prey.

Fortunately, she had already suppressed the Sea Mountain aberration. Once Jack Chen fully merged with this creature, the two siblings would fear no one in the Pure World Society except for the mysterious chairman.

Meanwhile, the entire Sea Mountain rapidly began to collapse, with rocks tumbling down its outer shell. Since the aberration inside had vanished, the mountain was now nothing but an empty shell. The collapse was anticipated by Shadow all along.

She transformed into a pool of black liquid and slipped out from between the rocks.

Although the massive Sea Mountain aberration’s body still contained considerable grudging energy, which could aid the spirits within her, Shadow prioritized leaving swiftly to recuperate, absorbing only flesh and blood along the way.

Outside the Sea Mountain, in Qianjia Village, the black liquid coalesced and moved toward Jack Chen’s hiding place. At this point, Shadow could only writhe slowly, having lost her lower body to the Sea Mountain aberration.

After absorbing the black liquid that had remained to protect Jack Chen, Shadow grew partial black liquid thighs. Upon seeing Jack, she placed three ghost cores, now only about the size of red dates due to suppression by the black skull, into his hands.

“Big brother, these are the ghost cores of the Sea Mountain aberration. The smaller one has been damaged—hurry and merge it to protect yourself. I... am a little tired... I want to rest for a while,” Shadow said before closing her eyes and slipping into sleep.

Jack bent down, cradling Shadow’s remnants, stroking her face which was once flesh but now reduced entirely to white bone. He said with deep sorrow, “Don’t worry, little sister! I’ll get you out of here.”

Given her injuries, if Shadow hadn’t already been partially transformed into a ghostly form, she would have died inside the Sea Mountain.

Jack placed the black skull that had fallen to the ground back into Shadow’s embrace. This object could only suppress the ghosts inside her to the greatest extent when kept close. This was what Shadow had told him before leaving—she must have foreseen this outcome then.

After swallowing the damaged ghost core, Jack’s previously dormant spiritual grudges awoke. The core rapidly corroded into droplets of red liquid, and Jack’s cultivation began to recover.

Alongside the swift rise in his cultivation came a sensation like countless ants gnawing at his bones—agonizing pain that made life unbearable, as if his body were being devoured from within.

Jack gritted his teeth and endured. If he wished to absorb ghostly power to grow stronger, he had to withstand their backlash. When he once controlled the Hundred Towers, he had also suffered agonizing bites from those skulls. Such was the price of merging with ghosts.

After a short while, the unbearable pain eased slightly. Jack immediately lifted Shadow in his arms and, after a moment’s thought, dashed off in a certain direction. What they needed most now was time; as long as they had enough, they could survive in this chaotic world.

“We can’t stay here! With so much commotion, the spiritual detectives of China must already be on their way! First, I’ll find an unmonitored path to evade pursuit. Once my cultivation recovers, if they dare chase me again, I’ll kill them all!”

Jack looked at Shadow, gravely injured and barely alive for his sake. His eyes, filled with murderous intent, reflected a desperate need to vent his fury with others’ blood and the destructive urge born from the ant-like gnawing within.

Meanwhile, the spiritual detectives in Binhai City were indeed rushing here, just as Jack expected. Alongside them was Wuxiang, who had recently fought the Sea Mountain aberration and was still nearby.

The abnormal energy fluctuations from the Sea Mountain made Wuxiang suspect the aberration was attempting to flee. Despite his injuries, he immediately headed toward the mountain. If the aberration escaped, Wuxiang would pursue it no matter what.

By the time the detectives and Wuxiang arrived, the towering mountain had already collapsed into a pile of rubble.

Only the outer shell of the Sea Mountain, along with the rotting aberrant flesh inside, remained. A thorough search yielded no ghost cores. To the detectives, this scene resembled the aftermath of an awakened one killing the aberration.

However, Wuxiang thought differently. No awakened one had yet reached seven-star level. Those capable of such destructive power were the old practitioners of ancient methods like him. Since they each pursued their own goals, no one would simply come to help.

Moreover, other awakened ones would be unable to kill the wounded Sea Mountain aberration, making its death suspicious. The detectives continued searching nearby for any traces left by others.

