Blood Ghost

The blood moon was scarlet, and the Yin wind chilled the bone.

Fang Gang shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, sprinting towards the funeral home's massive, tomb-like silhouette.

Inside his body, the semi-mastered Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill operated frantically. His blood and qi burned like a small furnace, fiercely clashing with the bone-chilling cold erupting from the ink-black Yin line on his arm, sending waves of tearing pain.

"Hiss… ha…" Fang Gang gritted his teeth. The sweat that beaded on his skin was instantly vaporized into white steam by the scorching heat of his blood and qi.

There was no hint of retreat in his eyes, only the ferocity of a cornered beast.

"Get the hell… back where you came from!" he growled, channeling his will. The Dragon-Elephant Power, mixed with his surging blood and qi, violently slammed into the rampant Yin cold!

Sssstttt!

It was like pouring oil onto snow! The Yin cold that had penetrated his internal organs was forcibly suppressed and burned away!

The Yin line writhed violently, its color seemingly dimming slightly, its advance temporarily halted.

With the pain subsiding slightly, Fang Gang's spirits lifted!

It works! The stronger it is, the more it can suppress it! The thought was like a potent stimulant.

He needed more Evolution Points! More power!

The funeral home's main doors were flung open, resembling the gaping maw of a monstrous beast.

A more concentrated Yin energy and deathly chill washed over him, mixed with the scent of formaldehyde and a faint… smell of blood?

Fang Gang's footsteps didn't falter as he charged into the main building's corridor like a cannonball.

The pale emergency lights cast eerie, shifting shadows down the corridor, which was terrifyingly silent, save for his heavy footsteps and the pounding of his own heart.

Hoo… ha…

That slow, cold, and strangely viscous breathing sound echoed once more from the depths of the morgue!

This time, the sound seemed… tinged with a hint of mockery? As if waiting for its prey to walk into a trap.

[Warning! Detected high-concentration Yin energy aggregation reaction (Fierce Ghost-level / Green Zombie-level)! Threat level: C! Extremely Dangerous!]

[Detected multiple low-level Yin energy aggregates (Grudge-level) active! Threat level: E!]

The system's alarms were cold and piercing.

Fang Gang stopped at the morgue entrance, the cold metal doorknob chilling him to the bone.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the churning blood and qi and the stinging pain in his arm, his eyes sharp as blades.

Fierce Ghost-level… Green Zombie-level… He licked his slightly chapped lips. Far from fearful, a powerful fighting spirit and… hunger arose within him! It was the allure of Evolution Points!

"Let's start with the appetizers!"

He shoved the morgue door open with a bang!

The chilling deathly energy surged out like a tide! Inside the morgue, under the pale emergency lights, the scene was even more bizarre than before!

More than a dozen blurry, distorted humanoid silhouettes, formed from dense black mist, drifted and writhed aimlessly among the cold morgue drawers.

They emitted unintelligible hissing sounds, greedily absorbing the scattered Yin energy in the air and… faint traces of blood!

It was the residue from the White Corpse Puppet that had been blown apart earlier!

These were the Grudge-level aggregates the system had warned about! And there were many of them!

Fang Gang's appearance was like dropping cold water into a still (deadly silent) pot of oil!

Hiss—!

The dozen or so mist-blackened grudges simultaneously let out sharp hisses filled with greed and malice!

They instantly abandoned their scavenging of scraps, like a swarm of piranhas that had caught the scent of blood, madly lunging towards the "feast" emitting vibrant blood and qi at the doorway! The black mist churned, and the Yin wind wailed mournfully!

"Just in time!" Fang Gang's eyes flared with ferocity! Instead of retreating, he stepped forward, his bronze skin gleaming with a metallic cold light under the illumination!

Facing the first mist-blackened ghostly face that lunged at him, he didn't dodge at all!

The grudge aggregate slammed into Fang Gang's chest!

Chiiii!

Like cold water splashed into boiling oil! The dense black mist instantly erupted with a piercing burning sound!

On Fang Gang's chest, the semi-mastered Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill automatically activated, the scorching blood and qi furnace roaring to life!

