Ghost Takeout, Another Boost

Li Feng sat on the living room sofa, looking at the blood-soaked Delivery Ghost before him. Feeling the control he held over him, he was thoroughly satisfied.

This was different from how ordinary Ghost Cultivators controlled Vengeful Ghosts.

Ghost Cultivators merely refined a Vengeful Ghost's core, or even just merged a strand of their own mental energy into it. Others used different methods to control Vengeful Ghosts and borrow their power.

Li Feng was different. The Delivery Ghost's Vengeful Ghost core, body, Ghostly Energy, and even his faint consciousness were all under his control.

Sensing this, Li Feng could not help pondering.

If all Ghost Servants were like this, it was no wonder the supernatural horrors, demons, and ghosts controlled by humans were prone to all sorts of backlash.

Meanwhile, beings enslaved by supernatural horrors, including humans, never rebelled against or betrayed their masters.

In a sense, this was no longer enslavement or control. They had been completely refined into extensions of their masters.

And they were extensions formed from their masters' own power, at that.

How could someone's own power possibly betray them?

After taking control of the Delivery Ghost, Li Feng also gained a clear understanding of his abilities.

The Delivery Ghost could create some Ghost Delivery.

Moreover, this Ghost Delivery was not particularly harmful to humans.

Quite the opposite: as long as someone did not eat too much at once, it could even nourish their soul and strengthen their mind.

With real ingredients as a medium, it could even nourish the body and increase physical strength.

However, behind all these seemingly wonderful benefits lay a price ordinary people could not bear.

Anyone who ate Ghost Delivery would be invaded by the Delivery Ghost's Ghostly Energy, marked and locked onto.

Because of his lingering obsession from life, the Delivery Ghost might only deliver takeout on instinct, without actively attacking anyone.

But accepting the takeout meant buying it.

Buying things cost money.

And naturally, the Delivery Ghost's Ghost Delivery had to be paid for not with ordinary money, but with Weird Coins.

Weird Coins were a currency issued by a powerful supernatural horror, the Weird Bank. They contained a special power governed by supernatural rules that could strengthen supernatural horrors, demons, and ghosts.

Thus, they had become the currency used for transactions among such beings and other supernatural practitioners.

However, very few Weird Coins were issued.

After all, the Weird Bank was not a charity.

Exchanging for Weird Coins at the Weird Bank also came at a price. Power, vital blood, lifespan, luck, and so on could all be traded for Weird Coins.

But it went without saying that no one wanted to exchange those things for Weird Coins. Even when forced to, they would only exchange a small amount.

After all, Weird Coins could increase one's power. If someone exchanged their power for them and had to pay the Weird Bank a handling fee on top of that, what was the point?

That alone made it clear how scarce Weird Coins were.

Ordinary people naturally would not have any.

And if someone could not pay after eating Ghost Delivery, the Delivery Ghost would fly into a rage, brutally kill them, and turn them into takeout.

As the Delivery Ghost's master, however, Li Feng naturally did not have to pay anything.

"Hmm... eggs with green peppers, and spicy shredded pork!"

After a brief moment of thought, Li Feng spoke to the Delivery Ghost.

The Delivery Ghost paused slightly, then slowly turned, opened the delivery box at his side, and took out two portions of takeout.

During this process, Li Feng could sense the Delivery Ghost drawing World Spiritual Force from the world into his body, mixing it with his Ghostly Energy, and channeling it into the delivery box at his side.

In other words, the takeout the Delivery Ghost delivered was actually formed from his own Ghostly Energy mixed with World Spiritual Force.

At the same time, the Delivery Ghost's own power increased slightly in the process.

After all, even if most of the World Spiritual Force drawn into his body was converted into takeout, some would still remain and strengthen the Delivery Ghost.

That meant the Delivery Ghost could gradually grow stronger simply by continuously producing takeout.

Unfortunately, his lingering obsession from life restricted him. He could only produce new takeout after delivering what he already had.

The instant the takeout came out, an incredibly enticing aroma wafted into Li Feng's nose, making his mouth water.

He opened the takeout...

It looked no different from ordinary eggs with green peppers and spicy shredded pork.

But that incredibly enticing aroma grew even richer, making him want to dig in.

"Gulp!"

Li Feng swallowed. He really wanted to eat it.

But remembering that this was Ghost Delivery gave him a moment's hesitation.

