Chapter 781: Clouds Stirring from All Directions (1)

The blue talismans exploded like starlight, kicking up tide-like ripples. They resembled a Dream Realm shrouded in cold smoke, isolating the entire block.

The talismans weren't trying to stop me; they merely aimed to seal off the surroundings.

"Interesting. You think you have me dead to rights? Such a massive appetite—aren't you afraid of shattering your teeth?" I didn't slow down. Slipping past the five giant ghosts, the Nether Runes in my palm surged with a ghost-restraining power unique to the Nine Abyss Netherworld. I lunged straight at the ghostly figure, aiming to seize her by the throat.

A cold snort echoed from a three-story building down the street. A middle-aged man in a Daoist robe stepped outside. A winged snake was tattooed on his exposed wrist, and gray-blue talismans were wrapped tightly around every one of his fingers.

"What demonic heretic dares run wild in Jinghai!" Tapping his fingertips to a specific rhythm mirroring the movement of the stars, the Daoist flipped his hand and threw five talismans, each targeting one of the Five Ghosts.

The gray-blue talismans expanded in the wind the moment they left his fingers, radiating a dangerous aura. His previously wrapped fingers were now exposed—devoid of skin, leaving only raw flesh and blood.

"Crafting talismans from human skin and refining them with your heart's blood... No wonder you're so confident. But these are tricks I outgrew long ago." Without missing a step, I launched myself into the air and dug my fingers into my chest. Fresh blood drenched the Blood Fox Tattoo as I drew a rune in midair. Nine phantom fox tails, invisible to ordinary people, swept outward!

"You're blocking my way!"

The massive fox tails slammed heavily into the surrounding talismans like fully cultivated, maddened pythons. The ethereal Dream Realm barrier fractured under a single strike. The talismans flying toward the Five Ghosts were swatted down, crumbling to ash under the dual corruption of the Blood Fox's obsession and the Red Building Obsessions.

The fingers are inextricably linked to the heart. When the Dream Dao Talismans, drawn in his own flesh and blood, were tainted, the middle-aged Daoist suffered an immediate backlash as their caster.

He let out a miserable shriek and clutched his fingers. The raw flesh over his finger bones began to rot, while barely visible black threads writhed like leeches, desperately trying to burrow into his body.

"Is that all? Weak, far too weak!"

With my feet treading the Heavenly Dipper and my fate aligned with the stars, the nine fox tails swallowed the yin energy, expanding infinitely in all directions. The Five Directions Plague Ghosts flanked me, guarding my sides like massive divine generals.

Having devoured nearly a hundred obsessions back in Longchang, their decades of accumulated negative emotions and energy were now injected directly into my body. Tainted with the aura of reincarnation, it created a terrifying sight no one dared to look at directly.

"Who... exactly are you?" the middle-aged Daoist asked, his voice trembling. He clutched his rotting fingers, his face pale with horror.

"You dare interfere in my business without even knowing who I am? You really are a special kind of stupid." This Daoist was clearly not the person I was looking for, nor did he match the description of the other live show streamer. He was undoubtedly just a pawn; someone had deliberately pushed him out to test the waters with me.

I had only just arrived in Jinghai. The only person who would target me like this was that live show streamer I had yet to meet.

"Is it because I'm not strong enough that I can't see you? What are you so afraid of? Are you worried about retaliation from the Live Show? Or do you simply think I'm not qualified?!" My arms hung loosely at my sides as I leaned forward slightly, a cold, sinister gleam flashing beneath my mask.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand at all." The middle-aged Daoist's expression morphed several times in just a dozen seconds. This had to be the most terrifying minute he had experienced since he began cultivating the Dao.

A fox tail swatted the Daoist aside. I walked up to the woman. Her completely contorted body managed to stay standing, and her hideous face actually began to shift again.

I seized her by the throat. "Take me to the person who created you."

"Can't you find your face either? You lost your face too, didn't you? You're just like me, looking for your own face..."

Her endlessly repeating words felt like the most vicious curse, grating on my nerves. "Enough! If you won't talk, then die!"

So what if she was my only clue? Wearing the Good and Evil Asura Mask, I felt the negative emotions piling up in my mind threatening to tear me apart. I bound her limbs with my fox tails and forcibly pumped yin energy and the obsessions I had brought out of the Red Building directly into her body.

Perhaps sensing the threat of death for the very first time, the woman's face shifted slower and slower under the torrential influx of negative emotions. Her throat could no longer form coherent words; instead, she just let out a ceaseless, eerie giggle.

I had never seen anyone smile so gleefully. The corners of her mouth stretched wide, her skin melted, and her entire face initiated its final transformation.

When the smile faded, the woman's face looked exactly like mine.

"Your face... seems to be with me..."

It wasn't the face of my Human Skin Mask, but the exact replica of my real face!

This monster possessed the ability to see through people's hearts. If I didn't kill her now, she would very likely wear my face and go out to do all sorts of deranged things!

"You're provoking me." The Five Great Upper Sects still didn't know I was in Jinghai. If this monster caused a massive commotion here, anyone paying attention would easily spot the discrepancies, and I would inevitably be dragged into the mess.

Staring at my own face, murderous intent surged in my heart. It felt exactly like I was about to murder another version of myself. I subconsciously touched my cold mask; my real face should still be safely beneath it. This was nothing more than a bizarre trick designed to distract me.

