Chapter 164 Guerrilla Soul Plunder

"Cough, cough... Chen Mu! Where the hell are you?"

From not far away came Qi Huan's pained cry, his voice filled with obvious anxiety.

Chen Mu turned his head to look. Qi Huan was being besieged by seven or eight Resentment Bone Skeletons and vengeful spirits, and the cloud barrier conjured by his Five Cloud Hands had already dimmed to nothingness.

His face was pale, yet he still desperately guarded Chen Mu's rear, not allowing more Ghostly Creatures to surround them.

This Prefecture Officer Qi might have a foul mouth, but his actions were honest.

Chen Mu's eyes flickered, and the Divine Void Step manifested naturally beneath his feet.

Without the manic speed from before, his steps were as light as the wind. His figure flickered a few times within the mist, and he had already cut into the fray.

A flash of blade light, and the heads of three Resentment Bone Skeletons lunging at Qi Huan's back flew off in unison. His blade swung back, slicing two drowned vengeful spirits attempting a sneak attack from the side in half.

The remaining three remnant souls saw this, emitted silent screeches, and lunged forward together.

Chen Mu advanced instead of retreating. He slightly tilted his body to avoid their attacks, and his soul-slaying blade swept upwards, simultaneously slicing across the necks of the three remnant souls.

Blade passed, souls dissipated; the entire process took but a fleeting moment.

Qi Huan stood frozen in place, his hand gripping his saber trembling slightly, his gaze towards Chen Mu somewhat dazed.

The image of Chen Mu nearly descending into madness was still fresh in his mind, yet now he was as calm as still water; the speed of this change left Qi Huan struggling to adapt.

What shocked him even more was Chen Mu's current state.

He was covered in blood, his injuries not light, but his eyes were clear and firm, carrying a sense of indifference that comes from perceiving the essence of things.

"Chen Mu, you..."

"It's nothing."

Chen Mu was concise, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings.

Shadows flickered within the mist; more Ghostly Creatures were gathering in this direction.

Following his previous temperament, Chen Mu would certainly have charged in without hesitation, risking his life against those stronger Ghostly Creatures to plunder more Lifespan.

But now...

He calmly assessed the situation.

He had just experienced the Heart Demon tribulation and, while he had achieved a Breakthrough, his body had suffered significant strain, his Protective Aura was severely depleted, and Qi Huan was at the end of his rope.

If they rashly pushed deeper and encountered a siege by several Heart-Awakening Realm Ghostly Creatures, the outcome would be unpredictable.

More importantly, he no longer needed to rely on frenzied slaughter to prove anything, nor did he need to use it to fill the void in his heart.

Plundering Lifespan was to become stronger, but becoming stronger was to live better and master his own destiny.

If he placed himself in unnecessary danger just for the sake of plundering, it would be putting the cart before the horse.

"We are retreating."

Chen Mu made his decision.

Qi Huan was stunned, almost thinking he had misheard.

Retreat?

The Chen Mu from just a moment ago, who had been blinded by bloodlust, diving headfirst into the depths of the ghost tide, impossible to pull back—he was now actually suggesting they retreat?

"Are... you sure?"

Qi Huan couldn't help but confirm.

Chen Mu glanced at him and took the lead, rushing back the way they came. He wasn't fast, even intentionally controlling his pace to ensure Qi Huan could keep up.

Blade light flickered from time to time, extinguishing the scattered skeletons or remnant souls blocking their path, clearing a relatively safe route.

The two moved one after the other, soon retreating to the edge of the Yangu Pit.

Here, the Yin Qi and resentment were significantly thinner, and the Ghostly Creatures were mostly low-level Resentment Bone Skeletons, slow-moving and far less threatening.

Qi Huan followed closely behind, his confusion deepening.

This Chen Mu advanced and retreated with purpose, never lingering in battle. There were no superfluous movements, no sadistic hacking and slashing; every strike targeted a vital spot, killing in one blow.

[Killed low-rank Resentment Bone Skeleton, plundered Lifespan: one year]

[Killed battlefield remnant soul, plundered Lifespan: three years]

The System notification sound continued to ring, but Chen Mu's state of mind remained calm and unruffled.

Qi Huan watched from the side, dumbfounded; this change was just too drastic!

