I Am Your Natural Enemy-Chapter 541 - 216: Nether Path Soul Lamp, An Unexpected Path of Advancement (5.4k)_3

Moldy air converged from all directions, transforming into lamp oil which then ignited.

The Taoist's body gradually petrified, turning into a wooden carving that bore a hint of terror. It stood in place, head slightly raised, mouth wide open. The multicolored cords in his mouth transformed into a wick, using the moldy air on him and the air absorbed from all around as lamp oil.

Wen Yan felt it. A bit of moldy air also flew out from his body, turning into lamp oil. It burned away, becoming the eerie green light that illuminated the Nether Path.

And the others that flew in from different places, they must be from other people.

Wen Yan watched this scene, sighed, and without saying anything, turned to leave.

Pei Tugou followed and turned to go back. But upon turning around, he could see nothing. Everything he had just seen seemed to have vanished along with the path, and he was lost.

Wen Yan stretched out a hand, rested it on his shoulder, and Pei Tugou could see the path again.

"What's going on here?"

"You can't take the same path back here, or you'll get lost. It's a natural maze."

"I'm asking about that guy. Are we just going to let it go like this?"

"He was afraid I wouldn't agree to let him wait here. So, he turned himself into a lantern, eternally guarding the Nether Path. The wick is his Soul. He truly had talent and somehow found a way to reverse the secret technique without the talismans. Now, he's like a huge magnet, drawing in other people's moldy air as if it were iron filings, then burning it away. This process is his Soul, constantly burning in the flames. He can't die, but neither can he live. Having taken this step, there's no room for regret anymore. If you think this isn't enough, go kill him and let him be free."

"..." Pei Tugou didn't speak either. What was there to kill?

This experience had already made him feel that killing couldn't solve the problem.

And now, for once, he didn't want to deliver a deadly blow.

He looked again at the humanoid wooden sculpture standing by the path and shook his head.

"Is it really worth it? To suffer torment every day, unable to live or die, all for the sake of one more glimpse?"

"It's not me who made him do this. Am I such a ruthless person?"

"You're the cruelest of all, much crueler than me."

Pei Tugou sighed. As ferocious as he was, the Taoist had never shown fear from start to finish. Against a man who does not fear death, Pei could, at most, only hang him.

But compared to Wen Yan... He didn't even understand what happened. The Taoist had suddenly begun crying bitterly, almost hitting himself in the mouth, saying he deserved to die.

No, this was much crueler than slapping oneself; it was turning oneself into a streetlamp.

He didn't know how Wen Yan did it, to drive a man not afraid of dying to such a state.

"I'm not cruel. It's just that these Ghosts have obsessions that are too deep. He's already become a Half-Ghost-God; his obsessions are deeper than an average Ghost's. When he becomes ruthless, he truly loses all humanity and cares about nothing. And when he regrets, that final obsession supports him to do anything. He's already like this, so what can I say?"

Wen Yan escorted Pei Tugou to Old Zhao's Basement. After thinking for a while, he returned to the Nether Path.

His temporary ability, Soul Summoning, still remained, so he thought he would take advantage of the moment to do something.

Upon reaching the Nether Path, he looked at the ghostly green light above. Well, this ghostly place, this moldy air burning with such a light... it's indeed quite appropriate.

He stood on the Nether Path, zealously accumulating Yang Energy with the Explosive Great Sun. When the energy reached its limit, he recalled his Grandma's image in his mind and performed Soul Summoning.

The altar phantom and the Soul Summoning Banner appeared again. However, this time, no path of light unfolded. The altar flickered for a moment and then, along with the Soul Summoning Banner, disintegrated, vanishing without a trace.

Wen Yan looked astonished.

He had sensed it very clearly just now: the disintegration of the altar and the Soul Summoning Banner did not mean that the Soul could not be summoned.

It meant that even if he exerted his Soul Summoning ability to its explosive limit, he still wasn't qualified to summon Grandma.

Wen Yan did not attempt a second time.

He took one last look at the human-shaped wooden streetlamp beside the road.

Pei Tugou probably doesn't like this type of streetlamp much, as it can't be used to hang people.

Forget it. I'll buy a couple of streetlamps later to add to the intersection as decoration.

It's just that getting the streetlamps down there is a problem.

"You've made your choice. So I wish that, one day, you meet her again. By then, you'll truly be able to touch each other."

After leaving those final words, Wen Yan turned and walked away.

By the time he walked out of Old Zhao's Villa, a new prompt appeared before him.

"You made a Half-Ghost-God willingly consume himself with his final secret technique.

He chose to eternally guard the Nether Path, absorbing the bad luck from those he harmed and their descendants.

He became the first Nether Path Soul Lamp—a Soul Lamp forged from a ghost-god—illuminating the path.

And all of this, he did willingly."

"Because you've exceeded the limits in resolving the event, pushing forth the emergence of what could not have otherwise appeared."

"You've acquired a new title: Nemesis of Ghosts and Gods."

"With this title, you possess 100% suppression, 100% true damage, and 100% Ignore Immunity against ghosts and gods. You have a 20% chance of triggering the Nether Path Soul Lamp (capable of sealing a ghost-god and transforming it into a Nether Path Soul Lamp)."

"This title comes with the ability: Soul Summoning."

Wen Yan took a light breath. He knew it. Choosing a straightforward and thorough solution to a problem or an enemy always yielded completely different results.

He had never expected a new title, especially one that seemed so powerful.

Only when a Ghost is strong to a certain degree and has undergone some transformation—or perhaps completed more than one class change, like a Ghost of a specific type—can it be called a ghost-god.

According to the prompt, this is only the initial stage of the second phase of the Spiritual Qi Resurgence.

A Nether Path Soul Lamp forged from a ghost-god... logically impossible to appear at this stage.

Even a Half-Ghost-God, under normal circumstances, would only end up like this if sealed. Normally, no one would actively transform into a Nether Path Soul Lamp and willingly suffer such a fate.

Wen Yan had thought that would be the end of it.

To his surprise, he then saw the Calamity Protector Water Official Talisman on the back of his right hand start to glow and show some changes.

A new prompt appeared.

"Your intentions and actions highly resonate with this talisman.

There is not just one path to Cultivation.

Cultivators are not limited to just ascending a mountain for their Cultivation.

You, without a Soul, cannot engage in Cultivation, yet this in no way hinders your control of talismans.

You have relieved countless Nether Souls from the plight of darkness, and you have lifted the curse of bad luck from many people.

You have found a way to advance with the Calamity Protector Water Official Talisman without entering the path of Cultivation, a path most suited to it."

"The Calamity Protector Water Official Talisman has gained an additional 20% progress."

"Current progress: 20%"

Wen Yan looked at his right hand. The Calamity Protector Water Official Talisman had become more intricate, and its edges even featured newly added water patterns.

He had always thought that this talisman didn't involve any sort of progress...

Who would have thought? He couldn't engage in Cultivation, but he could achieve progress with talismans.