Then again, it was merely Ghostly Energy mixed with World Spiritual Force and transformed into food.

Eating it seemed no different from using his mind fog to devour ghostly energy and the world's spiritual energy.

Finally, Li Feng picked up the chopsticks beside him, took a bite of eggs with green peppers, and put it in his mouth.

The texture was no different from ordinary eggs with green peppers, but the flavor was even more delicious, making it hard to stop.

However, the instant he swallowed, Li Feng clearly sensed it turn into Ghostly Energy and World Spiritual Force, which flowed into his body and mind. His mind perked up slightly, and the power of his Mind Space increased by an almost imperceptible amount.

Most importantly, Li Feng did not sense any of the power that induced hallucinations during cultivation.

In other words, increasing his power this way did not require enduring the assault of illusions.

The only concern was probably the Ghostly Energy entering his body.

Aside from serving as the Delivery Ghost's mark, it also posed considerable risks in its own right.

Ghostly Energy was tainted and sinister. For ordinary people, exposure could cause listlessness and recurring nightmares at best, or severe illness, wasting away, and death at worst.

Even ordinary supernatural practitioners who could purge Ghostly Energy with their own power would not dare consume large quantities in a short time.

As for powerful supernatural practitioners, why would they care about such a tiny increase in power? It was practically useless to them.

For Li Feng, however, this was no problem. Once the Ghostly Energy entered his body...

The mind fog within his mind space and the skin all over his body immediately generated a suction force, dividing it between them and devouring it.

Touching his skin, which had grown slightly cool, Li Feng fell silent.

Well, this was still far better than other supernatural paths and cultivation methods.

Looking at the two fragrant dishes before him, one meat and one vegetable, Li Feng hesitated no longer and quickly dug in.

In mere moments, Li Feng had polished them off.

His skin and mind fog had both strengthened slightly, and the floor beneath the large bed in his mind space had expanded outward a little.

Li Feng was fairly satisfied with that.

His only regret was that, although he had effectively refined the Delivery Ghost completely...

The Delivery Ghost himself was the core of this ability. Li Feng could not use it with his own power.

Using the Delivery Ghost's ability was like using different organs in a human body. One could not pump blood with the lungs or breathe with the heart.

Li Feng had absolute control over the Delivery Ghost, but to use his ability, he still had to act through him.

Besides, Ghost Delivery was not real food, after all. It could not fill his stomach.

Not unless real ingredients were used.

And those ingredients had to be cooked.

The takeout transformed by the Delivery Ghost remained the original ingredients underneath. His ability merely gave them the appearance of the corresponding dishes.

After finishing the takeout formed from the Delivery Ghost's Ghostly Energy, Li Feng went to the kitchen, cooked a simple bowl of noodles, and had the Delivery Ghost transform it.

The plain boiled noodles instantly became mouthwateringly fragrant, whetting his appetite.

After finishing the noodles, Li Feng carefully examined himself. The improvements to his skin, mind fog, and mind space went without saying.

At the same time, he could also feel that much of the fatigue from his earlier cultivation and fighting seemed to have disappeared all at once.

And, whether it was his imagination or not, he actually felt a tiny increase in his strength.

Li Feng thought there might indeed have been an increase, but it was nowhere near what he gained from a single cultivation session.

That made sense, though. They were only ordinary noodles, not some special ingredients. Even if the Delivery Ghost's transformation allowed them to nourish his body and increase his strength, they could not have much effect.

Thus, unless special ingredients were used, the physical strengthening provided by Ghost Delivery was more of a gradual, long-term process.

Still, even the smallest improvement was better than none.

Once his stomach was full, Li Feng looked at the Delivery Ghost and found himself in a quandary again.

He could hardly bring a Vengeful Ghost along every time he went out, could he?

Besides, the Delivery Ghost's current strength was probably only at the Low Danger Level. Would his soul not instantly scatter the moment he was exposed to sunlight?

Or should he have him hide at home?

That was not safe either. Even though the Delivery Ghost had become Li Feng's "Ghost Servant," the fact that he was a Vengeful Ghost had not changed, and he radiated a chill, sinister Ghostly Energy.

If Li Feng left him alone, a Night Patrol Officer might very well discover him.

If they casually destroyed him, who could Li Feng turn to for justice?

If only he had a Ghost Cultivator's Ghost-Commanding Banner, or one of their ghost-control methods.

