Mirror Ghost

For the next two days, Lu Siye secluded himself in his room to cultivate and didn't go out.

He spent an entire day cultivating the third layer of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill to perfection.

Then he spent 200 Fear Points to strengthen the Soul Severing Blade Technique.

After it was strengthened, the Soul Severing Blade Technique became the Five Tiger Soul Severing Blade Technique.

To be honest, when Lu Siye saw the name "Five Tiger Soul Severing Blade Technique," his expression was like that of the "Subway Grandpa Staring at His Phone."

How had strengthening it made the name of the technique even more lame?!

Lu Siye flipped through the Five Tiger Soul Severing Blade Technique and found that its stages had changed. Before, they had been Beginner, Proficient, and Great Accomplishment; now there were five stages.

Beginner, Proficient, Great Accomplishment, Perfection, and Divine Mastery.

At Perfection, the technique could slash an enemy's courage before striking them, making them falter before the fight even began. It reduced the enemy's combat strength by thirty percent and raised his own odds of victory by the same amount.

At Divine Mastery, each strike could conjure the spiritual forms of five tigers. This was true Divine Mastery.

Lu Siye finally understood where the words "Five Tigers" came from. It was actually... pretty fitting!

But after strengthening the technique, the system had only refined its first three stages. It hadn't provided methods for cultivating the final two.

It seemed he would have to strengthen it twice more to reveal the cultivation methods for the last two stages.

The room was too small for him to wield the Blazing Blood Blade properly.

So Lu Siye took out the Evil-Exorcising Fruit Knife and used it to practice the Five Tiger Soul Severing Blade Technique.

After another day, Lu Siye had cultivated the Five Tiger Soul Severing Blade Technique to the Proficient stage.

The blade work at this stage was fierce and relentless. To slash an enemy's courage first, he had to train his own courage first.

Then Lu Siye took out the Blazing Blood Blade again and spent 600 Fear Points to strengthen it.

After it was strengthened, all the red patterns on the blade disappeared, leaving it looking utterly ordinary.

The blood-red patterns would only appear when he supplied it with his own blood and energy.

What's more, when the strengthened Blazing Blood Blade conducted his blood and energy into the blade, there was no loss, allowing it to unleash his full power.

After completing all this, Lu Siye's strength had increased tremendously.

Host: Lu Siye

Fear Points: 225

Cultivation Power: 155 years

Martial Arts Techniques: Third Layer of the "Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill"; "Body Tempering Art"; "Five Tiger Soul Severing Blade Technique"—Proficient

Special Items: Evil-Exorcising Fruit Knife; Blazing Blood Blade +1; "Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill"; "Five Tiger Soul Severing Blade Technique"

Judging from Cultivation Power alone, his strength had increased sixfold—and that didn't even take the blade technique or the Blazing Blood Blade into account.

His actual combat strength had probably surpassed the Night Patrol Envoy level.

As for whether he'd reached the level of a Night Wanderer Envoy, he'd have to face a vengeful ghost to find out.

After all, he still hadn't mastered the signature ability of Night Wanderer Envoys: projecting one's blood and energy outward.

So he couldn't guarantee that his combat strength had reached the Night Wanderer Envoy level.

Of course, the price of his skyrocketing strength was that his four-digit Fear Points had dwindled to less than a tenth.

His heart ached so much he could barely breathe!!!

Two days of seclusion had left Lu Siye mentally exhausted.

The Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill was an external technique for training the body. It promoted the body's recovery during cultivation and could replace the effects of sleep, keeping the body in peak condition.

But practicing blade techniques was different. They were a skill, and honing them took a lot of energy.

So Lu Siye decided to rest for the night and resume hunting ghosts tomorrow.

He put away his weapons and cultivation manuals, turned off the living room light, and headed for the bedroom.

Suddenly, a steady splashing sound came from next door. Listening closely, it sounded like someone washing their hair.

"What's with the guy next door? Why's he getting up to wash his hair in the middle of the night every night these past two days?"

Lu Siye glanced at his phone. It was two in the morning.

The night before, the same splashing sound had come from next door around this time.

Did the guy have scalp ringworm? Or folliculitis?

Or had he run into a ghost?

Lu Siye went to the wall and knocked on it with his knuckles. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. My head was a little itchy, so I got up to wash my hair!" After a moment, a cold voice came from the other side of the wall.

"Oh! Glad you're okay. Try to finish up and get to bed early. Staying up late is bad for you. I'm going to sleep."

With that, Lu Siye returned to the bedroom and shut the door with a heavy bang.

In the bathroom next door, Shi Yimin stood rigidly in front of the mirror above the sink.

He stared at his reflection: most of his scalp had peeled away, and his head was covered in bloody foam.

Behind his reflection stood a pale skeleton, its bones crawling with countless maggots.

His face was deathly pale, cold sweat streaming down his forehead, his eyes filled with terror.

His eyes widened further and further until it seemed they might fall right out of their sockets.

The Shi Yimin in the mirror gave him an eerie, deliberate smile, then reached for the shampoo beside the sink.

Shi Yimin felt his body move without his control, stiffly mimicking his reflection.

No! Don't!

Why me? Won't someone save me!?

Shi Yimin wanted to scream for help, to make the exorcist next door hear him and come to his rescue.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make even the faintest sound. He could only move like a puppet on strings, controlled by someone else.

Against his will, he turned on the tap. A stream of red water, as red as blood, gushed out with a rush.

His reflection wore that eerie smile as it slowly bent over. Its head was just about to touch the icy water when—

Suddenly, the exorcist next door spoke from beyond the wall behind him.

"Hey, are you okay?"

He'd noticed!

I can still be saved! Help! Save me...

Shi Yimin's eyes widened and his whole body trembled. He desperately tried to cry out for help.

The figure in the mirror started, its pupils shrinking slightly. Had it been discovered?

The reflection straightened and stared into Shi Yimin's eyes. Suddenly, its lips stretched back to its ears, revealing sharp teeth webbed with blood vessels.

"I'm fine. My head was a little itchy, so I got up to wash my hair!"

A cold voice came from the mirror. Shi Yimin knew it well, because it was his own voice.

No! Don't!

Don't believe it! That isn't me!

Shi Yimin screamed inwardly and struggled desperately, his eyes full of a desperate yearning to live.

"Oh! Glad you're okay. Try to finish up and get to bed early. Staying up late is bad for you. I'm going to sleep."

The exorcist next door seemed to believe it. A little while later, they heard the bedroom door slam shut.

It was over!

Hope died in Shi Yimin's heart, leaving nothing but despair in his eyes.

The Mirror Ghost let out a breath of relief. Two days ago, it had sensed the scorching aura radiating from the person next door. That person was definitely powerful enough to crush it. It couldn't let him discover it.

The Mirror Ghost looked at Shi Yimin, whose sunken eyes and haggard features showed that most of his Yang energy had already been absorbed. It was time to possess him.

At last, it could leave this wretched mirror!

The Mirror Ghost suppressed its excitement and controlled Shi Yimin's body as the two of them slowly leaned their foreheads toward the mirror.

Just as their foreheads were about to touch, a sinister voice rang out from the bathroom doorway.

"Caught you!"