Shen Xu narrowed his eyes when he heard the screeches.

A moment later, he felt an eerie presence rushing towards him, and he subconsciously dodged to the right.

At the same time, he swung his hammer, wanting to kill whatever was trying to attack him.

However, he soon heard a loud crack and frowned.

’My soul power coating has broken.’ He thought and couldn’t help but be momentarily confused.

After all, he was a mid-stage level eight soul refiner.

Although he hadn’t used much soul power on the hammer, it should have been enough to counter a level eight evil ghost without breaking.

’Something is wrong.’ Shen Xu thought and raised his hammer.

Soon after, his attack collided with an opponent, and his soul power broke.

Seeing this, the double retreated several metres and began assessing the situation.

At a glance, Shen Xu saw an evil ghost in front of Meng Quan.

Excluding its red eyes, greyish hair, and gloomy aura, the evil ghost was indistinguishable from an ordinary cultivator.

It had a solid form and calm eyes that set it apart from ordinary evil ghosts that usually had frenzied eyes.

Most importantly, the evil ghost’s cultivation was in the early stage of the tribulation transcending realm, which explained why it could withstand the double’s soul power attack.

Seeing the evil ghost, Shen Xu narrowed his eyes with a thoughtful expression.

’It must be Meng Quan’s natal ghost.’ He thought.

From what he knew, ghost refiners could forcibly enhance their natal ghost’s cultivation by allowing them to eat other contracted ghosts.

However, this was a double-edged sword.

On one hand, the ghost’s cultivation would temporarily increase by leaps and bounds, allowing the owner to win a difficult fight, but on the other hand, the owner would encounter several problems. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

First, evil ghosts were fundamentally evil creatures and raising their cultivation above their master’s level was giving them a chance to rebel.

If the owner was not careful, the ghost would rebel and escape his control. When that happened, the owner would lose a layer of skin even if they didn’t die.

Second, forcibly raising an evil ghost’s cultivation required the owner’s blood essence.

Blood essence was unlike ordinary blood.

Although it was replenishable, the recovery time is long, and during that time, the ghost refiner’s cultivation would stagnate and may even fall.

Third, controlling a higher realm evil ghost was difficult, and the owner could only do it for a few moments before exhausting his qi.

Thinking this, Shen Xu narrowed his eyes and looked at the evil ghost.

’I only need to endure it for a short while.’ He thought.

However, he was not the kind to passively endure an opponent’s attack.

’I can’t compete with soul power but...’ He thought, and a small smile played on his lips.

A moment later, he raised his hammer and prepared to smash the evil ghost, but Meng Quan snorted with a contemptuous expression.

"Your soul power is useless against my evil ghost." He said, but Shen Xu didn’t stop his actions.

Soon after, his hammerhead collided with the evil ghost, and a pained screech filled the atmosphere.

Hearing the screech, Shen Xu nodded in satisfaction, but Meng Quan couldn’t help but be confused.

"What did you do?" He demanded, but the double didn’t answer him.

Instead, he raised his hammer, wanting to deliver another smash, but the evil ghost was not stupid.

When it sensed the attack, it hastily escaped and rushed towards Shen Xu, its fingers contorted into claws.

It arrived before the double in the blink of an eye, and before he could react, the evil ghost clawed downwards, wanting to tear Shen Xu into pieces.

However, Shen Xu was a weapon refiner and had countless defensive weapons on his body.

At this time, several hair accessories were shattered, but the double was not injured.

"You actually have defensive weapons that can withstand tribulation transcending realm attacks?" Meng Quan asked, and a trace of greed flashed in his eyes.

He was the descendant of a big family in the Ten Evils sect territory.

However, Meng Quan was not the only descendant, and he couldn’t monopolise the clan’s resources.

Most importantly, even tribulation transcending realm cultivators didn’t have enough level nine weapons, so how could it be his turn to receive one?

’This Shen Xu is too rich.’ He thought, and his eyes subconsciously drifted to the storage ring on the double’s finger.

"Mine." He muttered and directed the evil ghost to attack more vigorously.

After receiving the order, the evil ghost released its qi pressure, wanting to suppress Shen Xu, but the double was least afraid of suppression.

After all, he not only had the earring that Zhen Yuan made for him but also his father’s bracelet.

With those two artefacts, Shen Xu could disregard qi intimidation even if he encountered an immortal realm cultivator.

Seeing that the double could ignore its qi pressure, the evil ghost grew angry and screeched at the top of its voice.

Simultaneously, Shen Xu felt his soul shake, and a trace of unease filled his heart.

However, he wasn’t dazed for too long.

After realising that the evil ghost was trying to use sound to break his soul, he immediately built a soul power wall around himself.

Although the wall couldn’t completely negate the evil ghost’s sound attack, it could disperse most of it, ensuring that Shen Xu was not injured.

’This is not a lasting solution.’ He thought.

After all, building a soul power wall consumed too much energy, and he wasn’t confident he could outlast Meng Quan.

Thinking this, Shen Xu put away his hammer and opened his right hand.

A moment later, a purple flame appeared on his palm, filling the atmosphere with a crackling sound.

"It’s a strange fire. You actually have a strange fire." Meng Quan exclaimed, recalling the previous incident.

He couldn’t understand how Shen Xu had managed to injure his upgraded evil ghost, but now that he saw the strange fire, he realised that the double must have infused his hammer with not only soul power but also strange fire.

"You are right, but there is no prize." Shen Xu said.