The grudge aggregate, as if hitting a wall of red-hot branding iron, let out an unimaginably shrill shriek. The black mist thinned and dissipated at a visible rate!

"Die!" Fang Gang's fist shot out like a cannonball! His terrifying strength, 2.5 times that of a normal person, combined with the Dragon-Elephant Power's weight and the extreme Yang energy of his blood and qi, smashed into the core of the thinning mist without any fancy moves!

It was like popping a tattered sack filled with ash! The grudge aggregate, without even time to scream, instantly disintegrated, turning into wisps of smoke!

[Ding! Killed 'Grudge Aggregate'! Gained Evolution Points +5!]

[Absorbed trace amounts of Yin energy, converting to Evolution Points +0.1! Current Evolution Points: 5.7!]

The system's prompts were like the most beautiful war drums!

"Awesome!" Fang Gang roared, reveling in the absolute dominance brought by his strength! His figure was like the wind, agile as a rabbit!

Within the narrow confines of the morgue, he transformed into a fearsome bronze afterimage!

Bang! A punch was thrown! Another grudge-body wailed and dissipated!

Thud! A whip kick swept out! The black mist tore apart like tattered cloth!

Crack! An elbow strike from behind! The ghostly entity that tried to sneak attack from behind instantly disintegrated!

His movements were simple, direct, and brutal! There were no techniques, only absolute power and speed crushing everything!

The defense of Bronze Skin Iron Bones allowed him to withstand the gnawing and scratching of the grudge-bodies without a scratch, and his burning blood and qi were their natural nemesis!

With every punch and kick that landed, there were the shrill screams of the grudge-bodies and the pleasant system prompts!

[Ding! Killed… Evolution Points +5! … +0.1!]

[Ding! Killed… Evolution Points +5! … +0.1!]

In just over ten seconds!

The more than ten wisps of grimy black mist lingering in the morgue were cleared out! The air was filled with faint smoke and the smell of burnt residue.

Fang Gang stood amidst the mess, breathing slightly heavily. White steam rose from his bronze skin, a sign of his blood and qi circulating at high speed. He brought up his status panel:

Host: Fang Gang

Realm: Skin Refining Realm (Late Stage)

Strength: 12.5 (Savage Elephant Awakening)

Physique: 10.5 (Bronze Skin Iron Bones)

Agility: 5.9 (Agile as a Rabbit)

Spirit: 1.1 (Tenacious)

Available Evolution Points: 15.7 + ? (Killed about 12 grudge-bodies just now, 12*5=60 basic points, plus the trace amounts absorbed, about 0.1*12=1.2 points, for a total gain of about 61.2 points! Current accumulation: 5.7 + 61.2 = **66.9 points!)

Cultivation Technique: True Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill (Minor Accomplishment 10/500)

Martial Skills: None

Status: Yin Energy Erosion (Moderate - Temporarily Suppressed)

66.9 points! Fang Gang's heart pounded wildly! An unprecedented fortune!

"Upgrade the cultivation technique!" Without hesitation, he locked his intent onto the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill, "Push it!"

[Ding! Consumed 500 Evolution Points! True Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill upgraded to 'Major Accomplishment' (0/1000)!]

Boom—!!!

A torrent of power, far more violent, deeper, and wilder than any before, exploded within Fang Gang!

It was no longer a warm current, but like an ancient, slumbering giant elephant awakening within every inch of his flesh and bone!

His tendons and bones chimed, emitting dull roars like thunder!

The bronze luster on his skin's surface instantly deepened and solidified, as if truly cast in bronze!

His muscles bulged, their lines becoming more terrifying, filled with explosive power!

A heavy, profound dragon-elephant phantom, possessing an aura that crushed everything, flashed behind him and disappeared!

[Ding! True Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill (Major Accomplishment)!]

[Effects: Strength +1.0! Physique +1.0! Dragon-Elephant Power (Stabilized), Blood-Qi Furnace (Robust, greatly increased suppression against Yin evil), Skin as tough as bronze leather (Can resist sharp weapon slashes)!]

