Chapter 162 - 123: Giant Monster’s Index Finger of Resentment

Le Ti quickly went forward to inspect the contents of the Shattered Advice Book as well. After a moment of thought, a cunning glint flashed in his eyes.

"So? Do you know anything about this Kasa City State?" Li Miao asked.

"This... I’m not sure either. You know, as Firewood Gatherers, all we have are memories of battle." Le Ti spread his hands, a helpless look on his face.

Li Miao curled his lip. ’This guy obviously isn’t telling the truth.’

However, he didn’t argue with him. Instead, he stood up and resumed his search.

Seeing this, Le Ti glanced left and right before following behind him.

Soon after, Li Miao finished his search. There was nothing left to find on the small island.

Li Miao once again took out the resentful finger, went to the shore it pointed to, and after a moment of thought, summoned the Spirit Fire Ship right under Le Ti’s nose.

Le Ti seemed a little surprised to see the Spirit Fire Ship appear.

But then, he also took out a small, exquisite boat. Once at the shore, Warfire ignited in his hand, and the small boat expanded to its normal size.

’This NPC is pretty interesting...’

Li Miao chuckled to himself and said nothing more, directly steering the Spirit Fire Ship in the direction the resentful finger was pointing.

Le Ti followed closely beside him.

Moreover, he even had the energy to make small talk with Li Miao while rowing.

"Brother Wei... your ship seems a little special."

"Special how? This ship is pretty ordinary."

"..."

’Ordinary... Have you ever seen a boat that can move on its own without oars?’

Le Ti grumbled inwardly but didn’t dwell on the point.

"It seems you must be a very special Firewood Gatherer. Perhaps your Dagger Witch is extraordinary, or have you already been to the Fire Element Divine Hall?"

’Fire Element Divine Hall?’

Li Miao was surprised, but his expression remained impassive.

’He was now a little unsure if the other party was really a Firewood Gatherer, to actually know about that.’

’Even if he isn’t, he must have a deep connection to the Firewood Gatherers.’

"I haven’t been. The Campfire gave it to me. Don’t you have one?"

Li Miao bluffed, throwing the blame onto the Campfire.

"?" Le Ti furrowed his brow upon hearing this, now looking rather puzzled. But he could only give a dry laugh. "Ha, I see. It seems the Campfire must hold exceptionally talented Warriors like yourself in high regard... I’ll have to ask the Campfire about it when I get back, too."

"You know about the Fire Element Divine Hall?" Li Miao had no time for Le Ti’s odd behavior; he was more concerned about this.

’Discussions about the Fire Element Divine Hall on the forums were all over the place, but everyone knew it would be a very important location.’

"I’d like to know, too." Le Ti spread his hands. This time, he really seemed not to know. "If possible, I’d love to take a look around the Fire Element Divine Hall myself."

’Who knows if this guy is telling the truth or not...’

Hearing this, Li Miao withdrew his gaze and focused on moving forward.

Le Ti was silent for a moment.

Then he started probing for information again.

At that moment, monsters from the sea began to attack them frequently, interrupting their conversation.

During this time, Le Ti wasn’t idle either, taking out his Weapon to fend off the monsters’ Attacks.

However, the guy was full of tricks. He stuck close to Li Miao, seemingly trying to get him to draw the monsters’ aggro.

Le Ti’s Weapon seemed to be a black Whip. After being infused with Warfire, each lash was like the slash of a sharp blade.

Li Miao secretly took note of these details.

Before long, while being harassed by a group of monsters, the two had traveled a considerable distance.

At this point, the Dark Boundary ahead suddenly veered, splitting into two routes, one to the left and one to the right. The direction the resentful finger pointed also began to change accordingly.

Just before the fork in the path, Le Ti suddenly suggested, "Brother Wei, let’s split up. We might be able to explore faster that way."

Hearing his words, Li Miao raised an eyebrow slightly.

’This guy... I wonder what he’s scheming.’

"I think it’s best we stick together." Li Miao did not agree with his suggestion. "There’s strength in numbers, you know. Think about it, what if I find some more useful information and you’re not there to see it? Wouldn’t that be a shame?"

’Even though I don’t know what this NPC is plotting, I can’t just let him do as he pleases.’

"..." Le Ti was taken aback, apparently not expecting Li Miao to say that, but he recovered quickly. "...If fate wills it, we will surely meet again, haha."

With that, Le Ti quickly rowed his boat to the left, his speed making it seem like he was fleeing the plague.

"Hey, wait, let’s discuss it a bit more." Li Miao tried to give chase, but the Spirit Fire Ship wasn’t fast enough to keep up with Le Ti. He could only watch as the man’s figure grew more distant.

"That guy is definitely up to something."

Li Miao was certain.

’Le Ti probably got some useful information from the [Shattered Advice Book] earlier, or perhaps he already knew something about Kasa City State.’

’But the cunning bastard didn’t choose to share that information.’

"What a shame. I should’ve just tried beating him up."

Li Miao said with some regret.