The obsessions frantically flooded into the ghostly figure, inflating her like a balloon. I watched my own face contort through an array of agonizing expressions, my heart turning ice-cold as I forcibly pumped in enough obsessions to rupture the monster completely!

The scene unfolding before them scared the pursuing security guards pissless. Seeing a living person burst apart right before their eyes left them dumbfounded. Rooted to the spot, they involuntarily began to back away.

After rupturing the ghostly figure, the obsessions and negative emotions I had pumped into her crawled out of her remains and slowly sank back into my shadow.

I couldn't rid myself of these filthy things. Even if I forced them into someone else's body, they would simply plunder enough nutrients and return to me.

They were like a curse laid upon me by the Red Building Obsessions, condemning me to bear their sins for all eternity, suffering the unending torment of tyranny and greed.

"If I can't transfer them out, then I'll just refine them bit by bit. I'll burn away all the negative emotions and keep only the power I can use." Obsessions differed from the teachings of ghost, Dao, and Buddha; they were a rare force tied to reincarnation, possessing mysteries beyond description.

The middle-aged Daoist had also witnessed me pumping obsessions into the ghostly figure. Clutching his mangled fingers with pale lips, he was utterly paralyzed by my ferocity.

"You all saw something you shouldn't have. Should I cut the grass and dig up the roots?" Under the influence of the Good and Evil Asura Mask, my thoughts naturally gravitated toward whatever was most advantageous for me. Since I had already broken my taboo on killing, I might as well eliminate them all to save myself future trouble.

Having reached the Ghost Art Fifth Layer, I became the epicenter for the yin energy of the entire pedestrian street. With every movement, I exuded the terrifying aura of a great "demon."

"Who exactly are you? What did you come to Jinghai to do? This is a gathering place for Huaxia's will of the people. If you dare start a massacre here, you will undoubtedly be plagued by unending disasters!"

The middle-aged Daoist finally knew fear. Sometimes, it really was easier to let your fists do the talking.

"Why change your tune and ask what kind of sacred being I am? Weren't you just calling me a demonic heretic left and right?" I straightened the Good and Evil Asura Mask on my face and strode up to the middle-aged Daoist. "Judging by your actions earlier, you've been lying in ambush here for a long time. Tell me, who tipped you off that I would be here?"

"Don't do anything rash. Jinghai is one of the largest cities in Huaxia. After dark, it has its own set of rules that humans, ghosts, spirits, and demons must all obey. And I am one of the people who maintains the order here."

"That doesn't explain why you're here!" I realized I was becoming increasingly irritable.

"This really is just a huge misunderstanding! The police reported that White Rose was haunted, saying there was always a woman doing her makeup inside at night. I was staking the place out for her—who would have thought I'd run into you instead?" The middle-aged Daoist looked utterly speechless.

"Those were Dream Dao Talismans you used earlier. What is your connection to Xiao Zhuang Taoist Temple?"

"You actually know of Xiao Zhuang Taoist Temple?!" The middle-aged Daoist took a step back, as if trying to see through me completely. "I am an outcast of my sect, entering the mortal world to atone for my sins. I guard Jinghai, alleviating worries and interpreting dreams for the masses."

"Refining Dream Dao Talismans from human skin is utterly backwards. A demon clearly resides in your heart as well." I sneered. Before I fled Jiangcheng, Elder Chen had entered the Three Yin Sect Grand Formation as the representative of Xiao Zhuang Taoist Temple. Ever since then, I had been paying close attention to this sect. It was incredibly mysterious, tied deeply to the Dream Dao. No one knew where its mountain gate was located, and its disciples were each more enigmatic than the last.

If this guy really was an outcast of Xiao Zhuang Taoist Temple, then I could take him alive and interrogate him for intelligence regarding the sect. It would also help me figure out just how deeply Two-Faced Buddha had infiltrated their ranks.

"It seems this clash wasn't entirely without gains." Right as I muttered this to myself, the ghostly figure that had long been blown to pieces in the distance suddenly began to move like flowing water. The scattered flesh and blood silently converged in one direction. By the time I noticed, the monster had already reassembled itself.

"Your face is with me!" Her bizarre tone made my scalp go numb. The monster was much smarter this time; the moment she finished speaking, she bolted for the back alley hidden behind the commercial buildings.

"Run, then. If I can kill you once, I can kill you a second time. Let's see exactly who is standing behind you." The dense murderous aura in my voice made it terrifying for anyone to even approach me.

"So, uh... can I go now? I guess we can say out of blows grows friendship. If I see you in the future, I'll definitely steer clear of you." If the middle-aged Daoist hadn't spoken up, I wouldn't have even paid him any mind. But now that the monster was escaping, I couldn't be in two places at once. I could only use a more direct method to resolve my current dilemma.

I ordered the Five Ghosts to lock onto the monster wearing my face. Taking a single step, I appeared directly behind the Daoist and clamped a hand over his mouth. I shoved a wisp of obsession into his stomach and planted a strand of the Fate Ghost's hair on his waist. "I will come find you after dawn to ask you a few questions. If you give me good answers, I'll cure the poison inside you. But if you dare try any tricks, I will slaughter everyone connected to you."