Chapter 468: The Soul-Mist Water Demon Cat’s Transformation
The Soul-Mist Water Demon Cat’s pet egg had originally taken the shape of a jet-black cat with glowing blue eyes, but after absorbing the Twin-Winged Ice Owl’s soul and taking on that deep, mysterious blue aura, the cat underwent a striking transformation.
The first change was its eyes. The blue glow became brighter and clearer, almost crystal-like, and a blue mark also appeared on its forehead, shaped like a flowing combination of the letters "W" and "M," as though it had been painted with moving water. The second change was its fur. The cat’s body remained black, but a beautiful blue stripe now ran from the middle of its back all the way to the tip of its thick tail, giving it a far more refined and distinguished appearance.
Overall, the transformed cat had lost much of its original eerie and unsettling presence, and in its place was something far more appealing. It looked lively, charming, and surprisingly elegant.
"Haha..."
Marcus couldn’t help grinning. If Jade saw this new form, she’d probably fall in love with it instantly.
More importantly, the transformation confirmed that the egg had successfully absorbed and fused with the Twin-Winged Ice Owl’s soul.
What kind of abilities would this new cat possess?
The thought made him itch to pick up the transformed egg and inspect its attributes, but that wasn’t possible yet. The little glutton was still focused on devouring the ghosts pouring out of the Soul Vase.
Still, Marcus had already noticed one obvious improvement: its absorption ability had become much stronger.
After the transformation, the dark-blue vortex surrounding the egg spun faster than before. The suction force increased dramatically, pulling ghosts out of the Soul Vase at a terrifying speed. Previously, around fifty ghosts per second had been dragged into the vortex, but now the number had easily surpassed one hundred.
And the more ghosts it consumed, the stronger the vortex became. The stronger the vortex became, the more ghosts it dragged out.
"SCREEEE!"
The Soul Vase Ghost let out a miserable scream. It had finally recovered from the earlier stun and immediately tried to regain control of the Soul Vase, but every attempt failed. The artifact was completely under the transformed cat’s influence, and no matter what it did, it couldn’t wrest back control.
The ghost glanced at Marcus, who was charging toward it in full armor, and a chill ran through its mind.
What kind of monster had it encountered? The situation was hopeless. It felt as though it had run straight into a natural predator.
’I need to get away before that thing decides to eat me too...’
The Soul Vase Ghost stared at the vase in its hand with frustration and panic. It desperately wanted to throw the artifact away, but it couldn’t. The Soul Vase was its origin, and the ghost had been born from it. Unless it died, the connection could never be severed.
With no other choice, it grabbed the uncontrollable Soul Vase and fled toward Black Ghost Peak. The only thing it could think of was seeking help from the ruler of the mountain, the Black Peak Ten-Thousand-Dagger-Through-The-Heart Ghost.
But after checking its remaining health, its heart sank.
150,000 HP.
Then it looked toward Black Ghost Peak. The distance was enormous. Could it even survive long enough to get there?
The Soul Vase Ghost wasn’t confident. Its only hope was that Marcus wouldn’t be able to catch up.
Unfortunately, reality was far crueler. It pushed its speed to the limit, but Marcus’s pets stayed right behind it. Not a single one fell back. They chased relentlessly, attacking whenever they got close and tearing away chunks of its health with every strike.
The worst part was that every one of those pets was faster than it.
A sense of despair gradually settled over the ghost.
"Trying to run?"
Marcus watched the fleeing monster and shook his head. After quickly collecting the loot Evan had dropped earlier, he urged his mount forward and continued the pursuit.
While mounted, his movement speed reached sixty-one points.
"Heh..."
Marcus recalled Elder Lonely mentioning that the Wind-Walker Boat’s flight speed was only eighty. At his current speed, aside from a handful of Mythic Beasts that specialized in agility, very few creatures in the game could hope to outrun him. Escaping from him on foot was practically impossible.
Within moments, he had closed the distance.
"Dragon-Roar Critical Strike!"
Marcus and all of his pets launched a coordinated assault. There was only one goal: kill the Soul Vase Ghost and complete the trial quest.
Under the relentless barrage, the ghost’s health plummeted. In less than ten seconds, it fell from 150,000 HP to only 1,210.
"Finish it!"
Marcus immediately activated Hundred Phantom Strike. The attack landed cleanly, taking the last of the ghost’s health.
At the same moment, the system notification he had been waiting for finally appeared.
Ding!
[Congratulations, player Stonehaven. You have killed the Level 70 Golden-tier Soul Vase Ghost. Reputation +300. Gold +50,000.]
"Heh..."
Normally, after spending so much time grinding in the Mystic Turtle’s Tomb, Marcus barely paid attention to ordinary kill notifications anymore, but this one was different. He had been waiting for it.
Ding!
[Stonehaven, congratulations on completing your Level 50 Trial within the time limit. You may now visit the Lonely Bell to advance to Level 50.]
The notification sounded better than any music Marcus had heard all day.
A second message quickly followed.
Ding!
[Player Stonehaven, your skill Hundred Phantom Strike has reached the required proficiency. Skill upgraded to Level 3.]
Marcus wasn’t surprised, because he had been stuck at Level 49 with his experience bar already full, so any excess experience gained couldn’t be applied to his character level. Instead, much of it had been converted into skill proficiency. Combined with the massive level difference between himself and the Level 70 Soul Vase Ghost, the reward had been enough to push Hundred Phantom Strike directly to Level 3.
That was exactly why he had chosen it for the finishing blow.
And the rewards didn’t stop there. Besides Hundred Phantom Strike, Dual Weapon Mastery, Knight’s Prayer, Red Locust Light, Illusion Red Mist, and Peach Blossom Slash had all advanced to Level 2. Even Insight and Phantom Body were now extremely close to leveling up as well.
His pets received substantial gains too. The biggest winner was the Seven-Colored Divine Eagle, which jumped from Level 33 all the way to Level 38 in a single leap.
The rewards were astonishing. Now Marcus finally understood why the Level 50 Special Hard Trial had such a fearsome reputation. The difficulty was outrageous, but the rewards matched it.
Just like Evan before it, the Soul Vase Ghost exploded into a shower of loot after dying. Items scattered across the ground in every direction, leaving behind a dazzling pile of rewards.
Marcus suspected this was part of the trial’s bonus rewards. Either way, he certainly wasn’t about to complain.
