An eerie silence filled the corridor. Even the ghostly monsters stood frozen in place, not daring to attack rashly. From Bai Yu, they experienced the most primal level of fear.
Bai Yu casually tossed the Red-Clothed Fierce Ghost aside, smashing it against the wall. It was immediately enveloped by the vast network of blood threads covering the wall, devoured and absorbed. Once the blood threads wrapped around the Red-Clothed, they rapidly spread, soon forming a cocoon.
As for food, Bai Yu much preferred Red-Clothed Fierce Ghosts.
She usually ignored ordinary imps. Their taste was too poor and had too many impurities; she found them disgustingly nauseating. At most, she would absorb some of the diffused resentment to boost her own strength.
She didn’t possess much resentment herself. What mainly constituted her ghostly body were blood threads. The amount of blood threads she had was almost ten times that of a regular Red-Clothed, but her resentment was far lower—even ordinary fierce ghosts often possessed more. And resentment was the fundamental source of a ghost’s power.
If she could possess resentment equal to her blood threads, her strength would increase several times over.
But achieving that was incredibly difficult. She found that when she devoured Red-Clotheds, it primarily increased the quantity and quality of her blood threads. The increase in resentment was minuscule.
Two Red-Clotheds still capable of fighting remained on the field. One of them was Lu Liangting’s mortal enemy.
Clang!
The blade’s edge sang crisply. Bai Yu dispatched fierce ghosts with nearly two slashes per ghost. These fierce ghosts couldn’t even slow her advance. The moment they rushed forward, they met their utter obliteration.
Because so many were dying, black mist even began to spread through the corridor.
This mist wasn’t some Illusion Art; it was pure resentment, in quantities so vast that even Bai Yu couldn’t absorb it all in time.
“Let’s fall back. Try not to get contaminated by this resentment, or it’ll be troublesome.” Shen Shuyun grabbed the back collar of Lu Liangting’s shirt.
“I know you want revenge. Isn’t that what’s happening right now? Just wait. The Doctor will help you deal with the ghost you want to kill.”
The group retreated silently, watching the battle from the rear.
They had to admit, they’d never seen so many fierce ghosts in their entire lives. Forget dozens; encountering five of this level in a single mission location was considered a lot.
It might look like Bai Yu was cutting them down one by one, two at a time, but if they rushed in, they’d be torn to shreds in minutes. These dozens weren’t just imps; they were genuine fierce ghosts, only a rank below Red-Clotheds. These Black Qi-emanating creatures were far too capable of killing. The usual fierce ghost killing incidents they encountered were typically caused by this level of wraith.
“She’s gotten a lot stronger again,” Lu Liangting said after a long silence.
“Ahem, yes.” Zhao Mingyue coughed. She really wanted to say that Lu Liangting bore some responsibility for Bai Yu’s growth.
Lu Liangting didn’t reply. His gaze was fixed only on Bai Yu’s back.
To be honest, he no longer knew what he was thinking. It was too much, too complicated. Like why he was so weak. Or how he should thank Bai Yu. Forget the previous times—what about this time?
If Bai Yu hadn’t come, he would be dead. Shen Shuyun would be dead. Gardenia would be dead.
Zhao Mingyue had said four Red-Clotheds. In his opinion, that wasn’t enough.
Far from enough!
But what use was just saying it wasn’t enough? He couldn’t even produce one, let alone four.
He did have one Red-Clothed on him, but he couldn’t give it to Bai Yu. That Red-Clothed had also shown him kindness and was considered his companion.
To the side, Gardenia was also watching Bai Yu.
From Bai Yu’s fighting style, even without Shen Shuyun telling her, she knew who this was. Looking at Bai Yu, then back at her young master, Gardenia felt a growing unease.
Only Zhao Mingyue’s mind was unburdened. Her thoughts were rather simple, marvelling at how these guys were absolute philanthropists, delivering so many Red-Clotheds for Bai Yu to eat. Originally, these guys couldn’t beat Bai Yu, and now, after feeding her so many Red-Clotheds, they stood even less of a chance.
In her line of sight, Bai Yu hacked down the last four remaining fierce ghosts. The once-crowded corridor now felt incredibly spacious. A few scattered fierce ghosts simply couldn’t take it anymore, passing through walls to flee somewhere unknown. Only three Red-Clotheds remained on the scene.
The Red-Clothed Fierce Ghost had a ferocious expression on its face. A blackish-red aura emanated from its body as it pressed towards Bai Yu.
Joining the assault were the female ghost’s long black hair and nail-like claws.
After losing so many in close combat, they indeed no longer dared to attack at close range.
Faced with the combined assault of three Red-Clotheds, Bai Yu’s expression remained unchanged. She stabbed her blade into the nearby wall. Instantly, vast amounts of blood threads surged forth from the ceiling, the floor, and both side walls, following her movement like stout, writhing red serpents, completely sealing off the section of corridor ahead.
