"Of course, it's work," Ji Wuye murmured, straightening his back with a deep, steadying breath as he released the Heaven-Piercing Fang from his grasp.
The spear seemed to slice through the air itself, humming with barely contained power that reverberated through Ji Wuye's bones.
The ornate runes etched along its shaft pulsed with a subtle crimson glow, matching the rhythm of his heartbeat.
In that instant, the bubbling anger and excessive pride that had threatened to consume him vanished, his mind clearing like the parting of storm clouds. His tense shoulders rexed, and the crease between his brows softened as crity washed over him like cool water.
What y before him now was the same eerie valley, but his perception had shifted. The ground still writhed with coiling mists that licked at his ankles like spectral tongues, leaving beads of moisture on his white shoes.
The sky, though bright, was tinged with an ominous golden glow that cast everything in a sickly, jaundiced light. It was marred by roiling bck shadows that seemed to undute unnaturally, like ink dropped in water but refusing to disperse.
The jagged cliffs resembled primal fangs, looming ominously and casting menacing shadows that stretched like grasping cws across the scorched battlefield. Wind whistled through the stone teeth, creating a mournful, keening sound.
Ashes littered the ground in drifting clouds, dancing around his feet with each step and coating his white shoes in gray powder.
Flickering embers still clung stubbornly to life, crackling and popping as they traced a devastating straight line that marked the path of his previous strike's destruction—a swath of devastation thirty paces wide where the earth itself had been scorched bck and gss-smooth.
The reason for his attack's success was simple. "The only thing capable of harming this spirit—or those greenish specters—was..." His crimson pupils contracted to sharp points as they scanned the surroundings methodically. "The items or things that originate from the same realm."
Around him, the remnants of the greenish specters untouched by the direct impact of his strike had started moving again, their forms seeming to bleed back into existence like smoke coalescing.
"KEKEKE!" They ughed, a sound that grated on the senses—manic and shrill, devoid of any true mirth.
Their ughter and screams echoed through the valley as they charged mindlessly toward him, spectral limbs elongating and contracting with unnatural esticity.
Their incorporeal forms passed through each other in a dizzying dispy that felt almost mocking, leaving trails of phosphorescent light that momentarily burned afterimages on Ji Wuye's vision.
It was as if they didn't care—didn't even acknowledge Ji Wuye's previous attack. Instead, their excitement seemed to grow, voices rising in a deafening crescendo that set his teeth on edge.
But this time, Ji Wuye had pieced everything together.
He had gathered all the information he needed, and a sharp gleam fshed across his glowing crimson pupils. Suddenly, a transparent screen appeared before his eyes, data flickering across its surface.
=======================
[!] Your passive skill, Quick Adaptation (B), has been triggered!
=======================
As the transparent screen flickered before Ji Wuye's eyes, something unnatural began to stir deep within him. A sudden pressure built behind his eyes, followed by a sharp, twisting sensation that crawled along his optic nerves.
Thick, boiling red blood suddenly manifested from his pupils, first as thin rivulets that streaked down his cheeks like scorching tears, then erupting outward in pulsating waves.
The blood emitted an ominous crimson glow that painted the misty valley in shades of rust and wine, casting long, distorted shadows across the scorched earth.
The viscous liquid coalesced into a towering, shapeless form that loomed behind him, bubbling and unduting like a churning sea of molten fury. Each movement produced a sickening sound—part liquid gurgle, part fleshy squelch—that seemed to vibrate through the very air.
This formless giant, its shifting contours resembling roiling water caught in a perpetual boil, bubbled uncontrolbly—a living, breathing embodiment of barely restrained violence. The surface of the entity rippled and bulged as if countless creatures were struggling to break free from within its depths.
Two pairs of Ji Wuye's glowing crimson eyes floated eerily within its colossal, indistinct mass, scanning the battlefield with predatory precision.
Each blink sent ripples through the entity's form, and the pupils pulsed rhythmically like beating hearts.
The entity stood tall and menacing, easily three times the height of the surrounding cliffs, casting an enormous shadow that seemed to envelop the entire scorched battlefield.
The entity's piercing gaze froze the greenish ghosts in their tracks, their collective shrieks dying abruptly into an unnatural silence broken only by the continuous bubbling of the blood monstrosity.
Those spirits whose forms were fully intact, without a scratch or blemish, immediately dropped to their knees, spectral limbs buckling as if suddenly weighted with lead.
Their translucent heads bowed low, foreheads almost touching the ashen ground, as if struck by an invisible force.
