A Compendium of One Hundred Demons: My Path to Immortality in a World of Demons and Monsters

"How is that possible?!"

The woman was speechless. She was a mid-stage Ghost General with abundant Yin energy, yet she was being strongly suppressed in terms of power by a young human who had only condensed three apertures.

Xu Yuan looked down at his right hand, lost in thought.

After condensing the three apertures, he has not yet truly used his full strength.

It now seems that the strength of my body is far beyond that of others of the same level.

More importantly—the Netherworld Guide and the Hundred Ghosts Diagram within his body were now slightly warm.

The Yin energy of Ghost General level is... an excellent tonic for them.

"What...what's on you?" The woman seemed to sense something was wrong as well, and the aura that made her heart pound grew stronger.

Xu Yuan remained silent, only offering a faint smile.

"You're a little better than that piece of trash," he said. "You can stay."

Upon hearing this, the woman's expression changed drastically.

She had lived for over a hundred years, and this was the first time she had been described in such a tone.

The way Xu Yuan looked at her and the words he spoke were like... a hunter assessing his prey!

"court death!"

She formed hand seals, and her body surged with yin energy, transforming into countless fine black threads that shot towards Xu Yuan like a torrential rain!

This is her killing move, "Thousand Threads of Death." Each strand of black thread can erode flesh and blood and devour essence. An ordinary cultivator at the Qi Condensation Realm would be instantly severely injured if touched by even one strand.

Xu Yuan looked up and watched as countless black threads fell from the sky.

But he didn't move.

But a faint light quietly appeared between his brows.

Netherworld Guide!

Wherever the dim light reached, all the black threads instantly melted away, as if they had never appeared.

"What?!" The woman was horrified, and her body was filled with violently fluctuating yin energy.

However, before she could react, the eerie light had already enveloped her.

An invisible suction force came, and the yin energy in the woman's body began to leak out uncontrollably, being frantically devoured by that eerie light!

"No---!"

The woman desperately tried to circulate her yin energy to resist, but to no avail.

The Netherworld Guide is the entry pass to the Netherworld, and it has a natural restraint on all ghosts and spirits.

Moreover, this Netherworld Guide has already merged with Xu Yuan's soul, making it even more powerful than before.

In addition, Xu Yuan's [Breaking Evil] ability weakened the woman's aura by more than half in just ten breaths.

"You...who exactly are you..." She collapsed to the ground, her initial confidence long gone, her bloodshot eyes filled with terror.

Xu Yuan slowly walked up to her and looked down at her.

"Who is your master?"

A flicker of struggle crossed the woman's eyes, followed by a bitter smile: "You think I'd tell you?"

Xu Yuan nodded.

"If you won't tell me, then let's just start refining it."

Without waiting for the woman to respond, he raised his hand and pressed it against her forehead.

[A ghost matching the criteria was detected: Painted Skin Ghost (Mid-stage Ghost General)]

[Refining in progress...]

[Painted Skin Ghost: Progress from 1% to 27%]

[Thousand Illusions Ability Upgrade: Can change appearance, figure, and aura. After the transformation, it cannot be detected by those of the same realm, and there is a chance to deceive a stronger person who is a small realm higher than oneself.]

[Added Ghost Servant +1: Contract with the Painted Skin Ghost as a servant, sharing some of its perception; the servant's death will not harm its master]

[Devouring the ghostly spirit of the painted-skin demon... Transforming...]

[Qi and Blood Essence +127]

[Soul Strength +8%]

[True Essence Condensation Level Increased...Condensed Three Apertures → Peak Condensed Three Apertures]

Information flooded into his mind like a tidal wave, and Xu Yuan felt a sudden clarity of mind, while the true essence in his dantian became even more solid.

He has mastered the three peaks of the acupoints and is just one step away from the fourth.

What surprised Xu Yuan even more was that the painted-skin ghost was not dead.

When she opened her eyes again, they had changed from blood red to deep purple, and her gaze towards Xu Yuan was full of awe and submission.