The blood threads intertwined with the three Red-Clotheds’ attacks, creating a chaotic mess. It was clear that Bai Yu’s blood threads were at a slight disadvantage.
Bai Yu’s solution was simple: detonate the blood threads.
After entangling the three Red-Clotheds’ attacks, the thick blood threads began rapidly growing dense, tiny spikes, continuously branching laterally. As they grew more, the main bodies became thinner. The small spikes interconnected with each other, forming a Blood Thread net in about a second.
This Blood Thread net continuously contracted and wrapped, forming a sphere, forcing the three Red-Clotheds to keep releasing their attacks without being able to retract them. Once it reached a critical point, the net violently exploded, sending countless blood threads spraying everywhere.
Most were recycled, but a small portion dissipated completely while neutralizing the enemy’s attacks.
This was a case of losing a thousand to inflict eight hundred damage. It couldn’t even directly harm the enemies’ main bodies; at best, it weakened their attacks.
Amidst the chaos, the three fierce ghosts realized Bai Yu had strangely vanished. By the time they came to their senses, Bai Yu was already behind them.
With two wet thwacks, the masked men’s heads tumbled to the ground. Bai Yu’s single stroke was lethal, utterly clean and without hesitation. She didn’t exchange unnecessary words with these two; she wasn’t in the habit of chatting with enemies.
She kicked the stunned Red-Clothed Fierce Ghost backward. While it was still flying away, Bai Yu’s form blurred, reappearing at its landing spot instantly.
Having lost its master’s control, this Red-Clothed’s state was off.
One slash severed both its arms. As its body crashed towards her, Bai Yu’s hand, formed into a blade, stabbed into its heart. Her right hand, after completing a downward chop, landed perfectly on her left arm, then struck upward diagonally from below, smashing into the Red-Clothed’s jaw. The Red-Clothed’s body flew upward once more.
The Blood Thread Spike above was already waiting for it.
The spike pierced through the back of the Red-Clothed’s head and burst out of its face, then began spreading laterally, its blood threads enveloping the Red-Clothed’s weakened body, gradually devouring it.
The entire sequence was fluid and seamless. From Bai Yu’s backward kick sending the Red-Clothed flying to devouring it, the whole process took no more than two seconds. A literal instant kill.
It wasn’t that this Red-Clothed was weak. In fact, among the six Red-Clotheds, this one possessed the strongest power, possibly even stronger than Xiao Lian, the Red-Clothed female ghost from Sunshine Apartment.
But since its master had been instantly killed by Bai Yu, it suffered a moment of mental disorientation. And it was this brief moment of confusion that sealed its fate.
With the masked men dead, the remaining two Red-Clotheds naturally wouldn’t fight Bai Yu to the death. If even imps knew to run, they certainly did too.
Bai Yu watched the two Red-Clotheds flee but didn’t pursue. There was no need. Four Red-Clotheds were enough to provide a decent boost.
The quantity of the boost from these four wasn’t as much as last time, but the quality was definitely superior.
The stronger she became, the less pronounced the effects of the boost, but that didn’t mean there was no boost at all.
“Wow! Little Sister Yu, you were absolutely amazing just now!”
Zhao Mingyue dashed over, immediately giving Bai Yu a huge hug, pulling Bai Yu into her embrace. Because she gave a little hop when hugging Bai Yu—combined with their existing height difference—it resulted in Bai Yu genuinely experiencing a faceful of “cleanser foam.” Zhao Mingyue’s development utterly surpassed that of her peers. Although this wasn’t the first time Bai Yu had felt this astonishing softness and elasticity, she couldn’t help the series of silent sighs every time.
This scale was just too “magnificent”…
Didn’t it affect combat?
Thankfully, she didn’t have them.
Lu Liangting and the others walked over behind her, originally intending to say something. But upon seeing this scene, they very tactfully and wisely chose to shut their mouths.
Shen Shuyun and Gardenia were mostly shocked by the female lead’s “audacious boldness.” How could you just rush up and hug this god of slaughter after witnessing that massacre?
But Lu Liangting was completely different. His main thought was why Zhao Mingyue’s relationship with Bai Yu was so close. They truly seemed like a pair of biological sisters, a relationship that evoked envy.
Bai Yu’s occasional actions and reactions often made him suspect whether this ghost girl was actually gentle and kind, because it was very likely just his own wishful thinking. But whenever he saw a scene like this, he felt his guess was right. If her personality wasn’t so moderate, could she really get along so harmoniously with Zhao Mingyue?
At this moment, Zhao Mingyue harbored no such thoughts. Her heart was filled with pride. Yes, pride. See that? This girl who had just massacred her way through this Ghost Domain… was a ghost raised by her family, okay~ Something akin to that sentiment.
