The Cries in Lost Alley

The moment the gray mist dissipated, sunlight pierced the gloom, striking the white figure curled up by the wall.

"Sizzle—"

Like cold water thrown into boiling oil! The vengeful wife fierce ghost, clad in a tattered white dress and clutching a worn music box, let out a shrill, distorted shriek.

It fearfully tried to meld into the mottled shadows of the wall behind it, but the gray mist and ghostly domain that enveloped it had been torn apart by Fang Gang's two bare fists. The residual Nine Yang True Fire clung to it like a leech, burning its cold, Yin-filled body and emitting wisps of foul-smelling green smoke.

"C+ rank?" Fang Gang's eyes were icy. He took a step forward, the ground cracking beneath his feet. "With this little power, you dare to claim territory and devour people?"

He had no intention of giving the fierce ghost any chance to breathe or beg for mercy. The moment its domain was broken and it suffered the backlash and heavy injuries, its fate was sealed.

"Roar!" The vengeful wife fierce ghost was thoroughly enraged, its residual ferocity erupting.

It suddenly raised its head. The once somewhat delicate face instantly rotted and twisted. Black, hollow eye sockets streamed with foul blood, and the music box in its arms emitted a grating, off-key "creak-creak!"

A visible mental shockwave, imbued with intense malevolence, like a twisted black drill, shot directly at Fang Gang's brow!

This was its final, desperate strike, containing its origin resentment!

"Careful of the mental impact!" Chen Tao, watching from the alley entrance, saw it clearly and cried out in alarm. Such a materialized mental attack was enough to instantly destroy the sea of consciousness of an ordinary cultivator!

Fang Gang didn't even blink.

In his sea of consciousness, the clear mirror constructed by the True Mirror Still Water Heart Sutra instantly rippled with light! His cool, resilient intent formed an invisible barrier.

"Buzz!"

The vicious, malevolent mental drill slammed into the heart mirror, emitting a dull, mental shockwave!

The mirror surface rippled violently but remained as steadfast as a rock! Only a few waves appeared before the final madness was completely dissolved and annihilated!

[Ding! Successfully resisted a C+ rank mental origin impact! True Mirror Still Water Heart Sutra proficiency +15! Mental attribute slightly increased!]

"Mental attack?" A cold arc tugged at Fang Gang's lips, laced with mockery. "It couldn't even scratch my defense."

Before his voice even faded, he had vanished from his original spot!

It wasn't due to speed creating afterimages, but a pure burst of strength where his muscles and fascia instantly contracted and sprang forward in a terrifying straight-line charge! The air was forcefully pushed aside, emitting a dull sonic boom!

With 650 points in Agility, he was like chasing the moon and stars! Under the perfect transmission of the fascia in the mid-Tendon Transformation Realm, he unleashed a straight-line killing speed far exceeding his cultivation level!

"Die!"

A hand, covered in a faint golden-red sheen, with muscles knotted like a dragon, like a clamp cast from steel, ignored the fierce ghost's final distorted phantom and the splattering blood curses. It accurately and precisely clamped around its rotten neck!

"Uh... gurgle..." The vengeful wife fierce ghost's shriek abruptly stopped, turning into a terrified gurgle.

It struggled frantically, its cold, ghostly claws scratching at Fang Gang's arm, producing a teeth-grinding "screech" sound, as if scratching against a hundred-refined steel, not even leaving a white mark!

"Noisy."

Fang Gang's five fingers suddenly tightened!

"Bang!!!"

Like crushing a rotten watermelon filled with filthy water!

The fierce ghost's head, along with half its decaying shoulder, exploded in his palm!

Filthy Yin energy, shattered resentment, and foul-smelling black ichor splattered everywhere, but upon contact with the Nine Yang blood energy rising from Fang Gang's body, they sizzled as if encountering their nemesis, rapidly burning and purifying, turning into wisps of green smoke that dissipated!

The headless ghost body twitched violently a few times, as if all its bones had been removed, and it slumped softly to the ground. Then, under the roasting of the supremely Yang blood energy, it rapidly shriveled, carbonized, and finally turned into a small pile of ash on the ground.

Only the old music box fell to the ground with a "clang." Its lid sprang open, revealing the twisted, broken spring gears inside.

[Ding! Killed C+ rank Vengeful Wife Fierce Ghost (Core)! Gained 30 Evolution Points!]

[Available Evolution Points: 55!]

At the alley entrance, there was a deathly silence.

