Evan Chu's strike was blindingly fast, but the female ghost was convinced he couldn't possibly hurt her—after all, his last attack had done nothing at all. But she was dead wrong, and wrong in a way that couldn't be more ridiculous. Evan's Soul Rend was devastatingly lethal against ghostly beings.
Soul Rend landed squarely on the female ghost, and a wave of agony like nothing she'd ever felt before tore through her. She couldn't help but let out a shriek. Evan, of course, wasn't about to let her make a scene. A ball of flame instantly appeared in his hand, and while she was writhing in pain, he attacked her again with fire.
The flames weren't too powerful—Evan was worried that if he burned her up in an instant, he wouldn't be able to absorb her ghostly qi. The fire blazed across her body, and just as she was about to be incinerated, Evan hurriedly unleashed the Star-Siphon Method, taking a deep breath to draw in her qi.
A cloud of black mist poured out from the female ghost and rushed into Evan's body. Almost at the same moment, she turned to ash—if Evan had been any slower, he wouldn't have been able to absorb her ghostly qi at all.
As soon as the ghostly qi entered his body, Evan felt an icy chill all over, colder than anything he'd ever experienced. He immediately circulated his Chaos Dragon Force to drive it out, but then realized the qi hadn't disappeared—it was clinging to him, just like Luna had said, which was honestly pretty bizarre.
But there just wasn't enough ghostly qi—nowhere near enough to hide the fact that he was human. Evan wasn't worried, though. Since he'd pulled it off once, he was sure he could do it again.
Now he knew exactly how to absorb more ghostly qi. The female ghost had actually been pretty strong, but his absorption time was just too short. He hadn't even managed to take in a third of her ghostly qi before his flames killed her.
Evan didn't rush to leave. He felt this spot was perfect, but there just weren't enough Ghost Clan members around. If he wanted more, he'd have to lure them in. So he slowly spread out his spiritual sense, checking the activity in the area.
Luna had warned him: in the Netherworld, it's best to use spiritual sense as little as possible. If you run into a real powerhouse, you'll be in deep trouble. So Evan was extra careful, keeping his spiritual sense tightly restrained and only scanning a hundred meters around him.
After a while, he spotted a guy with a head as big as a cauldron. The whole body was actually solid—Evan instantly knew this was a real expert, and he'd have to be careful dealing with him.
He slowly approached the big-headed ghost, then, just like before, struck out with a palm and stood quietly, waiting for the ghost to notice him—and then ran away.
Sure enough, Evan's palm strike infuriated the ghost. This time, it actually felt like he'd hit something solid—he sent the big-headed ghost flying several meters.
Evan was puzzled. Why had his strike against the female ghost felt like it vanished into thin air, but hitting this big-headed ghost actually sent him flying? He'd have to think about it later—right now, the big-headed ghost was charging at him, face twisted with rage.
"You actually dared to attack Grandpa Big-Head Ghost? Kid, are you tired of living?" the big-headed ghost snarled at Evan. But then his face lit up: "And you're a human! My luck today is off the charts. Human flesh tastes incredible—and eating you will make me stronger. Kid, you really are looking for death, barging into hell when heaven's door is open!"
Evan definitely didn't want to fight the big-headed ghost here, so he quickly turned and ran toward the spot where he'd killed the female ghost. He didn't run too fast, worried the big-headed ghost wouldn't follow—but honestly, he needn't have worried.
To the big-headed ghost, seeing a human was like a junkie spotting opium—he'd chase Evan even if it killed him. Soon Evan stopped, and the big-headed ghost caught up.
The big-headed ghost glanced at Evan and said, "Kid, you actually dared to come to Grimchart City? This is the only Ghost Clan city with zero humans. You've got guts, I'll give you that. Today I'm going to feast—it's been a hundred years since I last tasted human flesh."
Evan smiled at the big-headed ghost and asked, "Do you have a Netherghost Violet Orchid on you?" It was a ridiculous question, and the big-headed ghost was stunned for a moment before bursting out laughing.
"Kid, you actually want a Netherghost Violet Orchid? Ha! I don't have one, but even if I did, you wouldn't get to use it—I'm about to eat you. I've seen stupid people, but never anyone this dumb, coming to the Ghost Clan to look for a Netherghost Violet Orchid. You really don't know how to spell 'death.'"
"So where can I find one? Running into you today is just my bad luck. Since I'm about to die anyway, do me a favor and tell me the answer, so at least I can die in peace!" Evan said.
"A few hundred years ago, Netherghost Violet Orchids weren't rare at all. You could buy one for just a few hundred Netherstones. But after that big war, they basically went extinct—nowadays, the price is at least tens of thousands of Netherstones. In Grimchart City, only the city lord has any extras. Satisfied now, kid?" the big-headed ghost laughed.
"So that's how it is. In that case, you can die without worries!" Evan's face twisted into a cold, sinister smile.
He whipped out the Frostbane Sword and unleashed Soul Rend at the big-headed ghost, injecting thunder power into the attack for the first time—he had no idea how strong it would be.
The big-headed ghost never expected a lowly human to actually attack him. He was peak fifth-layer Saint Martial Realm—if he ate Evan, breaking through to the sixth layer would be just around the corner.
But when he saw Evan's sword strike didn't seem powerful, the big-headed ghost relaxed. He summoned his own purple longsword and slashed at Evan in return.
But Evan's Soul Rend landed first. An unbearable wave of agony ripped through the big-headed ghost, as if his whole body was about to collapse. His attack was instantly interrupted.
He was paralyzed, unable to move—a sensation he'd never felt before. Staring at Evan in disbelief, he gasped, "Who are you? I never wronged you, so why are you doing this to me?"
Evan grinned, "You wanted to eat me, so I'm actually grateful. I heard you had some good stuff on you, so I lured you here on purpose. How's that taste?" With another Soul Rend from his Frostbane Sword, he nearly split the big-headed ghost in half—its soul was left in tatters.
Seizing the moment, Evan unleashed the Star-Siphon Method and quickly absorbed the big-headed ghost's energy. It took nearly half a stick of incense's time, but when he was done, all that was left of the big-headed ghost was a pile of white bones.