Chapter 136: Return (2)

It provided excellent cover.

At that moment, it sprang from its original position, lunging toward Wu Zui.

The Asking Heart Sword flashed, a crimson blade of light slicing through the air and cutting the creature in two. As the karmic fire clinging to the blade incinerated the monstrosity, a scrap of black paper, no larger than a fist, fluttered to the ground.

Wu Zui bent down to pick it up. To his surprise, it was a fragment of a very recent newspaper.

[Even discarded newspapers can turn into ghosts?]

While Wu Zui pondered this, the Lantern Ghost Spirit asked him with a hint of shyness, "Young Master, would you be willing to bestow that black scrap upon me? I can feel that it seems capable of elevating my cultivation."

"Take it." Hearing this, and thinking that the Lantern Ghost Spirit deserved a reward for its earlier warning, Wu Zui flicked his wrist and handed the black fragment over.

"Thank you, Young Master!" The Lantern Ghost Spirit accepted the scrap with a bow and swallowed it in one gulp. As it consumed the fragment, the vengeful energy within the spirit began to surge, and moments later, that energy became noticeably more refined.

In Wu Zui's arms, Xiao Ke'ai tapped his chest with her paw, looking disgruntled. It was as if she were saying: "What about me? I contributed too, you know!"

Wu Zui rubbed her little head to soothe her. How could he possibly let her eat something when he wasn't sure if it was safe? If she got sick from it, he would be heartbroken.

Xiao Ke'ai snorted in annoyance before curling up in his arms to sleep.

"Young Master, more things are approaching! There are quite a few of them!" The Lantern Ghost Spirit, having fully digested the fragment, spoke up once more to warn him.

At the same time, not far away, a group of creatures similar to the newspaper ghost seemed to have sensed Wu Zui’s presence—or perhaps the death of their companion—and were now closing in on him.

With a flash of red light, Wu Zui summoned Wang Hu from the space within the Asking Heart Sword. Pointing at the encroaching group, he commanded Wang Hu and the Lantern Ghost Spirit, "Wang Hu, Tang Yingying, deal with them!"

"Understood."

"As you command, Young Master."

The two spirits acknowledged the order, their bodies radiating surges of vengeful energy, and in the blink of an eye, they charged at the creatures, which looked like shredded rags.

Though the creatures formed from newspaper scraps appeared mysterious, leaking no trace of vengeful energy that would allow Wu Zui to gauge their strength, they were, in reality, only around the three-star level.

For two five-star spirits, handling them was as easy as slicing vegetables. The crimson light emitted from the lantern held by Tang Yingying easily pierced through the lunging monsters, the beams deftly extracting their ghost cores as they passed.

Wang Hu was even more direct. His hands glowed with vengeful energy, becoming incredibly sturdy. Like a valiant, battle-hardened general of antiquity, he dodged and wove through the fray, his hands tearing the creatures apart until they were reduced to mere scraps of black paper.

In less than five minutes, the dozens of creatures that had swarmed toward them were wiped out by the Lantern Ghost Spirit and Wang Hu. The two returned to Wu Zui’s side, clutching a stack of black fragments. Wang Hu was the first to extend his hand, offering the spoils to Wu Zui.

Though the Lantern Ghost Spirit felt a pang of reluctance, the memory of the karmic fire mark within it compelled it to follow suit.

"Since these things benefit you, go ahead and absorb them yourselves. Take this opportunity to improve your strength. There are plenty of monsters here; you’ll need all the power you can get." Wu Zui did not take the fragments, instead urging them to keep the spoils.

In the short time since Wu Zui had returned to Blue Star, he had already faced multiple ghost attacks. It was clear that during his recovery, a large-scale conflict had broken out between the spirits and humanity.