Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time-Chapter 652: The Doppelganger Mask

Han Yu tapped it thoughtfully with his finger.

"A disguise that cannot be detected by spirit sense. One that alters physical form, not illusion. One with no runes. One that consumes Soul Qi as fuel."

Its origins were clearly unusual.

His mind immediately thought back to the blood sect's forbidden techniques. Some required masks. There were even mentions of some that used Soul Qi. Some were remnants of older sect legacies long destroyed.

Perhaps this mask was a relic discarded by someone thousands of years ago. Or something made by a rogue cultivator whose arts dabbled in soul manipulation. This was the Blood Moon continent after all, and Soul Cultivation while not seen was still known a bit.

Han Yu could not tell yet.

But he knew one thing with certainty.

This mask was valuable.

Dangerously valuable.

He tucked it carefully into his pouch and leaned back against the bed frame, thinking through possibilities.

With this mask, he could infiltrate sects. Clans. Merchant networks. Even government forces. He could gather intelligence. Create false identities. Trick enemies. Set up traps.

He smiled faintly.

"That vendor had no idea what he sold me."

Han Yu blew out the candle, leaving the room in darkness, and lay down.

Tomorrow he would enter the Harrow Mountains.

But tonight, he had gained a new tool.

And possibly a means to make even more profit and cause chaos.

Han Yu continued studying the mask late into the night. Now that he knew it could change his appearance, he wanted to understand how it functioned. Powerful tools that acted unpredictably often hid dangers. He would not allow himself to be caught off guard later.

The first question in his mind was simple.

'Why did the mask react to Soul Qi but not to Spirit Qi?'

It did not make sense at first. Spirit Qi was the foundation for almost everything in the cultivation world. Whether it was elemental techniques, talismans, formations, or spirit tools, all required Spirit Qi. Even demonic techniques required Spirit Qi mixed with blood or other elements.

Yet this mask reacted almost exclusively to Soul Qi.

That alone made it strange. The number of Soul Cultivators Han Yu had ever heard of could be counted on one hand, and most were long dead. In the Slaughtered Moon Divine Blood Sect, Soul Qi was used sparingly, only to power rituals, puppets, and corpse creatures.

No one used Soul Qi directly for cultivation except those with bizarre mutations or secret techniques. Han Yu himself was an anomaly because of the Undying Life Pearl. The only other sign of a soul technique he had found was the Secrets of the Finger Needle Alchemist.

His brows furrowed as he held the mask in his hands.

"Someone must have designed it with Soul Qi in mind," he muttered. "But why? And who?"

He decided to test it again.

Han Yu placed the mask on the floor and raised his hand. A swirl of Spirit Qi appeared on his palm like shimmering mist. He directed it downward into the mask. Again, the energy disappeared without resistance.

But this time, Han Yu focused deeply. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

He pumped more Spirit Qi into it. Two wisps. Ten wisps. Fifty wisps. A hundred wisps.

Still no reaction.

Han Yu did not give up. He continued until he had poured in a thousand wisps of Spirit Qi. Finally, something changed. The mask's surface rippled slightly, though far slower and weaker than when he had infused Soul Qi.

"Ah. So that is the difference."

Spirit Qi was compatible, but the mask demanded far more of it. Ten times more, to be exact.

Han Yu tested further. He infused it enough to use the mask for ten minutes. Then more. He monitored the flow of Spirit Qi until he had spent around ten thousand wisps.

Only then did he sense that the mask was fully charged.

"So the mask truly works on Spirit Qi," Han Yu concluded. "It simply requires a larger amount, probably because Soul Qi is far more potent. Even some of the old records in the sect said that one wisp of Soul Qi equals ten or even more wisps of Spirit Qi in raw force."

This made Han Yu think of another possibility.

Soul Qi carried fragments of the soul. Emotions. Essence. Thoughts. Perhaps the mask used that as a template to reconstruct a face. It was something spiritual, not physical or elemental. That would explain why Spirit Qi alone was inefficient.

Han Yu even tried Moon Blood Qi, hoping it might trigger a reaction. He infused it carefully, but the mask consumed it the same way it consumed Spirit Qi. No special reaction. No difference in consumption.

"Interesting," Han Yu whispered.

It meant the mask was not reacting to blood or elements. It wanted the soul.

Which made it far more dangerous.

Or far more useful.

Han Yu rubbed his hands together, pleased. He could already think of dozens of uses for such an artifact. Espionage. Disguises. False identities. Ambushes. Escapes. Intercepting messages. Even infiltrating the Zhao and Wen Clans someday.

He placed the mask down and nodded. "I will name you the Doppelganger Mask."

The name felt appropriate. The mask felt like a second self waiting to be worn.

Han Yu stored it carefully in his pouch and sat cross legged to recover his Qi. The spirit stones he had harvested from the Birch Leaf Merchant Clan helped immensely, and it did not take long before all his Qi was replenished.

Once done, he lay down on the bed and allowed himself a full night of sleep.

Tomorrow he would leave for the Harrow Mountains.

Morning arrived swiftly. Han Yu woke feeling rested. He washed his face with cold water and headed downstairs for breakfast. The innkeeper served him a bowl of steaming wonton noodles with pork broth and a pot of warm tea. Han Yu ate quietly while thinking of the path ahead.

The Harrow Mountains were vast and full of danger. Many cultivators died inside every year. But the rewards were equally rich, and Han Yu needed to reach deeper regions eventually.