Chen Tao and the few Special Affairs Bureau field agents behind him had their mouths agape, wide enough to fit an egg, their eyes bulging.

They watched Fang Gang casually flick away unseen filth from his palm, watched the rapidly disappearing pile of ash on the ground, watched the bald head reflecting a cold, hard sheen in the sunlight... a chill shot straight from the soles of their feet to the crowns of their heads.

That was a C+ rank spiritual fierce ghost! It had created a ghostly maze that covered the entire alley district!

The two elite teams that went in had lost contact without any ability to resist! The spiritual expert consultant the Special Affairs Bureau had called for was still on the way!

The result?

This bald guy went in, and it took less than three minutes.

One punch shattered the ghostly domain.

Then one hand crushed the fierce ghost.

Simple, brutal, and outrageously efficient!

"Gulp." Chen Tao swallowed with difficulty, his voice particularly clear in the silent alley. He felt his worldview had been refreshed again.

Talismans? Magical artifacts? Mental barriers? In the face of absolute power, they were all paper!

"Fang... Brother Fang..." Chen Tao's voice carried a reverence and excitement he himself hadn't noticed. "Are... are you alright? That ghost's mental attack..."

"Tickled," Fang Gang said concisely, bending down to pick up the twisted music box from the ground.

It felt cold to the touch, with a trace of weak but extremely stubborn resentment remaining, seemingly connected to some deeper source of Yin energy.

He frowned and casually tossed it to Chen Tao.

"This thing is a bit strange. The residual resentment is highly directional, unlike natural formation. You guys check its origin."

"Yes! Yes! We'll investigate thoroughly!" Chen Tao fumbled to catch the music box. It was bone-chillingly cold to the touch, making him shiver. He quickly placed it in a specially made lead box.

His heart skipped a beat. Highly directional? Was it… man-made? The work of a cult?

Just then, a faint but deep tremor ran through Fang Gang's left arm!

The Grudge Pupil imprint on his arm warmed slightly, and the dark golden vertical pupil at its end seemed to… blink for a fleeting moment?

A cold, greedy intent swept subtly towards the direction of the music box sealed in the lead box!

Fang Gang abruptly lowered his head, his gaze sharp as a knife, fixed on his left arm. The imprint had returned to its deathly, cold stillness, as if the tremor had been a mere illusion.

Illusion? Fang Gang sneered inwardly. This thing is reacting to… or rather, craving… the source of the resentment in this music box?

"Brother Fang?" Chen Tao asked cautiously, seeing Fang Gang staring at his arm with a grim expression.

"It's nothing." Fang Gang suppressed the surging killing intent and curiosity in his heart, then looked up. "What about the person trapped inside?"

"Ah! Right, right, right!" Chen Tao snapped back to reality and quickly directed his team members, "Quick! The ghost domain is broken! Go in and search for the missing team members!"

The gray mist dispersed, and the alley returned to its dilapidated but clear layout.

Soon, behind several dead ends and piles of abandoned debris, they found the six missing Special Affairs Bureau team members from two groups, all unconscious.

Their faces were pale, their breathing weak, but their vital signs were stable. It was clear that the ghost domain had drained a large amount of their mental energy and vital energy, plunging them into a deep coma.

"Quick! Send them back to the Bureau's medical team! Use 'Spirit Purifying Incense'!"

Chen Tao directed the stretcher bearers, letting out a sigh of relief. He then looked at Fang Gang with gratitude and lingering fear. "Thank you so much, Brother Fang! This place was incredibly sinister. If you hadn't stepped in…"

"We each got what we needed," Fang Gang interrupted him. His gaze swept over the team members being carried away, finally landing on Chen Tao's pale, sweaty, and still-shaken, plump face. He suddenly spoke, "Old Chen."

"Yes! Please speak!" Chen Tao jolted upright, standing at attention.

Fang Gang pointed to his own head, which was as smooth and shiny as a mirror, gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight. His tone carried a hint of… seriousness?

"You know a lot of people, fatty. Help me find… some decent shampoo? Or… conditioner?"

He paused, as if choosing his words carefully. "Something that makes a bald head even shinier, more reflective."

Chen Tao: "???"

The expression on his face froze instantly, shifting from gratitude to awe, then to utter bewilderment. Finally, the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably. Shampoo? Conditioner? To make a bald head… shinier? More reflective?! He looked at Fang Gang's serious, earnest face, then at the head that shone like a small sun in the sunlight of the run-down alley in the north of the city, and a sense of absurdity hit him like a wave.

