Incomplete

"So, the conversation actually went quite well?"

The next morning, just as Hu Mang was loosening the soil around the dead dragon skin that sealed the little devil with his small shovel, the news arrived.

In one night, Zheng Qingbo first held an internal meeting with the head of the organization, then made seven or eight phone calls, talking from evening until dawn.

Then early in the morning, before Boss Zheng could officially come to call for reinforcements, Master Bao from the Wanshun Sea Hall took the initiative to call him, calling him a good brother and saying that everything was a misunderstanding and that family members shouldn't fight each other.

Their attitude made a complete 180-degree turn.

That's incredible.

"That's because Boss Zheng took a step back, and that step back, ironically, made Master Bao the target of everyone's criticism."

Secretary Jiacha explained the situation.

It turns out that Zheng Qingbo was the most likely candidate to become the big fish in this game, whether in terms of business arrangements or political deals.

Therefore, he is the target of everyone's criticism.

But now he has taken a step back.

Moreover, the retreat was swift and decisive, without the slightest reluctance.

He ceded all the territory he had given up to his other most likely rivals.

Now, in this round, the one most likely to become the big faucet has become this Black God of Wealth.

Zheng Qingbo became the one who sat on the sidelines and watched the tigers fight.

Now it's up to that Master Bao to personally step in and appease Boss Zheng.

He needs Boss Zheng to hold this situation together, at least until he takes over, to prevent more people from entering the game.

Everyone has their own area of expertise.

Even if you let Hu Mang absorb all of Zheng Qingbo's memories, he still couldn't manipulate this kind of transactional game.

As expected, professionals should handle professional tasks.

The most remarkable thing about this Three Yin Life and Death Talisman is that it didn't turn Zheng Qingbo into a vegetable.

"You seem quite disappointed?"

Hu Mang noticed that Jiacha's expression was complicated; he certainly wasn't happy.

"Boss Zheng has been saving up for ten years to achieve this one goal, and now that he's withdrawn, he can never play again."

As a trusted confidant, Jiacha knew how much that Boss Zheng had sacrificed for this plan.

"It's alright, the son sells his father's land without a second thought. The first generation of the wealthy starts the business, the second generation squanders it; this is a common practice in Heavenly Gate."

As Hu Mang filled the dead dragon skin with soil, he continued tunneling without looking back.

The dark earth, mixed with broken bones and gravel, filled the folds of the dead dragon's skin layer by layer.

The dead dragon skin lay on the ground, like a huge, dull python's molt, its surface covered with cracked lines. But the moment it touched the dark earth, it twitched slightly, as if a long-dormant creature had caught the scent of food.

When the soil was almost completely filled in, he took out a small bottle of water, and with a serious expression, poured it down.

The bottle was sealed with a layer of wax. The moment he peeled off the wax seal, an extremely cold aura wafted out of the bottle, causing a thin layer of white frost to condense in the surrounding air.

This was the Yin water he had specially dug out from the "Turbid Dragon's Remains," which was the Nether River water that Elder Cui had mentioned.

Watering the dead dragon's hide with the waters of the Nether River did indeed trigger unusual changes.

The moment the dark gray liquid landed on the surface of the dead dragon skin, it was like the first drop of rain falling into a dried-up riverbed; the entire dead dragon skin trembled violently. The dry cracks on the surface began to writhe and expand as if they were alive, as if countless tiny blood vessels were being reconnected.

The originally dull and lifeless leather surface gradually developed a dark luster, as if withered trees had been reborn and were now full of life.

Inside the dead dragon skin, the seemingly sleeping "Jiangtou Imp" suddenly let out a desperate scream.

It was as if something terrible was about to happen.

Jiacha hearing this scream, Gacha's eyes rolled back, and he promptly and decisively fainted.

The next moment, the entire backyard of Zheng Family Garden became filled with Yin Qi energy and Ghost Qi atmosphere. Then, a huge snake head emerged from the Yin Qi and, to the astonishment of the Hu Mang, swallowed the dead skin and the Jiangtou baby wrapped in the dead skin whole.

"You--"

Hu Mang opened his mouth, revealing a look of disgust.

"You even eat dead skin? How disgusting!"

If I had to describe the feeling, it would be like a normal person eating the skin off their own feet.

Seemingly sensing the Hu Mang's disdain, two pairs of red lantern-like snake eyes suddenly lit up amidst the billowing Yin Qi.

Hu Mang smiled slightly, his eyes also turning pitch black, and there seemed to be the sound of a turbulent Nether River flowing within his body.

"What, you want to eat me?"

The consciousnesses of the two Ghost Dragon Vein clashed for a moment, and the giant python retreated first. However, the Divine Sense Hu Mang that when it retreated, the "Jiangtou Ghost" sealed in various parts of Zheng Family Garden, such as the Salty Smoke Worm, were all swept away by the giant python.

Without even opening their mouths, the Jiangtou Ghost were drawn by an invisible force, breaking free from their seals and transforming into wisps of gray-black energy, which were then absorbed into the giant python's belly.

This thing actually likes to eat Jiangtou Ghost?

Furthermore, what was with that confrontational attitude just now?

Among the information on raising Private Dragon provided by Liu Manqing, there were no examples of Snake Vein devouring their masters.