[Realm Advancement: Skin Refining Realm (Perfection)!]

The system panel instantly refreshed:

Realm: Skin Refining Realm (Perfection)!

Strength: 12.5 → 13.5 (Savage Elephant Power)

Physique: 10.5 → 11.5 (Bronze Skin Mastery)

Cultivation Technique: True Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill (Major Accomplishment 0/1000)

Available Evolution Points: 66.9 - 500 = 166.9? (Calculation error! Should be 66.9 - 500 = Negative value? System Correction: Cultivation technique upgrade requires 500 points, but 66.9 < 500, unable to upgrade! Prompt: Insufficient Evolution Points!)

Fang Gang's ecstatic expression froze on his face!

"Shit! Not enough?!" He almost cursed out loud.

Looking at the available Evolution Points on the panel: 66.9, and the glaring (Minor Accomplishment 10/500) behind the cultivation technique, with the 500 points needed to reach Major Accomplishment, the huge disparity made him feel so depressed he wanted to spit blood.

He had been having too much fun killing, and forgot to tally the accounts!

Hoo… inhale…

Just then, from the depths of the morgue, that cold, viscous, and playfully rhythmic breathing suddenly intensified!

As if enraged by Fang Gang's recent slaughter of grudge-bodies and his sudden burst of powerful blood and qi!

Thump… thump… thump…

Heavy footsteps, like giant hammers pounding the ground, accompanied by ear-piercing scraping sounds of metal on the floor, approached from the darkest corner of the morgue, step by step! Each step made the ground tremble slightly!

An even more terrifying and brutal cold pressure, imbued with a strong scent of decay and blood, swept in like a tsunami, far surpassing anything before!

The lights began to flicker violently, pulsing on and off! The temperature in the morgue plummeted to freezing!

[WARNING! Target locked! 'Corpse Puppet (Green Zombie-level)' detected! Threat level: C+! Extremely dangerous!]

The system alarm pierced Fang Gang's eardrums!

Fang Gang abruptly looked up, his pupils constricting! Deep in the darkness, a tall, sturdy, dark green figure covered in thick green fur, dragging a rust-stained, blood-stained... enormous fire axe, was walking step by step!

Its eyes were two hollows burning with violent green flames!

The target was aimed directly at Fang Gang!

A Green Zombie! And armed!

"Damn it! The big guy's here!" Fang Gang's eyes showed no fear; instead, they blazed with even fiercer fighting spirit and greed! 66.9 points weren't enough? Then he'd fill it with its life!

His entire body tensed, blood and qi surging beneath his bronze skin like a great river, emitting a low roar! The Savage Elephant Power, which had just stabilized, roared through his limbs!

"ROAR—!" The Green Zombie let out a deafening roar, spewing forth putrid corpse qi!

It suddenly swung the heavy fire axe, carrying a terrifying shriek that tore through the air, cleaving down at Fang Gang's head!

The axe blade glinted with a deathly chill under the pale light!

Fang Gang neither retreated nor yielded; his Bronze Skin Mastery from the Skin Refining Realm's completion gave him the confidence to meet the blow head-on!

He let out a low growl, clenching his right fist. His Savage Elephant Power, 3.5 times that of a normal person, mixed with extreme yang blood and qi, met the descending giant axe as he powerfully punched out!

"Eat this... OPEN!"

The instant the fist and axe were about to collide—

"Anyone inside?! Still alive?! Special Affairs Bureau! Chen Tao!" A rough, anxious shout, accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps, suddenly came from the morgue corridor outside!

Immediately after, a blinding beam from a powerful flashlight shot in from the doorway, perfectly illuminating Fang Gang's bronze-gleaming... bald head!

And his formidable figure, defiantly swinging his fist to meet the giant axe!

At the doorway, a slightly overweight man in a black combat uniform, holding a yellow talisman in his hand and sweating anxiously, saw this scene. His eyeballs nearly popped out, and he blurted out:

"Holy crap?! You're using your fist to block a Green Zombie's axe?! Bro... those muscles of yours are more useful than my talismans?!"