Ghostly Energy Erosion, a New Ghost Servant

The Black Cat had only just become a Vengeful Ghost. At most, it was an incorporeal Ordinary Rank ghost, incapable of affecting reality, let alone inflicting physical injuries.

But even the lowest-ranked incorporeal Ordinary Rank Vengeful Ghost was still a Vengeful Ghost.

Every time it passed through their bodies, the Vengeful Ghost's Ghostly Energy coursed through them.

Li Feng could almost picture the two of them in the days ahead, plagued by ailments and gasping for breath every few steps.

The boy might fare better, but unless the old woman took good care of herself, got plenty of sunlight, or found someone to remove the Ghostly Energy, she probably would not have long to live.

Still, Li Feng had no intention of warning them. He simply watched them with a strange look.

After a while longer, the considerably older woman finally began to feel something wrong with her body. An icy chill filled her from head to toe.

Watching the Black Cat pounce at them again and again, his expression shifted slightly, and he hurriedly told the boy:

"Enough, enough. Let's get out of here and go somewhere sunny...

If we can't kill this damned ghost, we'll have to call the police..."

"Okay!"

After playing for a while, the boy was also feeling tired and cold. He did not argue, instead following his grandmother toward the alley's exit.

Before leaving, both of them glanced toward Li Feng again, their eyes brimming with venomous hatred.

Although the Black Cat had not injured them, they still hated Li Feng for not stepping in earlier.

Li Feng merely curled his lip and quickly followed them.

They would have plenty to suffer through in the days ahead.

Before long, the grandmother and grandson reached the mouth of the alley.

Just ahead lay the sunlit main road.

They hurried forward a couple of steps and stepped straight onto it.

"Mrow!"

Looking at the sun-drenched road ahead, which resembled a sea of fire, the incorporeal Black Cat hesitated only briefly before yowling again and lunging forward.

The Black Cat had possessed little intelligence to begin with. After dying and becoming a Vengeful Ghost, it had almost none left.

All that remained was its dying obsession, its hatred and desire to kill the boy.

But the instant the Black Cat's incorporeal body leaped high into the air, a hand shot out and seized it by the neck.

"Huh?"

Li Feng looked at his hand in disbelief.

What he had just done was purely instinctive.

He had actually intended to bind it with the Delivery Ghost's Ghostly Energy.

But the Black Cat had moved too quickly. He had been a beat too slow in mobilizing the Delivery Ghost's Ghostly Energy and had instinctively reached out to grab it instead.

He had assumed the Black Cat would pass straight through his hand, expose itself to the sunlight, and burn into nothingness.

To his surprise, he had actually caught the Black Cat.

"Huh?"

Meanwhile, the grandmother and grandson had just turned around to watch the Black Cat burn to death in the sun. Now they were staring at Li Feng in astonishment.

They did not understand why he had suddenly intervened.

Besides, he could actually grab that ghost. Did that mean he was a supernatural?

The boy might not understand what that meant, but the old woman knew all too well. Her expression changed slightly.

She had offended Li Feng earlier. Would he retaliate?

There was certainly no shortage of people who had died after provoking supernaturals.

Even the Federation's Public Security Bureau generally gave such cases only a cursory investigation, unless the repercussions were severe and there was concrete evidence.

But the boy knew none of this.

The moment he looked at Li Feng, he flew into a rage.

"You...

Bastard...

Let go of that ghost! I want to burn it to death in the sun!"

"Stop talking..."

The boy's words nearly scared his grandmother to death. She hurriedly covered his mouth and looked at Li Feng with apprehension.

Seeing the vicious look on the boy's face, Li Feng could not help frowning.

He was getting tired of waiting for the boy's future retribution.

The next instant, a figure appeared behind Li Feng.

Its form was grotesquely twisted, its vest stained red with blood. Blood covered its face, and its pitch-black eyes stared fixedly at the grandmother and grandson as it advanced one step at a time.

"A g-ghost! A ghost!"

At the sight of the Delivery Ghost, both the boy and his grandmother froze.

A moment later, they screamed, turned, and fled.

As they ran, their bodies inexplicably went weak, and they fell to the ground with a thud.

But they could not spare a thought for that now. Scrambling on all fours, they crawled and stumbled away from the alley's entrance.

"Heh heh..."

Watching the two scramble away, Li Feng chuckled.

