Chapter Ninety-Eight: Soul Fusion

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The previous fusion symbol had only drawn a sliver of my soul. Even three fusion symbols consumed hardly any energy. But this fusion symbol, drawn with soul blood and heartfelt blood, exerted a pulling force that, although not as intense as the Shock God Talisman, still directly drained a third of my remaining soul.

The pull on my body began to grow fierce. I was no longer strained to the point of my soul tearing apart as before; instead, I felt so weak it was as if I had been hollowed out completely.

Wang Gongming’s soul had not been completely drained by me. His body remained somewhat ethereal yet still far stronger than many resentful ghosts. Knowing Wang Gongming was unharmed lifted a massive weight off my heart.

All of this happened in an instant. The Shock God Talisman surged toward the corpse-devouring ghost!

Li Yue collapsed onto the ground.

My heart trembled with fear and dread.

Li Yue must not die!

The soul of the corpse-devouring ghost had completely exploded. At the same moment, the Shock God Talisman landed atop the black mist that burst forth!

A purplish-red blood light enveloped the black mist. Amid the ripping sounds, the entire black mist began to melt away as if touched by scorching sunlight.

Wang Gongming’s voice was hoarse, “The corpse-devouring ghost has a particular trait: it consumes corpses to grow stronger. It avoids eating ghosts themselves to escape divine punishment and ghostly resistance because the corpses it prefers are steeped in resentment, ideally with souls that have not dispersed. Such corpses, surrounded by lingering spirits, are like living people consuming ginseng to them.”

“Moreover, the soul of that corpse, for this reason, treats the corpse-devouring ghost as its own body, even as its own consciousness.”

“At this moment, its soul collapsed because it sensed the terrifying power of your Shock God Talisman and tried to flee to minimize harm.”

Suddenly, Wang Gongming’s ethereal body flickered with a faint white light.

“What are you trying to do?” I asked, my expression shifting.

I sensed a stirring of unease because beneath those white lights, Wang Gongming’s soul essence began to grow stronger.

He had just lost so much soul to me—it shouldn’t be possible for him to regain such power.

“You can’t escape anymore. Don’t do anything foolish,” I said, my voice hoarse and trembling.

At this moment, I had no strength to stop Wang Gongming. I was still seizing the moment to save Li Yue.

Gritting my teeth, I said to Wang Gongming, “Your daughter is still in the town. I don’t know what you’ve done, but didn’t you say you would make it up to her?”

After saying this, I staggered toward Li Yue.

The purple blood light of the Shock God Talisman grew ever more dazzling. The black mist from the corpse-devouring ghost had shrunk by half, yet the talisman still held more than half its power.

The fusion symbol hovered midair, refusing to move forward as if the ghost’s presence was no longer enough to draw it.

Soon, I reached Li Yue’s side and pulled her up.

Her breathing was faint, and blood soaked her chest. Trembling, she said, “Run quickly. He’s already gone…”

My face changed suddenly. I looked up sharply. When the Shock God Talisman still held some power, the black mist that burst from the corpse-devouring ghost had completely disappeared.

“He… is already dead?” I uttered, a strong unease growing in my heart.

This corpse-devouring ghost died much faster and more easily than I had imagined.

But how could it be so effortless? It even felt like the final explosion of its soul was orchestrated to align with the Shock God Talisman’s attack, without resistance.

Li Yue gripped my wrist tightly, her voice trembling, “A fragment of his soul escaped—that’s his main soul. The coffins behind hold nothing but corpses, including his original body! Run!”

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After saying that, I felt a surge of powerful energy erupt from Li Yue’s body. She forced herself to stand and pulled me as she fled back.

At the same time, the remaining part of the Shock God Talisman seemed to sense some disturbance and suddenly darted toward Qianshui River!

In that instant, I couldn’t help but look back instinctively.

What I saw chilled me to the bone.

Countless resentful ghost souls floated above the river.

In the midst of them, the coffins they had been carrying were piled in the center.

A black shadow rapidly emerged from the coffins. At first emaciated, it swiftly grew plump again—though not as grotesquely as before, it recovered nearly half its size.

