Cultivation: I Can Steal Lifespan from Spirit Beasts

Chapter 197: Change! (Five Thousand Character Chapter)

The third-grade Magical Artifact had been flawlessly responsive a breath ago, yet now it hung completely dead in Zheng Yuanhua’s mental grip.

A jolt of alarm spiked through him. His head snapped up, his gaze locking onto the black-robed cultivator standing beside the fisherman. The youth was staring back at him with a mask of absolute apathy.

Shen Fu.

“It was you!” Zheng Yuanhua hissed, his vision swimming with red. “What did you do to my Magical Artifact?!”

Surprise flickered in Wang Ba’s eyes. Connecting the dots from Shen Fu’s earlier, seemingly suicidal advance, realization dawned. So his Junior Brother actually possessed such heaven-defying means! To forcibly sever a third-grade Magical Artifact’s connection from afar—that was no parlor trick. It seemed Shen Fu had stumbled upon quite a few Fated Chances out in the world.

Wang Ba felt a surge of grim pride, but he didn’t waste the opening. He unstoppered another vial, downing a massive gulp of Spirit Poultry essence. The potent liquid hit his stomach, violently churning as his cultivation technique rapidly spun it into fresh Magic Power.

Zheng Yuanhua glared at the fisherman. The fisherman frowned slightly, turning to the youth beside him.

Shen Fu’s expression remained deadpan. “It has nothing to do with me,” he lied coldly.

The fisherman’s brow smoothed. He turned back to Zheng Yuanhua, spreading his hands in a gesture of mock helplessness. “Haha, Fellow Daoist Zheng, you heard the boy. He says he had no hand in it.”

Hearing the fisherman’s dismissive tone, Zheng Yuanhua narrowed his eyes. A lethal, suffocating frost began to bleed outward from his form.

Seeing this, the fisherman’s casual demeanor vanished. His Magic Power flared, churning restlessly like a stormy sea, ready to erupt at a moment’s notice. The air over the water stretched taut, heavy with impending violence.

Then, Zheng Yuanhua smiled. It was a terrifyingly placid expression.

“No matter,” he said, waving a hand dismissively. “Once I have thoroughly dealt with him, I will properly ask Fellow Daoist Wu and… this Fellow Daoist, for clarification.”

The fisherman exhaled slowly, the tension leaving his shoulders. If Shen Fu hadn’t aided him earlier, and if ignoring the debt wouldn’t stain his Dao Heart, he would never have provoked a man like Zheng Yuanhua. At the Foundation Establishment Perfection stage, if one’s Dao Heart was flawed, the chances of forming a Golden Core—even with the aid of Pills—were virtually zero.

But his repayment ended here. If Shen Fu pushed his luck, the fisherman would abandon him. Standing his ground just now was already more than enough to repay the favor.

Noting the fisherman’s silence, Zheng Yuanhua gave a curt nod. He then turned his cold, reptilian gaze toward Wang Ba—a man he had treated as entirely invisible up until this moment.

Zheng Yuanhua’s face was devoid of emotion. He had no intention of exchanging words. He looked at Wang Ba with the absolute indifference of a butcher looking at a slab of meat. Since Wang Ba wasn’t the nameless prodigy who had maimed Li Canghai, he was already a corpse walking.

Zheng Yuanhua’s mind was already skipping past the kill, calculating how to deal with his disabled third-grade Magical Artifact and how to navigate Wu Buping. This fisherman was formidably strong, and worse, he had a Golden Core True Person backing him. With all the third-grade Divine Envoys down south forging ‘that thing,’ Zheng Yuanhua had no backup.

I must utilize thunderous, undeniable means. I will obliterate this trash in an instant to instill absolute terror in Wu Buping, Zheng Yuanhua decided, his eyes slitting. I haven’t fully mastered it yet, but it is more than enough to erase this Foundation Establishment whelp.

The next second.

Standing atop the rolling waves, the fisherman suddenly tensed. Pure, visceral shock flashed through his eyes as he stared at Zheng Yuanhua.

Through his Divine Sense, he clearly witnessed a formless, translucent shadow violently tear itself free from Zheng Yuanhua’s flesh. With a terrifying, space-distorting velocity, it shrieked toward the utterly average-looking Heavenly Gate Sect cultivator!

A Yin Ghost! That aura… is it a third-grade?! The fisherman’s mind reeled.

