The world shattered like glass and the blood gathered into a ball of mist that entered Alsis' body.
[Use your Wrath to defeat undefeatable foes.]
That thought appeared inside his head.
The world around him disappeared, and he found himself laying on the ground, surrounded by thick fog.
His three skeleton followers were standing around him and observing him. Their soul fires flickered when they saw Alsis sit up.
"I'm back…"
Alsis looked down at his chest and saw his empty ribcage. He was back at his skeleton body.
Alsis stood up and examined the three skeletons. They didn't seem to have any problems compared to before. He noticed that their bones were much darker than before.
Alsis looked around and saw that the soul fires that he left were already gone. He assumed that they ate it and used it to recover themselves.
Compared to before, Alsis felt something different about himself. He can't put his hand on it at the moment.
Alsis looked at the three skeletons and decided that it was for the best if he left them outside. He didn't want a repeat of what happened earlier.
They returned the same way they came and exited the cave. The sky was already bright, and there was no fog around them.
"Stay here. I will go inside alone," Alsis said.
He made them stay behind the cave's opening, so they won't encounter any stray Malevolent Ghost that exits the cave.
He then turned around and entered deeper into the cave. He was 99.99% sure that there was something important deep inside this cave. If he left now, he would surely regret it in the future.
That was why Alsis decided to gamble. He doesn't think that a wave of Malevolent Ghosts would burst out from the depths of the cave again. It was morning, and they were only supposed to exist at night.
Even if another wave came, Alsis was confident at protecting himself if he was alone. He would simply tear the ghosts apart and absorb their soul fires later.
Alsis soon passed the area he passed out at. After a short while, the bones around him turned into solid rock. This cave was actually buried deep under an ocean of bones.
He became even more cautious. With him alone, it was much darker, and he could only move slowly. If he rushed and hit his head on a rock, he might shatter his skull by accident.
To Alsis' surprise, he never saw or even heard any Malevolent Ghost around him. It was as if this place was abandoned. Nevertheless, Alsis didn't let his guard down. There might be a powerful ghost biding its time to attack him.
Alsis walked for another minute before he reached a large opening. The fog suddenly disappeared, and he saw a wall of Malevolent Ghosts. They were lit up by glowing red crystals at the walls of the cave.
They were all trying to squeeze each other onto the corner of the cave. Alas, there were too many of them.
"..."
Alsis' jaw fell open in shock. He was speechless at the scene.
There were at least several thousand Malevolent Ghosts on that one corner of the cave! There were so many of them that Alsis was sure that he could reach the peak of his current cultivation stage with them.
Alsis slowly approached them, and like a ripple in a clear lake, the Malevolent Ghosts moved back, trying to avoid getting close to him.
Alsis took another step.
*Splash*
He couldn't help but look down, and he saw a pool of blood under him.
"What the!"
Alsis took a step back. He thought it was blood, but the more he stared at it, the more it doesn't seem to be so. It rippled like silk, and he doubted that blood could appear in this world.
Alsis kneeled on the ground and touched the liquid with his boney hand. Suddenly, he felt a sense of familiarity with this liquid. It was the same as the red mist that was released by the Malevolent Ghosts!
"Could this be where they are born?" Alsis asked himself and looked up to the ceiling.
The wall Malevolent Ghosts rippled as they avoided him like a plague.
Just as he was thinking about that, a Malevolent Ghost suddenly melted, for some reason. It seamlessly joined the blood pool and turned into a part of it.
"...or not."
Alsis shook his head. Its timing was rather comical.
After seeing that, he got an idea. He crouched down and built energy on his legs. He released it in one burst and jumped high. He grabbed a Malevolent Ghost and brought it down with him. It struggled vigorously and didn't want to stay near him.
He placed the Malevolent Ghost closer to the blood pool, and the moment it got as close as a foot, the Malevolent Ghost suddenly struggled crazily. It was a much more vigorous reaction compared to its reaction to Alsis.
*SHRIEEEEEK*
Alsis put it inside the liquid, and it suddenly melted. The Malevolent Ghost was no more.
"I see! So this liquid is an accumulation of the Malevolent Ghosts! Interesting…"
Alsis was curious about this new liquid he discovered. He might be able to light it up and turn it into a big soul fire! That would be great.
"Now… What do I do with you guys?" Alsis scratched his skull.
They were all so high up. If he tried to jump, he would end up jumping into the blood pool and making a mess.
Alsis looked at the blood pool and at the ghosts. They melt when they touch the liquid… They melt… Liquid…
"Aha!"
Alsis placed a hand into the blood pool and suddenly raised it up. He splashed the liquid up to the ceiling. The unlucky Malevolent Ghosts that got hit weren't able to react and directly turned into the same liquid.
The remaining Malevolent Ghosts scattered around like headless flies. Some of them even directly exited the cave opening.
"I will call this liquid… Malevolent Blood!"