Floating Like an Immortal, A Satisfied Chen Mo!

The sudden system prompt left Chen Mo stunned.

The young maid who had just been attending to his bath was now surging with internal energy, a cyan light blooming from the center of her brow, revealing the faint outline of a miniature scripture.

As the pages of the book turned, characters poured forth, condensing into chains that bound the mass of black mist in place.

"Throat God Tiger Might, Qi God Guide the Fluids... Hey, stop spacing out! I can't hold him for long!"

The maid's voice was urgent.

The black mist rolled and struggled violently, causing the cyan light to flicker unsteadily.

Chen Mo suppressed his shock, condensed vitality essence in his palm, and struck out at the mist from a distance.

The Faceless Man knew this essence was the bane of ghost energy and dared not meet it head-on. He opened his mouth and inhaled, swallowing the black mist entirely, revealing his true form: a fat, greasy man of immense girth.

He pressed his fingers together like a blade and, without hesitation, plunged them into his own chest, slicing downward to rip his torso wide open!

No blood flowed from the wound; instead, it lit up with dense, eerie lights.

They looked like the eyes of a savage beast, chilling to the bone.

"Without the Soul-Summoning Banner, I have no choice but to raise ghosts within my own body, feeding them with my flesh and blood, enduring the agony of a hundred ghosts gnawing at my heart day and night!"

"Three years! Do you have any idea how I've lived these past three years?!"

"Since you've snatched my treasure, then you shall experience the pain of being devoured by vengeful spirits yourself!"

Seeing he could not escape, the Faceless Man's ferocity was ignited.

He was under the feet of the Emperor, where experts gathered; he had to finish this quickly, for if a Grandmaster were alerted, he would never escape!

He thrust his hands into his chest and pried it open. Instantly, cold winds howled, and countless pitch-black shadows shrieked as they lunged at Chen Mo, while the Faceless Man's fat body withered rapidly as if leaking air.

The maid turned pale at the sight.

"Summoning a hundred ghosts, devouring souls and seizing spirits... Be careful, this man is a Fifth-Rank Ghost Envoy! Don't let those ghosts touch you!"

As an Occultist, she often dealt with souls, but only to capture wandering spirits.

Wandering spirits were the lingering obsessions left behind by the dead, drifting aimlessly; if they did not attach themselves to objects, they would dissipate within days.

Ghosts, however, were entirely different. They were born of evil or refined from living souls, possessing extreme ferocity, feeding on the flesh and souls of the living, and wielding all sorts of sinister abilities!

Chen Mo's strength was outstanding among his peers, but he had yet to condense a Martial Soul; he had no way to resist the gnawing of a hundred ghosts...

Yet, the words had barely left her lips when Chen Mo's figure was swallowed by the dense swarm of ghosts!

The sounds of shrieking and gnawing made one's scalp crawl!

"Chen Mo!"

The maid's expression was frantic; ignoring the Faceless Man, she urged the cyan characters to surge toward the ghosts.

The Faceless Man suddenly broke free, a cruel grin twisting his blurred features as he reached for the maid's heart with a hand wreathed in black energy!

"A Sixth-Rank Occultist? A fine seedling. Perfect for refining into a ghost; it should help my cultivation advance even further!"

"Leave your life behind..."

Suddenly, the gnawing stopped, and the room fell into a brief silence.

The ghosts swarming in a ball froze, and emerald green light began to pierce through the gaps!

"Awoooo!"

The next moment, as if they had encountered something truly terrifying, they shrieked and scattered in every direction!

Chen Mo's figure was revealed.

His entire body was wreathed in blazing emerald flames; the pitch-black ghost energy melted away like snow under a scorching sun, and the bodies of the surrounding ghosts gradually turned transparent and ethereal.

He raised his palm, black seal-script appearing on the back of his hand, and sucked the ghosts directly into it!

At the same time, a surge of extremely pure energy flooded into his spirit center.

