Pain!
Pain! Pain! Pain!
Michael looked down at the knife tip protruding from his chest, then at the familiar yet ferocious faces in front of him. He was confused and in disbelief.
These were the neighbors and friends he had sworn to protect!
How could they turn the knife on him?
"Why?"
Michael stumbled, slowly leaning against the wall and sliding down.
"Why?" Dawn Sky sneered, "You hoarded a house full of food, claiming it was for everyone, but most of it went into your mouth!"
He was wearing Michael's paper armor and wielding Michael's paper knife.
Apocalypse of Ghosts, Michael's greatest reliance, was now in Dawn Sky's possession.
It was Dawn Light!
She had clung to Michael tonight, insisting on going to bed with him, and personally took off the paper armor he had never removed.
"Dawn Light..." Michael struggled to turn his head and saw her among the crowd.
Meeting Michael's gaze, she looked a bit flustered but still stubbornly said, "I told you to give the armor to my brother! He's my only brother! Why did you force me?"
She started crying. "I begged you so many times to give us more food, but you always said there wasn't any... It's you! You forced me to do this!"
"Stop wasting time with him!"
"Search the place! We'll split everything!"
Familiar faces rushed into the room, eager to search.
"Nothing here!"
"Nothing here either!"
"Just two boxes of instant noodles and half a bag of potatoes."
"Damn it, where did he hide it?"
"Michael, where did you hide the stuff?"
Michael laughed.
Food?
It had already been consumed!
If it weren't for his strict distribution, they would not have lasted this long.
"If you don't tell us, we'll fry your brother alive!" Eve Red grabbed a chubby boy by the hair, threatening viciously.
It was Charlie Tough, Michael's brother, his only family.
"Michael, does it hurt?" Charlie Tough looked expressionlessly at the knife in Michael's chest.
Born missing a soul, the chubby boy never knew how to cry or smile.
"Bring... bring him over, I... I'll tell you."
Eve Red was delighted and released the chubby boy.
Michael gently hugged him.
In a soft voice, he said, "Little Tough, they won't spare you, don't blame your brother."
Saying this, he pressed the boy against the knife tip protruding from his chest.
Charlie Tough looked down at the knife piercing his heart and tightly hugged Michael.
"Child, child..." A blind man stumbled in, crying.
Bumping into things several times, he finally found Michael's position, his hands covered in blood.
"Damn you all! Damn you all!!" The blind man cried out in agony. "Do you have any conscience left? Most other communities have suffered massive deaths! Only our community hasn't lost a single person! And this is how you repay him!"
"Get out of here!" Someone kicked the blind man away.
The blind man stumbled, crying bitterly, his cries mingling with the terrifying ghostly howls outside.
Michael's strength was rapidly fading. With his last bit of energy, he looked at each face, memorizing them carefully.
His good brother Rascal wasn't among them, but his knife was being held by Ethan Peak, suggesting he had likely met the same fate.
"Everything... is..." Michael spoke intermittently.
Dawn Sky quickly leaned in, only to hear Michael whispering with a sneer, "You're... still so stupid."
Dawn Sky froze.
Michael's voice grew slightly louder, "Those things can last for a month, don't... waste them."
Then he fell silent.
Dawn Sky was stunned. What did he mean?
What things could last for a month?
But a scarred face beside him immediately shouted, "Where are those things?"
"I heard it too, they can last for a month! We can survive now!"
Dawn Sky finally understood!
In the apocalypse, Michael had already sentenced him to death.
His face twisted in anger, he punched Michael hard in the face.
Michael seemed to feel nothing.
In his final moments, Michael saw blood aura igniting on Charlie Tough's body. He... he was awakening?
...
"Turn into a fierce ghost!"
"Please, let me turn into a fierce ghost..."
"Little Tough... Little Tough... Brother is sorry..."
"Michael, what are you saying?"
A six-year-old chubby boy by the bedside, expressionless, handed over a cup of hot water and a pill.
Michael had a fever.
He stared blankly at the familiar surroundings and asked, "What day is it today?"
