CHAPTER 368: CHAPTER 368: WICKED GHOST, STRANGE STATUE

Wicked ghost?

After Dragon Soul’s explanation, Johnnie now knew the difference between regular ghosts and wicked ghosts. These were evil souls that fed on other ghosts — in the real world, they were like serial killers.

Johnnie didn’t like wicked ghosts much.

He walked toward the house Dragon Soul had flown to earlier and listened closely to what was going on inside.

"Tsk tsk, the food smells really good today. I can’t wait anymore."

"Haha, don’t get excited. Let it cook a little longer. The village chief caught a pregnant woman who came from nowhere. Too bad we didn’t get the baby before it was born."

"Blame you for being slow. I only got one leg. Otherwise..."

"Bang!" The door was kicked open.

Johnnie slowly stepped back, staring blankly at the inside of the house.

There were two ghostly figures — a man and a woman — with slightly blackened eyes, staring at a stove and drooling.

At the sound of the door opening, they both turned around. Their pale faces and black eyes looked terrifying.

"Who are you?" The male ghost said angrily.

Johnnie didn’t answer. He just looked at the stove. A big pot was boiling over a fire, giving off a strange, smoky smell.

"Oh, I get it. You’re here to steal our food, right? I’m telling you — go back as far as you can. Otherwise, you’ll end up in that pot soon!"

Johnnie didn’t feel like arguing. He just waved his hand, and in an instant, a flying sword appeared in the air, summoned by his Soul Power.

The male ghost saw the sword pointing at him and froze. His expression turned suddenly scared.

"Summoning objects with your soul? Oh my god, you’re a Ghost King!"

"My Lord Ghost King, I didn’t mean to do it! I’ll give you the food, I’ll give you everything!" The male ghost suddenly dropped to his knees.

Johnnie frowned slightly and looked back at Dragon Soul. He wanted to know what kind of power a Ghost King really had in the Realm of the Dead.

At that moment, the female ghost — who had been silent all along — suddenly opened her mouth. Her eyes turned completely black, and she let out a loud, high-pitched ghostly scream.

Johnnie immediately felt his soul body grow heavier. His flying sword wobbled slightly.

Then, the quiet village began to fill with the sound of doors opening. A lot of footsteps started coming from everywhere.

Johnnie saw all the ghosts in the village walking forward, following an old man with a walking stick. His eyes were completely black.

"Village Chief! This is a Ghost King! He’s trying to take my food!" The male ghost, still on the ground, quickly got up and pulled the female ghost behind the village chief.

"Ghost King? Hmph, that’s funny. This is the territory of the Red-Haired Ghost King. There can’t be any other Ghost Kings here. You must have mistaken."

The old man, with thick black mist around his eyes, stared straight at Johnnie without fear.

At that moment, Dragon Soul landed on Johnnie’s shoulder and whispered:

"In the Realm of the Dead, a Ghost King is like a Divine Powerhouse in the real world. Johnnie, your soul power is about the same as a regular Ghost King now."

Johnnie nodded slightly. He had always been weak in soul power — but that was compared to countless strong people.

As for these wicked ghosts in the village, he didn’t take them seriously at all. If he wanted, he could erase them all in an instant.

But Johnnie didn’t attack right away. He wanted to find out what was happening in the Realm of the Dead, why the White and Black Reapers were acting strangely, and where Terra Lady was.

All these questions needed to be answered.

Johnnie finally spoke."I’ll give you a chance. Answer my questions, and I’ll think about whether to let you go."

When the old village chief heard this, he let out a terrifying ghostly laugh.

"Haha, let us go? Since you came, you’re not leaving. That pregnant ghost who just entered the Realm of the Dead wasn’t enough for us yet!"

"Attack!" The old village chief threw away his staff. In a flash, his body twisted and grew bigger. His hands turned into sharp black claws, just like the ones that came out of the bronze door before.

Thick black mist came out of his eyes. A sticky, slimy saliva started dripping from his mouth full of sharp teeth, hitting the ground and making white smoke.

The other ghosts also changed, but not as much.

It was clear that the village chief was the strongest among the wicked ghosts.

