Chapter Seventy-One: Will You Die, or Will the People Die? The Spell of Psychological Manipulation

The laughter was a series of soft, tinkling sounds, clear and crisp to the ear. Yet, each of those faces was painted with rouge and colored pigments. They were paper people—once bloated and imposing, but now, revealed, their bodies were utterly shriveled. The combination of this sound and their appearance was hard to bear.

The reason everyone fell into an illusion was, without a doubt, the result of sinister energy. Its spread confused the eyes, inducing hallucinations.

After the crowd had fled a great distance, some began to look around uneasily; someone shouted loudly, “Master Lin Yi, where is Master Lin Yi?”

“Yes, yes, with Master Lin Yi here, nothing is frightening!” Others searched for Lin Yi. The so-called experts who were supposed to arrive were clearly a fabrication; the pillar of hope could only return to Lin Yi once more.

These people had done nothing wrong; they were not traitors or ingrates—merely deceived by the Skinwalker Ghost. Everyone firmly believed Lin Yi would save them! Now, all their hope rested on him.

But where was Lin Yi? Many realized that, ever since Lin Yi seemed to draw closer to Zheng Guoqiang, he had vanished from their sight. No one noticed Lin Yi’s disappearance; there was only one explanation: he was too fast and had already departed.

Could Lin Yi truly have left? Some faces were drawn with despair. Yet many others recalled Lin Yi’s heroic stance against the Armored Specter, his courage against authority and strength, the confrontation with Jin Huishan of the Star Sect. They did not believe he had abandoned them. Gritting their teeth, they began scanning their surroundings.

Where was Lin Yi? Not only were these people searching—even the Skinwalker Ghost, about to board the hearse, was looking for him. Its face was obscured by blood and flesh; if it were human, its complexion would surely have turned blue with rage.

Where the hell had Lin Yi gone? The Skinwalker Ghost had barely begun its dramatic performance, and Lin Yi had already disappeared—such disrespect! Furious, it felt as if its punch had landed on cotton, leaving it with a sense of powerless self-mockery.

Bang, bang, bang.

Bang, bang, bang.

In its increasing rage, the Skinwalker Ghost concentrated its aura, sending flesh and blood flying everywhere. The bloody droplets splattered onto surrounding surfaces, producing a sizzling sound. Some decorations even emitted white smoke, a testament to the filth and heavy sinister energy contained in the blood.

“Where… where are you… Lin Yi, if you don’t show yourself, I’ll kill them all—I’ll eat every last one of them…”

The deformed fox Skinwalker Ghost was truly losing its mind! Sinister energy roared, shaking the paper-mache funeral vehicles nearby.

Thump, thump, thump.

Bang, bang, bang.

He was not just threatening; already, some people clutched their chests, slowly collapsing from upright positions. Their hearts were failing. The sound of their heartbeats grew louder and more intense, like a broadcast blaring through loudspeakers.

Blood entering the left ventricle was pressurized, flowed through the left atrium, circulated throughout the body, returned to the right ventricle, then through the right atrium—the heart’s supply… Yes, a terrified doctor among the residents was counting along with the sound.

Someone felt their chest and was overcome with despair. Had Master Lin Yi truly sensed danger and run away?

But Master Lin Yi was not that sort of person! The cries and sobs rose and fell—some people were genuinely paralyzed by fear.

Where was Lin Yi?

As a few had already guessed, Lin Yi was atop the funeral hearse. Having invoked the Secret of Movement, Lin Yi was invisible to ordinary eyes.

The Secret of Movement: walking between heaven and earth, unseen by all things; the powerful traverse space and time as if melting into another world.

Seated in the funeral hearse, Lin Yi raised his fist, lost in contemplation.

Lin Yi wondered why this paper hearse could roar so loudly, like a real vehicle, and hold over a dozen coffins. It defied the laws of physics. Was it like the storage rings in novels, as mysterious as the space in the Scripture of God-Slaying?

Clearly not; so Lin Yi entered the hearse to investigate. But before he could uncover much, Zheng Guoqiang made his move and revealed himself.

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!

The Scripture of God-Slaying activated!

“Skinwalker Ghost: evolved from the deformed fox demon, with one hundred sixty-three years of cultivation. Skilled in disguise, heart-cursing sorcery, loves flaying, eats carrion, impersonates humans. Has killed three hundred and four. Must be killed!”