"Master..." she knelt on the ground.

Xu Yuan nodded in satisfaction.

A ghost servant at the mid-stage of a ghost general's level can not only help him with miscellaneous tasks, but also serve as an excellent source of intelligence.

Moreover, after the contract was shared with him, he could vaguely perceive some of what she saw and heard.

This deal is a sure thing, you're guaranteed to make a profit.

After doing all this, Xu Yuan slowly turned around and looked at Liu Qingyun in the corner.

Liu Qingyun's face was now ashen.

He witnessed the entire scene just now.

The Painted Skin Ghost, a mid-stage Ghost General, was subdued—no, refined into a servant—by the person before him with such ease!

What kind of tactic is this?!

"You...you can't kill me..."

Seemingly sensing Xu Yuan's gaze, Liu Qingyun's voice began to tremble.

"I...I am the eldest son of the Liu family. My father is Liu Zhenshan, the head of the Liu family, a great expert in the late stage of the Qi Condensation Realm! If you kill me, the Liu family will never let you go!"

Xu Yuan remained silent.

He just stared at him quietly, his gaze eerily calm.

Liu Qingyun felt a chill run down his spine under his gaze, but his survival instinct made him continue: "I can give you spirit stones, pills, and cultivation resources! Whatever you want, the Liu family can provide! As long as you don't kill me, I will never mention what happened today to anyone!"

Xu Yuan smiled.

That smile was faint, yet it sent a chill down Liu Qingyun's spine.

"Just now," Xu Yuan slowly began, "when you ordered your men to attack me, did you consider my background?"

Liu Qingyun was stunned.

"When you forced me to hand over the evil artifact, did you ever consider why I should hand it over?"

Liu Qingyun was speechless.

"Now that you know you're going to die, you're trying to use your family background to pressure people and buy your life with spirit stones." Xu Yuan shook his head. "Don't you think that's ridiculous?"

Liu Qingyun's face turned deathly pale.

He realized that the person in front of him wasn't buying it.

"I...I am the eldest son of the Liu family...Even if you kill me, you won't escape..."

"Escape?" Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly. "Why would I escape?"

He glanced at the painted-skin ghost kneeling beside him and spoke calmly.

"Clean it up."

These four simple words sealed Liu Qingyun's fate.

The painted-skin demon looked up, a glint of excitement flashing in his eyes.

She has now been taken in as a ghost servant by Xu Yuan, and has absolutely no objection to who or how many people should be killed.

What's more, this guy surnamed Liu just made a fool of her, so now it's a good time to settle scores.

"Don't worry, Master." She stood up and walked towards Liu Qingyun with a charming smile.

"No...don't..." Liu Qingyun retreated repeatedly, but the painted-skin ghost grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up.

"Do you want to know?" The Painted Skin Ghost leaned close to his ear, his voice as gentle as a lover's whisper, "How the real Painted Skin Ghost kills people."

Liu Qingyun was unable to refuse. His eyes bulged as he tried to struggle, but he found that his vital essence was rapidly draining away.

In less than three breaths, he turned into a dried-up corpse.

The painted-skin demon casually threw him on the ground, then looked at the corpses of the two followers, draining them of their life essence without wasting a single drop.

"Master, is this alright?" She obediently returned to Xu Yuan's side.

Xu Yuan nodded.

He glanced at the three dried corpses in the courtyard, then at the Painted Skin Ghost.

"What's your name?"

"I have no name or surname, please bestow a name upon me, Master," the Painted Skin Ghost said respectfully.

Xu Yuan thought for a moment.

"From this day forward, you will be called 'Painted Eyebrow'."

"Thank you for bestowing this name upon me, Master." The Painted Skin Demon smiled sweetly, her exquisite face full of joy.

Xu Yuan turned around and walked out of the courtyard.

"Let's go, we shouldn't stay here any longer."

The thrush followed obediently behind him, glancing back at the three dried corpses every few steps, a hint of satisfaction flashing in its eyes.