He had heard that Ghost Cultivators could also store some of the Vengeful Ghosts they controlled inside their bodies.

"Hmm..."

Suddenly, inspiration struck Li Feng. Sensing the mind fog within his mind space, he grew thoughtful.

The mind fog was a manifestation of mental power. Was the Delivery Ghost before him not, in essence, also a mass of special mental power and ghostly energy?

Then could he bring him into his Mind Space?

At the thought, Li Feng immediately grew eager to try. Even if he could not bring him into his Mind Space, he had nothing to lose.

Store!

Looking at the Delivery Ghost before him, Li Feng gave the command silently.

Whoosh!

In an instant, the Delivery Ghost, who had been standing blankly before him, vanished from sight.

Li Feng sensed his Mind Space...

Sure enough, the blood-soaked Delivery Ghost was floating above the bed inside it.

Li Feng could not help feeling delighted.

It really worked...

But a moment later, Li Feng frowned again.

The Bed in his Mind Space was where his mind manifested during cultivation and rest. What was a Vengeful Ghost doing floating above it?

Looking at the floor around the Bed, which had already extended more than a meter outward, Li Feng immediately sent the Delivery Ghost a thought.

Go stand on the floor beside it!

Instantly, the Delivery Ghost floating above the Bed moved, drifting down to the floor beside it.

"Mm, much better!"

Li Feng nodded.

Then, looking at the blood-soaked Delivery Ghost, Li Feng sent another thought.

Poof!

A cloud of smoke instantly rose from the Delivery Ghost's body.

When the smoke cleared, the Delivery Ghost had returned to a normal human appearance, without a trace of blood on him. Aside from his hazy, insubstantial body, he looked like an ordinary deliveryman.

Only then did Li Feng smile in satisfaction.

He was no pretty ghost girl, but at least he was no longer drenched in blood.

After tidying up, Li Feng returned to bed and began his visualization.

His mind took form on the bed. Looking at the motionless Delivery Ghost beside him, Li Feng frowned again and simply drove him beyond the area covered by the mind fog. Out of sight, out of mind.

Immediately, streams of cool power surged toward him from the surrounding mind fog, continuously tempering and strengthening his soul. The floor beneath the bed also began expanding rapidly.

This came from converting the power devoured from the Delivery Ghost.

Earlier, while the mind fog had been invading and transforming the Delivery Ghost, it had also been devouring his power all along.

At the same time, Li Feng could feel a suction force emanating from the Delivery Ghost as well, drawing a steady stream of World Spiritual Force from the outside world.

Some remained within the Delivery Ghost, while some was devoured and converted by the mind fog, then likewise delivered into Li Feng's body.

Sensing this, Li Feng could not help feeling delighted.

He had never expected creating a Ghost Servant to come with a benefit like this.

Once he had absorbed all the power devoured by the mind fog, Li Feng ended his visualization for the day.

His mind had strengthened considerably. Even without opening his eyes, he could vaguely sense his surroundings within several meters.

The thin layer of floor beneath the bed had reached two or three meters in width, while the mind fog covered an area with a radius of over three meters.

Most importantly...

Li Feng willed it.

Amid the rising mist, a churning mass of fog appeared before him.

The next instant, under Li Feng's control, the churning fog slowly drifted away, passed through the Bedroom doorway, and entered the Living Room.

The fog writhed and shifted, forming a rope of mist that wrapped around a stool like a tentacle and lifted it, then abruptly dispersing into a thin haze that filled the entire Living Room.

Throughout all of this, Li Feng kept his eyes closed.

Wherever the mind fog reached, his mental perception reached as well.

When condensed, the mind fog possessed a certain ability to affect the physical world.

When dispersed, it could detect everything within the area it covered.

Most importantly, the Mind Fog was no longer connected to Li Feng by a rope of Mist as it had been before.

Now, Li Feng could control the mind fog remotely, though it still had to drift from his immediate vicinity to other places.

Even so, this already left Li Feng thoroughly satisfied.

Just imagine: once he discovered a supernatural horror or malevolent ghost, Li Feng could use the mind fog to siphon its power or invade it from far away.

Meanwhile, those supernatural horrors and malevolent ghosts would have no way of discovering Li Feng, their attacker.

"Heh heh..."

Growing excited at the thought, Li Feng could not help laughing aloud.