Sure enough, there was no need to reason with unreasonable people.

Bring out the big guns, and they were guaranteed to wet themselves in terror.

And that was not even the main point. Their bodies had already been eroded by ghostly energy. After this fright from the Delivery Ghost, their condition was bound to worsen.

Without a supernatural to remove the ghostly energy, their health would not improve much afterward, even if they frequently basked in the sun.

After watching them leave, Li Feng recalled the Delivery Ghost, retreated deeper into the alley, and looked down at the black cat in his hand.

"Mrow! Mrow!..."

The incorporeal black cat kept flailing its legs and meowing in his grip, seemingly trying to escape his hand and seek revenge on the boy again.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard it struggled, it could not break free of Li Feng's grasp.

It felt as though he were actually holding an almost weightless black cat. Unable to resist, Li Feng reached out with his other hand and gently stroked it.

Yes, it felt real to the touch.

"Meow..."

At his touch, the black cat's struggles briefly stiffened. Its four short, flailing legs immediately went limp, and it let out a soft, plaintive meow.

Looking at his hands, Li Feng thought for a moment and roughly guessed the reason.

This had to be an ability he had gained after tempering his skin through mind fog body tempering: the ability to touch incorporeal things like Vengeful Ghosts.

And if he could touch them, then...

Li Feng looked at the black cat, an eager gleam in his eyes.

The next instant, he curled a finger and lightly flicked the black cat on the forehead.

"Meow..."

With its four legs dangling, the black cat let out an aggrieved meow, its ink-black eyes blinking.

It did not understand why this human, whom it felt close to and who had just stroked it, had suddenly flicked its forehead.

There were two reasons this Black Cat had become a Vengeful Ghost. The first was the abuse it had suffered while alive and its dying obsession with hatred and revenge.

The second was the influence of the Delivery Ghost's Ghostly Energy.

And in a sense, the Delivery Ghost was an extension of Li Feng's power.

Naturally, even with only a trace of obsession remaining, the Black Cat felt a certain closeness to Li Feng.

"Heh..."

Seeing the Black Cat's aggrieved little expression after being flicked on the forehead, Li Feng chuckled softly.

His theory had been correct. Skin tempered by mind fog could touch and attack incorporeal ghosts.

He simply did not know whether it could also strike wraiths, which were likewise incorporeal beings.

As for the Black Cat in his hand, Li Feng already had a plan.

Wisps of fog rose from his hand, continuously seeping into the Black Cat's body.

Gradually, the Black Cat was completely permeated. Li Feng also perceived the memories tied to its dying obsession, making him want to drag the boy back and give him a thorough beating.

The once-incorporeal black cat gradually filled with mind fog. As it became Li Feng's Ghost Servant, its form also stabilized completely and would no longer dissipate easily.

At a glance, its body looked almost entirely solid, just like an ordinary Black Cat.

"Mrow, mrow..."

Li Feng stroked the Black Cat again, then sent it into his Mind Space with a thought as it meowed.

Afterward, Li Feng walked out of the alley.

The rest of the journey passed uneventfully, and Li Feng soon arrived home.

When he began cultivating, he found that his cultivation speed had indeed increased a little again.

Although the Black Cat had only just come into existence and was merely a Vengeful Ghost of the lowest Ordinary Illusory Rank, converting it into a Ghost Servant had still increased Li Feng's power somewhat.

The increase was simply meager because it was so weak.

But when he began visualizing, he discovered that the bedroom had become much more stable. The mind fog outside the room had also expanded again, reaching nearly eight meters, and seemed even more uncanny.

By now, however, Li Feng no longer cared too much. Let it be uncanny. Anything that increased his power was good.

Besides, the changes in the mind fog did not affect his physical appearance.

While he cultivated, the Black Cat also began slowly devouring the surrounding World Spiritual Force under his orders, alongside the Delivery Ghost.

Although the Black Cat devoured World Spiritual Force far more slowly than the Delivery Ghost did.

Either way, it still contributed a little.

Every little bit counted, after all.

However, Li Feng's attitude toward his second Ghost Servant, the Black Cat, differed from his earlier approach.

Forget allowing the Delivery Ghost inside the room—Li Feng had driven it beyond even the area covered by the mind fog.

The black cat, on the other hand, was allowed to roam freely inside the bedroom.

Well, pets and other men were different, after all.

Even a Vengeful Ghost was no exception.