"I don't know."
"Give me the phone."
Charlie Tough handed over a worn-out phone. Michael looked at the time: July 16, 2055.
29 days before the Arrival of the Blood Moon!
Reborn?!
Mumbling for a while, Michael gritted his teeth, "Good! Good! Good!"
"Heaven has eyes!"
There was still a month before the Arrival of the Blood Moon. If he couldn't make the most of this month, it would be a waste of all his experience in the apocalypse.
There were two Ghost Tides: the first one erupted in the south thirty years ago, leaving ten houses empty out of ten!
This marked the beginning of the Era of Ghost Control and the Path of Cultivation for humanity.
Comparatively, the north was more stable.
Ghosts existed, but their impact was minimal.
Of course, there were occasional ghostly incidents, like rumors of a family hanging themselves in the east of the city or the factory owner dying horribly.
But this peace was about to be shattered.
Because the second Ghost Tide was about to descend.
It would be a disaster even more terrifying than the southern Ghost Tide thirty years ago!
On the night of August 15th, the Arrival of the Blood Moon would unleash the Apocalypse of Ghosts!
In just the first night, at least half the people would die.
The blood-red moon would last for half a month, followed by half a month of daylight, in a continuous cycle.
The most terrifying part was that after each blood moon, the Ghost Tide would be twice as strong as the previous one.
Without those awakened Ancient Relics, humanity would have long been extinct.
These Ancient Relics included cultural relics and antiques.
When the Blood Moon descended, the revival of the blood aura would awaken most of these relics.
An ancient coin, a grand chair, a family genealogyll could possess power.
People had summarized a pattern: generally, the older the item, the stronger it was.
Especially items that had been worshipped by many people over time.
Michael's targets were the Seven Treasures Demon-Sealing Tower and Zhong Kui's Ghost-Suppressing Painting.
The former had the strongest attack power in Ximing City, capable of sealing and controlling twelve ghosts. The top ghost controllers could only manage five.
The latter had the strongest defense in Ximing City. The Wu family, which owned the painting, was known as the unbreakable family, recruiting many people to serve them because of it.
With these two items in hand, Michael would have the means to reign supreme in the Apocalypse of Ghosts.
He jotted down the names of the famous Ancient Relics from his memory, trying to recall their current locations.
The Seven Treasures Demon-Sealing Tower was in the Sanctuary of Spirits' spirit tower.
veryone knew this.
Zhong Kui's Ghost-Suppressing Painting was likely still with the Wu family.
During the Ghost Tide, Zhong Kui's statue, visible from half the city, left an indelible impression on all of Ximing City.
Michael wanted to set off immediately, but he was too weak and feverish to even sit up.
"Don't move," Charlie Tough said expressionlessly, "Take your medicine first."
Looking at this chubby boy born missing a soul, Michael felt a twinge of sadness.
He could still feel the warmth of Charlie Tough's blood on his chest.
"Sorry, I didn't take care of you in the previous life."
"It's okay." Charlie Tough, expressionless, put away the cup and went to do his homework.
Charlie Tough didn't understand why Michael was apologizing, but Michael had taught him that when someone says sorry, he should say it's okay.
Michael watched his back for a while, then refocused.
He needed both of those super relics!
Besides that, he needed to stockpile enough supplies.
Without experiencing the apocalypse, one could never understand the satisfaction of swallowing a morsel of food when starving.
But now, he was low on money.
Where could he get money?
His first thought was to sell the house.
No matter the time, most of a family's assets were tied up in their house.
But how could he maximize the money?
Thinking it over, he quickly had an answeroans!
Get several property certificates and apply for multiple loans.
"Little Tough, go copy the phone numbers for loan sharks from the hallway, um, never mind, just take a picture with the phone."
This was an older six-story building, and on the walls of such buildings, you could find all sorts of contact information.
Yellow pages? That was just the lightest of it.
Charlie Tough quickly returned.
Michael flipped through the album, but before he could look, a strange voice suddenly rang out:
"Unswappable even using Gold, Unswappable even using Gold..."
