Volume One: The Soul-Guiding Gourd and the Soul-Burning Lamp Chapter 122: A Tattered Rag

Gu Mo cautiously reached out with his ghost-energy-infused hands toward the eerie, frost-covered wooden chest.

Just as his fingertips grazed the mysterious box, a sudden sound echoed—*whoosh!* The bone-chilling green ghost fire receded like a retreating tide, surging entirely into the wooden chest. Everything fell into a profound silence, as if nothing had ever happened.

Seeing this, Gu Mo was completely stunned, his mind flooded with a tsunami of questions.

"What the hell!"

In an instant, warmth returned to his body, and the biting chill of the ghost fire vanished without a trace. Bewildered and utterly confused, Gu Mo couldn't make heads or tails of the situation. He turned his gaze toward the fuzzy Gluttonous Ghost and asked, "Fuzzy... what is going on?"

The cute little Gluttonous Ghost sighed ambiguously and replied, "Master, this chest seems to be feeding on your ghost energy!"

Hearing such an absurd claim, Gu Mo immediately suspected that a malevolent spirit might be dwelling inside the box. "Fuzzy, how do I handle this? I can't even open a simple box—am I really that weak?"

The Gluttonous Ghost didn't waste any time; it opened its massive, bloodthirsty maw, signaling Gu Mo to merge with it. Though Gu Mo was initially reluctant—especially since the creature had consumed a vast amount of rotting flesh—he had no choice but to comply to save his own life. God only knew when that mountain of corpses would be fully digested.

As soon as Gu Mo stepped his feet into the Gluttonous Ghost’s mouth, *whoosh!* The creature's thick, pitch-black fur spread over Gu Mo's body like a cold, dark tide. Naturally, a bone-deep chill followed. In a heartbeat, the Gluttonous Ghost had completely enveloped him.

*BOOM!*

The creature's ghastly, blood-red triangular eyes flashed to life. If one looked closely, every time Gu Mo opened his mouth, a massive wave of freezing cold mist erupted, and his restless, blood-red tongue dripped with crystal-clear saliva.

*Slurp.*

The red tongue swept across four rows of terrifying, sharp teeth, swaying wantonly. This symbiote-armor mode looked both majestic and incredibly sinister.

Gu Mo frowned, staring intently at the eerie wooden chest, and spoke, "Fuzzy, what now?"

Suddenly, the Gluttonous Ghost’s voice echoed in his mind. "Master, use the Soul-Attracting Gourd!"

Gu Mo’s realization dawned on him. The strange gourd was filled with refined wandering souls. The Gluttonous Ghost had arranged this so that Gu Mo could replenish his ghost energy before attempting to open the chest again. Gu Mo steeled his nerves and reached for his waist. To his surprise, he found that the odd gourd had latched onto his waist like a magnet. It was bizarre, but undeniably convenient.

On a whim, Gu Mo tested this by pressing his "Measuring Ruler" against his thigh. Sure enough, the pitch-black rod stuck to him instantly. Like a naive child, Gu Mo spent a moment sticking the ruler on and pulling it off, finding it amusing.

"Heh, that's pretty interesting!"

As expected, the next second, the Gluttonous Ghost’s voice dripped with disdain. "Master, hurry up! Why are you still playing around?"

Gu Mo offered an embarrassed smile and reached out with his furry hands to unscrew the cap of the Soul-Attracting Gourd. With a hollow *pop*, he peered inside—and was instantly terrified. His body trembled, and cold sweat broke out like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

Looking inside, he saw a surging lake of souls. Immediately, cries and wails that pierced the very soul rang in his ears. *Ahhh—woooo—*

Within the green lake, various incomplete, grotesque, and terrifying spirits churned. They raised their withered, skeletal hands, desperately trying to crawl out of the gourd to find salvation. Faced with such a hair-raising scene, Gu Mo stood frozen, shaking like a leaf.

"Holy crap—how did I not notice this before? I... I actually used this stuff to light lamps and even splashed it on my face!"

Gu Mo’s face turned as pale as wax. Not long ago, he had used these refined souls like "glacial water" to refresh his face. Back then, he only felt a cooling sensation with no side effects. But now, knowing the gourd was filled with the souls of evil ghosts, he felt a wave of shame wash over him.

This... this was truly freaking creepy!

However, since they were trapped within the gourd, they couldn't cause any real trouble; otherwise, the vessel would have shattered long ago. It seemed the refined ghosts had always been there, and Gu Mo had simply been too weak to notice. With this thought, his heart continued to race.

After a long sigh, Gu Mo accepted the reality he didn't want to face and slowly tilted the gourd. A vast amount of green ghost energy flowed from the spout, but no incomplete spirits escaped. The bone-chilling cold returned with it.

