Growth of the Divine Soul

At this moment, seeing that the Female Hanging Ghost had remained motionless, Zheng Que frowned and asked with great seriousness, "As a dignified Resentful Soul who has already gained sentience, are you now going back on your word?"

Hearing this, the Female Hanging Ghost finally snapped out of her daze and said coldly, "Ten thousand Resentful Souls? Impossible. I simply cannot do that!"

"Change your request!"

"Besides, you human brat won through trickery, so I will not agree to any request that is too difficult!"

Seeing that the Female Hanging Ghost was actually honoring the bet, Zheng Que was somewhat surprised. He thought for a moment and, deciding not to push his luck, immediately changed his request: "From now on, you are not to harm anyone without my command."

The Female Hanging Ghost let out a cold snort and said, "Fine!"

As she spoke, a hemp rope appeared out of thin air around her neck, and the other end automatically looped over the crossbeam in the room.

Tap, tap, tap...

The Female Hanging Ghost hung herself, dangling from the crossbeam, and began to sway left and right like a pendulum.

As she swung, her skirt stirred a breeze, and the room grew chilly, with a biting, cold aura that refused to dissipate.

Zheng Que nodded slightly. His original plan had been to beat the Female Hanging Ghost into submission. Although there had been a small mishap along the way, the result was, fortunately, quite satisfactory.

Thinking of this, he spoke again and asked, "My name is Zheng Que. What is yours?"

He had actually already seen her name, Qing Li, on the Life and Death Book in the Underworld space earlier. Asking again now was to distinguish his Underworld identity from his real-world identity in front of the ghost.

Hearing this, the Female Hanging Ghost hanging from the beam rolled her blood-red eyes, glanced at Zheng Que, and replied coldly, "Qing Li."

Zheng Que nodded and said, "I am going to start cultivating now. You stay by my side and guard me."

Qing Li did not reply. Her body, hanging from the beam, suddenly spun around to turn her back to Zheng Que, and she continued her hanging.

Zheng Que immediately sat cross-legged on the bed, focused his mind, and began to cultivate.

This time, perhaps because there was a Resentful Soul nearby, the spiritual energy he drew into his body was wrapped in far more yin energy than in any of his previous cultivation sessions.

Soon, Zheng Que opened his eyes to see that dilapidated Wide Hall once again.

The Life and Death Book remained open, spread out on the long table in front of him.

Black mist surged rapidly from between his brows, flowing like a gentle stream into the Life and Death Book.

Zheng Que was already extremely familiar with all of this. He began to ponder Qing Li's behavior from just a moment ago.

Judging from how she had negotiated with him, agreed to the wager, and finally fulfilled her promise after losing, her thinking and logic were very clear—already extremely similar to those of a living person.

Yet, not long ago, this Female Hanging Ghost had not only lacked any sentience, but she had also nearly perished because she couldn't withstand his spirit blood.

The contrast between then and now made it seem as if they weren't even the same ghost!

When he had captured Qing Li back then, she was no match for him at all. But in the battle just now... if not for the constraints of the Ghost Controlling Technique and the warning from his other identity within the Underworld, she could have beaten him to death!

It was no surprise; the earth-shattering change in Qing Li must have stemmed from some benefit she obtained while entering the Underworld just now—a benefit unknown to a living person like him.

By now, she likely possessed both the intelligence she had in life and all the memories and ferocity she gained after transforming into a Resentful Soul.

Thinking of this, Zheng Que shook his head and looked at his own name and record on the Life and Death Book.

Species: Human.
Name: Zheng Que.
Origin: Changfu Town, Taiping County, Tu Prefecture, Great Li Dynasty.
Lifespan: 16 years, 7 months, 10 days; to perish at Hai Hour.

Zheng Que turned his thoughts, wanting to see if he could modify the lifespan recorded there.

After some fumbling, he discovered that no matter what method he used, he could not leave a single mark on the Life and Death Book.

Since the lifespan could not be altered, Zheng Que simply stood up, walked down from the Imperial Dais, and began to wander around the Wide Hall.

The hall was vast and deep. Although it was dilapidated now—with large and small holes in the walls and roof letting in a constant stream of cold, gloomy wind—the neatness of the floor tiles, the remnants of patterns on the pillars, and the sheer scale of the structure all hinted at its former majesty and grandeur.

The hall had suffered heavy damage. Aside from the table and chair on the Imperial Dais, there was no furniture or decor to be seen. The floor was covered in patches of pitch-black grime—whether they were aged bloodstains or something else, he couldn't tell—which emitted a cold, fishy, and sweet scent.

After circling the room, Zheng Que returned to the limping grand armchair and sat down.

For now, this ruined Underworld had four uses for Zheng Que: first, it gave him an extremely keen perception of "death"; second, the Life and Death Book could absorb the excess yin energy in his body; third, he could see the time of his next tribulation on the Life and Death Book; and fourth, bringing a Resentful Soul here seemed to enhance the strength of that Resentful Soul.

He had personally verified the first three of these uses.

Only the last one, having just been discovered, still had many details that were difficult to confirm.

Earlier, when he brought Qing Li in, she immediately regained her mobility, but she did not gain her intelligence at that exact moment.

Afterward, her name, origin, and lifespan appeared on the Life and Death Book... and immediately after he flipped through the book, she had inexplicably begun to cry out for justice.

It would be best to catch another Resentful Soul and test it.

Also, every time the Life and Death Book records a new name, my mental state and sensory perception seem to improve to a certain degree.

This should be an increase in the strength of my soul...

Thinking of this, Zheng Que immediately decided that whenever he had the chance, he would find a way to increase the number of names recorded in the Life and Death Book.

A moment later, the black mist between his brows was completely absorbed. The surrounding scene shifted and rippled, and he returned once again to the room in the small town.

Zheng Que opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings. Outside the window, the daylight had vanished; the sun had set, and the room had grown dim, sinking into a hazy twilight.

Qing Li was still hanging from the crossbeam, her black hair and white robes swaying before Zheng Que, swinging back and forth and stirring up gusts of eerie wind.

Zheng Que glanced at her and immediately asked, "While I was cultivating just now, was there anything unusual in the room?"

Qing Li remained with her back to him. Upon hearing this, she replied coldly, "No."

Hearing this, Zheng Que nodded slightly. Since Qing Li hadn't noticed anything, it meant that when he entered the Underworld, his physical body in the outside world did not shift along with him; it remained exactly the same as it would during normal cultivation.

This also meant that before entering the Underworld in the future, he would have to ensure the safety of his physical body first...

Thinking of this, Zheng Que closed his eyes and continued to cultivate.

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