Wu Ling did not know whether that apology was meant for him or for the few survivors from before, and he was too tired to think much about it. He had known from the beginning that she was already dead.
Or, if he thought in a darker direction, perhaps even that apology had been controlled by the skeleton. Perhaps its purpose was to shake his mind.
Wu Ling stopped paying attention to the sheet of skin and looked back at the skeleton. Seeing that Wu Ling had ignored it, the skeleton was leisurely cleaning its body. Wu Ling looked closely and realized the scraps it was brushing away were the food residue from what he had given earlier.
"Hm, finally looking at me? See, you big men really do like looking at beautiful women. Wait a moment. I will find you another one."
After speaking, the skeleton spread its hand. A storage ring was embedded into its bones.
"What kind of woman do you like? Mature and seductive? Pure and cute? Or maybe little girls, pretty boys, beast ears? I have all kinds here."
Wu Ling watched as the skeleton picked and chose like a young woman selecting clothes. Eventually, it took out another woman's skin.
The skeleton put that skin on as if putting on clothing. After wearing it, the skeleton even seemed to grow taller. In the end, a naked, voluptuous beauty appeared before Wu Ling.
The beauty struck a seductive pose in front of Wu Ling.
"What do you think, little brother? Do you like this skin? If you are not satisfied, tell me your requirements. I can check whether I still have one in stock."
"Enough nonsense. I know you are only a puppet. Where is your master?"
"At the northern edge of the Star Soul Forest."
Wu Ling raised an eyebrow. It had answered so casually? He had expected something like, "I will never betray my master."
"And her Martial Soul and Spirit Skills?"
"Her Martial Soul is Skin, though it seems to have mutated. As for level, she is a level-fifty-five Spirit Leader."
"Her first Spirit Skill is Skinning Shears. She can summon a pair of scissors and cut off a creature's skin without cutting the flesh beneath it."
"Her second Spirit Skill is Skin Exchange. It is what I just did. By replacing skin, she can change appearance. If the skin's previous owner was a beast Martial Soul Spirit Master, some abilities may even remain."
"Her third Spirit Skill is Skin Control. After killing someone, she can control their body by controlling their skin."
"Her fourth Spirit Skill is Skin Alteration. That one-hundred-layer skin monster just now was made with this Spirit Skill. The limitation is that the stronger the creature, the harder it is to alter."
"Her fifth Spirit Skill is Skin Slave. Yes, that is me. I have partial control over Master's second and third Spirit Skills, so sometimes after Master finishes her business, she leaves cleanup to me."
Because its true body was a skeleton, methods like listening to its voice, reading its eyes, or checking its heartbeat were useless for judging truth. Fortunately, the instinct from Mind's Eye could roughly determine that it was not telling any major lies. At least ninety percent of what it said was true, though it may have hidden certain weaknesses or details.
But precisely because it had not lied, Wu Ling was even more confused.
"You are exposing your master's information that easily? A creature like you should never betray its master. If your master dies, you die too, right?"
The woman's face immediately showed obvious resentment. Paired with her movements, it looked almost like unsatisfied desire.
"Ha. What kind of master is she? Just like the name of her Spirit Skill says, I am a Skin Slave, not a Bone Slave. If I go too long without wearing skin, I suffer terribly. After creating me, that woman always lets me suffer for a while before giving me skin, just to make me obedient."
"And those skins are always rotten, torn, or ugly. I found my current collection myself. If I did not still want to enjoy myself a little longer, who would listen to her?"
"As for death, my fleshly body is already just a skeleton. As long as I have skin to wear, I do not feel anything, so I do not care whether I die or whether the main body dies."
"Besides, my strength is only around Spirit Elite. You dodged my attack just now. Now that you are on guard, you could probably kill me in a few exchanges. As the saying goes, a wise person adapts to circumstances."
"So, little brother, let us make a deal. I can lead you to my master. My request is simple. After you kill her, let me wear her skin once."
"Heh. How are you so sure a mere Spirit Elite like me can kill a Spirit Leader?"
"Ha. A mere Spirit Elite? I may not have a brain, but that does not mean I am stupid, little brother. A Spirit Elite with one yellow, one purple, and one black Spirit Ring, and you call yourself mere? A genius like you must be the ace of some great faction. In that case, you must have powerful experts following you. Just have one of them act."
Wu Ling nodded in deep agreement. Then a purple lightning-shaped dagger shot out from his shadow. While the woman was distracted by Soulbreaker, Wu Ling took one step forward and brought her within three meters.
Secret Sword: Swallow Reversal.
