I stood up with ease and comfort, staring blankly at Leo Liu.
"Ah, no matter how many years pass, do your best. I don't want to watch these villagers be trampled by me again and again. Heh, the Ghost Burial Squad? What a strange organization."
As I spoke, I slowly floated up and drifted toward the distant mountains.
I arrived at a secluded spot and looked at my Seven Ghost Souls, then smiled.
"From now on, there won't be any more days for you to play mahjong all day. You are not my ghost souls, but members of Blackfang."
I said coldly, and the Seven Ghost Souls each nodded in response.
I planned to start training. In this environment, the time left for me is infinite. Since I can't leave, I might as well break through everything that holds me back.
"This seems really troublesome, Qingyuan. I can't handle something this complicated."
Desire Ghost spoke up, resting her chin in her hands, looking adorable as she sat beside me.
I patted her head and smiled, though I was already starting to feel a bit exhausted.
"It really is hard. For us to be your ghost souls, and at the same time remain independent individuals—it's very difficult, Qingyuan."
Zhu Tang spoke, raising a hand. In her palm, a small tuft of black flame ignited and then quickly extinguished, turning into a wisp of black smoke.
Normally, Blue Wraiths release ghost souls as their means of fighting. Among them, the higher the level of the Blue Wraith, the less likely they are to use multiple ghost souls. Another reason is that the ghost energy required to split off ghost souls comes from the main body.
In other words, multiple ghost souls can't leave the body for long. If they do, it greatly depletes the host's ghost power and can even lead to exhaustion.
It's been several hours now, and the sky is bright. The sun has already risen, and its rays are burning my body. The ghost energy inside me is extremely weak, unable to withstand the sun of the living world.
"We should go down, Qingyuan. If the sun roasts you, it'll be bad."
Yin Ghost drifted over, a dense black cloud of Yin energy covering our heads.
We reached the foot of a mountain, in a shadowy corner where sunlight couldn't reach. I was gasping, and my condition inside was getting worse and worse.
"We should go back. You won't be able to take it like this."
Tong Ghost muttered, and I smiled.
"I can still hold on for now. As long as I endure and keep my ghost souls from dying of exhaustion, whether it's tomorrow or the day after, just keep going—again and again."
"Drawing earth energy from underground and transforming it inside my body should make things easier, right?"
Resentful Ghost spoke, but Spirit Snake immediately shook its head.
"Now that Qingyuan's body holds all of us ghost souls, it's not just baleful energy that's needed to keep us outside. We also need resentment, Yin energy, and other negative ghost emotions. Although ghost souls can replenish themselves, the rate is far slower than the loss—especially during battle, when the consumption is even more severe."
I looked around. Except for Curse Ghost, who seemed fine, the other six ghost souls were all starting to show varying degrees of damage.
"Hey, why are you the only one who's fine?"
Zhu Tang glanced at Curse Ghost and walked over to her, reaching out a hand. With a sizzle, Zhu Tang's hand, just as it was about to touch Curse Ghost's shoulder, turned to dust.
"It's the power of curse killing. I've sealed off all of myself, so no ghost energy leaks out. As for you all, you can't do that. Just don't drain Zhang Qingyuan dry and that'll be good enough."
Just as Curse Ghost said, when multiple ghost souls are outside the host, they naturally draw ghost energy from the host to maintain their forms and the strength they use in battle.
But now, in order to keep their forms from dissipating outside my body, they're already drawing ghost energy from me without restraint.
My face was pale, and I was growing weaker and weaker.
With a slap, Yin Ghost suddenly hit Desire Ghost on the forehead.
"Sis, why'd you hit me?"
"You're the one absorbing the most. Can't you use your head for once?"
I leaned quietly against the slick mountainside, my consciousness barely hanging on. The fatigue was overwhelming, as if I could collapse at any moment, flooding my body again and again.
"Listen, Zhang Qingyuan, if this keeps up, your ghost souls really will die. After all, you're still a dead man."
Belle glowed with a faint pink light. It was the Soulreaver Blade speaking, and just then, a delicate voice rang out.
"Zhang Qingyuan, think about Cecilia too. Saving your ghost souls is extremely difficult."
I nodded and looked at my ghost souls. They all rushed back into my body, and instantly, the fatigue they caused vanished without a trace.
I gasped for breath, over and over.
"Let's continue tomorrow."
I've reached my limit. My ghost souls still haven't truly recovered—they're barely alive. Last time, they used power dozens of times greater than my own and ended up shattered.
I'm still alive, and it's all thanks to Cecilia. She used her own power—her charm—to gather my shattered ghost souls, which would have otherwise faded away and turned to dust. Through her charm, these fragments came together.
"Qingyuan, you'd better not get reckless. This 'super glue' might have stuck your ghost souls together, but it's only a temporary fix. If too much time passes, even super glue won't help."
Zhu Tang ignited a flame that burst from my left shoulder.
"You dead bird, who are you calling super glue?"
Cecilia's voice, a little angry, came out from Belle.
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Zhu Tang said nothing, turning into a wisp of black smoke and disappearing. At that moment, Belle glowed faintly pink and merged into my body.
I looked at the sky, which was gradually darkening. Night was about to fall, and the tragedy I had caused had plunged the entire village into deep sorrow.