Soon, in Qianjia Village, they discovered clues in the room where Jack had stayed. Wuxiang followed immediately, recognizing the familiar energy fluctuations and realizing who had been there.

“Spiritual grudges? That little girl from the Pure World Society?”

He still remembered the girl who had once tried to ambush him. Following the residual energy in Qianjia Village, Wuxiang began to track it.

The detectives exchanged glances. Qianjia Village was remote, and Jack had fled into the deep mountains, making it even harder to capture him without the Sky Eye system’s aid. Helpless, they had no choice but to follow Wuxiang’s lead.

Jack had already passed the worst of the ant-like gnawing. Having initially merged the ghost core using spiritual grudges, his body now exhibited a layer of gray-white material on his limbs, resembling stone.

This was the power gained from merging with the Sea Mountain aberration!

With time, as this layer thickened, he would be able to traverse the rocky mountains directly with Shadow. Then no spiritual detective could easily catch them—not even the seven-star Wuxiang could shatter mountains one by one.

He did not have enough energy to waste recklessly!

Meanwhile, the ghosts within Shadow were gradually subdued under the suppression of the black skull. But her body, corroded by the Sea Mountain aberration, could only recover slowly. There was not enough flesh in the mountains for her to consume and heal.

“We need to leave here quickly and find a place rich in flesh so my little sister can recover as soon as possible,” Jack thought, hurrying forward with Shadow in his arms, staring at her pale, skeletal face.

Far away in Yanjing, Xiao Ke’ai’s computer suddenly began to sound alarms.

“Finally found it?”

Wrapped in a towel, Xiao Ke’ai hurried out of the Magnetic Energy Enhancement Chamber, anxiously muttering as she stared at the screen.

“Ugh… an event related to me? The Sea Mountain aberration in Binhai City died without reason, and the mountain collapsed? So far, Master Wuxiang and nearby spiritual detectives have begun hunting suspicious individuals. The prime suspect—the fifth elder of the Pure World Society, Shadow?”

Xiao Ke’ai read the alert carefully, word by word.

“People from the Pure World Society still dare to linger in Binhai City? Hmm… could Jack Chen be there too? Let’s focus the search. If we find him, maybe I won’t need to wait until five stars to get out.”

She murmured to herself while reviewing the information.

“Alright then.”

Xiao Ke’ai nodded and redirected most of her resources, previously used for monitoring comparisons, to the outskirts of Binhai City. If Jack dared show up on the surveillance, the computer would detect him immediately. Then... hehe!

(*＾ー＾)

“Back to my ‘bath’! Come on, Xiao Ke’ai! You’re the best!”

After setting up her computer, she cheered herself on and rushed back into the Magnetic Energy Enhancement Chamber to continue training.

Back in Binhai City, because Shadow was injured and unconscious, Wuxiang sensed her now faint but unmistakable spiritual grudges. His figure twisted and transformed into a golden light that sped toward that direction.

At this moment, Jack had not yet mastered traveling through rock, but he faintly sensed a pure, immense energy locking onto him from afar. The speed of this energy was so great that Jack believed he could not escape.

Sure enough, soon a golden light appeared, and Wuxiang, his tattered robes fluttering, materialized before Jack. A circle of golden light walls appeared, trapping Jack and the unconscious Shadow inside.

“So you two killed the Sea Mountain aberration? Hand over its ghost cores. I will destroy them,” Wuxiang said, his eyes glowing with golden light as he surveyed the severely injured Shadow and Jack, who had only just begun merging with the ghosts.

“You’re not going to kill us, old monk? You just want the ghost cores?”

Jack eyed Wuxiang warily, surprised. He had expected Wuxiang to attack immediately. It seemed there was room for negotiation.

“Of course. I generally do not kill people,” Wuxiang said solemnly.

“So… that means you have killed before?” Jack inferred the implied meaning. Looking at the light walls enclosing them, he tossed the Sea Mountain aberration’s two remaining ghost cores toward Wuxiang, warning, “Only these two are left. You’d better keep your promise, old monk.”

Wuxiang caught the two red-date-sized ghost cores and instantly clenched his fist. Golden light flashed fiercely in his palm, accompanied by crackling sounds like roasted beans popping.

Finally, amid a piercing scream, the Sea Mountain aberration was utterly destroyed.