According to the Golden Core True Persons of Qianyu Lake, the third-grade Yin Ghosts of the Incense Burner Path were nightmares made manifest. They could traverse the boundary of life and death, bypass physical defenses, and possessed a sinister sentience. They were the ultimate trump card of the Incense Burner Path.

He never imagined that Zheng Yuanhua, who had not yet breached the third grade himself, possessed one!

The fisherman watched in grim awe as the third-grade Yin Ghost bypassed the glowing Talisman barriers and Magical Artifact shields as if they were mere illusions, plunging directly into the Heavenly Gate Sect cultivator’s chest. The poor bastard didn’t even have time to blink.

But to the fisherman, this was the natural order. A third-grade Yin Ghost was a terror even Golden Core True Persons had to treat with extreme paranoia. Its speed was completely incomprehensible to a second-grade cultivator.

A profound wariness, tinged with a cold thread of fear, wrapped around the fisherman’s heart. He silently rejoiced that he hadn’t fully committed to protecting Shen Fu. If that ghost had latched onto him, he would have had to amputate his own flesh instantly to survive—and even then, escape wasn’t guaranteed.

What a pity. The moment a third-grade Yin Ghost invades the body, the soul is devoured, the fisherman thought, shaking his head slightly. He pulled Shen Fu a few steps back, raising his guard just in case Zheng Yuanhua decided to break their oath in his bloodlust.

Beside him, Shen Fu’s eyes were narrowed to slits. Under his sleeve, his fingers curled around the second-grade Top Grade short sword Wang Ba had given him. Coated in his essence blood, the blade could unleash a singular, explosive strike carrying third-grade destructive power. He hadn’t even registered the Yin Ghost’s movement, but he was mentally coiled like a viper, waiting for Zheng Yuanhua to lower his guard. Even if he couldn’t kill the man, he would maim him enough to buy his Senior Brother time to flee.

But then, the fisherman’s jaw went slack.

The Heavenly Gate Sect cultivator, who should have been reduced to a hollow, desiccated husk, was completely unharmed.

The terrifying third-grade Yin Ghost violently rebounded, drifting out of Wang Ba’s chest with an aura of profound, trembling confusion.

“Hmm?” Zheng Yuanhua’s eyes snapped open. He scrutinized Wang Ba. I clearly felt a massive surge of life force… why is he still breathing? “Again!” Zheng Yuanhua commanded mentally.

Reluctantly, the third-grade Yin Ghost twisted in the air and launched itself at Wang Ba a second time.

But right as the ethereal horror was about to sink its teeth into Wang Ba’s soul, it violently slammed on the brakes in mid-air and frantically reversed course!

The fisherman was merely baffled, but Zheng Yuanhua felt a cold spike of dread. Through his mental tether, the third-grade Yin Ghost was broadcasting pure, unadulterated panic!

It seems forcing control over a third-grade entity is too much for my current realm, Zheng Yuanhua frowned, misinterpreting the ghost’s terror. It was common for cultivators punching above their weight class to struggle with obedience.

But this ghost was his most lethal weapon. He needed it to terrify Qianyu Lake. Gritting his teeth, Zheng Yuanhua burned his soul power, ruthlessly whipping the Yin Ghost forward.

Whimpering soundlessly, the ghost squeezed its eyes shut and threw itself at Wang Ba.

This time, Wang Ba calmly raised his arm and gave his sleeve a sharp flick.

A plump, black Spirit Poultry tumbled out. Its feathers shimmered with a bizarre, iridescent sheen. With an eerie sentience, the bird tilted its head, locking its beady eyes onto the invisible, mid-air horror.

Seeing this, the tight knot in Zheng Yuanhua’s chest instantly vanished. A second-grade Middle Grade Spirit Poultry? No matter how strong a second-grade beast was, touching a third-grade Yin Ghost meant instant, rotting death.

The ghost hurtled forward.

The black rooster casually flapped its wings, hopped into the air, and landed squarely atop the phantom.

What followed was a scene of sheer, cosmic absurdity.

Instead of dropping dead from the profane touch of the Yin Ghost, the black rooster’s talons dug deeply into the ethereal horror, pinning it in mid-air. With a casual, almost bored tilt of its head, its sharp beak snapped down.

Riiip. A massive chunk of crimson, spiritual flesh was violently torn from the ghost’s incorporeal form!

The third-grade Yin Ghost let out a catastrophic, soundless howl that tore at the eardrums. It thrashed wildly, opening its massive maw to bite the rooster, but the bird casually sidestepped the attack. The rooster’s talons pinned it down again, and its beak fell like a guillotine. Tear. Peck. Swallow.