When he arrived at the Investigation Department the next day, the Black Cat's presence did not trigger its alarms.

Even when Li Feng summoned the Black Cat, no alarm sounded.

That was because the power signature previously collected by the Ghost Eye Compass had been a mixture of the Delivery Ghost's power and Li Feng's.

And the Black Cat had become a Vengeful Ghost because it had absorbed the Delivery Ghost's Ghostly Energy.

The essence of their powers already came from nearly the same source, so naturally, it did not trigger the Ghost Eye Compass's warning.

In fact, any Vengeful Ghost that Li Feng permeated and brought under his control would carry his power signature within its Ghostly Energy, and would therefore not trigger the Ghost Eye Compass.

Otherwise, would ghost tamers among Ghost Cultivators and Ghost Tamers who controlled Paranormal Entities trigger an alarm and have their power signatures collected every time they acquired another Vengeful Ghost or Paranormal Entity?

That would be far too cumbersome.

As for why Li Feng's power signature had not been collected as soon as he joined, the signature collected had to contain supernatural power.

After Li Feng summoned the Black Cat, everyone cast surprised looks his way.

"Is that..."

"Another Vengeful Ghost?"

"And a Ghost Cat, at that..."

Animal Vengeful Ghosts such as cats and dogs were indeed an excellent fit for Investigators, as they could better assist in investigations.

But some people always saw things differently from the others.

"It's so cute..."

A clear female voice suddenly sounded behind the crowd.

"C... cute...?"

Everyone turned in unison toward the voice.

"Ouyang Shi..."

Meeting everyone's gazes, Ouyang Shi blushed, but still could not help saying:

"Isn't it cute?"

Everyone turned back to look at the Black Cat.

The Black Cat was not yet fully grown and was only a little larger than two palms.

It was a tiny, adorable thing, and certainly rather cute.

But the moment anyone noticed its ink-black eyes, a chill struck their heart—a fear and coldness that penetrated deep into the soul.

Any thoughts of cuteness were immediately banished.

However, after Li Feng ordered it to suppress its power signature, that effect immediately weakened. All that remained was a sharp glint in its eyes.

Combined with its tiny body, it gave off an aloof, refined air, fierce in the way only a kitten could be.

Many of the women present could not help looking at it with stars in their eyes.

"I was so focused on it being a Vengeful Ghost that I didn't really notice..."

It really is so cute..."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

In an instant, countless female employees gathered around, gazing eagerly at the Black Cat.

Had they not known it was a Vengeful Ghost, they probably would have already reached out to touch it.

"Mrow, grrr, grrr..."

Seeing the humans crowd around it, the Black Cat arched its back slightly and let out a low warning growl.

"Oh, what do I do? It looks even cuter now!"

"I want to pet it so badly..."

"What are you all doing?"

Just as someone finally lost control and was about to reach out, a stern voice suddenly sounded behind the crowd.

"Lady Yuan!"

Whoosh!

Everyone turned around, and upon seeing Yuan Chengfang, they immediately scattered like startled birds and beasts, returning to their workstations.

Li Feng couldn't help finding the sight amusing.

He thought Yuan Chengfang was easy to get along with. She was usually carefree and put on no airs at all, so why was everyone so afraid of her?

Once everyone had dispersed, the tiny Black Cat immediately caught Yuan Chengfang's eye.

"Is that... a Ghost Cat?"

Yuan Chengfang spoke in surprise, then turned to Li Feng with a smile.

"Well done, kid. It's only been a few days, and you've already brought another Vengeful Ghost under your control. And a Ghost Cat suited to us Investigators, no less..."

"...See? I told you, you're a born Ghost Cultivator. Are you really not going to consider switching to the Ghost Path?"

"Heh..."

Li Feng chuckled without answering.

Yuan Chengfang didn't mind. She had only said it in passing anyway.

"By the way, what abilities does your Ghost Cat have?"

"Well, she can see supernatural forces like Ghostly Energy..."

"Oh? That's pretty good!"

Yuan Chengfang nodded.

A little while later, Wu Cheng and Zhao Fei arrived one after the other. When they saw the Ghost Cat, they naturally couldn't help feeling another pang of envy.

"Why don't we ever have luck like that?"

"Could it be that the place you live has good feng shui?"

"Heh..."

Li Feng smiled and told them the whole story from beginning to end.