Chen Mo felt incredibly refreshed, his entire being floating as if on air!

So this is soul power?

By using vitality essence to disperse ghost energy and then using the Soul Absorption ability to harvest soul power to strengthen his spirit...

And with the "Fierce Ghost Buster" buff, he didn't have to worry about his mind being corrupted by ghost energy, and his refinement speed had been greatly enhanced!

Chen Mo looked at the ghosts with burning eyes!

These weren't vengeful spirits; they were clearly experience points!

Don't run!

Let me have a taste!

Chen Mo held up his palm and began chasing ghosts all over the room.

Watching the man run around the room chasing ghosts, both the maid and the Faceless Man were left with blank, stunned expressions.

"Is this guy really a martial artist?"

"This is just too ridiculous!"

In the blink of an eye, Chen Mo had devoured over a dozen malevolent ghosts, causing the Faceless Man's blurred features to twitch as if his very heart were bleeding.

Not every living person could be refined into a ghost; it required a soul brimming with intense resentment.

These dozen ghosts alone had cost the lives of at least a hundred human sacrifices!

"Damn you!"

The Faceless Man gritted his teeth and pulled a palm-sized Bronze Lamp from his robes, flicking the wick with his finger to ignite a ghostly, blue-green flame.

Under the illumination of the fire, the aura of the malevolent ghosts surged, allowing them to resist the suction of Soul Absorption and dive, one by one, into the Faceless Man's gaping chest.

"Trying to run?"

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow.

How could he let such a feast slip through his fingers?

He flipped his wrist, produced an amber crystal, and crushed it into powder without a moment's hesitation!

On the status panel before his eyes, a flickering "+" sign appeared next to his martial arts and divine abilities.

"Soul Absorption, add points!"

He instantly upgraded the divine ability Soul Absorption from "Elementary" to "Intermediate"!

The black sigils on the back of his hand twisted like living creatures, their edges sharpening and glowing with a faint, bloody light.

At the same time, the suction force intensified several times over!

The ghosts that had been diving into the Faceless Man's chest slowed, as if sinking into a quagmire. After a moment of stalemate, they were pulled backward against their will, sucked into Chen Mo's palm one after another!

"One, two, five... ah, oh my."

The sensation of his mind being flooded with soul power made Chen Mo groan aloud.

Seeing the situation turn dire, the Faceless Man grabbed several nearby ghosts, shoved them all into his chest, and attempted to flee.

"Stop him!"

Before Chen Mo's voice had even faded, the little maid had already acted.

A brilliant cyan light erupted from the center of her brow, and chains of cyan energy bound the Faceless Man tight.

"Hurry, I can't hold this for long..."

"I know."

Chen Mo strode forward and plunged his hand directly into the Faceless Man's chest!

He channeled the Soul Absorption ability, devouring every last ghost hidden within the man's body.

Having absorbed over a hundred malevolent ghosts, Chen Mo felt his consciousness become unprecedentedly clear. His soul felt as if it were detaching from his body, hovering high above to overlook the entire room, where not even the slightest movement could escape his perception.

Only then did he notice the faint, eerie light flickering in the four corners of the room.

"A sound-dampening formation? No wonder no one came despite all this commotion."

"So well prepared... it seems he's been targeting me for a long time."

Chen Mo pulled his consciousness back, looked at the shriveled, husk-like body before him, and stirred his hand inside the chest cavity.

"Let me speak from the heart..."

"Is this all the ghosts you have? Do you have any more in stock?"

The Faceless Man: "..."

Though his features were blurred, the expression of fury on his face was unmistakable.

"You little beast, I will strip your tendons, break your bones, and refine you into a vengeful spirit, never to be—"

Chen Mo's hand shifted, gripping the man's pulsing heart.

"Let's be honest now, do you really have any more or not?"

"..."

The Faceless Man lowered his head and trembled, "Master, you've squeezed me dry; I really don't have a single one left..."