After the span of a cup of tea, inside the Chu Family secret chamber.
Chu Ge used a fire starter to ignite two oil lamps, brightening the room, and then chose to control the little sprite inside the dragon clock.
Along with the consumption of two wisps of exotic power.
A faint, wispy shadow suddenly darted out from the dragon clock.
Roughly the size of an adult's palm, upon leaving the dragon clock it seemed timid, instantly shrinking beneath the opposite corner of the table.
Had Chu Ge not been its master and clearly sensed the traces of its existence, he would have almost thought the shadow that had just flitted by in a blur was an illusion.
What the hell is this thing?
Chu Ge frowned. He had originally thought the little sprite would be huge and ferocious, so why was it such a tiny little thing?
Through the dragon clock on his wrist, he could distinctly feel the connection and control he had over the little sprite under the table, and immediately barked toward the corner of the table, "Come out!"
The shadow in the corner of the table trembled, and then timidly stretched out a tiny shadow limb, quivering like an octopus.
Chu Ge fixed his gaze and discovered it was a tiny shadow thigh, looking as though it were clad in black silk.
Following that.
A faint, wispy figure resembling a woman emerged from behind the table leg.
Looking no larger than the palm of a hand, it seemed timid and afraid of people, appearing somewhat transparent like a shadow.
"You—"
Chu Ge just started to speak.
The figure of this tiny shadow-like person gradually brightened, flashing specks of spirit brilliance like a rain of light, full of wondrous mystery.
He saw that she had delicate crescent eyebrows, clear almond eyes, bright red cherry lips, and pink, rosy cheeks. Her posture was graceful and her movements were as light as a fairy's.
A pair of tiny feet were petite and lovely, and on the smooth forehead of her little head were two small buds like green tender shoots.
Chu Ge was stunned. Even though in his previous life he had been accustomed to seeing many beauties enhanced by over a dozen levels of aesthetic sorcery and filters, at this moment he could not help but internally praise the shadow girl's beauty.
It was just a bit too small.
It was hard to imagine that such a cute little thing actually controlled a monster as ferocious as the flying head zombie to harm people—it was simply a combination of beauty and the beast.
"S-Sprite Xiao Qian pays respects to the new master."
The shadow girl timidly stared at Chu Ge with clear eyes, remotely conveying her intent as she bowed. Although she made no sound or speech, she still let Chu Ge know her meaning.
"Your name is Xiao Qian? A little sprite?"
Chu Ge squatted down, staring at the palm-sized girl Xiao Qian to examine her.
So intently did he look that the girl grew shy once more, her pretty face blushing pink. With her little hands' ten fingers intertwined, she turned her head away to cast sideways glances at him, her delicate brows stealing frowns at Chu Ge while the little sprouts on her forehead trembled, looking very nervous.
"Are you only this big? Have you always looked like this?"
Chu Ge asked out of curiosity.
Hearing this, Xiao Qian shook her head, and her suddenly shadow-like body shivered, transforming into the appearance of a snake-bodied, human-headed beauty. Yet she lacked limbs, sporting only the two sprouts on her forehead as she opened her mouth to dart out her tongue, as flexible as a snake's tongue.
This bizarre and grotesque form looked remarkably like the little snake spirit from the textbooks before his time, and she was even in a spectral state, clearly not formed from human origins and likely a type of entity resembling an exotic demon.
Looking at that flexible snake-like tongue, Chu Ge was instantly speechless. "You'd better change back to how you looked just now."
Seeing that Xiao Qian quickly reverted to the appearance of a little girl, he gained some understanding.
This little thing was probably quite spiritually astute; in order to protect herself, she would transform into a pleasing appearance.
He reached out his hand, changing it to poke forward with a small finger.
Xiao Qian seemed to understand his intent, and also extended a tiny arm comparable to Chu Ge's pinky to meet it.
Her originally shadow-like faint body seemed to turn physical, the skin of her arm cold and pale as it touched his pinky finger.
Chu Ge only felt a chill, his qi and blood seeming somewhat sluggish as if his pinky had touched a piece of ice.
At the same time, he also instantly read her response from Xiao Qian's gaze.
Oh, you need exotic power crystals to grow larger? Or to use other abilities?
I don't have an exotic power crystal yet, and I don't know what it is, but I do have exotic power.
Chu Ge hesitated somewhat.
Thinking that he had already channeled two wisps of exotic power to this little thing just now, using her abilities now actually required continuing to channel more.
This little thing was tiny in size, but her appetite was rather large.
Perhaps he should just control her and re-offer her in a sacrifice instead.
Pondering for a moment, he still intended to test the other party's abilities first.
He immediately channeled a wisp of exotic power through his finger.
"Grow bigger for me to see first."
Chu Ge issued the command; he still preferred something a bit larger.
This seemingly required no consumption of exotic power; growing larger and smaller was as simple for the shadow girl Xiao Qian as him stretching out his hands and legs.
Sure enough, after a single word from him, Xiao Qian simply spun around in place, her body blurring like a shadow before suddenly shooting up, turning into the state of a petite loli about one and a half meters tall.
"A bit interesting." Chu Ge found it amusing.
He immediately had Xiao Qian demonstrate some of her other abilities as well.