Because the previous monster had been too tough-skinned and thick-fleshed, Wu Ling had never used Swallow Reversal on it. Now, at last, the secret sword emerged again. And this strike was fatal.
Legs. Waist. Neck. In an instant, the woman was cut into three sections.
But when Wu Ling remembered the bone spikes it had extended earlier, he still felt unsafe. He kicked the head into a corner, then raised his hand toward the remaining two sections.
Magic Bullet. Flame. Magic Bullet. Flame.
In less than a minute, that thing had experienced being cut into three pieces, pulverized, and burned to ash.
After confirming that every bone had been reduced to ash, Wu Ling walked over to the remaining head. Even after its body was destroyed, the head was still muttering to itself.
"Your proposal was not bad, but unfortunately, no matter what I do, I prefer to keep the initiative in my own hands. And even without you leading the way, I have a method to find your master."
"Is that so? So it is like that. From this angle, little brother, your skin looks even better. Ah, such beautiful skin. I really want to wear it once."
The voice faded. Two slashes from Wu Ling cut the head into four pieces. Rose took one piece away.
"Main body, rest for a while. The tracking tool will be ready soon. Good thing I made three tracking compasses back then because I thought we might need to track Soul Beasts. I never expected the first one would be used on a Spirit Master."
Wu Ling silently nodded, then walked into Galen Holdfast's house.
As for the fact that people had died here, Wu Ling did not care at all. He had already cut apart the monster those people had become. Was he supposed to fear ghosts now?
Wu Ling pushed open the bedroom door. A rotten stench surged out. Looking at the skinned corpse already beginning to stink inside, Wu Ling turned around and headed for the dining room.
Fortunately, there were no corpses in the dining room. Wu Ling sat down at the table with his sword in his arms. Aside from him and Ghost, not a single living person remained in the village, so there was no longer any danger nearby. Spirit Power could be restored through his Spirit Power Circuits, and Rose was handling the tracking compass.
Therefore, his first priority was rest. Every Evil Spirit Master had combat strength that could not be measured by common sense. Merely fighting one Spirit Skill construct had taken this much effort. Tomorrow, when he faced the real person, there was no telling what kind of fierce battle would unfold. With that in mind, Wu Ling closed his eyes and gradually fell asleep where he sat.
The next morning, as the sun rose, Wu Ling woke according to his biological clock.
With a faint rotten smell still hanging in the air, Wu Ling took out food and ate it without the slightest concern.
After breakfast, Wu Ling summoned Ember and Azure again and had them return to his shadow on standby.
Then he took a compass from Rose. Its needle pointed north.
The northern edge of the Star Soul Forest. So that thing really was not lying. But when it vanished, that Evil Spirit Master should have sensed it. A whole night has passed, and she still has no intention of leaving? Or is this a trap?
No matter what, I still have to go.
Following the compass, Wu Ling left the village. Just as he was about to continue forward, he suddenly stopped and looked back at the lifeless settlement. Wu Ling raised his right hand, and a Magecraft array unfolded.
Flame.
Behind him, raging fire swallowed the village. Wu Ling ran in the direction indicated by the compass.
After about four hours, Wu Ling reached the edge of the Star Soul Forest.
"Looks like I still have to go inside."
As he spoke, Wu Ling stepped into the forest.
The instant he entered, the instinct from Mind's Eye suddenly triggered, then vanished just as suddenly for no clear reason.
Wu Ling found it strange. That flash of warning was something he had never experienced before, and the way it disappeared afterward was also unprecedented.
After thinking for a moment, Wu Ling remembered that Ghost was following him. With the thought that even if he could not win, he should at least be able to run, Wu Ling ignored the warning and continued deeper into the Star Soul Forest.
But the moment Wu Ling entered the forest, Ghost suddenly appeared outside it. In his senses, something inside the forest felt like a great terror specifically aimed at him. It might have no effect on Wu Ling, but to Ghost, the effect was enormous. Rather than a natural enemy or simple restraint, the feeling was closer to suppression.
The crushing pressure of a higher existence against a lower one.
Just as Ghost prepared to rush in and drag Wu Ling back, he was shocked to discover that an invisible barrier seemed to stand before him. He could not enter the forest at all.
That shocked him even more. He was currently a level-ninety-four Titled Sage. Something that could make him feel terror and easily prevent his entry... what exactly was inside?
"Wu Ling! Come back!"
Walking through the forest, Wu Ling felt as if he had heard something. But when he turned around, no one was behind him.
"Grandpa Ghost, did you say something just now?"
The voice that always made him feel safe sounded again in response.
"No. Just keep walking."