’Because I was unsure of his strength, I didn’t make a move right away. I didn’t expect him to take advantage of the fork in the road to just run off. What a miscalculation...’

After a moment of thought, he retracted his gaze and looked toward the other path.

’Going after Le Ti was impossible.’

’Because the resentful finger and the Spirit Candle were both pointing down the left-hand route.’

’As for the right-hand route... I’ll try it next time.’

Li Miao shook his head and steered the Spirit Fire Ship forward.

「Not long after.」

Li Miao suddenly noticed that the water ahead was gradually becoming shallower. A shoal extending from the Dark Boundary took up most of the channel.

On this shoal was a wrecked, stranded ship, which seemed to have fallen apart after hitting a reef or being attacked.

The Spirit Candle’s guidance also pointed to this shoal.

Needless to say, Li Miao went ashore and lit the Milestone Spirit Candle on the shoal.

Then, he took out his Frost Riding Spear and turned his gaze to the wrecked ship ahead.

There was a large hole in the ship’s forward starboard side. It was dark and gloomy inside, and the faint sound of dripping water could be heard.

Upon arriving here, the resentful finger automatically flew up and swiftly entered the stranded ship.

Immediately after, several quiet but rapid tapping sounds came from inside, clearly made by the finger.

’What the hell is this finger doing?’

Li Miao was a little surprised.

But soon, his expression changed slightly.

Because, from the opening in the dark shipwreck, mournful wails suddenly began to echo. One by one, translucent figures appeared, emitting a hair-raising aura.

Their faces were terrifying, their eyes hollow.

[Stranded Ghost]

[Tier: Residual Ash]

[Level: 6]

[Talent: ?]

[Skill: ?]

[Explanation: Having died on the stranded ship, they became Ghosts for some reason and are now attracted by resentment.]

If it were just these, it would have been manageable.

After all, he had already experimented when dealing with the Island Vengeful Souls. Frost Piercing dealt additional Magic damage, and coating his Weapon with Warfire was also effective against these ghost-type monsters. Therefore, these Ghosts posed no threat to him.

But things then took an unexpected turn.

From behind these Ghosts, the resentful finger suddenly flew out and stopped in front of a group of them.

Then, as if they had been summoned, the group of Ghosts all turned and began to drift toward the resentful finger.

In an instant, Soul Qi surged, and a cold, sinister aura spread in all directions.

And these Ghosts actually began to forcibly fuse, gathering together. From the pile of Ghosts they formed, a sturdy, disheveled phantom slowly emerged. One of its fingers was extremely thick, wreathed in Soul Qi, and had a grayish-white color.

"Argh..."

A hoarse, low wail escaped from the tall Vengeful Soul’s mouth. Its shoulders were extremely wide and its head was very small, making it look like a small mountain and giving off an intense sense of pressure.

[Resentment Ghost Giant Monster]

[Tier: Molten Slag]

[Level: 21]

[Talent: Ghost Body]

[Skills: Resentful Soul Ball, Resentment Storm, Vengeful Soul Tearing]

[Explanation: A Giant Monster born with the resentful finger as its core and Ghosts as its foundation. It possesses strong control abilities. Its birth has also resolved the lingering spirit’s resentment.]

"Damn it, and I thought this finger was going to lead me to something good!"

Li Miao cursed, then his body ignited with Warfire. He raised his Frost Riding Spear, preparing to use Frost Piercing.

But just then, something unexpected happened again.

The Resentment Ghost Giant Monster suddenly raised its hand and pointed its resentful index finger at him.

The next moment, its Ghost Body rapidly shrank and condensed, flowing into the resentful index finger.

Then, the resentful index finger flew before Li Miao, and along with it came a ball of Magic.

"Hm?"

This sudden turn of events left Li Miao utterly astonished.

He then scratched his head and took them.

[Acquired: Giant Monster’s Index Finger of Resentment]

[Acquired: Magic - Resentful Soul Ball]

[Giant Monster’s Index Finger of Resentment]

[Type: Special Item]

[Effect: After activating with Warfire, it will summon a Resentment Ghost Giant Monster to help you in battle. The item will be destroyed upon its death.]

[Explanation: After eliminating the tormentor of the past, the Resentful Spirit’s obsession has faded. All that remains is a debt of gratitude to be repaid.]

[Magic - Resentful Soul Ball]

[Type: Skill Book]

[Quality: Embers]

[Effect: Summons a giant Resentful Soul Ball to attack enemies. Has a chance to inflict fear on enemies with low Spirit.]

[Explanation: A Magic spell that powerful ghost-type creatures can use innately.]

"This..." Li Miao couldn’t help but scratch his head. "So it was a reward item."

’I thought the resentful finger had created a monster to fight me.’

"A monster of the Molten Slag Ash Tier. A pity it’s not permanent."

Looking at the grayish-white index finger in his hand, Li Miao thought with a hint of greed.

’But he wasn’t too disappointed. After all, this was an item from an instance. In other words, if the Resentment Ghost Giant Monster died, he could get it again by resetting the instance.’

’Rounding up, it was basically a permanent summon.’

Li Miao nodded in satisfaction.