As a result, Xiao Qian actually began to dance, pointing her fingers and stepping forward with a graceful posture that, matched with her jade visage and form, was simply flawless.
Chu Ge, however, looked somewhat dazed.
What was this doing? Was she using this to test and please him?
Seeing that Chu Ge seemed displeased.
Xiao Qian waved her pink fists with cries of iyi iyi, displaying her boxing prowess.
It was just that this posture somewhat resembled the enthusiastic thug punch.
Suppressing the urge to slap her across the face, Chu Ge barked, "What is all this flashy nonsense? I want to see your innate abilities."
Hearing this, Xiao Qian snapped out of it, her pretty face flushing crimson as she immediately began to display her various innate abilities.
Such as possession, wall-passing, and bewitching.
Among them, when she possessed Chu Ge, he could distinctly sense a chilly aura darting straight into all his limbs and bones.
According to Xiao Qian's explanation, because he was her master, her possession was harmless.
Yet if she were an ordinary person, a pounce upon someone would be just like ghost possession—resulting in severe illness at best, or death at worst.
Even some martial artists of the mortal realm would be influenced and controlled to varying degrees.
As for the ability to pass through walls, Xiao Qian could currently only pass through walls roughly a zhang thick.
For thicker ones, it would consume quite a bit of exotic power.
As for the bewitching ability, Chu Ge experienced it and nearly made a fool of himself.
Only by wearing the porter mask could he effectively avoid being bewitched by Xiao Qian.
"Not bad. As expected of a rare breed. Xiao Qian, these abilities of yours are all quite good and worthy of heavy employment!"
Inside the secret chamber, Chu Ge praised Xiao Qian with satisfaction, having already dismissed the thought of sending her back into the dragon clock.
"Thank you for the praise, Master!" Xiao Qian smiled shyly, bowing with a graceful and lovely demeanor.
Chu Ge's gaze flickered. "That's right. Why were you hiding inside the flying head zombie to harm people before?"
Xiao Qian said timidly, "Xiao Qian... Xiao Qian was trapped inside the flying head zombie and could only be controlled by the previous master..."
"So that's how it was."
Chu Ge understood.
It seemed that when he used the liquor poison on the flying head zombie back then, that final critical moment was when Xiao Qian was resisting and struggling, causing the exotic power within the liquor poison to invade and paralyze the flying head zombie even faster, allowing Xiao Qian to break free of control. It could be considered that she had indirectly helped him a great deal.
He thought for a moment and said, "Alright, you also have a soul-charging ability at the very end. What exactly is it? Show it to me."
"This... this also requires exotic power," Xiao Qian lowered her head, saying with some embarrassment.
Chu Ge's face darkened, and the sacrificial idea that had just been extinguished reignited a flame.
This little brat had such a huge appetite.
Was this any way of charging his soul? It was clearly making him top up his balance!
In effect, displaying those abilities just now had already consumed a wisp of exotic power.
He rubbed his forehead. He really didn't want to give it—he wanted to take advantage of her for free—but games obviously couldn't be played that way.
Meanwhile.
In Youzhou, within a deep valley under the jurisdiction of Yunlong Prefecture, towering cliffs stood on three sides, as steep as if chopped by a knife or hacked by an axe. The cliffs were draped with moss resembling green velvet, making the place very mystical, profound, and serene.
This was one of the hidden mountain gate strongholds of the Corpse Herding Sect.
At this moment, inside a cavern deep within the valley, wisps of mist billowed.
Vaguely visible amidst the mist, the sound of soul-stirring bells drifted with the wind.
Inside the cavern, coffins lay horizontally one after another, inscription banners fluttered, and ghost money drifted through the air.
Cool shade umbrellas and paper banners greeted the eye, as if coffin-bearing banner officials were shaking bells and manifesting their figures beside the coffins.
Suddenly, the lid of one of the coffins rattled with a bang-bang, and a muffled, hoarse voice echoed from within.
"Sprite Xiao Qian..."
"My spirit god has captured the existence of Sprite Xiao Qian. That last remaining sliver of corpse king blood within her body... that is my blood, in the south, the south. That expelled disciple is in the south..."
The figure shaking the bells abruptly stopped. "The south? That expelled disciple stole the Mysterious Spirit Flying Head Zombie back then, only to be found and heavily wounded by the enforcement deacon in Chizhou to the north, after which he fled without a trace, as if sheltered and concealed by some faction. He's actually in the south?"
"No! This is bad!"
The speaker's expression changed. "Sprite Xiao Qian was sealed within the Mysterious Spirit Flying Head Zombie as the core to control the flying head zombie, yet she was also held in check by the flying head zombie.
The fact that you can sense her existence now proves that she has broken away from the flying head zombie. Damn that expelled disciple Yu Xinghong!"
"It matters not."
The coffin lid abruptly stopped vibrating, and a hoarse voice issued from within. "Aside from our Corpse Herding Sect, no one can control Sprite Xiao Qian. But we must find her immediately!"
"With the Great Zhou in turmoil now, our Corpse Herding Sect has not ventured out into the world for a long time. Emerging now, I know not whether it will be a blessing or a curse. So be it, grant me corpse blood tracking!"
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