“There’s more upstairs,” Bai Yu said, still expressionless.
“Upstairs?”
“Yes.”
Bai Yu didn’t bother with Lu Liangting’s feelings. She led Zhao Mingyue towards another staircase deeper inside. Behind them, Zhao Mingyue waved a hand.
“Let’s go check it out. There might be more ghosts there.”
Reaching the stairwell, Bai Yu swiftly ascended and kicked the door to the top floor open.
The cool night wind blew straight into their faces. The rooftop was empty and pitch-black.
Bai Yu stepped out, long blade in hand, and indeed saw three masked individuals standing on the rooftop.
If she had to guess, it was a division of labor. One group went to kill Lu Liangting, after which they planned to join forces to deal with herself and Zhao Mingyue. Those fierce ghosts and Red-Clotheds on the third floor had been prepared for her, not Lu Liangting. They had clearly miscalculated, however, not expecting her strength to be somewhat greater than they had anticipated.
This led to a very awkward situation. They hadn’t yet sent reinforcements, and by the time they received their comrades’ distress signal, everything was already over. Not just their comrades, the two unlucky bastards downstairs hadn’t even managed to run. The forces downstairs were nearly wiped out. Going down now would likely equal suicide.
They wanted to leave but couldn’t. The exit was blocked. The staircase next to Lu Liangting was obviously impassable. Trying to take the other way led them right here, face-to-face.
Cornered at the stairwell entrance, Bai Yu held her long saber, its blade pointing diagonally at the ground.
She took a step forward. The three masked individuals simultaneously retreated several steps, all tense as if facing a formidable enemy.
“Oh dear, I just knew it would end up like this,” came a voice from the edge of the rooftop. The Rabbit Mask Girl gently swung her two slender legs, continuing to fiddle with the bloodstained Rubik’s Cube in her hands, without a single backward glance at Bai Yu.
“No. 6, do you believe my words now? I told all of you, this ghost isn’t easy to deal with. Her strength is far greater than you thought. You should have investigated thoroughly before making a move.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. You wouldn’t believe me.”
“Seriously, how can one possibly accomplish any quests working with you insects?”
The rabbit girl’s voice was soft and youthful, quite pleasant to the ear, but its tone was overflowing with sarcasm and mockery.
“Shut up!” The middle-aged man wearing an ice hockey goalie mask was furious to the extreme.
He was the leader of this operation. He had repeatedly assured his boss of absolute certainty, guaranteeing he would bring that fierce ghost before him.
Yet the reality was that he was cornered on this rooftop, utterly unable to escape.
“Impudent rage,” the Rabbit Girl chuckled lightly. She leaned back, hands supporting herself on the railing, and in that posture, glanced at Bai Yu. “Hey, you, the female ghost with the knife, do me a favor, will you?”
“I really hate that guy in the white mask over there. Help me kill him.”
“If you help me, I’ll repay you. A reward that all men—no, all women—cannot refuse. Hehehehe.”
Her silvery, bell-like laughter echoed. The Rabbit Girl straightened her posture again.
Bai Yu frowned. She thought nothing much of the three in front of her, but this Rabbit Girl presented the greatest sense of danger. To dare speak so arrogantly, either she was crazy, or she had absolute confidence. Just as Bai Yu suspected, the Rabbit Girl hummed a tune and twisted the Rubik’s Cube in her hand. A bizarre scene unfolded. The left arm of the fierce ghost beside the man called No. 6 suddenly snapped, twisting grotesquely towards the sky.
Another turn of the Cube. This time, it was the thigh. The female ghost let out a miserable wail; its body, unable to move, saw its right leg rotate a horrifying 360 degrees.
Another light twist. The female ghost’s other arm was wrenched off entirely by an invisible force, falling to the ground and dissipating into black smoke.
No. 6 completely panicked. This fierce ghost was his only means of self-preservation, yet he didn’t even know who the enemy was. Clearly, Bai Yu wasn’t doing anything.
The scene instantly descended into chaos. Bai Yu wasn’t in a hurry to attack, shielding Zhao Mingyue behind her.
She watched as No. 6’s Red-Clothed was dismantled like spare parts, twisted into a bizarrely contorted pretzel, until the female ghost’s head rolled off. Bai Yu’s brow furrowed deeply. This power was definitely not that of a ghost.
One Red-Clothed died strangely and vanished just like that. Similarly, another ghost met the exact same death, turning into black smoke and disappearing, giving Bai Yu no chance to devour it.
At this moment, only one person remained on the field: someone wearing a masquerade mask, a big-headed imp lingering by her side. This imp was the weakest, barely at the initial stage of Red-Clothed level.
And this masked woman, Zhao Mingyue recognized her.
“Wang Xinxin?!”