In the span of two breaths, the majestic, terrifying third-grade Yin Ghost was reduced to a pitted, mangled, screaming wreck.

Meanwhile, swallowing the pure Yin energy, the black Spirit Poultry’s aura began to visibly skyrocket!

“Vile beast!”

Zheng Yuanhua’s heart hemorrhaged. His composure shattered instantly, blood vessels bulging against his temples as his vision swam with pure, murderous rage.

He stomped onto his flying Magical Artifact, rocketing forward like a meteor. His hands blurred, throwing a cascade of lethal Talismans toward the rooster!

But before the volley could land, a silver-haired ape crackling with violent electrical arcs leapt from Wang Ba’s sleeve! Condensing a massive wooden staff of pure Spiritual Qi, it vaulted into the sky, bringing the weapon crashing down toward Zheng Yuanhua’s skull.

“Get lost!” Zheng Yuanhua roared. A battle-hardened veteran, he didn’t even flinch. His soul power violently ripped the surrounding Spiritual Qi into a massive, translucent hand that swatted the ape out of the sky, sending it crashing into the earth.

But the distraction was fatal. The black rooster had just swallowed a full third of his prized Yin Ghost!

The ghost thrashed and wailed, entirely helpless against the cosmic irony of being eaten alive by a chicken.

Frantic, Zheng Yuanhua surged forward. But a massive, azure-blue shadow eclipsed his vision. A second-grade Middle Grade Azure Water Spirit Turtle slammed down like a falling boulder, perfectly blocking his path.

“Another spirit beast?!” Zheng Yuanhua ground his teeth so hard they nearly cracked. He wanted to peel the flesh from this Heavenly Gate Sect cultivator bone by bone!

Driven to madness, Zheng Yuanhua threw his head back and unsealed his Spirit Platform.

Whoosh! Dozens of shrieking second-grade Yin Ghosts flooded the sky! The weakest among them was Middle Grade. This was his true foundation, the terrifying arsenal he had painstakingly cultivated with years of sect merits and slaughter. With this swarm, he was entirely unmatched beneath the Golden Core stage!

Under his furious orchestration, the ghost swarm split. Some shrieked toward the turtle, others swarmed the fallen ape, but the vast majority formed a suffocating black cloud that plummeted toward Wang Ba.

At the same time, Zheng Yuanhua banked hard, attempting to bypass the massive turtle to slaughter the black rooster. As long as he killed the bird, his third-grade Yin Ghost would be freed!

But halfway through his maneuver, he glanced back at Wang Ba and froze.

With a bored wave of his hand, Wang Ba released a literal tide of first-grade Top Grade black Spirit Poultry. Hundreds of dull-witted, fat black chickens clucked and waddled forward, eagerly looking up at the descending cloud of second-grade Yin Ghosts as if it were feeding time.

Zheng Yuanhua felt the world spin.

Why?! Why does he have so many Spirit Poultry?! Is he running a damn poultry farm?! But Zheng Yuanhua was a man who had clawed his way to power. Biting the tip of his tongue, he spat a mist of vital blood over the battlefield, forcing his will onto the swarm.

“Formation!” he bellowed.

Several ghosts were instantly snatched out of the air by the hopping chickens and violently pecked to shreds. But the surviving forty ghosts managed to link together, forming a suffocating, blood-red Yin Ghost Formation.

The sky turned pitch black. Howling Yin winds and soaring resentment locked the battlefield down, steadily contracting around Wang Ba like a crushing fist. The chickens, losing sight of the ethereal targets, wandered aimlessly. Wang Ba was temporarily trapped.

Seizing the microsecond opening, Zheng Yuanhua bolted toward the rooster.

In that short span, the bird had eaten half of his third-grade Yin Ghost. The rooster burped, its aura cleanly breaking into the second-grade High Grade realm and continuing to climb.

Suffocating on his own fury, Zheng Yuanhua flicked his wrist. A second-grade Top Grade Profound Gold Cone shot forth, screaming through the air like a laser.

Clang! The Azure Water Spirit Turtle lunged into the projectile’s path, its shell coated in thick ice armor. The drill slammed into the beast, carving a horrific, bleeding crater into its shell.

Zheng Yuanhua didn’t even pause. He mentally yanked the Profound Gold Cone back, poured a torrential surge of soul power into it until it spun with a deafening screech, and prepared to fire again.

Suddenly, a silver blur exploded into his peripheral vision.