*BOOM!*

Clad in the Gluttonous Ghost symbiote armor, Gu Mo was once again surrounded by an icy gloom, and his furry hands erupted with raging green ghost fire. He reached out with determination, but the moment he touched the wooden chest, the fire was sucked dry once more. Gu Mo was dumbfounded—it felt as if the chest wasn't made of wood at all!

Growing increasingly curious about what kind of monster was hidden inside, Gu Mo hesitated, then tried the same method again.

*Whoosh!*

When the green ghost energy was absorbed again, Gu Mo stomped on the chest in frustration. "Damn! This crappy box has quite an appetite!"

The moment he spoke, the belly of the Death Worm trembled. Suddenly, the world began to shake as if the earth were collapsing! Standing atop the mountain of corpses, Gu Mo braced himself, lowering his center of gravity. The pile of rotting flesh began to collapse, sliding down and crashing into him.

*Splosh! Hiss!*

The flesh that fell into the green gastric juices was melted away instantly, leaving nothing behind but wisps of eerie white smoke. The stench was so foul it made Gu Mo want to end it all right there. He covered his nose and mouth, swallowing hard.

"Dammit! If I don't hurry, I'm going to be dissolved too!"

He took a deep breath and poured out more souls from the gourd. In a flash, his black, furry hands were ablaze with green ghost fire once more. But as soon as he touched the wooden chest, the fire was sucked clean again!

"Screw this, that's just bullying!"

No sooner had he cursed than the entire space began to violently lurch. It felt like the end of the world. *Clatter, clatter.* Amidst the chaos, Gu Mo heard the sound of flowing water in the distance. In the middle of a desert, even a thirsty Death Worm had to find a water source!

"Master, hurry! The Death Worm is secreting gastric juices!" the Gluttonous Ghost warned.

Gu Mo glared with his blood-red eyes. With the symbiote armor’s enhancement, he could see clearly through the gloom. Ten meters away, the fleshy stomach walls, covered in a complex network of blood vessels, were secreting vast amounts of highly corrosive green fluid. The entire stomach was now filled with the aura of death.

It happened in the blink of an eye. The rising level of the green gastric acid reached the base of the corpse mountain. *Hiss!* As the liquid rose, the sand and remains it touched were instantly consumed and melted. The mountain of corpses was no longer safe!

Gu Mo was paralyzed with fear. "Am I... am I really going to die here?"

The Gluttonous Ghost bared its four rows of terrifying teeth and seized control of Gu Mo’s body. It raised its hand, shoving the Soul-Attracting Gourd directly into Gu Mo’s mouth, while its other hand dug deeply into the edge of the wooden chest.

*Gulp, gulp, gulp!*

A massive amount of refined green souls, bubbling like ice-cold beer, were poured into Gu Mo’s stomach. The bone-piercing, soul-shaking chill was almost unbearable!

*BOOM!*

Clad in the symbiote, Gu Mo erupted with a towering pillar of green ghost fire. The dark, cold stomach cavity was illuminated by the ghastly light. Everything was soaked in the green aura of death: the fire on his body, the flickering light of the soul lamp, and the rising gastric acid—all of it was green!

The wooden chest, however, remained insatiable, greedily drinking the ghost energy from Gu Mo as if its capacity were infinite. Gu Mo felt like a leaking bucket that the Gluttonous Ghost was frantically trying to fill. The intense cold made his very soul tremble, and he felt as if his entire body was covered in frost, his consciousness beginning to blur.

Through the corner of his eye, he watched the acidic liquid rise. The hissing sound of corrosion filled his ears, and the thick, toxic smoke made his heart leap into his throat.

*‘It’s over... the corpse mountain is already being digested!’*

Just as he imagined his own body melting away, a piercing *creak* echoed. The eerie wooden chest finally popped open!

Inside, there was nothing but a tattered, drab, and gray piece of cloth. Nothing else.

Gu Mo was stunned. He couldn't tell if he was dazed by the cold of the gourd, the fear of the acid, or the sheer absurdity of the rag. Seeing the chest open, the Gluttonous Ghost returned control of his body, and Gu Mo pulled the gourd from his lips.

"What the hell!"

He exclaimed, not even bothering to check how much of the corpse mountain remained, and grabbed the rag. "What is this? A piece of trash! I almost died for this?"

Suddenly, a strange green light flashed in all directions.

*Crackle, crackle!*

A harsh sound of freezing filled the air as the temperature plummeted below zero. The green gastric acid, which was about to consume the entire mountain of corpses, froze solid at a speed visible to the naked eye. And Gu Mo, trapped in the middle of it, fared no better.