Johnnie looked at the few wicked ghosts who were rushing at him. Without hesitation, he raised his hand.

A flash of sword light!

Before they could even touch him, the ghosts fell to the ground one by one.

A white-gray energy came out of their wounds and slowly disappeared into the air.

[Ding, you killed a Stage 7 Wicked Ghost, ****####]

Johnnie saw the message, but something strange happened — there were strange symbols on the screen, as if something was interfering with it.

After hearing this, Dragon Soul thought for a moment and said."It’s probably normal. After all, you only entered the Realm of the Dead with your soul, and there’s something unknown happening here."

"Kid, the Realm of the Dead is also a world — just a little different. When you gain soul power here, it will make you stronger when you return to the real world."

As he spoke, Dragon Soul opened his mouth. The white-gray energy that was disappearing into the air suddenly flew into his mouth.

"Ugh, this is terrible. It smells so weird!" Dragon Soul made a face, clearly disgusted.

Johnnie looked at him sharply. "You’re eating the wicked ghosts?"

Dragon Soul sensed the change in Johnnie’s tone and quickly said."No, no. When a wicked ghost dies, if no other ghosts interfere, its soul energy gets absorbed by the Realm of the Dead."

"It’s a cycle of energy. I’m just showing you how to improve your soul power." Dragon Soul said.

Johnnie gave a slight nod. He still felt a bit uneasy about this method.

If Dragon Soul was showing him how to directly absorb the soul energy from the wicked ghosts after they died, that meant other strong beings in the Realm of the Dead could do the same.

So, could it be that someone was intentionally letting these wicked ghosts grow — like raising cattle — and then harvesting them later?

Johnnie thought of many things at once. He felt that the Realm of the Dead was definitely more complicated than it seemed.

He turned his eyes to the other wicked ghosts. After seeing him instantly kill one of their own, they all became afraid.

Even the village chief, the wicked ghost, fell to his knees and turned back to his original form.

"My Lord Ghost King, I didn’t know you were a Ghost King. I didn’t mean to offend you. Please forgive me." he said.

"I’ll give you all the food in my house!" The village chief quickly ordered others to bring food.

Johnnie didn’t rush to deal with him. He just stood there, waiting.

Soon, more and more broken ghost bodies were piled up on the ground.

Johnnie thought for a moment, then asked Dragon Soul quietly."After a normal ghost dies, isn’t it usually absorbed by the Realm of the Dead?"

Dragon Soul nodded. "Normally, yes. But there are special ways to slow down the process. That’s how these ordinary ghost bodies are kept this way."

"Then, what’s the difference between absorbing the soul energy from a wicked ghost and a normal ghost?" Johnnie felt like he was getting to the point. He needed to know the answer.

Dragon Soul looked serious and warned."Absorbing the energy from a normal ghost that died naturally isn’t a big problem. But if you kill them on purpose and then take their energy, there could be serious consequences."

"Because the soul is the result of death — it carries pain, fear, madness, and other negative emotions. That’s why the wicked ghosts lost their minds and became dangerous."

Johnnie pointed at the kneeling village chief and then at the pile of ordinary ghost bodies on the ground.

According to Dragon Soul, the village chief should have no sense at all, but he looked no different from the other ghosts.

"This... I don’t know why." Dragon Soul said, his face full of confusion.

He hadn’t thought of that before, but after Johnnie reminded him, he realized something was wrong.

"My Lord, I might be able to answer your question." the kneeling village chief quickly crawled toward Johnnie and shouted.

Johnnie looked at him and signaled him to speak.

The village chief hesitated, asking Johnnie if he could let him go after he answered, because what he was about to say could get him in big trouble if the Red-Haired Ghost King found out.

Johnnie said coldly."Speak. If you don’t, you’ll die. If you cooperate, I’ll think about it."

The village chief quickly got up and led Johnnie into his house.

In the center of the room was a strange, palm-sized statue.

The first thing Johnnie saw was that it was weird.

Normally, statues of gods, heroes, or any other figures had clear shapes. But this one was messy and confusing, as if made from unknown pieces that didn’t fit together.