Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Mysterious Black Rain, The Dart Master’s Night Deception with Corpse_1
With the Soul Forging Method and Soul Secret Technique working simultaneously, Wang Linchi could feel his spiritual power slowly increasing.
The rain outside the temple had started after nightfall. Wang Linchi suspected that black rain was bound to fall every night. Fortunately, he hadn’t ventured out today; otherwise, if he hadn’t reached a village, he would have been in trouble. He didn’t believe his Suo Yi could endure a whole night. Even if it could, he himself couldn’t. The black rain was inherently problematic, and coupled with the low outdoor temperatures, only an Awakener who primarily cultivated their Physique could hope to withstand it.
He was concerned not only about the black rain but also the wind. The Suo Yi worn by the Dart Bureau’s men protected against the black rain, and their Dou Li were for wind protection. What kind of wind it was, however, was a crucial question. It certainly couldn’t be the wind commanded by the Evil Tiger. Given the Evil Tiger’s strength, it could devour a person in a single bite; how could a mere Dou Li offer any protection against such a creature?
What’s that? Wang Linchi abruptly stood up, interrupting his Soul Forging Method and Soul Secret Technique. During his Cultivation, he had forcibly absorbed the nutrients from the tiger meat in his stomach, so at least he no longer felt uncomfortably full.
Is it around twelve o’clock now?
Wang Linchi took out a watch. Six hours had passed since he finished eating the tiger meat.
He had just heard some movement outside the temple. The sound wasn’t faint; it was quite distinct amidst the rain.
He crept cautiously to the edge of the ruined temple and peered out through a window. It was pitch black outside. Besides the falling black rain, there were no signs of any living beings or energy forms. But Wang Linchi was certain it wasn’t an illusion; he had heard it loud and clear.
Then he shifted his gaze, no longer looking towards the front of the ruined temple, but to its right, where the bodies of the dart masters lay.
Damn it, the corpses are reanimating! There’s something strange about this black rain. Wang Linchi saw several bodies slowly climbing up. The eerie energy of the black rain flowed into the corpses, animating them.
Compared to the Evil Tiger or ghost spirits, however, these corpses were merely mindless husks.
Before they could react, Wang Linchi swiftly launched a Soul Seed Page: Fanciful and Fickle at them.
In an instant, the leading corpse was blasted to smithereens.
They’re not strong, but they are problematic.
Judging by the sensation from the blast, this thing isn’t a physical entity, but a soul body.
Wang Linchi’s Fanciful and Fickle had only a normal effect against enemies with physical bodies. However, against soul bodies or energy bodies, it inflicted significantly more damage, perhaps due to the nature of the energy involved. This category included ghost spirits and Elements, which could be specifically targeted, primarily because they relied on their own Soul or energy to maintain their forms. Unlike humans or Evil Tigers, which possessed physical bodies, their Physique naturally acted as a protective barrier.
When his attack struck the corpses, the damage was noticeably greater than against physical enemies. Curiously, however, it didn’t reach the level of damage inflicted on purely non-physical enemies but fell somewhere in between.
Semi-physical, semi-soul entities. The damage is higher, but not drastically so. Wang Linchi quickly reached his conclusion.
Without hesitation, he hit each corpse with a blast of Fanciful and Fickle.
A series of CRACKS and POPS followed, and not a single corpse remained whole.
He made a preliminary confirmation: The black rain can reanimate corpses.
It’s lucky I dismembered the valuable tiger corpse; otherwise, tonight would have been disastrous.
Wang Linchi still felt a sense of trepidation. If he hadn’t dealt with the tiger corpses today, and those two Mountain Copper Level tiger corpses had reanimated, then if he’d been unlucky enough to encounter them, he wouldn’t have escaped alive. The dart masters were ordinary people, so one blast of Fanciful and Fickle was enough to kill them. But Wang Linchi, having ingested the tiger’s meat, was well aware of the tiger corpse’s toughness. How could he not know its strength?
If it reanimated into a monster, victory would be impossible.
Good thing I didn’t sleep but used the Soul Forging Method instead. Otherwise, if these corpses had snuck in, it would have been a chaotic mess. Wang Linchi sat back down. His spiritual power consumption wasn’t high. Apart from the first corpse, which cost him 100 spiritual power points from his Golden Core, the others were dispatched with merely 10 spiritual power points each.
Initially, not knowing their strength, I had to use 100 points to test the waters. Once I gauged their strength, I couldn’t afford to expend so much.
I’d better not sleep for the rest of the night. This place is rather eerie. In just one day, I’ve encountered Ghouls, the dart masters, and that Evil Tiger, among other things.
At this rate, I wouldn’t even be surprised if a Yellow Weasel popped up, seeking an endorsement for its cultivation.
Wang Linchi mused, It’s best to play it safe and continue to conserve my strength and bide my time.
I wonder when I’ll be able to open my fifth Potential position and synthesize a Physique-enhancing Soul Kind. Wang Linchi was aware of his shortcomings but had no way to address them. The best solution, naturally, was to use a Soul Kind. However, the four Soul Kinds he currently possessed formed the bedrock of his abilities and absolutely could not be replaced. Thus, he could only pin his hopes on researching a method to increase the potential of his Soul Shadow: Book of Records.
However, this line of research had made no progress.
Firstly, experimenting on one’s Soul Resemblance was a one-shot deal; if anything went wrong, the damage would be irreversible. Secondly, using others for experiments wasn’t viable either. Each person’s Soul is different, and thus their manifested Soul Resemblances are also unique. An experiment successful on someone else might very well fail on him. It was like trying to prove the vein pattern of one leaf by examining another; how could they be exactly the same?
Listening to the RUSTLING of the rain outside, Wang Linchi finally stopped his Cultivation around four in the morning and took a short nap.
When he woke up, the sky was already tinged with light; he had dozed off for about an hour. He remained in a light sleep, waking twice due to the sound of the wind.
After sunrise, the black rain stopped.
Wang Linchi stepped to the entrance and looked out. The ground was incredibly dry, showing no signs of having rained at all. This indicated that it likely wasn’t rain at all, but rather something that merely resembled rain.
Nearby, a large amount of corpse fragments lay scattered on the ground.
They’ve turned black. They must have been corroded by the black rain. Wang Linchi observed from a distance, not daring to get closer. The scattered remains of the dart masters had turned a pitch-black color, like ink. From flesh to bone, everything was stained.
So that’s why they received extra damage.
Did they turn into ghosts? Wang Linchi wondered. He didn’t understand the underlying principles, nor was it the right time to investigate.
Forget it. No point dwelling on it. I need to get going while it’s still early. With that thought, Wang Linchi promptly left.
As for whether this ruined temple was the Rooster Crow Temple, based on his reconnaissance yesterday, it probably wasn’t. Of course, if it turned out to be, he could always return; it wasn’t as if he couldn’t come back.
Investigating on my own is less efficient than asking the locals. Besides, I need to find out what this Secret Realm is all about. I can’t afford to remain ignorant. What if I stumble into some trap?