Chapter 20: Innate Spell Technique

After successfully refining the Main Spirit, Lishi, Lu Yan’s gaze swept over the dozens of wandering zombie souls still floating in the first-floor hall. With a wave of the Soul Banner, ghost mist rolled out and devoured all the remaining souls in one go.

The sixth vengeful spirit—whose soul body had been taking shape—quickly condensed into solidity, and a new spirit emblem emerged on the banner’s surface.

Another vengeful spirit stepped out from the mist, taking its place in the hall.

Six vengeful spirits at the First Layer of Qi Refining, plus one Main Spirit at the Fourth Layer—this was already a formidable lineup, far stronger than when Lu Yan had first entered this apocalyptic version.

And this was just the first building of the residential complex.

There were twenty buildings like this in the neighborhood, and similar communities dotted the entire city. Even with a rough estimate, the total number of zombies within the city likely exceeded one million.

Though the souls of zombies lacked the Heaven and Earth Souls and were inferior in quality to human souls, the sheer quantity made up for everything.

“Still, with such numbers, stronger transcendent zombies are bound to emerge.

I must remain cautious at all times while hunting—complacency could be deadly.”

With that thought, Lu Yan glanced at the sky. It was still early—he had enough time to clear another building.

This was also a good opportunity to scout for a better shelter.

Leaving the building littered with bones, Lu Yan walked toward the one next door. On its decaying wall, faint characters read Building 13.

As he stepped out from the gloomy structure, warm sunlight bathed him, dispersing the chill of his ghostly aura.

Lu Yan looked up at the sun hanging high in the sky.

In this apocalyptic version, where the ambient spiritual energy was ten times stronger than in the city version, Lu Yan could faintly sense that even the sun itself had changed.

The sunlight now contained trace amounts of spiritual energy—far more than the surrounding environment.

Sunlight had always been the bane of ghosts. For zombies missing their Heaven and Earth Souls, prolonged exposure to this spirit-infused light could cause their souls to disintegrate.

This was why most zombies chose to hide inside buildings, away from the sun.

For ordinary humans, however, long-term exposure to such light—paired with ample spiritual nourishment—could potentially awaken special abilities.

“Ten times the spiritual energy and sunlight rich with spirit power… It’s possible that survivors in this version have already developed their own transcendent systems.”

Lu Yan’s eyes flashed with surprise. But for now, he wasn’t interested in interacting with other humans.

This apocalyptic version may harbor hidden dangers, but these zombies were undoubtedly his opportunity.

All he could do was strengthen himself as much as possible within this world, preparing for the next version update.

Where else but here could he refine his Soul Banner in peace, without fear of righteous cultivators hunting him down?

With a flick of the Soul Banner, ghost mist surged into Building 13 under the sun’s light. Lishi, leading the six vengeful spirits, charged in.

Boom!

A thunderous clash echoed out. Lu Yan could see that under Lishi’s lead, the vengeful spirits had completely changed their strategy. No longer haunting and elusive—they stormed in like brutes, brawling head-on.

Unlike the ethereal vengeful spirits that ignored physical boundaries to attack, Lishi materialized his soul body from the mist and met the zombies head-on.

With a single punch, a zombie riddled with rotting flesh exploded into a shower of gore, its fragmented soul vanishing with its destroyed body.

Claws and teeth scraped against Lishi’s form but left no mark at all.

Suddenly, a threatening howl echoed from the stairwell.

A zombie hound, about two meters long and stripped entirely of fur, stepped forth from the horde.

Lu Yan immediately noticed that, while its aura was only at early-stage Qi Refining, far below Lishi, the beast growled lowly as if trying to intimidate him—only to ignite Lishi’s bloodlust.

A savage grin stretched across Lishi’s blue-fanged face, and like a cannonball, he charged toward the zombie hound. Any zombies in his path were pulverized, chunks of flesh flying as he reached for the beast’s head.

Faced with the imminent threat, the zombie hound didn’t retreat. Instead, it lunged forward with its maw full of jagged teeth, seeking to trade damage for damage.

But just then, a flash of black light shimmered across Lishi’s body, as if a suit of black iron armor had formed from ghostly essence.

Innate Spell: Ghost Armor Technique!

With a clash of metal and fang, the spectral armor deflected the zombie hound’s bite effortlessly.

Now aware of the danger, the hound tried to dodge and escape—but it was too late.

Lishi’s fist came crashing down, crushing half of its skull, blood spraying in every direction. He raised his arm again, ready to strike once more—

“Stop.”

A cold voice rang out.

Lishi’s body froze, his fist hanging in the air, then slowly dropped it. The zombie hound twitched on the floor, its broken head barely clinging to unlife.

At that moment, the six vengeful spirits finally arrived, claws outstretched, and pulled the weakened soul from the hound’s ruined body.

They quickly rejoined the slaughter of ordinary zombies, leaving Lishi standing alone, shivering—like a child awaiting scolding from their teacher.

At the entrance of Building 13, Lu Yan rubbed his temples, visibly pained by what he saw.

Lishi’s performance indeed lived up to the Main Spirit’s title. The zombie’s metallic enhancement had transformed into the Ghost Armor Technique, an innate spell unique to him after refinement.

The technique allowed Lishi to clad himself—and even the vengeful spirits under his command—in soul-forged armor, greatly enhancing their defense. It was a highly practical spell.

But one thing annoyed Lu Yan: Lishi didn’t look or act like a ghost at all. If anything, he resembled a Taoist guardian deity, or a Yellow Turban warrior.

In a xianxia version, Lishi’s brute strength and close-range combat prowess would be an advantage. Ghost Armor would make him effective against magic-focused cultivators.

But in this apocalyptic version, Lu Yan was hunting zombies to gather souls and feed his banner.

Lishi, however, obliterated them with a punch—leaving no intact soul behind for sacrifice.

Every time Lishi killed a zombie, it meant one less offering for the Soul Banner. That was what frustrated Lu Yan the most.

Had he not intervened, even the zombie hound’s soul might’ve been destroyed along with its body.

Within the flickering shadows of Building 13, vengeful spirits tore through the zombies mercilessly. Any floor within the banner’s radius was swept clean.

Over two hundred wandering souls were gathered into the first-floor hall. Building 13 had been more than half-cleared—far faster than the previous building.

The key to this speed was simple: the transcendent zombie of Building 13 had been quickly neutralized by Lishi, leaving no obstacle to the vengeful spirits’ slaughter.

The ghost mist surged. All wandering souls were swiftly refined.

There were so many this time that it took Lu Yan nearly an hour to finish the refinement. In the end, two new vengeful spirits were added to the banner.

Looking at his Soul Banner—now containing one Main Spirit and eight vengeful spirits—Lu Yan felt a subtle shift in its aura.

“We’re not far from advancing this Soul Banner to a Mid-Grade Magical Tool!”

(End of Chapter)