Hu Mang's heart stirred, and he went straight to the backyard, where he indeed saw a patch of Soul-Binding Willow growing at an astonishing rate.

These willow trees can no longer be called "willow trees".

The once slender branches are now as thick as an arm, covered with a layer of gray-black scale-like patterns, as fine and cold as snakeskin.

The willow branches are no longer soft and drooping, but twist, coil, and entangle together like countless living snakes. Some stand high, like snake heads raising their heads and flicking their tongues; some hang down to the ground, like snake bodies winding and crawling; some intertwine with each other, like a group of snakes mating.

The entire Soul-Binding Willow seemed to have transformed into a jungle of snakes, with each branch being a snake and each leaf a scale.

These are growing ten times better than those at the Liu Household's place!

Is the feng shui in Nanyang so conducive to the growth of ghosts?

"That's right. The Snake Vein I used is the corpse of that thousand-year-old demon snake. The Qi and Blood of that demon snake are a hundred times that of Liu Wuniang's original body. Even if Liu Wuniang went everywhere to absorb dragon energy to raise snakes back then, she probably couldn't compare to my pure and natural 'great demon snake.' Snake Vein with a good foundation doesn't need plastic surgery."

"If that's the case, then come out now!"

Accompanied by the Hu Mang's shouts, the Soul-Binding Willow opposite twisted and turned, wriggling slowly like living things, gradually coalescing into human form.

One after another, alluring women in red, half-human and half-snake, emerged from the willow grove. Their upper bodies were those of beautiful women with fair, snow-white skin, spring-like eyes, and a faint smile on their lips; their lower bodies were serpentine, covered with fine gray-black scales, winding and coiling on the ground.

These snake women were all dressed in red, their red robes as vibrant as if they had been soaked in blood. They slowly swam out of the willow grove, lined up in front of the Hu Mang, and then bowed in unison, paying homage to the Hu Mang from afar.

"Greetings, Master~"

The Hu Mang carefully examined the appearances of these snake women.

"The Liu Household's maids are just lowly servants, while I'm a snake maid, and my snake transformation is quite severe."

According to "Liu Wuniang's Private Notes," this is a sign that the Snake Vein have matured.

As for their numbers, there were already two hundred snake women appearing in front of the Hu Mang, and there were many more shadowy figures in the Soul-Binding Forest, seemingly yet to take shape.

Hu Mang looked at the red-clad snake woman at the front and asked:

Do you have your own names? What is your cultivation level?

The snake woman raised her head, revealing a beautiful face, with a charming air remarkably similar to that of Liu Wuniang, yet also possessing a touch of the coldness of a demon.

She bowed slightly, her voice as soft as willow branches brushing against the water.

"Replying to Master, my name is Liuniang, and these are my sisters, named Qiniang, Baniang, Jiuniang, Shiniang, Shiyiniang..."

"As for cultivation level, Master, we are all half-ghosts and half-demons at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage. However, no matter how powerful Golden Core is, they are no match for us within this Snake Vein."

"Besides, there are a few new brothers, the Third Brother and Fourth Brother. Come out and greet your master."

As soon as he finished speaking, a rustling sound came from the Soul-Binding Forest. Two thick willow branches slowly parted, and two little ghosts with ashen faces and dressed in red walked out of the forest.

They were short in stature, looking like seven or eight-year-old children, but their faces carried a stiffness and deathly aura that did not match their age. Their skin was bluish-gray, like corpses buried underground for a long time.

They approached the Hu Mang, bowed deeply with expressionless faces, and said, "Greetings, Master."

It's you!

Hu Mang narrowed his eyes. These two were the two little devils that had been summoned by the previous barbarian Jiangtou, and they were impossible to kill no matter how hard he tried.

"That's right, the willow tree keeps ghosts, so all the little ghosts in Zheng Family Garden have been left behind."

Hu Mang's gaze passed through the female ghosts and landed on the small black insects crawling on the willow tree.

Salty Smoke Worm, except they've changed from white to black.

Besides, those strange things all seem to be in the Soul-Binding Forest; some have already emerged, while others seem to still be in the process of being conceived.

"Master, the ghosts here in Nanyang seem to be different from the ghosts in Heavenly Gate," said Liuniang.

Hu Mang was overjoyed; finally, someone could share his ghostly experiences.

"You feel it's different too? What exactly is different? Tell me."

"They... are incomplete." Liuniang gave an answer that Hu Mang hadn't expected.

What does "incomplete" mean?

"Some of them actually only have two hands, some only have a trace of a soul, and some don't even have a soul at all."

As Liuniang spoke, the two Jiangtou Imp slowly raised their palms, and with their movements, their flesh disappeared visibly, leaving only a pair of hands that looked chubby at first glance, but were actually covered with sharp black ghost armor, floating in the air.

"This..."

Hu Mang tried to sense it with his Divine Sense, and to his surprise, he could only sense a pair of ghostly hands; the rest of his body had completely disappeared.

It should be noted that his Divine Sense is now at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage realm, and he has just undergone "Rainbow Transformation," resulting in some special evolution in its properties.

Even so, he could only sense two ghostly hands.

And... his palm!?