In the room appeared a half-meter-tall, thin and ragged ghost carrying a giant bag as wide as a meter.
The giant bag was filled with gold ingots, their weight likely measured in tons.
"Unswappable even using Gold, Unswappable even using Gold..."
The ghost was bouncing around, and with a clang, two gold ingots fell from the giant bag.
"Unswappable even using Gold, Unswappable even using Gold..."
The ghost continued to jump, suddenly leaping onto the dining table and onto a whole roast duck, then abruptly disappeared.
It seemed to have jumped into the roast duck.
Michael stared at the roast duck, his eyes widening.
The roast duck had turned into a gold duck!
"Michael, the duck can't be eaten anymore," Charlie Tough said calmly, expressionless, tapping on the golden duck.
Michael was stunned.
This was... Unswappable even using Gold.
An evil ghost!
Wandering Souls, Evil Ghosts, Malevolent Spirits.
"Evil Ghost" was a term for a level above Wandering Souls, not implying that Unswappable even using Gold was "evil."
Michael's thoughts raced, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
Ghosts could be good or evil, and Unswappable even using Gold was the most mysterious of the benevolent ghosts.
According to legend, if someone felt they had a great debt left unpaid before dying, this overwhelming obsession could turn them into a Wandering Soul-level Debt Repaying Ghost.
Also known as Debt Repaying Ghost.
Unswappable even using Gold was an advanced form of Debt Repaying Ghost, appearing around those they owed to, turning random objects into gold.
Like the golden duck in front of him.
But...
Who owed him such a debt?
If it was from the previous life, it would be understandable. Michael believed he had saved half the community.
But in this life, he was just a regular high school student.
If the debt from a previous life was being repaid in this life...
That concept was terrifying.
It would mean that Unswappable even using Gold could transcend time!
Michael weighed the golden duck, estimating it weighed around fifty pounds!
He gasped. That could be worth millions?!
The book's biggest highlight is the Ghost Register,
It meticulously designs a total of 100 ghosts, with nearly 700 variations including their advanced forms, promising a full experience (when reaching 200 chapters, return for an update: Sorry, I underestimated, it's already more than 100, with advanced forms and variations, it's over 1000...).
Mysterious ones like Unswappable even using Gold, White Bone Demon, Earth Spirit Commander, Blood Blossom, etc.
High-strength ones like Asura, Rakshasa, Butcher, Martial Champion, Emperor, etc.
Weird ones like Skin Painter, Big Red Robe, Chubby Baby, Coroner, Flower-Waist Bride, Undertaker, Eternal Lamp.
Among these 100 ghosts, each has its own evolution route:
For example, the most common Drowned Ghost can upgrade to Water Monkey, Kappa (more to come, no spoilers).
For example, Vengeful Ghost can upgrade to Sleepless One, Big Red Robe (more to come, no spoilers).
...
Ghost upgrades require "Spiritual Anchor."
Spiritual Anchor could be something: for example, White Bone Demon advancing to Dragon Bone Skeleton would need a dragon bone. It could also advance to Buddha Bone Skeleton, Divine Remains Skeleton, etc.
Spiritual Anchor could also be a condition: Drowned Ghost drowning nine people to upgrade to Water Monkey. Embroidering Maiden sewing a wedding dress with human skin and wearing it to upgrade to Flower-Waist Bride.
Guess what the Spiritual Anchor for Lustful Ghost is.
...
Battles:
The book doesn't follow the "higher level means stronger" trope.
Different ghost types have significant counter effects. For instance, Chubby Baby is eerie, but if found, anyone can shatter it.
Eternal Lamp can easily massacre a city, but understanding its rules makes it easy to kill.
Lastly:
China's mythology and legends abound with countless ghosts and monsters, all inexhaustible. All ghosts in this book originate from China. There will be no appearances of foreign ghosts like vampires or Shutenji.
If this aligns with what you're looking for, feel free to add it to your shelf~
Sincerely,
Yanhuo
