Divine Soul Growth

Seeing that the female ghost had remained motionless, Zheng Que frowned and asked very seriously, “As a dignified Vengeful Spirit who has even awakened intelligence, are you now going to go back on your word?”

Hearing this, the female ghost finally snapped back to reality and coldly retorted, “Ten thousand Vengeful Spirits? Impossible! This lady simply cannot do it!”

“Change your demand!”

“Besides, you won through deceitful tricks, human brat, so I won’t agree to any overly difficult demands!”

Seeing that the female ghost actually acknowledged the debt, Zheng Que was somewhat surprised. After a moment of thought, he decided not to press further and immediately changed his demand. “From now on, you must not harm people without my orders.”

The female ghost snorted coldly. “Agreed!”

As she spoke, a hemp rope appeared out of thin air around her neck, its other end automatically hooking onto the beam above.

Tap, tap, tap.

The female ghost hung herself from the beam and began swinging back and forth like a pendulum.

As she swayed, her skirt fluttered in the wind, filling the room with a chilling, lingering coldness.

Zheng Que nodded slightly. His original plan had been to subdue this female ghost through force. Although things had not gone entirely as expected, the outcome was still satisfactory.

Thinking this, he spoke again. “My name is Zheng Que. What’s yours?”

He had already seen her name in the Book of Life and Death within the Underworld: it was Qing Li. Asking again now was to keep his Underworld identity separate from his real-world identity in front of her.

Hearing this, the female ghost hanging from the beam turned her blood-red eyes toward Zheng Que and replied coldly, “Qing Li.”

Zheng Que nodded. “I’m going to start cultivating now. Stand guard and protect me.”

Qing Li did not respond. Her body, hanging from the beam, suddenly spun around, turning her back to Zheng Que as she continued to hang.

Zheng Que immediately sat cross-legged on the bed, focused his mind and began cultivating.

This time, perhaps because a Vengeful Spirit was nearby, the Yin Qi mixed within the Spiritual Qi he absorbed was far greater than in any previous cultivation session.

Soon Zheng Que opened his eyes, and once again the dilapidated grand hall came into view.

The Book of Life and Death remained open on the long table before him.

Black energy rapidly surged from between his eyebrows, flowing steadily into the Book of Life and Death.

Zheng Que was already very familiar with all of this. He began to reflect on Qing Li’s earlier behavior.

From negotiating terms with him, to agreeing to the wager, and finally to losing and fulfilling her promise, her thinking and logic had been very clear throughout: almost indistinguishable from a living person.

Yet not long ago, this female ghost had not only lacked any intelligence but had nearly perished from being unable to withstand his spiritual blood.

The contrast made it seem as if they were not the same female ghost at all.

When he had first captured Qing Li, she had been no match for him. But in their recent battle, if not for the constraints of the 【Ghost Taming Art】 and the warning from his Underworld identity, she could have easily beaten him to death.

As expected, the reason Qing Li had undergone such a drastic transformation was undoubtedly because she had gained some unknown benefit upon entering the Underworld: something a living person like himself could not fully comprehend.

She now likely possessed both the intelligence she had held in life and all the memories and ferocity she had accumulated after becoming a Vengeful Spirit.

Thinking this, Zheng Que shook his head and looked at his own name and record in the Book of Life and Death.

Species: Human Race.

Name: Zheng Que.

Origin: Resident of Town of Lasting Fortune, Great Peace County, Marsh Province, Great Li Dynasty.

Lifespan: Sixteen years, seven months, and ten days, died at the hour of Hai.

Zheng Que focused his thoughts, wanting to test whether he could modify his lifespan.

After some experimentation he found that no matter what method he tried, he could not leave any trace on the Book of Life and Death.

Since his lifespan could not be altered, Zheng Que rose from the chair, descended the vermilion steps and began wandering through the vast hall.

The hall was spacious and deep. Though now dilapidated, with walls and roof full of holes of various sizes that let in cold drafts, the neatness of the floor tiles, the remnants of patterns on the beams and pillars, and the sheer scale of the place all hinted at its former majesty and grandeur.

The hall was severely damaged. Aside from a table and chair on the vermilion steps, there was no other furniture or decoration to be seen. Puddles of dark filth had accumulated on the floor, emitting a cold, sweetly metallic scent: whether old bloodstains or something else entirely was unclear.

After circling the hall, Zheng Que returned to the three-legged armchair and sat down.

For Zheng Que, this incomplete Underworld now served four purposes. First, it granted him an exceptionally sharp perception of death. Second, the Book of Life and Death could absorb the excess Yin Qi within his body. Third, he could see the timing of his next calamity within its pages. Fourth, bringing Vengeful Spirits here seemed to enhance their strength.

The first three had already been personally verified.

Only the last, having just been discovered, still had many details that were difficult to confirm.

When he had brought Qing Li here earlier, she had immediately regained her ability to move but had not regained her intelligence at the same time.

Then her name, origin, and lifespan appeared in the Book of Life and Death. Shortly after, when he flipped through its pages, she had inexplicably begun to cry out her grievances.

It would be best to capture another Vengeful Spirit to test this further.

Moreover, every time the Book of Life and Death recorded another name, his mental state and sensory perception seemed to improve somewhat.

This was likely growth in the Divine Soul.

With this in mind, Zheng Que decided that from now on, whenever an opportunity arose, he would find ways to increase the number of names recorded in the Book of Life and Death.

A moment later the black energy between his brows was completely absorbed, and the surrounding scene shifted and transformed. He returned once more to the house in the small town.

Zheng Que opened his eyes and glanced around. The daylight outside the window had faded, the sun had set, and the room had dimmed into a hazy twilight.

Qing Li still hung from the beam, her black hair and white robes suspended before Zheng Que, swaying back and forth, stirring gusts of Yin Qi.

Zheng Que looked at her and asked, “While I was cultivating, was there anything unusual in the room?”

Qing Li remained facing away from him. “No.”

Hearing this, Zheng Que nodded slightly. The fact that Qing Li had noticed nothing meant that when he entered the Underworld, his physical body in the outside world did not follow him: it remained exactly as it was during normal cultivation.

This also implied that before entering the Underworld in the future, he would need to ensure the safety of his physical body.

With this thought, Zheng Que closed his eyes and resumed his cultivation.