Chapter 43: I Have Tamed a Spirit Ghost!

Accompanied by that clear yet slightly tender and pleasant voice uttering an angry shout, Feng Xue’s eyes instantly lit up.

If she had stayed inside the painting, manipulating that single ink dot would have been rather troublesome, but now that she had come out, wouldn't it be just like catching an ordinary ghost?

The body he had previously pressed down did not stop its descent, but the direction of his seal shifted slightly.

Seeing this, the painting's spirit ghost initially breathed a sigh of relief, but the next moment, Feng Xue pressed the seal squarely onto her "forehead."

A snowflake-like imprint, carrying Feng Xue's dharmic power infused with a vow-power contract, flowed into the spirit ghost's body. Feng Xue moved his divine sense—not too much, but just enough to squeeze out the vital energy permeating the surroundings of the ritual altar.

Ghosts instinctively absorb surrounding vital energy. This is not a reflex that can be held back like breathing; rather, it is like cells automatically absorbing water under osmotic pressure, completely uncontrollable.

Vital energy, dharmic power, and vow-power intertwined, fusing together "inside" the spirit ghost's body.

To say it this way is not entirely accurate, because essentially, the spirit ghost was nothing more than a conscious aggregate of vow-power.

Even having gained spirituality, this essence could not be changed until reaching the realm of the old yin giving birth to the young yang.

Feng Xue's dharmic power imprint slowly diffused like milk poured into coffee, blending into a single entity. Accompanied by that slight harmonization, the spirit ghost finally realized something was wrong.

Yet at this very moment, any struggle was already far too late!

"Taking ink as the surname, bestowing upon you the name Moying. Ordering you to execute, act with utmost speed! Those who defy my command shall be hacked to dust. Hearing my call, assist in my practice. Obey the law with all haste!"

Along with the incantation "Obey the law with all haste," the "contract" formed by vow-power seemed to be finalized. Feng Xue felt his dharmic power begin to spontaneously condense into a specific structure, outlining a subtle trajectory within the spirit ghost's body.

The spirit ghost was still struggling at this moment, shouting angry rebukes like, "Who asked you to give me a random name!" Hearing this, Feng Xue narrowed his eyes and sneered:

"Don't like it? Then I'll change it. How about Gou Dan or Lai Fu? Well, since you're a girl anyway, how about Chunni'er?"

"Swish!"

Just as Feng Xue made a motion as if to pick up the writing brush, the mochi-like mass of the spirit ghost suddenly trembled, and her struggles subsided a bit. It was precisely this momentary hesitation that made it impossible for her to break free ever again. The ropes formed of vow-power bound her tightly like a tortoise shell. Feng Xue nodded in satisfaction, withdrew his dharmic power, and pressed his seal repeatedly onto the snowflake mark on her forehead.

The two imprints overlapped. Using the seal as a brush, Feng Xue dragged the mark to leave the characters "Mo Ying" on her soul body. Fortunately it was hand-written; had it been condensed purely through dharmic power, this complex name would likely have blurred into a messy clump.

Once the characters were completely finished, the soul body, which had previously looked like an entire lump of mochi, suddenly shrank and transformed into the cool and detached figure Feng Xue had encountered earlier in the painting.

"Are you out of your mind?!"

"Yes, he totally is!" Awakened halfway through cultivation by the aura of vital energy and secretly sneaking over to watch, Liu Yunxi nodded stealthily from beside the door. However, Feng Xue raised an eyebrow and said:

"What? You don't like the name Mo Ying?"

"Of course not... Well, fine, it actually suits my taste, but I already have a name... Eh? Oh well, Baili is that guy's name... I suppose I really didn't have a name... But that's still no reason for you to give me a random name! And stop casually stamping seals on other people's paintings!"

One had to admit that although this ghost didn't seem particularly smart, she was at least being practical.

Feng Xue was quite pleased that the ghost could understand his naming aesthetic, and nodded:

"If you obediently listen, I won't stamp things randomly."

"What do you mean by obediently listen? What do you want me to listen to?" The ghost took half a step back with a very human-like expression, her already frosty face tinged with a hint of disgust.

Feng Xue paid no attention to this whatsoever, reached out, and pointed to the side:

"Bring me that water cup over there!"

"You think you're..." Before she could finish her sentence, Mo Ying's body vanished without a trace with a swish. The next moment, transformed back into a mochi lump, she wrapped herself around a water cup and flew into Feng Xue's hand.

"Not bad, but since the [Transfer] dharmic power hasn't been converted yet, is that why I can't instantly pick things up?" Feng Xue took the water cup and muttered inwardly.

Ghostly Qi might have an erosive effect on dharmic power, but conversely, ghosts were also excellent carriers of dharmic power. Practitioners of the mysterious arts only needed to transmit the corresponding dharmic power to the ghosts they raised, using them as a medium to instantly cast many interesting effects—for instance, making a ghost, which normally struggled to cause physical interference, help grab items.

At the same time, ghosts could also lower the entry barrier for many spells. For example, the [Water-Walking Spell] originally required extremely high precision in dharmic power control, creating a buoyant and solid layer of dharmic power between the feet and the water to achieve the effect of walking or even running on water. With a ghost, however, one only needed to convert the corresponding dharmic power and inject it into the ghost's body, allowing them to sprint wildly across the water's surface by stepping on the ghost. If one's dharmic power was sufficient, "flying by commanding ghosts" was not out of the question either.

Just as Feng Xue was daydreaming about "a hundred ways to use a ghost," Mo Ying, in her mochi-ball form, began making a fuss beside his hand in protest. Seeing that Feng Xue remained unmoved, she even opened her mouth and lunged to bite his hand.

Yet without the master's permission, a ghost could not utilize the master's dharmic power. Therefore, this spirit ghost, who had clearly been capable of serving tea and carrying water just a moment ago, passed straight through him without the slightest suspense.

Seeming thoroughly provoked by this scene, Mo Ying twisted her body, dived back into the painting, turned into a tiny ink dot, and made not another sound.

"Hehe, since you've already accepted the [Contract Name], obeying me is no longer up to you! Come here!"

Feng Xue reached out and pointed. The ink dot immediately floated upward, and one could even vaguely see a celestial-looking young girl stubbornly hugging a dead tree, resisting being dragged out of the scroll.

However, since the ghost-commanding incantation was already complete, this spirit ghost was now registered in the realm of human destiny and considered Feng Xue's exclusive possession. If she had been transformed from a living soul, forcing her would incur karmic retribution; but since she was originally a clump of vow-power that had gained sentience and had been nourished by Feng Xue's dharmic power and vital energy, how could she possibly resist?

A pair of beautifully curved long legs were dragged out of the scroll, followed immediately by half her body.

"Don't pull me out! Don't pull me out! I don't want to be pulled out!"

The spirit ghost kicked her long legs, emitting the shrill cry of a homebody being forcibly dragged out of her room. Seeing this, Feng Xue chuckled. Condensing dharmic power in