"Pfft… cough cough!" A nearby team member, who was drinking water, spat it out, choking and turning red in the face.

Chen Tao held his breath for a long time, his face turning red, before finally managing to squeak out, "...Got it! Leave it to me! I'll find some for you right away! I guarantee… it'll be bright enough! Reflective enough!" He genuinely couldn't comprehend the eccentric thought processes of this formidable individual, but any request from such a powerful figure, no matter how bizarre, had to be fulfilled!

Fang Gang nodded in satisfaction. His bald head was a symbol of his strength and one of his weapons against enemies. Since it was going to be bright, it would be maximally bright! Bright enough to blind those ghostly things! He hoisted the Bronze Battle Halberd leaning against the wall, which resonated faintly with his vital energy. The blade of the halberd shimmered with a cold, ethereal light in the sunlight.

"I'm leaving. Next time you have a tough spiritual entity like this, remember to call me."

He dropped the remark and turned, walking away with large strides. His dark golden bald head receded into the dilapidated alleyway, like a moving beacon, dispelling the lingering gloom.

Chen Tao watched the retreating figure disappear at the alley entrance, let out a long breath, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and muttered to himself, "Tough spiritual entities… With you, are there any that aren't tough?" He looked down at the distorted music box in the sealed lead box in his hand, then recalled Fang Gang's final "request" about shampoo, his chubby face contorting with a complex expression. This guy was outrageously strong, and his methods were outrageously unconventional!

Back in the temporary apartment, Fang Gang locked the door and leaned the heavy Bronze Battle Halberd against the wall with a clang. The lingering Nine Yang energy in the room had not yet completely dissipated, and the air was filled with a faint warmth. He sat cross-legged on the floor, closed his eyes, and centered himself.

In his sea of consciousness, the clear mental mirror, constructed by the True Mirror Still Water Heart Sutra, slowly circulated, meticulously sorting and purifying the chaotic mental impacts and resentment fragments absorbed during the battle in Lost Alley. A cool stream of consciousness flowed, bringing unprecedented clarity to his mind, and his control over his own power seemed to have improved by a sliver.

[Available Evolution Points: 55!]

His consciousness sank into the system interface.

"System, add points! To the True Mirror Still Water Heart Sutra!"

[Ding! Consumed 55 Evolution Points!]
[True Mirror Still Water Heart Sutra (Basic Chapter): Beginner (50/200) -> Beginner (105/200)!]
[Spirit: 10 -> 15!]

A surge of mental energy, far cooler and more substantial than before, instantly poured into his mind! The mental mirror shone brightly, becoming even clearer and more stable! The range and sensitivity of his spiritual perception increased once again!

The cold malice emanating from the Grudge Pupil brand on his left arm was completely blocked by this more resilient mental barrier, making it almost imperceptible.

Fang Gang opened his eyes, and a clear, faint light flashed and disappeared in the depths of his pupils. He looked down at his left arm. The dark gold vertical pupil brand lay dormant, like an inanimate object.

But Fang Gang could feel that beneath the cold, dead stillness, a deeper greed and malice, like a viper poised to strike, lay hidden.

"Music box... source of resentment... " Fang Gang's eyes turned cold. "And the stirrings of you, ghastly thing... Nightmare Holy Cult?" He recalled Chen Tao's description of the Lost Alley incident and the highly targeted residual resentment.

His intuition told him this was far from an isolated event. Those rats hiding in the gutters seemed to be brewing something.

He needed more evolution points! He needed more strength! To push his mental cultivation to a higher realm and completely resolve this hidden danger!

At the same time, he also wanted to know what exactly the Nightmare Holy Cult was up to!

He picked up his phone, and the screen lit up.

Besides a funny sticker from Chen Tao that read, "Researching a shampoo brand, guaranteed to be shiny!", there was also a message from an unknown number. The content was extremely brief:

"West City, 'Fu Shou Yuan' Cemetery, midnight, 'big goods' are appearing, suspected to be from the same source as 'Lost'. Dare to take it? - Old Smoker."

Old Smoker? Fang Gang raised an eyebrow slightly.

This seemed to be the codename for a local underground informant. He'd heard Chen Tao mention it before – well-informed, but expensive and elusive.

West City Cemetery? Midnight? Big goods? Same source?

A sharp curve formed on Fang Gang's lips.

"Location."