It was the silver-haired ape! Ignoring its previous injuries, the beast vaulted directly into Zheng Yuanhua’s face, baring its fangs in a furious snarl.

“Courting death!” Zheng Yuanhua sneered. A mere second-grade High Grade ape dared to block him? He ruthlessly unleashed the spinning Profound Gold Cone.

Screeech! The second-grade Top Grade Magical Artifact moved too fast for the ape to track. It slammed directly into the beast’s chest!

“Kiiiii—!”

The ape threw its head back, letting out a heart-wrenching, bone-grating wail of absolute agony.

But Zheng Yuanhua’s sneer faltered. The drill hadn’t pierced through.

In a display of terrifying, suicidal grit, the silver-haired ape violently slammed both hands over its chest, gripping the rapidly spinning drill!

Grind! The Profound Gold Cone violently chewed through the ape’s palms, instantly shredding flesh, muscle, and tendons until only bloody, stark-white finger bones remained clamped around the spinning metal. Yet, the ape refused to yield a single inch. Zheng Yuanhua violently yanked with his soul power, but the artifact was deadlocked in the beast’s skeletal grip!

“What a fine beast!” Zheng Yuanhua couldn’t help but praise, genuine awe piercing his rage.

But pity had no place in Xianxia. He ruthlessly severed his connection to the trapped weapon, reaching into his Storage Bag to summon an identical Profound Gold Cone.

Seeing the duplicate weapon, the ape’s eyes widened in horror.

Zheng Yuanhua didn’t give it a chance to breathe. He hurled the second drill, aiming directly at the feasting black rooster.

But the silver-haired ape was relentless. It lunged forward, using its own mangled chest as a meat shield once again!

“You truly want to die!” Zheng Yuanhua roared, his patience entirely exhausted. He bit his tongue again, spraying essence blood onto the flying artifact.

BOOM! The Profound Gold Cone flared with a blinding, blood-red light.

With a sickening crunch, the bloody tip of the drill burst out from the ape’s spine. The artifact greedily devoured the beast’s vitality. The silver-haired ape’s massive frame rapidly withered, its flesh shrinking painfully against its bones as its life force was sucked dry.

It was a husk, moments from death.

But then, the dying ape’s face twisted into an expression of unadulterated, supreme malice.

It opened its jaws and unleashed a heaven-shaking roar!

“ROAAAAAR!”

Under Zheng Yuanhua’s stunned gaze, the ape’s withered arm violently expanded.

No—not just its arm. Its chest. Its legs. Its jaw.

Bones snapped like thunderclaps and reformed. Muscles bulged, tore, and regenerated into corded steel. In the span of a single breath, the half-man-sized monkey violently erupted into a thirty-foot-tall behemoth of silver muscle! Its limbs were as thick as ancient tree trunks.

The demonic giant ape’s eyes burned with a sadistic, bloodthirsty crimson light.

“ROAR!”

The Kaiju-sized beast reached down, casually gripped the Profound Gold Cone lodged in its chest, ripped it out, and hurled it back at Zheng Yuanhua with the force of a ballista.

…

In the distance, the fisherman and Shen Fu stood completely paralyzed.

Watching the apocalyptic duel unfold above the severed mountain peak, the fisherman aggressively rubbed his eyes, unable to process the escalating madness.

Who is this Heavenly Gate Sect cultivator?! To fight Zheng Yuanhua to a standstill… he can’t be a nobody! And what in the heavens is that black chicken?! How is it casually eating a third-grade Yin Ghost?! The fisherman was adrift in an ocean of shock. He was too far away for his Divine Sense to parse the exact grade of the chicken; if he knew it was only a second-grade beast eating a third-grade horror, his mind might have broken entirely.

Shen Fu was equally dumbfounded. When the third-grade Yin Ghost had manifested, he had felt the icy grip of death.

Senior Brother is this powerful?! That black rooster is a monster! And that turtle… Shen Fu had been saved by the black rooster once before when he was possessed by a Yin Ghost, so he knew of its bizarre diet. But to see it casually slaughtering a third-grade supreme evil spirit was beyond comprehension.

And when the half-dead monkey violently exploded into a thirty-foot Kaiju, Shen Fu’s jaw practically hit the water.

Within Shen Fu’s Spirit Platform, the perpetually arrogant, eerie voice of Old Demon Jiang finally spoke. But for the first time, the ancient demon sounded profoundly shaken:

“That’s the Demonic Ape Transformation! This little monkey… cough… it actually Awakened the third-grade ape tribe’s innate divine ability!”