Stealing Power

Lin Shu propped her chin on her hand and gazed out the window. For some reason, she thought again of that ethereal figure on Yellow Goat Mountain, of that person who seemed to have stepped out of an ancient painting. More than that, she remembered those eyes that seemed to reflect the entire world. Perhaps she was the only person who had ever seen an immortal's features from such close range!

It was precisely because of this that everyone in their Criminal Investigation Brigade had written multiple reports and submitted them to their superiors. The information and appearance of the immortal had been mentioned repeatedly, making Lin Shu recall it again and again.

What kind of person was he? An immortal? Did he live in the immortal realm?

What was the place where immortals lived like?

Lin Shu suddenly straightened up. She realized that she had somehow started saying the same things as her younger sister.

Just then, the tired-looking Team Leader Zhou walked in. He glanced at Lin Shu, walked straight over, and placed a document on her desk.

"What is this, Team Leader Zhou?" Lin Shu asked, bewildered.

Team Leader Zhou said, "These are the reassignment documents! Lin Shu, you are no longer part of the Criminal Investigation Brigade!"

Lin Shu's face instantly went pale, and she stood up at once. "What happened, Team Leader Zhou? Did I do something wrong?"

Team Leader Zhou shook his head. "No. I am no longer part of the Criminal Investigation Brigade either! Some of the former brigade members, along with people dispatched from above, will be forming a new Special Task Force!"

Lin Shu more or less understood the reason and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "Is it responsible for the Yellow Goat Mountain incident? Have people been sent down from above?"

At this point, Lin Shu suddenly thought of something. "Don't tell me... Don't tell me it's some kind of special department?"

Team Leader Zhou laughed. "No! There is no such department as the one you imagined. This was only just established. If it weren't for the series of incidents that happened recently, we would never have created such a department. Some of the others were mainly sent by the Religious Association to organize the documents and Taoist Canon from Three Goat Temple."

"We are merely a temporary group investigating this series of incidents, not some special organization like you imagined. We have no special privileges either. Since this is a temporary group, it could be disbanded at any time."

Lin Shu nodded and immediately asked, "What is our group called?"

"The Abnormal Affairs Investigation Team!"

"Chen Jin! Take your radio upstairs and listen! I have something to put down here! Don't come back down until I call you!" Fang Xiu slowly walked down the stairs, carrying a large bundle and looking exceptionally cautious.

The little female ghost was still hugging that broken radio, sitting motionless on the sofa in the basement. Anyone who did not know better might have thought she was part of an entire set of dolls. Even if someone broke in, however, they would never be able to see her.

After hearing Fang Xiu's voice, she did not answer. She simply stood up and walked upstairs.

"Right, if you hear anything about alchemy or supernatural knowledge, write it all down!" Fang Xiu suddenly remembered something and called out to the little female ghost, Chen Jin. He did not have time to listen beside the Otherworld Radio all the time. Besides the Merman's Voice alchemy basics program at eight every morning, quite a few broadcasts often touched on supernatural knowledge—things Fang Xiu needed as well.

"Do a good job and there will be a reward!" Chen Jin did not answer. She completely ignored Fang Xiu and walked out of the underground chamber. Looking up, Fang Xiu could see only a pair of tiny leather shoes and half a pair of calves on the stairs, but he knew she had heard him.

Fang Xiu carried the large plastic bundle and slowly spread it open, revealing what was inside. It was a tree as black as ink, its branches shaped like ghost claws—the very Necro Tree Fang Xiu had obtained.

Fang Xiu wanted to plant it in the basement, placing it inside a large planter. He had punched through the bottom, allowing its roots to reach down into the earth.

However, because the Necro Tree's soul consciousness had dissipated, the immense divine power it had carried had also scattered completely. It was unlikely to grow rapidly or possess the same formidable power as before.

What Fang Xiu wanted to utilize was its ability to contact the Gaia Consciousness and steal its energy.

Fang Xiu had thought many times about contacting the Gaia Consciousness. Yet that river of light, vast as an endless sea, would assimilate even his soul if he gazed at it for too long, let alone if he tried to touch it.

The Gaia Consciousness was the aggregate consciousness of all life on Earth, the destination of every soul. Its consciousness itself possessed no will, only the faintest instincts. This could be inferred from how the Necro Tree had previously extracted its power without suffering any fierce retaliation.

Now, Fang Xiu wanted to steal the power of Gaia in the same way.

"Without a mana network, my spirit value will remain stuck at Tier-1 forever, forever fixed at seven points. With the Necro Tree, I can extract the power of the Gaia Consciousness and gradually strengthen my soul."

From the moment he obtained the Necro Tree, Fang Xiu had finally found a road forward for the soul power that had remained stuck in place.

Fang Xiu erased its soul and, following the method alchemists used to create a Companion Alchemy Golem, separated one of the Three Souls Seven Spirits from himself and merged it into the Necro Tree, reactivating it.

Within the soul structure Fang Xiu had designed, the Three Souls were like organs, each governing wisdom, memory, and perception. What Fang Xiu separated was perception. To him, this was like digging out his own eyes and merging them into the Necro Tree.

From this alone, one could see just how great a resolve—and how high a price—Fang Xiu had paid.

The Necro Tree, now fused with one of Fang Xiu's primary souls, once again burst forth with intense spiritual light. Fang Xiu carefully stuffed it into the bottomless planter.

At once, its roots writhed violently and rapidly burrowed into the earth, growing toward the depths below.

Fang Xiu closed his eyes. At that moment, the Necro Tree had become his eyes, his sense of touch, and his nose. He could feel that beneath the earth lay a Sea of Light.

It was a vast and boundless sea of souls, the place where all life and souls ultimately returned.

Fang Xiu continued growing his roots. At last, they pierced deep beneath the earth and came into contact with it.

"Rumble!"

It was as if a galaxy had exploded inside Fang Xiu's soul, spinning into motion as radiant light poured everywhere and illuminated his world in searing white.

Fang Xiu opened his eyes. At that moment, he discovered that he was no longer in the basement. Instead, he was suspended in an ocean of light.

Endless soul-light enveloped him, letting him drift through that vast sea at will. Strange calls and beautiful music reached his ears, as though he had returned to his mother's embrace.

It was not until the next morning that Fang Xiu woke up. He immediately discovered that his soul had grown slightly stronger.

If his spirit value had originally been seven points, it could now be said to be 7.2.

"Did I succeed? Did I really steal power from the Gaia Consciousness?" Fang Xiu was swept up in a frenzy of joy.

Fang Xiu looked beneath the earth. This was only the beginning. Being able to steal power from the Gaia Consciousness meant that his plan was viable. Although he had only stolen 0.2 points of spirit value for now, he would surely obtain more and more in the future.

"If one day I become strong enough, could I directly replace the Gaia Consciousness and become the master of Earth?" A wild thought suddenly surged through Fang Xiu's mind.