Chapter 465: The Coolest Cat Ever
This sudden turn of events naturally left the Soul Vase Ghost both alarmed and furious.
"CRUSH IT!"
In a rage, the Soul Vase Ghost began chanting and forced the Soul Vase to unleash concentrated blasts of ghostly energy at the spinning pet egg, determined to destroy it before whatever was happening could go any further.
But every ghost that touched the egg ignited as if it had fallen into a furnace. The moment they made contact with the swirling black vortex surrounding it, they were dragged inside and completely absorbed.
"What’s going on?!"
The Soul Vase Ghost still hadn’t realized what it was dealing with. Like a beast charging headfirst into danger, it roared and unleashed another skill.
"Dance of the Dead!"
A flood of ghosts erupted from the Soul Vase and rushed toward the pet egg, filling the air with shrill cries as they swarmed forward.
’So many?’ Marcus thought, watching the sky darken.
Marcus watched the sky darken beneath the mass of ghostly figures. Yet the result was exactly the same as before. Every ghost that touched the black vortex vanished instantly, swallowed without resistance.
The Soul-Mist Water Demon Cat really lived up to its reputation. Even while still trapped inside an egg, it remained a Divine Beast. Marcus couldn’t help feeling impressed. Thankfully, he’d already started recording everything. Once he returned, Jade was going to completely lose it when she saw this footage.
In the blink of an eye, the Soul Vase Ghost’s Dance of the Dead had been completely devoured. But that wasn’t even the most shocking part. After absorbing such an enormous number of souls, the pet egg became noticeably more active, pulsing with growing power.
Within the black vortex surrounding the egg, a figure slowly began to emerge: a jet-black cat with piercing blue eyes.
It was identical to the cat that had appeared inside the Mystic Turtle’s Tomb when the egg absorbed the thousand-year Corpse Demon. This time, however, the manifestation was far clearer and far more solid. The massive number of souls it had consumed gave the cat a strange sense of reality, as though it could step out of the darkness at any moment.
It looked incredibly close to hatching.
’So damn cool...’
Marcus couldn’t stop grinning as he stared at the black cat hovering above the egg. After carrying this thing around for so long, today might finally be the day it hatched.
Meanwhile, as the egg continued greedily absorbing souls, the Swarm of Countless Ghost Souls protecting the Soul Vase Ghost was rapidly falling apart. Without those souls constantly shielding it, Pebble’s Dragon-Roar Critical Strike was landing with devastating effect. Every hit dealt more than five thousand damage, and critical hits were appearing one after another.
But even that wasn’t the most unbelievable part. The black cat manifestation above the egg suddenly focused its blue eyes on the Soul Vase in the ghost’s hand.
The look in its eyes was unmistakable. It was looking at the artifact the same way a starving predator looked at a meal.
The cat lightly leaped forward and opened its mouth. A thick stream of black light shot out, twisting through the air before tracing the flow of souls back to its source and connecting directly to the Soul Vase.
The moment the connection formed, the Soul Vase slipped completely out of the ghost’s control.
Souls began pouring out of it in an endless stream, not to attack, not to defend, simply flying straight toward the pet egg. The instant they reached it, they vanished into the black vortex.
"Hahaha!" Marcus nearly laughed himself breathless. This was the definition of bringing supplies to your enemy. The Soul Vase Ghost had spent centuries collecting souls, only to end up feeding them all to the Soul-Mist Water Demon Cat.
The cat clearly wasn’t interested in stopping anytime soon.
"Pets, attack!"
With such a perfect opportunity in front of him, Marcus immediately summoned his remaining pets and joined the assault.
At almost the same moment, Pebble landed another devastating critical hit. "12,000 damage!" The Soul Vase Ghost let out a shrill scream.
For more than three hundred years, it had painstakingly gathered over a hundred thousand souls. Normally, even when those souls were used in battle, they would eventually return to the Soul Vase.
But this was different. Every soul being absorbed by the egg was gone forever, with no recovering them, no getting them back. They were disappearing one after another, and the ghost could do nothing except watch.
As it stared at the black cat hovering above the egg, memories suddenly surfaced. Jet-black fur. Blue eyes. That unsettling gaze that seemed capable of swallowing everything. The Soul Vase Ghost finally remembered a warning once given by the ruler of Black Ghost Peak, the Black Peak Ten-Thousand-Dagger-Through-The-Heart Ghost.
"If you ever encounter a cat that devours souls, run." Ghost souls. Demon souls. Human souls. It would eat them all, and among ghosts, that creature was infamous: the Soul-Mist Water Demon Cat.
Of course. It was that cat. The realization hit the Soul Vase Ghost like a bolt of lightning.
No wonder the Soul Vase was being drained instead of doing the draining. The artifact had encountered its natural enemy.
Of course, the ghost wasn’t entirely wrong in thinking it was at a disadvantage. If it were stronger, things might have turned out differently. At its current level, it couldn’t fully unleash the Soul Vase’s true power. A Level 80 Soul Vase Ghost wielding the artifact properly might have been able to resist even a Soul-Mist Water Demon Cat.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the situation it was facing now.
The terrified ghost darted through the air, desperately trying to break free of the egg’s pull, but it was useless. The pet egg had locked onto the Soul Vase and refused to let go.
"SHIT!"
The Soul Vase Ghost felt like it was losing its mind. At this rate, everything it had spent centuries building would be drained away, and to make matters worse, Marcus and his pets were rapidly closing in. For the first time since the battle began, genuine fear appeared in the ghost’s heart.
Still, ghosts were naturally crafty creatures. Realizing it couldn’t solve the problem directly, the Soul Vase Ghost quickly came up with a new plan.
Ignore Marcus. Ignore the pets. Ignore the out-of-control Soul Vase. Instead, attack Evan.
The ghost still had 210,000 health remaining. It could afford to take some damage. If it killed Evan, seized the wine jar containing the Twin-Winged Ice Owl’s sealed soul, and escaped, it could still accomplish its objective. Not a perfect victory, but a victory nonetheless.
The moment it made its decision, the Soul Vase Ghost shot forward.
Evan had finally managed to gain a little breathing room and recover after being pushed below ten thousand health. Before he could relax, however, the Soul Vase Ghost suddenly abandoned its struggle with the egg and charged directly toward him. His expression changed, and he immediately turned and ran, but unfortunately, the ghost caught up almost instantly.
"Ghost Claw Barrage!"
One hand still clutched the uncontrollable Soul Vase while the other transformed into a long, razor-sharp claw. The Soul Vase Ghost lunged forward and unleashed a flurry of slashes, each strike tearing away more than 800 points of Evan’s health.