Because its body had shrunk, its eyes appeared larger than before, but the only unchanged feature was its mouth, cracked all the way to the back of its ears.

“Such a powerful soul talisman nearly killed me. But now you have no means left; how can you struggle?” the corpse-devouring ghost sneered.

The resentful ghosts suddenly surged like a tidal wave, rushing frantically toward the shore.

All of this happened in a flash.

The Shock God Talisman reached the river’s surface but was swarmed and completely overwhelmed by a horde of resentful ghosts.

The fusion symbol trembled and drifted toward the riverbank.

A heavy sense of helplessness rose in my heart.

If I couldn’t kill this corpse-devouring ghost at this point, how strong was it really?

I could already sense that the Shock God Talisman was several times stronger than when I had killed lesser ghosts and the White Affairs Liu.

Meanwhile, Wang Gongming’s body suddenly surged toward the riverbank.

The white light on him ignited into flames.

A familiar feeling rose in my chest.

Was this not the same as when Aunt Hui burned her own soul?

Back then, Aunt Hui had sacrificed herself to prevent a demonic rebirth, even if it meant killing her own child.

Wang Gongming had endured the soul power required by the Shock God Talisman and my soul absorption.

Yet now he chose to burn his soul. He did not retreat into Qianshui Town or wait for an opening.

Clearly, if he returned to Qianshui Town, he wouldn’t die; he would recover completely as before.

The corpse-devouring ghost, however, could not recover quickly from such damage.

The danger to Wang Gongming was essentially over.

Yet he still made this choice.

Suddenly, a pang of sorrow hit me.

Because I understood why.

Wang Gongming did not want to live.

Especially after rescuing his daughter from the ghost, he had no desire to survive.

Mutual destruction was Wang Gongming’s current choice.

The soul symbol followed closely behind Wang Gongming. A faintly purplish blood-lit figure slowly emerged from it.

Its soul aura was exceptionally strong—almost half as powerful as when I first drew the Shock God Talisman.

The moment it appeared, three purplish-red talisman strips appeared in its hand.

My heart shook violently.

My steps froze.

Li Yue stopped trembling and turned, whispering, “Impossible… how can this be?”

I too found it impossible to believe.

Yet the truth lay before me.

The soul clone formed by the fusion symbol had drawn three Shock Talismans—not ordinary ones, but Shock God Talismans!

Three Shock God Talismans! Though not as powerful as the one just now, only half as strong in aura!

Yet three Shock God Talismans combined were far stronger than the single Shock God Talisman I had drawn earlier.

“No need to run anymore,” a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.

The three Shock God Talismans surged toward the corpse-devouring ghost.

The ghost seemed petrified, motionless as if terrified.

In the next instant, it let out a terrified scream, accompanied by three fearful words.

“Impossible!”

The resentful ghosts that had rushed ashore suddenly all turned back. The remaining resentful ghosts desperately charged at the corpse-devouring ghost!

Their speed could not match the Shock God Talismans.

The three Shock God Talismans had already landed on the corpse-devouring ghost!

This time they attached directly to its body.

Without any explosion or resistance, the ghost’s body trembled once, then vanished entirely without a trace.

“Dead… dead?” My voice was hoarse; my throat dry. My Adam’s apple bobbed.

“Soul scattered…” Li Yue’s voice was dazed; she hadn’t quite grasped what had happened.

At this moment, the fusion symbol clone cast down three Fighting Talismans before vanishing.

Those three Fighting Talismans swept through the resentful ghosts like a tidal wave, destroying them utterly.

The surface of Qianshui River boiled as countless ghost souls dispersed.

Wang Gongming stood dazed at the water’s edge, unmoving.

A profound aura of decline radiated from him—so intense it was almost tangible.

“Not even giving me the chance to perish together? Is this fate? At the moment of true death, of soul shattering, not allowing me even a single remedy. Is this my fate?”

The white flames on Wang Gongming burned with unprecedented vigor, his soul aura reaching a peak.

But I knew that after this brief brilliance, only deathly silence and dissipation would remain.

“That’s not your fate. You’re running away,” Li Yue suddenly spoke weakly.

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