Chapter 745: Frantic Devouring

The Pig Cage Apartments were built decades ago. After weathering so many storms, it was a miracle they hadn't collapsed yet.

Gloomy and damp. The moment I entered the stairwell, the air grew so thick and viscous that just breathing took effort.

'Tens of thousands were eaten until only seven hundred remained. The resentful spirits linger; not even time can erase their obsessions.'

Stepping on the rotting floorboards, I could faintly make out the outlines of doors. Their locks were caked in rust, and I could almost see insects squirming inside the keyholes.

I stepped into a random room. To my surprise, this space—supposedly capable of housing three people—was only eight or nine square meters.

"Rather than an apartment building, this is more like an anthill."

Standing in the center of the room, I used my Judging Eye to scan the surroundings.

Even after so much time had passed, faint traces of the past remained.

Short, rusted, yellowing nails were driven into the walls. Scraping away the thick layer of moss revealed the distinct blue bricks characteristic of that era.

Time had buried all the furniture and daily necessities. Only a pile of rotting, unrecognizable garbage remained on the floor.

New life had taken root within the rot—weeds, moss, and nameless little bugs.

'There are at least several hundred rooms like this across the Pig Cage Apartments' four main buildings. Checking them one by one is too inefficient.' I carried the Old Granny's Embroidered Ball tucked against my chest. She had said that as long as I got close to Junsheng, he would take the initiative to find me, but that was far too passive.

'The tallest of the four main buildings is the northern one. The Old Granny once found a mirror in there.' I thought to myself, 'Since I'm already inside, I might as well check that building first. If the mirror the Old Granny saw really is the Reincarnation Mirror the Live Show wants, I can complete the optional task along the way.'

Just as I made my decision, a strand of black hair wrapped around my wrist. I turned my head and saw the Fate Ghost emerge from my shadow, turning to face the corridor.

'Something is coming?' The Fate Ghost and I shared a mental connection. The moment it acted up, I immediately realized something was wrong.

Darting into the corner of the room to hide, I peeked out. In the darkness, two black silhouettes—one tall, one short—were approaching from a distance.

Their footsteps were completely silent. They glanced around, seemingly searching for something.

'Have I been exposed? Impossible. These two must be looking for someone else.' A few seconds later, the two figures drew closer, allowing me to clearly see the dense bite marks and charred black skin covering their bodies.

'Obsessions!'

Their faces were hideous, entirely disfigured. They raised their heads, deformed noses twitching continuously as they prowled the corridor like wild beasts.

'They're heading this way.' I signaled the Fate Ghost to stand behind me and formed a hand seal. Crouching low, a trace of blood-red light surfaced in my eyes.

Obsessions were terrifying, but to Xue Zhuo, they were nothing more than food.

'These monsters have no minds of their own and only act on instinct. Even if I catch them, I won't be able to interrogate them for anything useful. I might as well kill them and strengthen myself!' Under the influence of the Good and Evil Asura Mask and Xue Zhuo, I wasn't completely consumed by slaughter, but deep down, I felt no resistance to the hunt. I even felt eager to try.

As the shadows closed in, the blood in my veins boiled. The Blood Fox Tattoo on my chest radiated threads of crimson light, and my freshly bandaged wound began to bleed once more.

Upon the high-grade white silk bandage, a blood-colored nine-tailed fox flashed a sly smile.

Silent as a ghost, I charged out of the room without uttering a single cry.

In a true life-and-death struggle, speaking even a single unnecessary word could ruin everything.

After witnessing the miraculous feats the Blood Fox pulled off while controlling my body, I was full of confidence in my own physique. With Three Dao Locks open, my physical limits and flexibility had long surpassed those of a normal human.

Pushing my speed to the limit, I leaped high into the air and struck at the two obsessions simultaneously.

The tall and short obsessions clearly never expected an enemy to be hiding in the adjacent room. They froze in place for a second or two before greedy smiles stretched across their faces—a pure craving for food.

Instead of dodging, they actively lunged right at me.

Seeing this, I was overjoyed. 'There is a path to heaven, but you refuse to take it; there is no door to hell, yet you insist on barging in! If the Animal Realm doesn't want you, I'll take care of you myself. Your gluttonous obsessions, your resentment of being devoured by your own kind—let it all become part of my power!'

At the final moment, the hand seals I had learned from Xue Zhuo unleashed a terrifying effect. The fox tattoo on my chest lifted its head as nine blood-red fox tails radiated an overwhelming aura of blood and killing intent!

"Nine-Tails!"

With a low shout, the nine massive tails behind me—condensed entirely from bloody killing intent—coiled around the two obsessions like frenzied pythons.

"Die!"

Both of my hands were enveloped in bloody killing intent. This was Xue Zhuo's obsession, harboring its invincible will and monstrous murderous urge. Like a razor-sharp blade, it cleaved through everything in its path.

I seized the obsessions by their skulls. Unlike the Blood Fox, who preferred to toy with its prey, my fighting style was one-hit kills.

