Chapter 38: The Ability to Manipulate White Mist

The sky began to dim. Although Lin Yi had not yet had his fill of slaughter and still had over an hour of login time remaining, it was too dangerous to hunt corpse-monsters here at night; it was time to head back.

Just then, a violent roar erupted from a mountain ridge in the distance. Lin Yi and Gu Chenghu immediately grew alert, turning their eyes toward the source of the explosion.

"Captain, those look like traces of divine talismans." Gu Chenghu frowned. "It is definitely divine talismans. At this hour, the only one left in the valley is Gu Laosi. Let’s go and take a look."

On a small ridge several miles away, a massive horde of corpse-monsters was clawing its way out of the earth, including many at the eighth and ninth levels. Hanging with rotting flesh and having only briefly loosened their stiff joints, these monsters moved with terrifying speed, charging at Gu Laosi like rabid dogs.

Gu Laosi, currently surrounded, turned a shade of sickly green. *Which damned immortal did this! Damn their immortal ancestors!* Burying so many militiamen’s corpses on the same slope—were they trying to kill him? Had he known so many monsters were buried beneath, he never would have used such high-yield explosive talismans.

With the number of monsters overwhelming, Gu Laosi frantically released a series of defensive talismans, barely managing to protect himself. He fired off a distress flare, hoping someone would rescue him soon; otherwise, the future village chief of Gutan Village might just perish in this valley.

A minute later, Gu Laosi’s defensive talismans were nearly exhausted, and the horde was closing in. Suddenly, a thick white mist rolled in from nowhere, enveloping both Gu Laosi and the monsters.

"This mist..." Feeling the biting frost radiating from the fog, Gu Laosi felt his scalp tingle. *It’s the Fog Wraith from last night! Damn it! Wasn't it destroyed?*

The mist thickened within seconds, blinding Gu Laosi to his surroundings. Suddenly, a large hand reached out from behind and dragged him away. Gu Laosi nearly jumped out of his skin, but upon turning, he saw the grinning, swarthy face of Gu Chenghu.

"What the hell, Gu Chenghu, it’s you!"

"What, not happy to see me? Should I throw you back?"

"Happy, I’m incredibly happy to see you, Brother Hu." Gu Laosi, a man of little shame, immediately switched to "Brother Hu." "What’s going on? This white mist is..."

Gu Chenghu pointed to Lin Yi, who was nearby manipulating the mist. "The mist is Qing Shan’s doing. I’m just as surprised as you are. I don’t know the specifics, but the ability to generate it must be related to his fusion with the Fog Wraith Spirit Stone."

Gu Laosi was aghast. "What! The drop from yesterday was a Fog Wraith Spirit Stone? And that kid fused with it?"

It was worth noting that the Fog Wraith Spirit Stone was the crystallization of the entity's entire essence, a material essential for Gu Laosi to break through to the rank of Divine Priest. In the half-year since the "Born-Ones" had appeared in Gutan Village, several professional-rank wraiths had died, but their core spirit stones had never dropped. Gu Laosi felt as though he had just won a million-dollar lottery, only to be told his ticket had expired.

"Gu Chenghu," Gu Laosi muttered, "I lost quite a few talismans killing that wraith last night. Strictly speaking, that spirit stone shouldn't even belong to him!"

Gu Chenghu understood the importance of the core item dropped by a semi-professional wraith, but he could only offer comfort. "I know, but what’s done is done. You have so many treasures, why worry about one core? Besides, if Qing Shan hadn't released the mist to trap the horde, you’d be torn to shreds right now."

Despite this, Gu Laosi felt as though his heart were bleeding. "Don't talk to me. It's not your loss, so you don't feel the pain. Tell me, from last night until now, how much of my stuff has that kid swallowed?"

"Old Four, remember what the village chief said. The Born-Ones are our future hope. Treat your treasures as an investment. Besides, Qing Shan never said he wouldn't pay you back..."

Just then, Lin Yi, who was maintaining the mist, suddenly felt dizzy—his mental energy was running low. Earlier that day, after his chest-embedded spirit stone consumed the Fog Wraith Spirit Stone, Lin Yi had awakened the ability to control the mist. However, perhaps due to his weak mental energy, his control was limited to a twenty-meter radius, and the effort grew exponentially with the scale of the mist.

Even so, Lin Yi’s mist shared the properties of the original wraith's fog: it was bone-chillingly cold and could distort the perceptions of those trapped within. Currently, the horde attacking Gu Laosi was aimlessly wandering, having lost their target within the fog.

Lin Yi called out, "Captains, I can't hold it anymore. Let’s get out of here!"

Gu Chenghu and Gu Laosi didn't hesitate. Seeing the mist thinning, they scrambled away, with Lin Yi close behind.

After running several miles, the three collapsed in relief under the cover of a massive boulder. But as soon as Lin Yi looked up, he found Gu Laosi glaring at him.

"You brat, who told you to use the Fog Wraith Spirit Stone without asking? Do you have any idea how important that was to me? But since you saved my life, we’ll call it even. However, you used half a catty of my wraith ashes yesterday—when are you going to pay me back?"

Lin Yi hadn't expected to be dunned for debt the moment he saved someone. "Cough, Captain Laosi, I’m a bit short on funds right now..."

Gu Laosi waved it off. "No matter. I heard you've killed plenty of monsters lately and must have received quite a few corpse-oil blocks and martial arts manuals. I’ll take a loss—you can use those to settle the debt."

"Captain Laosi, there’s no need to be so urgent. Who demands repayment the moment they lend something? Give me a few months, and I guarantee I’ll get it for you." Faced with Gu Laosi's thick-skinned persistence, Lin Yi stood his ground. If he gave everything away now, he wouldn't even be able to afford his basic daily blood-food.

Gu Chenghu stepped in to mediate. "Alright, Old Four. If it really comes to it, I’ll pay you back on Qing Shan’s behalf."

Gu Laosi looked at him with disdain. "You? Everyone in Gutan Village knows you’re the poorest of us all. Aside from that Dragon-Roar Blade, you don't even have a wife—what are you going to pay me with?"

Gu Chenghu fell silent. Lin Yi scratched his head, confused as to why Gu Laosi was being so difficult. "Captain Laosi, have you been possessed by an evil spirit?"

Gu Laosi laughed in anger. "You brat, you're the one being possessed! You don't understand the importance of that stone. Had I known it was a Fog Wraith Spirit Stone, I never would have let you touch it."

Gu Laosi slapped his forehead. He knew Lin Yi possessed a legacy soul artifact, and everything dropped by a wraith acted as nourishment for that item. If he had known the core was dropped, he would have waited for Lin Yi to log in before claiming it.

Gu Chenghu leaned over to Lin Yi. "Old Four has been stuck at level ten for years. To break through to the professional rank of Divine Priest, he needs more than just a surplus of divine faith—he needs the core drop of a professional-rank wraith. While the Fog Wraith Spirit Stone was only semi-professional, it possessed the same properties needed for his promotion."

Hearing this, Lin Yi finally understood why Gu Laosi’s attitude had been so sour.