Only I Cultivate

Luo Li frowned. "I can walk on my own."

"Just get on. You need to conserve your energy, right? I may not look like it, but I work out a lot. Trust me, I can run!"

She rolled her eyes but complied, pressing her big mountain peaks against his back while locking her legs around his waist. Too bad the situation didn't allow Feng Fan to appreciate the beauty clinging to him.

Once everyone had climbed down, Feng Fan followed, descending the makeshift rope into the room below. Kong Han, Li Kang, Ding Qing, and Zhou Niu were anxiously waiting for him.

"Let's move," he said, heading toward the door leading to the corridor.

With Luo Li on his back, he felt less fear. Even injured, she was still their strongest fighter. 

Ding Qing and Zhou Niu might buy him a few seconds if a ghost attacked—after all, a ghost couldn't eat them in a single bite, right? Li Kang and Kong Han could probably hold out a little longer since they weighed a few pounds more than the girls.

All in all, Feng Fan didn't see them so much as people but rather as good meat shields.

Leaving the door open in case they needed a quick retreat, they cautiously advanced through the dark corridors. Each step made the floorboards creak treacherously beneath them.

Time seemed to slow as they walked, every second stretching unbearably. 

Given how infested the house was, Feng Fan expected to encounter at least a few ghosts—but strangely, none appeared.

But things never went as expected.

After a minute of walking, they realized something was wrong.

"This… this is the door we left from. What's going on?" Feng Fan asked, staring at the exact same door they had just come from.

Everyone turned to Luo Li, the only one with experience dealing with ghosts. If she didn't have an answer, they were out of luck.

"A ghost trapped us," she said, her expression serious. "I didn't feel anything, so it must not have directly affected our bodies. Instead, it's distorting the space around us, tricking our senses. If it had invaded my body with spiritual energy, I would've noticed."

"W-Why would he do that instead of attacking us?" Kong Han asked, trying to stay rational despite his fear.

"He knows I'm stronger than him and can see that I'm injured. He's probably just buying time, waiting until I can no longer hold on before making his move."

This realization sent shivers down Feng Fan's colleagues' spines. They felt like helpless rats caught in a predator's game.

Feng Fan thought for a moment before an idea struck him. Closing his eyes, he pressed his hands against the nearest wall.

With the cold wood against his palms, he moved one step at a time.

"Everyone, place a hand on each other's back and follow me."

They obeyed, and he started moving again.

Earlier, he had felt like he was walking in a straight line, but now, with his eyes closed, he noticed the corridor subtly curving. 

Then, he felt an intersection. Without hesitation, he turned into the new corridor and opened his eyes.

The moment he opened his eyes, Feng Fan stiffened.

Standing before him was something that almost looked human—if not for the gaping wound in its chest where a heart should have been, its sharp-toothed grin stretched eerily, or the blood oozing from the torn flesh.

For the first time since arriving in this world, Feng Fan finally saw a ghost with his own two eyes!

The heartless ghost took a step forward, extending a hand toward him.

Feng Fan recoiled, disgusted by the dirt caked under its long nails.

'Damn it, bro, did your mother never teach you to wash your hands before dinner?!'

He instantly regretted the thought.

Because to this ghost… he was dinner!

"Luo Li!" he shouted, scrambling backward to get as far from the ghost as possible. 

He bumped into Ding Qing, who was behind him, knocking her to the floor.

Luo Li, who had also closed her eyes, suddenly snapped them open, followed by the others behind her.

The sight before them sent chills down their spines—but not Luo Li. She narrowed her eyes and raised her bloodied hand.

Feng Fan sensed a shift in the air, something unexplainable, something he had never experienced in his previous world.

The ghost, too, felt the change and tried to flee, but it was too late. 

An oval-shaped barrier formed around the ghost, locking it in place. Just as Feng Fan thought that was the extent of her power, Luo Li clenched her fist, causing the barrier to shrink and crush the ghost into a pulp.

The moment she unleashed her spiritual energy, Luo Li's face paled.

She was already weakened, and she needed every bit of strength to keep Ma Chen's energy from further invading her body.

Then, something even stranger happened. Luo Li opened her mouth, and the ghost's remaining essence, or whatever it was, flowed into her.

Feng Fan's eyes widened, his jaw nearly dropping. 'What the hell?! I've seen cannibals before, but ghost-eating humans? That's a first!'

With every passing moment, his understanding of the world was being flipped on its head. Curiosity got the better of him, and he couldn't hold back his question.

"Luo Li… what was that? Did you just eat that ghost?"

"I only absorbed its spiritual energy," she replied calmly. "Let's keep moving. We don't have time to waste."

Feng Fan knew she was right and decided not to press further. 'Hopefully, I will have a chance to learn more about this absorption of spiritual energy later.'

'Maybe this is the path to power in this world… but damn, it's creepy as hell,' he thought, a shiver running down Feng Fan's spine at the idea of eating ghosts.