What do you mean by saying that the corpses I sew are all ominous creatures?

"A trivial skill!"

The shadowy figure let out a sneer, and the cloud of black smoke suddenly exploded, transforming into countless tiny black wind blades that spun wildly within a space of about two meters square.

The bone needle pierced the black smoke, but it was as if it had pierced a thick swamp, slowing down considerably.

My lancet struck those wind blades, producing a piercing scraping sound and sending sparks flying.

This is Yin Sha Qi that has been condensed to the extreme.

Just then, the door was kicked open with a bang.

"Holy crap! Old Chen, are you keeping a black bear in your house? It stinks!"

Li Qing, wearing only shorts and carrying the still-unrepaired apricot-yellow flag, rushed in shouting.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw the billowing black smoke, and his expression instantly turned serious. He quickly pulled a stack of talismans from his pocket with his right hand.

"What filthy thing! Take this, Li Qing!"

He slammed the talisman on the ground.

The hotel floor tiles, which were originally flat, suddenly rose up in a strange way, transforming into a giant stone hand that slammed down on the cloud of black smoke.

"Whoa—!"

The shadowy figure hadn't expected a sneak attack and was caught off guard by the stone hand, causing most of the black smoke to dissipate.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, I suddenly activated the evil energy within my body and forcibly regained control of the bone needle.

"Breaking evil!"

I pointed my fingers like a sword at the shadowy figure.

The black bone needle drew an eerie arc in the air, carrying a resolute intent, and instantly pierced the shadowy figure's heart.

This time, there were no obstacles.

The shadowy figure let out a scream, and the entire phantom began to shake violently, its green eyes filled with terror and resentment.

"You...you wait...the day your true form descends...will be the day you perish..."

With its final curse, the black smoke exploded completely, turning into a pool of foul-smelling black water that spilled onto the carpet, hissing and emitting wisps of smoke.

I sheathed the bone needles and the willow-leaf knife, and stood there calming my surging blood and qi.

Although that burst of energy was short-lived, it still put a considerable strain on my body.

"Phew—that scared me to death!"

Li Qing patted his chest and plopped down on the sofa next to him.

"Old Chen, you've really gotten better at making enemies."

This thing looks like an old monster from beyond the Great Wall that has become a spirit. How did it get here?

I pointed to the black water on the ground: "The black wind on that girl from Guanjiatun was planted by it. I sewn up her soul and cut off its thoughts, so naturally it came to cause me trouble."

Li Qing, thank you for what you just said.

"Thank me my ass, we're like family."

Li Qing waved his hand, then suddenly frowned and sniffed.

"Something's not right, Lao Chen. Why hasn't this smell dissipated yet? Logically, once the divided soul is destroyed, the yin energy should dissipate quickly."

I noticed it too.

The temperature inside the room not only didn't rise, but actually dropped even lower.

The door that Li Qing had forced open had somehow closed silently.

I walked to the door, gripped the doorknob, and twisted it hard.

Not moving.

It wasn't locked; the doorknob seemed to be permanently attached to the door frame, leaving no gap whatsoever.

"It's blocked," I said in a low voice.

I walked to the window, intending to open it, but found that the view outside had changed.

The streetlights and distant buildings that should have been visible had all disappeared, replaced by a thick, impenetrable black fog.

Within the black mist, countless mournful cries echoed faintly.

"Holy crap, what is this...?"

Li Qing jumped up, gripping the compass tightly in his hand.

"The pointer is spinning wildly; the magnetic field here is completely ruined."

This isn't an ordinary trick; the old monster used the self-destruction of his split soul as a trigger to turn this hotel into his domain!

"Can it be broken?" I asked him.

Li Qing stared at the compass, his face somewhat grim: "Forcibly breaking the formation will take time. My apricot yellow flag is not yet repaired, and the earth energy is not being mobilized properly."

We need to get out of here first and see just how far this "ghost wall" actually covers.

I nodded, and with a wave of my right hand, I channeled my inner energy and malevolent power into the willow-leaf blade.

"Get out of the way."

I cleaved the door with my sword.

With a "crack," the wooden door shattered into pieces under the impact of the evil energy.

But what appeared behind the door was not the familiar hotel corridor, but a dark and gloomy passage that seemed to stretch on forever.

The motion-sensor lights in the corridor flickered on and off, making a "click-clack" sound.

The wallpaper on the walls had peeled off in large areas, revealing the blackened wall underneath, and the air was filled with a musty, rotten smell.

We stepped out of the room, and the carpet under our feet felt soft and spongy, like stepping on rotting flesh.

"Old Chen, stick close to me."

Li Qing held a glowing talisman in his hand and walked cautiously ahead.

"The spaces here overlap. We might still be in the hotel, or we might have been pulled into some shadow dimension."

We walked forward along the corridor.

Every so often we would see an identical door with the number "404" on it.

After walking for a minute, I stopped when I passed the fifth door, "404".

"Li Qing, we're stuck in the same place."

I pointed to a cigarette butt on the ground.

I kicked it out of the room on purpose just now, and now it's lying quietly in front of this door.

"Damn it, is this some kind of ghost wall?"

Li Qing cursed, bit his fingertip, and quickly drew a talisman on the compass.

"Borrow the power of heaven and earth, locate the dragon's lair, open it for me!"

The compass needle trembled violently before finally pointing to the emergency exit at the end of the corridor.

"Let's go that way!"

We ran as fast as we could and rushed into the stairwell of the emergency exit.

But when I pushed open the emergency exit door, I was completely stunned.

Behind the door, there was still that dimly lit corridor with the door marked "404".

In the very center of the corridor stood a waiter dressed in a hotel uniform.

She had her back to us and was wiping the wall with her head down.

Excuse me.

I spoke slowly, but my right hand had already quietly gripped the bone needle.

The waiter slowly turned his head.

Her face had no features, as smooth as a blank sheet of paper.

Only the mouth area had a huge crack, which was densely filled with tiny black teeth.

"Would the two guests... like... room service?"

The piercing sound was like sandpaper rubbing against metal, sending chills down your spine.

"Service my ass!"

Li Qing reacted extremely quickly, throwing a talisman directly at them.

With a loud "boom," the waiter was blown into countless black shreds of paper.

But before we could even breathe a sigh of relief, those shredded pieces of paper miraculously reformed themselves in mid-air.

They turned into three, five, ten identical faceless waiters.

They crawled out of the walls and climbed down from the ceiling, surrounding us completely.