Ch. 356 - Taming the Specter Gods

A few hours later…

"Wife" was now etched across Fang Xiu’s back in ink. He studied it in the mirror—a striking, lifelike image of a gorgeous woman gazed back at him. Her perfect features held a gentle, warm smile, and her eyes felt alive, meeting his in the reflection.

Fang Xiu frowned. Strangely, he didn’t sense the usual dark corruption.

Normally, facing a Specter God meant hearing those eerie, mind-bending whispers—but this tattoo? Silence. No murmurs, no chills.

The only odd thing was a lingering illusion since "wife" appeared on his skin. It was like she was always nearby, just out of view.

If he whipped his head around quick enough, he half-expected to spot her standing there.

That feeling chipped away at his calm, sparking a sharp urge to lash out. He gritted his teeth, swallowing the violent impulse until his face relaxed again.

He shut his eyes and turned his focus inward.

After a moment, he picked up on it—a faint, barely-there energy pulsing from the "wife" tattoo. Intrigued, he drew that subtle power through himself. What happened next threw him off balance.

In a flash, Fang Xiu felt like he’d slipped out of reality. He could still see his reflection, clear as day, but he was untouchable—a shadow.

He tested it, reaching toward the wall. His hand slid through like it was nothing. The physical world couldn’t touch him. He wasn’t really there—not in any way that counted.

“So this is… ‘Wife’s’ invincibility?” he mumbled to himself. “Makes me a ghost or something?” It was a strange, almost sci-fi vibe.

He didn’t play with it for long, though. His Spiritual Energy was dropping fast—too fast. This invincibility had a hefty price tag. He needed to save what he had to test "wife’s" other power: the one that couldn’t be stopped.

But no matter how he tried, it wouldn’t click. In this ghost state, attacking wasn’t an option—he couldn’t touch anything, let alone hit it.

To strike, he’d have to drop the intangibility, but that killed the advantage.

He messed around a bit more to confirm. If he turned solid while his arm was still in the wall? No dice. The power wouldn’t let him reappear unless he was free and clear.

Stay stuck too long, and when his Spiritual Energy ran out, he’d vanish for good—erased completely.

With a quick thought, Fang Xiu turned off the invincibility. He stood there, thinking it over, his eyes narrowing in focus.

The unblockable power—whatever it was—had to be bigger than this phasing trick. Going ghost was just about staying safe, but an unstoppable attack? That was about controlling the world around him.

Right now, he couldn’t make it happen. Maybe one tattoo wasn’t enough.

He mulled it over for a minute before naming "Wife’s" powers to keep them straight. 

The unblockable one? True Strike. The invincibility? Fade.

For now, he only had Fade—True Strike was still out of reach.

A flicker of annoyance flared up. He’d inked the person he hated most onto his back, and what did he get? A Spiritual Energy-hungry Fade ability that didn’t even hit hard. 

Honestly, it wasn’t much of a prize. It overlapped too much with his pain-absorption skill—Phase kept him untouchable, sure, but absorbing pain kept him alive. Same difference, really.

All things considered, it felt like a weak deal.

But then it clicked—Fade had another trick up its sleeve: it made him immune to being trapped.

When Fang Xiu flipped on Fade, he didn’t just sidestep attacks—he flat-out vanished from reality.

No cage, no chains, no seal could pin him down. That came with a sweet side perk, too. He’d never get caught in a death spiral in a Specter Domain, stuck resetting over and over by some unbeatable monster.

With Fade, if he couldn’t win, he could just walk away. Easy as that.

Right then, with "wife’s" Fade in his toolkit, Fang Xiu saw his odds of staying alive shoot through the roof.

He couldn’t be killed. Couldn’t be touched. Couldn’t be caged. Truth be told, Fade blew his pain-absorption trick out of the water.

Pain-absorption had limits—run into something too strong, too vicious, and it’d still flatten him. Fade? Fade didn’t care what was coming. It brushed off everything.

That realization dulled the hate simmering in his gut, even if just a bit.

Next, he pulled out a million Spirit Money bills, handed it to the dried-up corpse behind the counter, and summoned Taotie’s projection.

He was going all in—planning to cover himself in Specter God tattoos. Taotie on his left arm, the Angel on his right, Wedding God splashed across his chest.

If he could manage it, he’d even ink a couple more on his legs. He wanted those gods plastered everywhere.

Soon enough, a wickedly sharp Taotie formed on his left arm. From afar, it looked like his arm was draped in decaying flesh, with a jagged, bloody mouth splitting it open. 

He was about to dig into whatever power Taotie’s tattoo might offer when something weird kicked in.

A sudden, biting sting flared up his back—right where "wife" sat. He stiffened as a strange rush of energy surged from her tattoo. Then, the Taotie ink started to smear. It faded, growing fainter until it was gone entirely.

Apparently, "wife" didn’t play nice with others.

Fury erupted in Fang Xiu’s chest—she thought she could claim him with just one measly tattoo? No chance he’d let that stand.

Pigheaded as ever, he forked over another million, called up the Wedding God’s projection, and started inking that one.

Same story—Wedding God’s tattoo blinked out like Taotie’s.

He tried the Angel, then the other Gods, one by one. Every time, they dissolved.

"Wife’s" tattoo was a dictator. It shoved out every other Specter God like it had sole rights to him.

That settled it for Fang Xiu. He killed himself, kicking off a death reset. Not because he wanted to ditch "Wife" and roll the dice on something else—no, even with the hate eating him alive, he knew she was top-tier. She could bulldoze the other Specter Gods, making her the clear winner. He wasn’t about to trade down just because of bad blood.

The reset was about the money. He’d burned through too much Spirit Money on those botched tattoos, and that stuff was too valuable to throw away.

So he rewound time, started over, and got "wife" inked on again.

With "wife" back in place, Fang Xiu stepped out of the tattoo shop.

Night had settled in. Before long, he saw the crew rushing back his way.

He didn’t bother with small talk—just took charge of the Taotie army and led them into Whitestone.

In minutes, the horde had everyone boxed in.

Lu Ziming and the others stood frozen, staring at the Taotie inches from their faces, feeling like they’d been plunged into a cold sweat.

The raw fear those things gave off—their vibe, the creepy whispers rattling their skulls—hit them hard.

“Are we really supposed to live inside a Taotie’s stomach?” one of the Land Between crew grumbled, sticking close to the group. “What if Fang Xiu’s just messing with us?”

Lu Ziming let out a sharp, icy laugh, slicing through the tension. “Messing with us? Think straight. The Taoties are right here. We’re cornered. You think you’ve got options? Get inside that thing’s gut, and you might have a tiny chance to make it. Cross Fang Xiu now? You’re toast before you can blink.”

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