The Scripture of God-Slaying turned a page, continually alerting Lin Yi to the true appearance of the Skinwalker Ghost.

This Skinwalker Ghost, with its century-plus cultivation, looked rather amusing as it raged, blood splattering everywhere—drip, drip, drip… the droplets landed on the paper-mache hearse.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Yi pressed his hand to the horn. To his surprise, “beep, beep, beep”—the horn actually sounded.

Lin Yi frowned; the horn was piercingly shrill. He then wondered where the engine of this vehicle might be.

After a moment’s thought, Lin Yi’s eyes brightened. What did it matter where the engine was? He simply wouldn’t let them drive it away.

Defeat the Skinwalker Ghost, claim the vehicle, then study it thoroughly!

With that, Lin Yi punched the steering wheel—“slash”—it split in two like cut tofu.

He donned the badge, then kicked the door with a resounding crash, opening a gaping hole.

Then, Lin Yi strode out with dignity.

Those who had feared Lin Yi had abandoned them now saw their savior appear. They wept, prayed, and rejoiced.

Those steadfast, middle-aged residents who believed Lin Yi would return nodded approvingly. “Good, this kid’s solid, didn’t run!”

The Skinwalker Ghost, however, instantly scowled.

Its appearance differed greatly from the deformed fox Lin Yi had previously slain.

The deformed fox was misshapen, but at least still had a fox’s face.

But the Skinwalker Ghost before him was nearly a lump of blood and flesh, its features indistinct. All its facial features were blurred by blood, even its eyeballs were covered, blood streaming down in tangled ribbons, interwoven like twisted dragon scales.

When it saw Lin Yi emerge from the paper-mache hearse, having damaged it so, the Skinwalker Ghost’s bloody eyes made the whites stand out. With a sudden burst, its form began to grow endlessly taller.

At first, it was human-sized, about the same height as Zheng Guoqiang.

But now, like a figure swelling in the wind, it shot up to two meters, three meters… five meters!

In the blink of an eye, it stood five meters tall.

As its height increased, the sticky fluids on its body fell faster. Its elongated body looked like a slender stalk.

All the flesh on its body wriggled ceaselessly.

The creature was a bloodball stretched to five meters. Its width shrank, the flesh grew tighter, all tendons and sinews clinging to the bones.

It was a towering skeleton draped in tattered meat.

Disgusting—Lin Yi felt nauseated.

He paused, then his eyes lit up and he nodded, “Impressive. Though you look grotesque and repulsive, your technique is remarkable. Five meters tall—how many short people would you crush in an instant? I was never tall myself; I envy you giants. You’ve made me jealous—I have to kill you.”

Lin Yi glanced at his energy meter, finding the Skinwalker Ghost was indeed formidable. Its sinister energy reading had reached 9999—four nines in purity!

Pure, potent, rivaling Lin Yi himself!

But now, neither in physical strength nor in soul could the Skinwalker Ghost compare to Lin Yi.

The Skinwalker Ghost heard Lin Yi's words and burst into loud laughter.

“Funny, absolutely hilarious. I told you I would have my revenge, and I WILL have my revenge. Do you think I’ll fight you head-on? Now you’ve come to save them, look—look! All their hearts are linked to me. If I wish to kill them, I will. How can you save them?”

“If you let me strike you, I’ll spare them for now. Think carefully: are you willing to attack me and bear the blame for not saving the innocent? Are you ready to let me kill them first? You might defeat me, but you’re not in control of the situation now.”

The Skinwalker Ghost’s mutilated mouth resounded with booming laughter.

The threat was clear.

With the laughter, its two long, emaciated arms twisted sharply to either side.

Szzzz szzzz szzzz…

The air churned inexplicably, sinister energy intensified. On its long, bony fingers, countless threads of black smoke appeared.

Those threads exuded a chill that made one’s spine tingle, and they all targeted the group of middle-aged residents.

More precisely, their hearts!

It was obvious—if those black threads moved, their hearts would fail.

Heart-cursing sorcery!

The black smoke threads were its weapon.

Earlier, when someone clutched their chest and collapsed, it was because the Skinwalker Ghost had unleashed its heart-cursing sorcery!

This sorcery was a powerful innate skill of the Skinwalker Ghost.