Their ethereal bodies quivered, ghostly fingers digging into the scorched earth without leaving a single mark.
The others—spectral ghosts whose forms carried remnants of their greenish, tattered bodies—began to tremble violently, overcome with primal fear.
Their semi-transparent faces contorted in expressions of pure horror, jaws stretching unnaturally wide in silent screams.
Despite their intangible, untouchable nature, these broken spirits stumbled backward, their movements frantic and uncoordinated, as if physically affected by the sheer, oppressive presence of the formless giant.
Some collided with each other, temporarily merging before separating in panicked confusion. Others seemed to fold in on themselves, trying to compress their ethereal bodies into smaller targets.
The ghostly charge came to an abrupt halt, the entire swarm of specters turning their attention to the thick, bubbling, crimson-forged monstrosity manifesting behind Ji Wuye.
Its piercing, crimson pupils fixated on them, contracting to pinpoints of intense light that seemed to pierce through their very essence, paralyzing the horde in sheer, mindless terror.
Beneath this towering, shapeless form, shrouded almost entirely in the roiling blood mist that swirled around him like a protective cocoon, stood Ji Wuye.
Though his white hair still fluttered in an unseen breeze, dancing like pale fmes against the crimson backdrop, his face was completely overshadowed by the colossal entity, giving him an ethereal, almost otherworldly presence.
Meanwhile, from his perspective, Ji Wuye calmly observed the frozen specters as he inwardly nodded. Still, his attention flicked back to the translucent screen that hovered before him.
===========================
[>>[QUICK ADAPTATION (B)]<<]
Type: Passive Skill
1. You can copy and analyze all the attack patterns of your opponent!
2. Your vision will not be affected or obscured by any environmental or elemental changes!
3. You are able to trace and perceive any form of energy, including Mana, Qi, and more.
4. You can instantly identify the fws and weaknesses in any skill or attack.
5. You can project or transfer your killing intent to the target or an illusion.
===========================
'It's quite effective against numbers,' Ji Wuye thought, his crimson pupils scanning the valley. The remaining army of greenish ghosts began to retreat, their spectral forms trembling violently as they were slowly pulled back into the coiling mists on the ground.
It was as though an invisible force was sucking them into the earth itself, their forms vanishing gradually from his sight.
Once the st of the greenish ghosts disappeared, leaving behind only the remnants of shattered weapons scattered across the scorched battlefield, an eerie silence descended. But then...
"You stand upon the graves of the greatest. If you seek power, face the legends themselves." The same disembodied voice reverberated through the entire valley, seeming to come from all directions at once.
RUMBLE!
As the echoing words faded, the very earth began to tremble violently beneath Ji Wuye's feet. The coiling mists that had swirled thickly around him started to dissipate, rising and encircling him like the eye of a storm.
The vapors formed a spiraling vortex, akin to a tornado, whipping his hair and robes with unseen currents. But just as quickly as it appeared, the vortex scattered and vanished, leaving the surroundings eerily clear and still.
What y revealed before Ji Wuye were three towering figures, risen spectrally from the ground itself, each one cutting an imposing silhouette. From all sides, they stood tall, their ghostly green forms distinct and unmistakable against the backdrop of jagged cliffs.
The first figure manifested directly in front of him—a male, taller than Ji Wuye by nearly a full chi, easily measuring around 6.3 chi or the height of a war banner. This ghost exuded a menacing presence, wreathed in a vivid, pulsating green aura that seemed to crackle with restless energy.
Unlike the previous mindless specters, this one bore distinct details that set him apart as something...more.
His armor immediately caught Ji Wuye's eye, the intricate ptes and articuted joints exquisitely crafted. "The Tang Dynasty," he murmured.
Its intricate ptes and overpping melr design were unmistakably Tang in style, though now worn and bearing the spectral green hue.
The ghost's helmet, adorned with the iconic pheasant-tail plumes that marked elite cavalry, appeared battered - the long, flowing feathers fading into ghostly wisps as they moved in an unseen breeze.
The spirit's imposing presence was made even more intimidating by the massive halberd he gripped in one gauntleted fist.
The guandao's deadly crescent bde shimmered with a cold, unearthly light, its long shaft alternately flickering between solidity and ethereal translucence, as though it existed simultaneously in both the physical and spectral realms.
"Among men, Lü Bu; among horses, Red Hare," Ji Wuye murmured, the faint hint of a smile curling the corners of his lips as recognition and anticipation flickered in his bzing crimson eyes.
Then, shifting his focus, he turned his attention toward the ghost stationed to his right which were…