If the previous Chen Mu was a reckless, maddened tiger, the current Chen Mu was a precision killing machine.

What Qi Huan couldn't understand even more was that when Chen Mu sensed the auras of those powerful Ghostly Creatures showing signs of moving towards the edge, he would withdraw his blade and retreat without hesitation.

"Let's go!"

Chen Mu gave a low shout, his figure already darting towards the outside of the Yangu Pit, and Qi Huan hurriedly followed.

The two exited the range of the stone monument, and the Ghostly Creatures chasing behind them stopped in unison, emitting unwilling screeches, yet they dared not cross the boundary by even a single step.

That stone monument was an ancient Restriction, binding them tightly within the pit.

"Is... that it?"

Qi Huan panted heavily. Chen Mu did not answer, instead sitting down outside the stone monument, crossing his legs, closing his eyes, and regulating his breath.

Hunyuan Astral Qi circulated within his body, rapidly repairing his injuries and replenishing his consumption. About half an hour later, he opened his eyes; his aura had mostly recovered.

"Let's go, back inside."

Chen Mu stood up.

Qi Huan: "...We're still going?"

Chen Mu nodded. "Yes, only on the periphery."

Thus, the two stepped into the Yangu Pit once again.

Still in the peripheral area, Chen Mu repeated his method, efficiently and precisely slaying Ghostly Creatures and plundering Lifespan.

When he sensed that powerful Ghostly Creatures in the depths had been disturbed and were surging towards the edge, he would again withdraw and retreat.

Retreat, regulate breath, enter again; this repeated over and over.

By the third time they entered, Qi Huan was already numb.

He watched as Chen Mu harvested the low-level Ghostly Creatures in the peripheral area wave after wave, like cutting chives, each time withdrawing just before danger arrived. He couldn't help but think of those cunning hunters in the marketplace.

Never venturing deep into the beast's lair, only setting ambushes at the edge of the territory, grabbing a haul and leaving.

Finally, he couldn't help but speak, his tone strange.

"Chen Mu, are you... treating this like a vegetable garden? Picking and leaving as you please?"

Chen Mu slashed a skeleton to pieces, withdrew his blade, and retreated. Hearing this, he glanced at Qi Huan.

"Highest efficiency, lowest risk."

"The Ghostly Creatures in the depths are stronger, but they gather too quickly, making it easy to get surrounded. The Ghostly Creatures on the periphery are weaker, but there are plenty of them, and I can advance and retreat at will."

Qi Huan opened his mouth, but was left speechless.

The logic was sound, but... wasn't this move a bit too flamboyant?

When they entered the fourth time, the situation finally changed.

When Chen Mu was harvesting peripheral Ghostly Creatures again, several powerful auras from deep within the thick fog no longer moved slowly as before, but instead lunged directly at them at extreme speed.

Clearly, these Ghostly Creatures, which had gained a sliver of intelligence, had been angered by Chen Mu's "hit-and-run" tactics.

"Retreat!"

Chen Mu immediately sensed the turbulence of those auras. Without hesitation, he grabbed the still-dazed Qi Huan, exerted the Divine Void Step to its full extent, and dashed rapidly towards the outside of the pit.

The two had just rushed out of the range of the stone monument when the thick fog churned violently, and three powerful Ghostly Creatures of varying forms appeared at the edge.

One was a giant skeleton three zhang tall, clad in armor; one was an amalgam of vengeful spirits, constantly twisting and deforming, composed of countless painful faces; and there was also a skeletal warhorse with hooves burning with ghostly green flames, ridden by a flickering, spear-wielding ghost figure.

All three Ghostly Creatures had auras at the Heart-Awakening Realm.

They stood inside the stone monument, staring fixedly at Chen Mu and Qi Huan outside the stone monument; their resentment almost solidified into substance.

But they were, in truth, unable to step outside the range of the stone monument.

Chen Mu stood outside the stone monument, calmly meeting the gaze of the three Ghostly Creatures, before slowly turning around after a long while.

"That's it for today. I'll be back tomorrow."

Qi Huan: "..."

He looked back at those three Ghostly Creatures raging impotently at the edge, and then looked at Chen Mu's calm, departing back.

Suddenly, he felt a bit of sympathy for these Ghostly Creatures.