Summer Heat

The appraisal room was not large, but several talismans had been pasted all around it.

He had specifically obtained these talismans from Clear Spring Daoist Temple outside the city. It was said they could drive away ghosts.

He had also specially hired a sorcerer to set up an array within the room to ward off evil and disperse Baleful Intent, at enormous expense.

It could be said that this appraisal room was where he earned the most extra money.

There were simply too many people and too many prying eyes in the pawnshop.

If not for the more complete arrangements at Water Cloud Retreat, where the effects of dispelling Baleful Intent and avoiding ghosts were better, and if he had not needed the pawnshop's appraisal apprentices to help block Baleful Intent and die in his stead, he would never have allowed Xu Hongtao to place the trading location at Water Cloud Retreat.

After all, every one of those treasures had Killing Intent soaring to the heavens. They were no trifling matter.

"What ghost is this? Show yourself at once!"

Zhang Gao let out a low shout. With a pained expression, he took a lustrous white stone from a box and placed it into a groove at the center of the appraisal room.

Buzz!

The aura within the appraisal room immediately shifted.

Yet it was completely useless.

There was no trace of anything around him.

None of the ghostly entities he had imagined appeared.

Then, before long, that bone-chilling sensation descended as expected, drawing another strand of "vital energy" from his body.

Zhang Gao shuddered violently. Even more color drained from his face, leaving it deathly pale.

"What exactly is going on?"

He was truly panicking.

And terrified.

The array and talismans in the appraisal room had all been purchased at great expense. They were the foundation of his confidence.

Yet they had been utterly useless.

What horrified him even more was that the frequency at which the ghost absorbed his "vital energy" had not slowed in the slightest. Almost every so often, it would strip another strand of vital energy from his body.

Every time, his body and soul trembled.

Every time, he felt a weakness and helplessness rising from the depths of his heart.

That night was agonizing beyond measure.

Though he had raged, resisted, roared, knelt and begged, and even wept hysterically... all of it had turned into helplessness.

That sensation of his life force being extracted at nearly fixed intervals clung to him like a nightmare demon.

It tormented him endlessly and drove him into utter despair.

He could not understand it at all. What was happening?

Why had he encountered such a nightmare?

Why was a ghost haunting him?

He would never understand that all of this was simply because he had sought someone to die in his place and block Baleful Intent for him, only to finally kick an iron plate.

And this time, it was he who was blocking disaster for someone else.

Even though the root of that disaster still lay with himself.

The reason every method he tried proved powerless was naturally because the ghost was not beside him at all.

They were separated by several hundred meters.

Even if he possessed a method of restraint, there was nothing he could do.

After one night, Zhang Gao's eyes were bloodshot, his face bluish-green, and streaks of black hair atop his head had turned white as frost... He looked haggard and aged, as though he had grown more than ten years older.

Meanwhile, Zhang Ke slept sweetly.

It could be called a dreamless night.

Though the ghost had kept its arms around his neck and occasionally lifted its head to take a breath from him.

Under the effects of the Plum-for-Peach Substitution Technique, however, his vital essence had not suffered any loss.

Instead, the ghost's chilly aura made him feel quite comfortable.

In the blazing summer heat, having a ghost around made sleep even sweeter...

"After one night, the ghost's soul body has indeed become a little more solid, clearly stronger than before.

I just wonder how Third Appraiser Zhang Gao is doing.

He probably isn't having a good time, is he?"

Although Chen Shaojun had used the Plum-for-Peach Substitution Technique, they were separated by several hundred meters, so he naturally did not know Zhang Gao's situation.

Before long, daylight broke.

The ghost vanished as expected.

After a night of visualizing the Tai Shang Perception Scripture, the "qi" within Chen Shaojun's body had finally reached a certain scale and condensed into a cluster.

At this moment, he vaguely sensed that he could already use the "qi" within his body to perform the Divine Gaze Technique and Spirit Eye Technique.

He did not hesitate.

In an instant, he cast the Spirit Eye Technique.

His mental energy was not depleted in the slightest, but the "qi" within his body was swiftly stirred like flowing light. It traveled along an inscrutable path, condensed into runes, transformed into spirit eyes, and took effect within his eyes.

The world around him immediately became different.

It was a riot of dazzling colors.

Things invisible to the naked eye were all clearly revealed before him.

"So I really can cast spells.

It seems the 'qi' in my body, even if it is not the Dao essence used by cultivators, should not be too different from it.

From now on, I'll call it 'Arcane Power.'"

Chen Shaojun was overjoyed. For convenience and ease of memory, he named those strands of "qi" Arcane Power.

Although these strands of Arcane Power would not greatly improve his strength in the short term.

He believed that, given time, this Arcane Power would certainly prove immensely useful.

Not to mention that even now, the Arcane Power in his body could already replace mental energy to cast spells such as the Divine Gaze Technique, Spirit Eye Technique, and Plum-for-Peach Substitution Technique.

Morning.

Chen Shaojun had thought that even if Zhang Gao encountered a ghost, he should still show up at the pawnshop.

After all, even Zhang Ke had endured a night of being fed upon by that little ghost. Third Appraiser Zhang Gao was strong and robust, and he had practiced martial arts. No matter what, he should have been more resistant to being "drained" than Zhang Ke.

Unexpectedly, rather than receiving a summons from him, Chen Shaojun heard a piece of gossip.

It was already afternoon by then.

The news spread swiftly throughout the entire pawnshop.

In the end, it boiled down to one sentence.

Third Appraiser had encountered a ghost.

Chen Shaojun naturally knew what had happened.

But he was also very curious about the man's exact condition afterward.

After all, there was a bit of bad blood between them.

The man had previously threatened and tempted him into appraising treasures at Water Cloud Retreat. In truth, he had wanted Chen Shaojun to block Baleful Intent and die in his stead.

Though Chen Shaojun himself had wanted to see just what those treasures with Killing Intent soaring to the heavens were, and what rewards the Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror would give after they were appraised.

There was a vast difference between going to appraise treasures of one's own accord and being forced there through threats and inducements.

Of course, he was more than happy to hear of the other man's miserable plight and take some pleasure in it.

"Come to think of it, it's quite strange.

Third Appraiser is, after all, an official appraiser, and his Divine Gaze Technique has reached minor mastery.

Logically speaking, ordinary little ghosts should not be able to do anything to him.

If he truly encountered one, a sweep of his mental energy might decide who destroyed whom.

But I heard the ghost Third Appraiser encountered was extremely strange.

It was as though it did not exist, and every so often, it would feed on his blood, qi, and vital energy.

They say Third Appraiser was tortured all night.

When he came out, his face was pale and haggard enough to make even ghosts worry. I heard a large patch of his hair had turned white too."

Several menial workers were discussing it, their voices animated, as though they had witnessed it themselves.

"Was it really that frightening?"

"Isn't it?

I'm not making this up. Third Appraiser's concubine came to ask the shopkeeper for leave and said it herself."

I recommend a friend's book, Old Gods' Dominion, written by Mount Akina Drift King. No nasty twists, no frustrating plotlines—everyone can read it without worry.

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