Chapter 111: The Price of Becoming Stronger

Having absorbed a vast quantity of black mist, the Tiangou grew increasingly massive. Not only were its wounds fully healed, but the aura it exuded now surpassed that of any ordinary malevolent spirit.

However, creatures from the Ghost Realm are severely restricted in the mortal world. Once it had absorbed the bulk of the black mist, it found itself even more ill-adapted to its current environment. Zhou Bai stood still, watching silently as the Tiangou’s power coalesced.

By the time the final strand of black mist fused into the creature’s body, it had grown to the size depicted in the paintings—a body as large as a house, with every step spanning several meters. Yet, to Zhou Bai, as long as it remained at the level of a malevolent spirit, it was not beyond his ability to handle.

Though the Tiangou possessed immense strength, its weaknesses were equally glaring. It lacked human reason; even with such terrifying power, it remained devoid of any sapience. Furthermore, as a creature of the Ghost Realm, it was fundamentally different from the ghosts of this world. In the mortal realm, it was like a fish out of water, nowhere near as formidable as one might imagine.

Most importantly, the True Form of the White Bone Dharma possessed terrifying power far beyond that of others at the same cultivation level. At the very least, among those he had encountered who had mastered their own true forms, none could compare. Thus, Zhou Bai remained confident in his own strength and saw this as an opportunity to test the limits of his true form.

He waited for a moment. Through his Yin-Yang Eyes, he saw all the black mist merge into one; it was the perfect time to eliminate this future threat. He reached for the butcher's knife on his back. As his fingers touched the hilt, a ball of spectral fire ignited in his palm.

The fire immediately engulfed the entire blade, causing the knife to meld into his true form and undergo a transformation. The traces of crude iron faded, and the material increasingly resembled white bone. The Yazi design on the hilt, scorched by the spectral fire, was reduced to a mere skull, yet its eyes glowed with a ghostly green light, radiating even greater ferocity.

As Zhou Bai poured a massive amount of Yin energy into the knife, the Yazi figure came to life. It crawled off the hilt, its palm-sized body covered in bone armor, trailing a long, white, bony tail. It climbed onto Zhou Bai’s shoulder and bit into his collarbone, fusing with him. The tail, now resembling an iron chain, coiled around his arm, flickering with specks of baleful fire.

No ordinary person was nearby to witness the horrific scene of the White Bone Dharma wielding its blade; otherwise, they would have struggled to reconcile the image of the "immortal" they spoke of with such a demonic sight. The Tiangou, sensing danger, grew wary. Its primal instincts from its former life compelled it to retreat, widening the distance between itself and Zhou Bai.

Yet, as it neared the mountain forest, an inexplicable restlessness stirred within it—a desire to return to Hangdu City and devour more living souls. Zhou Bai narrowed his eyes at this. For some reason, he had a feeling that the blockade of Hangdu City was not related to the Tiangou; there might be something more suspicious at play.

But this was not the time to ponder such things. He released the hilt, letting the knife fall to the ground. An iron chain connected the hilt to his arm, dragging along the earth as he walked, leaving a long, narrow furrow in the soil.

The Tiangou let out a roar, tensed its legs, and leaped from the ground, charging toward Zhou Bai with incredible speed. Zhou Bai accelerated as well, but since his "Curse-Killing" supernatural ability had been exhausted, he could only rely on the speed of his physical form, which naturally put him at a disadvantage.

However, as long as his Yin-Yang Eyes remained locked onto the Tiangou, he could seize the initiative regardless of speed.

When the Tiangou reached a point ten meters from Zhou Bai, it lunged, lashing out with its tail toward his back. Zhou Bai, unperturbed, leaned slightly forward and swung his right arm violently. The chain carried the butcher's knife through the air, carving a perfect circle.

The knife struck the Tiangou’s back with tremendous force. By using the chain, he had more than doubled his reach. The attack was so sudden that the creature, still mid-air, had no chance to dodge. It let out a pained howl as the blade buried itself deep into its flesh.

Stifling its agony, the Tiangou kept its momentum, its tail still whipping toward Zhou Bai. But the man seemed to have anticipated this. He let out a clicking, eerie laugh. The joints in his spare left arm shifted and popped, reconfiguring at an angle no human could imagine, allowing him to catch the Tiangou’s tail.

The spectral fire on Zhou Bai’s arm spread to the creature’s body. With a sharp tug, he ripped the two-meter-long tail clean off. As the fire consumed it, the flesh and blood dissolved rapidly, leaving only a blackened vertebrae.

Zhou Bai held the vertebrae in one hand and the chain-bound knife in the other. As the Tiangou suffered this grievous injury, black bile sprayed from its wound, but before it could touch the ground—

A flash of fire erupted.

Zhou Bai opened his mouth wide, his jaws snapping as Yin energy flowed out, instantly blanketing the surrounding ten meters. He flicked the vertebrae from his left hand, striking the ground with a crack. The spectral fire ignited the layer of Yin energy, instantly creating a sea of flames.

This sea of fire consumed vast amounts of Yin energy. Had the Ghost Tree not matured and reached an astonishing capacity for storing Yin energy, Zhou Bai would never have dared to be so reckless. Even so, the energy within the Ghost Tree was dropping at a visible rate; it would be depleted within a dozen minutes at most.

The fire was not particularly powerful, but it was more than enough. It incinerated the blood flowing from the Tiangou’s wounds, ensuring the black bile could not seep into the earth.

With no further concerns, Zhou Bai launched his assault. He leaped onto the creature's back and yanked the butcher's knife free.

What followed was a one-sided slaughter. Trapped in the sea of fire, the Tiangou could not easily escape his entanglement; every time it tried to flee, it was dragged back by the vertebrae. Zhou Bai was in no hurry to end the fight. With every strike, he carved a palm-sized chunk of flesh from the Tiangou, let the spectral fire burn it to ash, and then struck again.

The cycle repeated. The Tiangou’s flesh dwindled. Unlike ordinary ghosts, it could not absorb Yin energy to heal its wounds, and it soon grew deathly weak. Zhou Bai did not lower his guard. Even after the creature was reduced to nothing but a skeleton, he continued to burn it with spectral fire for several minutes before finally stopping.

His internal Yin energy was nearly exhausted. Zhou Bai opened his mouth and inhaled deeply, drawing the surrounding spectral fire into his body to replenish a portion of his reserves. Flesh began to regenerate over his white bone frame, and within a few breaths, he had returned to his original form—though his black hair was gone for good.

Zhou Bai touched his bald head and couldn't help but grumble, "Is this the price of becoming stronger?"