I wasn't someone who enjoyed torturing my victims. To me, killing was simply a way to solve a problem.

My fingers pierced through the obsessions' necks and sank deep into their flesh. The enormous fox tails crushed them from all sides until they violently exploded!

The drifting black threads were the true bodies of the obsessions. These things seemed to be formed from human emotions and memories, saturated with extreme negativity. Yet, undeniably, they also contained a chillingly terrifying power.

Devour!

The bloody tails swept backward, absorbing every single thread. My irises flashed between black and red, as if I had been afflicted with the world's deadliest poison. It took a long time before my eyes returned to normal.

Breathing out a mouthful of impure air, I could feel the nine-tailed tattoo on my chest grow even more savage and robust. At the same time, I sensed that my own willpower had been further elevated.

After devouring the Flower of the Dream Realm, my willpower was already comparable to a Celestial Master like Xu Yan, who had cultivated for decades. I had essentially reached a pinnacle. Yet, after the Nine-Tails swallowed the obsessions of the Pig Cage Apartments' tragic victims, my will had grown once again. If this continued, it would reach a truly terrifying level. I might even have a chance to rival ancient monsters like Wan Yi and the Blood Fox.

Willpower was the very foundation of a person. As long as one's will remained unbroken, they were never truly defeated.

Devouring the two obsessions only took about a dozen seconds in total. This was largely thanks to my coordination with the Blood-Colored Nine-Tails. I had perfectly inherited its obsession, and under the command of my will, its power multiplied exponentially.

'There are still plenty of obsessions inside the Longchang Ancient Buildings. Since they chose to stand in my way, I'll swallow them all.' If the obsessions of tens of thousands of people fused together, that power would be enough to make even gods and buddhas back down.

It was a nice thought, but I knew how difficult it would actually be. I had just swallowed two obsessions, and the negative emotions within them had nearly caused me to lose control. Before I could completely refine them, every attempt to devour another obsession was a massive gamble. I could easily reach my breaking point, face a backlash, and end up as a puppet ruled entirely by gluttony.

'Now it's a race to see whether my will grows faster or the negative emotions accumulate faster. Whichever side cracks first loses everything.'

After successfully devouring those obsessions, the fear I had of them vanished without a trace. I might have been prey in their eyes, but in mine, they were nothing but food.

The devouring process wasn't exactly pleasant, but the benefits were immense. Stroking my Ghost Ring after completely digesting the obsessions, I realized that my ghost art realm had somehow shot up by a large margin. Some of the more obscure teachings in the Yin-Yang Ghost Art suddenly made sense, as though a wealth of sudden insights had bloomed in my mind.

'Obsessions contain the memories and emotions of those who died unjustly. Furthermore, this place borders the Animal Realm and is connected to reincarnation. This must be the reason behind the advancement of my ghost arts.' My innate talent for cultivating ghost arts was exceptionally high. Compared to the Profound Truth Mental Method, which I hadn't managed to break through for ages, my Yin-Yang Ghost Art had long since reached the Fourth Layer—the realm of commanding the Five Directions Plague Ghosts. With the help of the obsessions, my progress was rapid. I was confident that it wouldn't be long before I reached the Fifth Layer of my ghost arts, granting me the power to turn the mortal realm into a ghost domain and commune with the netherworld!

When that time came, I'd be able to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Xu Yan and Lu Jingxiu without relying on any external force.

'The Yin-Yang Ghost Art centers around reincarnation. Although it is a ghost art, it harbors the ultimate principles of yin and yang. Standing here on the edge of reincarnation, I might just be able to grasp its true essence!'

The corridor returned to a dead silence. It was as if those two obsessions had never been there.

'Cultivating both the Ghost Dao and martial arts... as long as I master one, I will have what it takes to return to Jiangcheng. At the very least, I'll be more than capable of protecting myself.' At that thought, the blood-red light in my eyes flared. In all my previous live streams, I had avoided mass slaughter. But this time was different. I could feel that my time was running out. I had no way back and no room to choose.

"Let's go. We'll actively hunt them down. Once we wipe them all out, the truth won't even matter anymore." I stepped forward, and the Fate Ghost followed silently behind me. It would never argue with me. Even if everyone in the world betrayed me, it would always stand by my side.

It had died for me, and it lived because of me. It was a bond that outsiders could hardly comprehend.

Stepping on the rotting floorboards, I navigated through the dilapidated corridor. I made no effort to hide my tracks, heading straight for the tallest ancient building. Any blind obsession that crossed my path would simply be devoured on the spot.

Along the way, I consumed at least six or seven obsessions. The crimson glow in my eyes intensified, faintly laced with thin black threads. My eyes looked terrifying now—icy and reptilian, like the gaze of a snake. My human emotions were slowly slipping away.

Both my willpower and the Yin-Yang Ghost Art were rising continuously. I had originally thought this hunt would last a long time, but to my surprise, I made a major discovery the moment I stepped into the northern ancient building.

At the entrance of the tallest ancient building hung a corpse. Its wrists and ankles had all been slit open, and blood was dripping steadily onto the floor...