I can push my cultivation progress to the end

“Huff…”

Leaning against a crooked tree, Li Hai, his face pale and somewhat weak, wearily exhaled a foot-long stream of white air tinged with the scent of blood:

“This Blood-Devouring Heart-Ignition… it’s really damn tiring to use.”

Skills that drain life force are indeed exhausting, but their effects are also quite considerable.

In this misty, gloomy forest, ordinary people wouldn't be able to walk far in half a day.

Even a martial artist of Guo Huaijin's level would, at best, only be able to reach a speed of ten zhang per second.

But Li Hai, using the Heart-Ignition Divine Power, crossed a distance of twenty or thirty li at a speed of fifteen or sixteen zhang per second in just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

This place is so far from the Three-Way Intersection; it seems safe enough for now.

“If I'm safe, you're safe.”

Li Hai looked at Guo Shiwen, who was lying on the ground and slowly waking up, and said coldly, “If I'm not safe, you… Huh?”

Suddenly, he saw an elderly farmer carrying a hoe, slowly walking through the mist in the empty woodland not far away.

“Old man, stop!”

Li Hai took three steps at a time, hurriedly crossed the thin mist of a dozen zhang, came to the old farmer's side, and asked with a smile, “Old man, where are you from…?”

As soon as he spoke, his eyes widened, and he froze in place.

Because when he got closer, Li Hai discovered that the old farmer's face, neck, and hands were covered with large patches of burns where the flesh had been burned away, revealing the bone.

No, it wasn't just traces.

Looking closely at this old farmer, he was simply a charred corpse, burned to a crisp, with no living blood or flesh left.

Can a corpse still wander around carrying a hoe?

Damn it, this is a ghost!

“Young man, are you lost?”

The charred corpse of the old farmer cracked open a toothless, tongueless mouth cavity, and said with a simple and honest smile, “Otherwise, why would you run to our poor countryside?”

Heaven knows how Li Hai could see the expression of 'simplicity and honesty' on the face of a charred corpse.

But that's not important.

What's really important is this old farmer's personal interface—

Character Name: Unknown

That's right, following orthodox martial arts and bloodline divine powers, in a short period of time, Li Hai actually discovered a third cultivation system on this 'farmer'—the Ghost Path!

And at the same moment he saw this ghost's personal interface, Li Hai was also surprised to find that he could learn the other party's skill—《Ghost Body Soul Bones》—without any hindrance.

No, that's not a skill.

Under the system's 'identification' or 'explanation,' Li Hai suddenly understood.

It turned out that the so-called 《Ghost Body Soul Bones》 was actually the core essence of this old farmer as a ghost.

Comparatively speaking, it can be regarded as a concept similar to bloodline or physique.

In other words, if Li Hai learned this Soul Bone technique, he might also turn into a… ghost.

“Hmm? What smells so good!”

Just as Li Hai hesitated whether to learn this ghost-transformation technique, the charred corpse ghost dressed as a farmer suddenly twitched its nose and muttered, “It smells a bit like watermelon, hiss—what a strong fragrance.”

While muttering, the old ghost's expression visibly turned ferocious, quickly transforming from simple and honest to greedy and covetous.

At the same time, its gaze, filled with appetite, also fell on Li Hai… no, it fell on his back.

When Li Hai followed its gaze, he saw from afar.

A dozen zhang away, Guo Shiwen, who had already woken up, was covering the wound on his severed hand and limping towards the depths of the gloomy forest.

Whoosh—

The next second, the charred corpse ghost disappeared into thin air in front of Li Hai, instantly crossed a dozen zhang distance, appeared behind Guo Shiwen, and then, raising its head and roaring, its entire mouth plus half its face suddenly split into eight pieces, and it bit down hard on his shoulder and neck from behind.

Crack! Crack!

“Ah! Ah ah ah! Help! Ah ah!!”

Along with the sound of bones shattering and flesh tearing, Guo Shiwen immediately screamed and fell to his knees on the ground.

Then, in the dim, unlit clearing a dozen zhang away, a bloody and terrifying scene of a ghost eating a human unfolded, so appalling that it made one's hair stand on end.

Huff huff!

Crunch crunch!

The charred corpse ghost's eating speed was extremely fast. In just a few breaths, the part of Guo Shiwen above his chest and abdomen had disappeared, leaving only the stump of his torso spurting blood, and a mess of bloody fragments.

Perhaps it had eaten enough and was satisfied, the charred corpse ghost gradually slowed down its eating speed, and then actually turned its head, gazing eerily at Li Hai in the distance.

Feeling the charred corpse ghost's cold gaze and undisguised malice, Li Hai thought to himself:

“Damn, this ghostly thing has become ferocious from eating. It looks like it wants to eat me… Fine, I'll become a ghost too, and see if you still eat me!”

He no longer hesitated, and immediately decisively learned the other party's ghost 'bloodline'—《Ghost Body Soul Bones》, and at the same time as learning it, he pushed this skill to the limit in one thought.

Whoosh~

As if falling into the bottom of a thousand-zhang secluded lake, Li Hai instantly felt that the surroundings, above, below, and in all directions, were filled with an eerie and chilling sinister aura.

And these auras, like thousands of invisible snakes and insects, hissed, twisted, and danced as they forcibly drilled into his body and even his soul.

There was no pain in this process, only endless coldness and numbness.

To describe it, it was like the feeling Li Hai had in his previous life after suffering from tenosynovitis and undergoing a local anesthetic excision surgery in the hospital.

Although he had been anesthetized and wouldn't feel much pain, he could still clearly perceive the terrifying and strange sensation of the scalpel cutting through his skin and flesh.

It was the same now.

Although there was no pain, Li Hai could still feel the strands of Yin energy, frantically drilling through his skin, penetrating his bones, and tearing his soul, causing a strong sense of discomfort.

Fortunately, this process was as swift as an illusion. Just as he had a slight perception, it suddenly disappeared without a trace.

At the same time, this also meant that Li Hai had truly become a ghost at this moment.

Or perhaps, he had become a… person who possessed both martial arts and divine powers, as well as a fresh body, and also possessed the abilities and essence of a ghost.

Master Name: Li Hai

Level Tier: Orthodox Martial Arts → Vigorous Body Circulation, Bloodline Divine Power → Low Grade, Ghost Path → Undead Soul

Skills: 《Five Animal Qi Gong》 《Tiger Claw Saber Fist》 《Blood-Devouring Heart-Ignition》 《Ghost Body Soul Bones》

Trait Attributes: [Strong Soul Level 1] [Sharp Claws Level 1] [Berserk Level 1] [Ethereal Body Level 1] [Illusory Appearance Level 1]

Fragment of a Powerful Figure: None

And after formally possessing the essence of a ghost, Li Hai instantly understood the specific effects represented by the so-called [Ethereal Body] and [Illusory Appearance] trait attributes.

The former allowed Li Hai to freely pass through walls and rocks like a real ghost, and also ignore conventional physical touch and attacks.

As for the latter, it allowed him to use methods such as ghost walls and ghost illusions to bewilder and confuse the minds of living people, making them spin around in circles.